Apocalypse Circular-Chapter 473 - 472: Ultimate Form

"Since you think it’s feasible, let’s go. I can hardly wait."

The impatience Nightmare Demon mentioned was an eagerness to get outside the wall and give Lu Luo a good thrashing.

She had just felt her own confidence waver, which was unacceptable for a Monarch-level power.

How could she compensate for this shaken confidence?

Of course, by fiercely pummeling the cause of her doubt so that her self-assurance would return.

However, would things really go so smoothly?

"Since Lady Nightmare Demon is so keen, and in such a hurry, let’s go then. But do you want to bring along some of your subordinates?"

At this moment, Lu Luo glanced at Yang Liya and Qin Wanyu nearby.

Then he pointed towards the door, sensing that Tong Meng was right there.

To him, these characters no longer posed a threat, but after all, they were Sixth Tier strong.

Like Nightmare Demon, they practiced dual cultivation, and their strength was not to be underestimated amongst their peers.

If these people were to attack him together, it would cause him some trouble.

Nightmare Demon looked at Yang Liya and Qin Wanyu, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, saying, "No need. It will be over soon. They can just wait here."

"Fine!"

Lu Luo’s lips curled slightly upward. It was one thing if there were onlookers to the battle. But without anyone present, it was an entirely different matter.

He no longer needed to fear Nightmare Demon with his current strength, and he had an unexplainable and indescribable sense of assurance.

But all this was based on the premise of there being no one around.

Nightmare Demon was thin-skinned.

She cared about her reputation, so Lu Luo felt he should afford her that dignity.

With spectators watching the fight, they wouldn’t be able to fight freely.

"Shall we go then?"

Nightmare Demon flew out over the wall first, while Lu Luo followed leisurely behind her.

Due to their difference in tiers, it was clear that Lu Luo’s flying speed was slower than Nightmare Demon’s.

Moreover, Nightmare Demon hadn’t activated her Exotic Species form yet, and her speed hadn’t reached its limit.

"Hmph, you talked big before, but it doesn’t seem to amount to much now!"

"When did I boast? Lady Nightmare Demon, you speak so oddly I can hardly understand. If Lady Nightmare Demon is complaining about my slow speed, then I could speed up."

A vortex appeared around Lu Luo’s legs, and the pressure from the steam suddenly increased.

The jets acted like two naturally formed engines in the air, propelling Lu Luo forward.

Even though he wasn’t technically inclined, he had a certain understanding of how engines worked.

At this moment, Lu Luo resembled a prototype of a jet fighter.

Except this jet propulsion was manually created by him.

How did his speed suddenly increase so much?

Nightmare Demon, feeling the pressure, frowned immediately.

Unwilling to be outdone, she increased her speed a bit.

Netherflame already burned around her body without her realizing it.

A silent flying race was happening just outside the Fourth Ring.

"Boss, there are people flying in the sky."

"Nonsense! How could there possibly be people who can fly in this world?"

"But Boss, don’t the books say that Seventh Tier experts can fly?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Do you think Seventh Tier experts are a dime a dozen? That you can see them everywhere?"

"But Boss, there really are people flying!"

After his subordinates’ repeated insistence, their leader finally lifted his head. He shivered instantly when he looked up at the sky.

"Holy shit, there really is a Seventh Tier expert! These are like figures from myths and legends—gods or demons."

In the Fourth Ring, Hunter Groups and some literary organizations exaggerated the power of Nightmare Demon just to boast of her strength.

They hyped up Seventh Tier experts to the status of mythical beings.

As an Eighth Order powerhouse, Nightmare Demon was countless times more powerful than those of the Seventh Tier.

For the sake of political correctness, such exaggerations weren’t actually an issue, but it could be somewhat embarrassing for those who heard them.

"Quick, heads down! Pretend you didn’t see anything."

Lu Luo and Nightmare Demon were flying in the sky, passing over more than just a handful of ordinary people.

Due to the complete control over the Fourth Ring, the development of the Fifth Ring was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Years went by, and groups of ordinary people could even be seen near the Mother and Child Marshes.

This rate of advancement surprised Lu Luo.

The fact that ordinary people appeared near the Mother and Child Marshes indicated that the safety levels there had reached a point acceptable for them.

Such a rate of advancement was truly astonishing.

In not too many years, human advancement should reach the Fifth High Wall.

Eventually, a clash was inevitable between the Wasteland Alliance and the Imperial powers.

Of course, before that, the Wasteland Alliance would still have to overcome Meiqi.

