The Ultimate Evolution

At the same time, in New York"s John F . Kennedy International Airport, a huge pa.s.senger plane whirred down the runway . Amid the stewardesses" gentle voice, a crowd of pa.s.sengers poured out from the plane . Carlos, the ponytailed man who appeared in the Vatican previously, was lazily ambling down the stairs as he chewed on some gum .

A woman in a black priest"s robe next to him suddenly raised her head and exclaimed in astonishment, "What a strong mental fluctuation! So strong it almost has physical form! This is already the level of the Rank 4 Temperer!"
(TL: Normal Contestant < growth="" hunter="">< awakener="">< temperer="">< executor="">< arbiter="">

Carlos immediately frowned . "How"s that possible? Do we need to ask the boss to come here to help? But he can"t leave right now . Are you sure, Taji?"

Taji immediately grabbed the little cross in front of her chest, an action which exposed her snow-white cleavage and attracted a lot of gazes . The cross was very bizarre . The usual cross depicted the crucifixion of Jesus, but her cross had the skeleton of a giant twisting snake on it, an evil that had its own inviolable dignity . The giant snake was made up of seven bones, representing the seven deadly sins .

This Taji, it seemed, should be inextricably linked to the powerful Red-Robed Cardinal whom Sheyan had encountered before .

Blood-red glow leaked out from the gaps between Taji"s fingers that were grasping the cross . Her eyes became cloudy, and she whispered like a Nightmare, "Twins, Grudge, Soul Binding . . . . Earthling! So that"s how it is!"

"What"s happening?" Carlos immediately asked .

Taji smiled amorously . "A pair of Awakener twin brothers are using an S-cla.s.s skill called "Grudge" to bind a Growth Hunter . Currently, the two sides are locked in a violent clash at the mental level . The burst of power from this clash reaches the level of Rank 4 . "

"A Growth Hunter that has to be restrained by two Awakener twins! He must have terrifying potential!" Carlos said, amazed .

Also standing next to Carlos was a man in camouflage clothes . His skin looked dark and tough, like it was coated with steel . He gave off a feeling that if someone were to hit him with a large hammer, the one holding the hammer would hurt his own hands from the shock instead .

The man suddenly flashed his teeth in a cruel smile . "That just means we"ll get even better loot when we get rid of them . "

"Hhha . " Carlos laughed . "Well said, Razor! What other surprises will the rich city of Big Apple bring us? We"ll have to hurry up . How far is the battlefield from here, Taji?"

"Three kilometers in a straight line," answered Taji .

With a snap of his fingers, Carlos said, "Three minutes, we"ll get there in three minutes! Not only will we eat the bread, we"ll eat all the crumbs too! After all, our boss is the great Rocky!"

The three of them started moving at once . They rushed through the bustling crowd at an astonis.h.i.+ng speed but without attracting much attention . Many people in the crowd just felt their bag suddenly becoming heavier for a short instant or a pat on their shoulders, followed by a gust of wind blowing past, yet when they looked, they did not see anything .

The three of them moved through the gaps in the crowd like fishes swimming in water . It took them less than 30 seconds to reach a quiet spot in the airport, a spot that was only 30 meters away from the outside . These three had actually bypa.s.sed all the custom officers and guards unnoticed, running in a straight line to the place where the fight was going on while ignoring all obstacles .

But all of them suddenly stopped .

Because a man had walked out of a building nearby .

The man was wearing an ordinary ground crew uniform and had a very ordinary appearance aside from his rather thin lips . However, there was a hard to describe sharpness about him . The vibe he gave off was similar to the liquid metal robot in Terminator 2 .

It was this ordinary person"s sudden appearance that gave Carlos and his companions the feeling of an insurmountable wall in front of them, rendering them unable to take another step forward . They even had a hunch that if they were to force their way forward, they would crash and burn!

"Leave New York," the man said unhurriedly, each word carrying immense gravity . "My Lord, His Excellency, knows you"re Rocky"s people, so he decided to let you off today . If you insist on staying, this city will become your burial ground . "

Razor raised his chin and arrogantly spat out his gum .

"Who are you? Who"s the f*cking "Lord" you"re talking about?"

The man"s right hand suddenly tightened when heard the words "the f*cking Lord", the green veins on his fists bulging . At that moment, the isolated building behind him suddenly collapsed without warning . The way it collapsed was very strange, as if it was cut down by half a dozen invisible axes that appeared from nowhere!

"Be careful!" Taji suddenly warned .

Right after she cried out the warning, she saw the figure of the man gradually melting and dissolving into thin air . Then, he bizarrely appeared on the right side of Razor . A dangerous-looking blood-red glow appeared on his left hand!

The glow was like a bright moon, like the reflection on a water surface, like the silhouette of a mountain occasionally glimpsed through the clouds; it"s physical form could not be clearly seen . Anyone who laid eyes upon it could feel its sharpness and danger, but somehow, a strange feeling of gentleness would rise in their heart . They would feel a sense of intimacy, like they had seen a cooking fire in a cold, dark night .

But the fact that Carlos had brought Razor along indicated that Razor must have top-notch ability . Razor immediately blocked without even turning his body .

His weapon was actually hidden in the sleeve of his s.h.i.+rt . The enemy"s attack was bounced away amid a sharp clang . Razor"s sleeve shattered into pieces, scattering like b.u.t.terflies, exposing a long, sharp dagger inside . He twisted his wrist and stabbed the dagger towards the enemy .

But the enemy did not make any evasive maneuver . He simply let Razor"s weapon stab into his abdomen . He then turned over his hand and that blood-red glow which made people"s heart tremble suddenly appeared again!

This time, everyone there felt like they were suddenly in the dark outer s.p.a.ce . The blood-red light slashed and sketched, transforming into multiple red lines of afterimages . The illusion disappeared soon after .

Razor grunted . His left hand had been cut off at the wrist!

Actually, after their bodies were digitised in the Nightmare Realm, it was a common experience for a contestant to break a limb or two . Pain was weakened when they adventured in Nightmare worlds, and the broken limbs would be restored when they returned to the Realm anyway, so it was not anything serious .

But when Razor"s left hand was cut off, he actually let out a bone-curdling scream! There was an irrepressible tremor in his voice . He instantly rolled away . When he stood back up, he covered his b.l.o.o.d.y broken wrist with a pale face . He trembled all over like he had just seen a ghost .

"It"s Apophis! His weapon is the Evil Sword Apophis!"

It had been mentioned before that Blood Equipments were divided into two types: individual parts Blood Equipment and standardised Blood Equipment . The one Sheyan managed to obtain was a Major General Blood Armour, a standardised Blood Equipment . But if there were standardised Blood Equipment, it stood to reason that there must be standardised Blood Weapons too!

Evil Sword Apophis was the most notorious standardised Blood Weapon of them all!

Normally, standardised Blood Weapons were not sold off the shelf; there were only design drawings available for inspection . When a person who had met the rank requirement wished to purchase a particular standardised Blood Weapon, the person would have to go around collecting all kinds of rare materials before the Blood Weapon could be produced .

Technically speaking, the full name of the weapon on the design drawing to produce Apophis was the "Lieutenant General Blood Sword" .

If you collect all the materials stated on the design drawing and make the weapon, the produced weapon would be the . . . "Lieutenant General Blood Sword" .

If you inspected the design drawing very carefully, you would find a very small, very sneaky number behind every material listed on the drawing, a number in the form of a percentage . The text was so small and so well-hidden that it was more obscure than the disclaimer on many commercial advertis.e.m.e.nts!

It turned out that the materials you so painstakingly collected according to the original requirements on the drawing were only 33% of the complete set of materials and were only enough for a normal production . To turn this 33% into 100%, for a perfect production, required about five times as much materials .

