Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 552

Chapter 552: Chapter 552: Chain Formation and Shackles of the Forbidden God
“It begins…”

Sterl’s eyes narrowed slightly as he realized that the Orichalcum side was finally preparing to make their move. The Colossal War Beast was practically an open card—Eterna and the others had surely prepared for this. However, no one had predicted the sudden ambush by the five gods.

Still, aside from his part in this, everything else seemed to have been countered, and he was curious to see how Eterna and his team planned to hunt down the war-hardened Demon Elephant, which had absorbed the power of millions of soldiers and grown to the point where it could rival an upper-tier god.

“ROAR!!!”

Bound by the power of countless delay formations, the War Demon Elephant let out a furious roar, lifting its massive hooves high into the air before slamming them down with full force!

In an instant, the ground trembled, the mountains shook, and the earth began to collapse as if a world-ending meteor had struck. The massive force from the Demon Elephant’s charge shattered the land for thousands of meters around, destroying much of the delay formations placed nearby.

At the same time, countless formation lights began to shine from the Demon Elephant. These formations had no other function than to isolate, to isolate all harm, to block all negative statuses and weakening effects.

After this barrage of abilities, the delay formations around the Demon Elephant lost nearly all of their effectiveness. The beast’s eyes widened as it locked its gaze on the royal city, bloodlust and madness radiating from its every movement.

Then, more formation lights surged from the Demon Elephant. Sterl could clearly feel that these formations were filled with an enormous amount of divine and law power—essentially, divine-tier energy.

At that moment, the Demon Elephant’s aura exploded, swelling to a frightening degree, and even its size seemed to increase significantly, now approaching over a thousand meters in height. Clearly, this was a card that the Ashen side had planted on the beast. This sudden power surge would undoubtedly catch Orichalcum off guard.

If any of their other countermeasures failed, it could lead to an irreversible catastrophe.

Watching the spectacle, the Orichalcum soldiers were already trembling in fear, their legs shaking uncontrollably. Their fighting spirit was completely shattered. A creature of this size—one even larger than a mountain—was enough to make even a god lose their composure, let alone mere soldiers.

They wanted to flee, but behind them stood the royal city. The gates of the city were tightly shut, and formations had been set up to block entry. It was impossible for them to escape. Not even a god could break through now.

As for fleeing in all directions, such a move would only lead to a quicker death. After all, even their weakest members were third-class level warriors, not mindless fools. They understood this simple truth: if they gathered together and formed a formation, they might stand a chance of resistance. However, fleeing would be like ants under the Demon Elephant’s massive feet—completely helpless and utterly crushed.

But unlike the panic of these soldiers, the coldness in Eterna’s eyes grew even more intense. He gazed at the Demon Elephant, and with a sharp wave of his hand, he ordered:

“Activate!”

At his command, under the astonished gazes of all, countless brilliant formation lights erupted over a vast area surrounding the Demon Elephant—spanning tens of thousands of meters. Before the Demon Elephant could even react, a massive, dazzling light screen—resembling an enormous inverted iron cauldron—descended, trapping the creature inside.

In the next instant, countless thick, chain-like structures quickly wrapped around the Demon Elephant, binding it tightly. This all unfolded in the blink of an eye.

When the dust settled and everyone could fully see, the Demon Elephant, as massive as a mountain, was now wrapped in innumerable chains. It looked almost like a mummified corpse. Moreover, within the light screen, a variety of weakening and restriction formations began to activate.

Weakness, curses, slowdowns, paralysis, petrification, burning, corrosion… These were just some of the many negative formations now encompassing the beast. The sheer number of them was so vast that they completely overshadowed the earlier delay formations, which now seemed like nothing compared to the power of these new formations.

Combined with the mysterious chains that bound the Demon Elephant, it was now completely immobilized, unable to move even an inch, let alone make a sound.

This scene left the Orichalcum soldiers dumbfounded. They stared, eyes wide, at the Demon Elephant now held in place by the suppressive formations. What had once seemed like an unstoppable, indestructible monster had been so easily restrained? It was nearly inconceivable.

For a moment, the soldiers’ emotions were in turmoil, like a roller coaster ride. First, there was the tension and uncertainty, followed by Boris’s betrayal and the wavering of a few legendary figures who defected. Then came the immense confidence brought by the powerful gods, only for that confidence to fade when Hades, the war god, was ambushed. Now they were facing this terrifying Demon Elephant, seemingly impossible to defeat, only for everything to suddenly take a dramatic turn.

If one wasn’t mentally prepared, it was likely that this emotional whiplash would have driven them to madness.

After the Demon Elephant was bound, various weakening formations began to relentlessly erode its powerful defenses. As for the isolation formations and those designed to amplify frenzy on the Demon Elephant, under the impact of this overwhelming force, they could no longer hold up. The defenses that were once impervious even to gods now, with just a demigod involved, could easily be breached, leaving gashes on the Demon Elephant’s body.

