Chapter 178: Chasing Shadows and Slaying Beasts (End)
Maybe, it's because I'm old.
Waklo thought so as he ran.
Originally, Shadow Chase was an overflow that affected all life within its radius. Its speed surpassed that of all enemies combined, capable of annihilating the entire battlefield in a single moment. For Waklo Rockwa, group fights were pointless; only a one-on-one duel offered a chance of defeating it.
Therefore, the brave allied warriors sacrificed their lives to construct a magic circle to trap it, each one entering the battle with the knowledge of certain death. Only after all their members had perished did Vaklo collapse amidst a mountain of corpses. The weapons and wounds left on its body were testament to those who had died.
However, now that Shadow Chaser has been severely weakened, it can only target one person, making multiplayer combat its weakness. Using this ability makes it seem like a bully.
Ultimately, it failed to cross the Second Abyss, having changed with the passage of time. Had it been alive, it wouldn't have made the decision to intercept alone. Back then, it simply followed orders, fearless and relentless. But now, it would seek help from those above it, and would eliminate the threat on its own. Waklo knew exactly why.
Because it's scared.
It knew clearly that Lord Vansalar was not invincible. Even gods could be defeated, and even gods could die. In the past, it had been the fear that pursued its prey, but now the death of a god had become a fear that pursued it, forcing it to make decisions. It worried about gains and losses. It made it hesitate. It made it make mistakes.
Perhaps this is what flesh and blood life calls "aging," and now it is the beast being chased by fear.
"It's become an old dog... No, it's already a dead dog!"
Vaklo roared with laughter, its laughter shaking the entire arena. "But it doesn't matter."
"Feelings won't fade with time, they will definitely kill you!"
It suddenly stopped, stabbing its claws into its own skull, stirring the murky darkness within. It shattered its meaningless emotions, dug out fragments of its former self, and recalled how it had fought in the past. It refrained from unnecessary contemplation, exerting all its strength, moving forward, forward—
The giant demon-killer roared, accelerating, shadow-like, chasing the two men. Its speed continued to increase, becoming faster and stronger with each passing second. From this moment on, Shadow Pursuit would target only Chu Hengkong. Waklo wasn't going to play the sudden brake game anymore; this pure, unadulterated fight was more like its past style.
"Be careful, Mr. Chu!" Qingxia shouted, "It's showing its true strength!"
"Have you been playing around until now? It's hard to laugh." But Chu Hengkong on horseback laughed, "Then come on! Let's see who's the winner!"
The shadowy forces within the arena surged with emotion, forming a tsunami-like dark wave behind Waklo. Within that wave emerged numerous ghostly faces, weapons, and limbs, all hurled at him with a flattened magical energy. Chu Hengkong swung his scythe with a powerful force, sweeping away the shadowy weapons with its annihilating blade.
Vaklo sped up again, chasing from the side, running almost parallel to Qingxia. Its body emitted a charred stench as the green flames burned. "Don't even think about escaping." Then, Vaklo, engulfed in flames, charged without hesitation! "Want a contest of strength?" Qingxia used her armored shoulder as a spear, clashing head-on with it! The mighty force of blood and shadow clashed, and both fell to the side simultaneously. Qingxia's side was pierced by the blunt blade on the beast's skin.
"Can you hold on?" Chu Hengkong asked subconsciously. Qingxia chuckled and casually pulled out the knife that had stabbed into her body. "This general is born with supernatural power, and is even stronger than General Chu~"
"Then let's try this trick?"
A charred arm stretched out from Waklo's back, its five fingers clenched into the void and hung down. Fine words flowed from its fingertips, forming a spell that could influence the world.
Then, the sky over the wilderness of despair opened.
Thick clouds were blown to the sides by the immense magical force, and a chasm of emptiness opened up in the center of the sky. A dark blade descended from the valley, like a giant from the sky descending upon the earth with a butcher's knife. A clear, beautiful face was reflected on the blade, powerful enough to cleave the city.
"Void Sky Shadow Method: Horrifying Execution."
The sword that cleaved the sky suddenly descended, slicing down upon the two men as they raced forward like a guillotine magnified ten thousand times over. A vision of blood foam flashed before Qingxia's eyes, a warning from her intuition. There was no escape, no circumvention. This was a "punishment" that could not be avoided as long as fear lingered in her heart.
This was the shadow magic of the Void Angel. Even she had no way to counter it. All the techniques she had learned were unable to transcend this desperate situation. Death was already certain. Therefore, Qingxia poured strength into her heart, striking out an exceptionally loud heartbeat. Her other heart followed suit, and her power, resonating with the two hearts, flowed into Chu Hengkong's body.