In a perfect production, there would be a 40% chance of a variation happening, resulting in this ferocious weapon!

This weapon"s usage requirement was greatly reduced .

The Evil Sword, Apophis!

Razor had personally experienced the signature ability of this weapon, the terrifying "Extinction"!!

The description of "Extinction" was as follows:

[ Weapons with this ability would have a certain probability of triggering the "Extinction" effect after causing damage to the enemy . The Power of Extinction would attach to the wound caused to the enemy . At this time, the enemy"s body would be considered to be un-digitised, and all Nightmare Realm medicines would become invalid on the enemy . The wound could only be treated by conventional medical means, and would only recover at the healing speed of an ordinary human! ]

[ The "Extinction" effect would definitely trigger if the weapon caused a physical defect on the enemy, such as severing a limb . The resulting physical defect could not be restored by the Realm or by any medicine before the Power of Extinction on the wound had dissipated . ]

[ The Power of Extinction would last for at least one world and at most five worlds . When the Power of Extinction dissipate, 1 to 10 base attribute points would be randomly deducted from the victim . ]

[[ When the Power of Extinction was being produced, it would absorb one base attribute point or two achievement points from the weapon holder . The weapon holder could choose not to pay this price to stop the Power of Extinction from coming into being . ]

[ The holder of Apophis has the right to dispel the Power of Extinction . ]

Although Carlos and his companions were experienced contestants who had seen many things, Evil Sword Apophis remained something they have only heard of in legends . Now that something in the legends had suddenly appeared in front of them, the emotion which rose in their hearts was not fear . . . . but greed!

That"s because the person who held Apophis did not feel too strong to them . He was an Awakener at most .

They thought the pressure this man exuded when he made his appearance came from his weapon, Apophis, and absolutely not from the person himself!

There was a saying that if one did not possess strength on par with one"s wealth, then one was guilty!

The man in front of them originally intended to frighten them off with the Evil Sword Apophis, but he had obviously underestimated the extent of their greed and wild ambition . Furthermore, their party and their boss Rocky were never people who would back down from fear if the profit was high enough!

If the mastermind behind the scenes was actually in charge of the situation here, he would surely not have made such a mistake, but the "Lord" was paying unprecedented amount of attention to Sheyan . He had actually lost to Sheyan once in the Terminator World before, so he dared not let himself be distracted by the fight on this side .

And so, something out of his expectations occurred .

After seeing Apophis, not only were the trio not frightened off, they instead looked at each other and immediately launched a furious a.s.sault on the mysterious man in front of them!

　　***

At this time, the situation on the other battlefield was still in a deadlock .

Although Party Ace was in extreme disadvantage, they were showing a strong resilience different from the past! It seemed that as long as Sheyan was on the battlefield, even if he did not personally join the fight and was just there like a mascot, he would still make his teammates much stronger mentally .

They all believed in one thing - as long as the party leader was still around, there was still hope!

Reef, who was like a caged animal at the moment, suddenly raised his head . His bloodshot eyes saw the right moment and he activated "Courage" to throw aside his enemies and rush towards Mogensha, whose situation was extremely perilous . This was already the fourth time he had activated this ability, but the first three times all failed and were interrupted by the enemy"s skillful positioning . This time, he was sure that he could reach Mogensha"s side and block the next blow for him!

However, a huge force, filled with explosiveness, came from the side right at that exact moment . It was Shali"s air cannon! The air cannon hit Reef"s head and knocked him flying, while Stend"s iron hook struck upwards from the bottom . It not only made a terrible wound on Reef"s face, but also dug Reef"s right eye out!

"You fool! Every move you make is within my calculations!!"

Reef fell hard to the ground; the severe pain and the head injury instantly knocking him unconscious . Even in the darkness, he could feel the intense pain and despair . A sense of hopelessness rose from the bottom of his heart . In actuality, mental toughness had always been Reef"s weakness . Otherwise, he would not have found it so difficult to find the courage to face the failure of his Growth Hunter breakthrough trial .

"Are . . . are we finished, Seaman? I . . . I can"t hang on any more . It"s really up to you now, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d . "

"Wait, what is that??"

In his haziness, a vast plain suddenly unfolded in front of Reef"s eyes . There was sunset, red as blood, and the frenzied wave of Zergs . . . .

"I seemed to have felt just as hopeless on that day, bleeding and crying amidst the dirt and dust, wallowing in the depression of being abandoned by my comrades . And yet I survived and escaped from that despair . . . . I"m so tired . "

At this moment, tears suddenly flowed down Reef"s eyes .

Tears of blood, mixed with the dirt and dust from the ground!

The hand suddenly appeared again in his mind .

The hand which had given him hope .

The hand which had pulled him back to humanity!

"When I"ve given up and my heart was dead, there was a hand that pulled me back!"

"So why can"t I be the hand that save others?"

Why . . . Why?

"Why!!!" The word roared out from the mouth of Reef who was lying on the ground, the sound deafening . At that instant, everyone clearly heard the sound of something on the surface of Reef"s body cracking, as if a sh.e.l.l that had been shackling him . . . had shattered .

The next moment, they saw Reef climbing back up from the dust . A tremendous change was happening in his body, the produced power so great that it was affecting the equipment he wore . The dark gold s.h.i.+eld was ringing, as if it was under a tremendous pressure .

Fortunately, the pressure seemed to be released in but an instant . Reef stood unmoving like a towering mountain . At this moment, he thought again of that hand, the firm hand Mogensha extended to rescue him from certain death!

Then, Reef forced all the enemies around him back with "Cardiac Shattering Roar" and extended his own hand!

An incomparably vivid illusion of a large golden Paladin gauntlet instantly appeared around the palm of Reef"s right hand, grabbing at the empty air . Mogensha and Sanzi, who were struggling bitterly, were suddenly flung back through the air in a parabolic arc as if the Paladin gauntlet had a tremendous suction force, pulling them to Reef!

Following that, the big gauntlet dissipated and broke down into golden powder which dissolved into Sanzi and Mogensha . It was actually recovering their HP!

At the same time, Reef"s Nightmare Imprint glowed brilliantly, and the form of the Nightmare Imprint transformed from an ordinary s.h.i.+eld into a beautiful, lifelike cross s.h.i.+eld .

　　***

"F*cking h.e.l.l . . . . " KD, who was watching from the distance, gnashed his teeth in frustration . "Are you kidding me? He actually broke through to an Awakener in the middle of battle! That has as much chance of happening as winning a lottery! And sure enough, just like the rumours say, those who break through on the battlefield will comprehend an Awakening Skill right away! And the one who made the breakthrough is actually the MT! Now, their formation is in shape again . "
(TL: I think I translated "Awakening Skill" as "Awakener Skill" before . After giving it some thought, I find that "Awakening Skill" sounds much better, so "Awakening Skill" it will be from now on . )

Pryzbilla also had a frustrated look on his face .

"These guys are way too resilient . Who knows how many times their equipment has been strengthened . If I"d have suffered as much injuries as Golden AK has, I would"ve died two or three times over even with the honorary dosage!"

"To break through to an Awakener on the battlefield, a person"s every attribute must be way higher than the compulsory requirement of an Awakener . In other words, it"ll only happen if a person is ready in all aspects and is only lacking a bit of comprehension to break through . This MT named Reef has already acc.u.mulated so much strength?" KD couldn"t help but complain .

Little did he know that Reef had stayed for way too long in the normal contestant stage, so long that he had only managed to break through to a Growth Hunter in his final chance . Therefore, he had acc.u.mulated a tremendous amount of power and resources, even by Growth Hunter standards .

