The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1014: The Malefic Viper vs Yip of Yore (2) Weapons were useful tools for not only mortals but gods alike. One also had to remember that upon becoming a god, one went through a fundamental change. No matter if one was a monster, enlightened, or anything else before achieving godhood, all gods shared certain circumstances after evolving.

One of those was the ability to use weapons and many forms of equipment or tools. A mortal dragon wouldn’t be able to wield a staff the same way a human would, but an ascended human and dragon god would both be able to wield a staff on equal terms.

This resulted in weapons being incredibly important in the realm of godhood. Artifacts of legend were born based on the weapons gods used, with some of the most famous being the hammer of the Starseizing Titan and the axe of Valdemar. Of course, the use of weapons did assume the god fought using a humanoid form in the first place.

Another common trait among divine weapons was their tie to the god using them. Gods nearly always took an active role in the crafting process of their weapon, used a powerful Soulbound weapon they’d ascended alongside with, or even crafted the weapon entirely on their own. The reasons for this were multitude but could be boiled down to making a weapon that truly fit one as a god, and the more a god wielded a weapon, the more powerful they tended to be as the Records and bond improved.

The weapons pulled out by the Malefic Viper and Yip of Yore were both fully-fledged godly weapons worthy of being called weapons of myth. The staff wielded by Vilastromoz was made from roots gifted by Yggdrasil, metals taken from forbidden realms, and an orb from a Godking-level elemental god he’d corrupted using his malefic affinity before slaying many eras ago, the item only having been refined in the eras since.

Opposite, Yip of Yore wielded a weapon he simply named the Hero Sword. It was a weapon he’d recrafted several times and been in his possession ever since he was still a mortal, with the latest recraft coming shortly before his battle with the Viper. Each recraft specialized the sword, with the latest major one coming when he briefly battled the Starseizing Titan, managing to land a cut on the most durable of all Primordials.

At least, everyone assumed that was the latest recraft. However, it appeared that it had undergone yet another one, empowering the weapon further with the sole goal of making it more powerful against the Malefic Viper. It had been fed the Records of Yip of Yore’s legend. The conceptual energy he’d gathered throughout his conquest to face the Malefic Viper, and as he lifted the blade toward the Viper, there was no doubt who was holding the superior weapon between them.

“Nice staff,” Yip said, an undertone of sarcasm. “Looks old. I’m almost surprised it hasn’t turned rotten yet.”

“Your weapon certainly is impressive, I can admit that,” the Viper shot back as he smirked on his own. “I do find the name of your weapon laughable, though. Hero Sword? You? A hero? Do people even know its true origin?”

“Do you?” Yip of Yore asked with some level of surprise, though he clearly expected Vilastromoz not to. While much of Yip’s history was known, there were also many unknowns, primarily because the god whose Blessing he held while a mortal had been part of the Pantheon Yip of Yore had later annihilated, in the process also erasing much knowledge of his earlier years. All that now remained was the knowledge of his multiversal accomplishments that happened on larger stages.

“What is the story you tell about the sword? Oh yes, that it was handed to you by your long-term friend and rival. A gift from him just before he died. Truly a tearjerker that one, though I prefer the story of what actually happened between you two,” the Viper smiled. “Altius the Blade... a talent that many compared you to in your mortal days. Your competitor in Nevermore and many other system events. You two were really close back then, I hear. It’s truly a shame that happened.”

Now, it was Yip’s turn to be quiet as he looked at the Malefic Viper with a cold gaze. In some ways, Altius could be called the Jake to Yip of Yore’s Ell’Hakan, except they didn’t have the same kind of antagonistic relationship primarily created by their gods being in conflict. If the Viper and Yip didn’t have this entire conflict, Vilastromoz couldn’t help but wonder what kind of relationship Jake and Ell’Hakan would have... though he still didn’t believe it would be a positive one.

“From what I remember, Altius was always more of a fighter than you. A better fighter. He was a prodigy with any bladed weapon, and if a system event revolved around combat, he would come out on top nearly every time. However, in the realm of politics and scheming, he was an absolute novice. Luckily, he had you,” Vilastromoz continued, ignoring Yip’s glare.

“You followed him. Helped him. In turn, he helped you, which is why I find it so damn weird...” the Viper smiled, tilting his head. “Why did you kill him, take his sword, and act the hero afterward? Did you view him as too big of a threat? Or was it perhaps jealousy?”

“Such confident words despite knowing nothing,” Yip said, his joking demeanor gone.

fucked him over. I know you only

nothing... or was it Keeper of Forgotten Knowledge? Doesn’t matter either way,” Yip shook his head. “What are you trying to accomplish by showing off

the Viper nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t actually begin to think yourself

what we perceive. It’s what we believe. Records are nothing but the memories of the system, and all living beings are part of

who knows objective truths, even if every other being in the multiverse forgets,” the Viper shook his head

for anything besides ruining good stories,” Yip

cut through the sky. His shoulder was injured, the energy blade cutting straight through

sky instantly being filled with a green sheen as thousands of streaming lines of malefic light. Before these

is not meant to be

every streamer in the sky was cut apart by silver light. However, the attack from the Viper did its job as Yip was slightly too slow at reacting when a microscopic needle-like stone shot up from far below, piercing his foot. Several hundred more of these small needles also flew toward him, but he was swift enough to dodge every other one as he charged toward

to keep his distance as he unleashed several more attacks. Yip, in turn, continued attacking, the Primordial simply unable to keep up with

battle, the malefic presence of the Viper bathed the world and any being in it. He was poison incarnate, and through willpower and presence alone, anything and everything

being there. The poison was subtle and slow, seeping into the other god with every passing moment, laying dormant within him. Any interaction he had with the Viper also only served to poison him further. Striking

their apex yet, just that the time for doing actual damage had come. The poison inflicted now mattered, and the blows Yip landed

only focused on infecting Yip of Yore with poison, and every attack was laced with the most powerful venoms the Malefic

was doing built up to one crucial moment that would come when he finally approached the peak of his power. One moment

The poisonous energy from the Viper’s presence had been enough to poison the Divine Realm

far, far stronger than the Brimstone Hedgemon, so the Viper needed to build up enough toxins in the god’s body before he would activate it. If not, he risked wasting

minimize damage as much as possible, but for every attack he landed, he took three in return. To make matters worse, every strike from Yip dealt significant damage, far more than any other regular blow

would not mean the instant death of a god, but it would consume their energy to regenerate. Usually, the Viper taking damage wouldn’t bother him much, but that sword left injuries not so easily healed. Its conceptual power simply countered the Malefic Viper too much, the Hero Sword a weapon made to smite evil, and currently, the Viper was the

By now, they’d already surpassed the realm of the Boundless Hydra and most of the figures who weren’t truly at the peak of their major factions

warped as his blade seemed like it was coming from every direction simultaneously, and the Viper

eras. The wave destroyed all the sword auras and struck the unprepared Yip of Yore, washing over him, making the entire front of his body begin to rot and turn gray and dead instantly as the powerful malefic affinity permeated his body. Even the sky and

the Viper didn’t let up as he raised his hand toward Yip, with his entire

the skill with Words of Power to further amplify