44: The Shock of the Sake-Drinking Boy

"Kill—!!!"

Over three hundred elite ninja of the Dominion let out a fervent battle cry in unison!

Their figures were agile, their aura powerful. They either merged into shadows, camouflaged with the environment, or stepped with strange, complex footwork.

Like three hundred deadly poison arrows,

they shot fearlessly toward Su Chen!

Meanwhile, Shuten Dōji raised his head,

and frantically gulped from the scarlet, Oni-faced sake gourd!

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

The clear gulping sound was like the pounding of war drums!

A dark red demonic aura, thick and bloody, erupted from his small body like a volcanic blast, shooting toward the sky!

Tear! Tear!

The Crimson Hunting Attire on his body was torn apart by his rapidly expanding muscles!

His bones let out a grating, explosive sound!

His short stature rapidly expanded as if being inflated!

In the blink of an eye,

a hideous Oni, over five meters tall, with muscles knotted like poured steel, skin as red as blood, and massive, curving scarlet Oni horns on its head, replaced his former figure!

A terrifying demonic aura, several times stronger than before, instantly swept across the entire battlefield like a tangible hurricane!

Seeing Shuten Dōji's terrifying appearance and powerful aura,

the four islands of Fusang immediately erupted in deafening cheers.

"Banzai! What a powerful aura! I've never seen anyone this strong!"

"Hahaha, you swine of Divine Summer, look! This is the mighty expert of our Fusang! Tremble! Be afraid!!!"

"I feel like Lord Shuten Dōji can definitely rip out the Crystal Core of that Kraken!"

"Go, Lord Shuten Dōji and the adults of the Dominion! Slice this giant octopus into octopus sashimi!"

"Hahaha, I can't wait to see their expressions when they witness their National Guardian Beast being slain later. It's going to be spectacular!"

Amidst the expectant gazes of countless Japanese,

the three hundred ninja of the Dominion,

like moths drawn to a flame,

rushed into the domain of death woven by Su Chen's tentacles!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Driven by battle instinct,

Su Chen's ten World-Destroying Whip-like tentacles thrashed wildly again!

Every strike was like a falling meteor!

Every sweep generated a storm of destruction!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A ninja using Earth Release in an attempt to burrow underground was smashed to pieces—man and earth—by a tentacle, leaving only a bloody, deep crater in the ground!

A Jōnin, moving incredibly fast and leaping between ruins, was slammed and exploded mid-air by another tentacle, like swatting a fly!

turning into a shower of blood!

A ninja skilled in Illusion Technique, who had created dozens of clones, had his main body firmly sucked onto the tentacle by the terrifying suction of its massive suckers, and was then electrocuted into charcoal by the arcs of electricity sparking across the tentacle!

Like a fierce wind sweeping away fallen leaves!

In a single exchange, dozens of elite ninja were reduced to paste!

However,

the elites of the Dominion were truly fearless!

After paying a heavy price, a small group of about a dozen people finally managed to reach the vicinity of Su Chen's mountain-like head, relying on strange Ninjutsu and the openings created by their sacrificing comrades!

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

One ninja formed hand signs and spewed a scorching fire tornado from his mouth, aiming to burn Su Chen's eyes!

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Another ninja summoned a thick lightning spear, striking the base of Su Chen's tentacles!

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

Invisible wind blades sliced the air, attempting to disrupt Su Chen's senses!

Although these attacks caused no substantial damage to Su Chen, the harassment, like mosquito bites, made the rampaging behemoth even more agitated, and his attention was briefly diverted!

In this fleeting moment!

The Jōnin with the strongest aura flashed a look of desperate madness in his eyes!

Aided by his comrade's Wind Release acceleration, his body transformed into a streak of light invisible to the naked eye, leaping high into the air at superhuman speed!

The katana in his hand, infused with his life's cultivation, shone with dazzling cold light and highly concentrated blade energy. Like a falling meteor, it fiercely stabbed toward the area of the phosphorescent, rhombus-shaped Crystal Core on Su Chen's forehead!

"Break for me—!!!"

He let out his final roar of life!

However!

A nearby lurking tentacle, like a viper waiting for its prey, struck later but arrived first!

Whoosh—smack!

Fast!

Faster than sight!

The massive tentacle shot out like lightning, precisely wrapping around the Jōnin who had leaped mid-air!

"Ergh ah—!"

The Jōnin's roar instantly turned into a scream of terror!

The tentacle tightened fiercely!

It exerted force!

And slammed downward!

Boom—!!!

The ground shook violently!

A massive crater tens of meters in diameter instantly formed!

In the center of the crater, only a gruesome, indistinct imprint of flesh and blood, deeply embedded in the ground, remained!

Even the alloy-forged katana was twisted into a pretzel!

Just as this Jōnin was crushed!

Whoosh—!

A viscous, dark-red demonic flame, reeking of pungent alcohol and blood, spontaneously ignited dozens of meters in front of Su Chen's head!

The flames warped space!

A colossal figure, red as blood, shot out from the center of the demonic fire like a demon from hell!

It was none other than Izumo Gozen, having completed his ultimate transformation!

"Beast! Die—!!!"

His five-meter-tall, hideous Oni body unleashed its full power!

His muscles were knotted like coiled, angry dragons!

He gripped the greatsword tightly in both hands—a sword condensed from the purest demonic power, burning with Blood Flames capable of incinerating souls!

The sword tip tore through the air, emitting a wail like ghosts crying and gods howling!

The target was precisely the Crystal Core on Su Chen's forehead!

This strike—

Speed! Strength! Angle! Timing!

It was absolutely flawless!

It could be said to be a killing blow, condensing all of his Rank 27 cultivation!

In that instant,

Minamoto no Yoshinobu's eyes burst forth with ecstatic light! His fists were clenched tight!

The remaining ninja of the Dominion let out fervent shouts!

In front of television screens and online, countless Japanese held their breath, their hearts in their throats! Their faces showed a morbid anticipation and the ecstasy of imminent victory!

"Banzai—!!!"

Countless voices roared in their hearts!

The next moment—

The tip of the Blood Flame Greatsword, carrying the destructive will to pierce through everything, fiercely struck the center of the rhombus-shaped area on Su Chen's forehead!

Clang—!!!!

A deafening, terrifying clang of metal on metal, like a ten-thousand-pound hammer striking divine steel, suddenly exploded!

The violent sound waves spread in a ring, instantly shattering all remaining glass within several hundred meters!

Time,

seemed to freeze at this moment.

The ecstasy on Minamoto no Yoshinobu's face froze.

The ninja's shouts caught in their throats.

The expectant smiles of the Japanese solidified on their faces.

The scene clearly showed:

The Blood Flame Greatsword, which concentrated all the power of a Rank 27 Oni and was capable of slicing mountains, had its peerlessly sharp tip resting squarely on the dark Crystal Core on Su Chen's forehead!

However,

the anticipated penetration and shattering... did not happen!

The sword tip,

was completely motionless!

It hadn't even left the slightest white scratch on that dark, tough epidermis!

"Na... Nani?!"