1280 A worthy opponent?

In the dim light of the tunnel, the mass of writhing, metallic centipedes presented a nightmarish sight.

Their bodies intertwined and coiled around each other, creating a wall of moving metal and sharp appendages. The sound of their movement was like the clattering of a thousand swords, a cacophony that echoed through the tunnels.

Liam assessed the situation with a cool head. The sheer number of centipedes meant that this was likely the heart of the nest, the central point from which they were all controlled or originated.

It was also possible that the boss monster or, the central figure controlling these creatures, was nearby. He would have to defeat that probably to get out of this floor.

Since the individual centipedes themselves did not present much threat, he left Luna to handle the other matters and stepped into the nest with his sword drawn out.

As soon as he moved, the crawling centipedes noticed his presence. They let out a cacophony of screeching noises that was extremely disorienting even for Liam that he was forced to use a mana barrier to block out the ruckus.

Surprisingly, there was still a loud thrumming noise and this one came from his sword. "You have become more noisy lately." Liam glanced at the thing. He could sense that the sword badly wanted something from this cave.

But this presented a problem. When the sword wanted something back in the system shop, he purchased the item and saved it for later use. The same couldn't be done here.

If the sword wanted something from here, then there was no other choice except to let it consume the material right here and now.

And this... could only spell trouble. Liam frowned as he couldn't decide what was the best course of action. But first he had to kill everything that stood in his path.

An icy aura enveloped his rabid sword. Liam moved with precision, his sword arcs slicing through the air, cutting through the centipedes with each swing. The clash of metal on metal resounded in the tunnel, echoing the intensity of the battle.

As he delved deeper into the nest, the centipedes became more aggressive, their attacks coordinated and relentless. He weaved through their assaults, countering with swift, lethal strikes.

The centipedes simply couldn't hold out against the power of the attack that cut through them like butter. A single sword beam flashed across several centipedes slicing multiple creatures at the same time.

Finally, at the heart of the nest, Liam encountered it. A colossal centipede, dwarfing its kin in size and menace, its body shimmering with a dark, metallic sheen. Its eyes burned with a malevolent intelligence, focusing intently on Liam.

Liam dashed forward as he needed to finish this fight as soon as possible but his steps instantly came to an halt as he felt the gravity of the cave suddenly shift.

The sudden shift in gravity caught Liam off guard, but he quickly adjusted his stance, anchoring himself with his profound strength.

The colossal centipede, evidently the source of this gravitational manipulation, seemed to be using this as a defensive mechanism.

He had finally encountered the first opponent with the ability to use a Dao seed. Their easy runs were going to come to an end as the difficulty had picked up with this floor.

Liam tried to move again, only to find himself unable to take another step forward. It was as if a dense invisible barrier prevented him from getting near the centipede. At the same time, walls started closing in.

All sorts of metallic spikes in weird angles started jutting out of the walls, making the confined space even more treacherous. He was going to be skewered from all directions.

"Hmph." Liam snorted. This was not enough to bar his path. He only needed to swing his sword a few times to instantly clear out the spikes threatening him but there was another problem.

The space inside the tunnel was limited. It was only a matter of time before the space was completely filled with metal, broken or otherwise.

However, Liam did not feel pressured. Rather he was excited because this was a good chance for him to once again attempt to create a nether field.

He stopped using his mana core and instead activated his nether core. His pathways burned a little at the sudden switch between energies but the pain was nothing that he couldn't handle.

Nether essence coursed through his body and in one swift push, Liam propelled all of it outward creating a sphere of nether around him.

Immediately, he could feel just how weak his nether field was. Pushed up against the gravitational field of the centipede, his inferior nether field couldn't hold on. It was getting suppressed.

But Liam was not done yet. This was simply his outward projection of nether. A dao field was more involved than simply pushing the energy out.

It was an extension of one's own dao, a manifestation of their understanding of the universe.

Liam centered his focus inward, connecting more deeply with the nether core. The nether essence, dark and potent, swirled within him, resonating with his own life force. He could feel every fiber of his being vibrating in harmony with this primal energy.

The black sun in his dao compartment started rotating and radiating with energy. Correspondingly, a black sun formed in front of Liam, slowly rotating, and exuding waves of dark nether energy that seemed to warp the very air around it.

This black sun formed the core of the dao field. It started powering his dao field and slowly his sphere of death and decay started overpowering the gravitation field of the centipede.

Shockingly, the dao field of the centipede was extremely sturdy. Liam had already charged his field with 25% of his dao seed's essence but it was still not enough.

"This guy should be combining two dao seeds. Metal and gravity?" While the centipede was definitely talented in grasping the dao, it had to be in the early stages. Otherwise, Liam would have already been pushed to a dire state.

The fact that he was able to experiment in this manner meant that the creature was simply not strong enough.

Liam would have loved to test some more things but he had to take the time into consideration both for his sake and the sake of his group mates. He needed to finish this fight as fast as possible.

Seeing that his technique was proceeding smoothly, Liam started injecting more of his dao seed essence and this was precisely where the problem began.

At this step the whole field became too much for him to control and everything blew up in his face. However, this time it was different.

Liam could sense it. Perhaps because there was a strong opposing force pushing him, he was able to get better control of his dao field. The opposing force of the centipede's gravity dao field created a necessary tension, a counterbalance that sharpened his focus and understanding of his own power.

As the nether energy raged around him, Liam's mind was calm, analyzing and adapting. He gradually began to reign in the wild energy, channeling it into a more stable form.

The black sun in his dao compartment, which had been erratic and unstable, began to rotate with a steady rhythm. The waves of dark energy around him started to flow in a controlled manner, no longer lashing out wildly. And this control gave power.

The centipede, sensing the change, started panicking. It intensified its gravitational field, trying to crush Liam with the sheer force of its dao. However, it could no longer suppress his dao field. Moreover, Liam's dao field was steadily increasing.

The centipede could guess the ending of the movie and it began to wildly attack, sending out more and more metal spikes. It was filling up the entire tunnel with metal as if it was trying to bury him in place.

But this too reached a dead end. The metal spikes could not even near him as the dao field completely blocked them out. The metal sizzled when it came in contact with the corrosive nether. A small hint of decay could be seen on the surface.

The centipede became desperate. Its attacks grew more frenzied as Liam's dao field expanded, pushing back against the barrage of metal.

The colossal centipede, now trapped in its own lair, had nowhere to go. It thrashed and writhed, but its movements were sluggish under the oppressive weight of Liam's dao field.

The gravitational field it once wielded with such authority was now being suppressed by the overwhelming power of decay.

And then everything snapped.

Liam's dao field all of a sudden completely collapsed as the other side collapsed too. It looked like the centipede had fully exhausted itself and could no longer put up any fight.

Liam grunted in annoyance. He was so close! But the damned beast had screwed him at the last minute!

***

Golden Ticket Bonus Chapter~