Chapter 8: The Frenzied Battle

The horde of Aberrant Beasts surrounded them again, but unusually, they did not approach, merely encircling them from a distance, blocking the six people’s path of retreat.

The air grew heavy.
Under the pressure of the eight A-rank Aberrant Beasts, all the nearby beasts remained docile, not even daring to let out a low growl.

All six of them, including Xia Lixing, had deathly pale faces.
After more than half an hour of desperate fighting, they had thought they had escaped to safety, only to meet such an end.

Two clear, long cries sounded from the sky.
They were from two A-rank flying Aberrant Beasts.
Xia Lixing had thought they had been running circles around the beasts, but who knew they had been surrounded by them all along.

Without another word, Xia Lixing tightened his grip on his giant blade, took a deep breath, and let out a roar with all his might.

“Kill!”

Words were useless now.
All they could do was fight with all their might!

As if in response to Xia Lixing’s roar, the eight A-rank Aberrant Beasts also let out their own distinct roars.
The black mist surrounding their bodies grew thicker, and waves of terrifying pressure rushed towards Xia Lixing.

“Shut up, you beasts!”

A blade beam shot towards the eight A-rank Aberrant Beasts.
The previously unstoppable blade beam was now blocked by layers of black mist, causing no damage.
However, Xia Lixing’s attack interrupted the pressure from the eight A-rank beasts and also served as the signal for them to attack.

Three A-rank beasts surrounded Xia Lixing, while the other five rushed towards the five members of the search team.
Xia Lixing himself didn’t mind; even under the attack of three A-rank beasts, he wouldn’t be defeated immediately.
But the situation for the five members of the search team was dire.
Among these five, only the captain was a B-rank ability user; the other four were C-rank, not to mention one of them was a healer.

There were two main differences between A-rank and low-rank Aberrant Beasts.
One was that they could use simple abilities, although almost all of them were elemental manipulation, but a beast that could use abilities was like a tiger with wings.
The second was the black mist surrounding their bodies, which was the externalized energy of their Aberrant Cores.
Although this energy couldn’t be used for attack, it had a strong resistance to abilities, and the black mist itself was highly corrosive.
Direct contact without preparation was enough to kill a powerful ability user.

Whether for ability users or Aberrant Beasts, the difference between B-rank and A-rank was almost like heaven and earth.
A B-rank ability user might be able to slaughter a B-rank beast, but their full-powered attack might not even be able to break through the black mist of an A-rank beast.

An ability user below A-rank had absolutely no chance of winning against an A-rank beast.

After all, there was only one freak like Xia Lixing.
The captain of the search team was just an ordinary B-rank ability user.
Wanting to defeat an A-rank beast was nothing short of a fool’s dream.

“B*stard!”

Knowing full well how terrifying A-rank beasts were, Xia Lixing held nothing back.
A violent “Ethereal Flame” surged towards the beast in front of him like a raging sea.
That A-rank beast let out a shrill cry and spat out a flame mixed with black gas to meet the “Ethereal Flame.”
At the same time, the other two A-rank beasts behind Xia Lixing also shot out fire and ice cones, intending to force him to defend.

In the face of the “Ethereal Flame,” the flames spat out by the beast were no match.
But behind Xia Lixing, the other two attacks were already approaching.
It seemed that Xia Lixing’s attack this time could only end in failure.

But Xia Lixing did not retract his attack to defend.
For the two attacks behind him, his only defense was to carry the giant blade on his back, while he himself once again condensed “Ethereal Flame,” compressing almost all the “Ethereal Flame” he had gathered into his fist.

The highly compressed “Ethereal Flame” completely obscured Xia Lixing’s right fist with distorted space, and tiny black cracks even flickered in and out of existence—these were micro-spatial rifts created by the interference of the “Ethereal Flame.”
Xia Lixing charged towards the A-rank beast in front of him, stepping into the black mist before the beasts could react.

The black mist failed to corrode Xia Lixing.
Around his body, a thin layer of “Ethereal Flame” flickered one last time, dissolving most of the surrounding black mist for him.
At the same time, the two attacks from behind crashed into the giant blade on his back.
Amidst the crisp sound of the giant blade, they were also dissolved by that last layer of “Ethereal Flame,” with only the impact force descending upon Xia Lixing.

The immense impact shattered Xia Lixing’s shoulder blade and injured his internal organs.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Xia Lixing used this impact force to slam his fist into the A-rank beast before him.

The highly compressed “Ethereal Flame” exploded uncontrollably.
The A-rank beast at the center of the explosion was instantly dissolved without a trace.
The exploding “Ethereal Flame” was silent, but wherever it went, tiny black cracks constantly appeared in the air, proof that it had torn through space.

For the first time, Xia Lixing completely lost control of the “Ethereal Flame.”
Fortunately, this explosion was entirely directed forward, otherwise, Xia Lixing suspected he himself would have been buried in it.
Even so, his right hand had already disappeared, devoured by the spatial rifts created at the center of the “Ethereal Flame” explosion.

All the living beings present were stunned, whether it was the five members of the search team or the remaining seven A-rank Aberrant Beasts.
All eyes, both human and beast, were focused on Xia Lixing, on the man who had instantly killed an A-rank beast with such a crazed method.

Xia Lixing’s condition was very poor at this moment.
His shoulder blade was shattered, and two of his ribs were broken.
Many of his internal organs were severely injured, and he had also lost his entire right hand.
He was clearly heavily injured.
A few B-rank beasts could probably kill him.

But the beasts present didn’t dare to move.
Facing the current Xia Lixing, the A-rank beasts, which already possessed some intelligence, suddenly seemed to feel the fear that should not exist in them.

“Cough… Ptui! You beasts… come on!”

After coughing up a mouthful of blood, “Ethereal Flame” once again swirled around Xia Lixing’s body.
He had already sealed the wound at his right wrist with “Ethereal Flame,” but his shattered shoulder blade was not something he could quickly heal on his own.

But Xia Lixing still stood up straight and roared at the A-rank beasts.
The dancing “Ethereal Flame” had never been so violent, as if echoing Xia Lixing’s madness at this moment.

His right hand was gone, his shoulder blade was shattered, and several cracks had appeared on the giant blade on his back.
His originally handsome face was covered by a ferocious expression, and his long black coat was tattered and torn by the black mist.
It was this battered Xia Lixing who had intimidated seven powerful A-rank Aberrant Beasts, even making them feel what “fear” truly was.

“All of you… bring it on!”