Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 197: I Like the Sound When They Break

The earth trembled as Thalion cleaved through the panicked spider. Its legs flailed desperately, trying to scramble away, but its struggle was futile.

Before he could turn and finally focus on the small black spider, a massive trapdoor suddenly yawned open beside him. From its depths, an even larger spider—a monstrous goliath—shot out with terrifying speed.

Thalion barely had time to react. He was still embedded in the corpse of the spider he had just slain, unable to move freely. Instinct took over. Shadows erupted around him, forming a barrier just in time to intercept the incoming behemoth.

The trapdoor spider was enormous, towering nearly four meters high. Its fangs, glistening with venom, punched straight through his shadow shield. One sank deep into his right chest, while the other grazed his shoulder, leaving a burning gash in its wake.

Then came the venom.

A vicious pulse of poison surged into his body as the spider tried to drive its fang even deeper. For a moment, a searing heat spread through his veins, an agonizing burn meant to cripple him. But before it could take hold, his elemental reacted.

A flood of raw power coursed through him, his aura spiking to new, nearly uncontrollable heights. Pinned by the spider’s fang, Thalion gritted his teeth, his muscles tensing like coiled steel. His right hand shot up, gripping the massive fang impaling him. With a roar of exertion, he pushed with all his might.

The spider never stood a chance.

Over seven hundred strength, likely far more, surged through his body. The energy within him burned like wildfire, forcing his limbs to obey even as waves of searing pain wracked his frame. It was no easy feat.

The venom wasn’t just paralytic—it was corrosive. The few drops that had dripped from the second fang sizzled against his skin before being consumed by the darkness within him. But Thalion didn’t hesitate. He responded with all the violence he could muster.

From the depths of the shadows, tendrils of pure blackness lashed out, coiling around the spider’s legs and locking it in place. Pulling the fang from his chest, Thalion took a single step back, adjusting his stance. Then he struck.

His fist connected with the spider’s face.

A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield as chitin shattered. The creature’s front legs snapped from the force of the blow. The sheer power behind the strike sent it reeling, but the shadows binding it held firm, preventing it from being thrown away.

And then, from below, a massive spike of darkness erupted, impaling the beast from underneath.

The spider twitched violently, still clinging to life, but it was no longer a threat. It would die soon enough.

Thalion turned, his breath ragged but steady. The remaining spiders had frozen, their many eyes locked onto him, watching in eerie silence.

For a brief moment, nobody moved.

Then, as if some unspoken command had been given, they all turned and fled, vanishing into the depths of the web-covered jungle.

All except one.

The small black spider lingered, its many eyes still fixated on him. Then, just as silently as the others, it disappeared into the darkness.

Thalion exhaled, watching them vanish. He was too exhausted to give chase. The others had been relatively weak variants. Big, sure. Level 80. A nightmare for any normal hunting party. But for him? Not worth the effort.

The only one he would have liked to pursue was the small black one. It had clearly been holding back, even at the end. It was built for speed, and in the tangled mess of silk surrounding him, there was no way he could reach it at full sprint.

His wounds were already closing, the darkness within him knitting flesh together at a speed visible to the eye. The only reason he wasn’t fully healed yet was the venom. It had been remarkably potent, forcing his body to burn it away completely.

The fact that he could shrug off a wound like that—a gaping hole in his chest, combined with highly corrosive venom—was absurd. A normal warrior would have been killed instantly.

Satisfied, Thalion activated Abyssal Devourer. Dozens of tendrils slithered outward, latching onto the corpses of the fallen spiders. For now, he let the elemental have them. He needed to reflect on the fight.

What could he have done differently? What other possibilities did his new form offer?

The elemental didn’t complain. It simply took control of the tendrils, greedily dissolving the dead spiders, their bodies melting into darkness.

Thalion turned and began retracing his steps, following the same path he had taken into the nest. He walked slowly, allowing the elemental time to consume every last corpse.

One ability, in particular, stood out in his mind.

Umbral Miasma.

It was far more than just a corrosive domain. There was a mental component to it—he had seen it in the way the spiders slowed, becoming sluggish the moment they entered its radius. If he could master that aspect, refine it, perhaps he could use it as a long-range weapon rather than a simple field of decay.

Like a dragon’s breath attack, but made of pure shadow.

It was already effective. But if he could increase its range, intensify its effects, it might become one of his deadliest weapons.

And then, there was shadow control itself. The more he used it, the more he realized—this power was limitless.

The principle was nearly identical to his blood control, which was likely why he had adapted to it so quickly. He could already manipulate multiple shadows at once, but there was still room to grow.

