I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

«It’s not too late, and I’ll give you one last chance.» Maelor looked at Lian again.

«Hand over the prisoners, put your weapons on the ground, answer the questions we ask you, and I guarantee that the rest of the Outsiders will stay alive.»

«I heard the same offer a few minutes ago.» Lian slightly turned his head toward Kael and his eyes fell on the defeated body of the border commander.

«The result is right there.» He did not know if these idiots were ever going to get tired of making offers.

Several Awakeners gave short smiles.

But not a single Cindari soldier laughed.

«Kael is the border commander.» Maelor was silent for a moment and then said.

The golden roots behind him rose into the air.

Some of them passed higher than the buildings beside the bridge and twisted above the battlefield like huge tentacles.

«I am Vhalaris itself, defeating him does not mean you can defeat me too!»

«Then defeating you should end the battle faster.» The lightning around Lian’s fists became stronger.

The city lord looked directly at this savage human and then released the true weight of his presence across the entire bridge.

The stone floor shook, the walls around them moved, and roots as thick as a human body came out from under the stone floor.

’His Level is not high, but I don’t know why I have a bad feeling about this.’ Lian frowned, ever since this Cindari arrived, his senses had been giving him a constant warning that was unlike anything he had felt from his previous enemies.

But if he only looked at him through his Level, a Level 30 creature, unless he was a Fallen, should not be any threat to him.

He thought for a moment and then understood the answer.

In fact, the answer was obvious and could be understood with one look.

Maelor was Level 30 by himself.

But as long as he fought inside Vhalaris, the entire city became part of his power.

The city lord slowly closed his fingers, the roots that had come out of the ground rushed toward Lian like huge snakes.

Every root was covered in layers of iron and Mana. Some of their tips were sharpened like spears, while others were made to wrap around and crush their targets.

Lian activated Thunder Step, blue lightning exploded where he had been standing, and the first wave of roots hit empty space and shattered the stone floor.

He appeared several meters away, but unlike normal attacks, the roots changed their path.

They twisted across the surface of the bridge, climbed up the walls, and rushed toward him again.

Lian activated Thunder Step for the second time, this time he appeared on the short wall of the bridge.

But the wall under his feet changed shape, stone and roots joined together and tried to swallow his foot like a huge mouth.

”So annoying.” He jumped into the air and whispered calmly, now he understood the main reason why his enemy was so dangerous.

«Every stone, every wall, and every root in this city listens to my command, now do you understand? You have no chance!» Maelor said.

”Let me show you the true power of the Cindari!”

He closed his palm.

[Living City Dominion.]

The entire space around Lian changed, the two walls beside the bridge began to move.

Stone and iron pressed toward him from both sides, the stone floor under his feet rose up, roots twisted from above and below and blocked every way out.

In less than a second, he was trapped inside a cube made of stone, metal, and roots, the pressure increased from every direction.

”This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this.” He looked at the cube he was trapped inside.

He had no doubt that if any other Awakener besides him were trapped inside it, their fate would be death, completely and without any chance.

But unfortunately, the city lord did not know that he had chosen the wrong enemy.

The sound of metal plates scraping against each other spread across the battlefield.

When the Cindari soldiers saw this scene, they raised their weapons again and one of the officers shouted.

«The Rootwarden is crushing him!»

Cheers rose from the army, at first they were scattered, and then more soldiers joined them.

Those who had lost hope a few moments ago after seeing Kael’s defeat now believed that Maelor was exactly what they needed to end this nightmare.

One of the Rootbound Wardens said excitedly.

«No Outsider can resist the city itself!»

On the human side, several people took a step back, Liana looked at the compressed structure that Lian was trapped inside.

«It’s getting smaller.»

Seraphina held the handle of her sword tighter, and worry could be seen in her eyes.

Seris, without any clear worry, only looked at the center of the structure.

«Can he get out of that?» Rindo asked, even though he had seen unbelievable things from Lian until now, he doubted that even Lian himself could escape from what he was seeing now.

«Yes.» Seris said.

Her tone was so confident that the Student Council President looked at her for a moment.

Inside the trap, the pressure increased every second.

Reinforced roots were wrapped around Lian’s chest, shoulders, and legs. Two walls were pressing his body from both sides, and the stone floor under his feet had risen.

[Diamond Skin.]

His skin and body tissues became hard, the pressure could crush a normal Warrior’s body in a few seconds.

The pressure was strong enough to crush and kill almost any Awakener who had not yet gone through the First Evolution.

But there were exceptions, for example, there was a good chance that Seris could escape from this.

And above them all... there was Lian.

His muscles tightened, the walls moved several more centimeters closer, but they could not crush his chest.

He placed both palms against the stone plates on both sides.

He could break it very soon, but he had decided to use it to some extent to gain experience and learn how to deal with attacks like this.

He realized that he could not break it with only raw strength and physical power, so Mana gathered inside his channels.

[Cataclysm Pulse.]

A wave of destruction entered the structure around him directly.

