Chapter 1894: Take One for the Team
Like a frenzied wolf, Mammon mauled the remaining arm of the World Sentinel still holding him. That arm was soon severed as well.
Spring Crown had moved away. Now that he became Mammon's sole target, he couldn't attack as conveniently as before.
Mammon charged at him. Spring Crown changed his weapon to a glaive. He then made a vertical slash. A gigantic dark crescent shot out from that slash.
"What...?!" Since Mammon was charging toward Spring Crown, he ran directly at the dark crescent. His surprise was not because of having an attack suddenly before him, but it was the attack itself. The dark crescent that Spring Crown unleashed was the same skill he used earlier, the Infernal Crescent of Darkness.
His claw clashed with the dark crescent. The dark crescent was destroyed, but Mammon had to stop his charge.
'It was truly the Infernal Crescent of Darkness!' Mammon exclaimed in his mind. He could feel the dark energy latching onto his claw, devouring his HP and his weapon's durability
"How do you learn this skill?!" Mammon exclaimed. This was supposed to be a skill unique to him.
"Hehe, don't you want to know?" Spring Crown taunted. He slashed his weapons. Multiple dark blades shot out.
"What...?!" Mammon exclaimed in surprise. This was again the same skill he had used earlier.
What Spring Crown used was Weapon God's level 70 skill, Steal Weapon Skill. This skill enabled Spring Crown to steal a skill as long as it was executed using weapons, even a skill unique to a native or monster. The stolen skill was permanent until he replaced it with another skill.
At max level, he had three slots to input the stolen skills. The level of the stolen skills followed the level of Steal Weapon Skill.
While Mammon was surprised by the dark blades, the World Sentinel slammed into him from behind. The World Sentinel wrapped his arms around Mammon. His two severed arms had vines coming out of the stumps. These vines were now entangling each other, locking Mammon in the process.
"You think you can stop me? Grrr..." Mammon exerted his strength. Several of the vines snapped, but new ones grew and interlocked with one another. The World Sentinel's hold become even stronger.
"Rarrggghh...!" Mammon bent his knees before forcefully jumping up, dragging the World Sentinel with him. The weight of the giant treant caused Mammon to be unable to jump far. He fell back down with the World Sentinel at the bottom. They crashed into the ground and caused an earthquake. Dust clouds spread all around them.
David, Spring Crown, and his spirit weapon used this chance to land more attacks. David never stopped shooting. He also used Celestial Commander's level 80 skill, Magnetic Drones. This skill summoned six drones at max level.
These drones had extreme maneuverability. They flew at high speed and could stop abruptly before changing their flight paths. These made them very hard to follow. They could easily go around a target and fire from unexpected angles. They attacked by firing railgun-type projectiles. These projectiles dealt high physical damage and ignored 30% of defense.
They all attacked Mammon in a frenzy while Mammon struggled to break the World Sentinel's clutch.
Mammon's three heads roared before they unleashed dark fogs that covered everything. Everyone touched by this fog received damage. Spring Crown and the others had no choice but to back away.
While they retreated, they saw Mammon stand up. They were confused about how the devil released himself so easily from the World Sentinel. The dark fog then dispersed, and they saw that he did not. There were two Mammons. One was still on the ground, being held by the World Sentinel. The other was the one they saw standing up.
"Combat clone!" Spring Crown exclaimed. "This must be one of the random skills this devil possesses."
A combat clone couldn't use skills, but Mammon's base strength after the transformation was already troublesome. A combat clone could also move more freely as opposed to Mage Knight's Spectral Projection, which could use skills but needed to stay a certain distance from the caster.
The first thing the combat clone did was shove his two claws into the vines binding the real Mammon. He then started tearing those vines apart.
"Shit! Stop him!" Spring Crown exclaimed. Everyone rushed forward again. The dark fog Mammon spewed out was to send them away so no one disrupted his combat clone.
