Chapter 3: Bring Me a Few Salted Fish That Can Shout ‘666’

The third person to arrive at Sector 1 was Uncle Li.
He was also a C-rank ability user, but his physical fitness naturally couldn’t compare to Hua Qiang’s body-strengthening ability, so he was a step slower.

“Lixing, I just heard you say the Aberrant Beast attack is B-rank. Is that true?”

Xia Lixing didn’t answer, but instead moved aside, gesturing for Uncle Li to look out the window.

When Uncle Li’s gaze fell upon the distant horde of Aberrant Beasts, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Good heavens, this wasn’t just any Aberrant Beast attack; this was a higher-level beast tide!

As far as the eye could see, a horde of Aberrant Beasts, stretching beyond the horizon, was roaring and charging this way.
If it weren’t for a few bottomless ravines in the way, the beasts would probably have already broken through.
Even with the obstruction of those ravines, it would take the horde at most a minute or two to reach the outer wall.

“Just how many Aberrant Beasts are there…”
Looking at the horde that stretched endlessly in both directions, even the usually carefree Hua Qiang felt a little scared.
This wasn’t a central city; when had they ever seen a horde of this scale?
To have a C-rank attack once a year was already considered bad luck, and it required all the ability users to fight with all their might to hold on.

But those C-rank attacks were nothing compared to the B-rank beast tide before them!

Aberrant Beast attacks were usually carried out by small or large groups of beasts against a safe zone.
The largest of these would number no more than a thousand, and the rank of the attack was determined by the highest-ranked beast within the group.
But a beast tide was different.
If the total number of beasts didn’t reach the tens of thousands, how could it be called a beast tide?

Although the vast majority of them were unranked cannon fodder that even ordinary soldiers could kill…

During this time, the other ability users in the safe zone arrived one after another, and their hearts sank when they saw the terrifying beast tide before them.
The strongest in this safe zone were only four C-rank ability users, and among them, Hua Qiang was a bottom-feeder who had just been promoted to C-rank.
Even if they joined forces, they couldn’t stop an attack of this magnitude!

However, Xia Lixing only frowned for a moment before his expression returned to its usual impassiveness. “Listen to my arrangements now.
Ability users below C-rank, retreat to Sector 2.
A beast tide of this level is no longer something you can participate in.
C-rank ability users… Uncle Zhao, focus all your energy on creating rock bullets, then throw them outside.
Uncle Li, you must time your ability precisely to turn each rock bullet into a real bullet.
You two have cooperated for so many years, I trust you’ll have no problem.”

“Leave it to me and Old Zhao.”

Uncle Li responded in a deep voice and walked out of the reconnaissance room with another middle-aged man.
Several ability users below C-rank also left with them.
Although they were unwilling, after seeing the beast tide outside, they knew their strength was not enough to deal with an attack of this level.

“Hua Qiang and Xiao Ya, don’t move out for now.
Hua Qiang, you’ll be responsible for any that slip through the net later.
Don’t let them get close to the inner wall.
As for Xiao Ya…”

Xia Lixing looked at the only female present, Xiao Ya.
This eighteen-year-old girl showed no sign of panic in the face of danger, because she had already been through countless life-and-death battles, even if the danger this time far exceeded what she could handle.

“Your mission is to follow me, kill as many Aberrant Beasts as possible, and, stay alive!”

After saying that, Xia Lixing leaped out through the hole he had made in the ceiling.
On a higher ruin not far away, Uncle Zhao and Uncle Li had already begun to “suppress with firepower” the horde of Aberrant Beasts.
Although the damage was limited, the rain of rock bullets miraculously managed to temporarily halt the horde’s advance.

“If Uncle Zhao and Uncle Li were B-rank ability users, I probably wouldn’t even have a chance to act in this beast tide.”

After muttering to himself, Xia Lixing reached out and pressed his armband.
A faint blue light flashed, and the massive blade appeared on his back.

“Good thing I’m wearing the uniform. This short-range spatial teleportation technology is really convenient.”

Without further delay, Xia Lixing crouched down to gather his strength, and two seconds later, he pushed off with his feet, charging directly into the boundless horde of Aberrant Beasts outside the wall.

“Well, damn, now the reconnaissance room will have to be rebuilt.”

Hua Qiang, who had already run outside, muttered to himself as he looked at the ceiling that had been kicked down by Xia Lixing.

Regardless of how disheveled Hua Qiang was over there, Xia Lixing was already on a killing spree within the horde of Aberrant Beasts.
Wielding the two-meter-long giant blade in his hand, he swept through a large area as easily as if he were swinging a wooden stick.
The surface of the giant blade seemed to be enveloped by an unknown power at this moment, the surrounding air twisting and dancing.
Any Aberrant Beast grazed by the blade was like a piece of paper set on fire, turning to ash in an instant.

Not far from Xia Lixing, Xiao Ya was also surrounded, but she held no weapon in her hands and simply stood still.
Even so, there were no Aberrant Beasts within five meters of her, only broken corpses with unusually smooth cuts.

‘Spatial cutting really is a weapon-of-mass-destruction-level ability.’

Although Xia Lixing had learned of Xiao Ya’s ability on his first day back, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion upon seeing it in action.

