Chapter 26: What Grudge Do I, Lilith, Have Against You?
D·Assassination's muzzle flashed with gunfire as two bullets shot toward Zachariah's face, but before they could hit him, the guy had already raised his arms to block.
With two sharp cracks, blood mist sprayed. Two shallow craters appeared on Zachariah's arms. Though they looked bloody and mangled, for Zachariah, this was just superficial damage.
Bang!
A shockwave spread as Sha delivered a side kick to Zachariah's lower back. The force of this kick was fierce; the moment it connected, a surge of power pierced through his body.
Zachariah staggered back several steps, sending crushed stones flying everywhere. Upon closer inspection, one would notice these stones were caused by plant roots sprouting from beneath Zachariah's feet, giving his knockback resistance a qualitative leap.
Clang, clang, clang...
Scarlet blade arcs swept through the air. Lilith, wielding her war scythe, leaped back repeatedly. After several slashes, she only managed to cut a few bloody scratches on Zachariah's surface—barely breaking his defense.
Zachariah flexed his muscles, and the wounds on his back quickly stopped bleeding. A wisp of white smoke rose as the injuries healed at a visible rate.
Through his Apostle's Eye, Su Xiao monitored Zachariah's vital signs. The enemy's health was still at 96.5%. After a round of siege, not only had his injuries not worsened, but some had even recovered.
Compared to Su Xiao and the other two, Zachariah wasn't fast, nor was his strength particularly overwhelming. But don't mistake that for weakness—his speed and strength were only relative.
"Is that all you've got?"
Zachariah flicked the blood off his hands, his gaze sweeping over the three present.
"Getting beaten up and still acting cocky."
Sha snorted, having the most intuitive understanding of Zachariah's durability. Her earlier kick felt like striking a thousand-year-old tree; the penetrating force had almost no lethal effect. The organs inside his body might be even tougher than his skin and muscles.
Pfft, pfft.
Su Xiao fired two shots into the back of Zachariah's head. Zachariah turned to glare at him—among the three, he wanted to kill Su Xiao the most.
"Where are you looking?"
Sha's voice came from beside Zachariah's ear, but he showed no panic, even raising his right arm.
Shlick!
The war scythe slashed into Zachariah's right arm, this time cutting deep, nearly reaching the bone.
"Wait—"
Lilith was about to shout, but it was too late. A stream of blood surged from the wound on Zachariah's arm. This blood had a will of its own; it coalesced into a stream, with a fist-sized mouth at its tip, filled with crisscrossing fangs, looking extremely ferocious.
With a whoosh, the blood latched onto the war scythe. Before Lilith could react, it had already bitten into her shoulder.
"Hmph!"
Lilith let out a pained grunt. It wasn't that her willpower was weak, but having her soul bitten was an excruciating experience. An ordinary person would have screamed in agony.
Just as Lilith was caught by the blood-mouth, Sha wrapped her arms around Zachariah from behind. At that moment, Zachariah, who had 110 points in stamina, went completely numb. It felt like an electric current surged through his body, forcing his muscles into a state of relaxation.
Seeing Sha embrace Zachariah, Su Xiao knew this was an opportunity. He immediately activated D·Assassination's marking function.
Ferocious Mark (Active): Upon activating Ferocious Mark, lock onto the heads of six enemies (if only one enemy, form triple marks simultaneously). The next six bullets will track the marks on the enemy (head) and increase firing speed by 100%.
The mark on Zachariah's head quickly turned red. Seizing this opening, Su Xiao ejected D·Assassination's magazine and loaded a fresh one.
With the Ferocious Mark formed, Su Xiao pulled D·Assassination's trigger at lightning speed.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
D·Assassination only sounded three gunshots, but in reality, it had fired twelve rounds in an extremely short time.
Sha continued to hold Zachariah, not throwing him immediately, because she noticed Su Xiao had raised his gun, aimed, and even changed magazines—clearly preparing for a rapid fire.
All twelve bullets shot toward Zachariah's head. Blood mist sprayed, flesh flew, and when all twelve rounds hit his skull, the skin on his face was nearly completely shredded, revealing a ghastly white skull that was quickly stained red with blood.
Only then did Sha lean back, sending Zachariah's head crashing toward the ground.
Thud!
It was like a missile hitting the earth. Sha's attacks were that straightforward. In her words, the moves that cause the most damage to an enemy in the shortest time are the ones used to kill—no need for flashy nonsense.
The stone floor shattered like a spiderweb, dust billowing high. Within the dust, Sha's right arm locked around Zachariah's throat, her left hand gripping her right wrist, and her legs scissoring around his torso—clearly forming a guillotine choke.
Crack, crack, crack...
Veins bulged on Sha's neck as she leaned back with all her might, seemingly intent on snapping Zachariah's throat clean off.
"Ugh..."
A pained whimper came, not from Zachariah, but from Lilith. Somehow, Zachariah had grabbed her with his bare hand and was now choking her with both hands.
Given Zachariah's toughness, Sha might not be able to choke him to death, but he could definitely tear Lilith apart alive—that was certain. An agility-based Lilith in Zachariah's grasp was like a jungle cat caught by a lion; the outcome was predictable.
Clang.
Su Xiao drew his blade and charged forward, the long sword flipping in his hand. A direct slash was impossible now, as Lilith was blocking Zachariah.
Su Xiao reversed his grip, raising his arm high while calculating the angle.
Shlick!
Dragon-Slaying Flash first pierced through Lilith's shoulder, then through Zachariah's throat, and finally emerged from Sha's chest, embedding into the stone floor.
"One more slash!"
Sha roared from below, surprised that Dragon-Slaying Flash was so sharp it had pierced all three of them in one stroke.
Zachariah was equally stunned. He hadn't expected Su Xiao to be so decisive. If the guy had hesitated for even one or two seconds, he could have broken free from Sha's hold.
Su Xiao didn't thrust again. If he did, Sha and Zachariah wouldn't be badly hurt—Sha was a close-combat expert with a strong physique, and Zachariah was the toughest enemy Su Xiao had ever seen in terms of durability. But Lilith, this demon girl, wouldn't survive.
"Cough, cough..."
Zachariah coughed up blood. It seemed like he had taken down Lilith in one move, but that wasn't true. Among the three, the one who hurt him the most wasn't Su Xiao or Sha, but Lilith. When she was grabbed by the neck, she used direct skin contact to channel all her demonic flames into Zachariah's body. Now, Zachariah's worst negative effect was internal combustion, causing his health to drop from 87% to 63%.
With a tearing sound, Su Xiao pulled out Dragon-Slashing Flash just as the veins on Zachariah's arm bulged—his move was ready again.
Pfft, pfft...
Greenish veins pierced through Lilith's neck. Her eyes went wide, blood pouring from her mouth and nose. Seizing this chance, Su Xiao slashed at Zachariah's arm.
With a swipe, the long blade cut down, opening a wound on Zachariah's left forearm, revealing the stark white bone beneath.
Ding!
Another slash sent bone fragments flying. Zachariah's body was so tough that it took two strikes for Su Xiao to sever his left forearm.