Apocalypse Forecast

In the blink of an eye, the spear charged forward. Guo Nu instinctively widened his eyes and, despite the great distance between them, felt the dull pain of the wind's cutting force against his face.

Too fast!

So fast that there was no time to react.

Quicker than reaction was instinct. Yet when he instinctively raised his trident to try and block, his stance crumbled instantly before the surging onslaught of the spear's tip.

Huai Shi advanced; Guo Nu retreated.

The roles of attacker and defender reversed.

Yet the gap between them continued to shrink, inch by inch, a harbinger of despair, until Xi Jiang roared furiously toward Huai Shi, opening his mouth to prepare for another cannonade. But in that instant, the ground beneath Huai Shi's feet suddenly cracked open.

Second Acceleration·Yubu!

He could be even faster!

Guo Nu's mouth fell open in astonishment, but not in surrender. Instead, he suddenly lunged forward and bit at the spear, his Teeth clamping down like a vice grip, miraculously halting its advance!

The tip of the spear is sweet.

For some reason, this thought unexpectedly popped into his head, followed by Huai Shi's mocking smile. "You want to taste the Green Crown Dragon's blood? Are you that starved?"

In an instant, Guo Nu screamed in agony, no longer able to hold onto the spearhead.

Wrinkles crept across his face. In that fleeting moment of rapid aging, he lost twenty years of youth. Immediately after, the spear pierced through, tearing at the corner of his mouth.

Before he could dodge again, the spear followed relentlessly, pushing forward like a shadow.

Guo Nu bellowed, lifting the trident, struggling to block it while his heart shook violently.

Just what sort of beast had he stumbled upon! An Astronomical Society Newcomer? Newcomer my ass! What kind of devilish training camps has the Astronomical Society been running these past few years? He cursed Lin Yu, that insane woman, in his heart—where the hell did you find such a monster? This fighter could pass as a core member in the Astronomical Society Currently Direct Legion! Or perhaps, one of the technical department's archaeology experts? That doesn't seem likely; he's so young... A member of the Existence Institute's man-made cleaning squad? No, that's not right; they only operate in labs below depth 19. Or could he be from Yuan An, Dawn, Deep Space, Cast Iron... which elite Legion of the Jurisdiction Bureau is he from? No matter which elite Legion, it spells trouble! If a mere super-soldier can stir up storms in the city, what about someone like this who kills as easily as drinking water? If the Lin family provokes someone like him, aren't they scared stiff, despite all their wealth and power?

In his brief daze, the spear was upon him again!

Another unrecognized Border Relic, and this one has the BUG-level capability of aging the victim twenty years with a single poke! Envy raged in his heart. How many treasures does this little bastard have?

The sluggishness from aging slowed his movements for a moment, and the spear aimed straight at his chest.

CLANG!

A suit of faintly golden Armor suddenly appeared on his chest, blocking the spear before vanishing immediately, causing his heart to ache. Damn it, there go ten Golden Coins. That's right, this thing is coin-operated... Activate it to block one attack, and it costs ten—even a graze counts. If it's on for just ten minutes, the Golden Coins in the squad's reserves will just drain away... With Huai Shi attacking him in a four-four rhythm, forty coins are gone! The team's reserve of Golden Coins was only eighty to begin with, and in an instant, half were gone!

Guo Nu's eyes moistened with anger.

It's bad enough you're trying to kill me, but you're robbing me too! I'll fight you to the death!

With Fang Liang's Bull Head roaring to the heavens, Guo Nu's eyes turned bloodshot as he suddenly lunged toward Huai Shi, swinging the trident down like a hammer.

As Huai Shi blocked, Guo Nu shook his head, knocking the knit cap from his crown and revealing a shining bald head beneath.

The bald head burst forth with light, stinging Huai Shi's eyes.

He involuntarily felt a wave of dizziness.

This was Guo Nu's killer move.

Once, while looting Aziz's Tomb in Deep Hell, he had suffered a Curse. Although he was rescued in time, he lost all his body hair, which never grew back.

It didn't stop there. Scholars then found a use for the abundant power of the Curse, binding it to his bare scalp with a Tattooed Beam. This tyrant's Curse from ages past formed a tangible, oppressive radiance, stunning anyone who looked upon it for a moment.

One moment could be the difference between life and death.

The trident broke through the spear's defense, driving straight in.

Then, a black shadow emerged from behind Huai Shi, wielding a Sacrificial Knife and forcefully blocking the trident's thrust. The figure of the Red Gloves shook violently with the clash, losing thirty percent of the negative Source Substance that composed its body in the single exchange.

After a moment, Huai Shi finally snapped out of the onslaught from all sides.

He took a deep breath.

And let out a roar.

Raising the Axe Blade from within the dim green flame, he swung it forward!

CLANG!

The trident was repelled. The iron Axe dissipated and instantly transformed into a Long Spear. As Huai Shi stepped forward, the Long Spear swept outwards. The mournful sound of the wind broke through the encirclement of three Sublimators. Then, the great Axe fell again, withstanding the siege and splitting open the head of an obstructor.

However, Xi Jiang's gaping maw at last locked onto its target, and he roared.

An invisible wave of sound converged into a beam, hurtling forward with a howl. Huai Shi only managed to evade the direct impact before being uncontrollably flung into the air by the sonic blast, darkness clouding his vision.

The Roaring Outburst of a gun sounded, and Huai Shi's already damaged left arm suffered another large hole.

After unleashing his ultimate move, Xi Jiang still dared not relax. He carefully drew from his bosom a slender Cavalry Sword, his prize from Xiematai.

