Continuing to sprint along the direction of the chains, he finally found the end of countless chains.
Noah narrowed his eyes, looking at the towering structure tightly bound by countless thick chains, somewhat hesitant.
If he remembered correctly, this location was the Energy Hub of the Black Shores.
If it were destroyed here, the entire Black Shores would likely suffer unpredictable consequences.
"Whatever—"
The Emerald of Genesis came into his hand, surging golden energy dyeing his pupils, the Tacet Mark on the back of his hand glowing together with the blade edge of the Emerald of Genesis.
"Slash!"
Brilliant sword light fell like the Milky Way from the ninth heaven, the surrounding air seemingly ignited.
After a vast, deafening boom, the towering structure beneath the chains was sliced with a constantly expanding fissure as if made of paper, ultimately collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Dust filled the air, tens of thousands of arrowhead chains flew out like a swarm of bees whose hive had been struck, piercing toward Noah with overwhelming force.
When the arrowhead chains approached within one meter of Noah, they suddenly halted as if crashing into an invisible yet indestructible wall, stopping uniformly.
They trembled frantically in the air, emitting waves of unwilling buzzing, yet unable to advance even an inch further.
"Besides making noise to annoy my ears, what else can you do?"
Noah curled his lip, casually swinging a few times, sharp sword light flying out destructively, slicing all the chains clean.
In terms of rating, the strength of each arrowhead chain could at most be rated Common class; it was just that the sheer number of chains was overwhelmingly large.
Even if some powerful Resonators came here, they might manage short-term resistance, but prolonged engagement would surely exhaust them to death.
But Noah's Time stop ability was truly domineering, completely countering this swarm of chains.
"If this is the extent of it, it can at most be considered a somewhat stronger regional Lament, far from qualifying as a global Lament."
Noah looked at the Energy Hub where no more chains appeared, frowning in thought, carefully recalling every scene he had witnessed since arriving at the Black Shores.
Clearly, a Lament had occurred, yet the Black Shores remained overall unharmed.
After reaching the lower level, these chains he encountered were undeniably highly aggressive, yet they had not truly killed anyone.
Those pierced by chains in the hall seemed more like nutrients for the source of the chains.
Either the Lament in the Black Shores was a false alarm—not global but regional—or this Lament had a mastermind behind the scenes with ambitions greater than merely destroying the Black Shores.
And this mastermind behind the scenes, could it be...
At this thought, Noah's gaze sharpened, staring straight at the Energy Hub, terrifying energy once again accumulating in the Emerald of Genesis in his hand.
In his previous strike, he had avoided the internal facilities of the Energy Hub, but now, he deliberately slashed toward the reactor of the Energy Hub.
Boom!
The sword light precisely cut in, colliding with the chaotic energy within the reactor, erupting in a violent explosion. The entire lower layer of the Tethys System shook intensely.
A massive shockwave spread from the Energy Hub, tearing surrounding energy pipelines and equipment to shreds.
The flames of the explosion roared like a gigantic dragon, a huge pillar of energy light shooting skyward, illuminating the entire bottom of the Tethys System as bright as daylight.
As the blinding light pillar dissipated, Noah squinted at the enormous figure appearing beneath it, his eyes suddenly widening.
It was a black-and-red humanoid Tacet Discord, approximately ten meters tall, like an unsheathed peerless murderous weapon.
Four thick, sturdy giant arms, a body wrapped in dense, slender arrowhead chains, seemingly hiding infinite explosive power.
"An unprecedented Tacet Discord—is it created by the Lament..."
It seemed this was the true source of the Lament in the Black Shores. Just as the Inferno Rider appeared after the Lament in the Port City of Guixu, a new Tacet Discord was born after the Lament in the Black Shores.
Noah furrowed his brows, his body unconsciously assuming a combat stance.
The black-and-red Tacet Discord opened its eyes, red light gleaming with intense killing intent in its pupils. It stepped toward Noah one by one, the chains around its body emitting frenzied buzzing:
"My name is Slaughterblade of Carnage."
It can actually speak?
Noah's brows knitted even tighter:
"Are you a Threnodian?"
Slaughterblade of Carnage did not speak again. Its figure abruptly vanished, reappearing right in front of Noah, looming down from above. Its massive foot stomped heavily, bringing terrifying spatial ripple oscillations.
In just one exchange, the experienced Noah made his judgment—this unprecedented Tacet Discord was Calamity class!
Noah dodged and retreated, evading the trampling attack. Slaughterblade of Carnage immediately drew out an arrowhead chain as thick as a human head, smashing heavily toward Noah.
