Chapter 84: The Ripper and the Young Fox

This was a Thunder Lizard with a purplish hue—signifying that, even in the Dragonflight Desert, it ranked among the most formidable of its kind. Adult, robust, brimming with potent lightning energy, seasoned in battle, and savagely violent.

“Autumn Rain Slash!” Venigo growled, his chainsaw sword stabbing rapidly at the Thunder Lizard’s chest. Autumn Rain was swift, though lacking in power; yet the chainsaw sword, unlike ordinary weapons, had a blade moving at such speed that even a glancing touch could inflict a fearsome, brutal rending.

Not even the Thunder Lizard’s armored scales could resist! At the first contact, six wounds opened on its chest, blood spurting forth.

The wounds left by the chainsaw sword were jagged, torn open with such violence they would not easily heal.

“Tiger Fang Break!” Venigo pressed his advantage, launching another ferocious assault. The chainsaw sword slashed upward, then chopped down with force, tracing two sharp arcs through the air.

The Thunder Lizard roared in furious pain, rearing its head, sparks of lightning crackling inside its mouth.

“Phoenix Ascends!” Venigo, unhurried, became a blaze of fire that shot skyward and then dived from above. His maneuver evaded the Thunder Lizard’s breath, turning the attack back upon the beast.

Three consecutive attacks, each fiercer than the last—even the Thunder Lizard’s formidable defenses were battered by Venigo’s chainsaw sword, leaving its body mangled and ghastly to behold.

Yet such a behemoth only grew more dangerous as it was wounded.

The Thunder Lizard suddenly bowed its head; from its scales, dazzling purple lightning burst forth, surging wildly in all directions.

“As I thought—this isn’t one of those subspecies we encountered before, but a true magical beast wielding the power of lightning! Only such prey is worthy,” Venigo mused.

Jets of air erupted beneath his feet, propelling him deftly through the air, weaving past the rampaging currents. Looking down, he saw Cait Sith, body swelling as a shield to protect Honey and Sophie. Venigo smiled.

As for the Wolf Princess, she had already dashed a hundred meters away, watching the fray from afar. If Venigo hadn’t expressly forbidden it, she’d have already gone off to hunt some hatchlings.

Cait Sith Sharpclaw’s soul-mimicry was a fine ability. At this moment, it had assumed its strongest magical defense form—the Obsidian Mode—using its own body as a shield to block the Thunder Lizard’s furious lightning strike.

Though such a blow would have gravely injured it, Honey’s pocket contained plenty of tricolor gummies capable of bringing it back to life—though Honey treated these as a rare snack, they were in truth blessed restorative potions that could heal wounds instantly.

Venigo landed from midair, accelerated, and reappeared above the Thunder Lizard, coming to rest squarely on its spine.

Secret Technique: Demonic Twin Cleave!

Two deep, bone-revealing gashes appeared on the Thunder Lizard’s long neck. Venigo looked at the wounds and let out a quiet laugh.

Fantasy Skill: Nether Sky Cleaving Sword!

Brilliant light radiated from his weapon, spiraling around the chainsaw sword and condensing in the air into a crescent slash that fell with crushing force. In that shining arc was Venigo’s all-out, upward swing followed by a devastating downward chop with his chainsaw sword.

A single sword stroke to decide life and death—such was the Nether Sky Cleaving Sword.

Venigo’s godly power was precious, but he did not hesitate to infuse it into an imaginary construct at the right moment, for he needed plentiful practice to master the newly acquired “function.”

Take, for example, the Nether Sky Cleaving Sword.

Without using it, Venigo would never have known that this stroke converted all the mercury in his body into the power of imagination, pouring it into the blade—a true do-or-die move. Once the sword was swung, regardless of the outcome, Venigo would be forcibly ejected from his imaginary construct, reverting to an ordinary man.

But the power of this stroke… Not to mention an adult Thunder Lizard—even a true pure-blooded dragon might fall, gravely wounded, before it.

Otherwise, how could it justify such a cost, or be worthy of the name Nether Sky Cleaving Sword?

“Sophie, Arcana, help out. Big Cat, stay alert,” Venigo said, somewhat weakened. “Ramen, come out!”

His magical pet Ramen appeared before him, nodding its head. Clever creature—it sidled over, slung off its backpack, and set it down.

Venigo retrieved the pack, took out a new silver canteen, and fastened it to his belt. He quietly waited as time passed, watching Ronnie’s group struggle in a fierce battle against two more Thunder Lizards.

