123: Slay the Corpse King

"Bang—bang—bang!"

Three dull gunshots, heavy as a hammer striking a drum and carrying a bone-chilling cold, rang out almost simultaneously!

It was Li Ang!

Like the calmest of hunters, he pulled the trigger at the perfect moment.

Three ice bullets wreathed in ghostly blue frigid air struck the exact same spot on the Corpse King's crack-filled diamond helmet, a spot previously torn open by Natasha!

Ice crystals spread, froze, and penetrated the helmet at an astonishing speed!

The hard armor emitted an ear-grating "crack-crack" sound, the ice-filled cracks widened instantly, as if it would shatter completely in the next second!

This was the terrifying aspect of Li Ang's ice bullets—they drastically reduced the target's physical resistance!

Just as the ice crystals spread to their limit!

An almost silent shadow, carrying a shriek that tore through the air, arrived later but reached first!

It was Natasha!

A wisp of blue smoke still lingered at the muzzle of her god-slaying sniper rifle.

That god-slaying bullet, stacked with triple kinetic energy, was like the fangs of the Grim Reaper, striking with pinpoint accuracy the weak point at the back of the skull on the helmet that had been repeatedly eroded by the ice bullets and stacked with resistance-reduction effects!

"Pfft—boom!"

The hard helmet burst open with a massive hole as if it were made of paper!

The terrifying explosive property of the god-slaying bullet was released with a roar inside the Corpse King's head!

Green, viscous brain matter mixed with shattered bone fragments sprayed out violently!

However, this grievous injury, which would have instantly killed any other creature, failed to completely finish off this resilient Corpse King!

It let out a deafening roar of extreme pain, like the wail of a dying beast!

It pounded its charred chest frantically with both fists, emitting dull "thud-thud" sounds!

Violent fire energy erupted uncontrollably from within its body; with it as the center, the ground within a radius of several meters was instantly scorched into charred, smoking, glass-like material!

"Watch out!" Tanya, who was closest, felt the destructive energy fluctuations, her pupils shrinking sharply.

"Roar—!" The Corpse King, burning with its final and most insane will, locked onto Tanya, who was closest to it!

Its mouth snapped open, and a stream of molten lava explosive energy—thick as a waterfall of magma and as sturdy as a pillar—carrying an aura that incinerated everything, blasted toward Tanya at a terrifying speed that tore through the air!

Wherever that scorching beam of light passed, the air twisted violently, leaving deep scorch marks on the ground!

"Water Domain!" At the critical moment, Zhang Lei's figure, accompanied by a sonic boom, instantly flashed in front of Tanya!

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and his Supernatural Ability surged out!

A viscous water domain, flowing with deep blue light, instantly unfolded before him like the toughest liquid shield!

"Hiss—!!!"

The violent lava beam slammed into the water domain!

Crimson red and deep blue clashed violently, emitting an ear-piercing sound of corrosion!

The terrifying high temperature caused the water domain to evaporate violently, creating a white mist that blotted out the sky!

Zhang Lei groaned as his body was pushed backward by the immense impact, plowing two deep trenches under his feet.

The water domain was being eroded and dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Rock Defense!" A steady, sharp shout rang out!

Li Wei, like a moving mountain, arrived beside Zhang Lei and slammed both palms onto the ground!

The earth rumbled!

A rock barrier several meters thick, shining with earthy yellow light, instantly rose from the ground, pressing tightly behind the water domain!

The thick earthen wall shared the destructive impact of the lava beam; the rock emitted "crackling" sounds under the high heat, rapidly turning crimson and melting!

"Now!" A cold glint flashed in Tanya's eyes!

She had been waiting for this exact moment when the Corpse King was attacking with all its might, its old force spent and new force yet to be generated!

Her figure, moving at extreme speed, left a faint afterimage in place; the Valkyrie twin guns in her hands emitted a crisp mechanical transformation sound, instantly turning into two Valkyrie twin blades shining with deadly golden light!

Like a female leopard pouncing on its prey, she took a fierce, decisive step, used the recoil from kicking off the ground to leap high into the air, and lunged straight for the blasted-open wound on the back of the Corpse King's head!

The twin blades slashed out two chilling golden streaks, aiming straight for the exposed, writhing green brain matter at the fatal vital point!

Although the Corpse King was severely injured, the instinctive reactions of a Tier 3 creature remained!

