Chapter 45: Heretic Execution Squad
Upon seeing the intelligence sent by Big-Eyed Bro, Heavenly Judge remained calm in expression, though what he truly thought was anyone's guess. However, he took out several Immortal-rank items from his storage space and completely lifted his ability limits, with the core engine within his heart already prepared for overload.
The sun hid behind the dark clouds, casting them in a golden-red glow. Battle was imminent.
The first to strike was not the space-type Baha, but the old knight who had remained silent from start to finish.
The old knight raised his blade-hammer and slammed it down onto the ground.
Thump!
The ground within a two-kilometer radius trembled. At the point of impact, a rock ridge surged forward, sending dirt flying in all directions.
After the rock ridge advanced several meters, it began to spread out in a fan shape. In an extremely short time, rock spikes covered the ground beneath Heavenly Judge and his companions.
Heavenly Judge and the others leaped up one after another. The rock spikes crashed heavily against the barrier. Inside the barrier, the green dog shuddered—just a greeting was this fierce; things would get tough later.
With a crackling sound, all the rock spikes on the ground shattered. Though the old knight was usually silent in daily life, during battle, the old man went berserk.
Thump, thump, thump!
The blade-hammer smashed wildly into the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Within a one-kilometer radius, if Heavenly Judge and his group dared to step on the ground, they would trigger multiple checks, suffering debuffs like paralysis, dizziness, and tremors.
Four pairs of light wings spread open in the sky above—it was Li Yu, now resembling an eight-winged archangel. Feather-shaped energy spikes materialized around her.
These golden light spikes first scattered, then shot toward the old knight like small homing missiles. They had no fixed flight trajectory; some arced through the air, while others even merged into space, only appearing the moment they struck their target. They were extremely difficult to deal with.
The old knight stopped attacking. He merely glanced at the incoming assault before ignoring it. His target was the multi-layered barrier in the distance.
Clang, clang, clang!
The scythe blade spun, shattering the incoming golden light spikes with crisp sounds, reducing them to a shower of light particles.
Hovering midair, Li Yu clenched her hand forward. Almost simultaneously, the golden light particles near the old knight flared brightly and exploded with a roar.
Blinding golden light enveloped the surroundings. Within that radiance, a wisp of black flame appeared, devouring the golden glow entirely.
Zing~
The scythe blade slowly cut through the air. Divine Maiden Shataye stood within the black flames, raising her head slightly to look at Li Yu in the sky.
"With darkness, I strip you of flight."
Divine Maiden Shataye's voice was hollow. Her pupils had turned completely black, with what seemed like black flames burning within them. The current second combat power of the Boss Team was no joke.
Before Li Yu could figure out what was happening, a stinging pain came from her back. Her four pairs of golden light wings were burning, consumed by a black flame. She plummeted downward like a kite with its string cut.
"Roar!"
A howl rang out—it was Pepexi from Holy Light Paradise. Through her sacrificial ability, she had transformed into a monster. Now her entire body was cyan, covered in dark red cracks. She looked ferocious, with green fangs and a hideous face, like a vengeful spirit.
In front of Pepexi stood Insect Lord Hash, holding a bone awl resting on its shoulder. Hash tilted its head, finding the enemy ugly. If Baha were here, he would definitely tell Hash: "Look in a mirror first and see what you look like."
With a boom, Insect Lord Hash blurred into a afterimage. The bone awl in its hand hooked upward, causing the ground to burst apart. Everything froze.
Pfft.
The bone awl pierced through Pepexi's head. Pepexi's right arm extended, her hand transforming into a large mouth full of sharp teeth, biting down on Insect Lord Hash's shoulder.
Insect blood splattered. Hash seemed stunned for a moment, then the exoskeleton around its mouth cracked open, and it smiled. The opponent was decent enough.
Over where Divine Maiden Shataye and Li Yu fought, black flames surged and golden light dazzled. It seemed Li Yu could hold off Divine Maiden Shataye for a while—she was, after all, a combat healer.
Pepexi and Divine Maiden Shataye were engaged in a monster brawl. Pepexi was extremely ferocious after completing her sacrifice, but Hash was even more ruthless. Before long, a massive crater had been blasted into this area.