The strike missed, and Slaughterblade of Carnage showed no hesitation, charging forward like an arrow released from a string.
The thick chain in its hand swept out horizontally with a sharp whistle. Noah's heart tightened; he quickly leaned back, the chain perilously brushing past the tip of his nose.
However, Slaughterblade of Carnage seemed to have anticipated this, two of its four arms clasping together, smashing down heavily like a mountain.
At the critical moment, Noah pushed hard off the ground with both legs, sliding back several meters to narrowly avoid this fatal blow.
Looking back at the original spot, the Tacetite—hard enough to be forged into military weapons—was actually smashed with a several-zhang spiderweb-like crack.
Before he could marvel, Slaughterblade of Carnage instantly attacked again. Though its body was massive like a titan, its agility was inconceivable.
Not only was its attack frequency extremely high, each move seemed precisely calculated, making Noah's evasion quite strenuous.
After consecutively dodging several rounds, Noah finally pulled back, creating distance from Slaughterblade of Carnage.
"You have some skill, but it's not enough."
Slaughterblade of Carnage lightly shook its head, implying something:
"If you only know how to blindly dodge, in the end, you will just like them—forever become my nutrients."
"I was just warming up. You're the one putting on airs. But since you want to play, I'll play with you."
Noah breathed slightly, a cold smile spreading across his lips.
He had already probed the true strength of Slaughterblade of Carnage. Though Calamity class, it was actually only slightly stronger than Overlord class—far inferior to Dreamless.
Moreover... this way of attacking felt far too familiar to him—
He reached out and flicked, pulling a long, thin towel from his backpack.
Under Slaughterblade of Carnage's shocked gaze, Noah tightly blindfolded himself, tying the thin towel into a dead knot at the back of his head.
What utter contempt!
Slaughterblade of Carnage flew into a rage, instantly appearing in front of Noah, repeating the same trick—a heavy stomp.
This time, Noah seemed to have anticipated it, spinning lightly a step ahead, deftly evading Slaughterblade of Carnage's attack.
The Emerald of Genesis in his hand swung out a brilliant ice-blue arc, severing layers of chains, leaving a deep wound on Slaughterblade of Carnage's leg.
"Pretty tough skin."
After a nonchalant remark, came the second, third... countless wounds left on Slaughterblade of Carnage's body.
Every move Slaughterblade of Carnage made, even before it began, Noah on the opposite side had already reacted a step earlier, seizing its recovery lag to counterattack.
It was as if Noah had fought it countless times before, knowing all its moves by heart—understanding it far better than it understood itself. Fighting it didn't even require eyes.
"Impossible... what kind of monstrous technique is this..."
Slaughterblade of Carnage roared, abandoning the chains. Its four thick arms clenched tightly, smashing down like a rain of blows.
The sword in Noah's hand danced into an impenetrable sword net, blocking the mountain-heavy fists one by one, appearing completely at ease.
Finally unable to endure it, Slaughterblade of Carnage withdrew its fists to pull back distance, but Noah instead pressed forward.
The sword blade dyed in golden energy keenly seized its extremely brief pause, thrusting heavily into Slaughterblade of Carnage's lower chest wrapped in layers of chains.
"How could this be... it must be that I haven't absorbed enough nutrients. If I could absorb just a little more..."
Its gaze seemed to pierce through the thin towel, seeing Noah's eyes filled with pure killing intent.
"If I let you retreat in this opening, it wouldn't be a speedrun anymore."
The sword piercing through the ribs grew hotter, pouring in extremely vast Spectro energy in a short time.
Noah dragged the Emerald of Genesis, sprinting across Slaughterblade of Carnage's chest. The sword edge stained with golden energy easily cut through the obstruction of the profound black chains, sparks grinding out like ripples stirred across the water's surface.
Slaughterblade of Carnage could not cry out in pain, because that sword had already pierced through its throat, massive golden energy suddenly erupting at its head.
"Moment of resonance!"
Hoo—
Noah removed the blindfold, exhaling a long breath, his face showing no joy of victory.
The Calamity-class Slaughterblade of Carnage was thoroughly dispersed, with no more chains rising from the depths of the Energy Hub.
The entire bottom of the Tethys System shifted completely from the previous alarm-like red light to a gentle blue light, as if foretelling the turning of danger into safety.
In the distance, faint human voices could be heard from the Modulation Hall.
It seemed the Lament in the Black Shores had been resolved?
Noah shook his head.