Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 198

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Bountiful Harvest and Precious Relics
Whoosh…

A rain of arrows and spells whistled through the air, enveloping the group.

John frowned, unwilling to get entangled with these foes.

“It’s over,” he said, stepping back to avoid most of the magical and arrow attacks. He then unleashed his soul skill, Soul Impact.

The sealing array suppressed magic, but it could not contain soul attacks.

Buzz…

The air trembled as powerful soul energy surged, instantly engulfing the nearby ninth-tier warriors.

“Soul attack!” Their expressions shifted in alarm, and without any means to resist, their souls were swiftly destroyed. Blood flowed from their orifices as they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

One-hit kills!

John’s soul power was comparable to that of a demigod, making it easy to dispatch these ninth-tier legends.

Especially without divine protection.

[You have killed the ninth-tier Demon King, gaining 37.6 million experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated: Spirit +100, Dark Element Affinity +5.]

…

Notification messages flashed before him as the fallen enemies dropped a multitude of items, including dozens of Spirit Stones.

John was delighted; he desperately needed Spirit Stones.

“The Demon King is dead?”

“Retreat! This human is a monster!”

…

As the few fell, the remaining forces of various races were thrown into chaos, losing their will to fight and fleeing in panic.

John had no intention of letting these enemies escape. Multiple spells surged around him, unleashing powerful area-of-effect attacks that mercilessly bombarded the various racial warriors.

Flames roared and light and dark magic enveloped the battlefield, transforming the area into a hellscape where the foes had no means of resistance and were ruthlessly slaughtered.

Even so, many managed to flee.

John chose not to pursue them. After this battle, they should have realized the terror of Phoenix City and would think twice before attacking again.

Whoosh…

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through, and a terrifying presence enveloped the area.

“A demigod!” John frowned, his expression grave as he looked up at the sky.

Elsa immediately flew down from the city walls and landed in front of him, keeping a vigilant eye on the sky.

Boom!

Booming thunder rolled as a figure materialized in mid-air, followed by several powerful auras descending.

They were all demigods, with two of them even being lower-tier gods.

John felt apprehensive; if it were only one or two demigods, he and Elsa might have a chance to fight.

But with more than two demigods and two lower-tier gods, his death was certain.

The figure in mid-air wore a look of terror and quickly retreated.

The surrounding divine presences faded in tandem, and the world regained its clarity.

“What just happened?” John asked, puzzled.

Elsa let out a sigh of relief and explained, “Master, the demigod that just appeared is from the gods. He wouldn’t dare to descend lightly. The deities of the various races are all watching the gods and their divine warriors.”

“I see,” John replied, understanding. No wonder there had been no divine appearances except during the activation of the Divine Path.

Even the demigods were hiding in The Secret Area.

“Godslayer!” Malina approached, her eyes gleaming as she surveyed the spoils of battle. “Can we have a share of these items?”

“Give me the artifacts, skill stones, and Spirit Stones. We can split the other items evenly,” John said casually. Right now, he was primarily interested in Spirit Stones and skill stones, finding little value in the rest.

“Sure!” Malina beamed, immediately directing her subordinates to clean up the battlefield.

Most of the enemies were boss-level beings, leading to a bountiful haul.

They collected over seventy low-tier artifacts, 170,000 skill stones, and 125 Spirit Stones.

These Spirit Stones were all dropped by ninth level powerhouses.

John, take them all away.

What he lacks the most now is Spirit Stone, which can convert magic points.

After several days of battles and with the Plunder ability, his power had increased significantly, and his magical energy had reached over 2.5 million points.

He needed 250 Spirit Stones to convert all his magical energy into spiritual power.

Once he transformed all his magical energy, integrating The Immortals artifacts would ensure that any future boosts to his mental attributes automatically converted into spiritual power.

His current stash of Spirit Stones was still far from sufficient.

Additionally, they were rare; only powerful ninth-tier beings dropped them, making them hard to acquire.

With the threat of The Secret Area resolved, John didn’t linger in Phoenix City. He bid farewell to Malina and returned to the Saint Martial Sect.

The Saint Martial Sect and Flame City remained tranquil.

Despite several assaults from the Dark Humans and Orcs, those enemies had proven utterly incompetent, suffering heavy losses.

Since then, no strong foes dared to target John’s territories.

Feeling a surge of motivation, John entered Death Land to enhance his techniques and refine Spirit Stones for converting them into spiritual power.

Over the past few days, he had plundered over 30,000 skill points and, combined with the 170,000 skill stones he possessed, his skill points exceeded 200,000. It was time for another boost in his technique level.

He chose to elevate his Soul Technique once more.

[Consumed 1,000 skill points; Soul Technique upgraded to level 1,944, Soul Technique +1.]

