Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent

244  Chapter 244: 100,000 Shadow Power, Shadow Human Tribe

John's Soul Technique had greatly improved, but duplicating talents in quick succession had taken a toll on his soul, causing significant damage. Thankfully, the presence of the Crimson Karma Lotus ensured that this damage would soon heal.

He transferred the Wrath of the Gods mage profession and Divine Path Technique to his gods doppelganger, allowing it to refine the gods' treasures. This boosted its four core attributes by an additional 100,000 points, further enhancing its strength.

As for the Soul Technique, he passed it on to the human doppelganger. However, due to the lack of suitable Skyline Continent Human treasures or a profession to match. He would have to wait until they left this place to further enhance the doppelganger's abilities.

"One last Talent Copy Stone," John mused, gazing at the single stone left in his hand. He thought of Sini.

Sini hadn't received the Immortals inheritance, so John decided to gift her one of his talents.

The best choices were the Plunder, Wrath of the Gods, or Undying and Immortal talents, but with only one stone, he had to make a careful choice.

"This can wait. I should focus on leveling up and reaching the ninth tier first," he decided, shelving the dilemma for later. Merging the three doppelgangers with his main body, John's strength increased once again. His four core attributes surged by over a million points. His strength attribute now reached an astonishing seven million, while his spirit attribute neared five million.

With this power, he could easily slay mid-tier gods.

Even when facing upper-tier gods, as long as their Soul Technique was weaker than his, he was confident that he could defeat them.

Looking at the swarm of Hunters around him, John felt reassured. Without the Hunter Queens, these creatures had lost their ability to resurrect, making them even easier to deal with.

Buzz!

The air quivered as powerful soul energy rippled outward.

He unleashed Soul Impact.

Pfft! Pfft!

In an instant, tens of thousands of Hunters collapsed, their souls annihilated with no warning, dying instantly.

[You have slain a demigod-level Hunter. You gain 6.76 billion experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated: You gain 0.01 Shadow Power, +200 Spirit, +200 Strength, +50 skill points.]

[You have accumulated 100,000 Shadow Power. Your basic and skill attacks now deal 1% of the target's maximum health as damage.]

...

The notifications flashed across his vision—John's Shadow Power had reached a new milestone.

In the past few days, he had killed hundreds of millions of Hunters, accumulating 100,000 Shadow Power. Now, his attacks dealt a staggering 1% of his target's maximum health as additional damage.

This meant that if he attacked his opponent a hundred times, they would die, regardless of their defense.

"Could I possibly kill upper-tier gods now?" John thought excitedly. As long as their Soul Technique was weaker than his and they lacked strong soul-based attacks, he was confident that he could now take down upper-tier gods with ease.

However, it wasn't realistic to think of easily defeating upper-tier gods just yet. Their Soul Technique was immensely powerful, and most of them had mastered formidable soul-based attacks.

If only there were more Hunter Queens.

Killing a Hunter Queen guaranteed the drop of a Soul Essence, and refining one would increase his Soul Technique by 10,000 points.

Upper-tier gods typically had Soul Techniques over 50,000 points. While beings like Beelzebub of the demon race and Cand-Dragon from the Beast Clan had Soul Techniques surpassing 100,000 points.

Heidern, the Overseer of the gods, surely had an even more terrifying soul.

John's thoughts shifted as he once again activated Soul Perception.

"What?" He frowned, surprised. "Another strong soul presence just appeared!"

It was clear to him that this powerful presence was new, and its aura was entirely different from that of a Hunter Queen.

It wasn't a Hunter Queen.

Could it be an upper-tier god?

John's expression grew serious. He could sense that this being was heading straight for him, quickly closing the distance.

Whoever it was had clearly noticed him as well.

"I guess I'll find out what kind of creature you are soon enough," John muttered coldly, retreating deeper into the center of the Undying Flame, waiting for the unknown entity to arrive.

He could tell that their Soul Technique was not too different from his own, which meant he wouldn't be able to annihilate them outright.

But with his Undying and Immortal talent, even if the intruder was an upper-tier god, as long as they couldn't destroy his soul, they wouldn't be able to truly harm him.

Whoosh!

The wind howled, carrying the overwhelming presence closer.

The Hunters, which had been roaring moments ago, suddenly fell silent, all of them turning in unison to face the newcomer. One by one, they dropped to the ground in submission.

John was taken aback—these Hunters, who hadn't even shown such reverence toward the Queen, were now groveling before this approaching entity.

Could this figure be even more powerful than the Hunter Queen?

His curiosity piqued, John rose into the air on his sword.

Though he hadn't yet advanced to the ninth tier, he could still use his sword to fly.

From the horizon, a figure rapidly grew larger, heading straight for him.

John's brow furrowed. The aura emanating from this being was strange—something entirely foreign to him, a type of power he had never encountered before.

Whoosh!

The figure stopped a hundred meters away, hovering in the air. They both took a moment to assess each other.

The figure was clad in a black robe, with striking red hair and piercing red eyes. The air around them was thick with the scent of blood, so strong it was almost suffocating.

Below them, the Hunters trembled in fear.

"Mid-tier god," John muttered as he assessed the red-haired figure. Despite the man's rank, the power emanating from him felt on par with that of an upper-tier god. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

John quickly put the pieces together.

Shadow Clan.

The red-haired man spoke, his voice rough and ancient, laced with a deep, unsettling tone: "Human, was it you who killed my Hunter Queens?"

