Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 352: Starfall Barrage

Ethan and Uncle Jed’s reunion significantly eased the pressure on them. Even better, Ethan discovered that in his Panther Form, using skills now triggered a "Fusion Technique" effect.

With a single swipe of his claw, a shadow several meters long tore through the air. Wherever it passed, sandworms were sliced apart, their bodies dismembered in an instant. Compared to Uncle Jed’s single-shot attacks, this was vastly more lethal.

During the day, his Panther Form skills hadn’t shown this effect. He realized it must be because his Soul Power had been replenished. So he decided to test it further by releasing his Soul Sense.

Buzz...

Sure enough, the long-lost sensation spread outward in all directions. But the moment it did, his scalp tingled.

Within a five-kilometer radius, above ground and below, sandworms of all sizes seethed in every direction. Underneath the sand, tens of meters down, they were packed even more densely than on the surface. His Soul Sense could only penetrate so far underground—if he wanted to probe deeper, he’d have to increase its intensity.

But Ethan had no intention of wasting Soul Power. After experiencing depletion once, he understood how vital it was to him.

Through Soul Sense, he finally grasped what Uncle Jed meant when he’d shouted that the Butcher Tribe was finished. In just a few short minutes, their entire camp had been reduced to four survivors. The rest were gone—no corpses, no scraps of flesh or bone. Just a churned expanse of sand, stripped clean by the swarm.

"Uncle Jed, is there any way?" Ethan called over, his voice tense. "There are too many!"

As a newcomer, he instinctively turned to the native for guidance.

Uncle Jed was shielding Dot and her mother, his dark spear sweeping up and down in relentless arcs. No worm breached his defense—but each thrust only punched a hole in the creatures’ bodies, provoking them to attack with greater ferocity.

He glanced at Ethan and barked, "No damn way! These sandworms have tasted blood—they’ve gone mad. I’m afraid even fire wouldn’t drive them off now."

He stabbed another worm clean through, yanking his spear free as he continued, voice low and grim. "All we can do is kill. Hold out until dawn."

By now, sweat streamed down Uncle Jed’s face. Even saying those words, he sounded uncertain.

Ethan knew the man still had some of that mysterious liquid that could restore stamina, but judging by how sparingly he drank it, there probably wasn’t much left—maybe enough for two or three more sips.

How long until dawn? Even if they fought nonstop, surviving that long seemed impossible.

After a moment of grim calculation, Ethan’s eyes lit up with an idea.

"Uncle Jed—cover me!" he shouted.

"Owl Form... activate!"

He transformed alone. Activating the entire Battle Embodiment system at once drained Soul Power and stamina at a terrifying rate, and he couldn’t risk exhausting himself too quickly.

Uncle Jed’s gaze sharpened when he heard Ethan’s shout. He understood Ethan must have a plan. His movements, already precise and fast, became almost a blur as he expanded the defensive circle to cover Ethan as well.

Within seconds, however, his breathing grew ragged. Sweat dripped from his chin, and he fumbled for his water pouch, taking another small sip of that liquid to keep going.

Meanwhile, Ethan unleashed Solar Flare, Moonfire, Lunar Beam, and Sunburn in quick succession.

But after casting them all, he realized something was wrong. His Astral Energy hadn’t increased. Frowning, he pulled up his skill panel.

Starfall Barrage, which used to be an instant-cast spell that required Astral Energy, now displayed different requirements:

Required Spirit Power: 1,500 points.

Channeling time: 12 hand gestures + 36 syllables.

Duration: 8 seconds.

He stared, thrown off. How much was 1,500 Spirit Power compared to the total in his Mindscape? He had no idea.

But he didn’t have the luxury of pondering it. Gritting his teeth, Ethan began channeling anyway, following the incantation and hand gestures exactly as the description outlined.

The first four attempts failed—either his pronunciation slipped, or his hands lagged behind the tempo of the spell.

Uncle Jed risked a glance over his shoulder, voice hoarse. "Ethan! Can you do it? I can barely hold on!"

His hand trembled on the spear shaft. Fighting sandworms was even worse than facing Deathstalker Scorpions. And defending such a wide perimeter—front, back, all sides—while protecting three people... it was slowly crushing him.

More than that, he knew: even a single bite could be fatal. The smaller the worm, the deadlier its venom.

Ethan didn’t dare reply. The syllables had to match the hand seals perfectly. He only focused on the spell.

Buzz...

On the fifth attempt, the stars overhead flickered. He uttered the last four syllables:

"Starfall... Barrage!"

He pointed to the sky, then clenched his fist and yanked down sharply, as if dragging the stars themselves to earth.

Swish...

The first ray of starlight fell. Then another. And another. Countless streaks rained down in a dazzling cascade that lit up the night.

Within sixty meters, glowing orbs crashed down one after another, striking the writhing sandworms.

Ethan quickly realized the damage wasn’t as overwhelming as he’d hoped. Smaller worms needed at least two hits to die. Larger ones took five, six—sometimes eight. He couldn’t see any health bars or damage numbers.

This wasn’t the instant massacre he’d envisioned.

"Holy hell... you still say you’re not a Priest? Again... again!"

Uncle Jed was shouting, his eyes wide.

But Ethan met his gaze, frustrated. "It’s not that I can’t cast it again. It’s that the damage is too low. I’d be better off killing them one by one. And besides..."

He trailed off, hesitating to admit how much it cost. The first casting had drained roughly one-twentieth of his Soul Power. And that was with his Mindscape not even at full capacity.

Originally, he’d thought one Starfall Barrage could clear a path for them to advance. But the worms died too slowly, and others crawled in faster than they fell.

They hadn’t moved an inch.

What to do?

He racked his brain. Starfall Barrage was the strongest area-of-effect skill he had. If even this couldn’t carve out a safe zone, how were they supposed to break free?

Desperate, Ethan turned his focus inward. In his Mindscape, the Twilight War Spear was still embedded in the wild boar skull, consuming energy in great gulps. He tried using a method to communicate with it.

The spear responded in a way that felt eerily human:

’Busy. Don’t bother me.’

Ethan clenched his jaw. He couldn’t command it.

But... could he still use its skill?

He remembered:

Dynamic Attribute 5:

When equipped in Owl Form, gain the skill "Forbidden: Starfall Barrage." Summons stars to attack all enemies within a 620-meter radius, dealing massive damage for 62 seconds. Cooldown: 30 days. Other Forbidden skills on the weapon will also enter cooldown.

Now that he was Level 62, the range was enormous—620 meters. The duration was over a full minute. But he had no way of knowing if the damage would be any better.

He opened his equipment panel. The weapon slot still showed the Twilight War Spear equipped.

Ethan exhaled slowly and made his choice.

He selected the skill.

Buzz...

The sky darkened further, turning almost black. Every star above them began to flicker, one by one.

In front of Ethan’s eyes, a progress bar appeared.

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