The Cavalry Sword was worn with age, riddled with nicks and scratches. It had accompanied its master for who knows how long on his wanderings, yet it still brimmed with murderous intent.

Clearly, it was a killing weapon of rare quality.

At this moment, the Cavalry Sword began to wildly draw Xi Jiang's Source Substance and vitality. It instantly leaped from its sheath into the air. Amidst the suddenly emergent strains of a Cossack dance, it swept gallantly towards Huai Shi.

The saber strike was fierce!

As if guided by an invisible cavalryman, it executed three consecutive slashes in an instant. The unstoppable, terrifying impact shattered Huai Shi's defensive stance, followed swiftly by a chop aimed at his neck!

Huai Shi abruptly retreated, staggering back into the thorny bushes and instantly vanishing from sight.

The rustling of countless branches and leaves could be heard, but there was no sign of where he had gone.

"He escaped again?!"

Guo Nu irritably widened his eyes, then quickly realized. "It's that dark gold-grade artifact! Everyone, search! He's definitely still here."

"No need."

Outside the dense forest, in front of the dark, surging Crucible, Lin Yu sneered coldly as she poured a shovel of soil stained with Huai Shi's blood into the cauldron.

Immediately afterward, a shadow surged from the Potion, engulfed the handful of blood-stained soil, then turned and nocked an arrow, aiming into the distance.

An ethereal arrow crafted purely from Curses vanished in an instant, then reappeared in front of Huai Shi's chest.

THWACK! Blood gushed forth.

Huai Shi, who had been hiding among the grasses, was forced out of his hiding spot... He was only a step away from the riverbank just outside the woods.

So close.

Lying powerlessly in the thorns, he watched Guo Nu approach step by step. Guo Nu grabbed his leg, dragged him out of the dense forest, and threw him onto the open ground.

Struggling to breathe and seeing Lin Yu's sneer nearby, he couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"Yo, Auntie, we meet again."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and kindly reminded her, "Your underwear is showing."

Lin Yu's expression twisted.

CRACK!

A crisp snapping sound emanated from Huai Shi's chest as, following Lin Yu's gesture, a shadowy hand suddenly reached out from the cauldron, penetrated his chest, and directly snapped one of his ribs.

Nearby, Xi Jiang looked somewhat disturbed.

"Why bring him back alive?" He drew his gun and aimed it at Huai Shi's face. "Such a troublesome opponent. Better to give him a quick end."

"That won't do." Guo Nu hurriedly pulled the gun away. Killing him might be easy for you, but why did we spend so much time capturing him? Just to kill him? We're supposed to be venting the employer's anger!

"Besides," Guo Nu added, "if you kill him, what about his Border Relics? If he doesn't unbind them, do you know where he's hidden them?"

Xi Jiang paused for a moment, then cast a pitying glance at Huai Shi.

What a pity. To capture him alive, two Border Mercenary Groups and more than twenty-four Sublimators had used every means at their disposal, yet he fiercely killed over half of them. He fought against overwhelming odds. If it weren't for Guo Nu's Stigma being a perfect counter to him, many more would have died. He almost managed to escape completely unscathed. If he had gotten away, they would all be in grave danger in the upcoming matches. Such a formidable opponent should have died cleanly on the battlefield. Falling into this madwoman's hands... who knows how much humiliation he'll have to endure.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." Gazing at Huai Shi's twitching expression, Lin Yu revealed a morbidly pleased smile. "I won't let you die easily... not until the match is over..."

Huh? Oh, well, thank you ever so much, Huai Shi thought.

He couldn't help but laugh as well. Amidst violent coughing, he spat out blood foam and with great difficulty, raised a finger towards her.

Instantly, the sound of countless rifle bolts being drawn echoed. All the mercenaries warily surrounded Huai Shi, their firearms aimed at his face, terrified he would suddenly lash out and injure someone.

But his finger fell limply to the ground.

It only struggled to move, drawing a small circle in the dirt.

As if trying to say something.

Guo Nu curiously leaned closer, frowning as he scrutinized the movement. He saw that after drawing one circle, Huai Shi drew another beside it.

Finally, his finger moved slowly, seeming to prepare to draw a Great Circle beneath the two smaller ones...

What's he doing?

Guo Nu stared blankly, his eyes widening as he watched the last Great Circle slowly close. But in that very instant, he felt a wave of fear rise in his heart; the sense of crisis honed from countless life-or-death situations suddenly flared.

"Stop him!"

His expression changed drastically as he reached out to grab Huai Shi.

The last Great Circle was just a moment from closing.

But then, everyone heard a ROAR as the ground behind them burst open—a torrential wave of water erupted from beneath, tearing through the sewer cover overhead.

An invisible Power drew water from the distant river, sending it soaring into the sky, then cascading down majestically from the Vault of Heaven.

A flying dragon in the heavens!

With a howl, the majestic water dragon let out a long cry, transforming into the image of countless galloping horses as it charged across the land.

Within the torrent, a celestial horse transformed into a dragon let out a loud cry. A familiar face poked out, yelling at the top of its lungs as if afraid of not being heard, "White-named face, I'm here to save you-la-la-la-la-la!!!!!"

Bro, don't come over here! Huai Shi's eyes widened. He was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. I was almost done channeling my 'Justice from Heaven'! What are you doing back here?!

Finally, he helplessly rolled his eyes and reached out, wiping away the 'Justice from Heaven' that had been ready to go.

Fine, let's see how you throw this...