Awakening?The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Stone of Absorption

[Stone of Absorption]

[Description: A special item created by the gods of the main world using unique technology and the remains of a certain creation, currently bound to the Lord of Evil Spirits faction.]

[Effect: Players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction can use this item to absorb the activity contributions of the "Succubus Queen" faction's hell players after their death during the [Counter-Expansion] event.]

Sterl was stunned for a very simple reason.

Shouldn't this be a bit more exaggerated?

Sterl had already found it quite strange that the demon players of the Lord of Evil Spirits faction were not afraid of infighting followed by a surprise attack from the main world.

At this moment, he understood.

The players from the Swallowing Heaven faction had once again reset the bar for what was possible.

Not only were they unafraid of attacks from the main world, but the description of the Stone of Absorption made it clear that this item was specifically designed by the main world to incite discord within the two divine-level demon factions!

And yet, the people from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction did not hesitate to step into the trap!

All for short-term gains...

It was no wonder that the gods of the main world didn't bother to conceal the origins of this item; there was no need to! After all, the denizens of hell would plunge headlong into the trap, as long as there was something to be gained.

At this moment, Sterl stood still, a slight frown on his face.

He was aware that the players under the Lord of Evil Spirits had already clashed fully with those under the Succubus Queen, and the hell side was bound to suffer heavy losses. So, what about himself...

There was no need to hold back anymore!

Because this expansion event seemed destined for failure.

Sterl was now considering whether he could fish in troubled waters and gain some benefits from this incident.

At this time...

He stood motionless.

Nearby, the players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction who caught sight of Mephistopheles all retreated in fear.

An eerie scene unfolded on the battlefield.

Clearly, the players from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction were eagerly trying to kill their fellow faction members to seize merits, yet they scattered like waves crashing against rocks in front of the Succubus Queen's camp!

A dense crowd of heads rapidly dispersed around Sterl...

And these players wore expressions of relief.

"Although I don't know why, I'm just glad that Mephistopheles hasn't made a move."

"Damn, I was unlucky to run into this guy... Wait, am I still alive??"

"Run! Run!"

"He hasn't attacked; let's get out of here fast."

The members of the Lord of Evil Spirits faction looked uneasy, and only after distancing themselves from Mephistopheles did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However...

At this moment, Sterl suddenly made a move with his hand, and the Stone of Absorption he had previously seized vanished and reappeared, though it seemed to have taken on a slightly different luster.

What Sterl had been waiting for was the cooldown on his stat allocation ability. This Stone of Absorption had not changed in any other way; it had merely unlocked the faction restrictions.

In other words, Sterl could now actually plunder activity contributions from hell players of the same faction.

"Great!"

He appeared delighted; this time, his stat allocation had not been in vain.

Then, Sterl still did not come under attack from the players of the Lord of Evil Spirits faction. Instead, he moved forward alongside them as they charged toward the camp.

To be sure, Mephistopheles had a fearsome reputation.

In such a situation, the demigod players, despite being terrified, dared not make a move against him. They could only ignore him and quietly distance themselves.

However, some red-eyed players and demons, caught up in their frenzy, were pushed close to Sterl.

When they first spotted an enemy faction member who seemed ready to strike, their eyes widened in fear at the sight of Mephistopheles, and they scrambled away with all their might, leaving more unfortunate souls to be shoved next to Mephistopheles.

Thus, an odd scene unfolded around Sterl; the "crowd" surged like a tide, all desperately trying to get as far from him as possible.

Fortunately, this situation only lasted a few seconds.

The madness of the Swallowing Heaven players could barely keep their wits about them in this non-combat situation. Once they collided with other players from the Succubus Queen faction and began to engage in slaughter, no one paid any more attention to Sterl!

What was there to be afraid of?

This Mephistopheles wasn't even making a move; he might as well be one of our insiders!

If we don't hurry up and kill to seize activity contributions, our comrades will get the jump on us!

Sterl watched this scene with great amusement, completely uninterested in rescuing the "teammates."

Casually, he pulled out some snacks prepared for him by Sosia and Sonis from his backpack—

In his hand was an orange-yellow bag. He reached inside and discovered it contained a live squid, coated in sauce, half-transparent and exuding an enticing aroma.

One bite, and it was crunchy!

He also received several attribute boosts from it.

"Delicious," Sterl exclaimed in delight.

Meanwhile…

In the battlefield ahead, many players from the Succubus Queen faction wore expressions similar to his.

When the enemy surged in, they screamed and cried out in bloodthirsty panic.

