19: Let's see what my fist is like.

In the deepest part of the industrial zone, the situation was far from optimistic.

The smell of blood permeated the air, and dark red energy had become so thick it was nearly liquefied.

Every breath felt like inhaling a mass of warm plasma into the lungs, carrying a metallic tang of rot and a nauseating stench.

Wang Hu knelt on one knee, his chest heaving violently; every breath tugged at wounds across his body, bringing tearing, agonizing pain.

Sweat and blood mixed together, soaking his Special Agent combat uniform, which clung to his skin, cold and heavy.

His spiritual energy was nearly exhausted, and the arm holding his combat blade trembled uncontrollably.

But his eyes remained sharp, staring fixedly ahead.

In his field of vision, dense crowds of Ghouls had them completely surrounded.

These Ghouls were even more powerful than those encountered before.

Their bodies were more burly, their sharp claws shimmered with a metallic glint, and their crimson eyes were filled with greed and a craving for flesh.

However, these Ghouls were merely side characters.

The true source of terror came from the high platform behind the Ghoul pack.

A thin, hunched figure stood there quietly.

He looked as if he had existed for thousands of years; his skin was a greyish-pale color like withered tree bark, tightly wrapped around a skeleton, and he wore a tattered ancient robe.

Yet this figure, who looked like he could fall apart at any moment, emitted a terrifying aura powerful enough to freeze the Soul.

The Heart-Devouring Old Demon!

A terrifying demonic evil that existed only in the Spiritual Energy Bureau's top-secret files, rumored to have been suppressed a century ago by several top-tier Seniors working together.

He had actually reappeared in the world!

Beside the Heart-Devouring Old Demon stood over a dozen men dressed in black, their faces wearing a devotion so fanatical it was distorted.

Wang Hu's gaze swept over those men in black, the fury in his chest nearly erupting.

“Heart-Worshipping Cult...”

He squeezed those words out from between his teeth.

An organization of evil cultivators that worshipped the Heart-Devouring Old Demon, not hesitating to use the lives and blood of their compatriots to hold evil sacrifices just to resurrect this ancient demonic evil!

It turned out all of this—from the recent Ghoul attacks in Donghai City to their current predicament of being besieged here—was a conspiracy meticulously planned by these human traitors.

They bred Ghouls, slaughtered civilians, and collected essence blood... all of it was to awaken the Heart-Devouring Old Demon.

And now, these Spiritual Energy Bureau Agents were about to become the first feast for the Heart-Devouring Old Demon to recover his strength.

The Heart-Devouring Old Demon had just awakened; though his aura was terrifying, he was clearly in an extremely weakened state, with perhaps less than a tenth of his power remaining.

He needed nourishment.

And for him, the pure, surging spiritual energy within spiritual energy users was the highest grade of supplement.

Wang Hu gripped his hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the exertion, and let out an angry roar at those black-clad evil cultivators.

“You traitors to humanity!”

“Worshipping Demonic Evils, harming your own kind, even going so far as to resurrect this kind of monster!”

“Are you even human?!”

His voice echoed through the empty factory building, filled with grief, indignation, and resentment.

However, what responded to him was the utterly contemptuous sneer of the leading evil cultivator.

“Human?”

The evil cultivator's gaze was like looking at a group of ants that couldn't be communicated with, filled with pity and arrogance.

“You fools imprisoned in mundane physical bodies will never, in your entire lives until you rot and die, understand the greatness of Lord Heart-Devourer, much less glimpse what true power is.”

“The identity of 'human' is merely a shackle to us.”

“Once we bathe in Lord Heart-Devourer's grace and obtain eternity and great power, we will stand above all of you!”

“As for you, you will have the honor of becoming a part of Lord's power. It is your privilege!”

The fanatical words sent a chill deep into the bones of all the surviving agents.

On the high platform, the thin Heart-Devouring Old Demon seemed to have grown impatient listening.

Within his hollow eye sockets, two points of crimson light flickered, and a raspy, piercing voice rang out.

“Enough nonsense!”

“Obediently become my nourishment!”

The moment the words fell, he violently flicked his withered palm.

“Swish swish swish—!”

Countless fine, blood-colored silk threads shot out from his fingertips, blanketing the agents below like an overwhelming shroud.

Those threads were as thin as a cicada's wing, yet possessed a bizarre resilience, carving eerie arcs through the air.

“Watch out!”

Wang Hu roared a warning.

But it was too late.

Several agents whose spiritual energy was depleted couldn't react in time and were instantly entangled by over a dozen blood silks.

