CHAPTER 1352: WAITING FOR THE...WELL, CRAP

When the rebels sprung their attack, Zhen Liu didn’t immediately join in the fray for two reasons, neither of which pertained to blowing his carefully laid cover.

First, despite all the groundwork the kaijin had done in establishing the rebel forces and refining their organization, the rank-and-file had yet to be informed that their benefactor and instructors for the past few months were actually related to their lifelong tormentors in a manner that them seem almost indistinguishable with one another.

As such, Zhen Liu immediately recognized that if he had made his entrance into the fray at the very beginning, there was a good chance that the morale amongst the slave warriors would just drop like an anchor and their ability to fight would collapse like a house of cards.

All because they would be shocked to learn that they had been used as pawns for someone else’s game...at least from their perspective.

In all honesty, Zhen Liu could’ve easily just attacked the mines outright with his Kaijin without planning for shit, and treating the lives of all of these people as incredibly expendable.

But...he had the distinct feeling that doing so would haunt his consciousness for much longer than what would be healthy for most people.

Second, and more importantly, Zhen Liu knew that he would lose in a straight up brawl.

By a massive technicality Dante was his superior in terms of cultivation, an entire stage’s worth no less.

Against a regular aether warriors, Zhen Liu wouldn’t be worried if they were even two stages higher because he could use [Chaos] to negate most of their advantages. Against someone on the same track, though, the story was very different.

If Zhen Liu wanted to win against this guy,b then he would have to fight smarter not harder.

’And all that requires timing.’

He knew from a lot of history books that a lot of major wars could be won or loss based on precisely when an army attacked.

Invading a massive nation known for their harsh winters, during the aforementioned season, was a recipe for mass casualties.

Alternatively, even a small army could trounce the everliving shit out of a much larger force because they managed to attack at just the right moment.

Unfortunately for him, that window was shrinking by the second.

Especially now that Dante figured out how to create [Taboos].

’Wait...maybe I can use this...’

... Perspective Shift...

^Bahahaha! This is amazing, truly, amazing! With this power, I can burn the whole world several times over if I wanted to!,^ Dante howled with the expression of an absolute mad man who was lost in the sauce to the point of drowning.

The power coursing through Dante’s vein was more intoxicating than any spirit or drug he had taken up until now, for this was the power of true unfiltered [Chaos].

Not only that, but it was [Chaos] being supplied by multiple kaijin [Cores] at once.

[Whoa! Is that the boss?]

[It definitely looks like him, but it feels like he merged with Obsidious.]

[I was wondering why that hateful hadn’t shown his face yet.]

After Dante had blown away Lyona and Nepherage, the [Demon Knights] didn’t use that opportunity to follow up and deliver additional attacks against the stunned Bloodliner woman. Instead, they decided to figure out what their creator had done to perform such a task, all while displaying a level of loyalty that seemed... unnaturally higher than in prior interactions.

Not that Dante noticed or really cared, he was too busy riding the high of his newfound power.

[Wait, is Obsidious still alive?] Delictum asked. [Because I can sense him still, but it doesn’t look like you absorbed him either, boss. What give?]

[To put it bluntly, that little alley cat has shown me a new way in leveraging your powers in ways I never thought of before,] Dante answered Delictum while explaining absolutely nothing but what he did and how he did it.[And from the looks of it, I can even channel the powers of your defeated cohorts. How amusing.]

[Too bad we can’t use each other or our subordinates as weapons too,] Gumba groaned with displeasure.

This observation, however, made Dante perk up with curious glee.

[Well now, there’s an idea...I think it should be possible...]

[Really?!]

[I think I just need to do...this!]

Without warning, without explanation, Dante launched several of his chained rat rockets, forcibly biting down on his [Demon Knights].

[What the-?!]

Before the Kaijin could complain about the sudden, violent treatment, Dante began to transmit a surge of information via his [Chaos] into them.

Unseen by the naked eye, the [Cores] of these kaijin began to undergo a very strange transformation.

