Chapter 176: Chasing Shadows and Slaying Beasts (5)
"Ugh... I feel like I'm carsick..."
Inside the mural, Ji Huaisu, drawn into the painting, felt dizzy and dazed. Fander clung to his armor, half-dead, looking as if he were only one cremation away from heaven.
Rockval was nowhere to be found, and the bastard had vanished without a trace after announcing his name, using some unknown trick. Ji Huaisu slapped his forehead vigorously and saw the Canxin girl running towards him.
"Sister Huaisu!"
"Xiaoye, you're still alive!" Ji Huaisu waved in surprise. After seeing the other person's condition, his face turned red. "Fuck, what are you wearing? Do you Canxin people have any skills that require you to be completely naked?!"
"Please don't ask!" Miss Qingye blushed even more, "And I'm wearing a scarf!"
Ji Huaisu gasped: "Your scarf is like the socks left on in a pornographic book. It does nothing but add to the bad atmosphere!"
"Since you know this, please make me a set of clothes as soon as possible!" Qing Ye clasped his hands together.
Ji Huaisu nodded seriously: "Okay, it should be transparent, right?"
“Opaque please!”
Ji Huaisu casually kneaded a piece of light armor made of a mixture of water and dust and put it on Qingye. The poor girl finally had a reliable piece of clothing. She covered her face with her hands and almost ran away: "This is so uncomfortable to wear..."
"Overcome it with your perseverance!"
At this moment, Vander had just overcome the nausea he felt when entering the painting. He opened his eyes as if he was waking up from a last hurrah: "What are you talking about..."
"I'm talking about the immortal body of the ghost killer." Ji Huaisu began to draw a magic circle on the ground. "The feeling of hitting it is different from the elemental one, and the force is also strangely strong."
"A curse tied to the painting," Vander concluded. "I've seen the connection between that guy and the painting before... Most likely, the painting contains immortality granted by the gods. Waklo has tied his life to that thing. If it's not destroyed, its power will be endless."
It grew increasingly impatient as it spoke. "The best approach would have been to destroy the painting outside, but I ended up getting tricked by the Twin Souls... Damn, I remember this guy! 'Twin' Waklo Rockwa, one of the Spiral Tower's few 'Void Angels'!"
Boom! The storm drowned out Finder's words, and an enraged Frost Ape leaped from the scaffold. Behind it stood a Chaos army of demons. Glowing corpses, moon beasts, and demon-possessed beings formed the soldiers of this legion, led by two exceptionally unusual Scourge. One was "False Light," a giant as tall as a mountain, radiating an icy light like a beacon. The other was "Corrupted Dust," a scattering of bee-shaped dust particles that gathered and dispersed in an unpredictable pattern.
The messengers who were supposed to have died in the battle reappeared, and Rockwa painted their figures into the painting, completing their resurrection in this alternative form.
"Please enjoy, 'Unity and Friendship of the Demon King's Army!'" Rockval shouted among the troops. "We, the Demon King's Army, may not live together, but we die together. Even if no remains remain, we will continue to fight under the command of Lord Vansalar!"
"I think the real me wants to be buried peacefully in the ground," said Fu Chen.
"I have died in the line of duty, can I quit?" asked Wei Guang.
"No, please fight seriously."
"That's fine..." Fake Light moved his huge body, "I love killing knights the most."
It puffed out its shapeless chest, its mechanical structure beneath the glowing light unfurling and assembling into a massive steel cannon. This giant messenger was actually a cyborg. The light elemental power within the cannon barrel rapidly compressed, erupting in a devastating white light!
"Three dragons seal the mountain."
Three icebergs rose from the ground, their dragon-carved defensive spells blocking the light cannon. The first layer of ice melted, the second pierced through, but the light cannon was blocked by the third Dragon Sealing Mountain. Ji Huaisu leaped from the peak, the icebergs melting into streams of water, which re-formed in her hands into a giant staff whose full length surpassed the false light. A golden dragon sat coiled around the water staff, the very Dinghai Shenzhen.