The moment the blood silks touched their bodies, they immediately became like living venomous snakes, tightening their grip as the sharp tips pierced directly into their skin.

“Aaaargh—!”

Shrill screams rang out.

The bodies of those agents withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The essence blood and spiritual energy within them were being crazily extracted by those blood silks and then continuously channeled into the Heart-Devouring Old Demon's body.

In just two short seconds, several vibrant lives turned into mummified corpses, falling to the ground with a 'thud.'

“No!” Wang Hu roared in fury, but there was nothing he could do.

The agents' eyes nearly split with rage as they swung their spiritual energy weapons at the blood silks.

“Clang!”

A shocking sound of metal clashing rang out.

The seemingly soft blood silks, the moment they collided with the blades, actually became harder than steel, even erupting with blinding sparks.

The spiritual energy combat blades actually couldn't cut through them!

More agents were entangled by blood silks, screams rising one after another as despair spread like a plague.

Wang Hu's eyes were bloodshot, and his remaining spiritual energy erupted frantically as the combat blade in his hand danced into a curtain of light.

“Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!”

He continuously swung his blade to parry, his figure moving at high speed within the open space to evade the pervasive blood silks.

A large amount of sparks erupted between his blade and the blood silks, illuminating his face which was written with grim determination.

Those lethal threads were temporarily unable to entangle him, but they left deep, bone-deep gashes on his body and carved hideous furrows into the ground beneath his feet.

“Oh?”

The Heart-Devouring Old Demon on the platform let out a soft sound of slight interest.

This ant seemed to be a bit stronger than the others.

The next second, his withered mouth curled into a cruel arc.

He violently flicked his hand!

Even more blood silks, several times the previous amount, surged from his fingertips like a bursting crimson flood, aimed directly at Wang Hu alone.

Wang Hu's pupils suddenly contracted to their limit.

It's over!

So many!

He couldn't block them at all!

Despair instantly submerged all his senses.

He watched helplessly as that crimson net of death descended toward him, and he could even smell the thick stench of blood coming from it.

However, just at this critical juncture.

On the platform, a trace of bewilderment suddenly appeared on the Heart-Devouring Old Demon's eternally withered face.

He abruptly turned his head and looked toward another entrance of the factory building.

There, it was pitch black.

“Whoosh—!”

All the blood silks shooting toward Wang Hu, as if receiving an invisible command, actually turned direction mid-air and lunged toward that dark entrance.

This strike gathered all his previous power and was enough to instantly pierce through a building!

Wang Hu slumped on the ground, gasping for air.

Before the relief of surviving could well up in his heart, he was completely stunned by the scene unfolding before him.

He only heard a dense series of metallic clashing sounds.

“Clang clang clang clang clang clang—!”

That invincible flood of blood-colored silk threads actually shattered completely the moment it charged into the darkness!

Countless crimson points of light exploded like fireworks and then vanished into the air.

For the first time, an unbelievable shock appeared in the Heart-Devouring Old Demon's crimson eyes.

“Who is it?!”

In his raspy voice, there was a hint of a sharp tremble.

The several Heart-Worshipping Cult evil cultivators beside the platform were also full of shock, whispering among themselves.

“How is this possible?!”

“Lord Heart-Devourer's ‘Heart-Devouring Demon Silk’ was actually destroyed?”

“And it was crushed so completely!”

“To be able to destroy so many blood silks at once, just how terrifying is that power?!”

Wang Hu and the surviving agents also looked toward that direction with confusion and shock.

Their minds were a complete blank, having no idea what had happened.

For a moment, the entire bloody factory fell into a bizarre, deathly silence.

Everyone's gaze, whether human or demonic evil, was fixed tightly on that deep, dark entrance.

“Rip—!”

A scalp-numbing sound of flesh tearing broke the silence.

Immediately after, a massive dark shadow was thrown out from the darkness.

It was the corpse of a Ghoul.

Only, it had been torn in half right down the middle.

Organs and shredded meat spilled across the floor; the scene was bloody to the extreme.

Seeing this, everyone present felt their hearts throb violently.

Then, a voice that was somewhat lazy yet filled with extreme mockery drifted out from those shadows.

“Oh my, isn't this the famous Heart-Devouring Old Demon?”

“You think you're invincible just because you can spray a bit of spider silk?”

“Look at how capable you think you are!”

Following that, a figure walked out from the darkness at a leisurely pace.

The newcomer was none other than Chen Nian, his eyes full of bloodlust and cruelty.

“Better take a look at my fist, folks!”