Chapter 276: The Attack Begins
I turned around and glanced toward the second group of Deathmist soldiers.
Azalea was already in the middle of them, cutting through their ranks like a scythe through grass.
Her roots surged from the flat earth—thick, thorn-covered tendrils that wrapped around the mist-formed enemies and crushed them with violent force.
Explosions burst through the ground as the glowing pollen from her roots ignited, blasting apart anything nearby in rhythmic bursts.
I looked away from the carnage and tilted my head up toward the sky.
The castle still floated high above, ominous and unmoving. Its shape was solid, its walls woven from Deathmist so dense it looked physical.
No more fingers. No more armies. It just hung there, pulsing quietly like it was breathing. Despite the battle we just fought, the amount of Deathmist swirling around it hadn’t lessened—not even a little.
My brows lowered.
I launched into the air and landed on Silver’s back as he flew over to Azalea. The battlefield behind us was silent now, covered in scattered mist and broken ground. She finished the last of her group with a flare of green light, then rose from the ground, floating up to meet us.
I asked her directly.
“Should we go up there now?”
She didn’t answer at first. Her eyes were fixed on the castle, narrowed with caution. After a few seconds, she finally responded, her voice low and serious.
“No. I think if we do that… our end will be very, very bad.”
I frowned slightly and waited for her to continue.
She met my gaze, her tone grave.
“It wants us to go there. That place—it’s not just the source of the Deathmist anymore. It’s a trap. The density of Deathmist up there is unreal. If we get too close, it could choke our Essence. Kill it. And once that happens…”
I nodded, understanding her unspoken conclusion.
We’d be helpless.
My eyes drifted back to the floating fortress. Azalea was right—the amount of Deathmist gathered around it wasn’t natural. Just being near it would likely suppress my Essence, overwhelm my domain, and render most of our skills useless.
Still, I needed a solution.
Ideas churned through my mind like a storm.
I couldn’t use [Singularity Beam], it was powerful, but it burned through Essence fast, and against something that massive, it’d be like tossing pebbles at a mountain.
Even if I used my strongest single-target abilities, the Phantom would likely just absorb the blow or slip away into the Deathmist.
I glanced at Azalea, an idea forming.
“Not going there to fight—I get that,” I said. “But… what if we just crashed into it?”
She blinked at me, surprised by the suggestion. But then, her eyes lit up with realization.
“You mean a full-force kinetic strike?”
“Exactly.”
She nodded slowly, a sharp grin tugging at her lips. “That could work.”
With that, I sent Silver back to the core.I remained floating in the air, my wings flaring out behind me.
I narrowed my eyes at the floating fortress.
“Alright,” I said, my voice calm but sharp, “can you do something to distract it? I’m sure it’s watching us.”
Azalea gave a single nod and flew toward the castle.
I turned away, wings folding behind my back, and dropped to the ground.
The air rumbled as Azalea raised both hands toward the floating castle. Roots spiraled from her arms, merging into a massive spear of compressed wood and pollen, thick as a tree trunk and pulsing with golden light.
Then another spear formed beside the first, identical in size and length.
And then another.
Soon, eleven of them stood side by side, perfectly aligned.
The air around her stilled—just before she spoke in a low voice.
“[Verdant Execution: Sky Thorns].”
With a sudden roar, the spears launched upward like missiles, trailing glowing pollen behind them.
They slammed into the Deathmist surrounding the castle, and immediately, the mist reacted. It churned violently, spiraling inward, forming a barrier-like vortex to absorb the impact. The spears exploded midair, showering golden pollen that started exploding against the mist, and parts of the Deathmist recoiled.
That was my chance.
I exhaled slowly, whispered.
“Node 3 activate.”
My body ignited from within.The third rune at the base of my spine activated. Bones tightened. Muscles coiled. My Psynapse expanded outward, wrapping around every particle I could sense.
A rush of stats occurred inside my body as I felt tremendous power flooding my body.
My focus narrowed.
And First, I commanded my domain to reduce the air friction. Next, I changed the surrounding tail winds. And finally, I reduced the effect of gravity on me by 50%.
The world warped. The resistance around my body vanished. I felt lighter than air, the wind now pushing me forward instead of holding me back. I took off—straight upward—leaving behind only a violet streak. The castle shrunk below me as I climbed enough distance to cover what I wanted.
Then I flipped midair.
And dove.
The air tore apart around me. Sonic booms echoed behind me as my speed broke every limit I had ever known. My wings folded behind me, and my staff snapped forward, its shaft humming violently with compressed Essence.
Violet Essence coated the staff, rippling and hardening like armor. Then, just before collision, I whispered one more command.
“[Garden of Death].”
My domain responded instantly. A sealed space formed directly around the castle, and within it, flowers made of Essence began to bloom—one after another.
Then the explosions began. The flowers formed with each heartbeat and exploded in the next.
And then I hit.
The impact was cataclysmic.
My staff pierced the Deathmist castle first, tearing through it like wet cloth. Then the tip slammed into the belly of the fortress. Violet Essence exploded outward in a blooming spiral. The mist howled as cracks raced through the castle’s surface.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. Deathmist surged and scattered. A pulse of force kicked outward in every direction as the entire structure trembled from the crash. I kept pushing downward, driving the staff deeper, Essence still pouring out of me in waves.
The sky shook and the mist screamed.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!