Chapter 67: The Bitter Battle (Part I)

Zhao Yuying had just thrown a grenade and, seeing Stuka attempting to intercept Qian Ye, immediately turned in mid-air and came back around.

Unexpectedly, Qian Ye managed to escape, and the spider count, enraged, revealed his true form. A spear entwined with dark green mist roared towards her, and even Zhao Yuying did not dare to take it head-on. She instantly tried her best to dodge, the spear barely missing her left shoulder.

Before Zhao Yuying could catch her breath, another sharp whistle sounded, and a second spear was already shot at her! With no place to dodge, she swiftly drew her battle knife, exhaled sharply, and forcefully slashed forward, narrowly striking the spear’s blade.

A muffled thud resounded, and Zhao Yuying was sent flying several meters, then took a few large steps back before stabilizing herself.

Stuka was quite surprised that his full-force attack had been parried by a mere human woman. But he then sneered, his voice cold and ominous, “How does it feel?”

A layer of faint green appeared on Zhao Yuying’s face, indicating she had been poisoned. Stuka’s spider venom was extremely potent, capable of invading the body simply through the taint of origin power.

However, Zhao Yuying did not collapse as Stuka had expected. Instead, a purplish-black origin power gushed out from her, intense as if hellfire was burning. She then cut a wound on her wrist with her knife, and a stream of ink-green blood spurted out!

After the blood arrow shot out, the pale green hue on Zhao Yuying’s face faded considerably. She sneered, “Did you think such a little poison could bring me down?”

Stuka stared at the thick purple and black mist swirling around Zhao Yuying, his face twitching slightly as he said, somewhat uncertainly, “Purple Qi, Western Purple Qi? You are from the Zhao family?”

Zhao Yuying spat on the ground and hooked her finger at Stuka. “Old spider, you do have some knowledge. But if you want to fight, just come over. Who cares who I am!”

Stuka’s expression turned grim. He reached out into the air, and several spider threads shot out, bringing a battle axe and an origin gun into his hands. His massive body floated slightly off the ground, and his eight long legs moved like a boat sailing smoothly, rushing at Zhao Yuying at an incredible speed, delivering a powerful chop with the axe.

Zhao Yuying raised her knife to block, and her entire body trembled violently, her face losing all color. However, she had mentally prepared herself and used the recoil to retreat rapidly, avoiding Stuka’s subsequent leg stomp.

The fierce battle began.

At this moment, on the large square in the mining area, origin power surged and clashed, causing small explosions from time to time. The flying dust and disturbed air made it almost impossible for weaker individuals to breathe.

In his full combat form, Count Stuka truly exhibited the power of a dark noble, not as weak as rumored. As the strong clashed, the dark warriors no longer dared to linger nearby, all standing at the edge of the mining area, forming a large encirclement.

Though Zhao Yuying possessed strength not inferior to Qian Ye, she was still far from being a match for the spider count. In close combat, she quickly found herself at a disadvantage. Yet, her secret martial techniques were endless, and Stuka could not defeat her in a short time.

Qian Ye, running at full speed to the east, threw a grenade into a minecart at the entrance. Hearing the dense sound of origin power collisions behind him, he couldn’t help but turn pale. Looking back, he indeed saw Zhao Yuying facing off against Stuka.

He immediately threw a bag of grenades from Anduaiya’s space and pulled out Dong Yue. Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over Qian Ye, and the ground trembled slightly as a spider viscount in combat form appeared before him.

This spider was clad in deep blue heavy armor, only a meter shorter than Stuka, holding a battle axe in each hand. His cold voice said, “Little one, your opponent is me.”

This was Stuka’s captain, patrolling the outskirts earlier and only returning when the alarm went off, arriving just in time for the battle.

Qian Ye’s eyes turned to a deep, oceanic blue, and his True Sight swept over. Although this captain was only a third-class viscount, the density and solidity of his dark origin power were no weaker than the two vampires and Duras he had previously killed.

Qian Ye narrowed his eyes, holding Dong Yue in one hand and shaking it at the spider, his demeanor full of contempt.

The captain, enraged, roared like thunder, charging at Qian Ye like a war chariot. His upper body lowered, and his eight segmented limbs struck the ground at high frequency, the battle axe whistling through the air, slashing at Qian Ye’s waist.

Qian Ye stood his ground, gripping Dong Yue tightly with both hands. His vision changed, and the world became black and white. Ripples of dark origin power spread out from the center of the captain’s battle axe in all directions.

He took a deep breath, and Dong Yue sprang up, precisely aligning with the battle axe. The massive sword, seemingly weightless, traced a perfect arc in the air, gently lifting.

The captain’s battle axe suddenly jerked violently, almost flying out of his grasp. Shocked, he desperately clung to the axe, his eight limbs flailing wildly, finally managing to steady himself.