Ronnie’s squad was larger, better equipped, and individually strong, yet these two females were somewhat weaker than the one Venigo had just slain. Even so, the fight was grueling.

Only with the arrival of Sophie and the Wolf Princess did the pressure on Ronnie’s team ease.

Venigo waited until his own abilities stabilized, then once more used an imaginary construct.

This time, he activated the Level 30 Aberrant Scholar.

“Purification Alchemy,” Venigo announced, beginning to “process” the slain Thunder Lizard. Through the “Essence Extraction” effect of Purification Alchemy, the dragon blood within the Thunder Lizard condensed in his hand into pigeon-egg-sized crimson crystals.

Each one retained only the Thunder Lizard’s potent life energy, purged of all impurities.

Meanwhile, Venigo also obtained some ochre-colored crystal beads—the purified essence of thunder—excellent materials for alchemy.

On the other side, Sophie unleashed Form Thirty-Two: Collapsing Gate upon the Thunder Lizard’s head. Her blade was not sharp enough to cleave the beast’s skull, but the heavy sword and the crushing force of her technique cracked the skull, leaving the Thunder Lizard semi-conscious.

At that instant, the Wolf Princess howled and charged, sprinting up the Thunder Lizard’s long neck to its head. She stabbed furiously into the fissure Sophie had made.

Magical light flickered along the blades of her Wolf Spider Claws, whose sharpness and durability compensated for her lack of raw power. The attack struck precisely at the fractured spot. With just a few strikes, she pierced the skull of the adult Thunder Lizard.

Overcome with excitement, the Wolf Princess threw back her head and howled to the sky, darting around in a frenzy, kicking up clouds of dust. Venigo only smiled, watching her wild celebration, and when she finally calmed, he scooped her up and pulled her close.

The two groups amicably divided the spoils. Upon returning to town, Venigo used the last of his Pure Pearl godly power to create the Level 30 template of “Ritchy,” the protagonist of Swordsmith’s Tale.

Ritchy’s profession was forge-master; they could “disassemble” materials into elements, then “assemble” them into desired weapons, infusing them with magic ore. With godly power, Venigo could now forge most weapons and craft any weapon he wished.

The process depended on the world’s rules, so adjustments were needed. But the necessary tools were indispensable. Venigo promptly rented out the entire smithy, spending three days using up all the materials he had—and everything in the forge as well.

The magical properties of the finished weapons were random—such was the limitation of the forge-master. However, Venigo could specify the weapon’s type. Thus, from among the various weapons he crafted, he chose the one that pleased him most for future role construction, and sold the rest at fair prices to Old Ronnie and Merak’s teams.

After they had bought all they needed, Venigo sold the remaining second-tier items in bulk to the other adventurers still in town, making a handsome profit.

He immediately exchanged the gold coins for large quantities of relatively cheap ores, grains, and other materials at Mrs. Friese’s trading company—some of which had been sitting in the company’s warehouse for over half a year, so they were happy to sell at low prices.

However, after this round of dealings, Venigo’s wares were no longer in demand for the time being. He could only use his forge-master abilities to break down the mineral materials into “elements,” then further “purify” them as an alchemist into refined ingots, which he shipped back in bulk to Prism Manor—his base in the Free Paradise.

As for the grains, Venigo simply used Nanoka’s ability “Food Alchemy” to produce all manner of curious products. Though the processes consumed a fair amount of mercury, with his current strength, his production role constructs were highly profitable.

The only annoyance was the Pure Pearl’s abysmally slow recovery of godly power.

At this rate, after two more uses, he would no longer be able to use the Pure Pearl for godly infusions.

The Black Pearl could still be used, but infusing godly power with it would mostly produce sinister characters—bringing them out in the open would surely tarnish the party’s reputation.

During this time, Venigo did one more thing. He had some items from Nua’s laboratory—not immediately useful, but suitable as tokens.

So, Venigo used evil godly power to create a tyrannical presence: Akuma. He stormed into Sir Bear’s manor, ruthlessly defeating several guards, and, invoking the authority of the Brotherhood of the Infernal Pit, demanded the godly statue from Sir Bear.

Sir Bear, thinking he understood the intentions of this evil warrior, believed the Bleating Order did not wish their involvement revealed and had staged a robbery to “steal” the statue that he should have delivered. Thus, he played along and allowed himself to be robbed.

Would I be so kind as to tell you that Venigo had nothing to do with the Bleating Order?