"Is that so?"

A voice, tinged with amusement, suddenly echoed from the cave entrance.

Li Chengtian's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them.

BOOM! He shot to his feet in an instant, the ground beneath him cracking. He moved like a bolt of lightning, thrusting his Silver Dragon Spear toward the figure at the entrance.

CLANG!

The blade met the spear tip, and the crisp sound sent out fine ripples. The resulting burst of Essence Fluctuation shattered the surrounding rocks.

A gale swept through.

Zhou Chen clicked his tongue and raised an eyebrow in displeasure. "Buddy, I just smelled something good and came to beg for a bite. No need to get violent just because you don't want to share, right?"

"Cut the crap!" Li Chengtian's expression was cold. The moment he saw the ID above Zhou Chen's head, his fighting spirit blazed to life. There was no way he would back down.

His spear tip was deflected by the blade. Li Chengtian stepped forward and swept the long spear horizontally, creating a sharp whistling sound in the air that parried Zhou Chen's incoming slash.

Immediately after, he infused his Essence into the weapon and thrust it forward like a clap of thunder!

A silver Thunderbolt cracked. The long spear soared like a silver dragon, its cold glint illuminating the pitch-black Snow Forest.

A sky full of spear afterimages thrust out, blotting out everything. The churning shockwaves turned into a dense rain, enveloping Zhou Chen.

'Ding Yuan said Li Chengtian's Extraordinary Ability is a Strength Type. I can't underestimate him...' Zhou Chen focused, taking a deep breath. Purple Thunder Magnetism and pale Fiery Fire lit up his tachi, Thunder Strike. He swung forward, unleashing a crisscrossing web of Sword Qi in a relentless assault.

Thunder and fire intertwined, exuding a disturbing aura of destruction. With the continuous slashes of his Sword Dance, a tidal wave of Cyan Flame and Thunder Magnetism surged forth, blocking all of the incoming spear afterimages.

The torrential rain fell into the tidal wave, unable to shake the vast ocean in the slightest.

Sea Cover All Rivers!

In a certain room, a live broadcast of the Sword Forging Competition was playing on the television.

On the bed, Christina stared at the screen in astonishment. "Turbulent Sword Dance?"

She looked at Yang beside her. "Did you teach him that?"

Yang shook his head. "The kid got into a fight with that new-generation seed from before, and then he just learned it. Not just Turbulent Sword Dance, but also Rock-Breaking Force, Gale Step, Iaijutsu Slash... His talent is pretty insane. Oh, not pretty. It's completely insane."

"He learned it just from one fight? You really didn't teach him?" Christina's face was full of disbelief. 'That kind of talent is just too terrifying.'

'What is this technique...?'

Li Chengtian's expression shifted slightly. He could tell that Zhou Chen wasn't skilled with a tachi; this seemed to be the only technique he had mastered. Yet with this one technique, he had managed to block his refined Spear Technique completely.

He knew it would be bad if he let Zhou Chen continue building momentum, so he took the initiative to change his move. He retracted his spear, and its thunderous light suddenly flared as he slammed it against the tachi's blade.

BOOM!

The volatile thunder and fire collided with a violent reaction, like high explosives detonating. The two were sent flying by the shockwave. Nearby trees were snapped in half by the blast, and tons of earth were thrown into the sky.

When the blinding light faded, the ground had caved in. Flames burned, and tendrils of lightning sizzled and slithered through the soil, making a scorching sound.

"Pretty impressive. What was that last move called?" Zhou Chen asked, feigning surprise.

In reality, at that moment, he had already used 'Wish' to complete the copy via 'Reciprocity,' learning Li Chengtian's Spear Technique—Shadowless Spear.

Li Chengtian exhaled a turbid breath, raised his Dragon Spear, and pointed it forward, his expression full of fighting spirit. "Again!"

'That's what I was waiting for…' Zhou Chen nodded, a slight smile touching his lips.

"Then let's go again."

In the next instant, they shot forward. Blade and spear clashed as they re-engaged in a fierce battle.

Meanwhile, as Zhou Chen lured Li Chengtian away, their battle moving farther and farther off.

