154: Chapter 154 The Hunt of the Black Tornado

The sky of the Doomsday Highway world inverted its colors several times in a very short period—first dyed a warm golden yellow like spreading silk by the [soul redemption vaccine]; then, in an instant, countless black birds that blotted out the sky surged from behind, swallowing the gold like ink and plunging the entire world into an oppressive, pure black.

The number of black birds grew exponentially, their sharp beaks gleaming with a metallic luster and the buzzing of their flapping wings becoming ear-splitting. As more and more golden Soul light spots were snatched away, the birds around the four teams began to converge, forming rotating black tornadoes. Within the eyes of these storms, sharp beaks and talons flashed with a lethal, cold light.

The [Road Overlord] team reacted the fastest to the sudden appearance of the black birds and the tornadoes surrounding them. The speeding motorcycle squad quickly gathered like a school of fish, four heavy motorcycles unfolding in a cross formation to protect Flora's [mech-flower motorcycle] in the center—Flora's eyes lit up with a light green and silver glow as her B-grade Talent [Mechanical Plant] operated at full power. Several silver metal vines as thick as buckets grew from the body of the [mech-flower motorcycle], their surfaces covered in sharp barbs like steel pythons, rapidly spreading and coiling around the energy-materialized "Blue Light Shield," with the tips of the barbs on the vines flickering with the faint glow of electricity.

"Fire!" Walker's roar came through the helmet communicator as the four motorcycles in the cross formation simultaneously activated their weapon Systems. The [hurricane motorcycle] on the left fired a spiral air cannon, the resulting gale intertwining with the molten shells from the [blazing motorcycle] on the right to form a terrifying "wind-assisted fire" offensive. The flaming hurricane charged into the black tornadoes like a fire dragon, incinerating swaths of birds into ash. The two motorcycles in the rear used sonic interference and gear bombs to fill the firepower gaps. Attacks constantly spat out from the gaps in the silver vines, forming a defense network with no blind spots.

Attack is defense, and defense is for better attacking—this was the combat philosophy of the [Road Overlord] team.

The attacked black birds turned into black powder, but were quickly replaced by new black birds emerging from the rifts. Walker grinned and controlled his [hurricane motorcycle] to suddenly accelerate: "Brothers, charge out with me! Don't let these fragile little things trap us!"

The [Fairytale Town] team's response was full of fantastical elements. Marshmallow pressed her hands together, a soft pink halo appearing around her. Under her control, the Dream Spirit [Seven-Colored Cloud] temporarily gained the property of infinite proliferation. The originally small cloud tent expanded rapidly like a balloon, eventually turning into a huge spherical cloud ten meters in diameter, its surface shimmering with seven-colored light.

The black birds pounced on the spherical cloud and were instantly enveloped by the soft wisps, as if stuck in a swamp they couldn't escape. Marshmallow tapped her toes, and the massive spherical cloud began to roll forward quickly, smashing the surrounding black tornadoes to pieces. The birds caught inside were continuously dissolved by the purification energy within the cloud wisps as it rolled, turning into black powder.

"These things can be purified!" Because the tornadoes formed by the black birds were too noisy, Marshmallow could only shout her discovery to the other four girls.

The four girls inside the cloud activated their Talents: Sugar's [wishing star lamp] scattered fine stardust, strengthening the purification ability of the massive Seven-Colored Cloud sphere; Popping Candy used her [Candy Bomb] Talent to continuously throw candies from the Dream Spirit [Candy Jar] into the black tornadoes, setting off bursts of stardust-laden candy shards that blasted holes into the tornadoes. The five girls shouted in unison: "Sisters, charge out!" The rolling speed of the Seven-Colored Cloud sphere suddenly increased, crushing the black tornadoes that trapped them. The golden beam shot from the [Unicorn]'s horn and the purification buff rippling like water from the [Crystal Heart] caused any black birds they touched to explode instantly, clearing the path for the rapidly rolling Seven-Colored Cloud sphere.

