LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 636: Power as Deep as the Abyss!
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a truly delightful scene."
A second later, Sterl deactivated Phantom Purgatory, watching as the souls in the Purgatory Space vanished in an instant. A satisfied, lingering smile appeared on his face as he spoke.
Millions of souls disappearing in the blink of an eye—this visual impact was simply exhilarating. It was like playing a massive game of match-3, but on a scale of millions—who wouldn't find that satisfying?
And all the souls that perished in the Purgatory Space would be transformed into his soul puppets. In other words, Sterl now had tens of millions of soul puppets at his command.
To be exact, it was twenty-eight million seven hundred seventy-five thousand!
"Too bad these souls are too weak. Even if I refine them all into soul power, it won't amount to much," Sterl thought with some reluctance.
He couldn't deny that the mysterious Mother was incredibly efficient. The nearly thirty million soldiers that had been consumed amounted to the souls of only about three thousand living beings.
As for their physical bodies, those were converted through the absorption of ordinary matter.
Every time Sterl thought about the Mother's terrifying ability to produce troops, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.
It wasn't his fault—it was just that this kind of power was truly awe-inspiring.
After some contemplation, Sterl decided not to refine all thirty million of the soul puppets.
Even if he did, it would only result in a mere two thousand eight hundred seventy-five points of regular soul power, which was of no use to Sterl at his current level.
He had yet to try using soul puppets to fight. Perhaps their ability to attack in their soul form would be effective.
So, he decided to keep these soul puppets for now and test how much damage they could inflict when attacking in their soul state.
Sterl then turned his gaze outward. The sight before him was nothing short of astonishing. The silver army of millions stood frozen, motionless, like statues. It was a scene that left everyone, including Boris and Goda, utterly stunned.
But just as they were processing this, a deafening explosion suddenly shook the very ground, and it felt as though the entire layer of hell was trembling.
In the blink of an eye, the millions of insect-like creatures exploded in unison, collapsing into a torrent of silver-white liquid that splattered across the ground.
In an instant, the entire land was covered in a silver-white sheen, transforming it into a frozen world, completely obscuring the once pitch-black earth beneath.
The entire insect army—millions strong—was wiped out in a single moment!
"They're… gone? Just like that?!"
Even though Boris and the others were well aware of Sterl's immense power, this scene was so horrifyingly unexpected that it left them dumbfounded. Who could have imagined witnessing the destruction of tens of millions of powerful insect soldiers before their eyes?
But they had just witnessed this scene with their own eyes, and the shock in their hearts was beyond words.
As for the god of the Evil Wasps, her usually cold and detached eyes almost popped out of their sockets!
It was as if her brain had been struck by something, plunging her into a state of complete chaos.
What had she just seen? This mysterious and powerful master of theirs had simply extended his hand casually, and with that, the entire silver flood of Hell was obliterated in an instant?! Just like that?!
What she was witnessing had surpassed her understanding. She knew Sterl was powerful—extremely powerful—but this was something else entirely! It was almost monstrous!
As she looked at his towering figure, Sterl's presence seemed to grow in her eyes, swelling to the size of a giant, standing tall and mighty, so overwhelmingly strong it was almost absurd!
The remaining Hellish beings, those that had survived, were similarly paralyzed, frozen in place like statues.
They knew all too well the power of these monsters. Over ten million soldiers, and in less than ten minutes, only a handful of them were left.
Even the fearsome and unyielding Evil Wasp clan was deeply affected by the image of such a terrifying force.
This wave of monsters, which seemed so invincible, had been annihilated with a single gesture from this mysterious ruler.
Seeing this, an overwhelming surge of fervor rose within them.
This was the kind of invincible existence they worshiped and longed to follow!
Sterl paid no mind to the shock around him. Invincibility had already become synonymous with his name. Whether it was at the Earth base, the Divine Mountain Empire, or even in the eyes of his divine followers here, he was a being beyond comparison.
Whenever he acted, there was no problem too great for him to resolve!
But in the hearts of Rayna and Linna, perhaps they didn't want him to be invincible; all they wanted was for him to be safe.
At that thought, Sterl felt a warmth in his heart.
Although he hadn't been away for too long, the series of events that had unfolded were so numerous that they left him feeling somewhat homesick.
He gave a slight shake of his head, then waved his hand once more, collecting the scattered secretions from the earth and storing them in his small world.
His gaze shifted to the six Earth Wolves. They were similar to the silver-winged mantises and the fused monsters from earlier, all at the divine authority level of souls.
Their individual size was larger than the Silver Mantis, but not as large as the fused monsters. If you were to make an exact comparison, it would be roughly equivalent to five Silver Mantises. Thus, after enduring one second of Phantom Purgatory, they weren't eradicated but suffered around 80% of their soul damage.
