Chapter 671 Espying: Hammer of Persistence Driving the Nail of Success
"Fortunately or unfortunately for you, your struggle ends here."
Eren said and took out a water-element artifact that he had saved from his time in the duchy of Lionheart. It was an army-issued hammer that he had found to be very unique. Despite his money crunch, he had saved this hammer among all the things he had collected. He didn't include it in the list of artifacts he had sold.
It once belonged to someone who Eren later referred to as the Mute Spectator of Team Claho. Ironically, the same artifact was now going to be used on another Mute, Har Jahar. His mouth had been sealed off again by the runes under Eren's order after all.
Though the artifact was still in the Ace Rank, it served as a suitable testing apparatus for him to play with his newly gained water attainment. He channeled his water element mana and imbued it into the weapon before activating the runes etched onto it with his understanding of the way of water.
Eren lifted his hammer over his head, and the Warhammer grew in size. The hammerhead turned into a pure mass of water that looked like water but behaved like ice. It had the same shape as the weapon Eren was holding earlier in a much larger size.
The hammerhead boasted a length of 10 meters and a width of 4 meters. The handle of the artifact also grew along with it. The density of the liquid was increased with the weapon's runes and Eren's elemental attainment.
The weapon now weighed around 800 pounds, a weight even more exaggerated than its size. Yet, Eren could wield it effortlessly. He tightened the grip around the weapon's handle and let it fall on its target.
Eren hammered the artifact onto Har Jahar with exceptional speed. He had also activated Total Control to expedite his actions and generate even more force. The moment it connected with the Har Jahar's horns that were raised above his head, a distinct mana pulse could be felt.
Raise. Grip. Boom.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Har Jahar watched Erenw's actions with extreme dismay before feeling the extreme pressure that forced him to touch both his hands to the ground. The ground beneath it would have cracked as a normal limestone platform.
Har Jahar wasn't spared from screaming a yell that told everybody that the Oni King could feel pain. When Eren lifted his weapon with both his hands, the audience found that their king was barely injured. But his back had deformed because of the sustained point of impact.
Har Jahar's regenerative powers were activated once again, allowing him to recover from the blunt force attack. However, he could feel that Eren was just getting started at this point.
He was not worried about the Warhammer that gave off Ace rank signatures upon activation. He was worried about the way Eren had chosen to activate the weapon as well as his time-element-driven extreme speed.
Eren had overloaded the weapon runes with Ace rank mana as he still had access to it at the Adept rank. However, he didn't stop there. He also used Ace mana as a primer to make his Adept rank mana enter the weapon's runes.
The weapon creaked even after its first use. Yet, Eren didn't care. He was just testing his water elemental affinity anyway. He gripped the weapon once again before hammering it down on the Oni king.
Bam.
"Aaaaargh, you coward. Free me. Fucking free me. You cannot…"
Bam. Creak.
"Aaaaagh. Fuck. Young man, we can talk about…"
Bam. Creak. Bam
"You fool, do you even know.."
Bam. Bam. Bam.
"Oh Lord merciful, I pray to you…"
Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.
Eren smirked as he realized this was the last use of the weapon left. He overloaded the weapon with his Adept ranked mana and made the weapon double in size before hammering it down for the last time.
Booooom.
The Warhammer shattered after its use and released all the water it was holding. The water spread all across the Sacred Hall's floor before some of it dispersed in the thin air.
The audience watched the whole scene with dark expressions on their faces. They were left aghast by the final sacrificer's boldness to treat their Oni king this way.
Even the rebels feared that they couldn't have done a better job than Eren.
Har Jahar's dark purple blood was mixed in the water around him. The siphoning array's runes were still active on him. So he couldn't move much. He had to take this humiliating beating while standing on this spot.
If Har Jahar manages to free himself from his shackles, the audience was sure that he'd kill everyone including Eren, rebels, and even the monsters who supported him. Because that would enable him to silence everyone. This was a matter of his reputation back in Echidna.
Har Jahar's body had been deformed oddly. Yet, it was still trying to regenerate the torn skin, muscles, and fibers that were in horrible condition all around his body. Eren had hit Har Jahar from every possible angle using the hammer in different shapes and sizes, leaving him with blunt trauma on every part of his body.
"Aaaaaaah! You bastard. Free us. We can't tolerate our king getting humiliated like this. I challenge you to a duel. If there's any Orc blood left in you…"
As a result, the Orc Lord managed to free his mouth from the restrictions laced by runes and began to speak loudly. The first thing he did was to throw a duel challenge at Eren who looked at him disinterestedly.
"I'll deal with you. I'm short on time, you see.
Sharog!"
"Understood, My Lord."
Eren was able to enjoy near-death silence in the Sacred Hall again. There was only a minute left before the siphoning array broke. Yet, he acted like he had all the time in the world.
"Now for the finishing blow."
Eren said to Har Jahar who was beginning to think that he might just survive the ordeal. Eren didn't seem to have anything on him that could mortally injure him. He looked at his white-haired enemy before chuckling.
"Cough. Cough. Cough. You fucking rat. Don't worry. I won't let you die easily when these bounds are loosened. You'd experience the true torture methods of Echidna that would drive you insane. Hehehehe. Hehehehe. Hehehehe. Cough. Cough"
Har Jahar spoke while coughing blood. His internal injuries seemed more severe than they looked. Yet he didn't care. His Oni King body could no longer withstand abuse. Eren wouldn't have been able to injure him at all if it wasn't for the siphoning array.
"You think I only have toys to play with you, do you?"
Eren said in a grim voice to Har Jahar. At that moment, Har Jahar knew that this was the last conversation he was ever going to have with a live person in this life.
Eren had pulled out his transcendent Labrys.