It jerked its head to the side, and the fatal blade grazed the edge of its broken skull, bringing up a trail of viscous green liquid!

However, this desperate evasion cost it its last chance!

Howling Heaven, who was nearby, quickly joined the battlefield with a roar, using his powerful sonic ability; the Corpse King's head felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, leaving it in chaos and unable to make any judgment.

"Hit!" Li Ang's voice was like an ice pick!

Another ice bullet whistled in, precisely shooting into the depths of the Corpse King's torn and exposed head wound!

"Pfft!"

The power of the ice exploded instantly!

The viscous green brain matter was frozen visibly into a large lump of sickly green ice!

Following closely behind was that silent sound of piercing through the air, representing the final judgment!

Natasha's god-slaying sniper rifle roared once more!

This shot, carrying a will of certain death, shot without hindrance into the core of the frozen brain matter!

"Bang—crash!"

The frozen brain matter, along with the fragile internal tissues, was instantly shattered like an ice block struck by a heavy hammer!

Green ice crystals mixed with mucus splattered everywhere!

"Flame Dragon Break!" Zhang Lei seized the moment when the Corpse King's movements were completely stiff and its life force was rapidly fading!

He gripped the fire qilin spear tightly with both hands, and flames from his entire body poured frantically into the spear shaft; the spear erupted with a blinding red light, and a lifelike flaming dragon roared out, circling the spear body!

Zhang Lei poured all his strength into it, throwing the long spear with all his might like a javelin!

"Roar—!"

The fire qilin spear transformed into a flaming meteor tearing through the sky, piercing with pinpoint accuracy through the Corpse King's head, which was already mangled, frozen, and shattered!

The fire dragon energy coiled around it erupted with a roar!

"Boom!!!"

Like a small bomb exploding!

The Corpse King's huge, dilapidated head was completely blown into charred fragments dancing in the sky amidst the soaring flames!

The massive, headless body of the Lava Vajra Corpse King, like a giant tower with all its pillars removed, swayed once, then collapsed with a crash, slamming heavily onto the scorched ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The magma light flowing on its body quickly dimmed and solidified, finally turning into a pile of huge, lifeless charred rocks.

As the Corpse King collapsed completely like a landslide, the tension and murderous atmosphere permeating the battlefield suddenly eased.

The group's tense nerves finally got a chance to breathe; they all let out long sighs of relief, and the feeling of surviving a disaster filled their hearts.

Sweat soaked their clothes, and their hands gripping their guns trembled slightly; it was the exhaustion that follows the overdrawing of strength.

Zhang Lei walked forward, his boots making "sizzling" sounds as they stepped on the scorching scorched earth.

He bent down and, from the pile of still-warm remains, precisely dug out a crystal core that emitted a ghostly blue light and contained pure energy.

The crystal core felt icy cold in his hand, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding heat.

He carefully wiped it clean and solemnly tucked it into his tactical pouch.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work!" Zhang Lei turned around and solemnly cupped his hands in a salute to his weary but bright-eyed teammates.

His voice was hoarse from the fierce battle, but filled with sincere gratitude, "The Corpse King has been slain, all thanks to everyone's concerted effort! Let's head back to report!"

"You're too polite, sir! It's our duty!" Li Ang and Li Wei responded simultaneously in deep voices, their voices loud and clear, standing tall to return the salute, their faces bearing the fatigue of victory and a trace of imperceptible pride.

Tanya also gracefully retracted her twin blades, transforming them back into twin guns and holstering them at her thighs, slightly nodding to Zhang Lei with a faint but genuine smile on her lips.

Zhang Lei's gaze swept over the group and finally landed on Natasha.

He saw her nimbly slinging the heavy god-slaying sniper rifle onto her back, her movements as crisp and efficient as ever.

She seemed to sense Zhang Lei's gaze and lifted her head.

The afterglow of the sunset happened to fall on her profile, and deep within those blue eyes, always as cold as Siberian permafrost, something seemed to quietly melt a little; although it was fleeting, that absolute, aloof coldness had indeed faded somewhat.

She gave a very small but clear nod in Zhang Lei's direction, then immediately looked away.

Zhang Lei did not catch this subtle change; his attention had already shifted to the return journey.

The battlefield returned to silence, with only the wisp of blue smoke rising from the scorched earth silently recounting the thrilling hunt that had just taken place.