The Elven Cultivator

Moreover, judging by the Elves’ words, this man was their Clan Leader.

’The Lord of Nine Nether City?’

A chill shot up the Rock Beast Ghost leader’s spine to the crown of his head, making all the hair on his body stand on end.

Gustus’s central pupil trembled slightly, and the small eyeballs on his eyestalks twitched restlessly.

He desperately wanted to turn and flee, but the blood-colored barrier remained. The crack that had been forced open just a moment ago had already repaired itself in an instant.

They had nowhere to run.

Anton descended from the sky, his gaze sweeping over Romance, Darian, Laine, and the others. Seeing they had only suffered minor injuries and were in no serious danger, he gave a slight nod.

”As long as you’re all right.”

He said no more. His gaze moved past them and settled on the strange Golem.

It was a source of cold, immense energy that felt completely out of place, like a burning torch in the dead of night—impossible to ignore.

”Anton, this Golem’s power is at the Legendary Tier,” Romance warned in a low voice.

A flicker of surprise crossed Anton’s face.

Darian chimed in, quickly recounting in a low voice everything that had just transpired.

”It instantly killed an Upper Gold?”

Anton raised an eyebrow, and the look he gave the Golem grew a little more serious.

’He’d seen Legendary Tier Golems before.’

’Whether it was the Mithril Sage or the Deep Dark Golem, both were renowned Legendary Alchemy Puppets on the Dawn Continent.’

’It was just that both of these Golems would only appear several hundred years in the future, once Demon Crystal technology had reached a certain level.’

’At present, the most powerful Golems on the Dawn Continent were merely Upper Gold.’

’There weren’t even any at the Golden Peak.’

’The crucial point was that the Golem before him matched none of the Legendary Golems in his memory.’

’Its design, its energy signature, and even the metallic patterns glowing faintly on its surface were completely different from any future school of alchemy he could recall.’

’This was quite a surprise.’

’There was actually a Golem on the Dawn Continent today that he didn’t recognize?’

Anton grew increasingly curious.

But he didn’t delay any longer.

The blood-colored barrier was still draining the Elves’ Life Force. Although potions could slow the drain, their supply wasn’t infinite. The longer this dragged on, the more they would lose.

’I need to end this quickly.’

With a flicker of movement, Anton shot toward the Golem.

His movement seemed to flip a switch.

The previously motionless Golem suddenly snapped its head up.

The energy vortices within its hollow eye sockets blazed to life, transforming from bottomless darkness into incandescent white light, like two miniature stars igniting.

The metallic patterns, which had been glowing faintly on its surface, now blazed as well, spreading from its core to its limbs like blood surging through veins.

A suffocating pressure radiated in all directions as if it were a physical thing, and the very air grew stagnant and heavy.

Everyone present felt their chests tighten, as though a heavy boulder were pressing down on them, creating the illusion that they couldn’t breathe.

Some of the weaker Elven soldiers turned pale and unconsciously took a few steps back, their hands gripping their sword hilts.

In that instant, many faces fell.

They realized with a shock that the Golem hadn’t been using its full strength until now.

This was its true power unleashed!

Anton’s expression remained placid. With a mere thought, the Sword Pill leaped from his chest.

The dark golden sword light paused in mid-air for a heartbeat, then suddenly multiplied.

One hundred and twenty-eight streaks of sword light shot toward the Golem, blanketing the area like a river of stars pouring down from the heavens.

Wherever the sword light passed, the air tore with a piercing shriek. Even the crimson light of the barrier was sliced into countless fragments, leaving momentary voids in its wake.

The Golem’s reaction was stunningly fast.

The greatsword in its right hand swept out horizontally. The dark light flowing across its blade flared to an extreme intensity, resembling a bolt of solid black lightning as it slashed forth with terrifying, space-rending power.

Where the blade passed, visible ripples were cut into the air, and loose rubble on the ground tumbled and bounced in the fierce wind.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The instant the sword light collided with the greatsword, a dense cacophony of metal on metal rang out, incessant as a downpour on a tin roof.

Sparks exploded in the air like fireworks, each one falling as a burning ember.

Each strike of the greatsword was immensely powerful, knocking back the streaks of sword light it met.

However, there were simply too many of them.

They attacked from all directions, their trajectories cunning and unpredictable.

While the Golem’s greatsword could block the frontal assault, it struggled to defend against the attacks coming from its flanks and rear.

SHREEE!

Streaks of sword light raked across the Golem’s body, leaving deep gashes in their wake.

Shards of metal flew, revealing an even darker material beneath. Tiny arcs of electricity danced faintly along the edges of the wounds.

An increasingly loud hum erupted from within the Golem as it suddenly punched out with its left fist.

The concentrated force field on its fist detonated, expanding outward in a visible, transparent ripple.

As the ripple passed, the streaks of sword light faltered, their trajectories briefly thrown off course.

Seizing this opening, the Golem swept its greatsword again and again, viciously batting away the surrounding sword light.

Anton watched this, his expression unchanging. His Magical Power surged, and a massive, earthy-yellow hand erupted from the crown of his head.

The hand was of ordinary size at first, but it expanded rapidly the moment it left his body. Its five fingers spread, and in an instant, it had grown to a tremendous size, blotting out the sky.

Earthy-yellow light flowed across its palm and fingers, carrying the immense weight and solidity of the earth as it slammed down toward the Golem!

Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand!

The world suddenly grew heavy.

The air instantly became stagnant, as if the entire dome of the sky were pressing down.

In that instant, the immense downward wave of force slammed every mote of floating dust and debris to the ground, so that no stones were sent flying and no dust was kicked up.

The Golem sensed the mortal threat. It raised its greatsword high overhead as the force field on its blade condensed into a thick barrier. Layer upon layer of dark light stacked together, forming what looked like a tower shield forged from pure energy.

The next instant, the earthy-yellow hand descended like a collapsing sky, bringing the weight of the entire world down with it.

BOOM!!!

A deafening boom erupted. Rubble flew outward in waves, the ground trembled violently, and the stone walls at the edge of the basin fractured into a web of cracks.

A violent shockwave swept out like a flood, forcing the surrounding Elves and subterranean creatures to stagger back.

When they finally managed to regain their footing and focus their gaze, they discovered the Golem had been smashed into the ground by the palm strike. Most of its body was embedded in the rubble, with only its head, shoulders, and upper torso exposed.

Its metal body was covered in a network of fine cracks from which the dark light within bled out like blood.

The greatsword lay fallen to one side, the dark light on its blade flickering like a candle in the wind.

The onlookers stared at the scene, dumbfounded. Their mouths hung open, utterly speechless.