70: Planning in progress (3)

With a crisp "crack…", the Toad Monster's head burst open like a ripe watermelon, and red and white matter splashed out, staining the Skeleton Monster's feet red.

Viscous liquid flowed slowly down the stark white bones, like tiny blood snakes slithering across the pale bone surface.

The air was permeated with a nauseating smell of blood, mixed with the strange, foul odor left behind by the previous poison, irritating the nasal passages; if any living being were present, they would surely end up in the ICU directly because of this stench.

Flames leaped, and pale blue light flickered in the Skeleton Monster's hollow eye sockets, like two ghostly hellfires, shimmering with a chilling radiance.

The Skeleton Monster stared at the Toad Monster's corpse at its feet and slowly extended a hand; a wisp of pale blue flame spread out from its eye sockets, like a nimble fire snake, quickly wrapping around one of the Skeleton Monster's arms.

In an instant, the Skeleton Monster's entire arm was engulfed by the pale blue flames; the raging fire emitted a scorching heat, distorting the surrounding air, while at the same time, a thin layer of frost formed on the ground beneath the Skeleton Monster's feet.

The pale blue flames began to spread outward along the Skeleton Monster's arm, and it was about to touch the Toad Monster's corpse at its feet.

Just then, the Skeleton Monster suddenly turned to the left, and its flaming arm simultaneously struck out rapidly toward the front left.

However, it was all too late.

A figure completely shrouded in black mist had appeared, who knows when, less than half a meter away from the Skeleton Monster.

The black mist rolled and surged like a beast waiting to devour, exuding a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.

The figure in the black mist suddenly lashed out with a whip kick, moving so fast that the naked eye could barely track it; with a loud "bang," the Skeleton Monster was sent flying backward instantly, as if hit by a cannonball.

Its massive body plowed a deep trench into the ground, sending gravel and dust flying everywhere.

Even with the violent friction against the ground, the Skeleton Monster could not stop its momentum, crashing through a building before finally being buried in the ruins.

A soft chuckle came from the black mist: "With only this much ability, you dare to come out and embarrass yourself?"

Gravel fell like rain as the Skeleton Monster's massive body slowly stood up from the ruins, its stark white bones covered in dust and debris.

Its eye sockets, burning with pale blue flames, stared fixedly at the figure shrouded in black mist standing beside the Toad Monster's corpse.

In the silence, a faint cracking sound rang out; the sturdy bone armor on the Skeleton Monster's chest cracked like a spiderweb, revealing the flickering dim blue light within.

It lowered its head to glance at the shattered bone armor, then suddenly looked up, the blue flames in its eye sockets burning even more fiercely, as if wanting to incinerate everything around it.

Seeing this, the figure in the black mist let out a snort of derision: "What? Not convinced?"

His tone carried undisguised mockery, "Did you think I would just watch you strengthen yourself without reacting?"

The black mist rolled and surged, as if expressing its master's contempt.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A round of applause rang out; the figure wrapped in black mist was clapping.

"You did really well," the voice from the black mist continued, its tone carrying a hint of sarcastic praise, "Choosing to strike when the host is near death—this moment is when the host's will is both at its strongest and its weakest. At this time, with just a little temptation, you can devour the host completely while paying a minimal price. Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly..."

He deliberately drew out the end of his sentence, as if lamenting something.

"However..." The black mist suddenly paused, and a suffocating pressure instantly shrouded the entire area, "Did you think I would give you the chance?!"

Seeing that the Skeleton Monster was still just staring fixedly at him without any reaction.

The figure wrapped in black mist couldn't help but mutter to himself: "That's not right. I've provoked him this much, why hasn't this guy snapped yet? Do I need to add a bit more spice?"

Thinking of this, the figure wrapped in black mist spoke again, his voice low and hoarse, grating like sandpaper: "What, still putting up a pointless resistance? Let me tell you again: unfortunately for you, with me here, it is inevitable that I will be the one to devour everything. As for you, you might as well enjoy yourself while you're still alive. Have some fun. Don't be all bitter and deep-seated with hatred when you get eaten by me later; that would be too boring. You useless piece of trash!"

The black mist surged like boiling asphalt, emitting a nauseating stench.

An indescribable sense of oppression permeated the air, as if even breathing had become difficult.

Upon hearing the mockery from the figure wrapped in black mist, the flames in the Skeleton Monster's eye sockets burned even more fiercely, eventually spreading to its entire body.

The pale blue flames blazed, clinging tightly to the stark white bones like maggots on bones, emitting a crackling sound.

The surrounding temperature rose sharply, and the air seemed about to be ignited and distorted by this high heat, while the thin layer of frost on the ground also spread wildly outward, even climbing up the surrounding buildings, vehicles, and trees, as if dressing them in a layer of white gauze, creating an extremely eerie and dissonant, yet strangely fitting, sensation.

As the flames engulfed its entire body, the stark white bones on the Skeleton Monster began to proliferate wildly, and its size expanded rapidly along with it.

It grew larger as if it were a balloon being inflated, turning into a hundred-meter-tall behemoth in the blink of an eye.

Its massive body cast a shadow that blotted out the sky, as if it wanted to devour the entire world.

However, this astonishing change did not last long.

After reaching a height of one hundred meters, the Skeleton Monster's size began to shrink suddenly, contracting rapidly like a deflating balloon.

Finally, it stopped at a height of about two meters, its physique more refined than before, its bones denser, and its surface shimmering with a metallic luster.

At this moment, the Skeleton Monster's aura was restrained, like a dormant Vicious Beast, standing there quietly, yet giving people an extremely dangerous feeling.

The previous violent aura had almost completely vanished, replaced by a profound tranquility, as if it contained infinite power.

Seeing this, the figure wrapped in black mist said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, I really didn't expect that you weren't just sleeping all day while I had you locked in the dark room; you actually researched something."

The black mist surged even more violently, as if expressing its master's excitement.

That's right, this figure wrapped in black mist was none other than Xiang Yan.

He stared at the Skeleton Monster before him, an inexplicable light flickering in his eyes.

Originally, according to the plan, he shouldn't have entered the fray, but facing this guy who had been causing him trouble for so long, he couldn't help but want to take action, just to test the waters and gauge his strength for when he would kill him later.

However, I didn't expect this test to actually yield a surprise. "Not bad, very not bad. It seems you aren't completely brainless after all. However..."

Xiang Yan's voice suddenly paused, and the black mist rolled even more violently; an even more powerful pressure instantly shrouded the entire area, like Mount Tai pressing down, suffocating.

"Do you think you can defeat me with just this?!"

Happy New Year to all you readers!