Chapter 177: Chasing Shadows and Slaughtering Beasts (6)
There is no chance of winning.
There is no sign of life.
The enemy's strength far exceeded imagination. The methods of the former Void Angel, Waklo, were no match for any improvisation. Unable to penetrate the enemy's capabilities, there was no hope of evasion. Chu Hengkong reached for his paintbrush, hoping to crush the interference with the mural with one final effort before his death.
Suddenly, he caught a familiar scent, like the sweet fragrance of roses. A stream of crimson light flashed between the overlapping cuts, and his vision spun. The wind raced past his ears, and the world seemed to stand still at the breakneck speed. Crimson hair flowed past the edge of his vision like flowing blood.
He looked up dully and saw the centaur lady's big smile.
"That's great." Qingxia smiled, "You're still alive, Chu Hengkong!"
Outside the arena, a man wearing sunglasses pointed upwards. His fingertip pointed toward the spot where the torch smoke had once risen... It was an incredibly conspicuous signal, visible even in the settlement.
"Beast Slaughter Plan, Phase Two!" Chongming shouted, "Blood Knights, move out!"
For Chongming, who was familiar with the background of every envoy, the outcome of this battle was decided at the very beginning.
——The winning rate is 0.
A Sephiroth of 6 in life, Vaklo remains the strongest of the Messengers even in death. Even if the mural's mechanism is cracked, the Messengers' own strength remains an insurmountable obstacle. Without intelligence or combat experience, even the most formidable of skills and adaptability will be no match for the strongest Messengers.
That's why he made this plan, which was a gamble from beginning to end.
Bet that newcomers can crack the mural's mechanism.
Bet the newcomers can hold on long enough.
Finally, I bet Qingxia, who is in the settlement, can see the signal and come to support!
"Go ahead, young men!" the man who couldn't participate in the battle shouted outside the arena, "Use your courage to liberate the mad spirits that refuse to be buried!!"
Inside the arena, Qingxia galloped away, leaving the crowd in the dust. Shadow tentacles chased her, but they couldn't keep up and fell into the audience, shattering the terrified statues into dust. Chu Hengkong lay in her arms, his hair dancing in the wind.
"Why do you look like you're going to die again this time?" Qing Xia said, "I feel like if I leave you alone, you'll die out there~"
"Don't talk to me in such a doting tone!" Chu Hengkong was anxious, "Let go!"
"Okay~" Qingxia stretched out the bone knife behind her like the claws of a claw machine. "Sit on my back first, General Chu. Don't cancel your secret technique!"
Chu Hengkong was thrown onto the horse, forcing him to cling to Qingxia's waist, otherwise the excessive speed would have thrown him directly out of the arena. Shadows danced wildly behind him, and the beast-like Waklo rushed towards them, running parallel to the two at a speed comparable to theirs.
"Good afternoon, Qingxia~" Waklo said with a smile, "When do you plan to come back? Lord Vansalar misses you~"
"Hello again, Miss Trash!" Qing Xia replied with a refreshing smile, "I will be back to Nightmare City soon. When I have killed all of you."
"Seriously? Then I'll just have to take action against you."
"You were going to do this anyway."
"How annoying! I've been seen through." Waklo grinned, "Group Devouring."
Over thirty shadowy beast heads erupted from its misshapen form, charging towards Chu Hengkong on horseback. Chu Hengkong swung his spear, unleashing sixty-four bursts of lightning in an instant. The piercing blows, fueled by the fire of ambition, shattered the beast heads. The final shot pierced Waklo's old wound, burying the spark beneath his fur. With Qingxia's swift speed, he was finally able to engage Waklo.
"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt." Vaklo let the flames burn through his body, half-rising, and lashing out with shadow claws. The dark marks of his claws crisscrossed and slashed like a butcher's knife. "Hold on!" Qingxia smiled dangerously, her heartbeat pounding like a drum, her immense vitality sending her speed soaring. She leaped three times in a short period of time, zigzagging in a zigzag pattern, narrowly avoiding Vaklo's claws.
Vaquero took advantage of the gap in its mid-air to pounce. Chu Hengkong turned around and thrust his spear forward, hitting Vaquero's head with a stab! The beast slowed down a step due to the attack, and the enemy and us maintained our distance.
"General Chu, you have great skills!" Qingxia exclaimed.
Chu Hengkong's heart skipped a beat. This tone reminded him of his ignorant self back then. "Don't be like this," he whispered, pulling back his white spear. Cracks covered it like tree branches. Waklo's power was too strong. Even this pristine, durable spear couldn't withstand the blows.
