Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

Chapter 71 The Desperate Reaper

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The stench of blood permeated the dimly lit underground parking lot.

Shen Xi flicked the blood beads off the axe blade. The five headless corpses lay scattered at his feet, their blood forming streams that flowed slowly down the slope of the ground.

In the distance, the battle between Mingying and the Reaper continued.

She was about to rush over to help, but Shen Xi stopped in her tracks for a moment.

He sensed a strange fluctuation emanating from the lord.

That fluctuation wasn't an ordinary energy surge, but a deeper tremor from the very source of life. It was as if something was awakening within it, as if some shackle was being broken.

Sensing the changes in the Reaper, Mingying chose to abandon the prolonged fight and instead stood guard in front of Shen Xi once again.

Something's wrong; it's definitely mutated in some way.

Shen Xi's pupils contracted slightly.

Gain insight into all things, instantly unlocked!

Golden light swirled wildly deep within his eyes, piercing the darkness, penetrating the bone armor of the lord, and looking straight at its core...

Then, he saw it.

The energy within that lord's rotting corpse was surging wildly!

The energy, which was originally scattered everywhere, now seemed to be summoned, frantically converging from all parts of the body towards the heart! The heart pounded violently, each beat accompanied by a violent surge of energy! The energy was compressed, fused, compressed again, and fused again in the heart, finally transforming into crimson torrents that spread throughout the body along the blood vessels!

Wherever it went, the bones trembled, the muscles expanded, and the skeleton reorganized!

Shen Xi's pupils contracted to their maximum size.

"This is... evolution?!"

"Wait, it was fine just now, how could it suddenly..."

He suddenly remembered what had just happened.

When those five idiots came in, the lord was being beaten down by him and Mingying.

Then, to prevent the mission rewards from being shared, he turned around and killed those five people.

Mingying stood in front, and although she was constantly being attacked, she did manage to hold it back.

It should be attacking Mingying with all its might.

But why suddenly...?

Is his evolution really just a little bit too short?

Shen Xi's gaze fell on the crimson eyes of the lord's corpse.

Those eyes were fixed on him, filled with mockery.

Shen Xi realized it instantly.

"It's waiting!"

"It knows someone has come in; it's waiting for me to get distracted!"

"It has been hiding its strength, waiting for this moment!"

"Damn it! I got tricked by a rotting corpse!"

Shen Xi's face was grim.

Just then...

[Devour Evolution Triggered!]

[The Lord "Reaper" has been detected to be in critical condition, forcibly activating the talent "Devour Evolution"!]

[The player's soul fragments that have already been consumed are now burning...]

[Current number of burns: 376/376!]

[All attributes are being upgraded...]

Shen Xi's face instantly darkened.

Three hundred and seventy-six players, three hundred and seventy-six lives, have all become nourishment for this lord to break through his limits!

"roar!!!"

The lord's roar suddenly changed!

It was no longer the angry roar of before, but a deeper, more terrifying... resonance!

The sound was filled with the wails, screams, and desperate cries of countless people! Three hundred and seventy-six distorted faces struggled wildly among the bone spurs on its back, each face screaming silently!

Startled by this sudden turn of events, Mingying took several steps back, holding her twin bone blades horizontally in front of her chest. For the first time, a hint of fear flashed in her deep eyes.

And the lord's body began to swell.

five meters.

5.5 meters.

six meters.

Six and a half meters.

It swelled until it reached seven meters before finally stopping!

The once jet-black bone armor now gleamed with a dark golden luster, and dense runes appeared on each armor plate. These runes writhed like living creatures, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression. The bone spikes on its back had become even thicker, with barbs growing from their tips, draped with countless tattered pieces of cloth and dried flesh.

The most terrifying thing is its head.

The three curved bone horns on his forehead had now multiplied into five! The one in the very center was the thickest and longest, its entire body a dark gold, with a faint crimson light flowing within. Below his scarlet eyes, a second mouth split open, also filled with fangs, now opening and closing, emitting eerie chewing sounds.

The bone blades on his arms also changed, from two to four! Two smaller bone blades grew from his shoulder blades, each gently waving in the air, drawing arcs of death.

[An anomaly has been detected in the dungeon boss!]

[Corpse Reaper (Level 18 Silver Lord) → Corpse Despair Reaper (Level 19 Silver Lord)!]

The apocalyptic game's notification sound was shrill and piercing, echoing repeatedly in the empty underground parking lot.

Shen Xi didn't have time to take a closer look, because the evolution of that lord was not yet over!

In the all-encompassing field of vision, a densely packed information panel is refreshing rapidly...

[Corpse Reaper of Despair (Level 19 Gold Lord)]

Strength: 102 → 128 (+26)

[Spirit: 58→79 (+21)]

Agility: 71 → 93 (+22)

[Constitution: 108→135 (+27)]

[Talent 1: Devouring Evolution (Gold → Platinum) – For each player devoured, all attributes permanently increase by 1%, and there is a chance to acquire that player's class traits and skills. Currently devoured: 376 players. Consumed souls can be burned to enter a berserk state, temporarily increasing all attributes by 50% for 60 seconds.]

