Chapter 219: Spirit-Form Phasing and the Power of Devouration (5K)

Herbert awoke within the mist.

As the posthumous son of the previous Mist Ghost Wolf King, the throne he should have inherited was seized by the White Wolf King who had killed the old king…

His mother fled the pack with a portion of the clan, and died of exhaustion after giving birth to him.

From the moment he was born, Herbert was burdened with great expectations; the remaining clansmen regarded him as their last hope, looking forward to the day he would grow strong enough to reclaim the Wolf King's seat.

But as he gradually grew up, he… in the end became a waste despised by the entire clan.

As a Mist Ghost Wolf, the Wolf King's only heir, Herbert actually possessed no ability to phase into spirit-form.

For the Mist Ghost Wolf species, whether in battle or in hiding, this ability was absolutely essential!

It was the most core ability of all!

Yet Herbert possessed not a shred of it!

And after that disappointment, the clansmen's former expectations curdled into anger.

They began to bully Herbert without restraint, using him as a punching bag to vent their frustrations.

With their phasing ability, they completely ignored his counterattacks, humiliating him at will.

This bullying persisted until Herbert reached full adulthood; throughout that time he remained at the very bottom of the pack's hierarchy, beneath even newborn pups.

It was on the night he came of age that Herbert, who had endured for years, finally struck back.

He bit the sleeping lead wolf to death.

A half-spirit creature cannot retreat into the spirit realm while asleep.

After killing the lead wolf, its mate, and their four pups, Herbert devoured every last scrap of their flesh and blood.

Crunch. Chew. Swallow.

Kinslayer — and flesh-devourer of kin.

It was only after he had swallowed every last morsel of their flesh that a change came over Herbert's body.

His form began to grow ethereal and translucent, losing its shadow, and he could — with difficulty — pass through tree trunks.

Though faint, only a tenth of what his kin possessed, Herbert had at last gained the ability to phase into spirit-form.

The racial gift he had craved his entire life!

But this power had not awakened naturally through bloodline talent — it had been seized from the corpses of his own kind.

And once he understood this, Herbert turned toward the other sleeping clansmen.

From that day forth, a notorious ghoul of his own kind was born within this mist.

He appeared and vanished without warning, his figure hidden among the mists.

He grew ever stronger.

At first, he merely fed upon the bones of his kind, and was once hunted for it.

After a time, he began to hunt lone members of his own kind.

From pups, to she-wolves, to males… and then to small splintered clans.

No matter the enemy, all were slain and swallowed into his belly.

He grew ever more terrifying.

And out of fear and worship, a number of clansmen began to follow in his wake.

Herbert paid them no heed.

Neither attacking them nor truly letting them go, he treated them as a stockpile of provisions.

Herbert became the lead wolf — and the most powerful lead wolf at that.

No — he had already been honored with the title of Wolf King.

He earned the right to challenge the reigning Wolf King.

Deep within the mist, Herbert beheld his father's killer — the White Wolf King.

That she-wolf with fur of pure white, like the incarnation of the silver moon, was the nightmare of every Mist Ghost Wolf alive.

She ruled the clan with the most brutal methods, trampling every one of her kind beneath her without distinction.

Because of this, most of the clan secretly hoped for Herbert's arrival.

The clan longed to welcome a new and more powerful king.

The battle erupted the instant the two Wolf Kings met.

Herbert and the White Wolf King tore at each other, shifting positions between light and shadow, blood flying.

The White Wolf King truly possessed strength befitting a Wolf King, and although Herbert had gained tremendous power through devouring his own kind, he was lacking in combat technique.

The battle tilted against Herbert; his wounds multiplied, his movements grew sluggish.

Death seemed to be his foregone conclusion.

The White Wolf King, too, gradually began to lose hope during the fight, and in the end abandoned all expectation of victory.

And then, at the very moment the victor was about to be decided, Herbert suddenly awoke.

Not it — he.

"This time… is it the memory of that Wolf King?"

Upon regaining clarity, Herbert didn't hesitate for a moment; guided purely by instinct, he easily evaded an attack that should have grievously wounded him.

With his various experiences of becoming different species, he now possessed a remarkably keen insight into fighting on four legs.

Though he wasn't deeply versed in the Mist Ghost Wolf's combat style, defeating a high-ranking Wolf King with ease was still perfectly within his reach.

Piloting his current Ghost Wolf body, he pinned the White Wolf King beneath his paw with almost absurd ease.

Thud.

But before he could finish her off, a chorus of fervent howls rang out.

"Awooo!"

Calling out the name of the new Wolf King.

After successfully defeating the current White Wolf King, Herbert became the new Wolf King.

Power, status, the pack… he would take everything from the White Wolf King.

At the same time, as the victor of the battle, he could also make the White Wolf King his mate, combining their bloodlines so that it would bear the strongest offspring…

This was the age of twin kings!

