Chapter 227 – The Life Ability of Bloodclaw

Whether the capital of Dillon Kingdom was being turned upside down or inside out mattered little to Punk, who was currently in the western wilderness far from the kingdom. His full attention was focused on eliminating a sworn enemy – Bloodclaw.

Bloodclaw’s sudden halt appeared abrupt. His accelerating body abruptly slowed, landing lightly upon a slender blade of grass. In his hands, he now held three blood-red fruits. His crimson hair gradually faded from fiery red to silver, and standing in the sunset clad in red garments, Bloodclaw increasingly resembled a phantom vampire under the moonlight. From his elongated nails to his sinister, eerie form, everything about him exuded an aura of deathly stillness.

Simultaneously with Bloodclaw’s deceleration, Punk also slammed to a violent stop. He placed the summoned steel greatshield beneath his feet to cushion the impact, crashing into the ground like a cannonball.

“Running away? Why stop now? Or has… this fleeing insect finally mustered some courage?”

Punk taunted in a soft voice.

Hearing the mockery, Bloodclaw emitted a guttural growl of rage from his throat. He glared fiercely at Punk, but unlike his usual verbose self, he responded with action instead of words.

Bloodclaw wrenched his mouth open to a jaw-tearing width and swallowed all three Doclayna Man-Eating Fruits in one gulp.

The explosive sweetness could be detected from afar. The crimson juice of the man-eating fruits stained his mouth blood-red, with droplets still falling from his torn lips, creating the visage of a sinister smiling face that appeared particularly grotesque and bloody in the fading twilight.

Seeing Bloodclaw preparing for combat, Punk didn’t hesitate with his spellcasting. Though Bloodclaw was lower-level and currently cornered, he remained a powerhouse who had reached Formal-Level centuries ago. While Punk’s words were dismissive, his mind maintained absolute vigilance.

With Golem Two absent and Bloodclaw clearly prepared for mutual destruction, Punk’s first spell wasn’t a powerful offensive one, but rather a summoning spell that could effectively block the enemy – avoiding close combat with this obviously melee-specialized sorcerer.

“Formal-Level Summoning Magic – Summon Shadow Wolves!”

“Metamagic – Mana Compression!”

With a flash of ominous black light, three giant wolves leaped from the summoning circle beside Punk. Each possessed six eyes on their heads, limbs with steel-hard muscles, and fur constantly emitting dark mist.

“Awooo—”

Upon Punk’s command, the three shadow wolves released piercing howls before charging toward Bloodclaw in competitive frenzy.

Even as the giant wolves moved into action, Punk continued his spellcasting. The Activation Potion’s duration hadn’t expired, and the mana in his soul replenished as rapidly as spring water filling a well. Within mere three seconds, Punk unhesitatingly cast three consecutive spells, each enhanced by the mana-intensive Metamagic technique.”Formal-Level Divination Spell—Preemptive Reading: Instantly predict an enemy’s action half a second in advance (target’s power must not exceed caster’s by one major realm, otherwise the spell fails).

Formal-Level Conjuration Spell—Greater Weakness Spell.

Formal-Level Conjuration Spell—Kinetic Shockwave.

Metamagic—Mana Compression!

As three shadow wolves simultaneously pounced toward Bloodclaw, three spells shot explosively toward him as well. Meanwhile, Punk rapidly retreated from his position under the acceleration of Greater Swiftness.

These four consecutive high-intensity spell attacks nearly drained Punk’s mana in one breath. Since becoming a Formal-Level powerhouse, this was the first time Punk had consumed such a massive amount of mana in such a short time. His mind buzzed momentarily and his face turned pale. Though the potent Activation Potion caused torrents of mana to surge from his soul, Punk didn’t dare press his luck with further attacks.

‘I’m not so easily dealt with, mage. Never have been!’

Facing Punk’s assault, Bloodclaw’s entire face contorted violently. The flesh of his back suddenly tore open as bat-like wings composed of blood and muscle began to unfurl.

However, thanks to the Preemptive Reading spell’s effect, Bloodclaw’s movements had been predicted by Punk half a second earlier. Almost precisely as Bloodclaw lifted into the air, Punk’s latter two spells arrived simultaneously.

The enhanced Greater Weakness Spell failed to achieve its purpose—the moment the curse descended, every cell in Bloodclaw’s body erupted with vital energy that resisted the spell’s effects. A crimson halo burst outward from Bloodclaw’s form, quickly dispersing and shattering the Weakness Spell’s structure.

But Bloodclaw still absorbed at least half of the subsequent Kinetic Shockwave.

As Kinetic Shockwave took effect, the air around Bloodclaw began vibrating violently. All molecules started colliding irregularly under chaotic kinetic energy. The enhanced shockwave affected a large ten-meter radius, with the excessive kinetic energy even generating scattered purple light points throughout the area.

The vibrations brought both intense heat and material fragmentation.

Bloodclaw now suffered as if being simultaneously microwaved and tumbled in a washing machine. Extreme heat instantly charred and carbonized his skin, while violent vibrations tore apart the carbonized layers.

Yet facing this adverse situation, Bloodclaw didn’t panic. He continued glaring with pure hatred at the rapidly moving Punk, emitting an inhuman roar from his throat.

With another burst of life energy, Bloodclaw’s already bloodied wings didn’t continue flapping but instead suddenly exploded. As the blood mist erupted, the tremendous propulsion launched him out of the Kinetic Shockwave’s affected area straight toward Punk.

Seeing Bloodclaw’s desperate lunge, Punk immediately recognized his opponent’s suicidal intent. He promptly commanded the three shadow wolves on the ground to intercept while simultaneously beginning to prepare another spell.By this point in the battle, Punk had keenly recognized Bloodclaw’s precarious state of “a final flare-up before extinction.” His current ferocity in withstanding the “Kinetic Shockwave” was merely driven by a desperate, life-risking determination. The massive severe injuries had already doomed Bloodclaw to hold out for only a limited time.

However, the life energy of those three “Doclayna Man-Eating Fruits” forced Punk to remain cautious. According to his perception, they were continuously compressing and merging within Bloodclaw’s body, appearing unmistakably like a ticking time bomb.

“Bloodclaw’s life energy feels rather eerie. Getting entangled would be troublesome, but as long as I prevent him from getting close… I believe his injuries will cause him to collapse soon.”

After careful observation, Punk calmly thought to himself.

Bloodclaw’s demeanor clearly suggested he intended to pull off a “classic self-destruction,” but Punk would never give this guy any chance to succeed.

(End of Chapter)