If the key to break through to a Growth Hunter was base attributes, then the key to break through to an Awakener was equipment!

That"s because a person would start taking shape when they broke through from a Growth Hunter to an Awakener . A Growth Hunter was like a rough steel ingot, while an Awakener was a steel product that had taken shape after the steel ingot had undergone further processing .

During the processing, impurities in the Growth Hunter"s body would be removed like they were being tempered and quenched, which will produce a very strong impact from the inside . If the quality of the Growth Hunter"s equipment was too poor and could not provide sufficient survivability, the Growth Hunter was likely to die from the violent impact .

This was the Awakening trial . It was indeed much easier than the Growth Hunter trial, but there were still many Growth Hunters who were reduced to ashes in this juncture because their equipment was not good enough!

It so happened that equipment was one of Reef"s strong points . Many first-rate Awakener MTs did not have a dark gold s.h.i.+eld, and yet Reef already did for a long time . Even his silver storyline grade claws were a top cla.s.s equipment that a lot of people would be envious of . Therefore, his Awakening process was naturally devoid of any danger .

　　***

Reef had his hands full at the moment . Not only did he have to cope with the enemy"s fierce attacks, he also had to take time to check the notifications on his Nightmare Imprint .

[ Congratulations, you have successfully pa.s.sed the trial and become an Awakener . ]

[ Your Direction of Evolution: Defence Oriented ]

[ Your Awakening Reward: Every 90 points of maximum HP you have provides you with 1 additional point of defence . ]
(PS: At the moment, Reef"s maximum HP is about 2700 points, so he gained an additional 30 defence from this reward . The base defence provided by his dark gold s.h.i.+eld is only +20, so 30 points of additional defence is almost equivalent to equipping one more s.h.i.+eld than other MTs!)

[ You have gained the Awakening Skill: "Holy Grasp" ]

[ You will instantaneously summon the Palm of G.o.d and use its divine power to bring up to two targets within 40 meters to your side . The Palm of G.o.d will then shatter, and the holy afterglow will restore 15%-20% of the HP of the allies you brought to your side, as well as remove any abnormal statuses on them . ]

[ "Holy Grasp" can also be used against the enemy, using divine power to bring an enemy within 40 meters to your side . The enemy will be stunned for 1 second after landing . The holy afterglow of the shattered Palm of G.o.d will cause ( 100 + your Physique x 2 ) holy damage to the enemy, and inflict a further 300 holy damage in total in the next five seconds . ]

[ The cooldown time of "Holy Grasp" is 30 seconds . You will consume your own vitality every time you use "Holy Grasp" . The occasional use will not affect your lifespan, but please do not overuse this ability as medicines and methods that can supplement your vitality are extremely rare . ]

[ Because you have awakened on the battlefield, your aura has already been generated . There will be no need to draw an aura . ]

[ You have obtained "Divine Grace Aura" - The aura has a range of 100 meters . All allies in range will immediately gain an additional 400 or 15% HP (whichever is greater) upon the activation of this aura . The "Divine Grace Aura" will continuously consume utility points while it remains active . ]

[ "Divine Grace Aura" Advanced Effect: "Protection" (Unawakened) -- You can designate a target and instantly focus all the power of "Divine Grace Aura" on the target . The target"s HP will double or increase by 1500 (whichever is greater) . This effect lasts for three seconds . ]

[ After the three seconds have pa.s.sed, any additional HP remaining will be deducted, but if they have all been consumed, then no HP will be deducted . "Divine Grace Aura" will not be in effect for the duration of "Protection" . ]

[ You can also choose to temporarily forgo this aura ability and wait until you have a deeper understanding of auras to try and draw a stronger aura ability in the future . ]

Reef naturally would not miss any opportunity to help increase the party"s chance of survival at this critical moment . Besides, the "Divine Grace Aura" was a very decent ability .

Sanzi, who had been haunted by the a.s.sa.s.sin Lamb all this while, could finally take a breather . Lamb"s swift and intense attacks previously left him no time to cast his magic!

Sanzi"s body glowed with a dazzling dark golden light, a sign that he had activated the "Graffiti" ability on the dark gold accessory "Chieftain"s Hobby" .
( [ Active ability: "Graffiti" – You discovered the true usage for "Chieftain"s hobby" . After painting on your face, a refres.h.i.+ng and cooling sensation seeps in . Concurrently, you acquire the acknowledgement of mother earth, allowing your charm and intelligence to be raised by 3 points; duration of 30 minutes . But please be mindful, though this is practically cosmetics, it contains a certain poison element . Your physique will temporarily decline by 6 points; duration of 60 minutes . ] )

He finished drawing a six-pointed star teleportation array on the ground in seemingly no time at all . His exhausted, blood-soaked finger was still so stable and swift when he drew the magic array!

Kulutego, who was originally left in the base to protect it, stepped out of the teleportation array, roaring in anger . A rock club instantly appeared in his grasp, and with it, he knocked the pursuing Lamb flying .

Kulutego"s giant foot then stomped hard on the ground . Stone spikes as high as 3 meters instantly grew from the ground, centering around the spot he stomped on . Not only that, the earth around that spot also sank down . Hot magma sprayed out, wantonly gus.h.i.+ng through the gaps between the spikes . Several enemies who originally wanted to rush in were stopped in their tracks .

Lamb was lucky that he reacted quick enough . After he was knocked away, he instantly rolled back up and ran away, leaving behind only an afterimage . Otherwise, he would have been stabbed by a stone spike . On the other hand, Iron Hook Stend was not so lucky . He was struck by two stone spikes which had suddenly grew out from the ground . He was immediately knocked into the air, spitting blood .

The eye on one of Kulutego"s heads flashed red . A ma.s.sive fiery rock appeared in his empty hand, and it was immediately hurled at Stend . With a scream, Iron Hook Stend actually forced himself to move half a foot across the air, barely avoiding the blow .

But!!

As soon as he looked up again, what greeted him was the sight of another ma.s.sive fiery rock .

Two shots in a row!!

He could not dodge the blow this time . After he was. .h.i.t, he fell like a meteorite towards Zi, who was in a bitter fight!

Zi was under attack from two powerful Awakeners . A trace of determination suddenly entered Zi"s eyes . She suddenly stopped moving and stayed rooted to the spot .

A furious shot from a shotgun instantly slammed heavily into her "t.i.tanium Mesh Magic Barrier" .

The "t.i.tanium Mesh Magic Barrier" was already on the verge of breaking down . After taking the shot, it instantly shattered and turned into glittering crystals . Right after that, a dark red javelin came flying from the sky, rotating crazily, and pierced through Zi"s abdomen!

But by withstanding all these strikes, Zi finally completed her chant . With blood dripping down the corners of her mouth, she put her hands together and combined the pair of s.h.i.+ning silver rapiers in her hands into one . A ray of light suddenly tore down through the sky like a bolt of lightning, instantly illuminating the whole land . The ray of light landed on the combined rapier!

The silver rapier flew away and pierced through Iron Hook Stend from the back . As if it had stabbed into something invisible, it nailed Iron Hook Stend to the air .

Then, Zi"s hands separated . She took aim at the unmoving Stend .

Her long, seductive eyes were now filled with a cold killing intent . An illuson of a Dark Dragon head suddenly appeared around her . The light emitted from Zi"s left hand became the dragon"s upper jaw, while the light from her right hand formed the dragon"s lower jaw!

The illusion of the Dark Dragon spewed a fierce silvery dragon breath straight at Stend!

"Force . Dragon Breath"!

The laughter of a Sith Lord could be heard amid the surging dragon breath!

