The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 266: Besieged by Hellhounds (1)

The Calamity Valley, according to what Fruity knew from his past self, is a region—or more like an entire continent—in the Tormented World, where various kinds of monsters live. In this world, the monsters are referred to as Demons.

Although he doesnʼt have all the knowledge, the little he does have is enough to inform him that the monsters in this world are more sentient than those in his own world.

When they grow to a certain stage, they can take human form and communicate as humans do. However, although they can take human form, they retain some of their monster features, making them distinguishable from humans.

This also means they are intelligent creatures, and because Fruity knew the knowledge he had was probably outdated, he started his journey with his full strength restored. He had become a Saint, which meant he had formed his Star Core, but he still hadnʼt saturated it enough to advance to the Sage Stage.

He still needed a lot more resources to do that, so he knew he had to tread carefully. After two weeks of travel, he finally arrived at the borders of Calamity Valley.

”This is going to be dangerous.” Standing atop a mountain and overlooking the vast expanse of calamity lying in wait for him to traverse, Fruity could only smile before stepping into the air.

He had become a Saint, so to a certain extent, he could walk in the air. Fruity had no experience in this field whatsoever, but if you have memories of your past self, you can do much more than just walk.

After moving through the air for a few hours, he finally entered Calamity Valley, making him descend to the ground and continue on foot.

It took him another week just to move through a grassy field. He encountered a few monsters, but they werenʼt that strong, so he simply devoured them and continued his journey.

His Devouring Ice allows him to consume anything and extract its essence energy, with a part absorbed into his Star Core and another part absorbed by the Devouring Ice.

So far, his Devouring Ice is the strongest of the three because he has been using it ever since he woke up.

However, that doesnʼt mean the others arenʼt powerful. He just doesnʼt have to use them unless itʼs necessary. He also knew that once he obtained Ice-type monsters, he could absorb their cores to strengthen the other types of ice.

For a while, as he moved through the valley using the layout from the map he received from his past self, he never stopped killing.

”I should be nearing the territory of the Single Horn Flame Lions.” After a month of entering the valley, he began to approach a territory he recognized from the map.

”They should be peaceful enough, according to what my past self indicated.” Fruity smiled and then started walking toward the region.

He planned to pass through there to reach the Cracked Path, where, according to the map, he would have to cross within a day, or more precisely, before sunset; otherwise, he was done for. He had to move fast, so without hesitation, he entered the territory of the Single Horn Flame Lions.

A day later, he appeared outside a camp manned by a few figures walking around the perimeter. Fruity activated his Eye of Despair and decided to investigate.

However, just as he activated it, he sensed some figures approaching. Looking with his enhanced vision, he immediately recognized them as Hellhounds.

He immediately took to his heels and dashed away. However, he was already discovered. The reason he ran was that the Hellhounds, true to their name, were a dangerous kind of dog-like monster that hunted for blood.

They were flame-type monsters specialized in hunting. They tracked their prey through scent and blood, making escape very difficult.

Fruity spared no expense as he pushed his speed to the limit, but he had only been moving for a couple of minutes when he sensed more Hellhounds approaching from all directions.

”How come I didnʼt notice them? I was being careful,” Fruity muttered, extending his senses to look for an opening.

”If I go east, I might be able to break through faster before their reinforcements arrive. Maybe I can escape by then,” he muttered, running toward the east.

He ran toward the east, knowing he had to go south if he wanted to continue his journey as planned. But he couldnʼt do that. With thousands of Tier 5 and Tier 6 Hellhounds approaching, each exuding a powerful aura, he knew he had to escape first and then find a way to continue.

”Almost there,” he muttered, realizing that the only way out would be to fight and create an opening in the eastern section quickly to escape.

When he was about a kilometer from the approaching Hellhounds, he raised his staff, and dark ice began exuding from it.

”Annihilation Ice: Ground Frost Arrows!” He stopped and jammed the staff into the ground, instantly freezing the space around him.

From the frozen ground, ice arrows began shooting up. The Hellhounds that came within range were instantly annihilated. However, it didnʼt stop there; when the ice landed on the monsters, it began to spread, creating a form of ground domain that would annihilate any Hellhound that stepped on it.

It was very powerful, but it required significant stamina and Qi. This meant Fruity could only use it for a limited amount of time.

”Chaotic Ice: Icy Wind,” Fruity activated another technique, and this time, as the monsters started to freeze, a powerful icy wind began to blow.

There were no visible changes to the environment due to the ice; however, when the wind reached the approaching Hellhounds, it was as though their minds were taken over by something.

The Tier 5 Hellhounds began to kill each other as if they had instantly lost their minds. The primary property of Chaotic Ice was chaos and disorder. Unlike the Annihilation Ice, which obliterates anything it touches, or the Devouring Ice, which consumes everything, Chaos Ice was more of a mental attack.

It created chaos on the battlefield. Fruity knew that with such a large number of enemies, he could control the disorder and let some of the monsters kill each other. This, of course, only worked on the Tier 5 Hellhounds.

His soul strength wasnʼt strong enough to affect the higher-tiered monsters, so he could only target those in the same realm as him.

”Unless, of course, something were to happen to weaken their souls, causing them to lose control for a moment,” Fruity muttered with a smile, despite the chaos raging around him.

With a sudden thought, the Pentaface Bead appeared behind him. Then he muttered something, and the first face turned forward. From that face, a bell appeared—the Bell of Harrows.

Ding!

After enlarging to a certain size, it rang, sending a shockwave of soul and sonic attacks across the entire battlefield. At the same time, Fruity repeated the Chaotic Ice technique. This time, when the skill was unleashed, both the Tier 5 and Tier 6 Hellhounds went into a frenzy, attacking each other.

”All I needed was to think and strategize. Now I can kill them all and move through this section unimpeded,” Fruity muttered as he prepared to unleash another attack.

The soul attack from the Bell of Harrows had cracked the monstersʼ soul defenses, allowing the Chaos Ice to infiltrate their minds and souls. The result was clear.

”10% of my spiritual qi has been used up already. I need to end this quickly,” he said, moving toward a certain direction. A while later, he stopped, gripping the staff with both hands.

”Annihilation Ice: Total Annihilation!” A wave of ice burst forth, creating a tsunami of ice that swept across the battlefield, destroying everything in its path. The attack was so powerful that even Fruity, who had activated it, was forced to use his staff to brace himself to avoid being blown away.

The entire space suddenly fell silent. Fruity smiled, knowing that, for now, he had killed the thousands of Hellhounds pursuing him. By the time more arrived, he would be long gone.

But before his smile could fully form, a powerful attack tore through the sky, aimed directly at him.

”Human, die!” A cold voice reverberated across the space, shattering the ice that had spread everywhere. Fruity spun his staff, raising an ice wall, but it was instantly shattered as the attack landed, the shockwave sending him flying.

Suddenly, a figure about 4 meters tall, muscular with jagged features, wielding a large rod, appeared in the sky. Before Fruity could register this new arrival, another fire attack came flying toward him.