Qingxia turned her head, a trace of regret in her eyes. "I can't be Zilong anymore..." "You're actually regretting this?!" "Do you want to use my gun?" She summoned the Xiaolong Qingkun gun and held it in her hand. Chu Hengkong shook his head. "It will break just the same. Stop!"
The situation was urgent, and he tightened his grip on Qingxia's waist. Without hesitation, the banshee raised her front hooves high and stopped abruptly. Almost instantly, Vaklo appeared beside them like a phantom, strangely slowing down. The three of them exchanged surprised glances in mid-air. Then, an invisible wind blew, and Chu Hengkong thrust his spear with all his might. A powerful blow sent Vaklo flying across the arena!
Why did such a bizarre battle occur? Because after the previous round, Waklo had quietly changed the target of "Shadow Chaser," allowing him to surpass Qingxia in speed. It was precisely because Chu Hengkong had seen through his enemy's plan that he had used his earlier sudden stop to strike first. Otherwise, both of them would have been dead by now.
"It seems I can't run too fast..." Qingxia felt a little regretful.
"Use your gun to control your speed." Chu Hengkong thought of a solution. "Always make sure there's someone who can go faster. That way you have a chance of winning."
If Qingxia was chosen again, he would use the Qingkun Spear to accelerate Chu Hengkong's movements, and vice versa. Waklo wouldn't always choose the same target, as Yiqi Qianqiu was also increasing Chu Hengkong's speed. A misjudged speed difference would make the pursuit difficult to control, and time was the most crucial resource for both sides.
One side has to race against time to get back the paintbrush and win, while the other side has to buy time for their companion in the painting to gain a chance of winning.
"I see. This is what's called Tian Ji's horse race," Qing Xia said excitedly. "Tian Ji has to run faster than the horse to survive."
"You better completely forget this word." Chu Hengkong wanted to sigh, "Then run! Run!"
"Oh la la la la la la~"
Qingxia ran happily, just avoiding Waklo's collision. Waklo dug his claws into the ground, and the flattened force made his claws flow like water, crossing under Qingxia's running body and suddenly rising in front of her.
"Shadow Spell: Shadow Bar."
A gigantic claw stretched out before him, its long claws carrying a flattened magical force. With Vaquero in hot pursuit, their battle plan was in jeopardy at the very beginning. A flash of silver light flashed before Qingxia's eyes, and the mountain-like claws snapped at the base. It was a strange, silver-white weapon, a sickle for reaping lives!
"The dark side of the tide resides in me, like a sickle cutting through the silhouette of fate."
Chu Hengkong sheathed his spear and clenched his left arm. His prosthetic body melted and deformed as he chanted, the part below the elbow sharpening and bending to form a sickle blade. The Great Demon's unique weapon then emerged, fused with his arm.
"Cursed Armament, Scythe of Disaster Radiates!"
He swung his scythe sideways, unleashing a gust of wind to counter Vaquero's shadow claws. Instantly, the two sides exchanged blows no fewer than a hundred times. The fierce clash of high-level power cracked even the shadows of overflowing birth. Both sides raced through this inescapable arena, a veritable line between life and death!
·
Meanwhile, in the mural—
"Run, Qingye!" Fander yelled at the top of his lungs, "Can you please run faster?"
"I've already said I'm not a martial artist and I don't have Mr. Chu's insane speed!"
Qingye stuffed the Eye Demon into the pocket of her outer armor and, following its lead, ran with all her might. She was practically a pale yellow line, but behind that line, demons were relentlessly pursuing her. Rockwa, riding on the back of a slayer, was smiling as he directed the various low-level outsiders to surround and kill.
Qingye used the Shadow Robe Technique to hide his form, but this Zanxin Technique was useless to Rockwa. As a shadow master, he could easily see through Qingye's tracks.
"You really don't have to target me! If you like strong people so much, why don't you go find Sister Huaisu?" Qingye shouted.
"Of course, Miss Canxinzhe~" Rockwa's eyes flashed coldly, "As long as you hand over that eyeball."
(This guy is too sharp...!)
Qingye ducked and rolled as he ran, dodging the transparent, colorless longsword. The invisible demon possessed hid in the shadows, its longsword drawn, ready for another fight. Qingye slashed upwards, severing the invisible demon's center in two. Colorless blood spilled into the air, and Qingye leaped up, stepping on the demon's corpse. His back flashed through the air, splitting into two. This was an illusion technique, using optical effects to confuse the enemy.
