Chapter 68: The Grueling Battle (Part II)

For some inexplicable reason, Count Stuka felt a strong sense of impending danger, and then he found it somewhat amusing. A threat? From such a tiny bug that wasn’t even a warlord.

Yet, his heart still pounded uncomfortably, and he frowned, raising his force gun and pointing it at Qian Ye. In the eyes of the fierce arachne, the best way to eliminate a threat was to simply eradicate it.

Zhao Yuying had just performed two consecutive side jumps to evade Stuka’s battle-axe, and upon landing, she turned to see and immediately paled, shouting, “Qian Ye, step back! Poisonous fog!”

Qian Ye ignored Zhao Yuying’s shout as if he hadn’t seen that the arachne count’s gun was aimed at him. He continued to charge forward at a steady speed, with Dong Yue plowing a deep furrow in the ground, splitting it into two halves.

As time passed, the dust kicked up by Dong Yue grew thicker, and a faint hum could be heard, like the sound of the deep sea tide rising. This was the beginning of Dong Yue’s blade trembling lightly.

“Damn it! Crazy man, Xiao Si and Xiao Wu are all damn crazy!” Zhao Yuying cursed, gritting her teeth and aiming Kaisan at Stuka. A blinding flash of light erupted, and an orange-red fireball shot towards the arachne count. Now wasn’t the best time to attack, but she had no other choice.

Count Stuka disregarded Qian Ye, roaring loudly and swinging his battle-axe forcefully. The cannonball fired by the human woman was more intense than the previous ones, but the count was not afraid of facing her head-on. The green light swirling around the battle-axe suddenly brightened and expanded several times, cutting through the fireball with a mighty swing.

A deafening boom echoed as the fireball shattered into a dozen flames, scattering in all directions. However, since the projectile was faster than expected, the explosion occurred at a dangerously close range.

Several fragments of flame hit the massive arachne body of the count, piercing through his defenses and causing greenish-yellow fluid to flow out. The flames did not extinguish; instead, they spread, carving deep furrows on the arachne’s body.

Count Stuka glared at Zhao Yuying, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Although the injuries were shocking, they were merely superficial for him. But he had already deemed Zhao Yuying an extremely dangerous individual, deciding to pay any price to eliminate her on the spot.

Allowing a woman with such firepower to run rampant in his territory was not just a matter of losing some benefits; it could potentially affect the great matters he was involved in, which was a consequence he could not afford.

At this moment, Qian Ye was completely forgotten by the arachne count.

Count Stuka let out a long roar, his massive arachne body rising into the air, then descending like a collapsing mountain towards Zhao Yuying. The dark force within a hundred meters radius fluctuated wildly, and even black and green mists could be seen swirling chaotically.

“Xiao Wu, run!” Zhao Yuying’s face flashed with determination, and then she burst with a sharp killing intent. She did not dodge, lifting Kaisan, and lighting up the force arrays, staring at the arachne count descending from the sky, and sneering, “Want to take my life?”

Seeing Zhao Yuying’s resolve, the arachne count’s face twisted with rage. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to challenge him so brazenly.

The ghastly green force light now spread from his arachne body to his human-like upper half, reflecting a metallic sheen, and he was about to unleash his full power.

Suddenly, a soft hum sounded, faint but penetrating, clearly heard even in the space enveloped by dark force.

Count Stuka felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, his heart contracting sharply, and then he sensed an indescribable force approaching from behind.

Unable to turn his massive body in time, the arachne count did not see Qian Ye, who had not slowed down and was still charging. However, Dong Yue was now held in both hands, raised diagonally, with the heavy sword’s blade trembling lightly, leaving a trail of afterimages with each vibration.

Even the personal guards of the count dared not approach where the dark force enveloped, but Qian Ye seemed unaffected. Crimson force light radiated from his arms, dotted with golden sparks, blocking out the dark and green miasma in the air.

In a flash, Qian Ye was only a few charges away from Stuka, and three sword shadows appeared around Dong Yue. As the first dissipated, another took its place, repeating endlessly. Without hesitation, he leapt into the air, and with a resounding cry, he swung Dong Yue at Stuka.

On the battlefield, all the powerful figures felt a sudden chill in their hearts.

At that moment, the void seemed to open, revealing a glimpse of a fleeting world, and the powerful aura that leaked out was terrifying, making one involuntarily want to prostrate.

A thin, pale force line fell from the void, entwining around Dong Yue’s blade.

In an instant, the three sword shadows returned, and Qian Ye’s arms suddenly sank, feeling as if Dong Yue had become several times heavier. Prepared, he firmly grasped the hilt, and the blade’s path remained unchanged. A faint sword shadow emerged from the edge of Dong Yue, heading straight for Stuka.

Void Severance!