Judging from the performance of Zi, she should have broken through to an Awakener for quite some time, but was still in the process of comprehending an Awakening skill .

Iron Hook Stend screamed in despair . He persisted for less than three seconds before he was reduced to ashes, leaving behind only his iron hook . The hook fell down from the air while glittering with an eerie light . It seemed to have turned into a soul equipment .

Under such unfavourable circ.u.mstances, Party Ace had actually fought back and killed one of the enemies!

Of course, it must be noted that Zi"s back was totally defenseless when she performed "Force . Dragon Breath"; she did so while stubbornly withstanding the attacks of two powerful enemies . But when the attention of the enemies s.h.i.+fted to the soul equipment for a split second, she caught the chance to send a "Force . Collision Wall" towards them, blocking them for a short while and winning herself some time .

Reef"s "Holy Grasp" happened to finish its cooldown at that moment . He instantly pulled the defenceless Zi to his side . If he hadn"t, Zi would surely have been killed right there and then!

Party Ace finally rea.s.sembled their battle formation . However, Reef only had half his HP remaining and had used up all his recovery medicines, Brother Black was severely wounded, and Zi was also severely hurt . The only reliable fighting force they had on their side was the young cyclops Kulutego .

On the other hand, most of the enemies still retained more than 80% of their fighting power . The mastermind was also lurking behind the scenes, observing everything that was happening .

Despair burrowed its way into Party Ace"s hearts .

　　***

On the plaza not far away .

Inside the OBV, the twin brothers who were jointly casting the S-rank ability "Grudge" were sweating all over . Suddenly, the elder brother coughed up a mouthful of blood .

"This won"t do . The target"s been struggling like a crazy beast from the moment he"s restrained, and he"s getting stronger as time goes on! I . . . . I can"t hang on for much longer!" he said with difficulty .

The younger brother yelled with sweat all over his forehead, "Chatichai! Chatichai! Kill someone right now and sacrifice the person"s heart to our curse! "

A bronze-skinned man jumped down from a high spot nearby and asked lazily, "Why not kill a few more?"

This guy named Chatichai specialised in telekinesis . Previously, it was he who used half a sharpened razor blade to make a cut on KD"s face .

The younger twin instantly yelled, "The "Grudge" curse produces a large amount of grudges after it swallowed a heart, which will come back to bite us . Just one heart and we"ll already have to lose some base attribute points . You want it to swallow a few more? Do you want us to die, you a.s.shole!?"

The effect immediately showed after the curse swallowed a heart in a blood sacrifice . The bright red glow of the curse got visibly more intense, so thick it almost seemed like real blood, and sounds of mournful wailing could vaguely be heard coming from it . The ropes binding "puppet Sheyan" wriggled wildly like they were alive and tied him up again!

The elder twin grinned fiercely . His voice was as harsh the sc.r.a.ping of gla.s.s as he said, "Excellent! We paid a rather heavy price this time, but this guy surely can"t get away now unless someone injures him! But His Excellency has casted a Refraction s.h.i.+eld on him; even the people on our side can"t break the s.h.i.+eld in a short period of time . Therefore, he can only injure himself - but I guarantee that he can"t lift a finger for the next ten minutes! His Excellency should be satisfied this time . This guy named Seaman will watch his companions die without being able to do anything! Ha ha ha! And we"ll definitely be the party with the highest contribution!"

At the same time, Pryzbilla sighed and once again gripped his weapon .

It was a weapon that contained both the sophistication of modern craftsmans.h.i.+p and the mystery of the magical world .

The weapon was a crossbow that had to be wound up .

A magic crossbow .

Przbila turned to KD . "His Excellency just told me through a mental link that he hope I"ll completely destroy their resistance with this blow . "

"The opponents are already arrows at the end of their flight . If we can maintain the current intensity of our attack, they"ll completely collapse in two to three minutes . You don"t have to waste another "Chill of Resentment"," remarked KD nonchalantly .

Pryzbilla shrugged and let out a forced smile . "It"s His Excellency"s request . We must perform it with our full power no matter how trivial the task . "

KD watched as Pryzbilla went back to the firing hole . He told Pryzbilla, "As soon as the targets are wiped out, we"ll immediately start attacking the Incantators of Destruction . We won"t wait for Lamb!"

Pryzbilla did not say anything in reply . He merely raised his left thumb .

　　***

Kulutego gasped for breath and coughed violently . There was a wound beneath his ribs that was terrible even for a cyclops . His guts were spilled out . After all, Kulutego was only a young cyclops . The pressure he was facing now was something that not even his mother could handle by herself .

He did seize a chance to attack Sheyan, trying to knock Sheyan back to consciousness, but to no avail . There was a weird layer of protection surrounding Sheyan, rendering his attack completely useless!

The enemies were too strong .

Seizing an opportunity, Shali suddenly took a deep breath .

When he breathed in, everyone could feel their hair swaying forward . It was evident how strong the suction force was!

But this guy just inhaled and did not exhale! He chewed on the air . Cracking noises came from inside his mouth, as if it was not air that he sucked in but gla.s.s fragments!!

His neck swelled up and his bloodshot eyes protruded several centimeters out of the sockets . He then opened his mouth in Reef"s direction!

A thundering boom reverberated throughout the area . Shali"s "Air Cannon" was no less powerful than a howitzer . At the same time, the other four surviving Awakeners launched their craziest a.s.sault yet on Reef, in concert with Shali!

A violent, earth-shaking explosion erupted, a result of the power from all the skills concentrating on one point . Reef, who was already heavily wounded, was blown away like a small pebble . He crashed into two cars and fell heavily into a nearby store, his fate unknown . All the people Reef protected behind him were also struck by collateral damage . They were knocked down to the ground, struggling to get up .

Shali dashed forward . Out of all the enemies, he was the one who hated Party Ace the most . They killed his partner, Iron Hook Stend .

Shali hit Sanzi with a fierce punch . Blood spurted out of Sanzi"s mouth . However, Shali was also instantly hit on the head by the roaring Kulutego with his heavy club, knocking him down to the ground hard .

Kulutego was immediately sent flying by Lamb and the other enemies, but they had all witnessed Shali"s pathetic look . The embarra.s.sed Shali climbed back up and charged forward like an angry lion to knock Sanzi away with a knee b.u.mp . Sanzi was sent into the state of near death .

It was at this precise moment that Pryzbilla finally pulled the trigger, believing that Party Ace had no chance to turn the tables around anymore . Since the "Chill of Resentment" was already loaded, he must kill someone with the shot or it wouldn"t be worth the cost . To tell the truth, Pryzbilla was interested in Sanzi"s dark gold accessory .

The light blue rocket carrying the scent of death tore through the sky and blossomed as usual, revealing the dark blue core inside . It accelerated straight towards the head of Sanzi, who was already in the state of near death!

Sanzi immediately tried to use the "Amniotic Water Tank" Party Ace brought out of planet Pandora, but how could the mastermind behind the scenes who arranged this sure-kill situation allow that to happen? A shrill ray of light flashed past, stopping the "Amniotic Water Tank" from taking effect!

Seeing death flying towards him, Sanzi"s emotion was surprisingly peaceful . He remarked silently in his heart, "Farewell, Brother Sheyan . Farewell, Uncle Dasi . . . "

However, right at that moment, an already incomplete figure jumped out and intercepted the "Chill of Resentment" . The "Chill of Resentment" shot into his chest with a soft thud, sending him into the state of near death . This time, the "Chill of Resentment" did not pierce through the body . It was left inside .

It was Mogensha . . .

It was Mogensha!!!

