Apocalypse Forecast

"Die!"

Huai Shi, holding a knife in his left hand and an axe in his right, let out a roar and then... turned tail and ran.

What else could he do?

Why the hell not?

A dozen Dark Creatures had transformed into berserk Werewolves. These were fearless Second and Third Stage Sublimators; forget exquisite techniques, a single swipe from one of them could tear Huai Shi apart.

I can't deal with you guys; I'm out.

Perhaps stunned by Huai Shi's astonishing lack of dignity in turning and fleeing, the assembled Werewolves, who had been bracing for a fight, stood frozen. By the time they reacted, Huai Shi had already dashed thirty-nine meters away. Lacking a forty-meter blade, they could only give chase frantically.

And by the time they reached the dead end of the corridor, Huai Shi was nowhere to be seen.

Even the pre-ambushed air ducts were devoid of any sign of him.

Only the icy sea breeze came through the smashed porthole.

By the time Huai Shi gasped for air while climbing onto the deck from the ship's stern, he was already panting heavily.

Running over water proved too demanding on explosive strength, which even he dared not test often.

The ship's speed had become surprisingly fast.

Though lacking any point of reference to perceive it, Huai Shi was nearly left behind by the cruise ship just moments before. Luckily, he managed to grab onto the ladder; otherwise, he might have quietly sunk into the sea alone.

Recalling the recent events, it wasn't until now that he finally confirmed Lei Feizhou and Yin Yan had colluded.

Ah, perhaps their performance in the kitchen was just to gain our trust. But it's pointless to dwell on that. After all, the outcome can't be changed; now they are all enemies.

"And..." Ai Qing paused for a moment, sighing. "Yin Yan coming to find you means they've already been to your room."

Huai Shi was stunned for a while before he caught on.

"You mean Lily..."

"Yeah." Ai Qing nodded sympathetically. "It looks rather grim for her."

Huai Shi cursed under his breath, his expression becoming ferocious.

Clutching the axe tightly, he slowly rose to his feet, downed the last plasma vial, feeling a surge of nausea and relief flood his chest, his eyes blood-red.

"What do you plan to do?"

"I'm really fed up with these Second-fifths," Huai Shi said with a sigh, revealing his sharp fangs. "Forget Paracelsus for now; let's just kill all these sons of bitches first!"

Since everyone's true colors had been shown, Ravens were Ravens and wild boars were wild boars.

It's time to see who's the darkest of them all.

When Huai Shi climbed back to his room via the rope, he still couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

All the wishful thinking had dissipated from the depths of his soul.

Amidst the chaos, he saw blood on the floor, carrying a familiar scent. Mutilated limbs were scattered about. Huai Shi saw an arm lying near his foot.

The slim, delicate hand was still gripping the thick dictionary, but sadly, the pages were nearly disintegrated, soaked in blood.

Huai Shi bent down, carefully picked up the dictionary, closed it, and tucked it into his embrace.

He looked up, his face expressionless, toward the front.

Towards the person sitting beside the corpses.

"What a surprise," he said, staring at Lei Feizhou's face. "I thought you'd be hiding somewhere I couldn't find."

"Actually, before you came back, I was wondering..." The bearded man, amidst the pool of blood, raised his eyes, glanced at him, and kicked a mutilated corpse at his feet. "I haven't been fooled by some Doppelgänger trick again this time, have I? That's the trouble with Scholars; it's hard to tell if they're truly dead."

He paused, then slowly lifted his head, the corners of his eyes slightly crinkling. "But judging by your reaction, it seems she really is dead. No mistake."

Huai Shi remained silent, not speaking, just drawing his Short Knife and axe, slightly moving his neck, which emitted a series of soft cracking sounds.

"Have you eaten?" he suddenly asked.

"Oh, I held out from the moment we boarded the ship until now, and I've just had a satisfying feast," Lei Feizhou replied with a smile. "And you?"

"Just had some water, half full, I guess," Huai Shi replied with a soft sigh. "Seeing how happily you all ate... I'm hungry too."

From his parted lips, vampire fangs suddenly sprang forth.

In an instant, Huai Shi vanished from where he stood.

Forward!

CRASH!

Lei Feizhou's pupils dilated; he stepped back, shocked at Huai Shi's terrifying speed. His Knuckle-duster cracked under the slash of the Axe Blade.

But before he could react, another flash of a knife burst forth from Huai Shi's left hand.

The Axe Blade was just a feint.

The true killing blow came from the Tribunal's assassination Sword Technique!

Without warning, Huai Shi's arm, as if boneless, disappeared into his sleeve, then shot out from his collar. It transformed into a venomous Snake, its steel teeth, coated with lethal poison, hissing as they struck!

Amidst the shrill sound of scraping metal, Lei Feizhou's entire mouth was torn open, seeming to double in size. A forked piece of his tongue flew out from the gaping wound.

In that first exchange, Huai Shi's blade nearly split Lei Feizhou's head in two.

However, Lei Feizhou immediately gripped Huai Shi's knife-wielding arm, the gruesome slit in his mouth curling into what resembled a smile.

Through his parted teeth, he let out a wolf-like roar.

In an instant, the cabin walls on both sides and even the ceiling shattered. Werewolves hidden within tore through the steel and, at the command of a wolf's howl, attacked the cornered Huai Shi.

