CHAPTER 194 - COMPLETE AWAKENING OF DIVINE ASPECT DEFIANCE

To unlock the next Divine Skills of Defiance, Han Wu needed enough Divine Essence and a sufficient number of souls.

Han Wu unleashed every soul he had previously held captive within Monster Ender’s storage, and they were immediately absorbed by the Defiance Aspect. He soon unlocked the next stage, which, in turn, offered him the selection of two new Divine Skills.

[Defiance Divine Skill: Reincarnate Body. During the duration of the Divine Skill, all dying units will be revived. Can be used on all units.]

[Defiance Divine Skill: Battleworn Body. Absorbs all of the damage received during the duration of the Divine Skill. Unleashes all of the accumulated damage back to the enemy when duration runs out. Can be used on all units.]

A sharp gasp escaped Han Wu as his eyes scanned the two available choices; both were very impressive Divine Skills. Reincarnate Body fundamentally operated as a revival skill. Even with its limited duration, it was still a true revival, allowing his fallen units to truly return from the grasp of death.

Battleworn Body, however, operated on an entirely distinct principle. It provided an absolute guarantee that his units would not perish for the duration of the skill. Furthermore, once the duration ended, it could be used to slay his enemies through its retribution damage. This made it a particularly essential Divine Skill for enabling weaker units to overcome significantly stronger opponents.

He hesitated, torn between the two choices. Ultimately, considering the weak attacks of his locusts, he chose Battleworn Body as his new Divine Skill.

Having selected his fourth Divine Skill, Han Wu discovered he didn’t possess the required number of souls to unlock the Defiance Aspect’s final Divine Skill. After weighing his available options, he concluded that collecting the necessary souls from Hu Hai’s deteriorating divine realm was his best course of action.

Han Wu summoned Han Wen, his first clone, and together they stepped into Hu Hai’s divine realm. Without a protective Core, the divine realm was in a state of slow decay, its edges visibly crumbling into oblivion. Devastating natural disasters ravaged the realm with increasing regularity and frequency, a clear sign that, in just a few hundred realm years, the entire domain would forever cease to exist.

However, the grim truth remained hidden from the regular Tigermen. Instead, the Tigerman King had been cunningly and secretly spreading fabrications, proclaiming that the new religion being propagated by Han Wen was nothing but a deception, and that its very existence was the reason for their world’s demise, a divine retribution from their actual god.

Numerous Tigermen who remained loyal to the King accepted these claims without reservation, actively disseminating the allegations far and wide. As a result, a significant number of Tigermen became disinclined to believe Han Wen’s words, ultimately driving many existing believers to align themselves with the Tigerman King’s narrative instead.

Drawing upon the fervent Faith of the Tigermen, the Tigerman King dramatically increased its power, even managing to obtain the physical form of a Demigod. This ascension instilled in it a newfound arrogance, making it increasingly confident in its capacity to stand against Han Wen. Yet, unbeknownst to the King, Han Wu had long since assessed and factored in the Tigerman King’s Demigod-level strength into his plans.

Han Wu was keenly aware that converting the Tigerman King into one of his loyal subjects was an almost impossible, and quite frankly, futile feat. Therefore, he had long ago decided on a different strategy: to allow it to accumulate a bit more power before ultimately slaughtering it. As fate would have it, that opportune moment had finally arrived.

Han Wu looked down from above, a sigh escaping him as he regretfully shook his head. Though several billion Tigermen still inhabited the divine realm, every single one of them had become a devout believer of the Tigerman King, resisting Han Wu’s influence.

Resolved to purify the Divine realm once and for all, Han Wu opened a portal through which he summoned an endless swarm of locusts to surge into Hu Hai’s divine realm and eliminate the Tigermen. With Han Wen providing protection, Han Wu enjoyed the full liberty to activate every Divine Skill at his disposal, all for the singular purpose of amplifying his locusts’ fighting capabilities.

“Divine Skills: Defiant Sword and Conduitborn.”

