Vulture's eyes widened in horror as a sudden, overwhelming sense of danger flooded his mind, but it was already too late to dodge.
He bit down hard, desperately trying not to reveal any other weaknesses, yet he felt a chilling sensation at his neck, followed by a gush of blood that sprayed out uncontrollably.
What should have been a simple matter to resolve now left him completely defenseless, his hands clutching his neck in terror.
John took a step back, feeling perplexed.
In his view, even though Vulture's situation might differ from the outside world, he was still supposedly bolstered by the so-called power of heaven.
It shouldn't have been so easy for him to be injured—what was really going on?
John did not let his guard down but continued to watch Vulture intently, as if waiting for his next move.
Meanwhile, Vulture, clutching his neck, showed a different reaction; originally, his neck was bleeding profusely, but in the next second, it was completely engulfed by a cloud of green smoke.
Initially, John hadn't paid much attention to the smoke, but he soon noticed that under its influence, Vulture's wound began to heal rapidly.
The blood that had been gushing out now suddenly stopped.
John's expression darkened; he knew this was one of Vulture's unique recovery skills, or perhaps it was a boon under the so-called power of heaven.
Regardless, it was all to his detriment, a weakening of his own position.
Vulture glared in John's direction, his eyes nearly spewing fire.
He had thought John was close to death, but now, unexpectedly, John had inflicted further damage on him.
This man truly deserved to die! They should all perish, dissolve into mud here.
In an instant, Vulture's hands gathered an immense power once again, and John's face grew even more serious.
He could not continue to wait; doing so would lead him down a path to certain death.
His blade swung wildly, hacking at Vulture repeatedly.
Blood flowed freely in an instant, but Vulture seemed utterly unafraid.
Meanwhile, John felt a strange new power emanating from Vulture.
It was like a shield, enveloping him, making him impervious to harm.
John's blade struck as if hitting stone, each impact ringing out like the sound of hard iron.
John quickly retreated; he was not one to linger in battle unnecessarily.
He realized that aside from the initial damage he had inflicted, everything that followed seemed increasingly futile.
He simply couldn't breach Vulture's shield, which was terribly frustrating.
"No, this can't go on," he thought to himself, determined to resolve this opponent quickly to avoid any further complications.
Vulture glared venomously at John, his lips curling into a mocking sneer as if he had just thought of something amusing.
"Do you think you can kill me? I tell you, you're dreaming."
In this place, he was the spokesperson for the gods, the Godson!
Instantly, more lightning mixed with green mist appeared beside him.
Upon seeing this color, John grew immediately alert.
It reminded him somewhat of something Benjamin had, though it appeared somewhat different now.
The lightning cracked loudly, hurling itself relentlessly at John, like a series of thunderballs pursuing him.
John, growing irritated by the moment, promptly raised his shield.
Boom!
The thunderball struck the shield, producing a crisp sound as sparks flew in all directions.
John felt a tingling sensation, unlike anything he had experienced before.
He knew it was due to the constant explosion of thunderballs around him.
Moreover, the shield still carried some remnants of the thunderballs, making it inevitable to feel electrified upon contact.
This tingling sensation was so intense that his hands began to weaken; he was almost unable to hold onto his blade.
If this continued, what awaited him was...
He bit his tongue tip, using the pain to jolt his focus.
He stared intently at Vulture, looking for any potential weaknesses.
Meanwhile, the burning sensation on his arm grew stronger, and even his neck began to ache slightly.
He dared not show any vulnerabilities, but he knew that this sensation was definitely responding to that secret realm fragment he encountered earlier.
[Secret realm fragment detected, would you like to integrate?]
[Please note, the host may experience some changes during integration. Choose a safe location to proceed.]
[Upon integrating the fragment, the host will gain full control of the secret realm fragment, and the two secret realms will merge.]
When John heard the system prompt, his heart skipped a beat as he realized that this secret realm fragment might indeed originate from the same source as his previous one.
Integrating them might not have any adverse effects.
However, he was still unsure about what the mentioned physical transformations entailed.
If it caused him to faint or undergo other changes, it could end his game.
Boom!
Distracted for a moment, a massive thunderball smashed into him.
He gasped in pain as his shoulder clothing was completely charred, revealing large patches of damaged skin.
The skin that came into contact with the lightning was instantly scorched, emitting a smell akin to cooked protein.
At the same time, John felt such intense pain in his arm that he nearly lost all ability to resist.
He could barely hold onto his blade, but he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and staring determinedly at everything before him.
The man's power had increased significantly in that instant.
What was happening? How could this be? His power was supposed to be sealed.
Even with the supplementation and maintenance of the fragmented heavenly principles of this realm, there should be no increase.
[Would you like to integrate?]
The system asked again.
John gritted his teeth and glanced at Vulture across from him.
He decided to take a gamble.
No matter what, he had to integrate now.
Only after integrating would he have a chance to escape.
Yes!
Once John made up his mind, he suddenly felt as if a fire was burning incessantly within his body.
He hadn't expected the reaction to be so intense, so he was utterly unprepared.
In an instant, even now, he could barely hold it in.
He desperately tried not to let the blood seep from his mouth.
But his condition still caught Vulture's attention.
Vulture looked at him as if watching a joke, casually motioning with his hand before hurling another thunderball in his direction.
"How long do you think you can last?"
Vulture watched silently, then one thunderball after another smashed towards him.
John was struck down to one knee on the ground, even making a deep impression in the mud beneath him!
In that moment, he felt the flame within his chest growing fiercer, nearly burning all his blood dry.
The discomfort was unbearable.
At this very moment, all he wanted was a way to release this feeling.
If this continued, he was certain he would explode completely.