"Lu Luo, what do you think of the current state of the Wasteland Alliance?"

Faced with Nightmare Demon’s abrupt question, Lu Luo was momentarily taken aback.

"It’s pretty good. It’s developing fast. If it continues at this rate, it won’t be long before we reach the Fifth High Wall."

"What about Meiqi then? If we can’t get past that hurdle, reaching the Fifth High Wall would be meaningless."

Lu Luo agreed with Nightmare Demon’s words, but he wasn’t as pessimistic.

It was apparent that Meiqi had once placed great psychological strain on Nightmare Demon, even casting a shadow over her psyche. Although Meiqi had passed on the Netherflame ability to Nightmare Demon, the latter seemed to fundamentally disapprove of that monster.

"Things will get better."

"Things will get better? Why? Because of you?"

Lu Luo hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yes, I think you can trust me."

Seeing his serious expression, Nightmare Demon’s lips twitched, but she said nothing.

The two flew on awkwardly for a distance before Nightmare Demon suddenly spoke up, "What’s the point of talking about such distant matters? Let’s spar first, then we’ll see."

Although Lu Luo couldn’t see Lu Xiaotian’s expression from behind, he had a feeling that she must be smiling at that moment.

She seems very happy, but why?

"Probably because she has found someone on the same path. In one’s life, finding even just one fellow traveler can be a very joyous event."

One after the other, they arrived deep within the Eastern Fourth Ring.

Standing on the mountain’s summit, the mere standoff between the two exerted immense pressure on the environment.

Some Exotic Species had already fled the area, sensing something was coming.

Yet others seemed to sense an impending war and, like opportunists, were quietly approaching this place.

"Lu Luo, let me see how far your strength has progressed these past few years."

"Alright! I’d also like to see if the training I’ve undergone these past years has brought me any closer to the esteemed Lady Nightmare Demon I once looked up to."

Lu Xiaotian’s mouth started to tear backward as her hands transformed into hooves, and she stomped fiercely on the ground beneath her.

Netherflame spread out like shockwaves, draining the life force from all living creatures in its path.

Right from the start, she was serious and not holding back.

"Her final form, huh... It seems Lady Nightmare Demon isn’t holding back at all."

Lu Luo’s body also started to swell as he exhibited a state that Nightmare Demon found hard to forget.

Dust Devil.

The Dust Devil seemed to vaporize, resembling a gathering of dark clouds or water vapor constantly drawing together and condensing.

The expanding Lu Luo stood opposite the towering Nightmare Warhorse, with Netherflame and Qi He constantly grinding against each other in the space between them.

The confrontation between them was on the verge of eruption.

"Unexpectedly, you’ve already mastered the Dust Devil. Remarkable."

"It was also somewhat serendipitous. Ludie truly is a genius, and my life mentor."

"But he never taught me!"

Nightmare Demon suddenly moved. Her Netherflame hooves stepped on the void, and with a few swift maneuvers, she was right in front of Lu Luo.

Her speed was so fast that it was incomparable to her human form.

"Damn! So fast!" Even Lu Luo couldn’t help but be shocked for a moment.

Setting aside other factors, the sheer impact Nightmare Demon demonstrated at that moment was far superior to that of Noah in her human form.

However, Lu Luo wasn’t slow either. Steam-formed massive arms swung a punch right into Nightmare Demon’s face.

BOOM!

Netherflame mixed with steam exploded, and shockwaves began to engulf and destroy the surrounding buildings.

This was the first time Lu Luo had used this form in the real world. A battle of this scale simply couldn’t take place within the city.

"Indeed, the stronger you are, the less human you seem to become."

This was Lu Luo’s own sentiment, and a fact as well.

As his strength improved, the scale of his battles completely exceeded the realm of normal humans.

"You can still be distracted at a time like this? Truly ignorant!"

Lu Luo was about to say he wasn’t distracted, but the world around him seemed to be dragged into a peculiar place.

Red and White Castle!

I got caught, didn’t I?

Indeed, I did. Completely without warning.

Lu Luo nodded. It looked like Nightmare Demon truly wished to defeat him.

This was probably her way of verifying her own strength.

Just as he was considering how to escape, a hoof emerged from the wall.

Netherflame, carrying a spiral of Qi He, struck Lu Luo squarely in the chest.

BANG!

The Dust Devil’s vast body was almost scattered by this strike.

Lu Luo, like a cannonball, was kicked away by Nightmare Demon.

So heavy!