Only Mogensha, who was an expert in calculating the trajectory of bullets, could capture the exact instant to intercept the "Chill of Resentment" . No one knew what he was thinking at that moment . They only knew that he had left the hope of survival to Sanzi, and brought the destruction of death into his own body!

Mogensha landed heavily on the ground . He raised his head with extreme difficulty while leaning against the wreckage of a damaged car, and smiled at Sanzi . He then lit a dirty cigar that was stained with blood, half closed his eyes, and took a deep, satisfying puff . . . .

Mogensha exploded into light blue ice particles, flying all over the sky!!!

A brutal, b.l.o.o.d.y giant ice flower once again blossomed in this ravaged neighborhood!(TL: This chapter is three and a half times the length of a normal chapter . As for the reason . youll find out soon enough . Please dont read the comments before you read the chapter . ) At the same time, in New Yorks John F . Kennedy International Airport, a huge pa.s.senger plane whirred down the runway . Amid the stewardesses gentle voice, a crowd of pa.s.sengers poured out from the plane . Carlos, the ponytailed man who appeared in the Vatican previously, was lazily ambling down the stairs as he chewed on some gum . A woman in a black priests robe next to him suddenly raised her head and exclaimed in astonishment, What a strong mental fluctuation! So strong it almost has physical form! This is already the level of the Rank 4 Temperer!. (TL: Normal Contestant < growth="hunter=">< awakener="">< temperer="">< executor="">< arbiter=""> Carlos immediately frowned . Hows that possible? Do we need to ask the boss to come here to help? But he cant leave right now . Are you sure, Taji? Taji immediately grabbed the little cross in front of her chest, an action which exposed her snow-white cleavage and attracted a lot of gazes . The cross was very bizarre . The usual cross depicted the crucifixion of Jesus, but her cross had the skeleton of a giant twisting snake on it, an evil that had its own inviolable dignity . The giant snake was made up of seven bones, representing the seven deadly sins . This Taji, it seemed, should be inextricably linked to the powerful Red-Robed Cardinal whom Sheyan had encountered before . Blood-red glow leaked out from the gaps between Tajis fingers that were grasping the cross . Her eyes became cloudy, and she whispered like a Nightmare, Twins, Grudge, Soul Binding Earthling! So thats how it is! Whats happening? Carlos immediately asked . Taji smiled amorously . A pair of Awakener twin brothers are using an S-cla.s.s skill called Grudge to bind a Growth Hunter . Currently, the two sides are locked in a violent clash at the mental level . The burst of power from this clash reaches the level of Rank 4 . A Growth Hunter that has to be restrained by two Awakener twins! He must have terrifying potential! Carlos said, amazed . Also standing next to Carlos was a man in camouflage clothes . His skin looked dark and tough, like it was coated with steel . He gave off a feeling that if someone were to hit him with a large hammer, the one holding the hammer would hurt his own hands from the shock instead . The man suddenly flashed his teeth in a cruel smile . That just means well get even better loot when we get rid of them . Hhha . Carlos laughed . Well said, Razor! What other surprises will the rich city of Big Apple bring us? Well have to hurry up . How far is the battlefield from here, Taji? Three kilometers in a straight line, answered Taji . With a snap of his fingers, Carlos said, Three minutes, well get there in three minutes! Not only will we eat the bread, well eat all the crumbs too! After all, our boss is the great Rocky! . The three of them started moving at once . They rushed through the bustling crowd at an astonis.h.i.+ng speed but without attracting much attention . Many people in the crowd just felt their bag suddenly becoming heavier for a short instant or a pat on their shoulders, followed by a gust of wind blowing past, yet when they looked, they did not see anything . The three of them moved through the gaps in the crowd like fishes swimming in water . It took them less than 30 seconds to reach a quiet spot in the airport, a spot that was only 30 meters away from the outside . These three had actually bypa.s.sed all the custom officers and guards unnoticed, running in a straight line to the place where the fight was going on while ignoring all obstacles . But all of them suddenly stopped . Because a man had walked out of a building nearby . The man was wearing an ordinary ground crew uniform and had a very ordinary appearance aside from his rather thin lips . However, there was a hard to describe sharpness about him . The vibe he gave off was similar to the liquid metal robot in Terminator 2 . It was this ordinary persons sudden appearance that gave Carlos and his companions the feeling of an insurmountable wall in front of them, rendering them unable to take another step forward . They even had a hunch that if they were to force their way forward, they would crash and burn! Leave New York, the man said unhurriedly, each word carrying immense gravity . My Lord, His Excellency, knows youre Rockys people, so he decided to let you off today . If you insist on staying, this city will become your burial ground . Razor raised his chin and arrogantly spat out his gum . Who are you? Whos the f*cking Lord youre talking about? The mans right hand suddenly tightened when heard the words the f*cking Lord, the green veins on his fists bulging . At that moment, the isolated building behind him suddenly collapsed without warning . The way it collapsed was very strange, as if it was cut down by half a dozen invisible axes that appeared from nowhere! Be careful! Taji suddenly warned . Right after she cried out the warning, she saw the figure of the man gradually melting and dissolving into thin air . Then, he bizarrely appeared on the right side of Razor . A dangerous-looking blood-red glow appeared on his left hand! The glow was like a bright moon, like the reflection on a water surface, like the silhouette of a mountain occasionally glimpsed through the clouds; its physical form could not be clearly seen . Anyone who laid eyes upon it could feel its sharpness and danger, but somehow, a strange feeling of gentleness would rise in their heart . They would feel a sense of intimacy, like they had seen a cooking fire in a cold, dark night . But the fact that Carlos had brought Razor along indicated that Razor must have top-notch ability . Razor immediately blocked without even turning his body . His weapon was actually hidden in the sleeve of his s.h.i.+rt . The enemys attack was bounced away amid a sharp clang . Razors sleeve shattered into pieces, scattering like b.u.t.terflies, exposing a long, sharp dagger inside . He twisted his wrist and stabbed the dagger towards the enemy . But the enemy did not make any evasive maneuver . He simply let Razors weapon stab into his abdomen . He then turned over his hand and that blood-red glow which made peoples heart tremble suddenly appeared again! This time, everyone there felt like they were suddenly in the dark outer s.p.a.ce . The blood-red light slashed and sketched, transforming into multiple red lines of afterimages . The illusion disappeared soon after . Razor grunted . His left hand had been cut off at the wrist! Actually, after their bodies were digitised in the Nightmare Realm, it was a common experience for a contestant to break a limb or two . Pain was weakened when they adventured in Nightmare worlds, and the broken limbs would be restored when they returned to the Realm anyway, so it was not anything serious . But when Razors left hand was cut off, he actually let out a bone-curdling scream! There was an irrepressible tremor in his voice . He instantly rolled away . When he stood back up, he covered his b.l.o.o.d.y broken wrist with a pale face . He trembled all over like he had just seen a ghost . Its Apophis! His weapon is the Evil Sword Apophis! It had been mentioned before that Blood Equipments were divided into two types: individual parts Blood Equipment and standardised Blood Equipment . The one Sheyan managed to obtain was a Major General Blood Armour, a standardised Blood Equipment . But if there were standardised Blood Equipment, it stood to reason that there must be standardised Blood Weapons too! Evil Sword Apophis was the most notorious standardised Blood Weapon of them all! Normally, standardised Blood Weapons were not sold off the shelf; there were only design drawings available for inspection . When a person who had met the rank requirement wished to purchase a particular standardised Blood Weapon, the person would have to go around collecting all kinds of rare materials before the Blood Weapon could be produced . Technically speaking, the full name of the weapon on the design drawing to produce Apophis was the Lieutenant General Blood Sword . If you collect all the materials stated on the design drawing and make the weapon, the produced weapon would