A Qing Ye charged into the enemy formation, knife in hand, only to be devoured by the slayers in a matter of seconds, dispersing into thin air. The real Qing Ye ascended the execution platform with the agility of a gymnast. She sprinted through the gap created by Han Xing's attack, but instead of leaping down, she continued to climb along the pyramid-like outer wall.
"Probably in this direction." Vander said groggily, "It should be something quite conspicuous... with a strong presence..."
Finder was in too poor a state to be relied upon this time. Qingye made a quick assessment. She circled the execution platform, carefully searching for any suspicious signs. The besieging glowing corpses and demon-possessed beings followed closely behind, climbing the outer wall but crying out in pain as they collided with an invisible line of shadow.
"Super felony network."
The Zanshin Jutsu, transforming sin into weight, was activated. The monsters, trapped by their own sins, sank into the earth, unable to move. Qingye climbed to the top of the pyramid. The shadow needle torture device that had plucked out the ghost body stood nearby, and behind it stood the black stone statue of Vansalar. Qingye took a deep breath and ran to the center of the execution platform. As she ran, she suddenly swung her sword back, striking it with her blade. The long blade pierced the razor-like claws!
The flattened shadowy force followed the claws, but the long sword remained intact, its shadow gliding across the graceful blade like ripples on water. Qingye performed a series of backflips to distance herself, and Rockwa rose from her shadow.
"That sword is the 'Miansheng', right?" Rockwa said nostalgically. "You are indeed from the Guangshi family. If this sword is still there, is Mingwu still alive?"
Qing Ye was holding his knife cautiously and was startled when he heard this: "Do you know the head of the family... Lord Wu Zun?"
"Martial Master?" Rockvale opened his mouth in surprise. "He turned into Sephiroth 7? This is really... unexpected..."
As they chatted, Lokva leaned forward, slashing with his claws. Qingye countered with her cassock, using her relic to block the flattened force. Then, she slashed across the blade with one hand, exerting force with both palms, sending Lokva stumbling.
Three shadow shurikens pierced the ground, and Qingye formed hand seals, preparing to unleash a super-heavy sin technique. Rockval casually stepped forward, shadows flowing from his robes, disrupting the formation. Its head transformed into a giant dog, biting down. Qingye ducked and rolled to avoid it, then stabbed the beast's jaw with a backhanded slash.
Rockwa transformed his head back into a human form to evade the attack. From his sleeves, several shadow needles shot out, one of which pierced Qingye's left wrist. At the same time, Qingye used two fingers to hook a shadow shuriken with the shadow line and pierced Rockwa's body.
Black shadows flowed from the wounds, staining the white robes. The shadows healed Rockval's wounds, and Qingye used shadow thread to sew up the wound on her wrist. She stared at the center of the execution platform. The statue of the demon king, or the execution device, the curse could only exist on these two. But Rockval had built a thick wall of shadows, and without breaking it down, there was no way to reach the key.
"Not bad, not bad. Your reaction is very quick. Lord Vansalar also likes people like you." Rockwa chuckled. "You really want revenge on me, but I won't let you get your wish. I, Rockwa, will defend this place to the death and not retreat a single step!"
The enemy's strength is undoubtedly greater than his own.
Even after being ambushed, the clone still possessed a power that could not be underestimated. If it weren't for the chain of misfortunes, I'm afraid the three of them together would be no match for Waklo.
Yet, there's a feeling stuck in my throat that I can't get out. Is it because the enemy, struck by a chain of misfortunes, can't unleash their full strength? Is it because the enemy is just a clone, unable to give his all? Is it because the enemy's seemingly enthusiastic, yet hollow words?
No. None of them. Qingye gripped the long knife tightly and pursed his lips.
"Why are you... so weak?"
"..." Rockwa stopped what he was doing.
"Even if you're an outsider, you're a formidable warrior who's fought against the patriarch before," Qing Ye said. "How could you have fallen for our little tricks? You should have been able to defeat us ignorant youngsters in a single blow."
These little guys are going too far in their provocations now.
I've never been very clever, but I wouldn't have fallen for that kind of trick. Remember, I have as much magic as I need, and even with its deterioration, I still have endless tricks. I also have information about the chain of misfortunes, and I'll know what's going on when I see that prosthetic hand.
Originally, I couldn't even use the mural's mechanism. Originally, I wouldn't fall for such tricks. Originally, even if I was suppressed to particle 3, I could easily toy with these little guys. Originally, even in the wilderness at the bottom, I could scare the fools above me into not daring to take another step.
Of course, there's a reason for all this. Listen to me, you ignorant little girl.
Rockval's ears drooped, and his pupil-less eyes revealed an expression that people called "helpless."
"I'm getting old," it said softly.
(End of this chapter)
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