Chapter 249: The Sustaining Function of the Oni Gauntlet
In a sense, the Black Tower placed significant restrictions on Cheng Tian, because his Ten Commandments skill, which only affected humans, was completely useless inside the Black Tower where all were monsters. No monster was susceptible to his control.
However, conversely, this meant that once the Ten Commandments radar showed a reaction, there were only two options: members of the Kingdom of Yisu faction or members of the Clan of Darkness faction.
The reason Cheng Tian had not allowed Bazett to speak earlier was that he had detected that Nasaba's 'teleportation' was merely a feigned transmission for true concealment. Therefore, it was only after delving deeper into the tower and finding no other human signals on his Ten Commandments radar that he permitted Bazett to speak.
On a side note, likely due to the tower's structure, Cheng Tian's Ten Commandments detection range was reduced by three-quarters, and its scope was limited to individual floors, unable to penetrate the tower to observe unknown areas on higher levels.
"With all due respect, Master," Bazett finally asked, having held her tongue the entire way until Cheng Tian's signal, "though I'm not too picky about work, the leader of this organization we've joined looks suspiciously like the type of mage who performs large-scale evil rituals using leylines and human lives."
"Your feeling is quite accurate," Cheng Tian nodded in agreement.
"Then…"
"Bazett," Cheng Tian interrupted Bazett and then continued, "Do you know? If you don't count the three of us, the leader of the Clan of Darkness has a total of four subordinates: one bootlicker, one who listens to orders but not advice, one traitor, and one future traitor. It's truly a shining moment for humanity's stars.
Ultimately, we were just forcibly assigned to the Clan of Darkness faction, but I know what to do and what not to do afterward, so you can rest assured."
Hearing Cheng Tian's explanation, the awkwardness in Bazett's heart eased considerably.
Although Bazett had never claimed to be a 'hero of justice,' working for an entity that, based on her past work experience, would typically be designated for sealing, she might handle it with professional conduct, but the internal discomfort would still persist.
With Cheng Tian's statement, she understood: they, too, were traitors!
As Cheng Tian and his party officially stepped into the first floor of the Black Tower, a corresponding prompt appeared in the space.
"You have entered the Black Tower's First Floor — The Realm of Azure Tears."
Wind elemental energy, tinged with evil, permeated every corner of this floor, and the monster units on this level were mostly wind-attributed.
The first to greet Cheng Tian and his companions were a group of skeleton soldiers, clad in full armor and wielding various weapons.
"Skeleton Armored Soldier / Lifrigen: Normal Template, Monster. HP = 216, MP = 25. Strength 18, Agility 26, Spirit 5, Charm 3."
"Monster Trait — None"
Cheng Tian didn't even need to use Sun Fist; the Light-Shadow Serpentine immediately passed judgment.
Without any need for Cheng Tian's command, Bazett had already charged forward, directly striking the helmeted head of one of the skeleton soldiers!
Accompanied by the sound of bones shattering, the skeleton soldier's neck, which offered no protection whatsoever, along with its dented helmet, flew off, and its HP plummeted by half.
However, although the skeleton soldier's head flew off entirely, it also meant that the full force of Bazett's punch was borne by the flying head, and the torso did not receive much additional force.
As an undead creature, the existence of its head was not particularly important to the Skeleton Armored Soldier; instead, as a headless skeleton that had inadvertently shed some body weight, it immediately swung its blade at Bazett.
However, before its blunt blade could even touch Bazett, Cheng Tian's Oni Whip had already instantly wrapped around it. With a pull and a tug, the skeleton soldier lost its balance and was dragged to the ground, then immediately stepped on its armored back by Bazett.
Perhaps the iron armor's defense was too weak, or perhaps it was a problem caused by the lack of cushioning from muscles and internal organs; the seemingly intact armor was directly caved in by Bazett's stomp, and along with it, the skeleton soldier's spine was crushed.
This time, its health bar was emptied, and its bones shattered into pieces on the spot.
As an appetizer for the Yisu Origin dungeon, the basic stats of the Skeleton Armored Soldier had already reached the same level as the Knights of the Round Table's armored units, and they were also typical high-agility units.
It was precisely because they were undead units with little flesh and relatively low Strength attributes, leading to insufficient HP, and because they were facing the high-agility, high-strength Bazett, that they appeared somewhat fragile, almost every one requiring only two punches to smash, their armor like paper.
Cheng Tian, who had entrusted the combat mission to Bazett, mainly observed the monsters' death status, only occasionally assisting.
He noticed that when monsters died, whether it was their body parts or their armor and weapons, they would rapidly dissipate along with their death.
But Cheng Tian keenly noticed that rather than dissipating, it was more like they were transforming back into pure magical energy, which was then reabsorbed by the tower beneath their feet, likely entering an internal cycle.
This also explained why the monsters in the Black Tower were continuously generated; for the monsters entrenched here, death was merely the beginning of another rebirth.
After Bazett smashed the last member of the attacking skeleton soldier squad, Cheng Tian raised his right hand. With a flash of light, the Oni Gauntlet appeared. At his wrist, an eyeball seemed to observe the evil magical energy returning to the Black Tower's internal cycle. Then, a special gravitational pull emanated from the gauntlet.
The evil magical energy, originally destined for the Black Tower's internal cycle, was instantly absorbed by the gauntlet.
"Oni Gauntlet: Lv1, Bracer/Glove, Template Armament. Equipment Requirement: Oni Warrior Template. Durability - / -.
An item representing one chosen by the power of Oni, it is the medium and symbol of the pact between the Oni clan and humans, and also signifies the responsibility and sacrifice of confronting Phantom Demons. This gauntlet is directly bestowed by the Oni King and possesses the power to manipulate and utilize souls.
While you are wearing the Oni Gauntlet, when you and your servants or allied units kill any monster, the monster may drop additional Soul Fragments. You can use the Oni Gauntlet to absorb souls to provide yourself with various buffs and permanent enhancements.
Soul Fragment types are classified as "Red Souls," "Yellow Souls," "Blue Souls," and "Purple Souls."
Red Souls — The most common Soul Fragments. When a certain amount is accumulated, they can be used for permanent enhancement of your weapons and armor. The higher the rarity and enhancement magnitude of the weapon and armor, the more souls are required. Red Soul enhancement cannot be applied to critical qualitative enhancements, such as +6 to +7. When Red Soul enhancement is applied to the Oni Gauntlet and Oni Armaments, each level of enhancement is considered a critical qualitative enhancement.
Yellow Souls — Uncommon Soul Fragments. Absorbing them can restore HP by a certain percentage and heal ordinary physical injuries.
Blue Souls — Uncommon Soul Fragments. Absorbing them can restore MP by a certain percentage and heal soul damage.
Purple Souls — Rare Soul Fragments. Usually only dropped when killing elite units or higher. When a certain amount is accumulated, "Oni Warrior Transformation / Oni-fication" can be cast.
When you absorb Soul Fragments, it is also considered triggering 'Soul Salvation,' and you will gain 10:1 innocent soul reserves."
"Additional Comment: If there are certain stubborn undead who refuse to die, you can completely sever their vitality by absorbing their souls."