be the . Lieutenant General Blood Sword . If you inspected the design drawing very carefully, you would find a very small, very sneaky number behind every material listed on the drawing, a number in the form of a percentage . The text was so small and so well-hidden that it was more obscure than the disclaimer on many commercial advertis.e.m.e.nts! It turned out that the materials you so painstakingly collected according to the original requirements on the drawing were only 33% of the complete set of materials and were only enough for a normal production . To turn this 33% into 100%, for a perfect production, required about five times as much materials . In a perfect production, there would be a 40% chance of a variation happening, resulting in this ferocious weapon! This weapons usage requirement was greatly reduced . The Evil Sword, Apophis! Razor had personally experienced the signature ability of this weapon, the terrifying Extinction!! The description of Extinction was as follows: [ Weapons with this ability would have a certain probability of triggering the Extinction effect after causing damage to the enemy . The Power of Extinction would attach to the wound caused to the enemy . At this time, the enemys body would be considered to be un-digitised, and all Nightmare Realm medicines would become invalid on the enemy . The wound could only be treated by conventional medical means, and would only recover at the healing speed of an ordinary human! ] [ The Extinction effect would definitely trigger if the weapon caused a physical defect on the enemy, such as severing a limb . The resulting physical defect could not be restored by the Realm or by any medicine before the Power of Extinction on the wound had dissipated . ] [ The Power of Extinction would last for at least one world and at most five worlds . When the Power of Extinction dissipate, 1 to 10 base attribute points would be randomly deducted from the victim . ] [[ When the Power of Extinction was being produced, it would absorb one base attribute point or two achievement points from the weapon holder . The weapon holder could choose not to pay this price to stop the Power of Extinction from coming into being . ] [ The holder of Apophis has the right to dispel the Power of Extinction . ] Although Carlos and his companions were experienced contestants who had seen many things, Evil Sword Apophis remained something they have only heard of in legends . Now that something in the legends had suddenly appeared in front of them, the emotion which rose in their hearts was not fear but greed! Thats because the person who held Apophis did not feel too strong to them . He was an Awakener at most . They thought the pressure this man exuded when he made his appearance came from his weapon, Apophis, and absolutely not from the person himself! There was a saying that if one did not possess strength on par with ones wealth, then one was guilty! The man in front of them originally intended to frighten them off with the Evil Sword Apophis, but he had obviously underestimated the extent of their greed and wild ambition . Furthermore, their party and their boss Rocky were never people who would back down from fear if the profit was high enough! If the mastermind behind the scenes was actually in charge of the situation here, he would surely not have made such a mistake, but the Lord was paying unprecedented amount of attention to Sheyan . He had actually lost to Sheyan once in the Terminator World before, so he dared not let himself be distracted by the fight on this side . And so, something out of his expectations occurred . After seeing Apophis, not only were the trio not frightened off, they instead looked at each other and immediately launched a furious a.s.sault on the mysterious man in front of them! 　　*** At this time, the situation on the other battlefield was still in a deadlock . Although Party Ace was in extreme disadvantage, they were showing a strong resilience different from the past! It seemed that as long as Sheyan was on the battlefield, even if he did not personally join the fight and was just there like a mascot, he would still make his teammates much stronger mentally . They all believed in one thing - as long as the party leader was still around, there was still hope! Reef, who was like a caged animal at the moment, suddenly raised his head . His bloodshot eyes saw the right moment and he activated Courage to throw aside his enemies and rush towards Mogensha, whose situation was extremely perilous . This was already the fourth time he had activated this ability, but the first three times all failed and were interrupted by the enemys skillful positioning . This time, he was sure that he could reach Mogenshas side and block the next blow for him! However, a huge force, filled with explosiveness, came from the side right at that exact moment . It was Shalis air cannon! The air cannon hit Reefs head and knocked him flying, while Stends iron hook struck upwards from the bottom . It not only made a terrible wound on Reefs face, but also dug Reefs right eye out! You fool! Every move you make is within my calculations!! Reef fell hard to the ground; the severe pain and the head injury instantly knocking him unconscious . Even in the darkness, he could feel the intense pain and despair . A sense of hopelessness rose from the bottom of his heart . In actuality, mental toughness had always been Reefs weakness . Otherwise, he would not have found it so difficult to find the courage to face the failure of his Growth Hunter breakthrough trial . Are . are we finished, Seaman? I . I cant hang on any more . Its really up to you now, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d . Wait, what is that?? In his haziness, a vast plain suddenly unfolded in front of Reefs eyes . There was sunset, red as blood, and the frenzied wave of Zergs I seemed to have felt just as hopeless on that day, bleeding and crying amidst the dirt and dust, wallowing in the depression of being abandoned by my comrades . And yet I survived and escaped from that despair Im so tired . At this moment, tears suddenly flowed down Reefs eyes . Tears of blood, mixed with the dirt and dust from the ground! The hand suddenly appeared again in his mind . The hand which had given him hope . The hand which had pulled him back to humanity! When Ive given up and my heart was dead, there was a hand that pulled me back! So why cant I be the hand that save others? Why . Why? Why!!! The word roared out from the mouth of Reef who was lying on the ground, the sound deafening . At that instant, everyone clearly heard the sound of something on the surface of Reefs body cracking, as if a sh.e.l.l that had been shackling him . had shattered . The next moment, they saw Reef climbing back up from the dust . A tremendous change was happening in his body, the produced power so great that it was affecting the equipment he wore . The dark gold s.h.i.+eld was ringing, as if it was under a tremendous pressure . Fortunately, the pressure seemed to be released in but an instant . Reef stood unmoving like a towering mountain . At this moment, he thought again of that hand, the firm hand Mogensha extended to rescue him from certain death! Then, Reef forced all the enemies around him back with Cardiac Shattering Roar and extended his own hand! An incomparably vivid illusion of a large golden Paladin gauntlet instantly appeared around the palm of Reefs right hand, grabbing at the empty air . Mogensha and Sanzi, who were struggling bitterly, were suddenly flung back through the air in a parabolic arc as if the Paladin gauntlet had a tremendous suction force, pulling them to Reef! Following that, the big gauntlet dissipated and broke down into golden powder which dissolved into Sanzi and Mogensha . It was actually recovering their HP! At the same time, Reefs Nightmare Imprint glowed brilliantly, and the form of the Nightmare Imprint transformed from an ordinary s.h.i.+eld into a beautiful, lifelike cross s.h.i.+eld . 　　