[Talent 2: Aura of Despair (Legendary - New) - Centered on the caster, all enemies within a 50-meter radius suffer a 15% reduction in all attributes and take true damage equal to 1% of their maximum health per second. This effect cannot be immune to or dispelled.]

[Skill 1: Desperate Bone Blade Storm (Gold Tier) - Wields four bone blades, dealing fifteen consecutive slashes to all enemies within a 30-meter radius, each dealing 150% damage and inflicting armor penetration. Cooldown: 40 seconds.]

【技能2：死者军团（黄金级）——召唤30-50只被其吞噬的玩家化作的精英腐尸助战，召唤物继承生前80%属性及部分技能。冷却时间：80秒。】

[Skill 3: Desperate Roar (Gold Tier) - Unleashes a roar imbued with soul-shaking power, instilling fear in all enemies within 50 meters for 3 seconds and having a 30% chance to cause confusion (indiscriminate attack). Cooldown: 35 seconds.]

[Skill 4: Undying Bone Armor (Silver to Gold) - Upon activation, increases the body's bone armor defense by 100% for 20 seconds and restores 5% of maximum health per second. Cooldown: 120 seconds.]

[Skill 5: Soul Harvest (Legendary, New) – Locks onto a target, instantly dashes to the target, and unleashes a guaranteed critical hit slash, dealing 300% damage. If the target is killed, permanently steals 10% of their all attributes. Cooldown: 300 seconds.]

[Note: It has finally broken through that threshold. It has completed a leap in its level of existence. Now, it is no longer merely a killing machine, but a true ruler. Three hundred and seventy-six lives have forged its throne. And you will be its first sacrifice after its coronation.]

Shen Xi stared at the line of information, her lips twitching slightly.

128 points of Strength, 135 points of Constitution.

It has increased by more than 20 points compared to before the evolution.

And those two legendary talents and skills...

Despair Aura: Reduces all attributes by 15% within 50 meters and causes 1% health loss per second.

Soul Harvest: 300% guaranteed critical hit damage; killing also permanently steals attributes.

What the hell is this monster?

[An anomaly has been detected in the dungeon boss; quest rewards have been increased accordingly!]

【任务「腐尸领主的陨落」奖励更新：经验值+1000→2000，金币+1000→2000，声望+500→1000，白银级技能抽取卡×1→黄金级技能抽取卡×1】

【任务「领主的末路」奖励更新：经验值+2000→4000，金币+2000→4000，声望+1000→2000，白银级装备箱×1→黄金级装备箱×1，自由属性点+5→10】

Shen Xi glanced at the two task rewards, but her eyes remained unmoved.

"The reward is great, but I might very well fail here!"

The problem now is that this newly evolved golden lord is more than twice as strong as before.

He, however, was only at level fourteen.

Behind him, Mingying staggered back to his side, covered in blood, with most of the bone armor on her chest shattered. Her deep eyes were fixed on the huge figure in the distance who was adapting to her new body.

Shen Xi looked at him.

"Can we still fight?"

Mingying did not answer.

He simply raised his head and glanced at Shen Xi.

There was absolutely no intention to back down in those deep, dark eyes.

Then, he stepped forward and blocked Shen Xi's way again.

He used his broken body to shield him from the aura of despair emanating from the lord.

Shen Xi was stunned.

He was the one who risked his life to save me just now, and now it's him again, standing in front of me.

He bears the pain for himself every minute and every second.

Shen Xi took a deep breath.

Then he raised his hand and placed it on Mingying's shoulder.

"Step back."

Mingying turned her head, a hint of doubt flashing in her deep eyes.

Shen Xi looked at him and said, slowly and deliberately:

"I said, step back."

Mingying remained silent for a moment before finally stepping aside. He still couldn't disobey Shen Xi's orders.

Shen Xi stepped forward and stood in front of the seven-meter-tall golden lord.

He raised his head and looked up at the enormous thing.

128 points of Strength, 135 points of Constitution.

A 50-meter-long aura of despair, causing you to lose health every second.

Legendary skill: Soul Harvest.

Very strong.

It's really strong.

But there was no fear in Shen Xi's eyes.

Only anger.

"Those five idiots..."

He murmured, his voice low.

"If they hadn't suddenly barged in and interrupted me, you'd be a fucking corpse by now."

At this moment, the lord's corpse's eyes were full of disdain.

Looking at Shen Xi, there was blatant contempt.

"roar!!!"

The lord let out a deafening roar, wielding four bone blades wildly, while the summoning circle for the legion of the dead behind him began to gather light!

It wants to show this insignificant human being what despair truly means!

Shen Xi smiled.

That smile was filled with murderous intent.

"It's evolved, hasn't it?"

"A legendary skill, right?"

He gripped the Corrupted Bone Battle Axe tightly, and the starlight on his Starry Rhythm Uniform suddenly shone brightly, while the star map on his chest spun wildly!

"I'll see what happens today..."

"How the hell can you evolve?!"

The moment he finished speaking, he moved!

Bloodlust and berserk mode!

All attributes +50%! Attack speed and movement speed +30%!

A warm current surged through his body, his muscles swelled, his blood vessels dilated, and his eyes gleamed with a scarlet light!

128 points of strength?

I'm 160cm tall now!

135 points of body constitution?

I'm currently at 200 points or more!

A fifty-meter halo of despair?

Losing health every second?