Chapter 977 - 296: Flames

Although the Tentacle Monster’s strength is formidable, it operates in an unconscious, instinct-driven status, making many of its actions resemble those of a single-celled organism.

It doesn’t know how to protect its limbs, leading to one tentacle being blasted apart by the self-destructing female Extraordinary, and then having its base severed by a fierce shirtless man wielding two long knives, exposing a fresh, beating heart.

Ximen Long recalled this person, Shi Hong, who often operated around Zone 6, a freelancer moving alone and often unseen. His most glorious achievement was single-handedly blocking seven or eight Extraordinary Creatures crawling from the sea for half an hour.

It was because of him that coastal settlements had the space to retreat, buying time for reinforcements to arrive; otherwise, many would have died in that attack.

Those sea monsters had a penchant for consuming humans, leading settlements to avoid regions within one hundred miles of the shore; yet, he frequently went hunting Extraordinary Creatures along the coast.

After severing the tentacle, Shi Hong eagerly used his hands to grab the beating heart embedded within the tentacle’s flesh, his focus solely on the heart, neglecting the surrounding situation.

Just as he pulled the heart against his chest, he was struck from behind by a smaller tentacle, flying backwards; yet, even then, he tightly grasped the heart, not letting go, falling to the ground with exposed bone amidst his torn back flesh.

Seeing Shi Hong running out of the Tentacle Monster’s range with the heart in his hands, the surrounding Extraordinary beings’ eyes instantly changed, fixated on the blood-red, pulsing heart, their own pulses matching its beat.

"Are you insane!" Shi Hong shouted as several Extraordinary beings made a move against him, unable to hold back his curses, yet was quick to react, given his cautiousness.

Before anyone could approach, one was abruptly sliced from behind, their body falling, splitting, with intestines spilling out.

By this point, everyone was going for the kill, disregarding any courtesy, driven to madness by the enormity of the prize at stake.

"Come closer and face death!" Shi Hong yelled, veins bulging on his face, causing hesitation among those near him.

But only for a brief moment; covered in blood, he wasn’t deterring anyone. Another person, hair tied long, a middle-aged woman unfamiliar to him, sent a wind-driven attack from a dozen meters away at him.

Shi Hong didn’t hesitate, bolting in another direction, his sole aim to leave this tumultuous place with the heart.

"Cease the fighting, adhere to the ordinance set earlier!" Ximen Long shouted upon seeing the situation, knowing the chaos would spiral out of control if not stopped. They might end up annihilating themselves without the Tentacle Monster’s intervention.

Powerful Extraordinary beings undervalue life, not just ignoring others’ lives, but also disregarding their own, reflecting subtle emotional distortion.

Few can truly recognize themselves.

Yet, at that moment, chaos reigned, nobody heeding his warnings; a dozen Extraordinary beings approached Shi Hong, aiming to snatch the heart.

The heart, their primary objective for coming here, lay before them. Why hold back? Otherwise, what was the point of coming here?

Chaotic slaughter commenced.

Everyone seemed eager to seize the heart, everyone a foe, wearing similar expressions — twisted, fierce, yet filled with desire and numbness.

Finally.

Though Shi Hong was powerful, he couldn’t fend off many enemies. Surrounded, his limbs were pierced by lightning, rendering him suddenly paralyzed, then his head was cut off by a sneak attack from behind, and the heart he’d desperately clutched was snatched away.

Like a ticking time bomb, whoever grabbed the heart would be besieged and killed by others.

All sensed that by cooperating, they could seize more hearts from the Tentacle Monster, yet mistrust existed between them, or perhaps there was too much caution among the Extraordinary beings.

Ximen Long, maintaining considerable composure, refrained from joining the fray, and instead rallied his team to withdraw: "Let’s go!"

Before leaving the Tentacle Monster’s territory, they encountered a man blocking the path, smiling at them, surrounded by seven or eight drifting black Ghost Shadows, faintly visible, faces revealing human expressions: anger, sadness, terror.

"Been looking for you for a while, finally you show yourself." Ximen Long grinned viciously at him, flames spreading over the ground.

Black Snake Hand chuckled lightly: "No one’s leaving here today; either you die in here or kill that beast. If you’re smart, turn back."

Ximen Long sneered, directing the blazing flames to envelop Black Snake Hand like four fire Dragons: "Killing you works too!"