*** F*cking h.e.l.l KD, who was watching from the distance, gnashed his teeth in frustration . Are you kidding me? He actually broke through to an Awakener in the middle of battle! That has as much chance of happening as winning a lottery! And sure enough, just like the rumours say, those who break through on the battlefield will comprehend an Awakening Skill right away! And the one who made the breakthrough is actually the MT! Now, their formation is in shape again . . (TL: I think I translated Awakening Skill as Awakener Skill before . After giving it some thought, I find that Awakening Skill sounds much better, so Awakening Skill it will be from now on . ) Pryzbilla also had a frustrated look on his face . These guys are way too resilient . Who knows how many times their equipment has been strengthened . If Id have suffered as much injuries as Golden AK has, I wouldve died two or three times over even with the honorary dosage! To break through to an Awakener on the battlefield, a persons every attribute must be way higher than the compulsory requirement of an Awakener . In other words, itll only happen if a person is ready in all aspects and is only lacking a bit of comprehension to break through . This MT named Reef has already acc.u.mulated so much strength? KD couldnt help but complain . Little did he know that Reef had stayed for way too long in the normal contestant stage, so long that he had only managed to break through to a Growth Hunter in his final chance . Therefore, he had acc.u.mulated a tremendous amount of power and resources, even by Growth Hunter standards . If the key to break through to a Growth Hunter was base attributes, then the key to break through to an Awakener was equipment! Thats because a person would start taking shape when they broke through from a Growth Hunter to an Awakener . A Growth Hunter was like a rough steel ingot, while an Awakener was a steel product that had taken shape after the steel ingot had undergone further processing . During the processing, impurities in the Growth Hunters body would be removed like they were being tempered and quenched, which will produce a very strong impact from the inside . If the quality of the Growth Hunters equipment was too poor and could not provide sufficient survivability, the Growth Hunter was likely to die from the violent impact . This was the Awakening trial . It was indeed much easier than the Growth Hunter trial, but there were still many Growth Hunters who were reduced to ashes in this juncture because their equipment was not good enough! It so happened that equipment was one of Reefs strong points . Many first-rate Awakener MTs did not have a dark gold s.h.i.+eld, and yet Reef already did for a long time . Even his silver storyline grade claws were a top cla.s.s equipment that a lot of people would be envious of . Therefore, his Awakening process was naturally devoid of any danger . 　　*** Reef had his hands full at the moment . Not only did he have to cope with the enemys fierce attacks, he also had to take time to check the notifications on his Nightmare Imprint . [ Congratulations, you have successfully pa.s.sed the trial and become an Awakener . ] [ Your Direction of Evolution: Defence Oriented ] [ Your Awakening Reward: Every 90 points of maximum HP you have provides you with 1 additional point of defence . ] . (PS: At the moment, Reefs maximum HP is about 2700 points, so he gained an additional 30 defence from this reward . The base defence provided by his dark gold s.h.i.+eld is only +20, so 30 points of additional defence is almost equivalent to equipping one more s.h.i.+eld than other MTs!) [ You have gained the Awakening Skill: Holy Grasp ] [ You will instantaneously summon the Palm of G.o.d and use its divine power to bring up to two targets within 40 meters to your side . The Palm of G.o.d will then shatter, and the holy afterglow will restore 15%-20% of the HP of the allies you brought to your side, as well as remove any abnormal statuses on them . ] [ Holy Grasp can also be used against the enemy, using divine power to bring an enemy within 40 meters to your side . The enemy will be stunned for 1 second after landing . The holy afterglow of the shattered Palm of G.o.d will cause ( 100 + your Physique x 2 ) holy damage to the enemy, and inflict a further 300 holy damage in total in the next five seconds . ] [ The cooldown time of Holy Grasp is 30 seconds . You will consume your own vitality every time you use Holy Grasp . The occasional use will not affect your lifespan, but please do not overuse this ability as medicines and methods that can supplement your vitality are extremely rare . ] [ Because you have awakened on the battlefield, your aura has already been generated . There will be no need to draw an aura . ] [ You have obtained Divine Grace Aura - The aura has a range of 100 meters . All allies in range will immediately gain an additional 400 or 15% HP (whichever is greater) upon the activation of this aura . The Divine Grace Aura will continuously consume utility points while it remains active . ] [ Divine Grace Aura Advanced Effect: Protection (Unawakened) -- You can designate a target and instantly focus all the power of Divine Grace Aura on the target . The targets HP will double or increase by 1500 (whichever is greater) . This effect lasts for three seconds . ] [ After the three seconds have pa.s.sed, any additional HP remaining will be deducted, but if they have all been consumed, then no HP will be deducted . Divine Grace Aura will not be in effect for the duration of Protection . ] [ You can also choose to temporarily forgo this aura ability and wait until you have a deeper understanding of auras to try and draw a stronger aura ability in the future . ] Reef naturally would not miss any opportunity to help increase the partys chance of survival at this critical moment . Besides, the Divine Grace Aura was a very decent ability . Sanzi, who had been haunted by the a.s.sa.s.sin Lamb all this while, could finally take a breather . Lambs swift and intense attacks previously left him no time to cast his magic! Sanzis body glowed with a dazzling dark golden light, a sign that he had activated the Graffiti ability on the dark gold accessory Chieftains Hobby ( [ Active ability: Graffiti – You discovered the true usage for Chieftains hobby . After painting on your face, a refres.h.i.+ng and cooling sensation seeps in . Concurrently, you acquire the acknowledgement of mother earth, allowing your charm and intelligence to be raised by 3 points; duration of 30 minutes . But please be mindful, though this is practically cosmetics, it contains a certain poison element . Your physique will temporarily decline by 6 points; duration of 60 minutes . ] ) He finished drawing a six-pointed star teleportation array on the ground in seemingly no time at all . His exhausted, blood-soaked finger was still so stable and swift when he drew the magic array! Kulutego, who was originally left in the base to protect it, stepped out of the teleportation array, roaring in anger . A rock club instantly appeared in his grasp, and with it, he knocked the pursuing Lamb flying . Kulutegos giant foot then stomped hard on the ground . Stone spikes as high as 3 meters instantly grew from the ground, centering around the spot he stomped on . Not only that, the earth around that spot also sank down . Hot magma sprayed out, wantonly gus.h.i.+ng through the gaps between the spikes . Several enemies who originally wanted to rush in were stopped in their tracks . Lamb was lucky that he reacted quick enough . After he was knocked away, he instantly rolled back up and ran away, leaving behind only an afterimage . Otherwise, he would have been stabbed by a stone spike . On the other hand, Iron Hook Stend was not so lucky . He was struck by two stone spikes which had suddenly grew out from the ground . He was immediately knocked into the air, spitting blood . The eye on one of Kulutegos heads flashed red . A ma.s.sive fiery rock appeared in his empty hand, and it was immediately hurled at Stend . With a scream, Iron Hook Stend actually forced himself to move half a foot across the air, barely avoiding the blow . But!! As soon as he looked up again, what greeted him was the sight of another ma.s.sive fiery rock . Two shots in a row!! He could not dodge the blow this time . After he was. .h.i.t, he fell like a meteorite towards Zi, who was in a bitter fight! Zi was under attack from two powerful Awakeners . A trace of determination suddenly entered Zis eyes . She suddenly stopped moving and stayed rooted to the spot . A furious shot from a shotgun instantly slammed heavily into her t.i.tanium Mesh Magic Barrier . The t.i.tanium Mesh Magic Barrier was already on the verge of breaking down . After taking the shot, it instantly shattered and turned into glittering crystals . Right after that, a dark red javelin came flying from the sky, rotating crazily, and pierced through Zis abdomen! But by withstanding all these strikes, Zi finally completed her chant . With blood dripping down the corners of her mouth, she put her hands together and combined the pair of s.h.i.+ning silver rapiers in her hands into one . A ray of light suddenly tore down through the sky like a bolt of lightning, instantly illuminating the whole land . The ray of light landed on the combined rapier! The silver rapier flew away and pierced through Iron Hook Stend from the back . As if it had stabbed into something invisible, it nailed Iron Hook Stend to the air . Then, Zis hands separated . She took aim at the unmoving Stend . Her long, seductive eyes were now filled with a cold killing intent . An illuson of a Dark Dragon head suddenly appeared around her . The light emitted from Zis left hand became the dragons upper jaw, while the light from her right hand formed the dragons lower jaw! The illusion of the Dark Dragon spewed a fierce silvery dragon breath straight at Stend! Force . Dragon Breath! The laughter of a Sith Lord could be heard amid the surging dragon breath! Judging from the performance of Zi, she should have broken through to an Awakener for quite some time, but was still in the process of comprehending an Awakening skill . Iron Hook Stend screamed in despair . He persisted for less than three seconds before he was reduced to ashes, leaving behind only his iron hook . The hook fell down from the air while glittering with an eerie light . It seemed to have turned into a soul equipment . Under such unfavourable circ.u.mstances, Party Ace had actually fought back and killed one of the enemies! Of course, it must be noted that Zis back was totally defenseless when she performed Force . Dragon Breath; she did so while stubbornly withstanding the attacks of two powerful enemies . But when the attention of the enemies s.h.i.