Inside the wall, the suppressing fire from Uncle Zhao and Uncle Li had stopped at some point.
The two men were so tired they collapsed on the spot, with only enough strength left to pant.
However, even though they had stopped, the Aberrant Beasts outside the wall could hardly advance another step, the reason being those two who had rushed into the horde to go on a rampage…

No, to be precise, only Xia Lixing had rushed into the horde to go on a rampage…

A rampage was a rampage, but while Aberrant Beasts lacked intelligence, they weren’t complete idiots.
With so many beasts and such a long line, what use was it for one person to be so strong?

‘You can kill all you want, we’ll just charge past you from the sides.’

But what Xia Lixing did next showed people why A-rank ability users had an unofficial rank that sounded so impressive.

Legion-class combat power.

As the strongest among the B-rank ability users, the one known as “pseudo A-rank,” Xia Lixing, at this moment, demonstrated the terrifying power of an A-rank ability user.

Xia Lixing casually spun his giant blade, “dissolving” a few Aberrant Beasts beside him, then forcefully plunged the blade into the ground in front of him.
After taking a deep breath, he suddenly threw his arms wide.

“Burn, to your heart’s content!”

A torrential flow of energy erupted with Xia Lixing at its center.
This energy was formless and colorless, but people could easily see that wherever it passed, the air was completely distorted.
The Aberrant Beasts touched by this energy flow were like being set aflame by an invisible fire, burned to nothing in just a few seconds, without even having time to let out a single roar.

Everyone was stunned, including Hua Qiang, who knew the most about Xia Lixing’s ability.
Was this power something a human could unleash?
Even though they were all ability users, at this moment, they couldn’t help but elevate that somewhat slender figure to the status of a “god” in their hearts.

Just one burst of energy had directly obliterated several thousand Aberrant Beasts, instantly reducing the number of beasts in this tide by more than half.
No wonder the five major central cities had stood tall against the attacks of so many despairingly powerful Aberrant Beasts until now.
If Xia Lixing, whose strength only ranked in the top hundred of A-rank, was this strong, what about the other A-rank ability users?
What about the eleven S-rank ability users?
And… the only five super S-rank ability users?

With such powerful strength, how could humanity possibly lose!

Xia Lixing, however, had no idea that his outburst had given these people even more resolute hope.
His current state was not very good.
It wasn’t that he had overexerted himself; on the contrary, a force that was about to exceed his limits was waiting for him to absorb.

‘I really… shouldn’t have been so arrogant.’

Xia Lixing’s ability was “Ethereal Flame.”
Although the name suggested a type of fire, his ability was not classified under elemental manipulation, but rather under unknown substances.
Because his Ethereal Flame was not actually fire.

It was a mysterious energy.
When released, others could not see this invisible energy, but Xia Lixing could “see” it, or more accurately, feel it.
In Xia Lixing’s perception, this energy had a flame-like form, but it was far more terrifying than fire.

An ordinary Aberrant Beast, if touched by even a little bit of “Ethereal Flame,” would be devoured by this energy.
And after devouring an Aberrant Beast, the “Ethereal Flame” would feed back a small amount of energy to Xia Lixing to replenish his own.
The “Guardians” had once specially studied the “Ethereal Flame,” but in the end, they only discovered that it also contained some spatial properties; the rest remained unknown.

To put it bluntly, it was an ability that combined killing enemies, recovery, and reconnaissance all in one.

But it was precisely because the “Ethereal Flame” was identified as an incomplete-form ability that Xia Lixing, an ability user with A-rank strength, was ultimately rated as B-rank.

Right now, Xia Lixing was in a bit of a predicament because of the devouring nature of his “Ethereal Flame.”
Although the energy feedback from killing one Aberrant Beast was minimal, the sheer number this time was overwhelming!
Unprepared for such a massive feedback of energy, Xia Lixing was at a loss for what to do for a moment.

But he soon found a solution: since he couldn’t completely absorb all this energy in a short time, he might as well waste it.
After all, there were still plenty of Aberrant Beasts left to kill.

No sooner said than done.
Xia Lixing reached out, pulled up the giant blade in front of him, and once again charged towards the distant horde of Aberrant Beasts.

Behind him, a group of ability users who had been doing nothing but watching were at a loss for what to do.
They had seen Xia Lixing suddenly unleash his ultimate move and kill a large area, then remain motionless for a long time, thinking he had overexerted himself and had to rest on the spot.
Seeing the Aberrant Beasts that hadn’t been affected by Xia Lixing’s “ultimate” about to charge over, the already exhausted group was nervously preparing for a fight to the death when Xia Lixing suddenly sprang back to life, shouldered his giant blade, and charged back in, continuing his rampage and slaughtering the Aberrant Beasts…

Did he look overexerted at all?
He looked like he could fight for a whole other day!
Was this terrifying endurance really okay!

Hua Qiang, who had barely had a chance to act, suddenly felt like a fish, one that was soaking in a salt jar, responsible for shouting “666”¹…

Footnotes:

1. 666 (liùliùliù) is Chinese internet slang for “awesome” or “cool,” often used in gaming contexts to praise skillful play.