Chapter 312: Termination

【Ember Afterimage】.

One of the last fire seeds from a dead world, deposited in the form of flame crystals in the 【Ember Teaching Staff】 of the Zarite Ash Church.

And following the town fragments after the inter-dimensional fusion, it came to a small valley named "Gray Valley" in the Yuansha Province of the Servia Kingdom on the Aifala Continent, turning into what Xia Nan understood as a secret realm.

Just like the literal meaning of the name of this combat technique.

"Ember": The warmth remaining after the flames burn out, the life and power that are on the verge of extinction but not completely dead;

"Afterimage": The sound that continues to echo in the space after it stops, the power and will of the past still playing a role at the last moment.

Even if he had proficiently mastered the route of energy conduction and circulation, only by experiencing the rekindling after the flame of life was about to go out could he break through the original bottleneck and take the final step before entry.

And the strength of its own effect, to a certain extent, also fits its extremely harsh entry conditions and its own holy identity as a "world fire seed."

When the user's vitality is lower than 33%, that is, entering a state of serious injury and near death—【Ember Afterimage】 meets the conditions for use (cooldown time is 30 days).

After choosing to cast it, the user's vitality will recover to 66% the moment 【Ember Afterimage】 is enabled, and will continue to recover vitality at a rate of 0.333% per second, with the whole process lasting for one minute.

At the same time, during these sixty seconds, the user will enter the "Remaining Fire" state.

The state effects are as follows:

1. Five-dimensional attributes (Strength, Agility, Constitution, Perception, Charisma) are increased by 33% overall;

2. Stamina Overload—Energy cap increased, energy recovery speed accelerated, energy consumption rate slowed;

3. Resilience Strengthening—Harder to be interrupted when attacked, physical resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage;

4. Flame resistance significantly increased (non-divine source);

5. +25% special damage (Ember).

It looks very complicated and difficult to understand.

But in summary, it can actually be summarized in three words:

——"Second Stage".

Goblin Nest.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the first to detect that something was wrong was not Saloyang, who should have possessed stronger perception ability.

But those two Spined Devils who were biting each other, fighting for the ownership of the prey on the ground.

The beast-like, ferocious bodies they evolved over countless years of slaughter in Lianyu granted them physiques slightly stronger than other monsters of the same level, yet this also caused their intelligence to drop significantly, to the point where they were not even as smart as the low-strength, cannon-fodder Imps nearby.

But it was precisely because of this that the beastly instinct, distinct from wise creatures, allowed them to detect the extremely dangerous aura that burst out from an unknown place, like a volcanic eruption.

The whistling stopped abruptly.

These two Spined Devils were like birds startled from their sleep by inexplicable movements in the deep forest at night, flapping their wings, throwing away the prey they had hunted with difficulty, and flying toward the rock wall beside them to escape.

"Hmm?"

Saloyang frowned, his fingertips still remaining with the pale blue current of 【Lightning Traction】.

He had never seen the Spined Devils he summoned turn into this look.

Vigilance rose in his heart instantly.

His lips moved, and while chanting spell incantations in preparation, he pushed his mental power to the maximum, carefully feeling the changes around him.

Then, he keenly detected the unnatural dry scorching in the nest, distinct from the infernal dark fire.

Amidst the blood, sulfur, and stench, a few more traces of gray and extinguished aura appeared quietly.

"Something's wrong!"

Saloyang was suddenly alert.

And just as he detected that something was wrong and intended to take temporary defensive measures.

Hum—

The change intensified suddenly.

The ground vibrated slightly, as if some kind of existence from the depths of the earth had been awakened by the movement they made, emitting a dull and high-frequency hum.

Dust, mud, and even blood drops quietly rose against gravity, hovering in mid-air, flickering with red starlike micro-light.

"Bang... bang... bang..."

The muffled sound of the heartbeat like a drum accelerated gradually, exploding in the scorching air.

Saloyang turned his head suddenly, looking toward the direction the sound came from.

He saw that on the ground not far to the side, the black-haired young man who had clearly died just now, with even his heartbeat stopped.

At this moment, he actually rose slowly, supporting his body with his arms, one knee on the ground, as if resurrected from the dead.

Having experienced a bitter battle, the plate-chain composite armor on his upper body was completely broken, the remains lying quietly in a corner; the shirt inside was also torn in many places, revealing the bloody wounds underneath; the leg armor and arm shield were still well-maintained, but they were also covered in dust and mud like the lining inside; the pitch-black broken hair was stuck to his cheeks by sweat and blood, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Crackle." ===== CHAPTER 313 =====