Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Ren Kai Vs. Vermis (part 2)

Ren Kai moved first.

His foot slammed against the broken stone road as his body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Fast.

Far faster than before.

The thin sword in his hand became a silver blur under the torchlight as he aimed directly for Vermis’s throat.

Clang!

A wall of black insects suddenly gathered in front of her neck.

The sword pierced through dozens of beetles instantly, crushing them apart, but the momentum of the strike slowed for just a fraction of a second.

And that fraction was enough.

Vermis leaned sideways.

The blade narrowly passed beside her face.

Ren Kai’s eyes sharpened.

He twisted his wrist instantly.

Shhk!

The sword curved back toward her ribs with frightening precision.

Vermis immediately raised her arm.

The insects swarmed together again, layering themselves across her forearm like black armor.

The blade stabbed through the insect shell and sliced her skin underneath.

Blood splattered.

Vermis stepped backward immediately.

For the first time, surprise appeared in her eyes.

Ren Kai didn’t stop.

He chased forward relentlessly.

Shink!

Another thrust aimed toward her eye.

Shink!

A second toward her heart. Every attack was clean, no wasted movement, and no unnecessary flourishes.

This wasn’t talent anymore.

This was obsession carved into swordsmanship.

Ren Kai had trained himself to fight her specifically.

He studied her movements.

Her habits.

The way her insects reacted before she moved.

Even the timing of her dodges.

His thin sword pierced through the swarm repeatedly as he forced Vermis backward step by step.

Nearby soldiers unconsciously stopped fighting for brief moments just to watch.

Because the battle between them was terrifyingly fast.

Clang! Shhk! Clang!

The sword moved like flowing water.

One stab connected with Vermis’s shoulder.

Another sliced across her thigh.

Black insects burst apart constantly around her body like exploding clouds.

Vermis narrowed her eyes.

Then suddenly disappeared into the swarm.

The ground exploded.

Thousands of insects surged upward like a black wave trying to devour Ren Kai whole.

But Ren Kai immediately reacted.

His body spun sharply.

Shink! Shink! Shink! Shink!

The thin sword flickered endlessly around him.

The insects dropped in pieces before even touching him.

His footwork remained calm despite the chaos.

One step.

Turn.

Cut.

Step again.

Every motion flowed perfectly together.

Several practitioners watching from the wall widened their eyes.

"Ren Kai is overwhelming her?"

"Yes... she’s being pushed back!"

Even Sect Master Fuing looked shocked.

Because everyone there knew exactly how terrifying this monster was.

Yet Ren Kai had somehow reached the point where he could actually pressure her head-on.

Meanwhile, Vermis calmly watched him from behind the swarm.

Meanwhile, Vermis calmly watched him from behind the swarm.

Then slowly smiled.

"...You really did work hard."

The insects around her suddenly began changing.

The beetles layered together tightly around her arms until they formed sharp black claws.

Centipedes twisted around her legs like living armor.

Even her shoulders became covered in moving insect plates.

Then she moved.

BOOM!

The ground beneath her shattered instantly.

Ren Kai’s pupils contracted.

Fast.

Vermis appeared directly in front of him.

Clang!

Her clawed arm slammed against his sword.

The impact nearly knocked the weapon from his grip.

Ren Kai slid backward several meters before stabilizing himself immediately.

Vermis attacked again.

This time there was no distance fighting anymore.

Only close combat.

Her insect-covered claws slashed toward his neck.

Ren Kai leaned backward barely in time.

The sharp insect blades sliced through strands of his hair.

He countered instantly.

Shhk!

The thin sword stabbed toward her abdomen.

Vermis twisted sideways while her insects gathered beneath the blade again.

But this time.

Shhk!

The sword pierced deeper.

Blood spilled from her side.

Vermis immediately retaliated with her knee.

Bang!

The strike slammed directly into Ren Kai’s ribs.

A cracking sound echoed.

Ren Kai coughed blood but still forced himself forward instead of retreating.

His sword suddenly accelerated.

One stab.

Two.

Three.

The fourth thrust pierced straight through Vermis’s shoulder completely.

Several insects scattered wildly from the impact.

Vermis finally frowned.

Then Ren Kai stepped deeper into her range.

His sword became almost impossible to follow now.

The battlefield around them blurred from sheer speed.

Even experienced body tempering practitioners struggled to see the exchanges clearly.

Clang! Shhk! Clang!

Cuts slowly began appearing across Vermis’s body. Her arm, her waist, even her cheek.

Ren Kai was winning the exchange.

But only barely, and he knew it.

Because his breathing was becoming heavier.

His arms were slowing.

Meanwhile Vermis...

Didn’t feel exhaustion.

The insects around her suddenly surged violently again.

This time they wrapped entirely around one arm, compressing together into a massive black blade made of countless living insects.

Then she swung.

BOOOOM!

Ren Kai blocked instantly.

But the force behind the strike blasted him backward across the road.

