Chapter 46 – Shouldn't We Be the Ones Trembling in Fear?

“Clang—!”

The abrupt sound of metal clashing echoed through the abandoned factory, shattering the silence.

Sparks burst like fireworks, illuminating Lei Hao’s face as he gripped his greatsword and the silhouette of a monster pouncing down on him from above.

“Raaah!”

Veins bulged on Lei Hao’s forehead as the muscles in his arms strained to their limits. With a furious roar, he channeled all his strength into deflecting the monster whose scythe-like forelimbs had slammed against his hastily raised greatsword.

“Skree!”

The monster was sent flying backward, sticking to the ceiling like glue as it let out a ferocious shriek.

Upon closer inspection, the creature appeared to be entirely forged from steel, its body gleaming with a cold metallic luster. All four of its limbs were sharp blades, resembling some sort of black-tech killing machine.

Yet despite its mechanical appearance, the monster’s entire mouth was stained crimson.

The color of fresh blood.

This revealed that the creature wasn’t some non-feeding machine, but a genuine Phantom Demon that required vast amounts of flesh and blood for nourishment and power enhancement.

This was Su Ming and his companions’ current target—the Blade Demon.

Having entered the abandoned factory about ten minutes ago, Su Ming’s team had successfully attracted their mission target’s attention and lured it out.

“Skree!”

The blade-covered Phantom Demon screeched before launching itself from the ceiling like a bullet, darting toward Lei Hao with astonishing speed.

“Bring it on!”

Lei Hao showed no fear. Instead, he roared defiantly and advanced rather than retreating, closing the distance between them.

“Clang—!”

The collision between greatsword and blades sparked another shower of sparks, officially marking the beginning of the fierce battle between humans and Phantom Demon.

Lei Hao stood at the forefront, whirling his heavy greatsword like a windmill as he continuously assaulted the Blade Demon, filling the air with howling winds and constant metallic clashes.

Under such circumstances, his teammates naturally wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

“I’m coming!”

Jiang Wanyu called out sweetly, her hands now gripping a pair of sharp short spikes as her entire body transformed into a gust of wind, rushing toward the Blade Demon with a whoosh.

“I… I’m going too!”

Yao Beibei’s voice trembled with tension, yet the petite girl wielded a pair of massive hammers with terrifying brute strength, lifting them effortlessly as she charged toward the Blade Demon.

Both junior female students displayed remarkable physical prowess. Though their movements showed obvious inexperience, their physical capabilities were undeniably impressive.

Yao Beibei’s monstrous strength was startling to behold, while Jiang Wanyu’s speed was equally eye-catching.

“Hiyah!”

Jiang Wanyu swiftly closed in on the Blade Demon, her short spikes striking like venomous snakes with sharp whistling sounds.

“Ting!”

A clear ringing sound followed as Jiang Wanyu’s spikes struck the Blade Demon’s body, only to produce a shower of dazzling sparks.

“Skree!”

The Blade Demon, locked in combat with Lei Hao, detected the new attack and immediately turned its head, snarling ferociously at Jiang Wanyu.The ferocious face, still smeared with fresh blood, sent a violent tremor through Jiang Wanyu’s heart, freezing her movements mid-action.

“Perfect!”

Seizing the opportunity, the Blade Demon transformed his sharp blade into a scythe of death, gleaming with a cold light as it sliced toward Jiang Wanyu’s head.

“Don’t even think about it!”

Lei Hao roared, twisting and swinging his greatsword with immense force. The heavy slash cut through the air and landed squarely on the Blade Demon’s body.

“Clang!”

Like striking a massive bronze bell, Lei Hao’s greatsword collided with the Blade Demon, producing a deafening, metallic crash.

The sheer force of the blow sent the Blade Demon flying backward, trailing sparks as he smashed into the factory wall, cracking it upon impact.

“Be careful!”

Having landed his strike, Lei Hao didn’t press his advantage. Instead, he positioned himself protectively in front of Jiang Wanyu, shouting over his shoulder without turning around.

In that moment, Lei Hao shed his usual carefree demeanor, radiating the solemn and deadly aura of a true warrior.

“I-I’m sorry!”

Jiang Wanyu knew her earlier hesitation had nearly cost her life. The realization made the young girl’s hands tremble belatedly around her weapon.

“Wanyu!”

Yao Beibei, who had rushed forward, watched Jiang Wanyu with evident concern.

But now was not the time for distractions.

“Yao Beibei! Ahead!”

“It’s coming!”

Su Ming and Ye Bai’s warnings came in quick succession.

“……!?”

Yao Beibei shuddered, her instincts screaming in alarm.

“Yah!”

Without a second thought, Yao Beibei instinctively raised the heavy hammer in her hands. With a sonic boom, she swung it forward with explosive force.

There, the Blade Demon was already lunging toward her, meeting her hammer head-on.

Unfazed, the Blade Demon relied on his steel-like body to charge directly into the attack.

In his simplistic mind, this seemingly fragile human girl couldn’t possibly harm him.

Not only the Blade Demon, but even Su Ming and the others couldn’t help but think the same.

Until the next second…

“Boom!”

When Yao Beibei’s hammer struck the Blade Demon, a thunderous roar erupted.