The sword technique Qian Ye used was one of the final ones refined from the Book of Darkness, cutting into the gap of the captain’s swinging axe. Though the lift seemed effortless, the method of origin power circulation triggered a resonance of dark origin power, stacking up to a force that even a spider viscount could not withstand.

After the lift, Qian Ye immediately retreated, dragging Dong Yue with his right hand, while his left now held an origin grenade, which he tossed low to the ground.

The captain, just stabilizing himself, noticed the rolling origin grenade out of the corner of his eye. But this was a blind spot for his massive spider body, making it impossible to dodge or even kick the grenade away.

With a loud boom, the grenade exploded directly beneath his spider body, sending the captain flying, exposing his relatively weaker abdomen.

Qian Ye had already put away Dong Yue, drawing Twin Flowers and firing two shots in quick succession, both hitting the spider’s belly. After the blinding origin light dissipated, the viscount’s abdomen was a mess of flesh and blood.

Although these three shots didn’t have enough time to add Qian Ye’s special abilities, they were all made of anti-magic silver bullets. The large amount of silver entering the body made the captain go berserk with pain. He crashed heavily to the ground, abdomen up, unable to flip over, and his sharp limbs flailed randomly, accidentally injuring several baron guards who had rushed to help.

Qian Ye moved like lightning, running at full speed around the severely injured captain, Twin Flowers roaring as more anti-magic silver bullets pierced the spider’s abdomen. So much silver entering the body would burn most of his organs, leaving the spider viscount, even if he survived, crippled.

The baron’s guards formed combat groups, trying to block Qian Ye again, but they couldn’t keep up with his speed. Qian Ye ignored them, continuing to run and shoot.

The captain, driven mad by pain and the damage to his central nervous system from the silver, lost all rationality, swinging his axe and limbs wildly, becoming the greatest threat to the baron’s guards. But as his life force drained, his movements grew slower and weaker, and his attacks less effective.

Seeing the opportunity, Qian Ye put away Twin Flowers and charged straight at the dying spider viscount. A baron guard tried to intercept him but was knocked aside.

Qian Ye leaped, pouncing onto the spider’s mountain-like body. The already wobbling captain lost his balance and crashed to the ground, his sharp limbs flailing like knives, sweeping the guards away.

And Qian Ye thrust Crimson Fang into his heart.

Hot, rich blood flowed into Qian Ye’s body, invigorating him and speeding up his recovery from the excessive use of his body.

The captain’s struggles grew weaker, and his limbs soon twitched uncontrollably, showing signs of death. Only then did Qian Ye pull out Crimson Fang and slowly stand up.

Several brave baron guards roared and charged at Qian Ye. Dong Yue appeared in his hands, and as he stepped and turned, the sword light formed a circle, spreading in all directions.

The guards’ movements froze, as if they had turned into statues. They dared not move, slowly lowering their heads to look at their bodies, fear evident on their faces. A line of blood appeared at their waists, and their upper and lower bodies slowly separated, cut in half by the sword’s edge.

Qian Ye, holding Dong Yue, glanced at the dark warriors surrounding him dozens of steps away. His hand suddenly held two origin grenades. Remembering their previous painful experience, the warriors shivered, many hesitating, not daring to advance but instead starting to retreat.

Qian Ye tossed the grenades in his hand, throwing them toward the right rear, one after the other, accurately hitting the origin formation in the center of the square.

The spider viscount guarding the formation let out an angry roar, but he had to retreat to intercept the grenades. This viscount, having seen the captain’s death, was already charging at Qian Ye, but the two grenades forced him to retreat.

Qian Ye, dragging Dong Yue, turned and charged at Stuka.

Stuka and Zhao Yuying were locked in a fierce battle. The two green stripes on the baron’s spider body glowed brightly, emitting a faint green mist that lingered in the air. Even dark warriors who accidentally breathed in the mist would die instantly.

Zhao Yuying, with her purplish-black origin power surging, moved freely in the poisonous mist, though her face again showed a faint green, and her movements were not as smooth as when the battle began, often putting her in peril.

She wielded Kaisan in her left hand and a battle knife in her right, fighting Stuka to the death. The cannon of Kaisan always shimmered, but she had yet to find the right moment to fire.

At the beginning of the battle, Zhao Yuying fired two shots, one of which broke half of Stuka’s spider leg. Though not a major injury, Stuka realized the strength of this human female warrior and fought more cautiously afterward, not giving Zhao Yuying another chance.

Zhao Yuying was also struggling, as Kaisan consumed a lot of energy, and she could only fire a few times. She had to conserve her origin power, waiting for the chance to deliver a decisive blow. Now, she had loaded the precious shell, waiting for the right moment.

But Stuka, with his baron-level strength and countless battles in his long life, had vast experience. He pressed forward, his battle axe and gun roaring, gradually compressing Zhao Yuying’s space to dodge.

Just then, Stuka felt a strong sense of danger, so much so that he looked back during the intense battle. There, he saw the human worm he thought was dead, carrying a heavy, black sword, walking towards him.