In the pitch-black Snow Forest, the Batmobile's infrared sensors activated under Chengzi's remote control. A faint light glowed like an opening eye, beginning a detailed scan of the distant cave.

"The temperature deep inside the cave is too high, it's interfering with the instruments. I can't determine the exact number of people, but there are only four near the entrance."

Aboard a helicopter hidden by the darkness, Chengzi gave the order: "Move out!"

She remotely controlled the Batmobile, having it violently smash through the trees in its path as it charged straight for the cave.

A section of the roof opened, and missile pods rose from the left and right sides. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Seeing the missile pods, Sun Shiheng and Chen Quan's faces turned green. They yelled, "Enemy attack!" and then, without hesitation, bolted out of the cave, diving to the side for cover.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...

Smoke and dust billowed as rockets, spewing trails of fire, screamed into the cave.

BOOM... BOOM BOOM BOOM...

A flash of fire, and thick smoke and shockwaves rolled back out. The explosions shook the earth, and the cave entrance collapsed.

From the sky came the sound of helicopter rotors as more missiles were launched, bombarding the mountainside relentlessly.

"Fall back!" Sun Shiheng yelled to Chen Quan and two other companions who had luckily escaped, turning to flee without a second thought.

'Use the cover of night! Escape before they notice us!'

"It's over, it's all over!" one of them muttered in despair. "All our efforts, with so many people over so many days, were wasted in this one attack!"

A full-on bombardment, the cave collapsed... there's no way many people could have survived.

The Defender Battle Armor would be buried under rock. In just another hour or two, it would be recovered by Zhou Chen's group and become their Weapon.

In less than three minutes, their confident team had been utterly crushed by a bizarre surprise attack...

"Don't give up. We still have a chance," Sun Shiheng said in a low voice, trying to comfort them, even though his own heart was bleeding.

It was hard to form a team, and even harder to find resources. The extreme heartache and frustration of having something great stolen when it was halfway complete was enough to drive someone mad, to make them want to vomit blood.

But they were still alive, which meant there was still a chance!

The four of them ran and ran, not stopping for ten kilometers. Only after confirming no one was pursuing them did they hide in a vast forest to rest for a moment.

"Zhou Chen! Damn you to hell!!!!"

Chen Quan, a victim for the second time, was in a powerless rage. He furiously pounded on a tree to vent his anger, actually snapping a thick, snow-covered tree in half.

He raged for a while before calming down, his eyes bloodshot. Panting, he asked, "What do we do now?"

"We find teammates or join another squad. We're just making a comeback, that's all."

Sun Shiheng's face was grim. "We still have a chance."

"You're right. You do still have a chance."

Just then, a woman's voice sounded from within the woods.

"Who's there?" The four immediately became alert, grabbing their weapons and standing back-to-back.

Torches lit up in the forest. A Dragon Lady with dragon wings, holding a torch, walked out of the Darkness. She was followed by more than twenty others who gradually appeared and surrounded the four of them.

The Dragon Lady stared intently at Chen Quan. "A moment ago, did I hear you say the name 'Zhou Chen'?"

The four tensed up as if facing a great enemy.

"No need to be nervous."

The Dragon Lady, who had also been lucky enough to escape a raid, said, "Everyone here is a victim."

Chen Quan was stunned for a moment. He looked around; there were about thirty people here.

"All of them?"

"Yes, all of them."

The Dragon Lady spoke with deep-seated hatred, "These past few days, Zhou Chen and his group have been raiding everyone. We are all people who were lucky enough to escape, but all of our teammates and companions were eliminated by them.

So, we've formed the Slaying Alliance, and we're in desperate need of people right now.

Do you want to join?"

"We'll join!" Chen Quan answered without hesitation.

Sun Shiheng and the other three quickly agreed. This was their best chance.

"Good. Let's leave this place first. Our main base is five kilometers away. We'll go there and meet up with the others," the Dragon Lady said.

"Others?"

"Yes, there are another thirty people at the base," the Dragon Lady said grimly. "There's no shortage of people who want Zhou Chen and his group eliminated."

'Another thirty people? Just how many squads have they robbed...?' Chen Quan was shocked.

·

[Remaining Players: 369]