"Yes," John replied calmly.

"Interesting," the man remarked with a slight smile, showing no trace of anger. "Are you one of The Immortals?"

John didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Are you from the Shadow Clan?"

"That's correct," the man confirmed. "I admire your abilities, human, but you will pay a price for killing my Queens." His voice remained eerily calm, devoid of any emotion.

In an instant, the man's figure vanished, replaced by a flash of crimson light that shot toward John at impossible speed.

14:08

[You were instantly killed by Shadow Clan's Blood Crow. The Blessed Ring has triggered…]

The notification blinked in John's mind as he resurrected on the spot, coughing up blood, his soul wracked with intense pain.

Panic gripped him as he stumbled backward, eyes wide in shock as he locked onto the man.

That attack was unlike anything he had ever encountered—it came without warning, impossible to defend against.

Even more alarming, it carried with it soul damage, bypassing all of John's defenses.

It reminded him of his own Red Lotus Fire, capable of bypassing standard defenses and dealing direct soul damage.

"Interesting," the Blood Crow remarked, seemingly fascinated by John's Resurrection. He wasn't surprised at all. If anything, he appeared more intrigued.

"Let's go again." With those words, he transformed back into a streak of blood-red light, hurtling toward John once more.

John's expression hardened. He swiftly summoned the Immortal Sword from within, unleashing his ultimate skill: Return of Ten Thousand Swords.

"Pointless," came the calm voice of the Blood Crow amidst the swirling red light. "Your attacks won't harm me." Sword beams flew, piercing through the blood-red light, seemingly to no effect. Yet, something unexpected happened—damage numbers flashed.

But it wasn't typical sword or true damage.

It was something far more potent—percentage-based health damage.

-4,840,000,000

-4,840,000,000

...

The numbers blinked ominously above the Blood Crow's head. Each sword strike inflicted a staggering 4.84 billion damage, calculated based on the enemy's total health.

This meant the Blood Crow's total health exceeded a mind-boggling 480 billion!

"What's this? Have you mastered the Shadow Power?" the Blood Crow asked, his tone no longer indifferent. There was a trace of surprise in his voice as his body reappeared, allowing the sword beams to pass through him harmlessly.

John chuckled coldly and said dismissively, "So the Shadow Clan isn't so tough after all."

His ultimate skill, Return of Ten Thousand Swords, was more than enough to unleash a storm of sword beams. As long as a hundred of them hit their mark, this guy would be dead for sure.

But the Blood Crow merely smiled. "Human, you're far too ignorant," he said. Despite his health rapidly dropping, he showed no fear. With a calm wave of his hand, a blood-red beam shot out, instantly connecting to John.

"Life Drain," the Blood Crow's chilling voice echoed.

Immediately, John felt his life force being siphoned away through the blood-red beam, flowing directly into the Blood Crow, whose own health began to recover.

"What...?" John muttered, alarmed. He had never encountered such a bizarre attack before.

His life force was draining rapidly, but thanks to his bond with The Tree of Life, it was replenished just as quickly. The life-sharing ability was saving him for now.

"So, you have some life-sharing ability," the Blood Crow noted, still eerily calm as sword beams continued to rain down on him.

"Damn it!" John's panic intensified. This creature was draining billions of life points with each second. The Tree of Life wouldn't be able to sustain this for long.

Desperate, John swung his sword toward the blood-red beam.

Whoosh!

The sword passed right through the beam as if it wasn't even there.

It was immune to both physical and magical attacks, like an ethereal, untouchable force.

John gritted his teeth and withdrew the sword beams, realizing he was losing this fight.

The Blood Crow, having restored his health to full, ceased his life-draining attack and looked at John with a smug expression.

"Why stop? Go on, continue," he taunted, his tone dripping with arrogance.

John's heart pounded with fear. This creature's attack methods were terrifying, far beyond anything he had faced before.

Splat!

He could sense that this Blood Crow not only had the ability to kill him but could also sever his connection with The Tree of Life and Elsa, potentially wiping them out as well.

He couldn't afford to be reckless.

"Boring," the Blood Crow said with disappointment, shaking his head. "Very well, I'll attack then."

With that, he vanished into a flash of blood-red light, once again slicing through John's body with impossible speed.

Splat!

[You have been instantly killed by the Blood Crow. Lifesaver talent triggered...]

The notification flashed, and John was defeated again, triggering his Lifesaver talent, granting him five seconds of invincibility.

"I wonder if I can attack this guy during invincibility?" His eyes lit up as he unleashed his skill, Infinite Sword Array.

Buzz!

A sky full of sword lights descended again.

Blood Crow maintained the same faint smile, neither dodging nor evading, even spreading his arms wide, allowing the attack to fall.

Slash, slash…

As before, John's attack only dealt a percentage of Blood Crow's health as damage.

However, this time, that blood-red glow didn't devour his health.

As expected, invincibility made him immune to all damage.

"Hmm?" Blood Crow looked puzzled, noticing the golden light surrounding John. He realized what was happening and said calmly, "I see."

Whoosh!

Hundreds of sword lights slashed down, and Blood Crow's health bar instantly emptied, turning him into a pool of blood.

John let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait, something's wrong. There's no system notification!" He suddenly realized there was no kill confirmation, and that blood-red glow still connected to the pool of blood.

That guy wasn't dead.