Chapter 543: Scorched Earth

Chapter 543 -367: Scorched Earth

「South City, the underground sewer hub.」

Sewage, reeking of a nauseating stench, sloshed above his ankles. In the narrow tunnel, Bonecrusher’s hulking frame seemed especially oppressive.

This sector was his responsibility, and he had only one last waterway ahead of him to search.

Bonecrusher was getting impatient. By this time of night, he’d usually be in bed with a woman, not slogging through this filthy, disgusting sewer.

The thought only served to ratchet up his anger toward Wu Liangchen.

‘When I catch him, I’m going to crush every single bone in his body.’

Bonecrusher seethed as he rounded the corner.

Suddenly, a figure materialized silently ahead, as if seeping out of the darkness itself.

Bonecrusher’s high-speed drills faltered for a split second before resuming their rotation with an even more ear-piercing shriek. He saw the newcomer clearly. It was their target: Wu Liangchen!

“Found you!” Bonecrusher let out a beastly roar, his savagely scarred face twisting in excitement.

Without a hint of hesitation, his massive body charged like an out-of-control semi-truck, barreling toward Wu Liangchen with unstoppable momentum. The alloy drills on his arms churned the air, aimed straight for Wu Liangchen’s chest!

Faced with this ferocious charge, Wu Liangchen’s eyes remained as calm as a deep pool. The instant the drills were about to connect, his body flickered, ghost-like, evading the direct hit.

BOOM!

Bonecrusher’s powerful strike hit nothing but air, his two high-speed drills slamming violently into the concrete wall behind him. With a deafening crash, rock fragments flew everywhere as the wall instantly cracked and buckled. A wave of sewage erupted into the air.

Before Bonecrusher could recover his posture, Wu Liangchen was on him.

He didn’t draw his saber. Against a half-man, half-machine monstrosity like this, fists were more direct.

His right fist clenched. As his Qi and Blood surged, the fist began to glow with a faint golden light. Like a miniature meteor, it tore through the air with a sharp whistle, aimed straight for Bonecrusher’s exposed abdomen.

Bonecrusher reacted in a flash, swinging the drill on his left arm in a wide arc to force Wu Liangchen back.

CLANG—!

Wu Liangchen didn’t dodge. His left elbow, coated in a faint golden light, met the spinning drill head-on, stopping it cold.

The drill bit left a shallow white mark on his elbow but failed to penetrate an inch further.

A flicker of horror crossed Bonecrusher’s eyes. ‘My drills can tear through special-grade alloy steel, but they can’t even break this guy’s skin?’

That single moment of shock was all it took.

WHUMP!

Wu Liangchen’s right fist slammed solidly into Bonecrusher’s midsection. The muffled impact sounded like a sledgehammer on a drum. Bonecrusher’s steel-like frame shuddered violently, the immense force causing his massive body to arch backward as a choked groan escaped his lips.

He could feel the mechanical components inside him groaning under the strain, as if on the verge of shattering from that single blow.

Before he could even take a breath, Wu Liangchen’s attacks came like a raging tempest.

Fists, palms, elbows, knees—every strike was precise and deadly, each containing the terrifying power to shatter mountains and crack stone.

Golden light from his Qi and Blood flowed across his skin, making him look like a wrathful war god descended to the mortal realm. Every move he made carried an overwhelmingly domineering and unstoppable force.

“ROAR! ROAR!” Bonecrusher fell into a complete frenzy, his drill-arms whirling madly as he tried to tear Wu Liangchen to shreds.

Within the narrow sewer, the clang of metal, the wet thud of fists on flesh, the crack of shattering walls, and Bonecrusher’s furious roars intertwined into a symphony of pure violence.

Bonecrusher’s attacks were wide and sweeping, devastating in their power, but he could never land a solid hit on Wu Liangchen’s elusive form. Instead, Wu Liangchen repeatedly exploited his openings, landing heavy blows. Wu Liangchen’s fighting style was brutally simple and efficient; every strike targeted a vital point, his power focused and absolute.

CRACK! With another heavy punch, Wu Liangchen’s fist smashed into the mechanical joint connecting Bonecrusher’s right arm to his torso. Bonecrusher let out a piercing shriek as sparks erupted from the rune-etched joint. The drill on his right arm spun erratically before going still, the entire limb hanging uselessly at his side.

In that same instant, a cold glint flashed in Wu Liangchen’s eyes. Seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward, his right leg swinging like a steel whip, lashing out with immense force at Bonecrusher’s left knee.

THWACK!

The sickening crack of shattering bone was still clearly audible over the din of the fight. Bonecrusher’s massive body lost its balance and toppled backward with a tremendous splash, sending filth flying as he crashed heavily to the ground.

The impact even gouged a shallow crater in the concrete floor. His one remaining drill arm scraped uselessly against the ground, creating a harsh, grating noise.

Wu Liangchen stood his ground, chest rising and falling slightly as the golden glow around him slowly receded.

He glanced at Bonecrusher struggling in the filth. He considered delivering the final blow, but after a moment’s hesitation, his figure flickered and vanished into the depths of the dark tunnel.

「Moments later.」

Night Owl was the first to arrive. His pupils contracted the moment he took in the scene.

Bonecrusher’s massive, battered form lay in the sewage, one mechanical arm ruined, a leg bent at an unnatural angle at the knee. The surrounding walls and floor were covered in horrifying impact craters and cracks. The air still thrummed with fluctuations of violent energy and the thick stench of blood.

Right behind him, the youth in the hoodie appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. His brow was furrowed as an invisible field of Spiritual Power swept across the area.