Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 237

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Ancient Battlefield Ruins, Five Hunter Queens
Another day passed, and John and his group had finally neared the Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

Aside from the constant assault from Hunters, they encountered no other obstacles along the way.

However, the Hunters now appearing were mostly at the demigod level, their strength terrifying.

Elsa and the Undead Lord were no longer able to offer much help.

Even John couldn’t take down these Hunters as easily as before, forcing the group to slow their pace.

There were even a few instances where Hunters broke through John’s defensive attacks and reached the elves, killing three of them.

Fortunately, no members of the Blues Family had been harmed.

Boom… Boom…

The heavens echoed with a series of booming sounds as John unleashed his ultimate skill Return of Ten Thousand Swords. Boundless sword light rained down, temporarily clearing the surrounding Hunters, allowing him to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After two days and nights of intense combat, John was mentally exhausted, his head spinning from fatigue.

He glanced at Jean beside him and asked, “Jean, can The Tree of Life block these demigod-level Hunters?”

The little girl remained silent for a moment, seemingly communicating with The Tree of Life, before replying, “Yes, big brother. But The Tree of Life says she can only hold them off for half a day.”

“That’s enough,” John nodded, “I need some rest. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Okay!” Jean agreed happily, thrilled to be able to help John.

A beam of light shot out from her forehead and expanded into a towering tree, its immense life force radiating out to shield everyone.

She immediately instructed, “Everyone, stay under The Tree of Life.”

The group quickly gathered beneath the tree, leaning against it to rest.

Although they hadn’t been in combat, two days and nights of constant marching had left them utterly exhausted.

John also rested against the tree, trying to recover his energy and replenish his drained spiritual power.

Despite his Wrath of the Gods talent, which reduced his spiritual power consumption by 99%, the continuous high-intensity fighting, coupled with frequent use of ultimate skills, had nearly depleted his reserves.

And spiritual power couldn’t be restored with potions; it could only recover slowly on its own.

Roar… Roar…

Around them, the endless roars of the Hunters echoed as they furiously attacked The Tree of Life, making everyone anxious.

John felt concerned as well.

But he quickly noticed that the Hunters posed no real threat to The Tree of Life.

These Hunters’ greatest strengths were their soul attacks and percentage-based health damage.

However, The Tree of Life was special, and soul attacks were almost entirely ineffective against her.

As for percentage-based health damage, her immense regenerative abilities made it a non-issue.

At the very least, she could hold out for half a day.

John no longer concerned himself with the Hunters, sitting cross-legged to focus on quickly restoring his mental and spiritual power.

…

After half a day, The Tree of Life had reached her limit. Wilting leaves began to fall.

Although the Hunters couldn’t threaten her soul, the terrifying percentage-based health damage had severely wounded her.

Fortunately, John had fully recovered both his mental state and his spiritual power.

The group had also regained their strength after resting.

John glanced at The Tree of Life and quickly said, “Jean, withdraw it.”

“Okay,” Jean replied, her heart aching for the tree. She immediately approached The Tree of Life, gently touching the trunk. The tree quickly shrank into a beam of light and was absorbed back into her forehead.

John, linked to The Tree of Life through life-sharing, could feel the tree’s vitality rapidly recovering, and thankfully, there was no lasting damage.

Roar…

A chorus of roars erupted as the Hunters, no longer held back by The Tree of Life, surged forward, relentless in their assault.

Nearly all of them were demigod-level Hunters.

Everyone tensed up.

John, however, let out a cold laugh. The Sword of Divinity and Demons appeared in his hand as powerful sword intent surged, the winds howling around him. Without hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate skill, Return of Ten Thousand Swords.

Buzz…

A humming echoed as countless blades of sword light filled the sky, mercilessly slaughtering the surrounding Hunters.

Even the powerful demigod-level Hunters could barely withstand the first wave of sword strikes.

“Move!” John commanded, leading the charge into the army of Hunters. Sword light rained down everywhere, with the powers of light and darkness law swirling around him, tearing apart the Hunters and clearing a path.

He led the group forward at a swift pace.

At last, the entrance to the Ancient Battlefield Ruins came into view. The Hunters became even more frenzied, trying their hardest to block their advance.

John remained unfazed. With the cooldown of Return of Ten Thousand Swords complete, he unleashed it once more.

Sword light blanketed the sky again, accompanied by the haunting cries of dying Hunters. Even the demigod-level Hunters couldn’t withstand the relentless onslaught and were cut down mercilessly.

Fortunately, the most powerful enemies they had encountered so far were only demigod-level Hunters.

Had there been a large number of lower-tier gods, even John might not have been able to hold them off.

John gave it everything he had, finally reaching the entrance to the Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

The seal on the ruins had long been broken, making it an open secret area that anyone could enter.

However, the place was swarming with Hunters, enough to threaten even upper-tier gods. Apart from John, no one dared step foot here.

Choosing the Ancient Battlefield Ruins wasn’t just about escaping from the gods—there was an even more critical reason: to enhance his Soul Technique.