"Can't move now, can you?" Lei Feizhou laughed hoarsely.

This was the death trap he had prepared for his teammate.

"Who said that?" Huai Shi, close at hand, retorted.

The elbow of the left arm Lei Feizhou held suddenly made a crisp sound—dislocated!

The moment his elbow dislocated, Huai Shi leaped up. Freed from the constraints of his bones, he flung himself into the air in a move that defied all common sense, falling behind Lei Feizhou.

From mid-air, he aimed his arm at Lei Feizhou's head, his little finger pulling the trigger. Beneath his sleeve, the Tri-linked Breaking Demon Crossbow arrows whooshed out. As Lei Feizhou hastily dodged, one arrow instantly pierced his neck, and the other two completely mangled his already ruined face.

The blessed pure silver couldn't do much against a Werewolf with diluted divine blood heritage, but the deadly poison smeared on it caused the wound to corrode with a HISS.

In excruciating pain, Lei Feizhou howled, his fingers, sharp as blades, grasping for Huai Shi in the air, but he caught nothing.

It was as if Huai Shi were a gymnast at the Olympics, using Lei Feizhou as a horizontal bar for a fancy show of moves.

Twisting through the air, Huai Shi swung back and forth, using his arm—now like a rope—to find leverage points on Lei Feizhou's body at unbelievable speed.

The attacking Werewolves seemed to have never witnessed such flashy maneuvers and couldn't catch him. Meanwhile, the axe in Huai Shi's hand chopped down toward Lei Feizhou's head!

"Die!"

"Dream on!" Lei Feizhou roared, lifting his right hand to grab the descending Axe Blade.

The clash of iron and bone emitted a shrill sound.

Blood splattered.

Even a Werewolf couldn't match the hardness of an axe with mere flesh. In one strike, Lei Feizhou's thumb was severed. Yet, his remaining four fingers suddenly closed, clamping down on the Axe Blade with his palm like a vise.

Immediately after, Lei Feizhou bellowed, "Get down here!"

Grabbing Huai Shi's arm and axe with both hands, he pulled Huai Shi, intending to smash him violently onto the floor!

The wind howled.

But in mid-air, Huai Shi had already released his grip on the axe handle. His entire body drifted to the left, and he suddenly kicked a Werewolf in the face.

Lei Feizhou's power, combined with Huai Shi's true weight after retracting his Stigma.

CRASH!

Instantly, the sound of breaking bones rang out.

A head snapped back from its neck, hanging onto the Werewolf's back. The creature hadn't even registered what happened before the sudden burst of force sent it flying. It ended up stuck in the porthole Huai Shi had smashed, legs flailing desperately, unable to pull itself free.

Meanwhile, Huai Shi seized this brief opening, pulled a test tube from the Potion pack at his waist, and smashed it hard onto the ground.

In an instant, silver mist surged out, expanding and enveloping everything!

The last of the Silver Nitrate!

The rising dense fog not only obscured everyone's vision but also corroded Lei Feizhou's exposed skin, causing a sharp, stinging pain.

Then, he felt his hand grasp air.

Huai Shi had already freed himself from his hold.

He vanished into the thick fog.

In that moment, Lei Feizhou heard a cold laugh near his ear.

And a chilling chant:

"Hallelujah..."

The next instant, the sound of steel whooshing fiercely burst forth!

It was like Lei Feizhou's infectious and terrifying lycanthropy, Yin Yan's frightening level of invisibility, or Yue Jun's twin lives; every Investigator selected seemed to possess unique expertise and traits.

Take, for example... Van Essen, thirty-one years old, a Vampire.

A professional Demon Hunter.

Or, to describe him more solemnly: he was the Judge with the most meritorious achievements among all Holy Spirit Vampires, the most outstanding 'consumable' The Church had cultivated among its Demon Hunters over decades.

A blood-drinking Vampire killer, a Dark Creature moving amongst Dark Creatures, a Cleaner of fallen beings permitted to fall... An Executioner who preyed on his own kind.

"—In other words," amidst the swirling silver fog, Huai Shi grinned, smiling silently, "he's a Second-fifth who specializes in killing his own kind!"

BANG!

As his little finger pulled the trigger, a Demon-breaking Crossbow Arrow flew out, piercing the head of an out-of-control Werewolf from afar and nailing him to the wall.

Huai Shi advanced, his axe chopping down.

The crisp sound of tearing flesh came through the silver mist.

Darkness is sometimes a Shelter for Dark Creatures; countless types of Stigmas grant dark vision, much like a Yin Soul.

But this particular fog, a blend of copious Alchemy Potions and pure silver, was a 'dark curtain' that no talent or ability could penetrate.

Including Huai Shi himself.

Even the pure silver here was toxic to him; he couldn't even breathe in it.

But it seemed he had long grown accustomed to such conditions.

In countless training sessions from Van Essen's memory.

Thus, he moved without a sound, like a Ghost, patiently and cautiously hunting his prey within this disturbed silver mist.

Relying on the muffled sounds of heartbeats, whispers, and the slight rustling of fabric, he methodically eliminated one Dark Creature after another.

Just as he had done countless times before.

If Lei Feizhou thought he was invincible because of his horde of Werewolves, he would now realize just how terribly mistaken he was.

When Werewolves and Hunters are in the same room...

—The hunt had already begun.