Meanwhile, on the castle walls, the aura from the Godslayer Crossbow grew increasingly ominous. It seemed as though, in the next instant, it would unleash a cataclysmic force that could completely obliterate the Demon Elephant.

Sterl observed the situation, nodding in awe. “What a brilliant game of chess…”

Although this battle had come about hastily, both sides had prepared meticulously, with carefully planned trump cards. Just the Demon Elephant itself was enough to sweep through the entire world. Without a force strong enough to suppress its level, there was no way to resist its ferocity.

On the other hand, the Orichalcum side’s formation—a combination of thousands of chained formations, spanning tens of thousands of meters—truly opened his eyes. Individually, each formation might only have the power to suppress a third-class being, perhaps even at most a legendary-level fighter.

But when these formations were brought together in such a unique configuration, they possessed an unimaginable amount of power. Moreover, he hadn’t felt any threatening aura before, and even for him, if he had carelessly stepped into it, he wouldn’t have been sure of making it out unscathed.

After all, the Boots of the Void could allow for instant movement, but whether it could penetrate such a massive array of formations was uncertain. Yet the effectiveness of these formations against a massive being like the Demon Elephant was clearly much greater.

In addition, the Shackles binding the Demon Elephant were no simple matter. He had seen them before in the royal vault. The exact attributes were still fresh in his memory.

Shackles of the Forbidden God

Description: These powerful shackles came from the Abyss, forged from the Essence of Black Iron found deep within. Even the rarest Essence of Black Iron was tempered in the cursed Flame of the Demon for ninety-nine days and nights, imprinting each inch with the natural Rune of Binding. Paired with chains made from shadow spider silk, they were extraordinarily resilient, imbued with shadow energy that instilled terror in countless living beings. Even gods would be reduced to mere mortals when ensnared by these chains. It is said that the Shackles of the Forbidden God also contained the heart of an Ancient Demon God, granting them even more unique powers.

Effect:

Shadow Corrosion: Beings bound by the Shackles of the Forbidden God experience a 30% decrease in vitality and a 50% reduction in their recovery rate. At the same time, they will be continuously eroded by shadow energy, which will steadily deplete their internal energy and vitality.

Abyssal Seal Force Field: Once the Shackles of the Forbidden God are activated, a powerful sealing force field from the Abyss will be unleashed. Divine Powers below a certain level will be suppressed, and the Abyssal energy will constantly drain the being’s intelligence, causing them to fall into a state of confusion.

Silence of the Divine: Those bound by the shackles will be affected by pulses from the heart of the Ancient Demon God. This effect erodes their divinity while continuously weakening and disrupting them, rendering them incapable of using any items or equipment.

It was hard to overstate just how terrifying this special artifact was, and what made it even more frightening was the fact that it wasn’t a one-time use item. Shackles of the Forbidden God had a required contribution point cost that Sterl still remembered: a staggering 150,000 points!

That was more than double the cost of his own Starry Battle Armor. Even with his immense wealth of 130,000 contribution points, he couldn’t afford to exchange for this item.

Sterl even suspected that this artifact had been deliberately priced so high that it would be impossible for anyone to obtain.

Considering the pitfall-like practices of the royal treasury in Orichalcum, it seemed entirely plausible. After all, if this artifact were to be exchanged and accidentally circulated, it would be an enormous loss and a tremendous threat to the royal city.

Indeed, even within the royal treasury, this item was one of the most valuable treasures, and to think that it had actually been brought out during this battle was something Sterl hadn’t anticipated.

“The chain-formed formation, combined with the Shackles of the Forbidden God, plus the terrifying power of the Godslayer Crossbow… after this strike, even an upper-tier deity would probably have a hard time surviving,” Sterl said with a hint of admiration. The synergy of these items and weapons was truly formidable. This thought made him grow increasingly cautious. The enemies and challenges he would face from here on out would only become stronger, and the likelihood of encountering such potent artifacts would rise. That meant he couldn’t afford to be careless in battle—if he wasn’t careful, he could easily find himself caught off guard and fall into a trap.

Just as Sterl thought the Demon Elephant was moments away from being slain, a sudden change took place. His brow furrowed slightly. Although his focus was fixed on the Demon Elephant, the divine perspective granted by his Map Module allowed him to catch any shift or alteration, no matter how small.

Emerging from the ranks of Ashen, a mysterious figure cloaked entirely in ominous black mist slowly walked forward.

The moment this figure appeared, Eterna’s expression shifted, his brow furrowing involuntarily. He didn’t sense any Divine Power emanating from the figure, but for some reason, a strange feeling of unease settled in his chest.