Even with the damage reduction from being an Unbeliever, combined with his own Constitution and the Dust Devil’s defense, Nightmare Demon’s kick still severely breached Lu Luo’s defenses.

He had just stood up when the environment around him began to close in on him incessantly.

The Red and White Castle was Nightmare Demon’s home turf, under her control.

It was her unique Domain.

Even if the real Red and White Castle was already shattered, as long as the Red and White Castle in Nightmare Demon’s heart continued to exist, this place would last forever, obeying her commands.

What an absurd Domain! Who would have thought Lady Nightmare Demon’s strength had progressed to this extent?

Lu Luo’s body suddenly twisted, and eight tentacles extended from beneath his feet.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The tentacles pierced through the walls of the Red and White Castle, fighting against this warped, dream-like world.

Lu Luo leaped fiercely, flying toward the sky.

He had a feeling that Nightmare Demon was up there, in the sky.

"Come out!"

"You felt it, did you? Not bad, quite sharp."

Nightmare Demon’s voice came from the dark clouds. As Lu Luo approached, she kicked out fiercely.

This time, although it was still a hoof, it possessed the aesthetic grace of a human female’s leg.

Or rather, her form had, in a certain sense, already transformed into that of a human.

A half-beast?

"It’s a combination of Exotic Species and human!"

BOOM!

Lu Luo blocked with both hands. Enduring the blow, he grabbed Nightmare Demon’s ankle and yanked her out from the dark clouds.

By this time, Nightmare Demon had completely changed from before.

Netherflame-wreathed hooves were beneath her, while her upper body was a hybrid of human and beast.

Her hands had human fingers suitable for human-form combat, and on her head were the Nightmare Horns, concentrating all her energy.

"Interesting!"

Lu Luo praised briefly, but Nightmare Demon paid no heed.

"You think it’s over just like that?"

Nightmare Demon charged forward, transforming back into the Nightmare Warhorse form as she ran.

Her swift speed nearly overwhelmed Lu Luo. In almost an instant, she was in front of him.

And when she was in front of Lu Luo, she once again changed into the half-beast form, her foot slamming into Lu Luo’s thigh.

BANG!

Just how powerful was the leg of a warhorse? To what extent could an Eighth Order Monarch’s physical strength reach?

With that hit, Nightmare Demon gave Lu Luo the answer.

CRACK!

A Constitution over 700, the Dust Devil’s protective aura, and the Unbeliever’s damage reduction—none of it could lessen the damage this strike inflicted.

Lu Luo’s leg bone was shattered by the kick.

Then, Nightmare Demon’s punch landed solidly on Lu Luo’s chin.

The shock almost caused Lu Luo’s teeth to loosen. The strength was truly astonishing!

The speed of these form changes is so seamless! Exotic Species and human techniques... Nightmare Demon really has mastered them.

While Nightmare Demon was pummelling Lu Luo furiously, a tentacle suddenly burst from the ground and swept towards her.

But the usually infallible tentacle attack was effortlessly caught by Nightmare Demon.

The fierce Netherflame, thick as molasses, poured into the tentacle, reducing the massive appendage to ashes in moments.

Combat speed, reaction time, Constitution, energy, skill.

Nightmare Demon had reached the peak of her current abilities in every aspect. No wonder she was so confident.

With such strength, she rightly should be.

BANG!

Lu Luo crashed heavily to the ground. Beneath him, the earth was fractured like a spiderweb.

The shockwave had nearly pulverized the ground, yet because it happened so fast, the earth beneath him hadn’t completely shattered.

"Amazing!"

Lu Luo exclaimed from the heart.

This kind of fight with a top-tier master made his blood boil with excitement.

"You don’t only have this much, do you, Lu Luo? If you’re this weak, then our cooperation will have to be called off."

"A half-human form, huh? Actually, I can do that too."

Lu Luo slowly stood up from the ruins, tentacles wrapped around his broken thigh.

The steam of Qi He gradually dissipated. The powers of the Exotic Species and the Doomsday Disc began to descend upon him.

Nightmare Demon’s gaze became slightly solemn.

Meanwhile, Lu Luo’s injuries were rapidly healing under the unceasing supply of energy and the Fusioner’s regenerative ability.

The shattered bones weren’t discarded but transformed into a shell-like substance, covering his entire body.

A long, keratinous tail emerged from behind Lu Luo.

He crouched slightly, rebalancing his body.

Then, two bull-like horns appeared on his head.

WHOOSH!

Black luminescence flowed around Lu Luo’s skin. He exhaled deeply and said to Nightmare Demon, "The second round... begins!"