Chapter 28: Black Demon and Revenge (Fourth Update)
The chubby youth fell to the ground, the black blood at his neck slowly staining the grass beneath him.
The contractor who shot and killed the chubby youth pulled the bolt of his gun, a hot shell casing ejecting with blue smoke rising from it—residue of demonic energy evaporating.
"Enemy eliminated."
The sniper named Hu Chai stood up from behind cover, looking toward Hai Yizuo, who was walking toward him.
"Hu Chai, run far away, as far as you can."
Hai Yizuo had heard rumors about the chubby youth, but they only mentioned that you couldn't kill him. What would happen after killing him, he didn't know. Those who had seen the Black Demon were mostly dead, and the few survivors couldn't clearly explain the chubby youth's ability—or rather, they were unwilling to mention it.
"Hu Chai, don't just stand there."
Hai Yizuo shouted while already beginning to retreat.
"I want to retreat too, but... my body won't obey."
Hu Chai raised his hand with great effort, a black semi-fluid like rotten mud appearing on it, only the size of a coin.
Hai Yizuo, who was backing away, stopped. He could sense that retreating further might mean death; a sense of danger was coming from all directions.
"You can't move? A control effect?"
A healer raised her hand, about to use her ability, when her hand froze, and the black semi-fluid appeared on her as well.
"It's... eating me!"
The healer's voice trembled as she spoke, since having her body gradually devoured was a terrifying thing.
Mo Lei stood still, having roughly guessed the enemy's ability. You couldn't move; if you did, the black semi-fluid would appear on you.
Hu Chai and the healer both remained motionless, as did the nearly hundred nearby contractors. This kind of enemy, whose true body was invisible, was the most troublesome.
"Don't anyone move, that thing will..."
Before the one-armed man could finish speaking, black semi-fluid appeared on his face. Not only could he not move, but he couldn't make a sound either.
Black Demon preliminary intel: Triggered upon host death. Victims and enemies within ??? meters cannot move or make sounds.
Over a hundred contractors were trapped here. Just as everyone thought staying still and silent would work, black semi-fluid surged from the mouth and nose of one contractor.
Witnessing this, Mo Lei almost burst into tears. Besides not being able to move or make sounds, you also couldn't breathe—who could endure that?
The contractors were all experienced fighters and immediately realized the issue with breathing. They all held their breath.
Three seconds later, black semi-fluid appeared on another contractor's shoulder. The Black Demon had moved to thermal sensing. The next stage would be biological sensing, then water composition sensing, and finally aura sensing.
Hu Chai, the first to be eroded, had already vanished, turning into a pool of black fluid that surged toward the distant chubby youth.
The black fluid merged into the chubby youth's severed neck. His head regenerated, and after standing up, he wore a half-smile as he stepped forward.
Moments later, the chubby youth arrived among the contractors and sat on a wooden stake beside Mo Lei. Mo Lei, too afraid to move, felt her heart screaming in frustration.
Beep, beep, beep.
An electronic sound came from the chubby youth's body, growing more urgent. Hearing this, a dozen nearby contractors ignored everything else and scattered in all directions.
A massive amount of black fluid surged out, instantly devouring the dozen enemy contractors, turning them into black fluid that flowed toward the chubby youth.
The chubby youth reached into his chest, making Nu Quan, Hai Yizuo, and Mo Lei's hearts clench. This thing couldn't be hit, couldn't be killed, and couldn't be escaped—it was an utterly unsolvable existence.
The chubby youth pulled his hand out, taking out a child's watch and turning off the alarm function. That beeping sound wasn't a bomb.
"You... are you afraid of me?"
The chubby youth's voice was flat as he looked at Mo Lei.
"Mmm mmm mmm."
Though confused, Mo Lei nodded repeatedly.
"You can... leave."
Hearing this, Mo Lei tried to raise her hand, but black semi-fluid appeared on her sleeve.
"Heh... heh... heh, I was lying to you."
The chubby youth's voice remained flat. He stuck both hands into his mouth and tore his entire face apart, black semi-fluid surging outward in all directions.
