113: Chapter 113 Shadow Legion

Inside the canyon, the light suddenly dimmed.

The cliffs on both sides towered into the clouds, slicing the sky into a narrow slit, and shadows flowed down from the rock walls like water, slowly covering the ground.

Lin Yan had just taken one step in.

The shadow beneath his feet trembled slightly.

"Click—"

The next instant.

The shadows of the entire canyon suddenly moved.

Hum—

The pitch-black shadows on the ground seemed to come alive, churning and writhing crazily, as black outlines slowly crawled out from the shadows.

The first to appear were shadow soldiers condensed from countless monsters.

They retained the ferocious general outlines of the monsters, their entire bodies pitch-black like ink, their eyes lit with cold, eerie green light. Their limbs were swift, they were fearless in the face of death, and they held claws and bone weapons condensed from darkness. There were dozens of them, instantly closing in from all directions, sealing off all paths of retreat.

These low-level shadow soldiers inherited sixty percent of the original's combat power. Their individual threat was limited, but they excelled in their massive numbers, lack of pain, and fearlessness of death, making them the perfect cannon fodder for human-wave tactics.

A black shadow charged over first; it was the shadow of a monster, its form blurry but its outline ferocious, its eyes glowing with a dark green light. As soon as it took shape, it pounced to kill.

Its speed was extremely fast, its claws Rend the air.

Lin Yan raised his hand and slashed down with his blade.

Pfft!

The shadow was cut open but did not dissipate, instead re-gathering like liquid, the severed parts healing rapidly.

The next instant, it pounced again.

Immediately after—

A second shadow.

A third.

A fourth.

From the shadows on both sides of the canyon, more and more "things" rushed over.

Monster shadows, Contestant shadows.

There were even some familiar weapon forms—long blades, staves, heavy shields...

They lined up silently and slowly pressed toward Lin Yan.

The few Contestants following behind instantly turned pale.

"What... what are these things?"

"The shadows have come alive?"

"It's the Shadow Legion! Han Zhiyuan's talent!"

"It's over! We actually ran into him! He's currently fourth on the points leaderboard!"

"Rumor has it his talent gets stronger the more he fights. No one knows how many shadows he has subdued in the Dungeon. Once the Shadow Legion takes shape in the late stage, no one can stop it!"

Everyone exclaimed in shock, their hearts filled with utter despair.

Looking at the entire Chaotic Battlefield, Han Zhiyuan definitely ranked among the top prodigies one would least want to encounter in the late stage. No one knew exactly how many shadow warriors he had subdued, and no one knew the limits of his legion.

Only Lin Yan remained calm, his blood-colored eyes devoid of any ripples.

Come as many as they like; he would kill them all.

Wen Xiaoyou instinctively took a step back and whispered:

"Brother Lin Yan... I'm a little scared..."

Lin Yan did not turn back, only using Blood Qi Perception to scan the front indifferently.

"They aren't alive."

"They are being controlled by someone."

The moment his voice fell—

The shadow swarm moved.

Boom!!

The second wave of the charge; dozens of shadows surged up simultaneously, pouncing like a black tide.

The ground beneath Lin Yan's feet exploded.

His figure vanished.

The next instant, he had appeared in the center of the shadow swarm.

He swept his blade horizontally.

A blood-colored blade light exploded.

"Pfft—"

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Rows of shadow soldiers shattered in response, pitch-black shadow residue splattering everywhere.

These shadow creatures had weak resistance and extremely low durability, but they excelled in kiting and endurance. Under the absolute crushing power of Lin Yan, they couldn't even last an instant.

In just a few seconds, the Shadow Legion was completely routed.

But the next second, a bizarre scene occurred.

The shadow residue remaining on the ground writhed and gathered again, the shattered shadow bodies rapidly reshaping. In the blink of an eye, dozens of shadow soldiers took form again, still expressionless and fearless of death, charging madly at Lin Yan once more.

No sense of pain, no fear.

Only infinitely repeating attacks.

"Shadows... don't die?"

Lin Yan's gaze narrowed slightly; he began to understand.

These things were not living creatures; they were more like "combat records."

Deep in the canyon.

Above a deeper shadow, a figure stood silently.

Black hair draped down, eyes cold and sharp.

Han Zhiyuan.

His aura was completely restrained, yet he spread his perception across the entire canyon. Relying on his passive talent [Shadow Body Homology], he shared perception with all the shadows in the entire valley; the movement of every inch of land and every trace of living aura fell entirely under his control.

Ever since the Chaotic Battlefield entered the late-stage circle-shrinking phase, this canyon had become his exclusive place for development.

The battlefield kept collapsing, the outer territories continued to be annihilated, and after living creatures fell, the residual shadow energy could not dissipate, gathering entirely in the canyon and becoming the best nourishment for his talent.

His [Shadow Legion] was also growing crazily every moment as the Dungeon progressed.

