This sudden turn of events also left Yobir momentarily stunned.
He had originally only intended to knock the two of them away and then seize all of Raine's secrets for himself. He hadn't expected things to end up like this.
However, Yobir didn't dwell on it for long. In the end, they were nothing more than a group of noble offspring accompanying him in training!
He quickly refocused his mind and began to drive Blood Pact madly.
His aura surged wildly, as if he were performing some dangerous form of sacrifice or enhancement!
In Yobir's eyes, nothing remained except the secrets on Raine's body that made his mouth water.
The Ossuary Warbeast became even more solid and ferocious, locking onto Raine once again!
The black war spear in Yobir's hand gleamed with a metallic sheen, pointing straight at Raine's head!
"Human! Hand over your secrets, and I might consider giving you a dignified death!"
"You want them? Kneel down and beg me!"
"Then die!"
Yobir roared, commanding the abyssal creation to unleash its strongest attack!
At the same time, he himself gripped the black war spear and shot toward Raine like a meteor!
Raine was already grievously wounded. Facing this killing blow, a trace of madness flashed through his eyes as well.
He squeezed every last drop of blood energy out of his body and poured it into his golem-like physique, his entire form radiating dazzling crimson-gold light!
Gripping Ironstrike, he charged toward Yobir like a warrior marching to his death, launching his final assault!
Using his body as a shield, his life as a spear!
Like countless predecessors before him, forging with sheer will the iron bulwark of humanity that would rather die than yield!
Boom—!
The massive claws of the Ossuary Warbeast and Yobir's war spear struck Raine almost simultaneously!
And Raine's life-burning collision smashed brutally into Yobir's chest!
A world-shaking explosion erupted in midair!
It was accompanied by the sound of shattering bones, violent clashes of energy, and a single agonized roar!
The light faded.
Two figures, like broken dolls, fell diagonally from the sky and crashed heavily onto the mountainside.
The body of the Ossuary Warbeast also dissipated into the air…
Raine lay on the ground, drenched in blood. His chest rose and fell faintly, his consciousness blurred.
Multiple wounds on his body were so deep that bone was visible, and his right shoulder was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
Yet his right hand was tightly clenched around a cold crystal—
The gargoyle bloodcore!
At the instant of the final collision, he had forcibly ripped it out of Yobir's chest!
Not far away, Yobir's condition was even worse.
A horrifying cavity gaped in his chest, its edges marked by signs of violent tearing.
Not only had he taken the full brunt of Raine's impact, but with his bloodcore forcibly stripped away, he had also suffered terrifying backlash.
His stone body was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks, dark-golden motes of energy constantly leaking out from the fissures.
He couldn't even move a finger. Only a pair of eyes filled with hatred and unwillingness stared fixedly in Raine's direction.
He couldn't understand it!
A human who was clearly already at the end of his strength—how could he still unleash such terrifying power?
The next moment, Yobir's stone body completely shattered!
[Ding! Elite-rank gargoyle royal killed. Bloodstone +4000!]
[Obtained Legendary-grade forbidden art — Blood Pact!]
…
Everyone was shaken to the core by this battle, brutal to the extreme.
"H-He… he took Prince Yobir's bloodcore?!"
One of the guards spoke with a trembling voice, unable to tell whether it was rage or fear.
The battlefield fell into dead silence.
Many gazes were fixed on Raine's condition.
"This is… some kind of forbidden-art backlash!"
Bonecrusher Quin's eyes darkened as his heart jolted.
A mere human soldier possessed such ruthless resolve?!
"Forbidden-art backlash! One of those explosive secret techniques with an enormous price?!"
Herbert, Kyle, and the others understood instantly.
No wonder Raine had suddenly become so powerful—he had burned his potential, even his life, to take down a full seven gargoyle prodigies!
Thinking about how this young man, not even twenty years old, had fought so brutally to carve out a sliver of hope for the entire battlefield…
Many veteran soldiers' eyes reddened instantly, grief and reverence surging in their chests!
"Die—!!!"
Black Falcon roared, his eyes colder than ice!
At this moment, he was like a maddened beast, bombarding the opposing Expert-rank Soul Devourer with relentless fury!
Raine was the hope they had resolved to pour all their resources into cultivating—the sharp blade that the Seventh Division, Scarlet Wall Patrol, might one day temper!
He was the seed into which they had poured boundless expectations!
If that seed were to wither in this battle…
Black Falcon dared not imagine it, nor did he want to!
"You madman!"
"If you die, what about your brothers?!"
Under the storm-like onslaught, the Soul Devourer could barely hold on, even trying to awaken Black Falcon's reason!
Yet what answered him was even more frenzied, utterly reckless attacks!
At this moment, Black Falcon had only one thought: slaughter every enemy before him, carve out a path of survival for Raine, for all his brothers!
Herbert's eyes were bloodshot.
It didn't matter if veterans like them died—but Raine absolutely could not!
He had only just stepped onto the path of becoming a powerhouse!
Seeing the near-uncontrolled frenzy of the warriors in the distance and the worried looks from Herbert and the others, warmth stirred in Raine's heart, mixed with a touch of helplessness.
He tugged at his bloodstained lips into a grin and spoke softly.
"Officer Herbert, don't worry… I'm not dead yet."
A joke, really. The true power of the Blood Devourer talent combined with system exchanges lay in this—so long as there were enough bloodstones, injuries could be healed endlessly and power could be gained without limit!
As long as bloodstones were infinite, in theory, he could even reach unimaginably high realms.
Thinking of bloodstones, his consciousness sank into the system.
[Bloodstone: 23,210!]
Seven gargoyle prodigies had all fallen to him, on top of the many alien races he had killed earlier.
Slaying a single Elite-rank prodigy granted far more bloodstones than killing an ordinary Elite.
Though his own injuries were severe, in terms of gains, he had definitely not lost out.
[Consume 10,000 bloodstones to repair injuries and stabilize rank?]
Raine's mind stirred.
To be honest, his injuries were far too severe. Under normal circumstances, without some absurdly miraculous potion, survival would have been almost impossible!
The bloodstone cost required to heal such wounds was also an astronomical number!
Even so, he would still have a full 13,210 bloodstones left!
The next moment, 10,000 bloodstones were deducted.
A gentle, warm current flowed into his shattered body, accelerating the healing of all his wounds.
Though it couldn't restore him instantly, it did allow him to recover a trace of mobility.
After recovering slightly, Raine turned his attention to the newly acquired skill!
[Legendary-grade forbidden art · Blood Pact — Analyzing…]
Skill Name: Blood Pact
Grade: Legendary
Origin: A taboo contract of the Abyssal Will.
Usage Restriction: Gargoyle royal bloodline only. Forced use will result in Abyssal backlash and bloodline collapse.
"Only gargoyle royals can use it?"
Raine frowned. If that was the case, wasn't this skill essentially useless to him?
[Ding! Detected that the host possesses the special talent Blood Devourer, granting the fundamental authority to plunder, fuse, and reconstruct alien race bloodlines and skills!]
[Consume 2,000 bloodstones to modify Blood Pact into an exclusive skill adapted to the host's life form and energy system?]
[Note: After modification, the skill will be driven by the Blood Devourer authority as its core. The modified skill's effects will differ from the original version, and its power will be limited by the host's current rank and energy capacity.]
[Consume 2,000 bloodstones to reconstruct the skill?]