Around the monster truck transformed from Bai Feifei's Dream Spirit [hundred-refined dragon steed] of [Most Journey to the West], the black tornadoes were weak enough to stay less than a meter away from the vehicle. black birds constantly flew out of the tornadoes, their sharp beaks pecking at the dragon-shaped patterns on the [hundred-refined dragon steed]'s body, making crisp "ding-dong" sounds.

Tang Youyou sat in the back of the truck. For the first time, she closed the [Xinhua Dictionary] in her hands, a look of clear disgust finally appearing on her calm face—these noisy creatures had completely disturbed her peace.

She slowly raised her right hand, golden light condensing at her fingertips. Without complex words or flashy special effects, she uttered a single, concise, and powerful word: "Erase!"

As the word fell, a golden character for "Erase" dozens of meters wide condensed out of thin air and descended from the sky like a giant eraser. With unquestionable power, it eliminated the entire Black Tornado surrounding them from top to bottom.

Wherever the "Erase" character passed, the black birds forming the tornado vanished without a trace, like wiped-away ink. black birds outside the tornado tried to surround the [hundred-refined dragon steed] again, but were fanned away by the giant golden plantain fan that Sun Miaomiao's Dream Spirit [ruyi stick] had transformed into. Sun Miaomiao, who had used her [Person of Change] Talent to transform herself into a giant ant, clicked her tongue and said, "Uh... (°ー°〃), Sister Youyou is angry. You guys are finished."

The [Mimicking Parrot] standing on Tang Youyou's shoulder was infected by its master's Aura, flapping its wings and repeating "Erase! Erase! Erase!" With every shout, a miniature golden "Erase" character flew out like blooming fireworks, tracing golden lines in the black space and clearing the surrounding black birds one by one.

"Sister Youyou is so domineering!" Sha Luoluo controlled the yellow sand, condensing it into a circular sand wall around the truck. The sand wall flowed continuously, occasionally extending blades made of sand to pierce the black birds trying to approach the [hundred-refined dragon steed] again.

"With Sister Youyou here, these little things can't even get close!" With eyes like torches, Bai Feifei kept her Talent [Extreme Speed Moment] active, maneuvering the [hundred-refined dragon steed] through the attacking swarms of black birds. The truck's dragon-shaped patterns lit up with a faint golden light, emitting bursts of dragon roars that shook off approaching birds. She stared at the black tornadoes forming ahead and said in a heavy voice, "If this continues, we'll be worn down to death."

Zhu Lingling held the [Gluttonous Piggy], tapping her finger to use her [Gourmet Great Master] Talent to turn an approaching black bird into a crispy cracker, which she fed to the little pig in her arms. She looked up at the black rift in the sky and said softly, "These black birds have no Soul, but they are composed of energy—the same energy that was separated from the white Soul light spots during [Redemption]!" Sun Miaomiao shook her head and smiled, "It seems our [Redemption] of these Souls has forced the mastermind out."

The attacks of the three teams were all effective, but the number of black birds was simply too great. As soon as one tornado was dismantled, new black birds surged from the surroundings and reconvened. Golden Soul light spots were still being snatched away, the black sky grew denser, and in the direction of the distant Magma Sea, the [Herrscher of the Honkai] Klaps was observing each team through the vision of the black birds.

Walker of [Road Overlord] looked at the increasing number of birds and gritted his teeth: "This isn't the way!" Marshmallow of [Fairytale Town] was panting, the huge Seven-Colored Cloud sphere having already shrunk by a circle: "My energy is about to run out..."

Tang Youyou of [Most Journey to the West] opened the [Xinhua Dictionary] in her hand again, her finger quickly sliding across the pages while the [Mimicking Parrot] kept repeating the word "Erase": "Let's break a path through first."

The eyes of the three teams converged on the black rift in the sky and the direction of the Magma Sea where the highway behind them was collapsing and falling. black birds continued to emerge, and golden light spots were still being preyed upon, but one breakout after another was unfolding under the sky of interwoven black and gold.