Chapter 139: The Tragic Battle: Part 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Light gold? How could a human possess such a pair of light golden eyes? The thought flashed across the mantis’ mind, but there was no time to worry about it.
In that split second, innumerable footages rushed into his mind. He saw lava flowing, volcanos erupting, cliff breaking off and falling down the gorge. Ma.s.sive rocks crashing down onto the earth with fire burning and meteors bursting into the atmosphere.
He burst out in a roar, abruptly breaking himself out from the hallucinations. When he finally opened his eyes, a big-a.s.s hand had come before him, almost touching his brow. He quickly fluttered his wings, jerking back convulsively. But it was too late. The hand had transformed into a finger; things might seem slow, but the finger had tapped his brow with lightning speed.
In a loud, violently explosive shockwave, the mantis’ upper body bent backward with green blood spouting out of his brow. He lost his strength and fell on his knees.
Lin Sheng came up to the mantis slowly, his light-gold eyes glistening in a bone-chilling, murderous vibe. “It’s over.” He struck his hand down at the mantis’ neck in a deadly slash move. “Goodbye!”
The mantis suddenly lifted his head, crossing his hands in front of his body. As hands collided, they bounced back, respectively. A new pair of black wings swung open like a scissor behind the back of the mantis, and the new wings split and grew an additional pair until there were four pairs of wings in total. The eight wings spread open like a black-winged angel.
“Eight Phantom Slash!” With eight wings spreading wide open as if some living creature, they slashed down at Lin Sheng from all directions.
Lin Sheng quickly raised his arms in front of his body, bracing for the attack. Once transforming into wings, the speed and strength of the mantis had increased dramatically, and the new eight wings that looked like four arms were even sharper than before the transformation.
Bruises began to appear on Lin Sheng’s arms after a moment. This was despite his semi-dragonized skin and the protection of his Ashen Seal-Sanctuary. Lin Sheng was forced to retreat, his light-golden eyes rippling with surprise.
“Shadow Salvo. Kill!” The eight-winged mantis clasped his hands. Plumes of purple mist began to appear and quickly formed four purple, crystal-like spikes on his side. He shouted. Four actinal tentacles that bugged out from his body immediately coupled with the four purple spikes. Four spikes, together with his pair of arms faded into six shadows, flying out toward Lin Sheng in a violent slashing move, all aiming at the vulnerable spots.
Lin Sheng leaped back at once. But the spikes came too fast and too furious, Lin Sheng was. .h.i.t squarely in midair. With a thunderous boom, the purple spikes vaporized into a cloud a mist and shrouded Lin Sheng before mercilessly smashing him into the wall behind. The impact almost punctured the wall with broken stones all over the place.
“What a shame. I used to be like you, naïve to the core, upholding justice, fighting the evil, aspiring to restore everything with my own strength.” the eight-winged mantis lifted his arm, ravenously licking the razor-sharp spike with his tongue. “Next, I will rip apart your intestines, shred your bones, and skin your alive before I take you home as my newest collection…”
“I won’t be.” A voice was heard coming out from the mist. “I just like your eyes.”
The eight-winged mantis’ expression crashed, and he immediately lunged to his left. But he still miscalculated his move. A streak of silver light flashed in the hall, slashing over his eyes in the shape of an arc.
“Double Quantum Slash!” Lin Sheng came to a halt behind the mantis in front of the entrance, kneeling on one knee on the floor, arms spreading wide open like a pair of flying wings and swords. A drop of green blood dripped down from his fingers, becoming a splatter on the floor. Lin Sheng rose to his feet with a jade-green, horrified eyeball pinched between his fingers on each hand. Right now, his body had again swelled, a streak of purple patterns appearing on his brow; he had activated his Sacred Blood.
The eight-winged mantis covered his eyes with his hands, howling incessantly.
But Lin Sheng was unruffled. Either a sword or a fist was just a tool for him. All he needed was to use the right skill for the right moment, and victory would be guaranteed. He paced up to the eight-winged minster, his hands continuous changing between slashing hands and pounding fists, the side of his arms glimmering with a faintly polished shape of a fiery sword. But the two eyeb.a.l.l.s spinning in his hands stayed undisturbed.
Losing his both eyes, the eight-winged mantis ran amok, aimlessly waving his arms, attacking and smashing everything, including the furniture, in the surroundings. Lin Sheng’s footsteps had caught his attention. He turned in the direction of the footsteps, fluttering his wings, and together with his pair of arms and four wicked spikes, he transformed at once into a shadow and charged at Lin Sheng.
But Lin Sheng stayed put, letting the frenzied attack of the eight-winged mantis brush past him, missing nearly a centimeter.
The mantis missed and yowled frenziedly, his attack aimless like sea wave splashing up in all directions. Had it not been for Lin Sheng’s unpredictable moves that changed from hand-to-hand combat to weaponized, elusive a.s.sault, he would not have lost. But there was still a chance. As long as he could make out alive, he could devour more flesh and blood and grew a new pair of eyes, so he thought, as long as he could stay alive, fleeing this place…
Out of a sudden, a hand burst through his chest from behind. Lin Sheng was right behind him, his right arm piercing through his body like a piece of sharp metal.
“Did you just see hope? What a shame, it wasn’t real.” Lin Sheng retracted his hand, watching as the eight-winged mantis slowly lost his balance, falling to the broken floor.
“I… I will not… not accept this!” The eight-winged lay on his side, hatred, and anguish could still be seen in the b.l.o.o.d.y hallows his face.
Lin Sheng shook the blood off his hands, staring down at the body as he used his sacred power to heal himself. His injuries rapidly healed as a white glow shimmered in his wounds. “This is the world of the survival of the fittest. Since I’m stronger than you are, you are destined to die.” He turned his gaze away from the body and sat back down in the broken chair.
Outside, the remaining ancillary bodies of mantises became even more violent after the death of the mother body. But Lin Sheng had no plan to intervene. It was a test of strength for the forces under his command. Those mantises appeared ferocious and strong, but in reality, a surprise attack was the only skill they were good at. In times of open battle, even Sarroux could kill them with his current strength if he was careful enough.
Horrible cries and suppressed groaning could still be heard outside Ironfist Society. The vault guards and the Blackfeather swordsmen, and also an army of police that Dao Ling had brought began to hole up and kill the remaining mantises. Gun fires raged on like firecrackers, it just went on and on with ever-increasing frequency. Lin Sheng seemed to sit idly in the chair, but he was quietly directing Crow and Saladin to give their cooperation to the police.
Gunshots continued until twilight when the sky began to turn faintly white. Once dead, the bodies of the mantis quickly liquefied to become pools of green fluid, unlike previously where the liquefaction of the bodies had never happened.