Chapter 409: This Next Move Is Going to Hurt a Lot

Was everything really going to go that smoothly and easily? Duke Danlo wasn't so sure. He had an uneasy feeling, a premonition that something was wrong.

Sure, things seemed to be heading in a good direction, but...

He couldn't afford to dwell on it. Duke Danlo gritted his teeth and continued to pour on the firepower.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo wasn't about to stand idly by either. He joined the assault.

For now, though, he held back from going all out, simply using the skills of a single profession to contribute. His output was roughly comparable to a peak Heroic Realm expert.

Of course, that was already impressive enough.

Under the combined efforts of the many experts, the situation seemed to be tilting in their favor. The Black Mist enveloping that "Gnome" was visibly thinning... and the speed at which it recovered was starting to lag behind the rate it was being dispelled. Occasionally, they could even catch a glimpse of its original, heavily eroded form beneath.

"It's working! It's actually working!"

"Keep this up, and it won't hold out much longer!"

Seeing their attacks land effectively, the gathered Professionals grew excited. If this kept up, they might actually be able to take this thing down.

The mere thought sent a thrill through everyone present. After all, this was a Legendary-Level opponent. Even if it was a flawed one, lacking a domain, it was still a Legendary-Level existence!

Beating a foe of this caliber, even through combined effort, was an achievement in itself.

But just as things were looking up, and Duke Danlo and Lin Mo began to question whether they had been overthinking things...

The unexpected finally struck.

The "Gnome," which had been beaten back and overwhelmed by relentless attacks, suddenly absorbed all the remaining Black Mist on its surface into its own body.

In the blink of an eye, its battered, riddled form began to rapidly repair itself.

And it wasn't just healing the damage from the fight—it was also mending the wounds left by the Dark Tide's erosion.

This was clearly not a good sign...

Lin Mo had a sinking feeling he knew what was happening.

In its previous state, the Dark Tide's power had been concentrated on the surface, not fully integrated into the body. That had limited its effectiveness.

But now, things were clearly different.

Perhaps the Dark Tide had finally completed its corruption of this originally powerful Gnome, completely consuming its body and mind, turning it into nothing more than a tool, a vessel.

Corrupting a living being takes time.

And the stronger the target, the more resolute their will, and the higher their Spirit, the slower the process.

Take the Ice Dragon King they had encountered before. Even as its body and soul were being consumed, it had never been fully taken over or controlled by the Dark Tide.

But this Gnome, at least a peak Epic-Level powerhouse, had been completely consumed in such a short time...

It just went to show that Goblins weren't looked down on for no reason.

In any case, now that the Gnome was fully under the Dark Tide's control, they were facing a true monster—one that could wield the Dark Tide's power with absolute mastery, as easily as moving its own limbs.

"Look out!"

Duke Danlo sensed the shift and immediately called out a warning.

But it was too late. In the next instant, the "Gnome's" form vanished, dissipating like a cloud of black mist, only to materialize without warning right in front of an adventurer.

"What the—"

Before the adventurer could react, the "Gnome's" attack had already landed.

Without any resistance, its hand effortlessly pierced through the adventurer's chest, ripped out his heart, and shoved it into its mouth.

"Crunch... crunch..."

The sickening sound of chewing echoed through the air, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

This... this was the true avatar of the Dark Tide.

"Run!"

Without a second thought, several Professionals turned and fled, unwilling to stay a moment longer.

But no sooner had they taken a step than the "Gnome" appeared behind them, dispatching them just as easily.

Some had their chests pierced; others had their skulls crushed...

"This bastard!"

Duke Danlo was both shocked and enraged. He turned to the Elven Elder nearby. "Can you trap it like before?"

"I'm afraid not," the Elven Elder shook his head. "That movement method is far too bizarre. My vines can't restrict it."

This was a real problem.

That unpredictable movement made it nearly impossible to defend against, especially for the weaker Professionals. Once the monster got in their face, they had no chance to fight back—only to wait for death.

And frankly, even Duke Danlo himself wasn't confident he could handle it.

Now that the Dark Tide had fully taken over, the monster was clearly stronger than before. More precisely, its control over its power had become far more refined.

To put it in perspective, earlier they had been fighting a child wielding a divine weapon. Now, that same divine weapon was in the hands of a battle-hardened, ruthless killer.

At this point, the most important thing was to keep morale steady. The scene they had just witnessed was too shocking. If the group's spirit crumbled, any chance of victory would be lost.

But to steady them, they needed a way to restrain the monster, just like the Elven Elder had done before. That would give everyone some reassurance.

But... could anyone really hold back a monster like this?

No more time to think. He couldn't let this continue!

Seeing the terror on the experts' faces, their desire to flee but fear of doing so, Duke Danlo gritted his teeth.

At a time like this, he had to gamble!

He stepped forward, lightning gathering in his palm as he prepared to strike.

But just as he was channeling his mana, a figure suddenly appeared before the monster.

Faster and more unpredictable than the monster's own movement.

Then, a surge of powerful Qi and Blood erupted. No... it wasn't just Qi and Blood...

Simultaneously, a torrent of mana exploded forth, nearly equal in intensity!

In Duke Danlo's eyes, he saw fire and lightning intertwine, saw blue arcs of electricity wrapping around roaring flames, all combined with the immense Qi and Blood flowing along the blade, unleashing everything in a single, instant burst.

