novelraw Chapter 314: The Enemy in the Dark
Chapter 314: The Enemy in the Dark
On a high ground.
Qin Bai stood with his hands behind his back.
A middle-aged man with unusually profound eyes stood quietly beside him, a faint blue halo slowly receding within his pupils.
"Blue Eye, confirmed?"
Qin Bai's voice was flat and unrippled, betraying no emotion.
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, "The life auras within a three-mile radius are all reflected under my Void-Piercing Pupil.
This person's aura intensity far exceeds that of ordinary people, and he is sneaking alone to the edge of the blockade zone late at night. His movements are furtive and definitely not those of a good person."
"It's him indeed, Chen Qing."
Qin Bai looked down at the fierce chase in the canyon below, "Only he could hold out this long under the combined pursuit of Han Xiao and Ling Shuang."
Blue Eye added, "He seems to be looking for other paths into Black City. Our heavy guard has made him afraid to use the conventional entrance.""A death struggle, nothing more."
Qin Bai said indifferently, "Thinking I'll doubt my own judgment if he just wears down my patience? A fool's dream.
Leaving this to Han Xiao and Ling Shuang is enough.
Notify everyone to execute according to the second plan. Focus on the forces within Black City that might assist him."
As his words fell, his figure melted into the night, disappearing from the high ground.
Only Blue Eye remained, the blue light in his pupils flickering slightly as he continued to watch the figure fleeing in disarray below.
...
Every breath Su Zhan took carried the searing pain of blood.
The icy chill and the scorching spear intent still rampaged within his body, constantly eroding his will.
Han Xiao behind him and Ling Shuang in the air were like death's messengers, clinging relentlessly.
More troublesome were the ordinary Aberrant Purge Division members who used various Life Soul abilities to constantly harass and intercept him.
"Quagmire!"
An Awakened individual slammed both palms onto the ground.
The ground in front of Su Zhan instantly transformed into a sticky quagmire.
A fierce glint flashed in Su Zhan's eyes. He didn't even consider going around.
Mist Energy erupted from under his feet, forming a brief burst of propulsive force. He actually charged across the surface of the quagmire, leaving behind a few shallow footprints.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
From the side, several vines entwined with thorns shot towards him.
Without even turning his head, Su Zhan swung his hand back. Several streams of Mist Energy, condensed like blades, slashed out, severing those vines.
But the moment he was distracted dealing with the vines.
A nearly invisible mental shockwave crashed into his mind.
"Ugh!"
Su Zhan grunted, his body staggering, his vision instantly going dark. His consciousness felt as if struck by a heavy hammer.
This was a psychic impact from a mental-type Life Soul.
Relying on his powerful mental strength, he withstood it without completely losing consciousness. But this momentary pause was fatal.
"Got you!"
Han Xiao's wild laughter exploded like thunder behind him. The Blazing Plains Blood Spear was already stabbing towards his back.
At the same time, a surge of cold energy erupted from above.
Ling Shuang's crystalline ice wings erupted with dazzling light. Countless ice feathers condensed into a massive ice-blue vortex, sealing off the space above and to his sides.
A desperate situation! A true desperate situation!
Su Zhan's Time Abyss Pupil operated frantically. Countless possibilities for the next five seconds flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
"ROAR—!!!"
A roar full of savagery exploded from the depths of Su Zhan's throat.
He no longer suppressed, no longer held back.
"Rip!"
A pair of ferocious Fleshy Wings violently tore through the tattered clothing on his back, fully extending.
The wing membranes showed a dull blood-red color, their edges lined with sharp, bone-like barbs.
At Su Zhan's left shoulder blade, a wound previously pierced by an ice feather exploded into a mist of blood the moment the Fleshy Wings tore free.
The intense pain made his vision go dark, and his aura instantly weakened by another large margin.
"BOOM!!!"
Su Zhan violently twisted his body. His right claw, without dodging or evading, fearlessly grabbed towards the tip of Han Xiao's oncoming Blazing Plains Blood Spear.
His other claw swept upwards with savage force, stirring up a cloud of mist to violently clash against the ice feather vortex.
"CLANG—!!!"
Claw and spear tip collided.
The scales on Su Zhan's entire right arm shattered inch by inch, blood streaming down. But he also used this terrifying recoil force to shoot sideways like a cannonball.
It was a bottomless canyon cliff.
He was blasted backwards towards it.
"Pfft—!"
The ice feather vortex also collided fiercely with the mist.
The mist was torn apart. Countless ice feathers pierced through, leaving more bone-deep wounds on his Fleshy Wings and back.
But Su Zhan ultimately avoided the core of the killing vortex.
"Trying to jump off the cliff? Dream on!"
Han Xiao roared, stepping on air to give chase relentlessly.
Ling Shuang's ice wings flapped, transforming into an ice-blue streak of light as she dove downwards.
Su Zhan, however, paid no heed at all. Using the recoil force, he forcibly twisted his body mid-air to face the dark abyss, his wings snapping shut.
Head down, feet up, he plummeted straight down towards the impenetrable darkness below the cliff.
"After him!"
Han Xiao didn't hesitate for a moment. He took a step forward, golden-red Spiritual Energy condensing into steps under his feet as he chased rapidly down along the cliff wall.
Ling Shuang's flight speed was even faster, closely following Su Zhan's falling figure.
As for the other Aberrant Purge Division members who reached the cliff edge, most looked troubled as they gazed into the bottomless abyss.
Some with climbing or earth/stone manipulation Life Souls began attempting to descend along the rock face, but their speed was simply incomparable to those three.
The fall continued.
The daylight from above rapidly shrank, until only a thin line remained.
Below was endless darkness.
Su Zhan could feel the two killing intents from above firmly locked onto him.
There's only... one gamble left!
Su Zhan's eyes snapped open.
He communicated with some unknowable, unfathomable space.
An intangible ripple centered on him, violently expanding outwards.
The thick darkness below the cliff, as if injected with life, began to churn violently.
Wisps of gray-white mist seeped out from the void, rapidly spreading.
In the blink of an eye, the mist became as dense as ink.
"Damn it! It's the Mist! This kid summoned the Mist!"
Han Xiao roared in shock and anger.
Ling Shuang's voice followed, "Careful! Watch for his ambush!"
A Mist event with a diameter of several thousand meters successfully appeared.
"What's going on?!"
"It's a Mist event!"
"Target Chen Qing has entered it!"
The Aberrant Purge Division members exclaimed in surprise and confusion.
Inside the Mist sphere.
Su Zhan flapped his wings once, landing on relatively flat rock at the bottom of the cliff.
He immediately found a place to hide.
Concealing his own aura, he seemed to completely merge with the darkness.
There was no light source on-site.
Absolute darkness enveloped this isolated space. You couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
"Fuck! Can't see a damn thing!"
A frustrated voice rang out. It was a team member who had followed Han Xiao and the others down.
A ball of orange-red flame ignited in his palm, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
"Put that fire out!"
Han Xiao commanded, "Do you want to make us all live targets?"
The team member was startled and hurriedly extinguished the flame.
Ling Shuang's cool voice then sounded, "The enemy is in the dark, we are in the light. A light source will only expose our position.
Right now, this darkness is fair to both sides.
But we have more people, and he is severely injured. Dragging it out gives us the advantage."
Han Xiao grunted, tacitly agreeing.
He gripped the Blazing Plains Blood Spear tightly, the perception of an Abyss Realm expert spreading outwards.
"Groups of three, back-to-back. Move slowly and search."
Han Xiao issued the order, "Pay attention to the ground and any subtle movements. That kid is badly injured. He can't have gone far, and he can't hide for long!"