Chapter 72: The Thunder Knight’s Reckoning

Bai Chen clutched his abdomen, gasping in pain. ‘Was he truly that powerful after all?’ Saluk’s knee kick had inflicted considerable damage, though he had only realized its full impact belatedly. He had initially intended to capitalize on Xinleit’s stunned state, hoping to take him out as well. Yet, he had failed. Having suffered a setback once, Xinleit would not grant him a second opportunity. The dark, formidable shield seemed impenetrable, far beyond Bai Chen’s current ability to shatter easily.

Bai Chen struggled to his feet, resting his arms on his knees as he wiped a streak of crimson from the corner of his mouth, his gaze fixed intently on Xinleit.

‘What should I do now?’

‘Fight? I’ve already squandered my best chance for victory.’

‘Flee? A tearing agony flared from the wound in my abdomen with every slightest movement.’

‘I doubt I could even manage a quick sprint.’

Bai Chen’s hand clenched into a fist, his gaze falling upon the black glove adorning it.

‘What would my parents do in a situation like this?’

From a young age, Bai Chen had known his father and mother were demon hunters, and he would sometimes see them return home wounded.

He recalled one instance when his father sat in the living room, tending to his mother’s injuries shortly after she had returned. Bai Chen, not yet in elementary school, felt a pang of heartache seeing his mother in such a state.

The young Bai Chen chose his own way to comfort his mother, spontaneously presenting her with a bouquet of blossoming flowers.

“Mama, can you please not fight so desperately next time?”

Seeing this, his mother stroked his head and chuckled:

“Silly child, if I didn’t fight desperately, you wouldn’t see me anymore.”

“Why must you fight desperately? Can’t you just run away?”

At these words, his mother’s expression grew considerably more serious, yet her tone remained gentle:

“Listen closely, Bai Chen, some things you simply cannot escape.”

“But, but I’m scared.”

“If you’re scared, close your eyes, don’t think about anything, and just charge forward relentlessly,” “until the problem is resolved.”

“Really?” Little Bai Chen’s eyes widened.

“Of course.”

His father echoed from behind them, his gaze falling upon the flowers in her hand.

“Son, where did you get these flowers? Why do they look so much like my prior—”

“Bai Chen, run!”

Fortunately, his mother’s timely warning saved little Bai Chen from being forced to endure his father’s ‘whipped meat’ punishment.

‘Damn it, why am I thinking about this now?’

Bai Chen couldn’t help but chuckle aloud, then closed his eyes.

‘What exactly were those things one couldn’t escape?’

‘Fighting demons? No, that’s not my mission.’

‘I became a demon hunter because I wanted to do what I could. To protect innocent people as much as possible from harm, for example…’

‘Mo Qiu.’

The instant her name flashed through his mind, the thunder within him intensified, growing stronger.

Bai Chen slowly rose, and as his eyes opened once more, electric arcs crackled and danced within them. Blue lightning radiated from his entire body, spreading outwards like four roaring, ethereal dragons.

‘What’s happening?’

Xinleit’s eyes widened. ‘Why has his aura suddenly become even more terrifying than my own? He was practically on his last legs just moments ago. What happened?’

“Shut up, you bastard.”

Bai Chen’s gaze wasn’t fixed on Xinleit’s face, but rather on the sky.

“I’m only using you temporarily; don’t think you’re always right.”

The sensation of embracing such power was exhilarating, but Bai Chen worried that over time, he might succumb to the allure of that voice.

‘Then I must finish this quickly!’

Meeting Bai Chen’s gaze, Xinleit was instantly overcome with goosebumps, almost turning to flee.

‘No, why should it be me? He’s the one who should be running!’

Xinleit forced himself to stand his ground, confident in his protective shield. Even if Bai Chen possessed hidden abilities, he couldn’t possibly defeat him.

Libelle was undoubtedly watching from somewhere. Xinleit intended to tear Bai Chen limb from limb right before her eyes, then toss the pieces at her feet to savor her expression of utter despair.

‘He’s coming!’

Bai Chen crouched low, like a track athlete poised for a sprint, and the lightning around his body also calmed, as if gathering its latent power.

Xinleit narrowed his eyes, not missing a single one of Bai Chen’s movements.

Then, in the next instant, Bai Chen’s figure vanished from his spot, the full force of his unleashed lightning roaring through the factory like the trailing light of a meteor in the sky, dragged behind him.

Bai Chen, with the force of a thunderbolt, shattered the ground, tore through the air, and appeared almost instantaneously before Xinleit.

Xinleit’s face instantly blanched. He hadn’t seen a thing; by the time he reacted, Bai Chen was already upon him.

Blue lightning converged in his hand, and Bai Chen struck Xinleit’s protective shield with a single punch, causing it to tremble violently.

*Crack!*

From the point of his fist, terrifying cracks spread outwards, almost covering the entire shield. Yet, after the tremor ceased, the dark barrier still stood firm.

Xinleit froze in terror, then a smirk crept onto his lips: “What was that? It looked intimidating, but it still couldn’t hurt me…”

Electric arcs seeped through the cracks into the interior of the protective shield, coalescing into a fist right before Xinleit’s eyes.

