Chapter 155: Deathmatch

The torrential rain hammered madly against the hemispherical glass dome, producing a heart-jolting roar.

Within this isolated coliseum— “Clang—!” A deafening detonation like colliding boulders exploded!

Chen Bing’s massive shield slammed head-on into the half-man, half-spider monster!

You think brute force like this can crush me? Naive! Facing the frenzied battering of limbs like siege rams, Chen Bing didn’t take a single step back.

The [Great Wall] energy shield in her hands emitted an overloaded, waspish hum. “Weapon Deconstruction!” Ka-cha!

A crisp sound of disassembly rang out. The thick energy shield shattered in an instant! It didn’t vanish. Instead, it transformed into hundreds of palm-sized, razor-edged petals.

Each petal gleamed with a lethal ink-gray sheen, spinning rapidly around Chen Bing.

“Go—grind it to pieces!” At her low command, the metallic petals surged forth like a school of piranhas scenting blood, becoming a gray torrent! “Skree—zzzz—!” Sparks flew!

Acid splashed! The metal petals cut and ground wildly across the monster’s carapace, peeling the hardened armor away layer by layer like rotten mud!

On the other side of the battlefield, the killing intent was even thicker—yet utterly silent.

“Die—!” Yano Akira’s figure became a streak of pitch-black lightning, phasing ghost-like through the formation of six Abyss Chanters.

The massive arm-gauntlets floating at her sides suddenly morphed— two obsidian crystal blades, each three meters long, shot out from their fronts!

Weapons born purely for slaughter.

With such an absurd reach combined with Yano Akira’s speed, this should have been a one-sided massacre.

However— Just as the obsidian blades were about to fall— “A Human…”

All six Abyss Chanters stopped chanting at once and turned their heads in perfect unison. Six pairs of ink-black eyes snapped onto Yano Akira in midair like an invisible net.

“Woom—!” A viscous spiritual pressure descended without warning! It felt like crashing into an unseen wall of gel. Her murder-charged posture was forcibly frozen midair!

“Tch—again with this trick! These cult freaks… so damn annoying!”

She ground her teeth, irritation written all over her doll-like face. The sight made Lin Yu’s heart pound.

By her calculations, once Chen Bing and Yano Akira—two of the company’s heavy hitters—made a move, this should have been a crushing victory without suspense.

Yet somehow, those two most reliable seniors were actually being held back! “Tch—” Li Qing’s face darkened. The fox-like eyes that always carried a smile narrowed into slits.

“These Abyss Chanters are seriously hard to deal with… I really didn’t bring heavy weapons. Senior, it’s up to you now!” She turned to Lin Yu.

“While they’re locked in a stalemate, if you can help the baby take out even one piece of trash and break their formation, the scales will tip!”

“But my psychic energy’s bottomed out! Those two arrows just now—”

Flustered, Lin Yu subconsciously scratched her head. When she turned, she saw the white furball playing dead.

“Oh—right! I still have this ‘ultimate weapon’! It’s a little embarrassing, a little cringe… but this guy is my exclusive weapon!”

“Counting on you, partner!” Lin Yu grabbed Little White and hoisted it high.

“Goo…” Little White let out an extremely disdainful grunt, ruby-red eyes slanting at her as if to say: You only think of me now, huh?

“Alright! Stop looking at me like that! I’ll only say this embarrassing line once—listen carefully!”

Lin Yu took a deep breath, cheeks flushing crimson. “For victory! All in!”

She opened her mouth— “Pure Heart! Bonds—”

BOOM—!!!

Before she could finish the cringe transformation line, a thunderous explosion erupted from deep within the passage ahead! A reinforced load-bearing wall collapsed like paper mache, rubble and steel bars blasting outward.

“Splrch—!”

Immediately after, a black shadow wrapped in violent wind streaked into the battlefield and slammed straight into the center of the formation!

“!!!”

The massive disturbance froze everyone for a split second. As the dust settled, they focused their eyes—and saw that it was a person…

Only, his condition was beyond horrific.

His ribcage was completely caved in, all four limbs bent backward at grotesque angles. It was as if he’d been crushed by a hydraulic press—twisted into an unrecognizable mass of flesh, dead beyond doubt.

“Who goes there?!”

The lead Abyss Chanter’s expression changed sharply as he shouted toward the dust. Only a sound answered him. “Zzz… zzz…” The sound of blood being flash-vaporized by high heat.

Heavy footsteps followed from within the swirling dust.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Each step made the ground tremble faintly. A dense stench of blood mixed with waves of sulfurous heat rolled over them. At last, the figure emerged. Lin Yu’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.

It was a giant—nearly three meters tall. His bare upper body was an eerie dark red, faint brass-colored runic patterns surfacing across the skin.

With each breath, those markings pulsed as if alive. His right hand—five fingers buried in another corpse’s face, knuckles sunk deep into the empty eye sockets like he was carrying a rag doll.

That, too, had been an Abyss Chanter who tried to stop him.

“Rip—” The giant flicked his arm.

The corpse was tossed aside, dragging a long smear of blood across the ground.