If his suspicions were correct, the Hunter Queens should drop Soul Essence. Refining that essence would allow him to gain 10,000 Soul Technique points.

His current Soul Technique had already reached over 30,000 points. If he could absorb just one Soul Essence, it would push him over 40,000, enabling him to activate his divine talent—One Breath, Three Purities.

He was extremely curious to see what effect this talent would have.

Buzz!

With a surge of sword intent, John unleashed Return of Ten Thousand Swords once again, the cascading sword light clearing the surrounding Hunters.

He quickly turned to the others and said, “I’ll enter the Ancient Battlefield Ruins first. Count to three, then follow me.”

“Got it,” they nodded in agreement.

Wasting no time, John took a deep breath and stepped into the ruins.

Whoosh…

Winds howled, and the constant roar of Hunters echoed throughout. The sky and ground were completely covered with an endless sea of black—more Hunters than he had imagined.

“So many?” His scalp tingled as countless attacks rained down, rapidly depleting his health.

Realizing the situation, he immediately retaliated with skill attacks.

With Return of Ten Thousand Swords still on cooldown, John activated the ultimate abilities of the Sword of Divinity and Demons.

He unleashed Wrath of the Gods and Divine Punishment simultaneously.

Without the boost from the sword laws, the damage from these two ultimate skills wasn’t as powerful as Return of Ten Thousand Swords, and he couldn’t instantly kill the demigod-level Hunters.

Darkness and light laws surged around him as he cast magical attacks, barely managing to clear the nearby Hunters.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, bright flashes of light appeared around him as the others entered the Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

“So many Hunters?” They gasped, swallowing nervously at the sight. Fear gripped them all.

With this many Hunters, even The Tree of Life wouldn’t be able to hold them off. If John ran out of strength, everyone here would die.

“Move!” John shouted without further explanation. Battling through the relentless attacks of countless Hunters, he swung the Sword of Divinity and Demons, hurling spells and sword skills to carve out a narrow path.

Even so, his health continued to drop, and the life-sharing recovery from The Tree of Life was slowing.

He grew increasingly anxious. With so many Hunters, there had to be more than one Queen in these ruins.

He quickly activated Soul Perception, his powerful soul force spreading out to cover nearly the entire Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

“Five!” John exclaimed in shock. There were five powerful soul auras here, each as strong as the previous Queen they had encountered.

That meant five Hunter Queens had descended upon the Ancient Battlefield Ruins.

Where on earth were these creatures coming from?

Could it be that the Ancient Battlefield Ruins connected to Shadow Clan’s shadow star?

All these Hunters were from Shadow Clan.

John didn’t dwell on the mystery. The sheer number of Hunters was overwhelming, and there was no way he could escort over two thousand people safely to the cave.

He needed another plan.

Undying Flame!

He thought of the Undying Flame at the center of the battlefield’s seal—a flame that was eternal, terrifying in its power, and one that the Hunters would never dare approach.

Surrounded by countless Hunters, the sky and ground covered in darkness, John barely managed to determine the direction of the Undying Flame and accelerated his attack, cutting his way through the swarm toward it.

“Everyone, stick close to me and don’t fall behind. Elsa, Undead Lord, you two take the rear and hold off the Hunters as best as you can,” he quickly instructed.

“Got it,” Elsa and the Undead Lord replied, moving to the back of the group.

Although the number of Hunters was overwhelming, their strength wasn’t as formidable as feared. Elsa and the Undead Lord could barely hold them off.

Whoosh!

With a wave of John’s hand, several magical attacks rained down, cutting through the surrounding Hunters as he pressed forward toward the center of the seal.

…

The temperature around them steadily rose, and the weaker members of the Blues Family and the elves were already struggling to endure it.

John hadn’t yet seen the Undying Flame, but he guessed they were close.

The number of Hunters around them was also decreasing.

But now a new problem had emerged—just as the Hunters couldn’t withstand the heat of the Undying Flame, neither could the rest of his group, except for him.

He turned to Jean and asked, “Can The Tree of Life shield us from this heat?”

“I’ll ask,” Jean replied and immediately began communicating with The Tree of Life.

Moments later, she said, “Yes, big brother, but we can’t get too close to the Undying Flame.”

“Good,” John exhaled in relief. “I’m going to pick up the pace. Let me know when The Tree of Life reaches its limit.”

Jean nodded.

John quickened his speed, furiously cutting down the surrounding Hunters as they advanced.

“Big brother, it’s time,” Jean called out shortly after.

They still had some distance to go before reaching the Undying Flame, but the number of Hunters had significantly dwindled.

It wasn’t that The Tree of Life had reached its limit, but rather that the other members of the group were hitting theirs.

The health of the elves and the Blues Family members was rapidly draining. Any further, and they would face certain death.

Thankfully, there weren’t many Hunters left, and The Tree of Life could shield them from the heat.

Jean quickly communicated with The Tree of Life, which then took its full form, releasing vast life force to block the heat of the Undying Flame and heal the group’s wounds.

John, feeling the pressure lift for a moment, took the opportunity to recover his own strength.