Terrifying power burst from Yao Beibei’s hammer, unleashing a shockwave that shattered the ground beneath her feet.

The Blade Demon, taking the full brunt of such force, was sent flying backward.

“Bang!””Bang!””Bang!””Bang!””Bang!”…

Amid a series of explosive crashes, the Blade Demon shattered pillar after pillar before finally slamming into a large, rusted machine, smashing its iron barrel to pieces.

“Holy shit!”

The jaw-dropping scene made Su Ming, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai curse in unison.

“Wah… so scary…”

Yet the one responsible for all this seemed utterly terrified, trembling like a leaf.

Shouldn’t we be the ones trembling?

Su Ming, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai felt their scalps go numb.

In contrast, An Zijin wore a knowing smile, as if she had expected this outcome all along.

“As expected of the mighty Beibei. Something like this… I could probably never do it in my lifetime.”Even Jiang Wanyu had recovered from her lingering fear, but upon seeing this scene, she was utterly speechless.

“Chaa!”

In contrast, the Blade Demon had fallen into a state of complete rage.

While slashing through the iron barrels, it let out continuous roars. Cracks appeared on its steel-like body, oozing trails of fresh blood.

Yao Beibei’s heavy blow had clearly taken effect, injuring it.

However, instead of feeling relieved, everyone grew more tense as if facing a formidable enemy.

This was because the Blade Demon’s wounds were visibly healing at a rapid pace, with most of the cracks sealing up in the blink of an eye.

“Hey! Aren’t you Sorcerers going to make a move?” Lei Hao shouted. “Only your Spirit Arts can inflict unhealable damage on these Phantom Demons. Stop slacking off!”

Without the Sorcerers’ Spirit Arts, dealing with regenerative Phantom Demons was indeed extremely difficult.

This was the Hunters’ disadvantage. Although they gained power by absorbing the blood of Phantom Demons, they lacked the Sorcerers’ Spirit Arts specifically designed to counter Phantom Demons. Without a Sorcerer’s assistance, completely subduing a Phantom Demon was incredibly challenging.

Therefore, when facing Phantom Demons, teaming up with Sorcerers was the top choice for all Hunters.

A pure Hunter team might fare well against humans, but they were at a significant disadvantage and wasted too much time when confronting Phantom Demons.

Inefficient subjugation was like wasting life for Professionals. Thus, even the most poorly equipped squads had to include at least one Sorcerer.

Now that the three Hunters had subtly suppressed the Blade Demon, it was time for the Sorcerers to deliver the final blow.

“Little Zijin, prepare to attack with me,” Su Ming decisively said. “Ye Bai, grab it and don’t let it escape.”

As he spoke, Su Ming raised his hand, causing three ring arrays to appear around his wrist.

“Leave it to me!”

Ye Bai also raised his hand, summoning a ring array.

“Understood! Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin took a deep breath and resolutely raised her hands, clasping them together.

Two ring arrays appeared around the goddess-like junior’s hands, standing out prominently.

Thus, the Sorcerers’ Spirit Arts erupted.

“Seventh Form: Grey Binding.”

Ye Bai’s binding Spell Formula was the first to be unleashed, causing black ash to drift in from all directions like wind, surrounding the Blade Demon.

“Chaa!”

The Blade Demon sensed the danger and roared furiously. It slashed repeatedly with the blades on its hands, but only sparked against the wall of black ash, unable to break free.

“Thirteenth Form: Roaring Blast.”

An Zijin’s Spirit Art was ready. Seeing the Blade Demon trapped, she immediately released it.

Instantly, scorching high temperatures emerged.

Streaks of electric current converged from the Void Realm like snakes, gathering between An Zijin’s palms and transforming into an ion cannon that blasted directly toward the Blade Demon.

“Boom!”

The electric projectile struck the Blade Demon squarely, blowing away the black ash wall and sending the Blade Demon flying. Blood sprayed from its body as it wreathed in arcs of electricity, screaming as it crashed to the ground.

“Twenty-First Form: Earth Spike Punishment.”

At that moment, Su Ming’s final killing move arrived.

As the three ring arrays on Su Ming’s wrist glowed, the ground beneath the Blade Demon shifted.

“Thump!”A sharp spike suddenly erupted, piercing through the Blade Demon’s body.

“Thud!” “Thud!” “Thud!” “Thud!” “Thud!”…

Spike after spike protruded from the ground one after another, each piercing through the Blade Demon’s body, skewering it like meat on a stick.

The Blade Demon’s steel-like body was as fragile as paper before these spikes.

And this was undoubtedly a fatal blow.

“Gah…”

The Blade Demon’s body twitched on the spikes for a moment before going limp seconds later, as if all strength had left it.

Blood flowed down the spikes from its body, gradually staining the ground red.

“Did… did we win?”

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei seemed unable to process what had just happened.

“Alright, it’s dealt with.”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai, however, fully trusted the power of Su Ming’s Spell Formula and let out sighs of relief one after another.

“So amazing! Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin was already looking at Su Ming with sparkling eyes.

But Su Ming showed no joy whatsoever.

“It seems we need to have a debriefing, juniors.”

Su Ming looked at the three girls.

The girls lowered their heads as if ashamed.

(End of Chapter)