…

[Consumed 1,000 skill points; Soul Technique upgraded to level 2,152, Soul Technique +1.]

He spent all his skill points, bringing his Soul Technique to over 2,000 levels, yet he still failed to comprehend any new skills.

“What’s going on? Not gaining a skill after breaking the 2,000 level barrier?” John furrowed his brow in frustration.

He had invested over a million skill points to elevate his Soul Technique, yet not a single new skill had emerged.

It felt like a complete waste.

He thought it might have been better to invest in Overwhelming Battle Energy, where he might have gained several skills instead.

At least he found some consolation in the fact that his Soul Technique had improved.

He pulled out the Spirit Stones—155 in total—and began the refining process to convert them into spiritual power.

The refining of Spirit Stones was no easy task; it required meticulous effort and time.

…

Over the course of half a month, he refined all the Spirit Stones, converting over a million magical points, resulting in his spiritual power reaching 161 points.

However, his overall strength did not see a noticeable increase.

During this time, there had been three system announcements regarding the emergence of three sets of treasures, but none were claimed by human players; instead, they were taken by strong beings from other races.

John was unaware of their specific locations and thus could not plunder them.

After the Divine Path was activated, other races gained their own opportunities, which also triggered system announcements.

Despite the chaos on Skyline Continent, no divine beings had descended.

Whoosh!

Just then, the waters of the Dark Sea surged, and Kamal appeared.

“Godslayer, I was just looking for you,” she said, gracefully descending.

Her injuries had healed, and her aura had strengthened considerably, indicating a significant recovery of her power.

“Is something the matter?” John asked, puzzled.

Kamal nodded. “In three days, a treasure will be opened.”

“A treasure?” John replied, confused, not fully understanding what she meant.

“It’s somewhat similar to The Secret Area,” Kamal explained briefly. “This treasure is accessible only to those who have refined treasures but have not completely integrated them. It can aid in the fusion process. Each race has several slots available, and we, the demon race, can offer you one of those slots.”

“Really?” John responded, surprised and skeptical about the demon race’s apparent goodwill.

Kamal shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and replied coldly, “You don’t need to doubt it. Within this treasure, mutual killing is prohibited. Even if someone wanted to attack you, they wouldn’t dare to do so openly.”

“Thank you,” John said gratefully, then added, “But isn’t one slot a bit too few?”

Kamal furrowed her brow, visibly displeased. “How many do you want?”

“How about three slots?” John suggested, thinking of his companions. Bonnie had refined a demon race treasure, and he had obtained a Beast Clan treasure by slaying the Azure Dragon, which he wanted to give to Behemoth.

Both of them hadn’t fully integrated their treasures, so he wanted to bring them along.

“Not possible!” Kamal replied decisively. “Don’t be greedy. We, the demon race, only have ten slots. Giving you one is already a huge favor. If it weren’t for your acquisition of The Immortals treasure, we wouldn’t even consider it.”

“How stingy,” John remarked, but seeing her about to get angry, he quickly asked, “Is there any other way to obtain more slots?”

“There is, but you can’t do it,” she explained. “Every race with a divine being can invite participants to gain slots.”

Divine beings?

Bonnie and Behemoth didn’t meet the criteria.

Bonnie was a dark elf queen and the strongest among the elves.

As for Behemoth, John had only encountered him, and he wasn’t sure if there were any others of that race, let alone a divine being.

He considered the Beast Clan, but they might not grant him a slot either.

He had to think of another way.

Looking at Kamal, he asked, “If I were to slay a demigod, would that count as a divine being?”

“You can kill a demigod?” Kamal said, surprised and stunned, her brow furrowing. “If you can slay a demigod, you might just earn three slots.”

“Three? Why not ten?” John was confused.

Kamal was speechless. “Kid, you think just because you can kill a demigod, you can compare yourself to the demon race? The number of slots is determined by strength.”

“Fine. Three slots are enough. Just make sure to reserve that one slot for me,” John conceded, not wanting to be too greedy, especially since there weren’t many strong refiners among his followers.

“Hmph!” Kamal scoffed, clearly doubting John’s ability to slay a demigod. She thought he was just boasting.

“By the way,” John remembered something and asked, “Can your demon race give me a set of demon race treasures?”

“Kid, don’t get too carried away!” Kamal’s anger was real. The treasures were scarce, and the demon race barely had enough for themselves, let alone give him one. She didn’t have any spare treasures either.

“Not agreeing is fine, but no need to get angry,” John shot her a glare, unafraid.

He realized that asking for the treasures was a bit excessive. He had hoped to help Sara acquire a set of demon race treasures, but it looked like he would have to find a way on his own.

Kamal’s eyes flickered for a moment before she said, “It’s impossible to give you a set of demon race treasures, but you can go and take them yourself.”