29: Chapter 29: A Broken Tooth Holds Me Back, I Won't Give Up

A chilling killing intent surged like a tide, almost solidifying into substance.

Chen Fan stood holding his axe, the cold spotlight casting his gaunt silhouette onto the scratched steel floor, making him appear minuscule and isolated.

From the shadows, the monster named the 'Six-Armed Serpent' slowly emerged. It was not made of flesh and blood, but a killing machine pieced together from cold metal and active biological tissue.

Four mechanical tentacles, flashing with metallic cold light, writhed restlessly behind it, like venomous snakes poised to strike. Its own pair of arms hung at its sides, the palms equipped with alloy claws as sharp as knives.

"The Bookmaker's Order: Unusually consecutive winners must be eliminated on the spot."

A cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed throughout the underground arena. It carried no emotion, yet it ignited the bloodthirsty desires of the entire audience.

Instantly, the stands erupted in a deafening roar of fanatical shouts. The light panels on the betting boards flashed wildly, with almost all wagers leaning heavily toward the Six-Armed Serpent.

In their eyes, Chen Fan was not a living person, but merely a symbol about to be crushed, one that would bring them immense profit.

The knuckles of Chen Fan gripping the Broken Tusk Axe turned white from the force, his heart pounding wildly, but there was no trace of fear in his eyes—only rage suppressed to its absolute limit.

He knew this was not just a fight; it was a 'Ceremony of Crushed Hopes' meticulously designed for him by the arena's sole ruler—Mo Thousand Hands.

First, grant continuous victories to let you glimpse a sliver of dawn for escape, then extinguish that light completely in the cruelest and most irresistible manner, thereby intimidating every prisoner harboring dissenting thoughts.

"Damn it... I absolutely won't let him have his way." Chen Fan's voice was low, almost swallowed by the clamoring noise, but his will was as hard as the steel beneath his feet.

Before his words faded, the Six-Armed Serpent moved!

The ground beneath its feet instantly cracked. Its massive body transformed into a black lightning bolt, and its four mechanical tentacles attacked from all sides at a speed barely discernible to the naked eye.

Two tentacles struck out like venomous dragons, their steel claws aiming directly for his eyes; the other two clamped down like iron pincers, sealing off his retreat, their target fixed squarely on his chest!

Fast! Too fast!

Chen Fan's pupils contracted sharply. Every muscle in his body instantly tensed. The instinct for survival overwhelmed all other thoughts.

He didn't retreat. Instead, he took a sudden step forward, lowering his body, and swept the Broken Tusk Axe out in a tricky horizontal arc.

"Clang!"

A piercing metallic collision exploded. The Broken Tusk Axe accurately blocked the two tentacles aimed at his chest. The immense impact numbed his hand joints, and his arm nearly dislocated.

However, he ultimately could not deal with attacks coming from four directions simultaneously.

The steel claw above his head grazed his scalp, tearing away a few strands of hair. The other steel claw aimed at his eyeball, though he managed to turn his head to avoid the vital spot, it still carved a deep, bone-visible gash across his shoulder!

"Slaaash!"

Blood instantly stained half his body. Agonizing pain like an electric current shot through every limb and bone.

The shouts from the audience grew even more frenzied; they loved watching scenes of such brutal slaughter.

Before Chen Fan could regain his balance, the second attack followed immediately!

One of the Six-Armed Serpent's tentacles whipped out like a long whip. He rolled backward in a clumsy maneuver, narrowly avoiding the fatal lash, but his left leg was instantly entangled by another tentacle that had quietly extended!

"This is bad!"

The steel cable on the tentacle tightened abruptly, and terrifying constricting force instantly enveloped him. Chen Fan could even hear the groan of his own leg bone buckling under the strain.

He was about to have his left leg crushed alive, then be torn apart like a rag doll!

In his moment of despair, the dormant critical hit system within him roared to life!

[Defense Critical Hit × 2 Triggered!]

An indescribable surge of formidable power instantly erupted from his entangled left leg. That mechanical tentacle, capable of crushing steel rebar, let out a crisp 'crack' as the steel cable wrapped around his leg snapped!

The Six-Armed Serpent's movement froze for a split second, seemingly unable to comprehend this scene that defied common sense.

Now was the time!

Chen Fan seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Using the force of his struggle to break free, he leaped up abruptly. While airborne, he engaged his core, gripped the Broken Tusk Axe tightly with both hands, and brought it down with the force of a thunderous torrent, hacking viciously towards the ugly head of the Six-Armed Serpent!

This axe strike contained all his strength and all his fury!

However, an even stranger event occurred.

Another tentacle of the Six-Armed Serpent struck out faster than expected, blocking the path of the axe blade as if teleporting.

With another massive bang, Chen Fan's full-power strike was brutally halted!

Not only that, an invisible interference field enveloped him, making him feel as if every intention of his attack was being predicted in advance.

[System Notification: Hit judgment is being interfered with by an unknown field. Suggest switching attack targets or destroying the source of interference!]

This feeling... was like someone whispering coldly and mechanically inside his mind.

Just then, on the high platform, next to Mo Thousand Hands, the blue butterfly named 'Azure Butterfly' suddenly spread its wings and flew out.

It traced a graceful arc in the air, scattering specks of blue light dust like stardust, all of which merged into the body of the Six-Armed Serpent.

The next second, the Six-Armed Serpent's aura suddenly surged, metallic luster flowing over its body. Its originally swift movements became three points faster out of thin air!

Chen Fan's alarm bells rang loudly. He instantly understood the source of that 'unknown field interference'!

It was that butterfly!

