# 1313
Chapter 1314: Leng Xuan's Desperate Battle
Seeing Loki actively pounce toward him, Leng Xuan's brow furrowed.
He was well aware that Loki had completely seen through the situation he faced.
For Leng Xuan, the only things that could restrain Loki were that sniper rifle and the remaining five bullets.
Loki abandoning trickery and directly charging at him with his half-destroyed body was precisely to force Leng Xuan to increase his firing rate.
If Leng Xuan wanted to stop Loki from approaching, he would have to fire early. But doing so would drastically reduce the time these bullets could buy him. Should he fire to stop Loki's approach, or should he exercise restraint, risk close-quarters combat, and maximize the utility of each bullet?
This single maneuver had transformed Leng Xuan from the party holding the initiative into a passive position.
The fingertip resting on Leng Xuan's trigger hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not pull. He lay still atop the watchtower, watching intently as Loki's approaching figure drew closer.
Rather than rapidly firing all his bullets and falling into a dead end, Leng Xuan chose to take the risk.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, peering through the scope as the distance between Loki and himself rapidly shrank.
Thirty kilometers, twenty kilometers, ten kilometers, five kilometers, three kilometers...
As time passed, Loki's form gradually reconstructed itself. The moment Loki was less than two kilometers away, a cold gleam flashed across Leng Xuan's eyes, and he fiercely pulled the trigger!
The thunderous crack of the gunshot exploded beside Leng Xuan's ears, two streams of blood slowly trickling from within. A bullet whistled through space, shattering the airborne Loki into fragments that scattered in all directions.
After firing that shot, Leng Xuan didn't hesitate in the slightest. He immediately grabbed the sniper rifle, turned, and leaped down from the towering building ruins. After rolling half a circle in the thick yellow sand, he quickly rose and darted through the stone city debris!
This shot shattered Loki's body once more, forcing him to begin repairing from scratch. Seizing this opportunity, Leng Xuan rapidly distanced himself, searching for the next suitable sniping position.
But Leng Xuan was ultimately just a human without Forbidden Ruins. No matter how strong his physical constitution, he couldn't sprint far while carrying the heavy sniper. After barely pulling another kilometer ahead of Loki, Loki's head had essentially recovered. His form flickered, and like a vengeful spirit, he shot toward Leng Xuan!
Leng Xuan gasped heavily, weaving through the debris with its complex terrain. He glanced back, his left hand sweeping across the [Mobile Armory] at his waist, and three specialized grenades materialized, appearing in his grasp.
He bit down on the pull rings and fiercely hurled the three grenades nearby. Cyan-grey smoke erupted, instantly engulfing half the ancient city ruins.
These grenades were also crafted by the God of Forging. Though entirely non-lethal, they could interfere with the perception of gods and spiritual energy for a short period. In the years they'd spent in the mist, Leng Xuan and Si Xiaonan had relied on these grenades countless times to escape death by a hair's breadth.
To kill Loki, Leng Xuan had prepared just as thoroughly as Si Xiaonan...
To slay the God of Mischief, one had to be completely prepared. The moment any link in the plan failed, it would mean utter destruction.
The cyan-grey smoke swallowed Leng Xuan's figure. Loki, having temporarily lost his target, tightly furrowed his brow.
"It seems that old codger made quite a few treasures for you... I'm curious, what price did you pay to get him to help you so eagerly?" His voice echoed within the cyan-grey mist.
Leng Xuan didn't respond. What answered him was another thunderous gunshot!
A bullet from who-knows-where shattered Loki's form once more, scattering it into a mist of blood.
"Found you..."
Having reconstructed half his head, Loki quickly locked onto Leng Xuan's approximate position in the fog based on the earlier gunshot. He transformed into a streak of light and shot forward!
This time, there was no escape for Leng Xuan.
The cyan-grey mist was shattered by the Loki who only had a head remaining. His gaze swiftly fixed on Leng Xuan hiding behind the broken wall. Opening his mouth, countless black serpents transformed into massive hands, surging from his throat and crashing down with devastating force!
At this point, Leng Xuan had already delayed Loki as long as possible. Beyond pulling the trigger, there was no other choice.
He didn't have time to set the heavy sniper on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he embraced the rifle with both hands and raised it, holding it like a heavy cannon, aiming at the black serpent hands above, and pulled the trigger!
BANG—!!
The fifth暗金色 bullet streaked forth. The distorted space instantly ripped all the black serpents to shreds. This beam of light precisely pierced Loki's throat, shattering the latter—now with only a head remaining—into countless fragments scattered across the sky.
Simultaneously, the recoil from the sniper that had lost its ground support instantly shattered Leng Xuan's left shoulder into a mist of blood. His body was sent flying, crashing heavily against a protruding boulder!
Leng Xuan violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale as paper.
The excruciating pain contorted his features wildly, and even his consciousness grew hazy. He forcefully bit through his tongue, barely keeping his mind clear, and unsteadily stood up, stumbling toward the heavy sniper that had fallen nearby.
At this moment, Loki's head was rapidly repairing itself through the weaving of black threads. He too shot forward, racing toward the heavy sniper in front of Leng Xuan!
In the cyan-grey mist, a one-armed man and a floating head simultaneously raced toward the heavy sniper at the center!
Leng Xuan bit down forcefully. The awakening pill he had concealed in his mouth shattered, and a cool sensation instantly flooded his mind.
This awakening pill was something he'd begged from the God of Forging. It could temporarily make a person forget pain, allowing them to unleash astounding strength and speed.
The unprecedented clarity allowed him to temporarily forget the pain in his body. With a fierce roll, he reached the sniper stock first and grabbed hold!
He let out a low roar, raised the heavy sniper once more, and pressed the black barrel against the forehead of the Loki who had arrived a step too late.
Loki's eyes slightly narrowed!
"Go f*** yourself!!" Leng Xuan uncharacteristically swore, and fiercely pulled the trigger!
The sixth bullet left the chamber. The instant it did, Loki's head—mere inches away—exploded into dense blood mist, splattering across Leng Xuan's black clothing. He looked as if he'd turned into a blood-soaked figure.
The recoil instantly crushed his bones. He let out a闷哼 and was sent flying again.
He crashed heavily onto the yellow sand, his severed arm continuously seeping blood that dyed the sand beneath him crimson. He coughed painfully, wanting to rise from the ground but finding no way to gain purchase.
The arm on his side had been transplanted from the remains of the Midgard Serpent Jörmungandr. Even after withstanding one blast of recoil, it hadn't shattered. But even so, it had been numbed to the point of complete loss of sensation. There was no way he could lift the heavy sniper ever again.
And now, only one bullet remained in the chamber. He had completely lost his ability to fight.
But Loki had not.
In the emptiness before him, strands of law reconstructed Loki's body. His head floated in the air, looking down at Leng Xuan lying in a pool of blood below. The corner of his mouth lifted into an icy smile:
"Now, where can you run to?"