Chapter 294: Hunting King’s Extreme Will - Desperate Breathless Death Struggle

Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Hunting King’s Extreme Will - Desperate Breathless Death Struggle

As the roar faded,

terrifying white steam began to pour endlessly from Valerian’s nose and mouth!

Immediately after.

BOOM!!!

A terrifying, high-pressure force erupted from within Valerian’s tiny body!

It was the ultimate destructive power, born from wringing out every last drop of his life, soul, and Ether in a single instant.

The sea of boiling lava, which had stretched for hundreds of meters, was brutally shoved aside by this invisible pressure.

The ground instantly caved in several meters deep, forming a temporary, absolute vacuum!

At that moment, as if ignited by Valerian’s resolve to burn away his life, his very will began to materialize!

It transformed into countless thick bolts of black and red, cross-shaped lightning that began to rage violently around his body.

And then,

as if his physical body could no longer contain the wildly rampaging, high-pressure energy within,

terrifying cracks began to inch across the skin and muscle over Valerian’s heart.

But

what seeped out from those fissures was no longer fresh, red blood.

It was a searing light so blinding one could not look at it directly!

The flesh around the fissures had already begun to rapidly carbonize and flake away under the terrifying heat.

In the final moment before his life was extinguished,

Lance, who was watching from a bystander’s perspective,

suddenly felt as if Valerian, his back still turned, was speaking to him from across the boundaries of time and space.

"Successor, watch closely."

"I will only show you this once."

"This is my, Valerian’s, Dragon Hunting Technique!"

"BANG!!!"

An earth-shattering bang, loud enough to shatter eardrums.

The displaced lava rushed back from all directions like an apocalyptic tsunami.

But none of it mattered anymore.

The massive reef beneath Valerian’s feet instantly disintegrated into dust from the recoil.

Time itself seemed to stop completely in that moment.

All sound vanished from the world.

The last thing reflected in the terrified, vertical pupils of the once-unbeatable Giant Dragon...

...was a figure, searing enough to melt anything, that tore through the darkness and thunderclouds, piercing heaven and earth.

...

The vision ended abruptly there.

Everything faded like a receding tide.

Lance’s consciousness returned to his room at the Silver Hand.

He snapped his eyes open, gasping for breath.

The pressure of facing an Ancient Giant Dragon and the shock of witnessing the Hunting King’s final blow had left his back completely soaked in a cold sweat.

But the light in his eyes was frighteningly bright!

He had succeeded!

[In your satori, you have crossed the river of time and personally witnessed the final hunt in the life of the third-generation Hunter King.]

[You have felt the resolve to "abandon all defense, burn your life to ashes, and seek only a single, decisive blow"...]

[Congratulations, the "Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique" has been successfully deep-dived!]

[You have obtained a new Specialty: Hunting King’s Extreme Will - Desperate Breathless Death Struggle (Extraordinary/Legendary)]

Lance extended his right hand and clenched it into a tight fist in the quiet room.

He could clearly feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

This was the second time he had faced a Giant Dragon, and compared to the last, the pressure from this one was even more terrifying.

However, all he felt was excitement.

’So damn cool, Senior.’

Lance silently praised Valerian in his heart.

He recalled the information the old guild master had mentioned.

This Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique was originally unearthed from deep within some goblin ruins.

Based on the historical timeline, Valerian hadn’t even been born in that era.

Therefore, this Specialty wasn’t something the Hunter King had intentionally recorded in the Breathing Technique Scroll.

’The Satori Essence is far more valuable than I initially imagined.’

’This crystal uses the Skill itself as a core concept, forcibly cutting into the river of time to strip unique Specialties from Cultivators of different eras...’

’No wonder the drop rate is so low.’

However, to begin the next stage of excavation for the Dragon Hunting Breathing Technique, the number of Satori Essences required had skyrocketed to a full one hundred.

Looking at the number on his panel, a strong impulse suddenly rose in Lance’s heart.

He wanted to take advantage of the Summer Crown before it ended, using its Demon-attracting Crown Buff to go grind for another wave of resources among the hordes of monsters.

’If Satori Essence has such terrifying value, then what about Skill Distillation Fragments, which are on the same rarity level?’

His high-intensity battles recently had allowed him to save up over a dozen fragments.

However, he was still a long way from the huge number needed to upgrade [Red Dragon Transformation].

’I can put these long-term goals aside for now.’

Lance focused his mind, turning his attention to the new notification box that had popped up in his vision.

He couldn’t wait to see what effect this new Specialty had.

Based on the scene he had just witnessed in the Illusion Realm, it was definitely a burst-type Specialty that overdrafted one’s life force.

’This kind of mechanism might perfectly complement my Talent for resurrecting after death.’

—

Hunting King’s Extreme Will - Desperate Breathless Death Struggle

Specialty Level: Extraordinary/Legendary

Prerequisite: [Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique] reaches Level 4 (Mastery)

Specialty Effect: Once activated, the "Desperate Breathless Death Struggle" state cannot be stopped. While active, you will lose a fixed 10% of your maximum Life Value per second until your life is completely depleted.

In the "Desperate Breathless Death Struggle" state, your Melting Furnace will forcibly activate the Ether Energy in the surrounding environment and, based on the Trait of your own [Source Material], directly convert it into elemental attacks you can control.

During this state, all of your Basic Attributes except for Spirit will receive a massive 100% boost. All "Energy/Elemental Damage" you deal will gain an additional 50% final damage bonus.

—

Lance stared at the text description on the panel, completely stunned.

The effect was so ridiculously powerful that it made him gasp.

From the moment of its creation, this Specialty was a suicide trump card that an Ordinary person could only use once in their lifetime.

Once activated, it could not be reversed. It would completely destroy the user’s Ethereal Melting Furnace in one go, in exchange for a moment of extreme violence that breaks all limits.

Lance had a clear understanding of his own combat system.

His strength was built on well-rounded, balanced Attributes, supplemented by the sustained combat capability granted by his Unlimited Stamina.

As long as he wasn’t killed in one hit, he could remain in peak condition forever.

But he had always lacked a burst-damage method that could instantly shatter his limits.

He had previously looked through a lot of Profession data, and it seemed that this world didn’t have that kind of Decomposition Secret Technique.

This was because Ether Energy in the Material Realm followed a strict law of diminishing returns. No matter how much Energy you poured into a Skill, there was a limit to the increase in destructive power.

If a Caster tried to forcibly break that limit, the Spell might even end up in Suicide Bombing on the spot.

He never would have dreamed that such an ability would exist as a Specialty.

This was the perfect supplement to his own suicidal combat style.

However,

he discovered that this percentage-based attribute increase wasn’t calculated multiplicatively on top of the bonus from his Breathing Technique.

It used an additive system.

For example, the Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique’s bonus to Power was 90%. After stacking this Specialty, it would become 190%.

’That makes sense. If it stacked multiplicatively, this Specialty wouldn’t be stuck between Extraordinary and Legendary.’

But Lance immediately thought of another terrifying combination.

’What if I activate this Desperate Breathless Death Struggle the instant I enter my [Dragon Form] state?’

Lance grew excited. He had already thought of a resonant name for this impending combat form.

’Crimson Dragon: Suffocation Mode!’