[You lot have already absorbed dozens of your brethren. I think it’s only fair that you put them to work once more.]

And as this transformation played out, the kaijin began to undergo a physical change as well.

One that attracted the attention of the more powerful members of the rebellion.

...Oh...fuck...

"What the hell am I sensing?"

"I don’t know, but I don’t like it, and neither does the voice in my head."

"Same!"

The moment the [Chaos] from the palanquin began to spike, Zhen Xing, Zhen Tai, Lythero, Olstenna, and Taurna all redirected their attention towards the aforementioned vehicle of dread.

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to determine the reason until after it had almost smashed their faces in.

Thankfully, they all saw it coming.

"INCOMING!"

It’s kind of impossible to miss a giant colorful ball of energy rushing at your person, after all.

...

[You two are mine!]

[Is that asshole wielding a Taboo?!]

[How?!]

Flying towards the Zhen Clan scions, who thankfully had the luck to be right next to each other, Delictum flew forward with the intent of slicing their heads from their [Stigma] covered bodies.

A task he would never think about doing before, until he manifested a pair of wicked looking claws that originally belonged to a vicious tiger-like kaijin.

In sharp contrast to his usual aura that caused one to feel the pain of [Ignorance] clawing into their mind, these claw-likr [Taboo] radiated an aura of pure hunger.

The type of hunger that encouraged one to devour even their own kin.

"I thought kaijin couldn’t wield [Anima] or [Taboo]!" Zhen Xing cried in alarm.

[They’re not! It’s impossible,] Screamira confirmed. [At least that’s what the curators are saying.]

[Less talking, more fighting,] Springerdermain warned as he and Zhen Tai raised up a coordinated guard against the incoming claw strike.

"Right!"

[Corroding Crush Claw!]

Before Delictum landed a claw strike that would corrode the [Stigma] right off of their bodies, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai managed throw up [Chaos] shields in the form of a flurry of fox tails and a giant scale respectively.

[Buh!]

[Guh!]

Unfortunately, the shields didn’t fully mitigate the damage.

Delictum’s corrosive claws managed to soften the shields just enough so that he could still puncture right through them, but were still slowed enough that the strikes failed to penetrate the [Stigma] of the two scions.

Instead, the two young masters both felt as they were struck by a wild boar, or one of Frosttusk’s tackles.

Needless to say, the kaijin were also feeling as if their non-existent skulls were rattled by the attack too.

[Gah! What the fuck?!]

[That’s what being smacked with one of us feels like?!]

"He’s gearing up for a second strike!"

"Fuck that! Let’s get him first!"

Despite being forced back several steps, the Zhen Clan scions managed to recover their steps and launch a coordinated offensive.

Understanding that their normal arsenal was going to pan out, they immediately decided to go [Primal] and borrow the power of their respective kaijin partner to boot.

[Primordial Beast Scripture: Titanboa of Illusion!]

[Primordial Beast Scripture: Underworld Vulpes!]

Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai both fired off manifestations of [Chaos] in the form of a prehistoric fox and snake respectively, but unlike previous times that relied on their own understanding, they got to add on Screamira’s and Springerdermain’s power too.

Zhen Xing’s primordial fox would normally be composed of crimson yellow flames, but Screamira’s influence turned the flames green as if to emulate the ghostly fires of the underworld.

In Zhen Tai’s case, his titanboa would look like a living pillar of flames. But under Springerdermain’s influence, the titanboa-shaped attack developed a metallic core that added a significant of mass to the attack and was surrounded by a strange cloud of smoke that would cause one to misjudge precisely where the snake was moving, ensuring that there was a greater chance of the opponent to mistime any attempts to dodge.

Now, based on Delictum’s build and weapon, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai both assumed that Delictum would attempt to dodge or slash through their attacks.

[Fan of Horrific Gales!]

Which is why they were both shocked when Delictum suddenly reabsorbed his tiger claws and replaced it with a giant peacock feather fan!