Born in Blood



A giant needle.

Liam had made a giant needle as a weapon.

It was the result of some ambitious planning and an unreasonable line of thought.

Umbral Needles were a crucial part of Liam's fighting style. 

It was the only thing that gave him long-ranged capabilities.

So why not make it a forged item?

That reasoning was what ushered Liam into forging something so unreasonable and strange.

It was his chance to finally add Meanings into a Beast Will itself.

The item's structure wasn't easy to make, but Liam had diversified his inventions during his time at the Temple.

Making bows, blades, hammers and armor certainly helped expand his experience.

Armed with that knowledge, he meticulously began mapping out the weapon from top to bottom.

First, there had to be something to hold the weapon together. 

A casing that could catapult the needle like a rocket launcher. 

In fact, that's what Liam took inspiration from.

On its own, something like that was not possible with Liam's capabilities.

But the vampiric inscriptions on its surface were for that exact purpose. 

The writings created an abrupt discharge of 'Ora' that burst at the weapon's base. 

It would ruin the entire apparatus in an instant, save for the needle as it shot out, but it was a one-time use item in the first place.

Then, there was the needle itself.

Sharpness was a favorable quality, but not a necessity. 

After all, the core strength of the Umbral Needles rested with what happened right after their detonation.

Surprisingly, that part was the easiest to make.

After all, his chaos was even more explosive than his Surging Burst spell, which he also took inspiration from.

The Meanings that went into the item were the most difficult to do, but he practiced on small-sized weapons before proceeding to the real thing.

All in all, it took more than two months to plan, and three slow weeks to execute.

All those efforts combined gave birth to a Rank 2 upper-tier item.

As soon as the giant needle exploded in the center of the Magus' chest, shards of iron skin flew in all directions.

Dark flames quickly followed, surging around the man's figure and enveloping his body.

Letting out a brief shout of pain in the form of a curse, he dispelled the metallic skin and coated his body with rock-like skin.

But Liam and the rest didn't give him reprieve.

As soon as the needle pierced into the Warrior's chest, Liam mentally ordered one of the Disciples to charge his strongest spell.

By the time the Warrior finished clearing the darkness on his body, a single, jagged spike burst from beneath the man's feet and impaled him right between the legs.

The Warrior's face – grimly corroded and mangled – twisted to a grave wince, and from seven different angles, seven different blades entered his throat.

With a final cough of blood (and several stabbings in his unprotected skin) the Warrior slowly tipped over limp, his bum still painfully skewed to the spike.

Some Disciples continued stabbing him in the neck just a few more times to make sure he was dead, and a couple more for revenge.

Almost everyone was out of breath at that point, Liam included. Everyone fought under the effects of the Array, and their bodies ached constantly.

'The Shadows should have taken care of the stronger disciples by now. We've done pretty much all we could.'

Meanwhile, Liam's fellow Disciples gave him incredulous looks.

"Just what was that weapon?" a scrawny, pale-faced disciple asked. "I've never seen something like that before…"

Liam didn't deign him an explanation, limiting himself to two words:

"Abyssal Needle."

Liam quickly took the Warrior's space ring and stored his body, then left the building.

As he thought, the majority of the Inner Ring had been killed.

Liam wasn't required to help anyone out anymore, and he wasn't planning to.

'It should be about time.'

Liam made himself comfortable. 

He reclined his back on a roof and began cultivating, his gaze stuck to the Patriarch's dome-like quarters.

Slowly, the eerie silence was receding, replaced by a growing rowdiness. 

Most of the Warriors within the Training Grounds noticed the invisible barrier surrounding their Sect.

At the same time, Disciples that did a bad job at assassinating their targets had been killed, and their victims left their accommodations to report the attack.

Shouts of rage and confusion were starting to grow in volume.

From then on, both the Temple of Shadow and the Verdant Warriors began to fight publicly. 

Booms and bangs echoed throughout the mountain peak.

The Warriors tried to regroup and fight back, but they were being picked off one by one without the chance to counter.

The remaining Verdant Warriors began retreating into their Patriarch's quarters.

Liam took in the chaotic atmosphere.

From the high vantage point, his eyes reflected everything.

Liam heard Ruth's maniacal laughter from a distance followed by the loud banging of her hammer.

Liam saw Maeve slitting the throat of a Warrior with a smile on her face, and Iris' arrow piercing the neck of a retreating enemy.

As the minutes passed, Liam's anticipation only grew.

'Any time now…'

Another few minutes passed as the Verdant Warriors were being butchered one by one.

'Come out already!'

Then, it finally happened.

A distant rumbling noise grew louder from within the Patriarch's quarters, followed by a—

BOOOOOOM!

A figure burst through the giant dome and flew above the air. 

Everyone's attention converged on him.

It seemed like this man was the progenitor of all the Verdant Warriors, judging by his fiery and dominating aura.

The only thing that distinguished him from the rest in terms of appearance, was the fact that he was roughly 3 meters tall, adorned by muscles all the way.

And that enraged expression made even Liam raise a brow.

He was a freaking giant!

An angry, angry giant.

That giant's bloodthirsty gaze swept the plateau grounds.

Despite the distance between them, Liam felt the man's dense killing intent.

Thankfully, Elder Verium and Elder Jane appeared opposite to him. 

And now, Liam would only watch, stoking the flame of his ambition.