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The battlefield was now silent. The spider nest abandoned. The air thick with the lingering scent of decay and darkness.

Thalion stepped into a clearing ahead, or perhaps it was the edge of the jungle itself.

Either way, he felt relieved.

Before the fight, he had feared that his new form might be weaker. That the loss of his arm had crippled him in battle.

Instead, he was more powerful than ever.

A small, satisfied smile crossed his lips. His confidence had never been stronger.

The past weeks had been a whirlwind of madness. The fusion with the crystals, the encounter with the Outsider. Thalion’s power had ascended to an entirely new level, and he found himself eagerly anticipating the war against the vampires. Even these formidable spiders, entrenched within their webbed domain, had barely posed a challenge.

As he walked, he emerged from the jungle’s shadowy embrace into a vast savanna, where tall golden grass swayed gently in the breeze. The warm sun bathed him in its glow, a rare sensation given that even his passive presence dimmed the light around him. Yet his thoughts remained occupied. He absently scanned the messages from Kaldrek and Maike. They had encountered numerous powerful beasts, but there was still no contact with the vampires. Meanwhile, Jim remained at the base, baptizing as many people as possible.

It was not even about charisma or persuasion. Aligning with a divine faction had undeniable benefits. Many sought baptism simply to gain access to the gods skills, which were often cheaper, had a higher rarity, and provided stat boosts, a crucial edge in the impending war against the undead. Thalion understood their reasoning. He held no resentment toward those who aligned themselves with Jim’s cause. In the end, everyone fought for their own survival.

Still, he could not ignore the shift in power dynamics. Jim now held more influence than ever. His legendary blessing had elevated him far above the others in hierarchy. A development that only solidified Thalion’s resolve. Another reason to kill him when the time came. But first, he had to decide whether to return to base and cultivate or to hunt.

Standing at the edge of the tall grass with the sunlight beating down on him, Thalion suddenly felt it, a slow creeping sense of danger. His title had never been wrong before. His expression darkened. Were the spiders coming after him? Yet as he turned back toward the jungle, nothing stirred. His passive skill detected no movement, no lurking presence. His gaze swept across the savanna, where large dinosaurs roamed in the distance. Nothing there should have triggered his instincts either.

Still, the sense of threat only grew stronger. Unconsciously, his aura shifted, the world around him darkening as his presence was no longer suppressed. It had to be a powerful beast, something that could evade his senses yet still make him feel true danger. Anticipation surged through him. What kind of creature was this? An elite of rarest tier? A stealth-based predator? Something lurking underground? Thalion’s mind raced through possibilities only to be completely blindsided by what he saw next.

His passive detection flared, but not below, nor ahead. His eyes widened. A massive squid-like entity hovered high in the sky, its enormous form descending toward him in eerie silence. Impossible. How had such a colossal creature gotten this close without him noticing? To his naked eye, the squid remained invisible, yet his passive skill revealed its energy fluctuations, shimmering like a mirage.

And then it attacked. A devastating telekinetic force crashed down on him, a wave of raw crushing power. There was no time to dodge. Thalion barely managed to raise his arm, mobilizing his strength as the attack slammed into him like an iron wall. The ground beneath him shattered, deep fractures splintering outward as he dug his heels in, pushing back against the force. His aura flared violently, darkness erupting around him as his elemental’s power surged through his veins.

But before he could retaliate against the squid, something else lunged at him. A figure, a humanoid insect-like warrior, its elongated fingers ending in razor-sharp claws, with natural elbow blades pulsing with enchantments. It slashed downward at blinding speed. Too slow. Thalion ducked beneath the strike, but his missing arm prevented him from delivering a counterattack. Instead of retaliating, he took a measured step back, his mind now fully focused. He needed to assess the situation.

Both of his attackers, the invisible squid and the insectoid warrior, were undoubtedly high-rarity beings, far beyond the usual foes he encountered. Yet he was not afraid. If anything, excitement coursed through him. This battle would be a true test of his new strength. Then, before anyone could make the next move, a third presence exploded onto the battlefield. From within the tall grass, a massive figure emerged, charging at him with a colossal mace raised high.

A giant orc. Recognition flashed through Thalion’s eyes. Kargul. The orc looked different now, larger, his muscles rippling with newfound power, his stone-like skin tougher than before. Even his mace appeared heavier and deadlier. So you have grown stronger too, old friend. Thalion thought excited.

This just got interesting. His lips curled into a sharp eager grin as he released his full presence, the world around him plunging into consuming darkness, swallowing every trace of light.

Let us see what you have got.