Then, amid the calls rising higher and higher, Herbert made his own choice.

He calmly killed the White Wolf King.

Then he swallowed it into his belly as well.

Crunch crunch crunch…

A pack does not need two kings.

Besides, Herbert had not yet reached the age where he would go into heat for the she-wolves in the Illusion.

In the original memories, the Ghost Wolf King Herbert played still emerged victorious, but the method it used was utterly despicable.

At the brink of death, it devoured the surrounding kin, converting them into nourishment to restore itself, then continued its grueling battle against the White Wolf King.

Again and again, endlessly repeating, an infinite cycle.

In the end, it successfully wore the White Wolf King to death, and swallowed it into its belly as well.

The pack had indeed welcomed the new king they had hoped for, a stronger king.

But at the same time, they also welcomed an even more brutal rule.

This brutal rule continued until the Ghost Wolf King met Sophia, ultimately ending with its death.

"Devoured its own brothers, kin, mate… swallowed everything into its belly."

"That really is madness."

Watching the life of the Mist Ghost Wolf King, Herbert could not help but sigh.

"What a pity. If only that White Wolf King could have survived."

That special White Wolf King who could harness moonlight was probably also a Mutant.

But fate is this cruel.

Not every Mutant can grow up; dying along the way is their common destiny.

Only a very few Mutants can stand out and become strong enough to defy fate.

……

"Phew…"

Herbert, soaking in the spring, opened his eyes and did not come back to himself for quite a while.

Not until he felt someone lightly pat him with a splash of waves did he finally return his consciousness to his body.

Herbert's eyes were gently covered, then he felt himself lightly buoyed by the water, resting his head on a soft, silky pillow, and he smiled.

Even when that soft palm moved away, he did not open his eyes on his own, simply keeping them quietly closed and savoring this ease.

"You're back?"

To this question, the person behind him said nothing, only gently swaying his body and plucking a string.

Fu Leimei was actually a little shy, feeling that One's Own Thoughts were a bit too stimulating, but after Herbert did not come find her, she quickly calmed down.

After Fu Leimei adjusted her emotions and snuck back on her own, intending to settle the score with Herbert, she saw that Herbert was actually soaking in the water asleep, which stirred her protective instincts once more.

No choice—who could blame him for being so cute.

I forgive him!

And just as the Young Lady mermaid's maternal instincts kicked in, Herbert had no intention of disturbing her mood.

He let her sing a lullaby while he quietly lay on the cradle of water.

If you want to dote, then dote—I have no objections.

Herbert's own thoughts, meanwhile, were focused on sensing his newly acquired abilities.

As a legendary-grade monster material, the Mist Ghost Wolf King had granted him the two most important abilities of its life.

One was the ability of Etherealization that Herbert needed most right now.

Etherealization.

For most creatures, Etherealization is an extremely useful ability.

A body after Etherealization can pass through ordinary matter—solid obstacles like walls, doors, and windows.

They can truly move freely through ordinary buildings like ghosts.

Defense against physical attacks like slashing, piercing, and chopping is greatly enhanced, giving them an overwhelming advantage against enemies unskilled in magic.

At the same time, after Etherealization, one's scent and other information also vanish, greatly improving one's concealment.

But the ability of Etherealization is not all-powerful.

First, Etherealization usually cannot be maintained indefinitely; sustaining it consumes a great deal of energy.

When the energy is exhausted, one is forcibly returned to a solid state.

If during this process the caster is still within matter, they will still be forcibly peeled out of the spirit realm.

In such cases, tragedies occur—being embedded directly into mountains, walls, or earth—most likely resulting in suffocation or being crushed to death.

Second, a body in the ethereal state has no concept of a vital weak point, but conversely, any part of the body can be regarded as a vital weak point.

When facing an enemy of significantly greater strength, it is possible to die upon contact.

At the same time, certain special magical attacks deal bonus damage to ethereal bodies—abilities like fire and holy light cause extra harm to ethereal forms.

Spells and some enchanted weapons can also harm ethereal bodies.

Finally, the ethereal state is also subject to interference from external energy fields.

In chaotic regions infused with special energies, spiritual bodies may become disturbed, unstable, or even be forced out of their spiritual form.

Others have long been prepared for enemies in spiritual form.

Many places possess abilities that restrict spiritual passage—like wizard towers and temples, which often bear arrays designed to repel spiritual bodies.

But overall, this ability benefits most people far more than it harms them.

The other ability Herbert gained from the Mist Ghost Wolf King was his greatest lifelong advantage.

Devouring ability!

Gaining an opponent's abilities by consuming their corpse… hmm?

Herbert frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and felt this ability… seemed familiar somehow?

"Is it my imagination? This ability sounds oddly familiar."

"Hm? Probably just your imagination." The Harmonious God's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

"It's definitely not! This ability is just like the one you're helping me with right now!"