...
Inside the ancient capital, the allied contractors passed through the perception barrier and successfully reached the Sun Temple. The enemy had been delayed. Under Xiao Xiong's warning, the allied group didn't join forces with the Black Demon. Once the Black Demon fully detached from its host, it didn't distinguish friend from foe—anything alive was its prey.
Soon, the main allied force entered the Sun Temple and surveyed its layout.
The first floor was the defense zone, the second the duel zone, the third the slaughter zone, the fourth the phantom archer zone, the fifth a stone wall mixed combat zone, the sixth an emergency retreat zone, and the seventh was unknown, blocked by a light barrier.
"The World Core is placed on the seventh floor? Who set it up?"
"Not sure."
"Never mind who. The duel zone only has 50 slots. How do we divide them?"
"Let's draw lots."
Under Sheng Tian's arrangement, 50 of the 156 allied contractors were placed in the duel zone on the second floor. These members were skilled in one-on-one combat with contractors but had little contribution to group battles.
The third floor's sunbeam zone was handled by a woman calling herself Straw Man. She had a way to lure enemies in.
The fourth floor's phantom archer zone was left to fate. The sunbeams fired by these things occasionally ricocheted, easily causing friendly fire, and this floor's mechanisms couldn't be controlled.
The fifth floor was designated as the final battle zone, using the various walls as cover to fight the enemy to the death. As for the sixth floor, there was a surprise waiting.
In short, the allied contractors who entered the Sun Temple now were the entire defensive force, plus those scattered elsewhere who had their own plans.
Fifty-plus hours passed in an instant. When the first rays of dawn rose, the light barrier around the ancient capital dissipated. Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise, Death Paradise, and Sanctuary Paradise could now enter the ancient capital.
Sanctuary Paradise's contractors didn't show up. Only five of them had died, and their self-inflicted team wipeout stunned everyone.
One by one, contractors entered the ancient capital. Distant rumbling continued, and occasionally black fluid could be seen surging skyward.
Apocalypse and Death Paradise had a total of 592 people reaching the edge of the ancient capital, now reduced to 543. The rest had been devoured by the Black Demon, and as the price for consuming them, the Black Demon would go on a rampage for a few days.
Mo Lei, her face slightly pale, stopped in front of the Sun Temple's main gate. Nu Quan, walking up behind her, shoved her aside. Nu Quan was furious now.
Bang! The temple's metal door was kicked by Nu Quan until it twisted and flew inward. Seeing this, Nu Quan's eyes lit up. If the temple could be destroyed, the situation would change.
Nu Quan clenched his right fist, muscles bulging on his arm, and punched the wall beside the door.
Thud~
Nu Quan held his punching pose for a moment, then sighed.
"The walls can't be destroyed."
Nu Quan stepped forward, and once out of everyone's sight, the flesh on his face twisted. That punch had used 150% of his strength, and his hand bones were nearly fractured into biscuit crumbs.
The scene on the temple's first floor appeared before Nu Quan's eyes. Stone pillars stood everywhere, and only one enemy contractor was inside.
"Everyone, welcome to the Sun Temple. I am your guide for this visit, Baron Revenge."
A man in formal attire, his hair meticulously groomed, bowed to the assembled contractors.
"..."
"?"
"What's this again? These lunatics."
Several Apocalypse contractors who had just escaped the Black Demon felt a deep instinctive aversion to this man calling himself Baron Revenge.
"Are you all dissatisfied with me? If so, I'll atone with my death."
A short blade slid from Baron Revenge's sleeve, and the sharp edge cut across his throat, slitting it open completely. Blood sprayed several meters.
With a thud, Baron Revenge fell to the ground. Unlike Straw Man on the third floor, he had no talents—he couldn't dance like her—so he performed an on-the-spot death for the enemies.
Mo Lei couldn't help but groan from outside the door. What she had just witnessed reminded her of the Black Demon she had encountered earlier.
"Are you kidding me? Not again!"