266: Chapter 267 "Order Wars" [Clone City]: The Siege by Giant Flesh Tentacles

The entire [Clone City], which had transformed into a giant Flesh Altar, was completely awakened the moment the Flesh Doorway took shape. After a brief pause of a few breaths, the Flesh Ground and flesh buildings that had merely been squirming slowly truly came to life.

Under the [Eye Demon]'s control, the flesh nerves spread throughout the city acted like extensions of its body. With the dark red Flesh Ground squirming beneath their feet and the living buildings on both sides transformed into giant blocks of meat, countless giant flesh tentacles sprouted simultaneously across the entire [Clone City] as far as the eye could see. The only change in this process was the consumption of the nutrient solution formed from the melting of those hundreds of thousands of Clones.

Each giant flesh tentacle was as thick as three men's embrace, its surface constantly secreting a slick, transparent mucus. Countless transparent cilia vibrated wildly on the surface of the tentacles like pythons attracted by prey. With a whistle that tore through the air, they lashed out from all directions toward the twenty-odd Hosts who were evacuating the Tower Plaza.

This was not an attack from a single enemy; it was the entire living [Clone City], the entire giant Flesh Altar, launching a siege against the sacrifices trapped within it.

Endless giant flesh tentacles swatted down, blotting out the sky and sealing off all routes for the Hosts to dodge or evacuate. One moment a tentacle was severed, and the next, over a dozen more would smash down simultaneously from the ground, behind, and overhead. Fragments of flesh shattered, frozen, scorched, or shredded by various elemental powers would merge back into the Flesh Ground the moment they landed, providing nutrients for the tentacles that grew afterward. The transparent mucus dripping from the tips of the tentacles, even if it only splashed onto the corner of a Host's clothes, would act like a maggot on a bone, corroding clothing and equipment into residue, eroding the energy barriers on the Hosts' bodies, and seeping into their skin. It rapidly consumed the Hosts' physical strength and Mental Energy, making their once swift movements and thoughts sluggish and heavy.

The Hosts relied on their unique Talents to break through this siege, yet they still could not stop the infinite offensive coming from the entire city.

The Hosts, who had originally been fighting individually, quickly and spontaneously formed several small groups. Elemental-type Hosts stood at the very front, pushing their Talent abilities to the limit. A Host wielding lightning condensed all the electricity around him onto the giant blade in his hand; blue-white lightning instantly covered all the flesh tentacles in front of him, and every swing could sever the oncoming tentacles. However, even if the severed ends were charred black by the lightning, dozens of slender tentacles would instantly split from the base, coiling around his wrists like venomous snakes. A Host controlling fire spread a pair of flaming wings behind his back; with every flap, countless burning fire feathers shot out, scorching the incoming tentacles into charred charcoal blocks. But as soon as the charcoal hit the ground, it was swallowed by the flesh earth below, and in an instant, new tentacles burst forth from the Flesh Ground where the charred marks remained. Where the Host controlling ice stepped, endless frost spread rapidly along the Flesh Ground, freezing the incoming tentacles along with the flesh on the ground into ice. Yet in less than half a breath, the ice layer would be forced open by the pulsating flesh within, and amidst the splashing ice shards, an even more violent offensive had already arrived. A Host riding a hurricane wove wildly through the gaps between the tentacles on his beloved motorcycle, the vehicle's air cannon constantly firing compressed hurricane shells that blasted the obstructing tentacles into flying bits of flesh, yet he still could not block the giant blood-colored net closing in from all directions.

Sitting upon the flesh throne, the [Eye Demon]'s crimson eye, which had been fixed on the aura of the [Real World] leaking from the gaps in the Flesh Doorway, glanced with slight surprise at the Hosts resisting the flesh tentacles' attacks. It was first attracted by those who controlled various elements and created various natural, physical, and chemical phenomena; then, its gaze was drawn to the Hosts who modified the Laws of physics, distorted the Logic of reality, and established bizarre rules.