8: Chapter 8 Saturation Blow, Annihilation

"Screeeech—!!!"

The Zantar Cockroach's dark red compound eyes were locked onto Li Yuan, filled with violence and hatred. It seemed to have identified this "weak" creature as the one that had caused it immense pain.

The next moment, the battle erupted once more.

The Light Guardian charged forward heroically as always, its light-forged longsword and tower shield clashing in a continuous rhythm as it attempted to entangle the recovered monster.

However, even with the Light Guardian darting up and down, its performance was all flash and no substance, yielding negligible results.

This time, the situation was completely different!

Whether it was because the Light Guardian tank's aggro wasn't high enough, or because the damage from Li Yuan's Song of Battle was too agonizing, the recovered Zantar Cockroach no longer focused its primary energy on this "unbreakable" Light Guardian.

It mostly used its thick dorsal carapace to tank the Light Guardian's attacks or parried them with its limbs.

Its main target remained Li Yuan, who was constantly moving around, trying to find a shooting angle!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Continuous rays of venom shot toward Li Yuan from various angles. Massive sickle-like limbs also swung out from time to time, forcing Li Yuan to keep moving.

Li Yuan scrambled through the ruins, rolling and jumping in a disheveled state. All his energy was spent on dodging and running for his life; he couldn't find even a single opportunity to steady himself and draw his bow.

Several times, the venom flew past his scalp, corroding massive holes into the metal crates behind him. Another time, he was nearly struck by a metal plate sent flying by the Roach's limbs; fortunately, the Light Guardian used its body to block the attack or bumped Li Yuan away to help him evade damage.

The situation took a turn for the worse!

Although there was no immediate danger to his life, Li Yuan's stamina was depleting rapidly. His breathing sounded like a worn-out bellows, his lungs burned, and his legs felt as heavy as lead.

He knew that if this continued, his fate would be to be melted by venom or torn apart by claws!

"No! I have to control it! Otherwise, I'm dead!" Li Yuan's mind raced frantically.

But a new problem arose—to control it, an arrow had to hit!

And right now, he couldn't even manage a stable posture to pull the bowstring! Chased like a stray dog, all his actions were performed while running and dodging, making it impossible to perform the precise aiming required for high mental concentration.

It seemed to be an unsolvable loop: to control it, he had to hit it; to hit it, he had to shoot steadily; to shoot steadily, he had to control the monster...

"What do I do?! What on earth should I do?!" The shadow of death loomed over him once again.

In his despair, his programmer's mindset surfaced again. "As long as the program runs, who cares about the details?! Wait, who said the arrow has to be shot? As long as it hits, it counts!"

The construction of the arrow and the spell weaving weren't complex. They could be completed in an instant; as long as the arrow touched the target, it should count as the skill being released.

The idea spread through his heart like wildfire!

At that moment, the Zantar Cockroach spat another stream of venom, forcing Li Yuan into a desperate roll behind a massive, unknown industrial machine. He was panting heavily, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright.

"Time to gamble!"

Leaning his back against the machine, taking advantage of the monster's brief pause to adjust its attack direction, his thoughts raced at an unprecedented speed:

Energy arrow construction!

[Elemental Resonance: Gold Element Enchantment]

[Elemental Strike Magic: Vine Entanglement]

[Elemental Strike Magic: Earth Spike]

2 points of energy were instantly deducted!

A primitive-looking arrow appeared in his hand, its entire body shimmering with a dull metallic luster, its arrowhead exceptionally sharp, and its interior containing massive energy!

This time, Li Yuan didn't shoot it at the distant Roach—

He spun around and, with all his might, hurled the arrow toward the Light Guardian currently fighting the Roach! At the same time, he sent a crystal-clear command in his mind: "Baby! Catch it! Stab it into him!!"

The Light Guardian truly lived up to its high combat intelligence as an SSS-rank class summon! It understood the full intent of his plan the very moment Li Yuan turned to throw!

Facing the incoming arrow, it didn't dodge. Its empty left hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing the shaft of the metallic arrow!

The next moment, it ducked and surged forward, utilizing the tiny recovery window after the Roach's attack to climb onto the Zantar Cockroach's back as nimbly as a spirit ape!

The Zantar Cockroach clearly hadn't expected this change. It let out a confused and angry hiss, twisting its body violently in an attempt to shake off the "tin can" that had crawled onto its back.

But the Light Guardian's feet were as if rooted, firmly pinned to the carapace. It raised the arrow high and plunged it into the Zantar Cockroach's back shell!

"Pffft!" The arrowhead, reinforced by the Gold Element Enchantment, easily pierced the relatively weak joint of the carapace, and nearly half the arrow sank in!