Chu Hengkong's left arm contracted, gathering strength. He poured all his strength into his prosthetic hand, sparing no expense. The blade of the scythe of doom then expanded dramatically, extending to the ten meters it had when Orlek wielded it, now to a hundred meters, surpassing the behemoth's length. In the instant before the butcher's blade reached him, he thrust his left arm forward, unleashing the Heavenly Spear with the force of doom.
The Heavenly Spear and the guillotine were deadlocked in mid-air, and then the silver spear blessed by the Wrist of Evil pierced through the darkness and cut through the butcher's knife!
The fear of execution was shattered, and Chu Hengkong's prosthetic arm quickly retracted to a length of 1.5 meters. The prosthetic arm greedily plundered his strength, almost draining him dry. "Are you okay?" Qingxia smiled, but sweat was dripping from the excessive energy consumption. "General Chu is so brave~" "When will you be serious!"
Waklo nodded in agreement: "That's what I mean. You can't be so unruly at a life-or-death moment." "You are the least qualified person to say that!"
Vaklo howled joyfully, its roar flowing into the waves of shadow behind it, forming a thousand hexagram-shaped magic arrays. These arrays collapsed inward like a "door," and a thousand beast heads emerged from behind them, their eyes filled with dark murderous intent. They howled in unison with Vaklo, their murderous roars converging, blending, and resonating, forming a black tide of annihilation that brought death to anyone who touched it.
Xutian Shadow Technique: Angry voices and roars.
Qingxia took a deep breath, and powerful energy and blood condensed in front of her face, forming a magic circle exactly the same as the one used by Waklo. This magic circle rapidly multiplied, nesting within each other, forming a 60-layer concentric circle array approximately three meters wide. Qingxia exhaled and opened her voice, roaring like a terrifying dragon. Her roar, enhanced by the blood-colored formation layer by layer, collided head-on with the roar of the beasts. Two ripples, one black and one red, collided in the center of the arena, and the surrounding stone stands were directly shattered by the aftermath!
Sky Blood Magic: Roar of Fury. Using Qi and blood to forcibly simulate magic, a shadow spell recreated with exceptional talent.
The concept of sound had all but vanished, leaving only destruction mediated by vibration. Vaquero held the advantage in numbers, but the battle remained evenly matched. For at the very moment the roar struck, another man also took action. Chu Hengkong hurled a succession of colorless water blades, strangling the beast heads in the shadows with astonishing accuracy.
Ten, fifty, a hundred... In the blink of an eye, 376 had been killed. One-third of the beast heads were destroyed by the water jets, breaking the balance. The magic of both sides was shattered simultaneously, and the sound of the collapse even extinguished the fire of the prairie fire!
Chu Hengkong shook his head vigorously, using his Immortal Power to regenerate his ruptured eardrum. He had previously covered his entire head with the Qi Armor; otherwise, his overly sensitive hearing would have killed him. But even with his hearing damaged, he could still hear the pounding of his own heart and Qingxia's. Entering combat mode, he had nearly lost control of his heart, his blood circulation completely dictated by the opponent's rhythm, as if a demon were dancing within him.
He turned, peering through the charred earth, hoping to see signs of fatigue or a flaw in his enemy. But this time, even Chu Hengkong felt the pressure. Vaquero's agility remained unbroken, still in its prime, maintaining its peak state through the immortality of the painting. Its maw gaped open, a swirl of shadows forming a ball within it, like a miniature celestial body.
"Ah, my throat hurts..." Qingxia's voice was hoarse, "Please use that biu~ light wave."
Chu Hengkong once again suppressed the urge to sigh: "That thing is made of my spine and I can't let it go."
"Is this true? You can't control your own bones?" Qingxia was shocked. "General Chu is so weak..."
"That's enough, I'll do it this time!"
"Just kidding, leave it to me~"
"Virtual Sky Shadow Technique." The giant beast laughed strangely, "Pseudo Celestial Collapse Cannon!"
The giant beast's shadow ball shrank to the size of a needle, then suddenly burst forth, transforming into a pitch-black arrow that pierced the world. The world directly before Vaklo twisted like a vortex. The air vanished, the earth crumbled, and space itself "flowed" into the line like a waterfall. The black line was like a rift in the world, and everything it touched was pulled in by its gravity.
This is one of the evil spells developed by Waklo, the "collapse cannon" that destroys the real world with the power of planarization and turns everything into shadow!
On one side of the inescapable black line, a blood-red figure stood perpendicular to it. Qingxia and Chu Hengkong charged forward, mist and soil flowing past them in a torrent of material. Her heartbeat grew heavier under the pressure, and Qingxia constantly increased her speed. A moment's delay would have engulfed her in the artillery fire, leaving her face to face with her unforgivable demise.
Even at this moment, she was still laughing, her wild laughter carried by the wind like the song of a demon. She held the Qingkun Spear level, her back facing the black line as she launched a final charge. The gravity emanating from her dragon bones exploded, forcing Qingxia to escape the annihilating storm and out of the range of the collapse cannon!
