Chapter 544: Thunder, Strike!
A distorted, evil whisper kept ringing in Yaya's ears.
But she wasn't affected in the slightest. While waiting for her wounds to heal, she searched for the enemy's weak points.
This bizarre monster defied common logic.
Matthew knew the Wax-Melting Demon's detailed attributes and skills, but he wanted Yaya to learn and grow through combat.
Facing the Wax-Melting Demon's writhing tentacles, Yaya waited until her injuries had fully healed before swooping down from above.
Against this dangerous Wax-Melting Demon, Yaya didn't hesitate for a moment. She opened her mouth, and a terrifying burst of flame erupted.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Faced with the descending dragon breath, the Wax-Melting Demon's tentacles deftly grabbed a nearby pillar, dragging its body to safety.
Those seemingly slender tentacles were not only resilient but also incredibly powerful.
The flames chased after the Wax-Melting Demon. Yaya wanted to force out more of its hidden cards.
Squelch!
A strong tentacle struck open a cave and the entire creature burrowed inside.
Yaya didn't pursue it, instead pouring the remaining flames onto the gnoll slave army.
The scorching firelight spread instantly through the area.
Seeing this, Shetril hadn't expected Yaya to be so decisive, forcing the Wax-Melting Demon to attack proactively.
Whether the Wax-Melting Demon died or not didn't matter—this battle needed to be won.
Sacrificing tens of thousands from the Bay to open the path to the surface world.
The great goddess would surely look upon her with favor.
The losses incurred would be repaid many times over.
The Wax-Melting Demon transmitted its resistance, but Shetril gritted her teeth, slicing her palm and wrapping her holy emblem in blood, intensifying her control.
The disgruntled Wax-Melting Demon roared incessantly, its tentacles thrashing through the surrounding flesh and corpses, greedily shoving them into its mouth.
The scorched wounds from the flames quickly healed.
Sensing a terrifying will watching over it, the Wax-Melting Demon dared not retreat further. It actively charged toward Yaya.
Swirling chaotic black winds gathered around it, and under its will, flew straight at Yaya.
Boom!
The explosive blast whipped up a fierce gale.
Yaya narrowly dodged and soared higher, circling above as she watched the chaotic orbs reform. Without hesitation, she dove down again.
Four or five chaotic orbs were hurled at Yaya.
Each chaotic orb was filled with destructive forces like "Twist" and "Malice," making it impossible for even Yaya's high defenses and health to simply endure them head-on.
A wave of twisted temporal energy quietly swallowed the chaotic orbs.
This wasn't a simple cancellation of energies; it was a suppression by a higher power.
Every formed chaotic orb was reduced back to fragmented remnants and lingering resentments.
With its ultimate move broken, the Wax-Melting Demon hadn't expected Yaya's methods to be so "bizarre."
Its flailing tentacles struck Yaya's body, but were met by her immense form.
Bang!
The Wax-Melting Demon's entire body was compressed into a flat mass, as horrifying power tore through its resilient limbs, leaving hideous gashes.
Through these gashes, fragmented tissues and organs could be seen, greedily consuming and digesting the twisted fragments of souls.
This fearsome creature actually fed on souls!
Sharp claws gripped the encircling tentacles tightly. Yaya keenly felt an eerie pain emanating from where they made contact.
A series of constitution checks floated above Yaya's head.
Despite the seemingly dire situation, Matthew remained unconcerned.
While the Wax-Melting Demon was bizarre, it was still just a legendary-level monster, whereas Yaya's body had reached the pinnacle of the legendary level!
What she lacked was merely higher-tier life essence and accumulated combat experience and techniques.
Sure enough, Yaya nonchalantly yanked on the tentacles, dragging the Wax-Melting Demon's twisted body back toward her.
Her claws, faintly gleaming with a metallic sheen, came crashing down toward the demon's giant eye.
The Wax-Melting Demon, sensing the danger, widened its massive eye, releasing a burst of twisted red light directly onto the descending claw.
Eighth-circle spell—Death Ray!
"Roar…!"
Yaya howled in pain as the terrifying power scorched her silvery claws black.