After his soul level had increased by six, the power of Phantom Purgatory had clearly amplified to a significant degree!
With 80% soul damage, the six Earth Wolves had already lost all ability to resist; their souls had suffered a fatal blow.
This level of soul damage had already started to affect the very essence of their souls. The entire soul was on the brink of collapse, and even if Sterl were to completely ignore them, they would undoubtedly perish.
However, Sterl wasn't one to waste such valuable materials. Just before their souls were about to vanish, he absorbed them once more. A second later, Sterl had gained six new soul puppets.
What surprised Sterl was that the bodies of these six Earth Wolves, much like the Silver Mantis, had not collapsed.
He didn't hesitate and quickly stored them away, planning to use them as his enforcers in the future.
Having done all this, the tidal wave of the Mother's army—formed over nearly two hours—had been completely wiped out, not a single one remaining!
"This ability just keeps getting more and more useful."
With a flick of his hand, he deactivated Soul Prison's Eerie Eyes, and his eyes returned to their normal state.
He was growing increasingly fond of this talent. Whether for AOE or single-target attacks, it was incredibly powerful and terrifying! And it operated at the soul level, making it not only fast and stealthy in execution, but also frighteningly destructive!
"I wonder how much higher soul power I'll need to unlock the second new talent. It should be even stronger than Soul Prison's Eerie Eyes, right?" he thought, unable to stop himself from wondering.
As for the pain and backlash from absorbing higher soul power, he had long since discarded that worry. Compared to the benefits, the backlash was nothing more than a minor inconvenience!
It could be said that if it weren't for this ability, his descent into Hell might have turned out very differently. He might still be stuck on the fourth layer, battling with those monsters. There might even be a risk of injury or death, given the sheer battle power the Mother had unleashed in the end.
In addition to the second breakthrough in his limits, Sterl had also been considering cheat enhancements.
He hadn't forgotten that Soul Prison's Eerie Eyes could be evolved and enhanced. Unfortunately, the time flow in Hell was seven times faster than in the main world.
This meant he would have to wait nearly seven more days to refresh the evolution opportunities.
Under the enhancement of the cheat, it was unimaginable just how powerful this ability could become!
"Hmm? They're still not dead?"
At that moment, Sterl raised an eyebrow and looked toward a deep pit not far away.
There, to his surprise, was the God of Puppets—previously sent flying by a single slap—somehow managing to survive under the silver flood. He had used some mysterious method to unexpectedly live through it.
"Heh, interesting."
Sterl snorted coldly. After seeing the God of Evil Wasps, he had no favorable impression of this ugly creature.
It wasn't just because of its appearance—although the God of Evil Wasps was certainly more visually pleasing. The key was the other's overly emotional, indecisive personality, which truly annoyed him.
"Criminal... criminal Val, I beg... Master... to punish me..."
With great difficulty, the creature crawled out of the deep pit. The layer of armor-like, pitch-black rock fell off, revealing the numerous wounds covering its body.
Then, using its hands to scrape at the ground, it left a glaring bloodstained trail, struggling for a long time before finally crawling to Sterl's feet. It slammed its head hard onto the ground and, with a heavy tone, begged:
"My servant does not need trash."
Sterl's voice was cold and dismissive as he looked down upon the creature, his gaze contemptuous.
"I originally planned to turn you into a puppet, but since you managed to survive, you have some value."
"Tell me, how did you escape these insects?"
Sterl's tone was detached, almost bored as he inquired.
At these words, Val did not dare hesitate. Forcing his severely wounded body to move, he began to recount everything in detail.
It turned out that when Val was blasted into the ground, he had somehow released a half-finished puppet.
Rather than a true puppet, it was more of an armor.
Because, aside from mastering the divine authority of puppets and law, Val also possessed the Law of Forging and had incredible skill in blacksmithing.
According to the God of Evil Wasps, if it hadn't been for the weapons he forged, they would have been killed long ago by those abominations.
As for the half-finished creation, it was a conceptual piece Val had forged for the sole purpose of hiding.
The only function of this armor was to conceal his presence. It could completely hide his soul and transform him into a piece of rock.
Surprisingly, this half-finished creation had indeed saved his life. But because it was only a prototype, it shattered after a single use.
Fortunately, the moment it broke, the Silver Spider swarm had already been destroyed by Sterl. It was a stroke of luck, a fortunate coincidence.
But often, luck was part of strength. Perhaps that one percent of luck was more important than ninety-nine percent of effort.
Looking down at the creature beneath his feet, which resembled a wrinkled old man, Sterl's killing intent slowly began to fade.