Compared to these two, the plant-summoning Nidia was in a miserable state. She had summoned numerous plant minions: the Rafflesia freely spread poisonous powder, and the Thorn Maiden half-sank into the ground, covering several hundred meters around with toxic thorns.
At first glance, Nidia seemed fierce, but that wasn't the case. The old knight, Moon Spirit, Amu, and Baha were all besieging her.
Crack, crack, crack~
A wall of ice rose up. Just as Amu formed the ice wall, the old knight's blade-hammer swung down.
With a thunderous roar, large chunks of ice flew out, each piece covered in rock spikes.
Moon Spirit, wielding a blade-spear, darted among the plant minions. Any plant minion she brushed past either had its body shattered or a hole pierced through its head.
Deep within the swarm of plant minions, Nidia hid herself. It wasn't that she didn't want to take the initiative, but she couldn't. The combination of the old knight and Amu left her unable to think of how to kill them—one was ice, the other was earth veins, both extremely hard to take down.
Nidia scanned her surroundings. That nimble figure that occasionally flashed by had a crisp, pleasant voice, but the blade-spear in her hand could pierce through Nidia's head or heart in an instant.
What made Nidia even more uncomfortable was that a demon hawk was half-merged into space, circling nearby. Without a doubt, this was an assassination-type. If it got close, there would be no good outcome.
As Nidia was thinking, a stinging pain came from the back of her neck. Sharp eagle claws pierced through flesh, about to grab her spine.
Bang.
Plant branches and leaves scattered everywhere. An "explosion fruit" detonated, blasting Baha, who was behind Nidia's neck, away.
Baha flew through the air, already entering an alternate space. A strange scene appeared: more semi-transparent demon hawks appeared around, similar in form to Baha, seemingly made of dark blue smoke.
These were illusions projected through spatial refraction. Among the dozen or so demon hawks circling nearby was Baha's true body. Trying to lock onto it through aura detection was impossible. It was half-merged into the alternate space, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
Nidia repelled Baha, but before she could catch her breath, a shadow loomed over her from the front. She looked up, and the sight before her nearly chilled her blood.
A giant hammer made of rock and coated in ice came smashing down. This hammer was so massive that Nidia couldn't see the sky; it blocked everything.
Boom!!
The ground split open. Nidia's first batch of plant minions was completely wiped out. She herself was half-sunken into a massive crater. One plant minion after another appeared around her, and a vine burrowed into her body, parasitizing her to maintain her vital signs.
Nidia was almost hammered into questioning her existence. Was she in a bad state? Not really—there was someone worse off than her: Tyrant. His opponent was… the Heretic Execution Squad.
The tattered hem of a cloak fluttered. Great swords spun through the air, some dragging sparks across the stone slabs on the ground.
Whirlwind Slash, Jump Slash, Rising Slash, Spinning Slash, Flip and Overhead Chop, 360° Flip and Spinning Slash—the Heretic Execution Squad's various sword techniques came in rapid succession, dazzling the eyes. If it weren't for the fact that each member wielded a great sword and had a fearsome reputation, one might mistake them for a street dance crew.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Blood splattered everywhere. Great swords slashed across Tyrant's steel-like body, leaving bloody gashes. These great swords weren't particularly sharp, but Tyrant wished they were sharper. Each time he was struck, his body grew more numb.
At first, Tyrant didn't pay much attention to this. He activated his domain fully, successfully suppressing the Heretic Execution Squad.
Those dozen or so seconds were arguably Tyrant's most glorious moment. He even grabbed an execution squad member with his bare hands, slammed him to the ground, and pummeled him. It was exhilarating.
After taking a few sword strikes, Tyrant noticed a problem: the numbness in his body grew stronger. Eventually, even throwing a punch became difficult, until he couldn't move a single finger.
A great sword swept upward, slashing across Tyrant's back. Tyrant, who was about to land, was lifted slightly higher. From the start, he had been hovering at low altitude. Logically, he should have been dead by now. Even a tank-type couldn't withstand the Heretic Execution Squad's relentless slashes. It was the three healers inside the barrier, using their healing abilities at full power, that kept Tyrant from dying.
"Help~"
Tyrant was in despair. He had used all his trump cards. Just now, through an Immortal-rank piece of equipment, he forcibly dispelled the numbness in his body. But 0.5 seconds later, over a dozen great swords struck him in succession, and he was completely numb again.