Temporarily subdued monster shadow soldiers and the shadows of Contestants from defeated Hunting Squads piled up layer by layer, densely lurking in every shadow of the canyon.

The further into the late stage of the battlefield, the more living creatures died, and the stronger his legion became.

His forbearing and calm eyes landed on Lin Yan, who was walking alone in the distance, and a rare glimmer of emotion flashed in Han Zhiyuan's eyes.

The leaderboard shifted, his ranking soared, he crushed countless elite Hunting Squads along the way, his origins were unknown, his talent was bizarre, and his combat power was unsolvable.

This dark horse that suddenly emerged made him, who was always cautious and believed in planning before acting, develop a strong desire to probe him.

He never rashly put himself in danger; when facing an unfathomable opponent, the safest method was to let the Shadow Legion probe first, exhausting the opponent's stamina and skills, and figuring out all their trump cards.

He lightly lifted a finger.

"Phase two."

The voice fell.

The shadow swarm in the canyon suddenly changed; the monster shadows retreated.

Replacing them were more complete humanoid Contestant shadows.

Their movements were uniform, and even the starting moves of their weapon releases were identical to when they were alive.

The next instant.

Sword light, flames, and wind blades erupted simultaneously.

Boom!!!

Lin Yan was instantly forced back.

"Interesting."

Lin Yan stabilized his figure and spoke in a low voice.

He looked up at the front.

"These shadows..."

"Retain combat memories."

"And even... retain combat habits."

He dodged a sword shadow to the side and backhanded a blade to sever the opponent's head.

But the opponent condensed again in the next second, and its movements were even more precise.

It was as if it was still "learning" his rhythm.

Lin Yan's eyes turned slightly cold.

"They can even evolve?"

One wave, two waves, three waves...

Endless shadow soldiers charged one after another, impossible to kill all, impossible to extinguish.

If ordinary Contestants encountered this kind of endless human-wave kiting, their skills would eventually be exhausted, their stamina would eventually dry up, and they would ultimately be worn to death.

But Lin Yan was completely different.

He did not need to worry about stamina consumption, did not need to be stingy with skill output; every strike was an extreme crushing blow. More and more shadow warriors shattered, but the shadow energy gathering in the canyon became increasingly dense.

Not long after, the real killing move arrived quietly.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three tall, imposing black shadows with cold auras stepped out from the deepest part of the canyon.

Their figures resembled human Awakened, wearing condensed dark battle armor, holding sharp dark blades. Their movements were fluid, their moves exquisite and skillful, and their aura far exceeded that of ordinary shadow soldiers.

These were—Shadow Guard Commanders!

They were the core combat power condensed by Han Zhiyuan, possessing over eighty percent of the original's full combat power, inheriting all core combat techniques and moves, with perfect tacit understanding and seamless coordination.

The three Shadow Guard Commanders surrounded him in a triangular formation, blocking all of Lin Yan's evasion space, their dark blades wrapped in cold, sinister aura, launching a fierce attack simultaneously.

At the same time, the shadows on the ground suddenly surged, and countless pitch-black chains broke through the earth!

[Shadow Binding Cage!]

Dense shadow chains crisscrossed, instantly weaving into a huge, gloomy cage, tightly wrapping around Lin Yan's limbs, intending to imprison his body and continuously gnaw away at his Blood Qi.

Human-wave containment, Shadow Guard assault, cage crowd control.

Han Zhiyuan's tactics were meticulous, calm, and flawless.

He remained hidden in the darkness the whole time, not greedy for merit, not acting rashly, only using the Shadow Legion to apply pressure layer by layer, pressing forward step by step, testing Lin Yan's true limit bit by bit.

Lin Yan tapped his feet lightly, blood-colored malevolent aura soaring into the sky from his body, instantly shattering all the shadow chains that were wrapping around him.

Rumble!

Violent power exploded, and the three formidable Shadow Guard Commanders were sent flying, their bodies covered in cracks, pitch-black shadows constantly dissipating.

But the next instant, the shadow energy gathered again, the damaged Shadow Guard bodies rapidly repaired, and they charged up fiercely once more.

Impossible to kill all, impossible to clear, impossible to exhaust.

In the shadows of the canyon, Han Zhiyuan's deep eyes narrowed slightly, and for the first time, a huge wave rose in his heart.

He had seen countless powerhouses worn to death by the Shadow Legion, and seen countless prodigies routed and fleeing in the endless sea of people.

But the Lin Yan before him seemed to have infinite stamina, endless offense, and unstoppable crushing power.

His Shadow Legion, with its endless charges, endless rebirths, and endless consumption, couldn't even force out a trace of fatigue from the opponent.

They hadn't even forced out half a bit of the opponent's true trump card.

An extremely strong sense of competitiveness and vigilance surged in his heart, and Han Zhiyuan was completely certain—

This person who emerged out of thin air might be the most terrifying variable in this Chaotic Battlefield, and the greatest opponent on his path to the summit.