For a moment, nothing changed, then very thin cracks appeared under his fingers.

The cracks spread across the stone, reached the Steel, entered the roots, and in less than a second, the entire chamber exploded from the inside.

”Huh? It... broke apart?” The sound of the explosion cut off the Cindari cheers.

Pieces of stone, roots, and metal spread across the entire bridge, thick dust covered the battlefield.

”How is that possible?”

”That thing carried the power of the city! How? Damn it, how?”

Several soldiers raised their shields to stop the pieces from hitting them.

A shadow moved through the dust, Lian calmly walked out, part of his armor was more damaged, and red lines could be seen on the skin of his hands and neck.

But there was no serious damage, his breathing was still steady.

The Cindari cheers went silent at that moment, the soldier who had shouted in victory a few seconds ago closed his mouth.

«You have a strong body.» Maelor kept the same expression, but his eyes became more serious.

«I’ve heard that before.» Lian brushed the dust off his shoulder.

Thunder Step activated, blue light cut through the battlefield.

He appeared directly in front of Maelor, and Thunder Calamity gathered around his right fist.

Lightning wrapped around his arm and shoulder, and his fist moved toward the city lord’s face.

But before it could hit, three layers of golden roots came out of the ground.

The first layer broke apart from Lian’s punch, the second lasted less than a moment, and the third also broke from the center, but that short delay gave Maelor enough time to move several meters back.

Even so, the lightning wave passed through the broken layer, and the electricity reached Maelor’s right arm.

His muscles tightened for a moment, and his fingers became numb.

The Rootwarden looked at his hand, a direct attack had reached him through the city’s full defense.

The Cindari soldiers saw it too.

The shield Maelor had created with Vhalaris’s power had failed to completely stop Lian’s punch.

The city lord no longer intended to test his power, he understood that he was not facing a normal enemy, and if he did not use everything he had, he would be in serious trouble.

He placed both hands on the ground, golden lines under his skin began to shine.

[Heartroot Invocation.]

[Guardian of the First City.]

The entire bridge shook, golden roots moved from the buildings, towers, and under the stone floor toward one point.

Steel separated from the walls, stones rose into the air, and thick roots twisted around each other.

Behind Maelor, a huge figure began to take shape.

First the legs.

Then a huge body.

Arms as thick as the guard towers.

And finally, a faceless head with a golden flame burning inside its opening.

The root giant was more than thirty meters tall.

Its body was made of iron, stone, and Mana.

Maelor was placed inside a transparent chamber in the center of its chest, roots wrapped around his body and connected him to the city’s Network.

The Guardian’s eyes opened with golden light, and a deep sound came from inside its body.

The Cindari soldiers remained still for several seconds, then one of the officers raised his sword.

«Vhalaris has awakened!» The shout spread through the army.

«The Rootwarden will not lose!»

Several soldiers who had dropped their weapons earlier picked them up again.

Hope returned this time much stronger, Kael had been defeated, but Kael was only one person.

The Guardian of the First City itself was considered the symbol of Vhalaris.

A giant that, according to the legends, had protected the city from the attacks of thousands of monsters in the past.

The weaker Awakeners unconsciously stepped back, the Guardian’s shadow covered a large part of the battlefield.

”Come on, a golem? How does something like this even get created randomly?” Lian did not know whether to laugh or be surprised.

Seeing a golem was not something he had expected.

Golems like this were generally rare, and it was very uncommon to see monsters that had the ability to control and create golems.

And the knowledge of creating them was still mostly in the hands of the native civilizations of the Ruined Realms, and the Awakeners had managed to obtain this knowledge from the remains of one of these civilizations in the past.

And that was why Lian did not expect the Cindari to be able to do something like this either, although this was more of a Skill than a science.

On the other hand, the other Awakeners were also shocked.

«Is he still Level 30?» Liana raised her head in disbelief.

Seraphina stepped forward.

«He still doesn’t need help.» But Seris grabbed her arm.

«If that thing falls on his head, even Lian—» Seraphina frowned.

Seris did not take her eyes off the Guardian.

«First, he needs to be able to hit him.»

The root giant raised its right fist, its movement seemed slow, but the size of its arm allowed it to cover a large distance in a short time.

The fist came down toward Lian, Thunder Step activated, he moved out of the way and the Guardian’s fist hit the bridge.

The stone floor shattered across a large area, and the shockwave forced the nearby soldiers and Awakeners to move back.

Before the dust could settle, hundreds of sharp roots came out from the Guardian’s shoulders and back.

Each one was like a long spear reinforced with Steel.

«Let’s see how many times you can run away.» Maelor said from inside the giant.

The roots shot forward, and Predator’s Instincts sent repeated warnings through Lian’s entire body.

Danger from above.

Behind him.

From the left.

Under his feet.

Thunder Step activated again and again, blue lights appeared at different points across the bridge.

Every time Lian moved past one of the attacks, several root spears landed where he had been standing and pierced through the stone.

One of the spears passed beside his face, the second came close to his shoulder...