17: Nightmare Attack

Although these giant demonic bats were Baleful Rank, they used all their Demonic Qi to strengthen their stealth Divine Ability, abandoning the protective Demonic Qi that was most troublesome for Baleful Rank Demons. Their frontal combat strength was considered the weakest among Baleful Rank.

Yu Jingxuan’s sword stirred up a vortex of Qi, and Cen Jue’s palms unleashed powerful gale-force Qi. The two instantly formed a joint attack to slaughter their foes!

The ear-splitting screech of claws scraping against rock echoed through the cave, and a potent stench of blood and Demonic Qi swirled and steamed in the confined space.

In this narrow rock cave, once the giant bats' proud stealth was broken, facing True Essence Realm Martial Artists, they were like turtles in a jar, with nowhere to escape!

Xiao Zhuo gripped his meteorite iron saber, stepping seven times on the jagged rock wall, and his body shot up!

“Chh! Chh! Chh!”

The saber's edge, wrapped in dazzling lightning, soared skyward. A 'Z'-shaped purple afterimage, like an electric snake, tore through the air, accurately piercing the throats of three demonic bats!

Debris from the cave ceiling rattled down, shaken by the Saber Qi’s aftermath.

The moment his feet touched the ground, three grotesque heads, gushing black blood, flew high into the air. The foul blood bloomed like black ink, splattering on the dimly glowing rock walls, a shocking sight!

Using the Wind and Thunder Fleeting Shadow Steps with his True Essence Realm ninth-level cultivation, these giant bats, stripped of their stealth advantage, were as fragile as paper before him, killed with a single saber strike!

After dealing with the four giant bats that had attacked him, Xiao Zhuo’s gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto the battlefield where Yu Jingxuan and Cen Jue were fighting.

Two of the giant bats attacking them had already been slain, and the remaining three were heavily wounded, their Demonic Qi dissipating. They were about to flap their wings and flee but were tightly entangled by the two.

Xiao Zhuo glimpsed the two ownerless demonic bat corpses on the ground, a pang of regret in his heart—these were real Attribute Points!

Seeing that the remaining three were also on the verge of collapse, he no longer hesitated. His figure transformed into a streak of azure light tearing through the darkness, making several sharp turns between the uneven rock walls, instantly sweeping past the three crippled bats!

“Puff! Puff! Puff!”

Three heads flew up in response!

At this point, all nine Baleful Rank giant demonic bats had been executed! Xiao Zhuo alone accounted for seven!

On the attribute panel, the points instantly soared by 1,100!

Xiao Zhuo couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile.

The frustration of losing two “kills” was instantly washed away by this bountiful harvest.

“Hey!” Yu Jingxuan’s cool voice, tinged with dissatisfaction, sounded beside him, “Your strength is indeed good, but why are you standing there grinning like an idiot?”

Xiao Zhuo quickly suppressed his smile, pointing to the demonic bat corpses scattered on the ground: “Nine in total. How about we split them evenly?”

“These last three were already ours for the taking!” Yu Jingxuan’s pretty face turned cold, her tone resolute, “Don’t think that just because you rushed in to finish them off, you can take away our military merits!”

Demon slaying certificates were tied to the Demon Suppression Guard’s merits; how could outsiders lay claim to them?

Xiao Zhuo felt a little awkward at her words.

What she said was true; those three giant bats were already at the end of their rope, and even if he hadn’t intervened, they wouldn’t have lasted a few more breaths.

He said no more, turning to swiftly put the four giant bat corpses he had slain into his storage ring. Although storage rings were precious in True Essence Realm circles, they were not unique, and Yu Jingxuan and Cen Jue also had them, so there was no need to deliberately hide his.

Just as the three were collecting their spoils of war—

“Roar—!!!”

A terrifying roar, as if from the Nine Nether Abyss, suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the rock cave! The sound wave, like a tangible giant hammer, slammed violently against the cave walls!

Countless glowing crystals embedded in the rock walls vibrated violently, rattling down, their eerie light flickering erratically!

Cen Jue’s face instantly turned ashen, and he roared sharply: “Nightmare-level! Retreat quickly!!”

Yu Jingxuan also turned pale with fright, shouting urgently to Xiao Zhuo, who was closer to the depths: “Hey! Hurry and go! If you don’t, you’re dead for sure!!”

Before her words finished, she had already turned and shot towards the cave entrance like an arrow from a bowstring!

However, the two had not run far—

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!”

From the direction of the cave entrance, dense, ear-piercing whooshing sounds, like the shriek of death, rapidly approached from far to near!

Following closely behind was a chilling, tide-like surge of tiny wing beats—that was a dense, countless swarm of small demonic bats!

This sight instantly turned Yu Jingxuan’s and Cen Jue’s faces from white to gray, their hearts filled with despair!

The whooshing sounds indicated that at least a dozen more Baleful Rank giant bats had arrived from the cave entrance! And behind them, that terrifying Nightmare-level entity was closing in step by step!

A dead end! Truly a situation of certain death!

“It’s over…” Desperate thoughts simultaneously arose in their minds.

But the pride and duty of the Demon Suppression Guard made them instantly grip their weapons, their True Essence Qi surging, preparing to meet the deadly torrent rushing in from the cave entrance!

In stark contrast to their despair, Xiao Zhuo’s eyes at this moment burst with terrifying brilliance, and his lips curved into an almost fanatical smile!

Good! Just in time! I was just worried I hadn’t killed enough to my heart’s content!!

“Hey, you! Do you still have flour?!” Yu Jingxuan’s anxious cry came from the darkness ahead, carrying a last sliver of hope.