His feet tore through the dirt before he stabilized himself again.

Blood dripped from his mouth now.

One of his arms trembled slightly.

Still...

He raised the sword again.

Vermis looked at him quietly.

"Congratulations, human. You become a threat to me."

Ren Kai wiped the blood from his mouth.

"...Not enough yet."

Then he rushed forward again.

The final clash began.

Ren Kai abandoned defense completely.

His sword turned into pure aggression.

Every thrust aimed to kill.

His body moved beyond its limit as he forced Vermis backward repeatedly.

One stab pierced through her left arm.

Another sliced open her ribs.

Then suddenly.

Shhk!

Ren Kai’s sword stabbed directly through Vermis’s lower abdomen.

The battlefield froze for a moment.

Even Vermis looked down slightly at the blade buried into her body.

Blood slowly flowed downward.

Ren Kai breathed heavily.

His vision was already blurring.

But he smiled faintly.

"...I got you."

Then—

Crunch.

Ren Kai’s eyes widened. He looked downward slowly.

A black insect blade had pierced straight through his chest.

Vermis stood directly in front of him.

The insects covering her arm slowly twisted deeper into his body.

Blood poured from Ren Kai’s mouth.

His sword slipped slightly from his fingers.

Still...

He didn’t let go immediately.

Even now, he tried to move the blade deeper into Vermis.

Vermis looked at him silently for several seconds.

Then quietly spoke.

"You are a crazy one."

The insect blade twisted once.

Crunch.

Ren Kai’s body trembled violently.

The strength finally left his hands.

His thin sword fell from his fingers and stabbed into the ground beside him.

For a brief moment, memories flashed through his mind.

Training until his hands bled.

Endless sword practice beneath the rain.

Breaking through peak body tempering.

Standing before the walls tonight.

All of it...

Just to reach this fight.

Ren Kai slowly smiled weakly despite the blood pouring from his mouth.

"...At least..."

"...I didn’t run."

Then his body collapsed forward.

Thud.

Silence briefly spread around the battlefield nearby.

Several disciples on the walls stared with widened eyes.

One woman covered her mouth.

"Senior Brother Ren..."

Even Sect Master Fuing slowly closed his eyes for a second.

Meanwhile, Vermis stepped backward slowly while holding her wounded abdomen.

Blood continued dripping from several deep wounds across her body.

The injuries Ren Kai inflicted were serious.

Serious enough that even she needed to withdraw.

The insects around her immediately gathered tighter around the wounds to stop the bleeding.

Then Vermis looked once more at Ren Kai’s corpse lying on the battlefield.

"He got me."

After saying that, she turned and disappeared back into the swarm of undead and insects while the battle for Valen City continued beneath the dark night sky.

----

Sect Master Fuing stared silently at Ren Kai’s fallen body.

For a brief moment, the chaos of the battlefield seemed distant.

The screams.

The collapsing walls.

The sound of metal and bone clashing together.

All of it faded behind the sight of his disciple lying motionless on the blood-covered road.

Ren Kai had entered the sect as a stubborn child who could barely hold a sword properly.

Fuing still remembered it clearly.

The boy training alone long after everyone else had stopped.

The countless times his hands split open from overtraining. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The way he kept getting back up no matter how badly he failed.

And tonight...

He had stood against a monster and forced it to retreat.

Fuing slowly closed his eyes for a second.

"...You did well."

There was no shame in Ren Kai’s death.

Only pride.

But the moment Fuing stepped forward—

Shhk.

A figure suddenly appeared before him.

Silent.

Cold.

Like death itself had walked onto the battlefield.

Long silver-gray hair swayed lightly beneath the night wind while half of the man’s face remained hidden behind a dark iron mask.

One pale-blue eye stared directly at Fuing without emotion.

At his waist rested a black sword.

Not ornate.

Not elegant.

Just a weapon made purely to kill.

The pressure surrounding the armored figure immediately changed the atmosphere nearby.

Even the surrounding fighters instinctively backed away.

Fuing narrowed his eyes.

"...You."

This enemy was different.

Far different from the others.

The moment Duskveil appeared, even the chaos around them seemed quieter somehow.

Like weaker beings unconsciously feared approaching him.

Fuing slowly unclenched and tightened his fists.

The muscles in his arms hardened instantly.

At his level, he had already pushed the human body close to its natural limit. Every bone, muscle, and tendon inside him had been refined through years of brutal training.

His fists alone were enough to shatter stone.

Yet standing before Duskveil...

Even Fuing felt danger.

Real danger.

Fuing’s gaze briefly shifted toward Ren Kai’s corpse lying not far away.

Blood still spread slowly across the ground beneath the young man.

A faint pain crossed Fuing’s eyes.

Then disappeared.

When he looked back toward Duskveil again, his expression had completely hardened.

"Where did you monsters come from?"

Duskveil answered calmly.

"We come from our master. The one who will rule death."