As the sword was unleashed, it was silent and lacked grandeur. Yet, the arachne count’s face changed drastically. The dark force around him roiled like a storm-tossed sea, with crashing waves and shattering rocks.

Count Stuka paid no attention to Zhao Yuying, twisting his massive arachne body and withdrawing his battle-axe to block hastily.

The sword shadow moved slowly yet swiftly, striking the battle-axe twice, and the crimson force, intermingled with the green mist, formed several small explosions.

The third sword shadow passed through Stuka noiselessly.

The protective force around the arachne count flared with a sinister green light, and then, like broken porcelain, it shattered, scattering into countless sparkling fragments.

A bloodline appeared on Stuka’s arachne abdomen, and then it split, revealing a horrifying wound nearly two meters deep. The arachne count roared in agony, and with a wave of his hand, the battle-axe spun and slashed towards Qian Ye.

With a heavy thud, Stuka crashed to the ground, but he still stood, roaring furiously, firing continuous blasts from his force gun at Qian Ye.

Zhao Yuying, momentarily stunned by the scene, snapped back to reality and, having recharged Kaisan, turned the barrel and fired a force round, hitting the battle-axe and sending it flying.

Qian Ye’s sword strike met the resistance of a mountain, and his airborne form paused before being sent flying backward. The counter-force from Dong Yue caused a numbing sensation to travel from his palms to his shoulders, and his arms nearly lost sensation. A heavy pressure on his chest made him cough up blood, bringing some relief.

Upon landing, Qian Ye staggered, almost falling, and he managed to stabilize himself by driving Dong Yue into the ground. He saw the flashes from the force gun and quickly rolled to the side, dodging Stuka’s attacks, though not entirely avoiding the residual force and metal fragments, which left several bleeding wounds on his shoulder and back.

There was a brief silence as the arachne count’s force gun reached its firing limit. Qian Ye pushed off the ground, leaping up and seizing the opportunity, drawing Twinflower. His back wings bloomed, merging the illusory Manjushaka and Bloodstained Mandragora, and he aimed at Stuka, firing with a thunderous roar.

At the moment of the gunfire, all other sounds on the battlefield seemed to vanish, and only the unique sound of Twinflower echoed.

Two force rounds left the barrel, entwined like twin destinies, and after a short flight, they exploded with intense light, like two suns rising.

“Silver-refining Sunlight Rounds!” In that instant, Stuka’s heart nearly stopped. Just as humans feared black titanium, the dark races instinctively feared silver-refining.

But the trajectory of these bullets seemed to span space, and the distance between them vanished. Stuka, seeing the intense light, started to sidestep, but he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, hit by the two Silver-refining Sunlight Rounds.

Stuka instantly turned and ran, fully utilizing his agility in the face of death. By the time Qian Ye recharged Twinflower, activating the first layer of force arrays, the count had already scaled the hillside of the mine and disappeared into the night.

Zhao Yuying, running to Qian Ye’s side, raised her eyebrows, wanting to pursue, but Qian Ye called her back.

“Don’t chase him.”

“Let him go just like that? Don’t worry, I have a way to take him down!” Zhao Yuying rubbed her hands, ready to take advantage of the situation.

“He was hit by two enhanced Silver-refining Sunlight Rounds; he won’t be having a good time. Let’s clear this place first. You didn’t come here at such a risk just to fight that old spider, right?”

Zhao Yuying showed a rare hint of embarrassment. She had brought Qian Ye here intending to rob, and she certainly hadn’t expected to meet Count Stuka.

She quickly tried to divert Qian Ye’s attention, looking around. There were still nearly a hundred dark warriors, all stunned by the sudden turn of events, and a noble arachne standing by the central force array.

Zhao Yuying pointed, “These are yours, and those tougher ones are mine.”

Qian Ye shook his head, “No, they’re all yours. I need a few minutes to rest.”

Zhao Yuying was surprised, “Already drained?”

Qian Ye calmly injected a stimulant into his thigh, saying, “I’m not a warlord yet.”

“Not a warlord, and already so fierce. When you become one, how will I survive? What was that last move? Even I couldn’t have taken it.”

Qian Ye said helplessly, “If you don’t act soon, they’ll all escape.”

Zhao Yuying turned to see the noble arachne retreating, clearly planning to flee.

Zhao Yuying immediately lifted Kaisan, roaring, “Don’t run!”

The noble arachne, of course, did not listen and fled without hesitation. Zhao Yuying, enraged, shouted, “Stop! Don’t run! If I catch you, I’ll break all eight of your legs!”

Zhao Yuying chased after the noble arachne, yelling, and soon, both were out of the mine and disappeared over the hill.

Qian Ye was left alone in the mine.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The dark warriors, who had been fleeing in all directions, slowed their steps, eyeing Qian Ye with malicious intent.