Ji Huaisu raised the stick with both hands and smashed it down with all his strength. The stick spun rapidly and hit the pseudo-light's head twice in a row, and then hit the giant's back, causing him to stagger and kneel on the spot.
"Where did this crazy martial artist come from?" Wei Guang cried out in pain.
"It's not like the Green Armor Army, which has practiced boxing, hasn't suffered before." Fuchen rushed out, "Rotten Bee's March!"
Numerous sand bees burst forth from the cloud-like mass, their bodies marked with deep yellow cracks. This was Rotten Dust's signature technique, a swarm of sand and dust that disintegrated the enemy into its smallest constituent elements.
"Light gravel and flowing fire." Ji Huaisu threw a hot ball of light with one hand. The mixed light and fire exploded high in the sky above the battlefield, destroying the swarm of bees one by one with precise control.
The two sides' wide-area attacks reached a stalemate in the sky. Then, with a loud cry, Han Xing leaped high into the air, striking out with both fists, seizing the opportunity to smash into Ji Huaisu with brute force. Its attack combined powerful physical destructive power with icy force, a single punch of its own enough to obliterate a city.
Ji Huaisu pulled back his magic needle and swung his staff forward, colliding directly with Han Xing's massive fists. "Ahhhh!" Han Xing roared, increasing his strength, ready to engage in a fair and direct fight with his opponent.
But its eyes blurred, and it saw dozens of diamond-like fragments embedded on the top of the magic needle, all emitting a familiar light -
"Dust broken."
A beam of light shot up into the sky from the point where the fist and stick met. The highly explosive Chen Po hit Han Xing at the closest distance, and he was directly blown to the back of the battle formation!
Ji Huaisu dispersed the magic needle that had used up all its power, and instead summoned the Pure Fire Sword and carried it on his shoulder.
"Come on, you bastards." Ji Huaisu sneered, "None of you will get out alive!"
Qing Ye, who was running away from the battlefield, looked back and said, "...Um, does Sister Huaisu really need our help?"
"I don't think she really needs it." Vander said impartially, "But someone out there really needs it! If you don't hurry up, Mr. Chu will be killed. Once he dies, we'll all be finished!"
·
In the real world, in the arena.
If one looked closely outside the painting, one could see the knights fighting bravely, and the backs of the remnants chasing something. However, neither of the two outsiders had the time to continue watching the painting. Chu Hengkong drew his spear, ready for battle. Vaklo stood beside the mural, rubbing his blade-like fingers.
"What a mistake," Waklo sighed. "I used the mural to kill you because it was the safest way. But I never imagined you would carry Lord Orlek's power. We, the Dreadbringers, will one day lose to the newcomers in cheating."
"Are you planning to show your real abilities?" Chu Hengkong strengthened his Qi Armor.
"Excuse my rudeness." Waklo bowed, "I have to be a little rough."
Like a mask being removed, the smile on Vaklo's face vanished. Its eyes bulged, its lips stretched, its pale, thin face stretched outward, its torso twisted, its limbs bulged, and a blanket of pure black hair sprouted. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a ten-meter-long behemoth. Its claws were shadow blades, its eyes were murky spirals, and its body, devoid of any softness, became a spear, a sword, an axe, a lance.
Its body was pierced by tens of thousands of weapons, its wounds streaked across its body like bloody eyes. That was the posture of Vaklo Lokwa before his death, a lingering image of his final moments. Between the gaps between the beast's teeth, the same, indistinguishable, androgynous sound emanated:
"It becomes darkness, turns into demons, creates obstacles, and gives rise to monsters.
Fear is always a shadow that follows me."
The noise of a beast gnawing at flesh echoed, and a deep darkness surged from the beast's body, engulfing reality. The light vanished, the fog receded, and even the stone walls surrounding the arena vanished. In the bottomless darkness, only the man and the beast stood facing each other.
Chu Hengkong felt an eerie sense of weightlessness. The space, devoid of any reference points, gave rise to the illusion of falling. A fear, previously nonexistent, took root and grew within the cracks of his soul. The sound of chewing was everywhere, intensifying, as if a giant beast were shredding reality, the world's blood flowing in shadows. The beast's pupilless eyes stared at him, its fangs slowly closing.