But soon…

Chaos erupted as skills rapidly bombarded the area, various energies mixing together and covering most of the camp.

Players from the Succubus Queen faction, unless they had foreseen the attack and opened their shields immediately, would be bombarded and severely injured upon entering the fray.

They found themselves in a situation where they were outsmarted and ambushed, retreating step by step, even facing the threat of death, their faces turning pale with fear.

Then they spotted Sterl: "Lord Mephistopheles! Save me!"

"Lord, they are attacking our camp!"

"Mephistopheles! We're counting on you!"

One by one, they appeared hopeful.

Even though Sterl often switched to powerful characters on the battlefield and ended up eliminating his own troops, he didn't always operate that way to avoid suspicion. As a result, Mephistopheles had the least casualties among the commanding officers.

His reputation was quite good.

Unfortunately…

These players ultimately showed despair on their faces.

"Mephistopheles, why are you just standing there? Have you betrayed us too?"

They shouted in anger.

Sterl remained calm.

Crunch, crunch.

He munched on his snacks.

The players who were hurling accusations at him were soon cut down by those from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction; a blade pierced through their bodies, and after a few faint gasps, they fell dead!

By the time the front lines of the Succubus Queen faction were nearly cleared of casualties,

a player from Swallowing Heaven was the first to draw forth knowledge, preparing to seize activity contributions.

At that moment, Sterl finally made his move—Flame, Frost, Thunder, and Shadow!

The energies of these four elements sparkled in his hands.

Then, like an oil painting, the four elements splashed together, but they did not merge; instead, they clashed violently, emitting eerie, bone-chilling crackling sounds.

With the surge of energy, thunder rumbled across the ground!

A hurricane stirred.

This was the Platinum skill, [Mana Storm]!

Most of those Sterl faced were just ordinary demigods, so he didn't need to use all his strength. It was the perfect opportunity to test out his new skill, which required at least three elemental Laws.

He could also add new elemental powers to enhance its might, though the efficiency of the amplification wasn't very high.

It was during this experimentation that Sterl discovered he could indeed incorporate Shadow power into the skill.

"With the help of blood force for Elemental-type Laws, I might learn through trickery, as I should have access to many resources now. What if...?"

"After this Mana Storm, I should consider allocating points to strengthen it."

In its unallocated version, Mana Storm adds one elemental power, increasing output by only 1/4. After that, each additional element reduces the output increase by half.

However, if point allocation could eliminate the drawback of diminishing returns with more added elements, then the theoretical output of this Mana Storm could reach [Transcendence] Shattered Void! The only flaw is that Mana Storm is purely an explosive skill, making it relatively easy to dodge, and it consumes a significant amount of energy.

Sterl's mind raced, and ever since he learned the power of Fission, his computational abilities had been significantly honed. Multitasking had become second nature to him.

At this moment, the four-colored storm erupted rapidly from his body!

Though the players and demons from Hell were frenzied, they were not mindless; they had been on guard against Mephistopheles and quickly began to retreat!

Unfortunately, it was all in vain!

As mentioned before, Sterl could multitask, so at the same time, a black sun shone down upon everything!

Silent Domain activated.

Faced with the onslaught of a formidable enemy, no one would dare to rely solely on their speed to flee; they all unleashed various skills and talents.

The result? Total annihilation—a near-complete interruption of their skills led to devastating backlashes!

Splat!

Splat!

First, the players and demons erupted with blood.

But alas, they had no time to feel the pain from the backlash before being swept away and instantly obliterated by the elemental storm!

The inherent lethality of Silent Domain had already drained a substantial amount of life force from these demons and players, inflicting multiple debuffs, including increased damage taken.

Thus, within the Mana Storm, they were swiftly ground to ashes.

At this moment, Sterl couldn't help but smirk inwardly: "So desperate to snatch resources, huh?"

"But still, I appreciate your efforts."

"Without you, how much less contribution would I have gained?"

He had just been fishing for an opportunity!

Waiting for the players of the Lord of Evil Spirits faction to wipe out their own allies.

After all, once Sterl allocated points and lifted the restrictions of Stone of Absorption, he could not only absorb the activity contributions from the Lord of Evil Spirits faction but also from his own people!

However, he was aware that the Succubus Queen likely had dispersed divine senses keeping an eye on the camp.

Sterl didn't dare to make a move.

Staying on the sidelines was completely normal; several Supreme beings in the camp couldn't be bothered to save anyone, and the players from Swallowing Heaven had that kind of style.

The deities wouldn't hold it against them.

But to ruthlessly strike down comrades, that was something the Succubus Queen would likely not tolerate…