Chapter 66: The Rampaging Behemoth

Roar!

The second giant marsh crocodile let out a bellow, its body shrouded in a pale white glow as it began to swell at an alarming rate. But a far more fearsome roar thundered from the center of the battlefield.

Roar!

Charles’ gaze shifted. In the area where the vine dragon had coiled itself, the ground suddenly bulged as a pitch-black monster rapidly expanded.

Roar!

What had originally been a three-meter-tall creature ballooned like an inflating balloon—five meters! Six! Eight! Ten! Fifteen!

When it finally stabilized, it had become a towering black beast nearly twenty meters tall!

The creature bore a striking resemblance to Godzilla from a science fiction film of his previous life, covered in deep black scales, its back bristling with bony dorsal fins, and its tail sprouting blade-like ridges of bone.

Roar!

It unleashed an enraged roar, its tail sweeping through the air to snap two massive vine tendrils, then stamped down, crushing the gaping maw of the vine dragon beneath its foot.

A faint gray light shimmered above its head as it charged towards the vine sphere like a runaway freight train, each thunderous step shaking the earth.

A dozen vine dragons twisted together, transforming into a jagged, chainsaw-like weapon bristling with needle-like thorns, which wriggled at high speed and lashed at the black beast.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The black giant did not attempt to dodge, but crashed headlong into the vine chainsaw, sparks exploding across its armored hide. The serrated thorns shattered instantly, unable to inflict any real harm.

The beast revealed its invincible might, striding toward the vine sphere with reckless abandon, tearing through the vines with fists and feet as if they were no more than earthworms. The difference in power was staggering; the once formidable vine dragons could only retreat under its relentless assault.

“As expected, these so-called protagonists can all explode with energy at will!” Charles gritted his teeth, staring at the shattered remains of the marsh behemoth before him.

He finally understood: this totem beast had now become utterly invincible among its peers, burning its inherited essence to achieve ultimate evolution with apparent ease. No wonder it was destined to become the King of Strength, the invincible force that would end the world war!

Yet, to expect him to give up now was sheer folly—third giant marsh crocodile, it’s your turn to evolve!

Roar!

The largest of the crocodiles began its evolution. After Charles had thrown tens of thousands of gold coins and jewels at it to raise its chances of success to forty percent, his hopes now rested on this final gamble.

The jewels his father had given him were all spent; further strengthening his totem beasts was becoming ever more difficult. But this was the Church of the True God’s base in Faen County, surely stockpiled with resources that made his mouth water.

In the distance, the battle between the black behemoth and the vine totem had reached its conclusion. The giant beast savagely bit into the vine sphere, its two massive forelimbs tearing it apart.

Boom!

A surge of emerald light blasted the black giant dozens of meters away, crushing the last standing building.

But the black beast was undeterred. It opened its maw, spewing forth a torrent of gray-black energy.

That light effortlessly dissolved the green shield around the vine sphere, boring through its body and burning a gaping hole over a meter wide.

“Obliteration Ray—the so-called superpower of terrifying might. By the late stage, even the Violent Bull Demon King could not withstand its attack. Fortunately, the cost is so immense that it can’t be used at will.”

Charles’ expression darkened like a thundercloud. In the original story, the opponent had not undergone such an abrupt ultimate evolution.

Neither the sudden evolution, nor that colossal floating city above the sky, nor the mountain-sized monsters, nor even Daniel’s appearance—none of it had been part of his expectations. Everything had exceeded his predictions.

Clearly, the future of this world had already changed because of his presence. As his strength grew, those changes would only become more pronounced, rewriting every bit of the future he had once known!

Only strength could guarantee anything. That was the eternal, unchanging truth.

Roar!

The giant crocodile bellowed to the heavens, its body swelling rapidly—doubling in size in an instant, and still growing.

Its roar caught the black beast’s attention; those cold, gray eyes fixed on it as the behemoth charged forward in great strides.

Damn it, could this bastard have lost his mind?

Charles’ face shifted. The crocodile was at the most critical stage of its ultimate evolution—if interrupted, it might well end up like the previous two.

“Roddy! What do you think you’re doing!” he shouted.

But the other seemed trapped in a trance, his eyes flickering with a cold, grayish light, much like his own totem beast—clearly out of control.

Ultimate evolution was a crucial threshold for soulbinders as well; it marked a leap in their own strength, allowing them to wield spirit arts with offensive power, rather than merely supporting their totems as before.

Once a totem achieved ultimate evolution, it became a true superhuman legionary, capable of destroying an army in open combat—no weapon wielded by mortals could so much as scratch it.

But such evolution also entailed grave risks. As the totem awakened ancient inherited memories, the soulbinder would suffer a corresponding psychic shock. Failure to integrate those memories could mean anything from mental trauma to a vegetative state, and temporary insanity was all too common.

It seemed clear now: the other had been overwhelmed by the inherited memories awakened in the black beast, and was in a state of utter confusion.

If this wouldn’t work, he’d have to try another tactic.

Charles shouted again, “Roddy! If your totem takes one more step, don’t blame me for killing this person!”

The twin-headed simian colossus gripped a petite figure in its hand, striding up to Charles.

He’d noticed the two together earlier, and instinctively decided to use the other as a shield.

“Hey, what’s your problem? I’ve done nothing to you—how can you treat me like this?” The captive struggled, but the giant ape’s brute strength made escape impossible; it dangled him before Charles as easily as a chick.

“Bear with it for now,” Charles replied with a wolfish grin. “Roddy’s probably under the influence of inherited memories. I want to see if you can wake him up.”

“He’ll be all right, won’t he?” The other’s violet eyes brimmed with worry.

Charles glanced him up and down, and a single expletive flashed through his mind.

Violet eyes, black robe and round cap, and that strange golden totem swooping in from afar—wasn’t this the “Prophet” among the Seven Children of Fate?

This guy should be in the imperial capital right now—why had he come all the way to Stormport, the empire’s frontier?

Damn it, he couldn’t let this one die. The future was already in chaos because of him—he had to use the Prophet’s power to regain the initiative!