"My heart overflows. Shadow chases."
The impact is coming.
Muscles contracted, bones shattered, his torso buckled under the strain of his body, and blood gushed from his mouth. Faster than thought, quicker than instinct, Chu Hengkong was already high in the sky by the time he realized it. His body, out of control, spun madly, the armor covering his body dissipating like dust. In his swirling vision, he saw the beast's tail. He had been struck head-on, and now Waklo was behind him.
The enemy was too powerful. Its beastly form held a power beyond his comprehension. Even the fully armored Qi armor was no match for it. Chu Hengkong tumbled through the darkness, his back suddenly slamming into a dusty area, the sound of shattering rocks echoing. He realized it was the edge of the arena. A single impact sent him flying to the edge of the battlefield.
He barely raised his head, meeting the dark eyes of the giant beast in the shadows. The next attack was imminent, and he had no time to consider the enemy's tactics. A one-shot burst of magic? The pure physical strength of beast transformation?
No. The Immortal Machine issued a fierce alarm. This line of thinking was absolutely wrong. Defense was pointless given this power gap. He had to attack, at least to buy time to think.
Chu Hengkong fell from the pit, and shadows rose around him like tentacles, launching an urgent pursuit. The tip of his spear struck the ground, setting off a stream of cyan sparks. The flames grew increasingly intense, instantly blazing across the entire arena, a blaze that would ignite a prairie fire.
The fire of ambition spreads across the prairie. Choose the firewood: Shadow!
A raging fire erupted instantly, illuminating the dark battlefield and blazing towards Vaklo's massive form. Its entire form was a mass of shadow, its fur and flesh fueled by the fire of ambition. The terrifying beast was instantly engulfed in flames, smoldering green fire erupting from its numerous wounds like a house about to collapse in a fire.
But Vaklo grinned amidst the burning. The immortality emanating from the painting continued to repair its body, allowing it to remain in peak condition. It cared little for scars, fearless of pain. Compared to the bloody battles it had endured in its lifetime, the burning it felt now was nothing.
"Shadow Claw." It swung its huge claws, and the claw marks turned into five shadow blades that slashed down at an incredible speed.
Chu Hengkong activated Yi Qi Qian Qiu to increase his speed, barely dodging the Shadow Claw attack. The black stone touched by the slash transformed into a flat surface resembling graffiti, while Waklo's slash had the same devastating effect. He seized the opportunity and thrust his spear, aiming for Waklo's right eye. But the beast's head spun past, and the spear tip only pierced the afterimage. Then, a sharp pain shot through his side as Waklo collided headfirst into his right side, and the spear from the wound pierced Chu Hengkong's lung.
"cough……!"
Chu Hengkong stabbed the ground with his spear to slow his retreat. He rolled repeatedly to dodge the attack, suddenly raising his White Spear for defense. But this time, his reaction was still a beat too slow. Waklo swung his claws from above. He used the spear to block the physical attack of the beast's claws, but he couldn't block the shadow claws! Nearly a quarter of the flesh on his left side flattened and disappeared. The pure physical impact alone made the White Spear wail on the verge of collapse!
It was terrible. Still too fast to keep up, still too fast to even react. Even though I'd already used Yiqi Qianqiu to increase my speed, every time I was hit, it felt the same. The gap between us hadn't changed; Waklo maintained the same speed difference. What was this...!
Chu Hengkong came to his senses: "You...are you always faster than me?"
"Correct. Within this 'overflow,' my movement speed is always the sum of my own and yours. Because I control the shadows, your speed and my own shadow's speed are always the same."
Vaklo landed before him, raising his claws, one in front of the other, and delivering ten fatal strikes. Its flesh burned in the flames, but the look in its eyes remained unchanged.
There was no hatred, nor joy, just a sense of satisfaction as if he had completed a mission, brandishing the weapon.
"Goodbye, then."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