The activation of the two Divine Skills greatly boosted the fighting prowess of Han Wu’s locusts. Meanwhile, the Tigerman King remained seated on its throne. Leveraging its status as a Demigod, it had transformed the entire city into a pseudo-divine realm, granting it complete awareness of every event unfolding within its boundaries.

“What?! Mere locusts dare to attack us, the powerful Tigermen? Those pathetic critters shall be annihilated!”

Following this, the Tigerman King commanded its forces to strike. The Tigermen displayed extraordinary mastery of martial arts and considerable brute strength. Nevertheless, while most of the locusts were individually frail, their collective strength had been significantly amplified by the influence of Han Wu’s Core and his active Divine Skills. Moreover, there were special existences interspersed within the locust swarm.

Earlier, Han Wu had used Merge to cultivate truly massive locusts. Over a considerable span of time, they had each matured and grown to the size of a deep-sea tanker. Their sheer mass alone was enough to demolish walls and crush Tigermen, even without using any skills.

He also had his Ten Cockroaches under his command. Blessed with both Hyper Regeneration and Gluttony, these creatures possessed virtually indestructible bodies, making it simple for each one to effortlessly take on and overwhelm as many as ten Tigermen simultaneously.

With each passing second, countless Tigermen and locusts fell in droves. High above the chaotic battle, Han Wu unleashed his Souleater Gaze, drawing in the abundant souls scattered throughout the divine realm. His intention was clear: to finally unlock the Defiance Aspect’s final Divine Skill.

Over the course of three whole days, the battle raged, resulting in the destruction of 100 billion locusts. Several billion Tigermen also met their end on the battlefield. It was only then that the Tigerman King finally succumbed to fear, witnessing the decimation of 70% of its Tigerman forces, while the locust swarm still numbered close to 300 billion.

The surviving Tigermen were in no condition to mount a defense against the relentless locust army—their injuries were too severe. The Tigerman King recognized the absolute futility of further resistance and, in a desperate bid for a slim chance at survival, opted to surrender.

With cold indifference, Han Wu completely disregarded the attempted surrender, instead ordering his locusts to launch a decisive, final attack. The colossal swarm of 300 billion locusts then descended, spreading across the entire surface and devouring every shred of living matter, from all the plants to the last of the remaining Tigermen. The Tigerman King, unable to comprehend or accept its own defeat, tragically took its own life by crushing its own skull.

With the Tigerman King dead, the battle came to an end. Han Wu then proceeded to absorb the immense quantity of souls, a feat that finally allowed him to unlock the Defiance Aspect’s final Divine Skill. This time, however, he was not presented with any choices; the skill was simply granted.

[Defiance Divine Skill: Inverse Domain. Inverses the effects of everything within the domain. Rate of inverse proportional to Divine Points spent.]

This new Divine Skill appeared straightforward, yet its potential applications were vast. Han Wu, eager to understand its capabilities, resolved to put it to the test, beginning by allocating 10 million Divine Points to activate its power.

Immediately, he gained an acute awareness, realizing he possessed absolute control over everything within a 100-meter radius. His attention fell upon a blade of grass beginning to grow, and with the expenditure of a single Divine Point, he effortlessly reversed its development until it was once again a mere seed.

With a mere 2 Divine Points, after firing an arrow, he effortlessly redirected its flight, sending it hurtling back towards himself. He then experimented further, spending 10 Divine Points to observe that he could reverse the wounds on a dying locust, restoring it to a state of complete health. The more he experimented with this ability, the more its incredible, almost ridiculous, power became apparent to him.

He realized that, with proper application, the skill could easily revive units on the verge of death. The sole drawback, however, was its exorbitant cost. Despite expending a massive 10 million Divine Points, he could only sustain the domain, effective within a 100-meter radius, for a mere five minutes.

Additionally, certain more powerful applications, such as completely reversing a wound, also required a substantial number of Divine Points. The skill wasn’t without its limitations either, possessing several effects it was incapable of reversing. For example, it could not revive the dead; any unit that perished would remain permanently deceased.

He wasn’t troubled by these restrictions, however, as he fully understood that even he, with his immense power, was still subject to the inherent laws of this world. No Divine Aspect, regardless of its power, could ever be considered truly perfect.