Bai Chen struck again, the fist of lightning directly hitting Xinleit and sending him flying.

The electric arcs, having infiltrated his body, stung his internal organs, causing even his demonic physique to grow sluggish.

‘Damn it, I can’t beat him?!’

The instant he realized this truth, Xinleit scrambled to his feet. By the time Bai Chen gave chase again, before a finger could even touch him, the demon’s figure floated away into the distance like a swift, ethereal gust of wind.

Bai Chen initially wanted to pursue, but his injured body could not endure a second rapid sprint. He had to think of another way.

As he looked around, his gaze fell upon a discarded electric scooter, the Mark I, in the corner.

The situation was critical; Xinleit had no choice but to use the trump card reserved solely for escape. Now, even a gentle breeze would be enough for him to ride the wind far away.

In just two or three seconds, he had left Bai Chen far behind, and Xinleit breathed a slight sigh of relief. The dark protective shield encircling him was also repairing its cracks at a visible pace.

‘Was that the power that defeated Saluk?’

‘Then his death wasn’t unjust. If I had been even a moment slower, I would have fallen into his hands too.’

‘To think there’s such a terrifying demon hunter in this city! We basic members are simply no match for him.’

‘It seems necessary to ask the executives to intervene. If it were Lord Elia, they could surely deal with him with ease.’

‘You won’t be arrogant for much longer!’

Just as a smirk began to form on Xinleit’s lips, he heard the roar of an engine. He looked back and gasped.

‘No way?!’

Bai Chen, like a knight under a white moon, was catching up on his beloved steed!

The electric scooter beneath Bai Chen was at full throttle, moving even faster than when he pursued Saluk. If not for the lightning enveloping his body, deflecting the extreme wind current, he would have been flung off by a speed more exaggerated than that of a racing car.

‘Isn’t that a human’s everyday vehicle? How can it be so fast?!’

Xinleit had been so engrossed in watching Bai Chen that when he finally looked ahead again, he realized he had run into a dead end.

Xinleit stopped before the dead end, turning to face Bai Chen.

‘No way out, then I’ll fight to the death!’

His protective shield was fully repaired. He refused to believe this thing could shatter his proud self-preservation ability again.

Bai Chen twisted the throttle even harder, and the scooter’s frame shrieked under the extreme load.

‘I’ll probably have to ask the R&D department to repair it again after today.’

“Beep beep!”

‘What was that sound?’

“[System overload detected. Self-destruct sequence initiated. Countdown begins: ten, nine…]”

‘I knew it!’

Bai Chen dared not slow down, instead charging directly towards Xinleit’s protective shield.

“[Three, two, one… Have a pleasant journey!]”

The instant Bai Chen launched himself, the scooter exploded like a New Year’s Eve firework, instantly shattering. Flames and a shockwave engulfed the entire dead end, swallowing them both.

Protected by the lightning around him, Bai Chen remained unharmed, and even used the shockwave’s momentum to propel himself toward Xinleit. He easily breached the trembling protective shield amidst the explosion, his longsword manifesting in his hand, his gaze fixed on the demon.

Xinleit’s face was pale; there was no escape. But this suited him perfectly.

‘Burn my bridges? No, I have no desire to fight Bai Chen to a mutual defeat.’

Xinleit had long prepared a killing blow, waiting for the moment Bai Chen drew near to take him down. ‘A human body is so fragile; it couldn’t possibly withstand it!’

Time seemed to slow, and the explosive flames and fragments of the scooter swirling around Xinleit also moved sluggishly.

Among the numerous fragments and debris, Xinleit spotted a piece of a rearview mirror.

With just one glance, his eyes became fixated.

In the mirror, a girl’s face was clearly visible, framed by the fragment as it flew past him.

‘Damn it!’

After a brief moment of stunned distraction, Xinleit still intended to deal with Bai Chen; there was still time.

However, a pale, small hand reached out from the mirror, grabbing his shoulder, making Xinleit appear as if he were simply standing there, lost in thought.

“Damn you, Libelle…!”

In the frozen world, Bai Chen flashed past him, his blade carving a long, elegant line.

Xinleit’s face was etched with astonishment, as if he had turned into a statue.

Starting from his shoulder, a line of blood extended all the way to his lower back on the opposite side. His upper body tilted, falling to the ground, while the lower half, still gushing blood, remained upright.

*Clink.*

A metal shard fell from the demon’s pocket, rolled to Bai Chen’s feet, and was picked up by him.

Bai Chen approached Xinleit, discovering that he still clung to a thread of life.

“This… impossible… My promotion, I was clearly favored by that Lord…”

“Still thinking about a promotion when you’re about to die?”

Bai Chen raised his sword and plunged it down.

After a while, the terrifying aura emanating from Bai Chen finally dissipated, and he collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.

Not far away, the girl watched his figure fall, her gaze dropping to her own palm.

Even though she had withdrawn her hand from the explosion quickly enough, her epidermis was still charred, the flesh beneath dark red, and a searing pain constantly stimulated her nerves.

Despite this, she raised both hands, and for the young man lying on the ground, she clapped forcefully.