The rending injuries exposed faintly golden bones.
Despite her youth, Yaya had extensive combat experience and a remarkably strong will.
Having freed herself from the control of the goddess Tai Ji, she certainly wouldn't be brought down by mere pain.
Her battered claws landed squarely on the Wax-Melting Demon's wide-open eye.
The grotesque red eyeball displayed an unexpected resilience.
It wasn't split open at once, instead sinking inward to an extreme degree.
Only after Yaya, boosted by her 26 strength and 18 attack, struck again did it finally burst open with a squelch.
Thick, cloudy blood and twisted fragments of flesh gushed out, splattering onto Yaya.
The vile substance seemed alive, trying to cling to her, attempting to burrow under her scales.
But with her constitution over 30, Yaya once again resisted this twisted flesh assault.
Pinning down the Wax-Melting Demon, she raised her battered claw again and brought it down with full force.
Under the influence of gray temporal energy, the claw, riddled with wounds, instantly recovered to a pristine state. It drove deep into the demon's eye socket.
With a strong pull—
a massive chunk of twisted flesh was ripped out. Even as the encroaching tentacles began to tighten,
Yaya, ever opportunistic, had already opened her toothy maw wide.
Temporal energy surged forth!
Squelch!!
The temporal breath lacked the radiant splendor of the earlier fire breath.
But when it acted upon the Wax-Melting Demon's grotesque wounds, it unleashed a power far more terrifying.
The blood within the Wax-Melting Demon, already trickling outward, suddenly accelerated as if a fast-forward button had been pressed, pulled out by an unseen force.
Squelch!
What had been a trickle of foul blood turned into a torrential bloodfall, nearly hollowing out the demon's twisted body.
"Aargh…!"
The deafening scream made the Wax-Melting Demon writhe violently, struggling in vain.
Its heavy injuries had nearly drained it of its blood.
On the brink of death, it fell into a state of weak powerlessness.
Just as Yaya was about to tear the Wax-Melting Demon to shreds,
a twisted red light shot from a nearby passageway.
Sensing danger, Yaya tried to flap her wings and retreat, only to find herself ensnared by the demon's tentacles.
With the twisted red light closing in fast, Yaya had a sudden flash of insight. She lifted the weakened demon and placed it in front of her.
Boom!
The violent impact sent Yaya flying.
Hit by the twisted red light, the Wax-Melting Demon's flesh rapidly expanded.
Its slender tentacles lashed out, greedily devouring any flesh and corpses they touched.
The entire body inflated like a balloon, quickly transforming into a grotesque flesh monster.
As Yaya tumbled across the ground, dispersing the impact, she further disrupted the gnoll slaves' formation.
Hundreds of gnoll slaves were crushed under her weight, but Yaya paid them no mind. She flapped her wings and took off again, warily eyeing the mutating Wax-Melting Demon. She couldn't help but ask:
"What the hell is that?"
"Undergoing a deep mutation…"
Matthew's pupils contracted as he saw the swelling aberration. He raised his staff and pointed toward it.
Seven or eight fireballs shot across hundreds of meters, striking the three-story-tall aberration.
Each explosion tore massive gashes into its body.
The fiery blasts killed off the remaining gnoll slaves nearby, scattering their corpses.
"Ding! You dealt 45 points of spell damage to the Wax-Melting Demon – Deep Aberration, reducing its health by 22 points. Remaining health: 180 points."
"Ding! You dealt 44 points of spell damage to the Wax-Melting Demon – Deep Aberration, reducing its health by 21 points. Remaining health: 170 points."
"Ding! You dealt 46 points…"
"…"
Matthew's pupils narrowed slightly. He saw the aberration's health drop below 100 points, only to steadily climb back up.
In no time, it had returned to 200 points.
Its terrifying regenerative ability far outstripped that of trolls' extraordinary healing.
Of course, this came at a cost.
The mutation's progress had jumped from 20% to 60%.
The twisted creature's body had transformed into a massive, stitched-together mass of flesh.
Only faint hints of the Wax-Melting Demon's original tendrils could still be seen.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Wax-Melting Demon fully transformed into an aberration.