Spring Crown used Weapon God's level 60 skill, Thousand Weapon Storm. It was an offensive skill that conjured many melee weapons. Many more than what his previous skill, Weapon Storm, produced. These weapons battered Mammon's combat clone. The clone received damage but resisted the force from the hit. But after getting hit by almost a hundred weapons, the clone finally couldn't take it and was pushed away.
Yet, in that short time, the clone had managed to rip apart more than half the vines entangling Mammon. The vines regrew from the World Sentinel's stumps but were not fast enough. Mammon heaved, and he ripped away all the remaining vines still holding him.
He rose and uttered a thundering roar. His roar created a shockwave that shattered all the remaining weapons from Spring Crown's Thousand Weapon Storm.
"Crap!" Spring Crown cursed and stopped his advance. His spirit weapon continued charging forward.
The World Sentinel tried getting up to grab Mammon again, but Mammon's clone came on top of him and started mauling it like a rabid bear.
The spirit weapon transformed into a large spear and thrust toward Mammon. Mammon lightly swung his arm, and the spirit weapon was smacked to the side. His eyes fixed on Spring Crown. He had to get his revenge.
Mammon dashed forward. He arrived before Spring Crown in the blink of an eye.
"David!" Spring Crown exclaimed. He had predicted the devil's action.
David's magnetic drones didn't rush forward with the spirit weapons. They stayed near Spring Crown in a circling formation around him. When Mammon arrived, they released a magnetic energy that linked with each other. This energy formed a hexagon-shaped magnetic shield that protected Spring Crown.
This was another ability of the magnetic drones. They were not only offensive tools. When needed, they could create a protective field as long as there were at least three drones. The magnetic shield blocked Mammon's claw aiming for Spring Crown.
"Weak attempt!" Mammon mocked.
He clenched. The magnetic shield couldn't compete with the force he exerted. The protective field was destroyed. The six drones wobbled from the violent force.
Even though the magnetic shield failed to stop Mammon, it halted him for a beat. Spring Crown used the chance to unleash the third skill he had stolen. His weapon transformed into claws. When he punched, a giant image of a shadow wolf was conjured. This shadow wolf went straight for Mammon. Its claws pierced into Mammon's chest, causing huge damage. A gash appeared at the spot where the claws had landed. Thick black blood spewed from the gash.
Mammon roared, both from pain and anger. The despicable outworlder had not only murdered his son. He also wounded him using his own skill. He wouldn't be satisfied if he didn't tear this outworlder apart.
Spring Crown had again flown back after delivering the attack. He knew he couldn't afford to clash with Mammon directly.
When Mammon was about to lunge at Spring Crown again, he sensed strong pressure from the side. He turned and saw a golden dragon rushing at him. Jeanny had utilized the time when Mammon was occupied to complete her rune technique, the Divine Dragon Spear.
Mammon frowned. He sensed the mana from this golden dragon. It was not something that could be blocked. So, he jumped to the side, dodging the dragon. The dragon turned and went after him. Mammon moved again, keeping a distance from the golden dragon.
"Damn it!" Jeanny cursed. Mammon was so fast. Her golden dragon couldn't keep up. If this continued, it could expire its energy before touching Mammon.
The others were aware of the situation. The spirit weapons and the magnetic drones tried to hinder Mammon's movement, but Mammon's claws easily slapped them away. Mammon continued moving away from the golden dragon until he found Spring Crown before him.
The anger consumed him again once he saw this outworlder. The gash in his chest was still dripping some blood. He threw away all caution and lunged at Spring Crown.
"Aw, man... Take one for the team, they say," Spring Crown sighed. He was wielding a broadsword. He executed Shadowless Slash, the sword art he learned from Arthur.
The slashes from the art could match Mammon's clawing speed, but not his power. Spring Crown tumbled from the impact. He then found himself in Mammon's grip. When he looked up, he saw Mammon's huge open mouth. Dark energy swirled within it.
Mammon shoved Spring Crown into the mouth of his center head. He then bit down. Dark energy exploded when he clamped his jaws, shredding Spring Crown with the sharp teeth inside his mouth. At the same time, Jeanny's golden dragon slammed into his body.