Collision!

Isn't this the same ability?

The Ghost Wolf King eats corpses to gain abilities—I eat demon material and gain abilities too!

Seeing she couldn't dodge the accusation, Miss Xie Shen dropped her pretense and complained angrily: 【"Hey hey hey! How can you compare me to him?"】

【"There's still a big difference—his ability is nowhere near as good as the one I gave you!"】

Are you deliberately picking a fight?

【"He must swallow the entire corpse, is limited by time, and can only consume members of his own kind—all three conditions are indispensable."】

【"But I can let you gain abilities from any non-kin, at any time, in any place, without needing their full flesh—just a small amount of material is enough."】

【"How could these be the same? Don't compare me to him—you're insulting me!"】

"Oh?"

Herbert thought it over and realized Nie Nasha's argument had some merit.

Though they seemed similar, the difference between them was enormous.

The Mist Ghost Wolf King's devouring ability was nothing but a degraded, degraded, degraded version of Nie Nasha's ability.

【"And besides, his power comes entirely from me! Don't get it backwards—I'm not the one imitating him!"】

The heavens have turned upside down!

How can an ancestor resemble a descendant?

"Alright alright, don't get angry."

Seeing Nie Nasha so agitated, Herbert, who had originally planned to tease her further, decided to stop while ahead.

Don't make her truly mad—that wouldn't be fun anymore~

In any scenario, always remember the principle of sustained development.

Even teasing fools—you can't push them to the brink all at once, or they'll refuse to play with you next time.

After recalling Nie Nasha's earlier words, Herbert noticed a detail and asked curiously:

"Wait, according to you, most creatures in the Mist Mountains possess similar abilities?"

If so, then the true horror of the Mist Mountains exceeds even his imagination.

If every race has such a bloodline devourer, then the entire Mist Mountains could be seen as one giant gu tank.

This is raising gu.

Concentrating all bloodlines of the same kind into one point, ultimately birthing a single supreme gu king of all races.

And those final gu kings would continue killing, until only one true supreme gu king remained.

The legendary Ghost Wolf King is not the limit—merely one stage on the path to becoming a gu king.

He has not yet reached his full form, nor fully devoured all his kin.

【"What are you thinking?"】

Fortunately, Nie Nasha's explanation dispelled his doubts:

【"Of course not all—only a tiny handful of the lucky few receive this curse."】

"Curse? Isn't this a blessing?"

Such a powerful ability isn't a blessing?

Miss Xie Shen, having grown accustomed to her ally's abstract thinking, replied calmly:

【"If you insist on viewing this fate—destined to devour your own kind—as a blessing, then I won't stop you."】

Your thinking is too dark.

Enough said—you're the one in my heart. (gives a thumbs-up)

I don't want this position of Evil God anymore—you take it.

After long contemplation, Herbert could only shake his head and sigh: "So, this ability is actually useless to me?"

"Essentially, yes—unless you plan to become a bloodline devourer yourself."

"Then I'll pass."

Herbert craves power, but he doesn't want to become a gourmet everyone hunts down.

If anyone found out he ate people, he'd be dead for sure.

Don't even think about eating people!

Moreover, he himself strongly resisted such acts.

"Forget it—I'll just treat it like a skill I picked up for fun."

【"Hey, wait a minute—it might not be that simple."】

Herbert gave up, but Nie Nasha thought for a moment and corrected herself: 【"If this ability can be combined with others, there might be additional changes."】

【"For example, combining the Marching Angel's Marching Power with this Devouring Power might further increase the soul energy you gain after killing enemies."】

Herbert:?

Does that mean... the amount of experience gained increases?

【"But to verify this, you need more Devouring Power. What you have now is insufficient to match the Marching Power—you lack the qualification to fuse with it."】

Nie Nasha indeed had the ability to fuse two different skills into a new one, but only if they were similar enough to qualify for fusion.

The Marching Power was an Epic-tier special ability, while this Devouring Power barely qualified as Legendary-tier.

"Take it slow."

Herbert thought for a moment, then put the matter out of his mind.

"Now that we have the Spirit Form ability, we can enter the Mist Mountains' Mid-Circle without drawing attention."

After gaining the Spirit Form ability, he planned to quietly scout the route and identify the enemies that needed clearing along it.

As Herbert contemplated his route, the Harmonic God kindly reminded him:

【"However, rather than entering immediately to scout, I suggest you handle other matters first."】

"For example?"

【"For instance, the Mermaid Young Lady who wants to eat you—how will you convince her? You should think of a good explanation."】

"Convince her?"

Herbert laughed softly: "You're wrong. There's no need for anything so complicated."

He slowly opened his eyes, meeting the gentle gaze fixed upon him, and smiled.

He whispered softly to the Harmonic God in his mind:

"At a time like this, all you need to do is tell her the truth."

(End of Chapter)