He slowly raised his head. That face…

Though its features had twisted into something demonic, with bone protrusions bulging from his temples as if about to tear through the skin— Lin Yu still recognized it.

It was the face of the brother she trusted most. Only now, the steadiness and warmth were gone.

All that remained in those eyes were two infernos of blood-red flame that seemed able to burn the world to ash! The giant’s gaze passed over everyone and fixed on the center of the formation.

He opened his mouth, revealing stark white teeth. Lin Yu’s body trembled uncontrollably; Little White nearly slipped from her hands.

She tried to call his name, but her throat was so dry no sound came out. How… how could it be him…

“…Luo Shaotian!?”

“W-what?! Luo Shaotian?! That guy is your boyfriend—ah no, your friend?!”

Li Qing’s eyes bulged like bells. Her trembling finger pointed at the nearly three-meter-tall crimson monster, voice cracking: “S-senior, are you joking?! How does that look like a friend?! That pressure… that’s not someone you can just sit down and drink tea with!”

“Shut up, Fox.” Chen Bing, silent until now, suddenly spoke—her voice carrying an unprecedented gravity. As the team’s defensive core, her sense for danger was the sharpest.

The instant that man appeared, the [Great Wall] in her hands had instinctively let out an uneasy hum.

“All units, stay alert.” She disengaged from the man-spider monster, eyes locked on the red figure.

“That guy… he reeks of slaughter.”

“Damn mortal! You dare harm my brethren!”

At that moment, a venom-filled roar tore across the battlefield. One Abyss Chanter, seeing his companion brutally killed, forced himself free despite still fighting Yano Akira—taking a slash to the shoulder from an obsidian blade to retreat.

He slashed his left palm through the air, tearing open a bone-deep wound. Crimson blood dripped onto the dark-purple sigils on the ground, hissing as it corroded them.

“Sacrifice my blood—awaken the fangs of the abyss! Come forth, [Infernal Hound]!” As his low, crazed incantation ended, the sigils flared with blinding blood-red light!

“ROAR—!!” With a hair-raising howl, a hound the size of a calf leapt from the bloodlight! Fangs bared, its entire body burned with crimson hellfire, murderous aura billowing!

“Go! Tear that blasphemer apart!”

“Awooo—!!” The Infernal Hound became a scarlet meteor, charging straight at Luo Shaotian! It was terrifyingly fast, leaving afterimages in the air. The air itself warped from the intense heat in its wake!

“Watch out!” Lin Yu tried to shout a warning— But what happened next jammed the sound in her throat.

“Smack—” No dazzling effects. No earth-shaking explosion. The demon hound simply went smack—swatted midair by Luo Shaotian’s palm into a sky-full of bloody mist! Warm droplets scattered everywhere…

“W-what!?” The Abyss Chanter who had summoned it nearly popped his eyes out. “That was an Infernal Hound! A C-class contaminant—How could it… how could it be killed with one slap—”

Before his cry could finish, the red giant in his vision vanished.

“Help me! Help me!” The Chanter felt lethal terror crash down and screamed for aid.

The other two Chanters besieging Yano Akira abandoned their advantage and released spiritual pressure, trying to lock Luo Shaotian in place. However— “Crack—!” In a single instant.

The pressure strong enough to restrain an elephant shattered like fragile spider silk! A massive hand punched straight through the defense and clamped around the black-robed man’s throat!

“Urgh—!” He was lifted into the air like a chicken, legs kicking wildly. His face turned the color of liver as he clawed frantically, nails scraping against the dark-red skin with screeching friction—yet failing to leave even the faintest white mark.

Luo Shaotian’s blood-flamed eyes watched him coldly.

“I’ve already cleaned up the bugs down below…” His voice was low and hoarse.

“…So once I deal with you, this place… will go back to normal, right?”

“Foolish mortal… cough cough…”

Even at this point, the Abyss Chanter remained condescending. “You… you have no idea… what kind of existence you’re opposing…” “No need to know.”

Crack! A crisp, horrifying sound of bones snapping echoed through the death-silent hall—like casually breaking a dried twig.

“SPLURCH—!!!”

Blood mixed with white brain matter sprayed out like a fountain from the twisted break, drenching Luo Shaotian.

He didn’t dodge. Instead, he tilted his head back slightly, as if bathing in holy light, releasing a satisfied sigh. The unlucky Abyss Chanter collapsed like a burst rotten tomato, slumping to the ground.

The headless corpse continued to spout blood, spreading rapidly into a grotesque, crimson pattern across the floor. The entire hall fell silent.

“This…”

Even the usually composed Yano Akira sucked in a sharp breath. For the first time, a hint of something called wariness appeared in her proud eyes.

“H-hey… I’m just saying, that big guy…” Li Qing swallowed and shrank behind Chen Bing, voice trembling.

“He… he’s still on our side, right? Right, senior?” She looked to Lin Yu—only to find her face paler than ever.

“Luo Shaotian…” Lin Yu stared at the giant bathed in blood, nails digging into her palm.

“How did you… become like this?”