SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God - Chapter 616

Chapter 616: Shadow beasts
Damon paused atop a slanted rock, eyes narrowing as he scanned the dark slopes ahead. Pairs of glowing eyes stared back at him from every direction. He only had a moment to process the whole thing before the eyes flickered and vanished.

The next instant, countless beasts shadow stepped all around him, and their levels were nothing to joke about.

Ding! [Shadow Hound, level 200]

Ding! [Shadow Hound, level 250]

Ding! [Shadow Wolf, level 185]

Ding! [Shadow Prowler, level 205]

Ding! [Shadow Lurker, level 243]

…

…

…

And the notifications just kept going.

One after the other, the beasts mauled at him from every angle, slashing, snapping, diving from cliffs, phasing through rocks, teleporting short distances like rabid, shadow-infused gremlins. Each was slippery as fuck.

Damon blocked a bite just to have another beast appear behind him. He dodged claws only for a third to clamp onto his leg. When he threw one off, two more lunged for his throat.

A shadow hound appeared right above him, jaws wide enough to tear a chunk out of his skull. Damon grabbed it mid-air and smashed it straight into the ground.

The beast’s body burst into black mist, but not before three more took its place, snarling and spiraling around him like a tornado of claws and teeth.

Damon did not hesitate and immediately whipped out his poison domain. However, every single beast possessed a shadow barrier strong enough to block most of the effects of the poison. They did not drop dead instantly just from the poison field.

The First’s voice echoed in the darkness. “You thought you could use these beasts to keep me at a distance? To protect your abomination? You have made a grave mistake, bloodsucker. This area is a forbidden area even within the legacy!”

“The beasts here are countless! They are merciless shadow beasts that have been bred in the darkness for centuries! They are beings blessed by our God Umbra! You cannot do anything to them. Each battle will be a struggle. Every beast will be your nemesis!”

“I would have made your death swift and painless, but now you are going to become a feast for these ravenous beasts! Your abomination will never see the light of day. Darkness is eternal, and darkness will prevail above all.” The man’s voice thundered before his voice, and his presence completely disappeared.

Damon clicked his tongue. “Aw, thank you for the motivational speech.”

Even as he spoke, he unleashed his blood storm, which did a number on the beasts. A couple of them died right away from the attack. But before Damon could feel good about it, the rest began healing at a monstrous speed.

It looked like the shadow essence in this world not only defended them but also healed them. Their innate magic should also be a variant of the shadow magic, probably a better version of the Umbra’s shadow magic, which he had.

The good news was that he was at least able to absorb the blood essence from the couple of beasts that fell.

[Ding! You have killed a Shadow Hound]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! You have extracted the ability ‘Shadow Agility Boost’]

[Ding! You have gained +20 shadow affinity]

[Ding! You have killed a Shadow Lurker]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! You have gained +15 shadow affinity]

This was the first time Damon was seeing his affinity shoot up so quickly just from a couple of kills. The maniac was not wrong. These beasts were indeed special. They had been born in this shadow realm and lived here all their life. It had essentially filled them up with shadow magic. They were experts, dripping from head to toe in all things shadow.

However, they still had their own weak points. Just from the way they were throwing themselves at Damon in a mindless and frenzied fashion, one could tell where their weak points were. Of course, there was also the more obvious weak point.

Damon had no scarcity of mana in this world, and he immediately let rip a Divine Bladestorm, along with Radiant Wellspring and Bastion of the Condemned.

“You cannot do anything against my Lord’s army. You are in his world! You will fall in this darkness!” The First’s fanatic voice sounded amidst the chaos. “Your blood is useless against unending darkness. Your poison-”

However, the man’s words froze just as an unexpected radiance bloomed amidst the darkness. Radiance, true, divine radiance, burst out in the middle of Umbra’s world, as dozens of brilliant blades of light spun into existence around Damon.

They shone exactly as they always did, pure, bright, and crisp, unaffected by the surrounding darkness in the slightest. The sight alone was jarring in a place that should have suppressed all light.

Radiant Wellspring erupted beneath Damon’s feet a moment later, glowing with steady, unwavering brilliance. The fountain of light washed over him, boosting his regeneration instantly and visibly making his movements smoother and sharper.

Then Bastion of the Condemned expanded outward, forming a solid barrier that thudded into place. A perfect fortress of holy power.

Naturally, the three skills did not last for long. They were barely there for a moment before they were completely consumed by the all-powerful darkness that drenched the world. But the single moment was more than enough to make a few more of the beasts fall.

The divine blades fought back for a second or less, long enough to slice down several beasts and leave a few others missing limbs before the shadow essence swallowed the radiance whole.

Radiant Wellspring flickered once and vanished. Bastion of the Condemned cracked like thin glass and dissolved into nothing. Everything went dark again.

But that brief moment of light had still changed the entire battlefield.

Damon once again gleefully absorbed all of the blood essence around him, bumping up his shadow affinity further. Blood Reign had already informed him that she wouldn’t be able to hold on to a lot of stat points, but that was fine.

The sheer amount of shadow affinity he was gaining made this madness worth it.