“None left!” Xiao Zhuo roared back, his answer crisp and decisive.

The flour in his storage ring was indeed exhausted.

Invisibility? Is it that impressive?

Xiao Zhuo sneered coldly in his heart.

Within this enclosed rock cave, it was not certain who had nowhere to escape!

Yu Jingxuan and Cen Jue were already fiercely clashing with the invisible giant bats pouring in from the cave entrance!

Unable to see their foes, the two were hard-pressed, and the encirclement of a dozen giant bats was like an invisible meat grinder!

In just a few breaths, both of them had sustained several deep, bone-visible wounds, and blood stained their dark brocade robes!

Even more giant bats bypassed them, rushing straight towards Xiao Zhuo behind!

Xiao Zhuo’s eyes blazed with cold light!

“Sizzle—!!!”

Violent white electrical light, like a breaching flood, suddenly erupted from his body!

Dazzling electric snakes wildly leaped and spread, instantly filling more than half of the cave space ahead!

Wherever the electric light passed, one giant bat after another, originally hidden invisibly, had their figures and outlines exposed without a trace in the strong light, as if splashed with developing fluid!

Although the electric light was fleeting, and their outlines blurred with it, what Xiao Zhuo needed was precisely this lightning-fast instant!

The meteorite iron saber hummed and vibrated! On the dark saber body, dense, ink-like strange black Qi and scorching, violent purple lightning wildly intertwined and coiled!

Immensely powerful True Essence Qi was frantically poured in, actually scorching the meteorite iron blade until it glowed faintly red!

“Eight Directions Demon Slaying Saber—Shocking Thunder · Awakening Stance!”

Xiao Zhuo silently chanted, and the long saber in his hand transformed into a furious thunderbolt tearing through heaven and earth!

“Boom—!!!”

A colossal, unparalleled, star-shaped saber glow, covering almost the entire cave passage, wrapped in destructive black Qi and violent lightning, like world-ending thunder, slashed fiercely towards the cave entrance!

The saber glow precisely avoided Yu Jingxuan and Cen Jue, who were fighting desperately pressed against the rock walls!

Wherever the saber glow passed, severed wings, broken limbs, and shattered flesh rained down like a storm!

The shrill screams were instantly drowned out by the roar of thunder!

The information bar on the attribute panel scrolled madly like a waterfall!

Xiao Zhuo’s figure also moved!

Several giant bats, with severed wings, revealed and fallen, had not yet died, when an azure afterimage swept past like a ghost. Saber light flashed, and their bodies were separated from their heads!

After this earth-shattering saber strike, the swarm of demonic bats pouring in from the cave entrance was instantly cleared by more than half!

A narrow but sufficient escape route was forcibly carved out!

“You two, hurry and leave!!” Xiao Zhuo’s figure landed behind the two, his voice as indifferent as ice.

“What about you?!” Yu Jingxuan suddenly turned her head, her voice trembling with disbelief.

That world-destroying saber strike had completely overturned her understanding of Xiao Zhuo’s strength.

Could it be… he intended to stay behind alone, to face the Nightmare-rank Demon that was about to appear?!

“If no one stops that big guy inside, no one can leave!” Xiao Zhuo’s tone was cold, even with a hint of impatience, “Get out of here, now!”

These cold words, heard by Yu Jingxuan, were like a tragic, heroic song!

He was going to use his life to cover their retreat!

Yu Jingxuan’s eyes instantly turned red! A surge of hot blood rushed to her head!

“No! I’ll stay and help you! One more person means one more strength!” she cried out resolutely, her knuckles white from gripping her sword tightly.

“Centurion Yu! Go!” Cen Jue suddenly grabbed her arm, his voice hoarse but unusually calm, “A Nightmare-level entity is absolutely not something we can contend with! This young hero’s strength far surpasses ours; if we stay, we will only be a burden to him! If we leave, he will have a chance to escape!”

Xiao Zhuo didn’t look back, his cold words like poisoned arrows, sharply piercing Yu Jingxuan: “He’s right! If you stay, you’re just a burden! Get out!”

Just then—

A terrifying pressure, as if from primordial chaos, chilling to the Soul, like an invisible tsunami, surged through the entire rock cave!

Wherever the pressure reached, even the light of the glowing crystals on the rock walls instantly dimmed, as if awed by this supreme malevolence!

Feeling this Soul-crushing pressure, Yu Jingxuan’s and Cen Jue’s last will to resist instantly collapsed, their faces drained of color!

“Go—!!” Cen Jue roared, without a trace of hesitation, his True Essence Qi erupting. He forcibly pulled the dazed Yu Jingxuan, transforming into two afterimages, and desperately flew towards the escape route that Xiao Zhuo had carved out!

Xiao Zhuo stood with his back to the two escaping figures. The blazing lightning around him not only did not diminish but soared skyward like burning white flames!

A layer of silver-white lightning armor, condensed like a tangible entity, covered with profound lightning patterns, suddenly formed around his body!

The terrifying source of pressure, that suffocatingly powerful wind pressure, finally, wrapped in an aura of destruction, fiercely rushed forth from the deepest darkness of the rock cave!

As Yu Jingxuan desperately fled, she couldn’t help but look back one last time—

She saw that slender yet towering figure, like a solitary peak, his long saber pointing diagonally at the damp ground, purple lightning illuminating him as if he were a thunder god descended.

And on the rock wall, illuminated by the lightning, a monstrously large, twisted, and writhing terrifying shadow was rapidly spreading, as if to devour the heavens and the earth!