+fted to the soul equipment for a split second, she caught the chance to send a Force . Collision Wall towards them, blocking them for a short while and winning herself some time . Reefs Holy Grasp happened to finish its cooldown at that moment . He instantly pulled the defenceless Zi to his side . If he hadnt, Zi would surely have been killed right there and then! Party Ace finally rea.s.sembled their battle formation . However, Reef only had half his HP remaining and had used up all his recovery medicines, Brother Black was severely wounded, and Zi was also severely hurt . The only reliable fighting force they had on their side was the young cyclops Kulutego . On the other hand, most of the enemies still retained more than 80% of their fighting power . The mastermind was also lurking behind the scenes, observing everything that was happening . Despair burrowed its way into Party Aces hearts . 　　*** On the plaza not far away . Inside the OBV, the twin brothers who were jointly casting the S-rank ability Grudge were sweating all over . Suddenly, the elder brother coughed up a mouthful of blood . This wont do . The targets been struggling like a crazy beast from the moment hes restrained, and hes getting stronger as time goes on! I I cant hang on for much longer! he said with difficulty . The younger brother yelled with sweat all over his forehead, Chatichai! Chatichai! Kill someone right now and sacrifice the persons heart to our curse! A bronze-skinned man jumped down from a high spot nearby and asked lazily, Why not kill a few more? This guy named Chatichai specialised in telekinesis . Previously, it was he who used half a sharpened razor blade to make a cut on KDs face . The younger twin instantly yelled, The Grudge curse produces a large amount of grudges after it swallowed a heart, which will come back to bite us . Just one heart and well already have to lose some base attribute points . You want it to swallow a few more? Do you want us to die, you a.s.shole!? The effect immediately showed after the curse swallowed a heart in a blood sacrifice . The bright red glow of the curse got visibly more intense, so thick it almost seemed like real blood, and sounds of mournful wailing could vaguely be heard coming from it . The ropes binding puppet Sheyan wriggled wildly like they were alive and tied him up again! The elder twin grinned fiercely . His voice was as harsh the sc.r.a.ping of gla.s.s as he said, Excellent! We paid a rather heavy price this time, but this guy surely cant get away now unless someone injures him! But His Excellency has casted a Refraction s.h.i.+eld on him; even the people on our side cant break the s.h.i.+eld in a short period of time . Therefore, he can only injure himself - but I guarantee that he cant lift a finger for the next ten minutes! His Excellency should be satisfied this time . This guy named Seaman will watch his companions die without being able to do anything! Ha ha ha! And well definitely be the party with the highest contribution! At the same time, Pryzbilla sighed and once again gripped his weapon . It was a weapon that contained both the sophistication of modern craftsmans.h.i.+p and the mystery of the magical world . The weapon was a crossbow that had to be wound up . A magic crossbow . Przbila turned to KD . His Excellency just told me through a mental link that he hope Ill completely destroy their resistance with this blow . The opponents are already arrows at the end of their flight . If we can maintain the current intensity of our attack, theyll completely collapse in two to three minutes . You dont have to waste another Chill of Resentment, remarked KD nonchalantly . Pryzbilla shrugged and let out a forced smile . Its His Excellencys request . We must perform it with our full power no matter how trivial the task . KD watched as Pryzbilla went back to the firing hole . He told Pryzbilla, As soon as the targets are wiped out, well immediately start attacking the Incantators of Destruction . We wont wait for Lamb! Pryzbilla did not say anything in reply . He merely raised his left thumb . 　　*** Kulutego gasped for breath and coughed violently . There was a wound beneath his ribs that was terrible even for a cyclops . His guts were spilled out . After all, Kulutego was only a young cyclops . The pressure he was facing now was something that not even his mother could handle by herself . He did seize a chance to attack Sheyan, trying to knock Sheyan back to consciousness, but to no avail . There was a weird layer of protection surrounding Sheyan, rendering his attack completely useless! The enemies were too strong . Seizing an opportunity, Shali suddenly took a deep breath . When he breathed in, everyone could feel their hair swaying forward . It was evident how strong the suction force was! But this guy just inhaled and did not exhale! He chewed on the air . Cracking noises came from inside his mouth, as if it was not air that he sucked in but gla.s.s fragments!! His neck swelled up and his bloodshot eyes protruded several centimeters out of the sockets . He then opened his mouth in Reefs direction! A thundering boom reverberated throughout the area . Shalis Air Cannon was no less powerful than a howitzer . At the same time, the other four surviving Awakeners launched their craziest a.s.sault yet on Reef, in concert with Shali! A violent, earth-shaking explosion erupted, a result of the power from all the skills concentrating on one point . Reef, who was already heavily wounded, was blown away like a small pebble . He crashed into two cars and fell heavily into a nearby store, his fate unknown . All the people Reef protected behind him were also struck by collateral damage . They were knocked down to the ground, struggling to get up . Shali dashed forward . Out of all the enemies, he was the one who hated Party Ace the most . They killed his partner, Iron Hook Stend . Shali hit Sanzi with a fierce punch . Blood spurted out of Sanzis mouth . However, Shali was also instantly hit on the head by the roaring Kulutego with his heavy club, knocking him down to the ground hard . Kulutego was immediately sent flying by Lamb and the other enemies, but they had all witnessed Shalis pathetic look . The embarra.s.sed Shali climbed back up and charged forward like an angry lion to knock Sanzi away with a knee b.u.mp . Sanzi was sent into the state of near death . It was at this precise moment that Pryzbilla finally pulled the trigger, believing that Party Ace had no chance to turn the tables around anymore . Since the Chill of Resentment was already loaded, he must kill someone with the shot or it wouldnt be worth the cost . To tell the truth, Pryzbilla was interested in Sanzis dark gold accessory . The light blue rocket carrying the scent of death tore through the sky and blossomed as usual, revealing the dark blue core inside . It accelerated straight towards the head of Sanzi, who was already in the state of near death! Sanzi immediately tried to use the Amniotic Water Tank Party Ace brought out of planet Pandora, but how could the mastermind behind the scenes who arranged this sure-kill situation allow that to happen? A shrill ray of light flashed past, stopping the Amniotic Water Tank from taking effect! Seeing death flying towards him, Sanzis emotion was surprisingly peaceful . He remarked silently in his heart, Farewell, Brother Sheyan . Farewell, Uncle Dasi . However, right at that moment, an already incomplete figure jumped out and intercepted the Chill of Resentment . The Chill of Resentment shot into his chest with a soft thud, sending him into the state of near death . This time, the Chill of Resentment did not pierce through the body . It was left inside . It was Mogensha . It was Mogensha!!! Only Mogensha, who was an expert in calculating the trajectory of bullets, could capture the exact instant to intercept the Chill of Resentment . No one knew what he was thinking at that moment . They only knew that he had left the hope of survival to Sanzi, and brought the destruction of death into his own body! Mogensha landed heavily on the ground . He raised his head with extreme difficulty while leaning against the wreckage of a damaged car, and smiled at Sanzi . He then lit a dirty cigar that was stained with blood, half closed his eyes, and took a deep, satisfying puff Mogensha exploded into light blue ice particles, flying all over the sky!!! A brutal, b.l.o.o.d.y giant ice flower once again blossomed in this ravaged neighborhood!