CHAPTER 882: TOO LONG

Beast Manifestation Technique, Overlord Slayer.

Clovis swung his blade as hard as he could, hitting the deer’s body.

A huge sword mark appeared on the deer’s body upon impact, but the wound was actually too shallow, resulting in a small bleed.

This was the hardest hit it got, so the deer’s attention couldn’t help but shift to Clovis.

’I can’t!’ Christina gritted her teeth, realizing that the deer was forcefully cutting off her Provoke. "Clovis. Watch out!"

The deer turned around and stomped Clovis, but another shot from Kanaria hit the beast again as the latter turned its head to block it with its antlers. The angle caused the deer to sway to the left, forcing the beast to use the foot he used to stomp Clovis to support his entire body instead.

Christina then activated her Provoke again, trying to recapture the deer’s attention.

’It’s actually not strong enough to give a severe injury to the beast...’ Clovis muttered inwardly. The Overlord Slayer was his strongest technique. If it didn’t work, the deer couldn’t be hurt. Still, it opened up a shallow wound. He might be able to defeat it somehow, but it was surely not going to be easy.

’This makes me remember Mara’s lesson...’ Clovis frowned.

Back then, Clovis used the Overlord Slayer to cut everything within a fifty-meter radius. His strength was already approaching Mara, who was known to be the human who had the highest offensive power in the world.

However, Mara looked at it with an uninterested look as if it were nothing. She simply said, "It looks like you still can’t do it."

"Do what?" Clovis tilted his head in confusion.

"You aren’t able to utilize the killing intent to the fullest. Remember that the Abyss State takes advantage of the accumulation of your killing intent. This killing intent is acquired not only from the humans but also from the beasts. If you can’t utilize the killing intent well, you won’t be able to do much in the future."

"I don’t understand. I have managed to use the Abyss State just fine, right?"

"What you are using right now is a spontaneous release. Activate the killing intent of a specific beast to unleash a momentary boost of power. However, you haven’t reached the second stage, which is to accumulate the killing intent and release it. I have been showing you the whole time."

Clovis was perplexed. He didn’t think he had learned anything from this.

Mara raised her hand before waving it as if she were swinging a sword. Suddenly, the burst of power sent her power flying, cutting a lot more trees than Clovis’ slash earlier.

"!!!" Clovis raised his eyebrows.

"I didn’t use much power in that."

Clovis certainly could see it. She didn’t use power or momentum to amplify her strength. Instead, there was something else. For a moment, he could sense the killing intent coating her hand, and that killing intent flew together with her power.

"That’s..."

"Now that you know the second phase of the Abyss State, this is what you will learn next, of course, without me. It’s already time for you to leave."

Clovis couldn’t say anything back then, but it was true that he had to return to his group. Mara had taught him all the basics about the Abyss State. Even though she said the next phase, it was just another utilization of the Abyss State. It was something he could come up with personally.

Thinking back, Clovis might have forgotten one thing. There would come a day when his strongest strike couldn’t harm him. Judging by his tendency to focus on a beast stronger than him, he should have expected this day to come sooner or later.

Clovis frowned as Jay released another strike to hit the beast from the side, albeit showing no effect. At this rate, it would take them at least an hour or two to somehow kill it.

However, there was something that piqued his interest.

The deer wanted to hit Jay, but Christina skillfully used her Provoke to switch the target back to her.

And for some reason, Christina had always blocked everything with her shield as if it was being absorbed by her shield.

"..." Clovis fell silent for a moment. After a brief hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, "Christina. How do you direct the enemy’s attack to your shield?"

"Huh? What the hell are you asking right now? Do you think this is the time for it?" Christina raised her voice.

"The defense of this deer is so hard. No matter where we strike, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough, right?" Clovis had seen the report. Jay had struck even its eyes, which usually became one’s weak spot, but it didn’t leave a scratch as if the eyes were made of metal.

"At this rate, it will take too long to kill this one. So, I want to try something that might be able to speed up the process. Even if it doesn’t work, it will simply return to the current state."

Christina clicked her tongue. On the one hand, testing something they hadn’t practiced beforehand might mess with their cooperation. It could even be dangerous because they were not used to the movement, giving the deer an opportunity. On the other hand, if the fight went on for too long, they might still win, but she might not be able to hold the deer for the whole duration, meaning heavy injuries should be expected.

"Tsk. Buy me one minute."

"Will do." Clovis immediately sped up, using the Overlord Slayer to give the deer another shallow wound as Jay and Kanaria distracted the beasts with their respective attacks.

During this time, Christina said, "Melody, record."

"Understood. You are ready to go."

"I apply the Provoke on the target, but at the same time, on my shield. It’s like coating my shield with my unique ability. This way, the Provoke in the attack and my shield will be connected, forcing the attack to hit my shield instead of anything else.

"By using the Provoke on my shield, it will make it a higher priority than the user itself. Try continuous release of your unique ability on your weapon and learn how to control it. That’s all I can say right now."