Chapter Fifty-Two: A Turning Point

Page 1

Life Value: 35%!

This volley of bullets had actually shaved off a full 2% of the armored beast's life value!

Chen Qi's pupils contracted, despair swelling within him. He had schemed so meticulously, only to realize he had merely helped the beast patch its skin.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, the purple shadow became clearer. The armored beast had lost its previous vigor, its aura weakened, and a large patch of its scales had become sparse—it even seemed to walk with difficulty.

This pitiful state shocked Chen Qi; could it be that his detection skill was malfunctioning? The beast clearly looked gravely injured.

The special ops soldier’s phantom did not hesitate, the muzzle still flashing with fire.

Apparently unwilling to take any more bullets head-on, the armored beast dove into the water, swimming toward the phantom.

Chen Qi hesitated briefly before advancing with his blade. Now was not the time to consider the discrepancy between his detection skill and reality. If the beast wanted to slaughter the phantom, he would defend it.

His long blade pierced the water, clashing once more with the beast’s sharp claws. Chen Qi felt a subtle shift—the impact no longer felt impossible to withstand; the beast’s strength was only slightly greater than his own.

Battle intent burned in his eyes. Following the sensation in his memory, Chen Qi erupted with his vital energy, channeling it to flick his blade aside.

Sensing the beast’s upper body stiffen from the shock of the blow and the surge of vital energy, Chen Qi smiled coldly and kicked hard with his left foot. Instantly, the armored beast flew out like a shriveled ball.

The special ops phantom dutifully fired again; bullets struck midair, displaying marksmanship far superior to Chen Qi’s.

Another huge splash sent the sound of the armored beast crashing into the water echoing throughout. Noticing this, the team leader, though her delicate features showed a hint of surprise, visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. The centipede beast battling her shrieked incessantly, apparently enraged at the armored beast’s incompetence, its attacks growing disordered.

Seizing the opening in the centipede beast’s movements, the team leader’s hands glowed brighter with emerald light, her finger shadows linking together in a seamless flow, like two willow branches swaying in the wind.

The willow branches brushed lightly, as gentle as a lover’s touch, yet the centipede beast was chilled to the bone, sensing immense danger.

No longer able to afford distraction, it activated the demonic face patterns on its body with full force, unleashing a destructive aura that condensed into a deep black beam.

The black beam and two green shadows clashed and stalemated in midair, like hot oil meeting water, quickly dimming before the eye.

The energy backlash rippled across the water’s surface, sending up a white mist and lowering the water level by several inches.

Page 2

Seeing its hastily gathered attack falter, the centipede beast grew frantic, its multitude of tiny legs trembling rapidly. Suddenly, its body straightened as if making a momentous decision.

The black-red halo encircling it ignited in an instant, crackling violently.

A surge of energy swelled its body further, dark light radiating from within, and the previously dim beam brightened again, as if in a last burst of life.

Boom!

The black beam flashed to its pinnacle, then exploded along with the green light. The lake water was hurled to the cavern ceiling, then crashed down in a shower, forming a giant watery mushroom, its force bringing stones tumbling from above.

On the lakebed, a pit over ten meters wide and several meters deep appeared. The floodwater completely submerged both human and beast, though two fierce auras vaguely remained visible.

Water droplets struck Chen Qi’s face, stinging sharply, sending his heart racing and causing his attack to falter.

With a sudden splash, the armored beast burst from the water, exuding a powerful aura.

This is… Chen Qi’s heart sank; he seemed to recognize this move.

Indeed, four familiar paw-shadows the size of sandbags materialized again, purple-yellow and floating in the air, emanating a crushing aura.

As the armored beast’s eyes darted, the paw-shadows split into two groups: three arranged in a "pin" pattern struck at the special ops phantom, while the fourth swept sideways at Chen Qi, as if to block his rescue.

After unleashing the paw-shadows, the beast ignored the phantom’s fate, rushing toward Chen Qi at speed, intent on taking his life.

Seeing the paw-shadow attacking him, a strange feeling surged again in Chen Qi’s mind. He began to doubt his luck; in his current state, had two paw-shadows attacked together, there was a high chance he’d die on the spot.

His thoughts churned, but his blade did not slow. In his energy vision, Chen Qi could vaguely discern the paw-shadow’s actual energy distribution—though if several attacked at once, he’d never keep up.

A faint red blade shadow flashed, expertly intercepting the paw-shadow. As its energy burst forth, Chen Qi again unleashed his vital energy, deflecting the paw-shadow slightly, sending it slanting into the lake.

As for the summoned special ops phantom, under the "pin" pattern of paw-shadows, it was instantly reduced to a mosaic without the slightest suspense.

No time to adjust, Chen Qi swung his long blade, continuing his strategy of attacking to defend.

He could only hope the armored beast’s condition was poor; the gap between them was immense, like a chasm.

As soon as his blade met the beast’s claws, Chen Qi felt immense force surge along the blade. He lasted less than half a second before being hurled away, splashing into the water.

Page 3

"So strong…"

The shock on his face had barely surfaced before the purple shadow approached again, delivering another swift claw from its leg. With its speed, the fallen Chen Qi could only barely parry with his blade.

Clang!

Blade and claw collided, sending Chen Qi flying once more in an arc, splashing back into the water.

The moment he hit the water, Chen Qi felt the searing heat—at least seventy or eighty degrees—scalding him, making him grit his teeth, blood seeping from his wounds.

Still, he had no time to catch his breath. The purple shadow followed from above, and the armored beast reached Chen Qi in mere seconds.

Less than a meter apart, even in the murky lake, Chen Qi could clearly see the beast’s razor-sharp, cold-gleaming claws and its heavy breathing.

Clearly, Chen Qi’s fate was no longer in his own hands. In a single instant, those claws could shred him to pieces.

Strangely, the armored beast paused for several seconds, not striking, as if weighing its decision. Just as Chen Qi was bewildered, the purple claw moved closer.

No time for last words, the claw halted two inches from Chen Qi’s chest, a yellowish glow flickering.

What is this…?

At that moment, Chen Qi’s mind was blank—life and death no longer mattered, only a primitive curiosity remained.

The yellow glow suddenly expanded, forming a dim ancient rune.

Chen Qi had no time to study it before feeling a weight like a thousand-pound stone pressing on his chest, immense gravity pinning him to the lakebed.

Around him, perhaps because of the rune’s power, the ground trembled rhythmically. The vibrations sent rocks rising, the scene turning chaotic as if a brawl was underway.

The armored beast glanced deeply at Chen Qi, then cast a fleeting look toward the team leader, before suddenly diving to the lakebed and vanishing.

It had, astonishingly, spared Chen Qi!