It was empowering the enemy, and perhaps... even controlling the battle in real-time!

A direct confrontation was a dead end!

Chen Fan's mind raced, and a crazy plan formed in his head.

He deliberately feigned exhaustion and was struck away by a claw from the Six-Armed Serpent, slamming heavily against the arena's iron wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The Broken Tusk Axe flew out of his hand and rolled onto the ground.

"Hahahaha, it's over! That kid is finished!"

"Kill him! Tear him apart!"

The laughter and curses from the audience reached a crescendo.

The Six-Armed Serpent also seemed certain of victory. It approached the fallen Chen Fan with heavy steps, preparing to deliver the final, fatal blow.

This was the distance!

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Fan's eyes. The moment the Six-Armed Serpent raised its steel claw, he didn't try to retrieve the axe on the ground; instead, he fiercely kicked the end of the axe handle!

The Broken Tusk Axe spun rapidly as he kicked it into the air. Its target was not the nearby Six-Armed Serpent, but... directly at the fluttering butterfly shadow high in the sky!

"Idiot! He threw away his axe?" Someone in the audience sneered disdainfully.

However, the next moment, everyone's laughter abruptly stopped.

They watched as the rapidly spinning Broken Tusk Axe carved a strange arc in the air. Just as it was about to brush past the Azure Butterfly, the axe blade suddenly shifted outward by half a point due to the inertia generated by the high-speed rotation!

That half-point shift became the difference between life and death!

"Thwack!"

The sharp axe blade accurately struck the Azure Butterfly's seemingly fragile wing!

There was no blood, no cry of pain. The beautiful butterfly emitted a sharp, digital scream before its entire body exploded, turning into a handful of brilliant data streams that dissipated into the air.

The instant the Azure Butterfly shattered, the invisible interference field vanished before Chen Fan's eyes.

In its place appeared a brief but incredibly clear afterimage—extending from behind the Six-Armed Serpent were several almost invisible energy threads, and the other ends of these threads were connected directly to the fingertips of Mo Thousand Hands resting casually on the railing of the high platform!

Demon Art Puppet Strings!

It turned out that this monster had been Mo Thousand Hands' marionette from the very beginning!

"Roar!"

Chen Fan let out a long-suppressed roar. Ignoring the four arms the Six-Armed Serpent was wildly flailing due to loss of control, his body shot forward like a cannonball. His target was not any vital point of the Six-Armed Serpent, but the thickest 'Demon Art Puppet String' connected to its central nervous system behind it!

He evaded the fatal encirclement, allowing the steel claws to leave new gashes on his body, channeling all his strength into one punch, slamming violently towards that illusory thread!

"Bang!"

His fist seemed to strike something solid, and a crisp cracking sound echoed in the air.

The moment the thread snapped, the Six-Armed Serpent's movements suddenly froze. The red light in its eyes flickered rapidly as it entered a brief state of system malfunction.

Chen Fan seized this one-in-ten-thousand-second opportunity. He snatched up the previously dropped Broken Tusk Axe, spun his body like a whirlwind to stand before the Six-Armed Serpent, and the axe blade tore through the resistance of metal and flesh, piercing upward from the throat of the Six-Armed Serpent!

[Elite Guard 'Six-Armed Serpent' Killed. Experience Gain Rate × 3 (Duration 1 Hour, Stackable)!]

[Level Up! Bronze Tier 8 → Bronze Tier 9!]

[Special Energy Residue 'Azure Butterfly Core' Detected. critical hit system is consuming...]

A series of system notifications suddenly sounded in Chen Fan's mind!

What shocked him even more was that as the critical hit system consumed the scattered blue data streams, a brief memory scene appeared imprinted in his mind—

It was a deep night. Mo Thousand Hands stood alone before a brazier, tossing a stack of papers covered in names into the flames.

The papers curled as they burned. The five characters 'Rebel List' written on them, along with the vivid names, twisted and turned to ash in the firelight.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the man in the center of the field, covered in blood but still standing tall and unyielding, and the completely destroyed killing machine at his feet.

On the high platform, Mo Thousand Hands slowly stood up.

He spread his right hand, which had been resting on the railing. The six characters carved into his palm with a knife, 'Fate is mine, not heaven's,' were now oozing faint beads of blood due to the invisible struggle just now.

He stared at Chen Fan. There was no anger, no surprise on his face—instead, he smiled.

"Nine years," His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, "You are the first person to kill my Azure Butterfly and still be standing here alive."

He gently raised his hand. Gui Sanniang beside him immediately understood and announced in a hoarse voice: "The winner is Chen Fan! Reward: One Bronze Core!"

Under the gazes of awe or jealousy from the crowd, Chen Fan walked down from the arena step by step.

Stone Skin had quietly approached at some point, quickly sticking something onto his arm before rapidly retreating.

Chen Fan looked down. It was a temporary tattoo in the shape of a broken chain.

He clenched the Bronze Core, still warm from being tossed by Gui Sanniang, and murmured to himself, "This is just the beginning."

Mo Thousand Hands stood on the high platform, his gaze never leaving Chen Fan's retreating back until he was about to disappear into the passage leading to the cage district.

"I'll wait for your return..." Mo Thousand Hands' lips curled into a cruel arc, and he whispered softly, "In the next round, I want you... to cut off one of your own fingers."

His voice, like a demon's whisper, drifted into Chen Fan's ears.

Chen Fan's steps didn't pause in the slightest, as if he hadn't heard the malicious curse.

He simply clenched the still-warm Bronze Core tightly in his palm, turned, and vanished into the only path to survival, his eyes devoid of any joy of victory, only a growing, solemn resolve.

Time was running out.