It would lose all reason, becoming completely corrupted.
But in doing so, it would become even more horrifying.
However, based on Matthew's understanding of aberrations, this is just the early stage of the mutation.
At this stage, they act like flesh-eating machines, driven solely by instinct to consume flesh and continue growing.
Once they've devoured enough, they will adapt to their environment and opponents, transforming into the most efficient killing monsters.
Therefore, to prevent it from growing into something uncontrollable, its "feeding" rate must be slowed down.
"Set it on fire—cut it off from the surroundings!"
Hearing this, Yaya fought through the stinging pain in her chest and struggled to fly over the aberrant creature.
Crates were tossed down one after another by Yaya.
Huge tentacles suddenly extended from the creature's body, lightning-fast, smashing the crates.
Thick, black tar-like oil still poured out, covering the area.
The creature, oblivious to what was coming next, extended even more tentacles from its body, reaching after the airborne Yaya.
Whoosh!
Towering flames shot up, instantly engulfing it.
Crackling and popping sounds accompanied the fire as it scorched and roasted the twisted flesh.
The hideous monster howled and roared wildly, a massive torch illuminating the vast space.
The panicked gnoll slaves scattered in all directions, fleeing the chaos.
Yaya could feel the creature still fixated on her.
Realizing her "appeal," Yaya patiently maneuvered around the rapidly transforming monster.
The battlefield not far away remained unchanged by this sudden turn of events.
Feeling faintly observed, the drow elf commanders launched a frenzied assault.
They now understood that victory was secondary; the key was to satisfy the great deity.
Otherwise, they would face a fate far worse than death.
Shetril, pale-faced, ignored the faint curses and roars in her ears and furiously issued attack orders.
She personally led another elite slave army of about 30,000, charging toward the Bay Army's flank.
It was clear Shetril was well-prepared to swallow the Bay Army whole.
However, she hadn't expected that things wouldn't go as planned—the much-anticipated fire dragon Diago had met such a "natural" death!
Sharp cries and angry shouts surrounded the Bay Army's formation.
Sensing the danger, Annie turned to Matthew, only to find him still composed, which prompted her to think carefully.
If she were in his position, what arrangements and plans should she make?
The gnoll slave army ahead posed no major threat, but it couldn't be quickly defeated either.
Over 20,000 slave warriors on the right had already lost more than 6,000 and were nearly broken by the glaive regiment.
However, they had now learned their lesson, staying obediently 30 or 40 meters away.
They neither attacked nor retreated, simply tying down the unbreakable glaive regiment.
Annie's thoughts deepened as she realized the purpose behind Bay's ongoing actions.
Emphasizing overall training, weapons development, and the creation of elite units—all these efforts had meaning.
Well-equipped, well-trained ordinary soldiers formed the foundation of the entire army.
A combat approach that combined close and ranged attacks defined the army's overall style.
In the future, if Annie wanted to improve her family's military capabilities, she would need to focus on these two directions:
formation coordination and weapons.
What impressed Annie most, however, was the glaive regiment led by transformed warriors.
Watching them fight ten-to-one and utterly crush the enemy left an indelible mark on her memory.
Annie knew very well how the Bay Army rated the overall combat level of the glaive regiment.
The average challenge level of a standard glaive regiment soldier was 10+!
Pair that with the transformed warriors averaging a challenge level of 17+!
The glaive regiment's overall challenge level reached 13+!
That was the equivalent of an ultra-strong army of advanced soldiers!
Combined, they easily crushed elite slave warriors with an average challenge level of around 8.
Annie had been considering spreading the transformed warriors across the entire army once their number reached 200.
This would enhance the overall strength of the force.
But now, Annie suddenly felt that forming an elite unit could become her crucial trump card.
A solid foundation wasn't enough—she needed a decisive game-changer!
Glancing at the 20 silent Dragoon golems and the approaching slave warriors, Annie couldn't help but wonder:
"Will it be them?"
Matthew, seeing that Yaya had managed to hold the flame-enshrouded aberrant creature in check, calmly addressed the oncoming tide of slave warriors:
"Golem Corps, attack!"