Born in Blood

Chapter 388 A Fish, a Worm, a Wyvern

One Liam.

Three Zeniths.

Liam couldn't actually use all his abilities at the same time.

That was foolish.

He had to be smart about it.

Most of Liam's fights ran the long course.

They lasted for several minutes.

Sacrificing his precious blood, albeit there were high quantities of it, could pose a threat to his regeneration.

At the same time, Liam couldn't just use all his abilities to win a fight.

It didn't work that way.

The closest analogy would be guns.

Not every gun was used for the same situations.

Grenades and rocket launchers were used on tanks or heavily armored vehicles.

Sniper rifles were used at long range.

Rifles were used in general combat.

The same could be said for Liam's arsenal.

Corruption was used against physically powerful enemies that needed to be incapacitated.

Chaos was used against enemies that were too spell-based, or too armored.

Blood Arts were much more useful in some situations than others.

Void was better used when outnumbered or against a much more powerful enemy.

Inscriptions were an exception to the rule, since they were used in almost any situation depending on what they were made for.

But Liam had a feeling he might need to use everything here.

Merisa threw her head back and laughed.

"He has grit," said the woman to Merisa's left, grinning. Short, slim, and short-haired.

"Now, now, Erika," said the woman to Merisa's right. Tall, slightly muscular, one-eyed. "Too early to judge."

"Erika, Jayne," Merisa said severely. "Don't play. End this fast."

They shot their leader a short glance and saw the seriousness in her face.

This was not a joke, they realized. Not if their leader wasn't laughing.

Plus, despite outnumbering him, Merisa didn't order an immediate attack!

'He's dangerous,' they both thought.

Three above.

One down.

Erika, the shorter Zenith, raised her middle finger.

At first, Liam thought she was insulting him.

But a sharp slithering noise echoed from her finger, which stretched incredibly long in a matter of seconds.

It expanded, contracted and grew into a vicious-looking Abomination.

Lusterless black scales covered its reptilian body.

Four arms grew out of its sides, two at the top, two at the bottom, each with a set of nasty, jagged but sharp claws.

It had a rattlesnake's tail, and a draconic face.

Liam assessed it.

'Rank 4 middle tier Abomination.'

Jayne, the taller Zenith, summoned her own Abomination.

Her entire right arm squirmed and writhed, convulsing with wet sounds and slowly expanding in size.

First, its body thinned out to a horizontal oval shape.

Then, fish-like scales emerged from its body.

Right after, three fins, one at the top, one at the bottom, and one at the back, burst out of it.

Next, a giant pair of… human hands emerged from its sides!

They were not normal arms — fleshy, dripping with black ink and rotting.

They were extremely muscular, most over-exaggerated. Each blocky hand was the size of a large boulder.

It was a fish!

A carp of some sort!

With... the arms of a titan.

Liam didn't even know what to call it.

Merisa's Abomination was the giant sandworm.

Definitely a peak Rank 4 Abomination.

Erika and Jayne's Abominations were both middle tier.

A draconic snake, sort of like a wyvern, and a fish with arms.

Merisa smiled coldly.

Jayne smirked.

Erika grinned.

Liam took a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Silence.

BOOM!

The sandworm was the first to rumble through the ground, swallowing the entire building Liam stood upon.

Obviously, he dodged.

The sandworm had incredible power.

Too much power.

But it lacked speed.

Yet, as soon as Liam avoided the initial devouring attempt by the worm, a massive pair of fists came shooting down at him.

Lurching backwards, Liam swung his Breaker and Dusk Blades at the muscular arm as it shot past him, ripping out a chunk.

Just then, the wyvern appeared behind Liam's back.

Instead of a normal attack, it simply zoned him out from escaping, giving the fish a clear shot with its remaining fist.

BOOM!

Liam tried blocking, but the sandworm was on his feet again.

Just as the punch was about to hit his face, and the sandworm was about to clip him in half from below… tentacles emerged from Liam's cloak!

They shot out to the building behind him, wrapping around its peak, then pulling him towards it.

WHOOSH!

The punch shot past, missing him by an inch, causing his hair and cloak to flutter.

Merisa furrowed her brows.

What was this thing?!

But there were no breaks in battle.

Just as Liam fixed his footing, the sandworm ravaged the building he stood upon.

It was like a shark, waiting for a chance to pull Liam into its waters.

Liam twirled around and pointed his finger to another structure, creating a Sanguine String to pull on.

WHROOSH!

Just as he did, a cluster of flames surged out of the wyvern's mouth, forcing him to change directions midair

But in front, the fish was already mid swing, the giant fist taking up most of Liam's vision.

Below, the sandworm burst from the ground with an open maw, like a whale attempting to swallow a bird.

The inside of its circular mouth was like a death trap. Spikes of teeth everywhere.

Above, the wyvern was making a beeline towards his head, like a falcon diving into the sea to seize a fish, jaw open.

At the same time, ethereal Abominations emerged from the three Zeniths' minds, intent on shattering Liam's mental sphere.

Time slowed.

A large chunk of mental energy seeped through the cut on Liam's golden barrier.

Mind Edge!

Liam's eyes constricted to a hair's breadth.

Sounds grew muffled, distant.

The world appeared crystal clear to Liam's eye, despite there being nothing but chaos surrounding him.

Red sparks surged around Liam's hand and swirled to form a large sphere of Chaos.

Another large chunk of his mental energy compressed to a series of little wafer-thin arcs, each aiming at the ethereal Abominations.

Five Abyssal Needles left Liam's ring and aimed upwards, activating instantly on Liam's command.

Corruption gathered on Liam's Dusk Blades and prepared for the giant fist to make contact.

Time resumed.