The perimeter of the arena had long been obliterated by the collapse cannon, and they ran into a bottomless fog. The lost artillery fire died down, and Vaklo pursued them through the shadows. Driven by her excessive speed, Qingxia was unable to make a sharp turn. Her trajectory was veering towards Vaklo, and she hesitated whether to force herself to stop.
"It's alright," Chu Hengkong said. "Keep going!" The demon smiled. She turned, her spear pointed directly at the beast's eyes. The two combatants faced each other, launching a deadly charge, like knights in an ancient arena about to decide the outcome.
With both sides aligned, one more Collapse Cannon shot would completely resolve the battle. But Waklo abandoned the idea. Time was running out. A confrontation, abandoning pursuit, would lead to a collision faster than thought. The Spiral Tower's spells were too slow at this point; there was no such luxury in battle. He needed faster means, greater lethality, the best, most effective, and most direct attack, just like before he learned to live—
It closed its eyes. Resigned to darkness, its intellect abandoned for the moment. The wave of shadow flowing behind the beast contracted with a terrifying breathing sound, enveloping Vaklo's body. It grew larger, stronger, more terrifying, like a living building, a moving mountain. The enormous beast roared and rushed, like the vast night itself transformed into a demon.
Shadow Chase·Darkest Night!
Chu Hengkong gripped his white spear tightly with his prosthetic hand, his weapon on the verge of collapse ringing. He released his scythe, and the power of doom poured into the weapon, transforming into round raindrops that nestled into the final slot for the secret code. The secret code beads bestowed by Youyou, the fire of ambition, and the raindrops of doom—these three forces resonated under the influence of divine magic, transforming into a colorful dragon shape.
The dragon stretched its neck and roared, channeling its energy freely as it plunged into the shadows. The white spear shattered from the overload as it left its grip, but the concentrated power remained undimmed. It pierced the dense shadows and pierced Waklo's skull. The beast's counterattack slowed, and the distance between them was only five meters...three meters...!
At this moment, a black light flew out from the distant painting and rushed into Waklo's body. The black light transformed into another ferocious head, which was the half of his body that was separated from the painting! At this moment, Waklo took the initiative to retract his half of his body, biting down the opponent who was close at hand with all his strength!
"—Duet!"
Only inches away, the two sides collided head-on. Qingxia's lance pierced Waklo's chest first, and the second beast head bit down at this moment, its fangs piercing Chu Hengkong's shoulder!
At this point, all means had been exhausted. Relics, divine arts, nothing remained to be used. All that remained was himself, his unwavering will, and a heart filled with courage. Chu Hengkong's right hand thrust out like a spear, piercing the beast's mouth. His fingertips flickered with blood-red aura, the vitality burning under his iron will illuminating the darkness like a true flame.
Dragon Country Fist, Third Secret. Transform the damage and pain you endure into power, a burning technique that explodes instantly!
Burning Night!
The man's powerful punch smashed through the beast's skull, his burning spirit blazing into the shadows, burning away the beast's fear. Chu Hengkong's right hand, sharp as a spear under the blessing of extreme speed, moved forward from the corner of the beast's mouth, slicing through Waklo's massive body!
Then, the two sides crossed. Barely managing their speed, they stopped sprinting and turned back almost simultaneously. Qingxia and Chu Hengkong panted rapidly from exhaustion. Waklo transformed back into human form, clutching his chest. A fiery red scar marked his upper body.
Their gazes crossed in mid-air, each forcing themselves to raise their hands faster. Qingxia raised his spear, while Waklo extended his blade-like claws. He bent his body, preparing for the next sprint—
But suddenly, Waklo's movements slowed. Its wounds hadn't healed, and the fire of its wreckage burned through its broken body. It used its claws to support itself, preventing itself from falling.
Inside the mural, Qing Ye sheathed his sword and simultaneously cut off the execution platform and the statue of Vansalar.
"Ah, my..." Waklo rubbed his head in confusion. "I was too radical. How should I put it? I got carried away by what the young people said. A more cautious approach would have definitely yielded a different outcome. I'd keep circling you guys around, then find a chance to snatch the paintbrush back!... But that way, the device in the painting would be destroyed first... So I should distribute my power more carefully! Less here, more there!"
It chattered endlessly, carefully reviewing the battle, constantly finding possibilities for turning defeat into victory. If only they hadn't made any mistakes, if only they had been more cautious, if only they had anticipated the enemy's moves... Chu Hengkong and Qingxia remained silent, standing silently. Like the helpless young people, they were acquiescing to the old man's nagging.
"Yeah, I was just kidding." Waklo laughed, "I'm sorry, Lord Vansalar."
"Well done, I lost."
It dissipated and shattered in the flames like a flock of black butterflies.
The strongest messenger under the Nightmare King met his long-overdue death.
(End of this chapter)
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