He estimated those black Ghost Shadows were likely phantasmal entities, and his fire could suppress them; still, he wasn’t as assured as he displayed.

After all, Chen Tiannan had been powerless against Black Snake Hand before.

Just as he expected, the flames restrain the black Ghost Shadows, not obliterating them directly, but slowing their speed, unable to breach the fiery barrier.

Nearby, a short, stocky team member wearing a gray face mask, nimble by nature and a Ninja, dashed forward alongside the flames, simultaneously throwing dozens of spinning shurikens that drew striking arcs in the air, dazzling to the eye.

The shadows before Black Snake Hand abruptly enlarged, blocking and consuming all the shurikens, floating within its mass, then gradually disappearing.

Yes.

It was like disappearing into thin air.

The black darts vanished within the Ghost Shadow, presumably transferred elsewhere by some means through the Black Snake Hand. Such a technique involves space and is mastered by a Tier Seven Extraordinary like Black Snake Hand.

A Ghost Shadow, unnoticed by everyone, bypassed the flames and everyone’s line of sight, launching a surprise attack from the rear, passing through someone two meters tall.

A mournful cry echoed, and the robust team member fell to the ground instantly, as if the Ghost Shadow had taken away his soul, twitching unconsciously on the ground as his skin gradually turned pale, losing warmth, covered in a layer of white frost.

It seemed it wasn’t after the blood of Divine Creatures, just killing for the sake of killing. Judging by its actions, it had lost control, betrayed humanity, and was no different from a monster, merely a shell of human skin.

The Ghost Shadow that attacked from behind passed through that team member and lunged straight at Ximen Long.

At this moment.

Ximen Long’s eyes shone with the glow of flames, his clothes and body began to burn fiercely.

The flames were golden, not scorching but warm.

Someone had once asked him why someone like him possessed such warm flames, implying that someone like him should have more dangerous abilities.

As to why, he was not quite sure. Perhaps he felt that he was inherently cowardly, but just hid it well, so others couldn’t see it.

Yes, this was cowardice.

A golden flame formed into an arm, growing from his severed hand, grabbing the Ghost Shadow lunging at him head-on.

The Ghost Shadow, which could easily pass through walls, was firmly caught by him, like clutching the throat of fate, unable to move.

The crackling sound spread, and the fierce flames burned on the Ghost Shadow, releasing white smoke, the scent of burning feathers mixed with the stench of singed leather.

He turned his head to look at Black Snake Hand, his eyes flickering with golden light, saying word by word: "People should have their own anchor points, even in the deep sea, they wouldn’t lose direction, and clearly, you’ve lost your anchor point."

These were not his words but what Chen Tiannan had told him before, merely relayed. He found it very reasonable, so he always remembered, always searched for his anchor point, but couldn’t find it, unable to discern what an anchor point truly is, possibly because he was uncultured.

In the raging flames, the shadow dissipated, leaving only a thin layer of skin falling from the air, dropping to the ground.

At this moment.

The flames ahead extinguished, five or six shadows rushed head-on. The shadows moved with incredible speed, like the wind slipping past, evading them with ordinary speed was impossible. The few team members at the front were pierced by shadows, losing consciousness, their bodies stiffly collapsing, continually twitching.

"Indeed, it’s you, Ximen Long. Truly powerful, unexpectedly so, but unfortunately, you encountered me."

"The Nameless Lord will remember you, just need to rest in peace."

Black Snake Hand rambled on, his odd words sounded relaxed and leisurely, even if one Ghost Shadow was taken down by Ximen Long, he was not worried at all.

The gap in strength was evident, and these people, no matter what, would not be his opponents.

Ximen Long was entangled by three or four shadows, unable to move, and the fierce flames gradually dimmed.

He couldn’t help but sigh; there was indeed a significant strength gap, even if his flames somewhat restrained the shadows, it couldn’t change the outcome.

Perhaps.

The result of this battle was already doomed from the start.

The teammates around him fell one by one consecutively, he was also pierced by a shadow, feeling a chill sweeping through, like ice penetrating his chest, emitting cold air, stopping his heart.

Bang~

The sound of firearms came from the front.

Through the heat waves of the flames, he saw Chen Tiannan appearing not far away, behind Black Snake Hand, his skin still pale, with white light dots falling from it, dancing in the wind.

A Ghost Shadow was turned into a plug, and the fired steel balls pierced through the chest of Black Snake Hand along with it.