Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Battle of Iron Forest
Ethan waited, a seasoned hunter biding his time. Half an hour had already passed. Beside him, the psychic beasts and the Blackwood clan members waited anxiously under his command, not daring to breathe.
"Mercy be upon us," chanted Monk Jacob, his voice echoing through the valley. He floated on a golden lotus in mid-air, his right hand gripping a staff adorned with jingling golden rings. Despite the prolonged battle, he appeared unscathed, only slightly winded. A compassionate smile graced his face.
"You have caused much suffering, yet the Buddha's mercy knows no bounds. I implore you, with a thousand years of cultivation, why not join me at Qing Song Temple and cleanse yourself of these sins by embracing the Buddhist teachings? Let us not bring further ruin upon this forest of silver and iron."
This marked the first time Monk Jacob had spoken during the battle. Now, he spoke of Buddhist teachings, his heart clearly troubled. The plan had been for the seven great families to unite and decisively defeat the Boar Monarch Pete. But half an hour had passed, and there was no sign of reinforcements.
Though the Boar Monarch Pete was not his equal, Jacob hesitated to risk a fight to the death.
"Hmph!" The Boar Monarch Pete grunted, his only response.
Though heavily wounded, it still carried itself with the dignity of a king. With a surge of demonic power, knowing it was no match for Monk Jacob, it unleashed all its remaining strength!
The valley trembled violently as a frigid wind swept through. Giant stone pillars erupted from the ground around the Boar Monarch Pete, their jagged edges radiating the corrosive power of the wind as they hurtled towards Monk Jacob.
Bristling with fury, the Boar Monarch Pete launched itself into the air. A demonic shadow unfurled in the cloud-choked sky, its shadowy hand reaching out to seize Monk Jacob.
"Blinded by ignorance, today the Buddha will not ferry you across; I, in place of the Buddha, will cast you into the eighteen levels of hell, where you shall never be reborn!" Monk Jacob declared, his expression grave.
He knew this was the Boar Monarch Pete's final gambit. If he didn't give his all, his life would hang precariously in the balance. He tossed his Buddhist rosary into the air. The eighteen beads blazed with a brilliant light, forming a radiant circle that dispersed the clouds above—a truly extraordinary psychic tool.
"Buddhist teachings, the eternal golden pine, the compassionate Vajra, appear!" Monk Jacob roared.
As his words echoed, his monk's robe, also a psychic tool, shimmered with golden edges that extended skyward, transforming into golden vines. With astonishing speed, the vines intertwined, forming a radiant golden Arhat Vajra!
Monk Jacob's meditation cushion rose into the air, growing larger as it ascended, finally landing in the hands of the Vajra Arhat.
The Arhat's roar and the clinking of the rings on the staff reverberated through the valley.
A deep bell tolled from an unknown location.
This renowned Master Jacob of Tranquil County was truly extraordinary!
Master Jacob had played his final card.
He could almost envision the ignorant Boar Monarch Pete meeting its end at the hands of the Buddha!
But just then, his expression shifted, morphing into one of alarm.
"Now!" a distant voice commanded.
Monk Jacob watched in disbelief as dozens of psychic beasts charged recklessly into the fray, their combined demonic powers raining down on him from afar!
He even saw...
"It's Blackwood, that Purple Thunder Sun Python from the seven great families!"
"Damn it!" Monk Jacob raged, the realization hitting him like a thunderbolt. He had unwittingly walked into a trap he should have avoided. He had initially hoped to capture a Demon King as a mount or obtain materials for crafting psychic tools, but he had never anticipated being drawn into such a perilous situation!
But he understood that any words he uttered now would be futile.
Even with his profound Buddhist teachings, he was no match for these reckless psychic beasts and the Boar Monarch Pete combined.
"Run!" Monk Jacob swept aside the psychic tools with the Vajra Arhat, his mind set on escape.
"Boom!" He squinted, his eyes widening in surprise.
A colossal AI Bionic Robot, flames erupting from its feet and back, was hurtling towards him at an astonishing speed, wielding not a weapon, but...
A silver coffin?
[Mech armor engine consumption has reached 100%...120%, the body is about to be damaged!]
[Warning! You have entered the attack domain of a mid-level expert in Developing Skill!]
[The target is launching an attack on you, detection, please dodge immediately, supernatural power far exceeds the load...]
"Darn it! Go!"
Operating the War AI Bionic Robot, feeling the seemingly suppressed supernatural power surrounding him, and the sixteen-foot-wide palm print that Jacob the monk and the golden Arhat behind him had unleashed, Ethan remained remarkably calm!
He turned his head and spun!
The War AI Bionic Robot narrowly dodged the attack of the palm print, but the aftershock still managed to shatter the right arm and right leg of the War AI Bionic Robot.
The War AI Bionic Robot could even see the flesh on its body that had been ripped open!
[The body is severely damaged, please leave the battlefield immediately for automatic recovery!]
Ethan ignored the warning.
He knew that if the corpulent monk didn't die, Blackwood's future would be bleak!
Compared to the lives of the Blackwood clan, this valuable War AI Bionic Robot meant nothing!
Pushing past the palm print, the roaring sound echoing behind him, Ethan pressed on.
Monk Jacob launched another palm print towards him.
But this time.
Ethan didn't dodge.
"It's up to you now!"
Ethan, clutching the Death Coffin, could feel the tremors coursing through it as it encountered the Buddhist power!
On the screen interface, a message flashed:
[The Death Coffin's supernatural ability encounters the Buddhist power it detests!]
From the moment he had arrived on the battlefield, Ethan had seen the game interface's prompt.
And he had already planned to use the Death Coffin as his trump card.
Otherwise, Nathan wouldn't have entrusted him with this treasure!
"The distance is enough!"
Seeing that the War AI Bionic Robot had enough strength to smash the Death Coffin towards Monk Jacob, Ethan didn't hesitate.
He hurled the Death Coffin with all his might!
"What... what is this thing?!!"
Monk Jacob's face contorted in horror, a look he had never shown even when facing the full force of the Boar Monarch Pete.
The silver coffin effortlessly smashed through his Vajra Arhat's palm print!
Even...
As it approached the Vajra Arhat behind him, the Vajra Zen staff couldn't even budge the silver coffin. The coffin bounced off the staff, and under his desperate gaze, it slowly opened, revealing a dark void that swallowed the entire Vajra Arhat.
Like a beast from ancient times, it devoured everything in its path with endless greed!
At that moment, even he, using the Arhat's golden body, was affected.
The silver coffin was unleashing its fury on him, the pressure of the top-grade supernatural treasure making it impossible for him to take flight again!
And at the same time.
The Boar Monarch Pete, those dozens of supernatural beasts, and all the Blackwood clan's magical martial arts, were all converging on him!