Monsters Die When Killed

Useful or not, the battle had to continue.

If the enemy could cut down artillery fire with his blade, it only meant one thing: there wasn’t enough artillery fire.

The six Exoskeleton Armors piloted by the Spirit Summoning Association’s Leaders suddenly burst with speed, arcing from the flanks in an attempt to encircle Su Zhou. In that same instant, the remaining seventeen armors began to transform, displaying their might as creations born from the fusion of modern technology and Magical Artifact techniques.

KACHA!

The sound of twisting, transforming steel rang out. Menacing launch ports appeared on their arms and chests. In the next instant, a torrent of tens of thousands of metal slugs swarmed out, tracing arcs through the air as they flew toward Su Zhou, who only raised an eyebrow in response.

These were martial weapons inscribed with ’Thunder Return’ and ’Armor-Piercing’ patterns. The bullets they fired could not be deflected by a Thunder Ability for a short time and could even, to some degree, pierce through physical and Spiritual Power shields. And now, this metallic storm, vast and dense as a cloud bank, had sealed off every possible route of escape for Su Zhou. No matter how fast his reflexes, evasion was impossible.

If even a single bullet hit, its lethal kinetic energy would shred the target’s skin and flesh. It would either pass straight through or tumble and fragment inside the body, creating a massive cavity. And right now, seventeen Exoskeleton Armors were firing at once—a barrage of over one hundred thousand bullets.

Even the body of a Transcendent would be no exception.

But for a well-honed body to overcome steel... wasn’t that only natural?

Su Zhou raised his eyebrow, not because he realized the bullets couldn’t be deflected by his Thunder Technique, but because he figured his clothes probably wouldn’t survive.

’Oh well, it’s just a cheap shirt.’

BOOM!

As the metallic storm slammed into Su Zhou, a blinding shower of sparks erupted, faintly outlining a brilliant human figure.

"We hit him?"

For a moment, the Spirit Summoner, who was preparing to flank and coordinate a suppressive strike, froze. She was skilled in various Law Commanding True Words and had once been on good terms with the Shepherd of Spirits; his Death Decree technique had even been developed with her assistance. She had planned to use ’Law Order: Binding’ to keep Su Zhou from dodging the attack, but she had been fully prepared for him to break free of her restraint with ease.

’But Su Zhou didn’t even try to dodge?’

There was no time to overthink it. Whether Su Zhou had forgotten to dodge or was simply insane, the assault had to continue. Thick roots suddenly shot out from deep within the earth, coiling around Su Zhou’s ankles. This was the power of the Plant Master, who was practically omnipotent in a dense area like the Black Forest. In the woods around them, a dozen massive Tree-men were already uprooting themselves, preparing to advance.

Farther away, an incredibly dense miasma began to gather, swirling with a rising gale. A bizarre Elf was gestating within it. This was the work of the Exchanger, who had sacrificed a Soul to grant the miasma a mind, temporarily transforming it into an elf-like being akin to an Elemental Creature that would fight at his command.

Aside from the Silent, the Reborn, and the Controller, who had yet to act, this was the pinnacle of the Spirit Summoning Association’s coordinated offense.

But that was precisely what made it so terrifying.

Bombarded by the metal storm, ensnared by tree roots, bound by the Truth-Telling Technique, and charged by the miasma Elf... yet the human figure, still erupting in brilliant sparks under the impact of countless bullets, continued to advance, step by steady step.

It was as if... he wasn’t the one moving, but the very earth beneath his feet!

SNAP— The sound of tree roots being ripped apart by raw, overwhelming power.

PING! PANG!— The sound of slugs striking flesh and blood marked with a Triangular Spirit Pattern, only to warp, deform, and ricochet, colliding with other bullets and erupting into sparks.

WHOOSH— The sound of the dense miasma Elf being sucked into a body in one great gulp, like a gale. It was followed by the sound of smacking lips. The figure even shook his head, as if he found the taste unsatisfying.

WHIRRR... Ammunition reserves had their limits. After eight seconds, almost all of the Spirit Summoning Association’s Exoskeleton Armors stopped firing. It wasn’t that they wanted to stop; they had simply run out of bullets. Even with the assistance of Spirit Techniques, their barrels were glowing red-hot.

The smoke cleared.

Carrying his blade, Su Zhou slowly emerged from the smoke and dust. Molten iron and powdered metal flowed over his defined muscles like water, leaving not a single scorch mark behind.

Aside from his shredded shirt, he was completely unharmed. The earlier storm of bullets hadn’t been enough to give him a proper wash. Sporadic shots were still being fired. One could see bullets like Fire Serpents slam into Su Zhou, but it was like shooting at a shredder. Before the slugs could even ricochet, the immense Spiritual Power in Su Zhou’s body shattered them into metallic dust or melted them into liquid iron that dripped to the ground.

As Su Zhou advanced, he left a trail of superheated, smoking metal dust—the remains of every bullet that had struck him. A surging heatwave pushed away the gunpowder smoke, creating gusts of wind that rolled outward.

It should have been a relationship between the one who tears and the one who is torn... but now, their positions were reversed.