Chaos' Heir Chapter 962: Black river

Chapter 962: Black river

The white alpha was far smarter than its peers. It had to since its unique element required it. Its authority had been useless when it didn't have underlings, so its initial leaders.h.i.+p stages had been built on brawns and wits.

That life of struggles gave the white alpha plenty of battle experience. The creature had learned to deal with various opponents and situations. The beast held the upper hand a few times but still rose to the planet's peak. It was Senerth's last overlord, but Khan had arrived to undermine its dominion.

Humans would experience a vast range of emotions at that unlucky event. Getting so close to planetary domination only to face an unfathomable final adversary could fill anyone with bitterness and unwillingness. Yet, the white alpha's limited intelligence worked in its favor, allowing the creature to a.s.sess the situation calmly.

Running away wouldn't work. The trail of blood on the alpha's back stated that survival was impossible. The leader had to overpower Khan to overcome that last tribulation, and the best chance was now.

The white alpha's power came from the pack. Enduring more of Khan's attacks would only waste the underlings' lives, reducing the leader's energy reserves. The alpha couldn't let that happen. Its entire battle experience told it to make the best out of its advantage at that exact moment.

Khan couldn't read the white alpha's thoughts but didn't need to, either. The symphony soon revealed the leader's intentions. Countless strands of energy ran through the pack, quickly converging inside the alpha and fusing with the black ma.s.s of mana inside it.

The white alpha's mana had almost depleted after the previous exchange, but its reserves immediately returned to full capacity. The process didn't stop there since more energy fused inside the leader, vastly surpa.s.sing its physical limits.

Khan knew the procedure's dangers very well. His own training technique implemented a similar strategy, and removing some of its glaring flaws took him years. The alpha didn't have such profound abilities, so it could only endure the drawbacks under Khan's watchful gaze.

Patches of the alpha's fur burned, and the skin underneath soon suffered from a similar fate. The absorption process had been seamless earlier, but its drawbacks appeared after the leader's body reached full capacity.

The surplus energy strands couldn't teleport inside the alpha's body anymore. They had to pierce its skin to stuff themselves into its already cramped reserves, inevitably generating friction. That process scorched the leader all over, but the creature didn't mind it.

The drawbacks didn't stop at the burns. The white alpha couldn't comprehend the full extent of Khan's power but knew it had to go overboard to hope to defeat him. b.u.mps soon appeared on its body, inflating as if they were balloons. Its skin cracked in many spots, and blood spurted out, but the acc.u.mulated energy remained safe underneath.

The leader slowly transformed. Its dog-like, lean figure became a bulging mess of inflated flesh. The b.u.mps never fused into an even surface, either. Each stretched in different directions, turning the beast into a mess of monstrous protuberances that often ended in blood bursts.

Needless to say, the damage the alpha suffered was immense. The procedure could easily kill it, and its survival afterward wasn't certain, either. However, another party had to endure even greater losses.

The energy currently inside the alpha came from the pack, and that forceful absorption wasn't harmless. Killing the underlings seemed to provide more mana, and the leader didn't hold back on that front.

Tens of monsters all over the pack randomly fell lifelessly on the ground. Some were even engaged in battles, but their eyes went dark before falling prey to an enemy attack. The death count increased with each pa.s.sing second, eventually confusing the Scalqa army.

Khan ignored his army's confusion and focused on the number of seemingly random deaths. Truth be told, that development would greatly benefit his soldiers, so he welcomed it. Still, the alpha's element managed to surprise him once again. More than two hundred monsters had died, and the process had yet to end.

'So ruthless and resolute,' Khan praised. 'Would I have resorted to the same method if I had its element?'

Khan couldn't find the answer to his question. Truthfully, he didn't need to. Elements were deeply connected to the users' characters, so Khan would have had a different mentality if he were in the white alpha's shoes.

The process continued, and the same went for the alpha's transformation. Its body had started to break long ago, but it didn't relent. Monsters died everywhere, giving their energy for that final a.s.sault, and Khan let it happen.

The alpha clearly couldn't move in its current condition. Khan could have interrupted the absorption immediately, but the many deaths lifted the pressure on his army. Also, he wanted to let the leader show its best weapon out of respect, so he stood still, floating in the air while waiting for the attack.

Eventually, one of the taller b.u.mps on the alpha's back broke even further, releasing a flare of black energy. A pillar shot through the white sky, but the leader forcefully suppressed it, doing its best to replenish the lost mana. However, afterward, it didn't try to absorb anything else. The previous injury told the beast it had reached its limits.

The alpha didn't hesitate anymore. Its maw opened, and all the acc.u.mulated energy shot forward. A black river engulfed the area, darkening the sky and ground, filling the entirety of the gorge, and threatening to submerge Khan.

The attack was fast, powerful, and unending. It was born from the acc.u.mulation of hundreds of lives, turning that energy into a pure destructive force. The Scalqa and turrets wouldn't stand a chance against it, but its opponent was something else now.

'A pity,' Khan thought, watching the river closing on him and filling his vision. 'If only you could have made it denser. I guess that's your limit as a monster.'

Khan didn't try to escape. His face showed no emotions as he lifted his left leg, pointing his foot at the incoming black river. Then, he stomped forward, and nothing ever reached him.