Beyond the Apocalypse-Chapter 602: Wounding the Dark Humanoid Automaton

Despite the wound on the Dark Humanoid Automaton’s knee, which might have crippled an ordinary Sage-tier golem, it was merely a minor inconvenience for a Half-Step Legend. Even so, the damage hindered its speed enough that, when it raised its massive bastard sword to crush Vlad, the Depravita had time to leap backward and evade the strike.

Glancing at each other, Vlad and Jormungandr nodded, silently agreeing on their strategy. They continued to coordinate their attacks, searching for vulnerable points on the automaton’s formidable body.

A barrage of fireballs soared through the air, detonating against the automaton’s thick armor plates. While these flames scarcely did more than nick its surface, the ensuing explosions blinded it momentarily with smoke and heat, allowing Vlad to slip behind the creature unseen. In a single fluid motion, the Depravita of Wrath slashed at its left ankle. The blade left only a narrow cut, but the Mark of Cain caused the wound to expand a moment later, providing an opening for arcs of lightning—launched by Jormungandr—to surge inside, scorching the automaton from within.

Recognizing the danger, the Dark Humanoid Automaton turned on Vlad, eyes flaring with rudimentary intelligence. This time, it reacted with formidable speed, sweeping its bastard sword in a broad arc.

There was no room for Vlad to dodge. He clenched his teeth, steeled his muscles, and braced the flat of his sword in a defensive posture. Putting every ounce of strength into his arms and shoulders, Vlad channeled his Force to absorb the brunt of the impact.

"BOOOOOMMMMM!"

A tremendous kinetic blast reverberated through the room as the automaton’s sword met Vlad’s parry. Though the blow was overwhelming, Vlad’s skillful manipulation of Force reduced the worst of it, allowing him to vault backward just in time. Even so, the collision flung him across the floor in a controlled slide, his limbs trembling from the exertion and his injured arm throbbing with pain.

The Dark Humanoid Automaton’s eyes burned with mechanical determination. It lunged forward, ready to follow up and smash Vlad. But the gouges on its knee and ankle prevented it from closing the gap before dozens of lightning-infused chains of fire erupted from the stone floor. With arcs of lightning dancing along their blazing links, they coiled around its limbs, locking it in place.

"You’re not going anywhere," Jormungandr snapped, standing away with his paw raised. The cat’s eyes glowed coldly as he channeled an immense amount of Magic into his spell. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

For a fraction of a second, the massive automaton strained against its bindings, testing their integrity. Then, with a fierce burst of physical power, it tore through the chains as though they were paper, sending shards of molten metal and flickers of lightning scattering across the floor. Immediately, it pivoted toward Jormungandr, sword raised to strike.

Undeterred, the small yellow cat narrowed his gaze. A portion of his Depravita Aura coalesced inside his energy pool, fueling a potent attack.

"World Snake Burst!" Jormungandr roared.

Instantly, a massive serpent’s head—composed of solidified fire and lightning—sprang forth from his mouth. The blazing construct lunged across the space between them with astonishing speed, forcing the automaton to react rather than press its advantage.

"BOOOOOOMMMMMM!"

Another explosive collision rattled the entire chamber as the golem’s bastard sword clashed with the fiery serpent. Sparks of lightning and embers of flame scattered in all directions. The Depravita Aura woven into Jormungandr’s spell was formidable, but the automaton’s sword carved steadily through the writhing snake’s head, sending arcs of sizzling energy ricocheting off the walls.

Just before the Dark Humanoid Automaton succeeded in severing the fiery construct entirely, Vlad reappeared behind it, swinging his sword in a diagonal slash. This time, he infused the blade with his own Depravita Aura, forging a potent cutting edge. The blow bit into the automaton’s right shoulder, leaving a fist-sized laceration that tripled in size within a heartbeat, magnified by the combined powers of the Mark of Cain and Vlad’s Runic Set.

Although the automaton took the hit, it refused to yield. With the flaming serpent about to vanish, it completed its slash, cleaving the fiery magic in half. At the same moment, it lashed out with its left forearm, catching Vlad in the chest. The impact hurled the Depravita of Wrath backward, blood spraying from his mouth as he collided with a wall.

Jormungandr channeled fresh arcs of lightning sink into the open wound on the golem’s shoulder. The dark creation’s right arm twitched, struggling under the accumulative damage. Yet, demonstrating its fearsome adaptability, the automaton released its grip on the bastard sword altogether.

A flicker of something like cunning flashed through its glowing eyes as it kicked the sword’s hilt, sending the massive weapon hurtling at Jormungandr like a deadly projectile.

The cat’s eyes widened, and he hastily summoned lightning shields in the sword’s path. Each barrier shattered as though it were no more than glass. The blade continued forward, unstoppable. In a matter of seconds, the tip of the sword was a mere five meters from Jormungandr’s chest.

Lacking the raw physical power that Vlad or the other Sky Seed Depravitas possessed, Jormungandr knew he couldn’t block such force with brute strength. But he had anticipated such weaknesses and prepared a workaround. At the last moment, the metallic robe around him flared with energy, forming a powerful magnetic force field in front of him. This sudden barrier stalled the bastard sword’s momentum for just a split second, buying Jormungandr enough time to muster one more explosive wave of magic.

A roaring pillar of fire and lightning burst from his body, colliding with the airborne sword. The combined energies diverted its trajectory upward, sending the sword soaring overhead and embedding itself in the ceiling with a deafening crunch.

Panting from his narrow escape, Jormungandr refused to let shock distract him. His eyes gleamed with cold resolve. Across the room, Vlad had managed to stagger back to his feet, a grim but determined grin on his face. The Depravita of Wrath forced himself to ignore the pain in his bruised ribs.

Vlad lunged forward to deliver another slash. This time, he aimed for the automaton’s left leg. The Mark of Cain flared once more, creating a spreading wound. The moment Vlad leaped aside, lightning arcs from Jormungandr blasted into the injury, intensifying the internal damage.

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