"Check out my... Human-Guided Arrow!!"

The moment the arrow was inserted, a surge of chuunibyou hot-bloodedness rushed to Li Yuan's head, and he shouted almost subconsciously.

The plan succeeded!!

At the same instant the arrow entered the Roach's body—

"Rumble!!!"

With the Zantar Cockroach as the center, a giant earth spike—thicker and more menacing than the one in the command room—erupted from the ground with irresistible force, lifting the Zantar Cockroach's massive body off the floor!

Simultaneously, countless tough vines shimmering with a dull metallic luster spiraled up the earth spike, binding the Zantar Cockroach and the Light Guardian on its back layer upon layer, tying them up tight!

"Screeeech—!!!" Being controlled once again caused the Zantar Cockroach to let out a hiss full of terror and rage. It struggled frantically, its new limbs and sharp sickle claws desperately tearing at the vines, producing an ear-piercing sound of metal grinding.

An opportunity!!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!

He leaped out from behind the machine like a spring, the energy bow instantly drawn to a full moon, the skill combinations flowing like instinct:

[Song of Battle - Normal Shot]!

[Elemental Resonance: Thunder Element Enchantment]!

[Elemental Resonance - Wind Blade]!

[Elemental Resonance - Fire Rocket]!

"Swish—Boom!!!"

A stream of light flashed again, passing through the Roach's relatively fragile thorax and abdomen at a speed faster than the eye could track!

A violent explosion rang out again! Thunder raged, wind blades sliced, and fire erupted from within! The Zantar Cockroach's hissing stopped abruptly, turning into a wail of extreme agony. The new carapace and muscle tissue were blown to bits, and dark green blood and internal organ fragments sprayed out like a rainstorm!

But it wasn't enough! Only one thought remained in Li Yuan's mind—saturation strike! Complete destruction! He could not give it even the slightest chance to escape or recover!

He didn't even look at the effect of the strike; the second skill combination was already in place!

[Song of Battle - Normal Shot]!

[Elemental Resonance: Fire Element Enchantment]!

[Elemental Resonance - Fire Rocket]!

[Elemental Resonance - Fire Rocket]!!

This was the highest damage combination he could currently comprehend.

Stack fire damage to the extreme! Three fire spells woven into a single arrow!

However, the moment he released the bowstring and shot the white-hot arrow radiating terrifying heat—

[Insufficient energy, current deficit 0.1, activating Compensation Mode.]

It wasn't Customer Service 1518's sweet young girl voice, but the cold mechanical voice from the very beginning!

Li Yuan's heart felt as if it were gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, and it stopped beating for a second!

An energy deficit of 0.1!

Compensation Mode!

Was he going to burn his life essence again?!

This time... how much lifespan would be deducted?!

He wouldn't just drop dead on the spot after this arrow was shot, would he?!!

Endless panic washed over him like ice water, but the arrow had left the string; there was no turning back!

The white-hot arrow condensed with fire power continued its flight!

And then—

"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A terrifying explosion erupted violently in this vast underground hall spanning one hectare!

The shockwave generated by the explosion was like a physical tsunami, spreading frantically in all directions!

Li Yuan, only dozens of meters from the center of the explosion, felt a massive force carrying a scorching aura slam into him! He subconsciously closed his eyes, thinking he was about to be torn apart by the air blast.

But just as the shockwave reached him—

[Energy recovery: +0.2]

A faint prompt flashed by.

Then, when the terrifying shockwave acted on him, it only pushed him back several meters. Aside from some churning blood and his ears ringing from the noise, he was fine.

He looked up in shock to see a giant crater several meters deep at the core of the explosion. The surrounding metal crates and equipment debris were either completely vaporized or melted into glowing red molten iron, flowing slowly. The solid walls were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and the entire hall was trembling, with rubble and dust constantly falling from the ceiling as if it might collapse at any moment.

The dust and firelight slowly dissipated.

The center of the giant crater was empty.

The Zantar Cockroach's massive body had completely disappeared.

No remains, no bloodstains, no carapace fragments.

Truly... reduced to ashes.

Only the Light Guardian still shimmered with light, and at the bottom of the crater lay a Life Crystal about the size of a fist, much larger than the ones from the Drones.

That was... the Zantar Cockroach's life essence!

Li Yuan picked up the crystal, but before he could feel joy for the victory, the cold mechanical voice rang out again like a funeral knell:

[Skill release concluded, compensation calculation beginning.]

Li Yuan's heart instantly leaped into his throat.

This time... how much lifespan would be deducted?