It all happened so fast. Before anyone could even process it, the monster that had seemed so terrifying moments ago had been cleaved in two!

Lin Mo sheathed his sword and turned to look at the "Gnome," now sliced in half. His suspicion was confirmed.

Just as he had predicted, while the concentrated Dark Tide was indeed incredibly powerful, the Tide itself had no physical form. It could only borrow the Gnome's body to fight.

And this particular Gnome's physical durability was, at best, peak Epic-Level. It hadn't reached Legendary-Level at all.

In other words, while its mastery of energy had skyrocketed, its defensive capabilities remained the same as before.

Even so, the problem was far from solved.

Under the influence of the Dark Tide, the Gnome's severed halves began to fuse back together. Within seconds, it had fully regenerated, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Mo wasn't surprised. If the Dark Tide were that easy to deal with, it wouldn't have stumped so many top-tier experts throughout history.

The only real way to harm the Dark Tide's core was through Holy Light Power.

Every other form of attack could only suppress, contend with, or test it...

Like the move Lin Mo had just used.

[Nine-Headed Dragon Flash] combined with [Thunder Dragon Devour] and [Blazing Sky Fire Spear]—one Legendary-Level and two Epic-Level skills combined. Logically, that was already a devastating combo. In the past, Lin Mo would have used it as a finishing move.

But this time, he had only used it to probe the enemy, to test his hypothesis.

And thankfully, that was enough.

Lin Mo was deep in thought.

With the amount of Holy Light Power in his body, completely dispelling this Legendary-Level Dark Tide was nearly impossible. Even using all his strength, he could probably only purify a little over half of it.

But even that would have a massive impact. If he could dispel the majority of the Dark Tide, this monster's power would inevitably drop below Legendary-Level. It might not even be able to maintain its original peak Epic-Level strength, since the creature's power came entirely from the Dark Tide, not from its original Gnome form.

That original peak Epic-Level Gnome had long since been consumed, body and soul, by the Dark Tide.

So, if he could dispel most of the Dark Tide, the remaining portion would pose no real threat.

Wasn't this essentially the same as their original plan?

Make the Dark Tide gather together, then seal it all at once.

Except now, the total amount of Dark Tide seemed to have exceeded their expectations. If this Legendary-Level Dark Tide were allowed to merge with the Dark Tide around the Gnome Emperor, the resulting force might reach a level where even the Elven High Priest couldn't seal it, even by burning his own life.

So, from the moment the Dark Tide infesting those Gnomes had chosen to converge, forming a powerful combat force to crush them, it had also given Lin Mo an opportunity to eliminate it in one go.

He no longer had to spread his Holy Light Power thin, wasting a significant portion. Instead, he could unleash its full effect, focusing it on a single point and detonating it.

So, the time had come...

Lin Mo stopped hesitating. He ceased holding back.

In the next moment, he used [Flash] again, simultaneously activating his [Primordial Gloves'] equipment skill, [Titan Possession]. This boosted his Strength, Constitution, and Mana by 15% each.

Then, he clenched his fist and unleashed [Thunder-Fire Wind-Shattering Fist].

"BOOM!"

The force of that punch shattered the space before him. Countless fine cracks appeared in the air, seemingly from nothing. The immense power landed squarely on the monster, punching a massive hole straight through its body.

But having been caught off guard before, the monster was prepared this time. Even as it took the hit, a torrent of Dark Tide power erupted, surging toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo simply smiled and didn't dodge.

Aside from the percentage-based attribute boost, [Titan Possession] also granted [Titan Stone Skin], a powerful defensive state that could nullify any attack below Legendary-Level or withstand one Legendary-Level strike.

And this incoming attack was the latter.

[Titan Stone Skin] would be enough to block it.

"BOOM!"

The monster's attack slammed into him. The force sent Lin Mo skidding backward, but the damage itself was completely nullified by [Titan Stone Skin].

Now, it was time for the real attack!

Lin Mo's pupils contracted. The next moment, the flow of time around them suddenly slowed to a crawl.

[Time Slow]!

Even Holy Light Power and the Dark Tide couldn't resist the influence of time and space. Under the slowed time, the monster was unable to make another move.

And the damage from Lin Mo's previous strike had triggered its instinctive healing process. Which meant—

It wouldn't be able to dodge the next attack. No matter what.

The formula for victory was already written. And now, this next move was going to hurt!

An overwhelming wave of Holy Light Power exploded forth in an instant. Lin Mo held nothing back, unleashing every ounce of Holy Light Power within him. For a moment, the entire forest was bathed in this sacred radiance, as if it had become a celestial realm.

Lin Mo gathered this immense Holy Light Power together. Normally, this would take time. But the effect of [Time Slow] on the monster bought him exactly that.

When this vast, pure Holy Light Power was fully condensed in his hand, he threw the punch with all his might.

In that moment, he looked like a true god, delivering an iron-fisted judgment upon evil.

There was no booming explosion, no earth-shattering sound. The massive, concentrated mass of Dark Tide before him, under the grinding pressure of this hyper-focused Holy Light Power, was swiftly and effortlessly dissolved.

Elsewhere, the Gnome Emperor, also merged with the Dark Tide, had been watching the battle with supreme confidence, waiting for his forces to finish off the human experts and provide him with more power and sustenance. Suddenly, his head snapped around.

"NOOOOO!"

A mournful, twisted howl of despair tore from his throat.