Chapter 90 - 88: Fight to the Death
Lin Ye’s expression changed drastically.
The worst, and most likely, answer instantly flashed through his mind.
’That direction!’
’It’s Zhang Yuqing!’
During this time, Zhang Yuqing had also mastered how to use the T3 Hovering Exoskeleton Armor.
Including, of course, its self-destruct function!
Lin Ye no longer cared about energy consumption. He held nothing back.
He instantly maxed out his engine’s power, transforming into a blurry black shadow as he recklessly charged toward the source of the light and heat!
...
「Time rewound slightly.」
At the other end of the subway tunnel, before the burning wall of fire.
When a faint purple glimmer lit up without warning in the distant darkness, hurtling straight toward her at an incredible speed,
Zhang Yuqing tightened her grip on her Rain Listening.
The blade reflected a cold light in the faint glow of the flames.
She could feel a terrifying spiritual pressure, like a tangible tsunami, crashing down on her.
Her legs were trembling uncontrollably.
Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.
But her hand—the hand holding the sword—was steadier than ever.
The Crystal Spirit Race hatchling abruptly slowed down just over a hundred meters away from her.
Its strange, single eye locked onto her coldly from a distance.
Its gaze held none of the scrutiny or vigilance it had shown Lin Ye.
There was only pure, supreme contempt.
And the greed of looking at a meal on a plate.
"Do you think I’m an easy target?"
Zhang Yuqing suppressed the fear in her heart and spoke to the Crystal Spirit Race hatchling, her voice trembling.
"So, you want to break through by attacking me, right?"
"Then come on!"
At that moment, the only thing in Zhang Yuqing’s mind was Lin Ye’s eyes.
The eyes that always remained calm, always searched for a way out, no matter the despair or predicament.
The past few days of hunting to the limit, of sharing life and death, had given her a courage she’d never known.
In this moment, she stood tall and faced this terrifying creature from the Celestial Abyss as a Warrior.
"SKREE—!"
The Crystal Spirit Race hatchling seemed to be enraged by her provocation.
It let out a piercing, bizarre shriek.
The next moment, Zhang Yuqing’s vision blurred.
The purple flash of light had crossed the hundred-meter distance in an instant!
THWIP!
THWIP!
THWIP!
There was no time to react!
Several purple crystal spears, condensed from thin air, had already viciously pierced her abdomen and chest!
Agonizing pain shot through her entire body like an electric current.
But there was no pain in Zhang Yuqing’s eyes, only madness!
Relying on her body’s last-second instinct, she suddenly thrust the Rain Listening Sword in her hand to the side!
CLANG!
The tip of the sword accurately struck a small figure trying to bypass her, forcefully stopping it.
’Now!’
Before the Crystal Spirit Race hatchling could make its next move, Zhang Yuqing did something it never expected.
She took the initiative and lunged toward it!
She threw open her arms and, with all her strength, wrapped the Crystal Spirit Race hatchling, which emanated a terrifying energy, in a death grip!
STAB!
STAB!
STAB!
The Crystal Spirit Race hatchling struggled violently.
Sharp crystal spikes, like the sharpest daggers, frantically pierced Zhang Yuqing’s body.
Each penetration sent a spray of hot blood into the air.
A storm of purple crystals condensed around it into deadly needles, shooting toward Zhang Yuqing’s body like a downpour!
Zhang Yuqing endured the kind of agonizing pain that would make an ordinary person break in an instant—like being sliced to death.
She felt her life force draining away at an astonishing rate.
But the light in her eyes was like gasoline being thrown on a fire, erupting into an uncontrollable inferno!
She held on even tighter.
She could even feel a hint of panic coming from the alien creature in her arms.
BOOM—!!!
The self-destruct countdown on her T-3 Hovering Exoskeleton Armor reached its final second.
A blinding white sun, powerful enough to consume everything, erupted in the deep subway tunnel!
A terrifying shockwave and temperatures exceeding ten thousand degrees spread outward from the core of the explosion in a destructive sphere!
In the violent explosion, the Crystal Spirit Race hatchling’s limbs, along with the strange single eye on its head, were instantly vaporized by the high temperature and completely torn apart by the frenzied shockwave!
But at the very last second, it recalled all the crystal needles it had been using to attack Zhang Yuqing with a reaction speed that surpassed its limits.
Layer upon layer of solid purple crystal shields materialized around the damaged energy core in its chest!
...
A figure shot out of the darkness like a cannonball.
It was Lin Ye, flying at full power.
The blinding light had not yet completely dissipated.
The searing heatwave that rushed toward him stung his eyes, almost bringing him to tears.
But when he saw the scattered, charred remains on the edge of the explosion...
Lin Ye’s eyes were instantly consumed by blood-red fury.
The fragments of the T-3 Exoskeleton Armor.
The broken Rain Listening Sword.
And those...
...unrecognizable pieces of a girl’s body.
He immediately understood what Zhang Yuqing had done.
His intention had been to sacrifice himself to create an opening for Zhang Yuqing.
But he never imagined that this girl had also prepared herself for sacrifice and had actually gone through with it!
A volcano seemed to erupt in Lin Ye’s chest, but his face remained expressionless, a mask of cold fury.
Because the system hadn’t notified him of the mission’s completion.
The Crystal Spirit Race creature.
It wasn’t dead!
Lin Ye’s gaze pierced through the blazing flames and rolling dust, locking precisely onto the very center of the explosion.
There, an irregular purple crystal, only the size of a goose egg, was emitting its final light.
Lin Ye didn’t hesitate for a second.
He squeezed out the last of his strength, his body letting out a roar as it tore through the air, and charged straight into the heart of the flames!
He raised his spear high.
The tip of the spear glinted with a cold, resolute light in the fire’s reflection.
[Spear Stance] Switch—
[Soulchaser Form]!
[Charged Strike]!
All his power, all his rage, all his will, was poured into this single thrust!
The spear thrust down viciously!
CLANG!!!
An ear-splitting shriek of metal on metal!
Lin Ye felt a terrifying rebound force travel up the spear shaft. The web of his thumb split open instantly, dripping with blood.
’I didn’t break its defense!’
A thin, almost invisible shield around the purple crystal had blocked his fatal blow!
There was no despair in Lin Ye’s heart.
Not even a flicker of hesitation.
Only a final madness remained in his mind.
’Kill!’
’Kill it!’
Ignoring the torn flesh of his hand, he began to repeat his strongest attack over and over again in a near self-destructive manner.
Maximum charge!
Combined with the [Soulchaser Form]’s highest damage multiplier against vital points!
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
"WAAAH—!"
For the first time, Lin Ye clearly heard the hatchling’s sharp cry, like the wail of a newborn baby.
The sound was filled with pain and fear.
In Lin Ye’s vision, a tiny, almost imperceptible crack finally appeared on the purple crystal!
’It’s working!’
’My attacks are working!’
THWIP!
Just as Lin Ye was about to launch his next attack, countless crystal needles, finer than hairs, shot out from the core and instantly covered his entire body!
Lin Ye felt as if his body had been thrown into a drum made of billions of steel needles.
In an instant, hundreds, even thousands, of bloody holes were punctured all over him.
At the same time, a Spirit assault ten times stronger than before slammed into his mind!
His head was splitting apart!
The world was spinning, and he felt as if he would pass out at any moment.
But he couldn’t stop!
He grit his teeth so hard they cracked his gums, filling his mouth with the metallic, cloying taste of blood.
This battle had come down to a contest of wills!
Once again, Lin Ye viciously thrust the spear in his hand!
CLANG!
CRACK—!
Beneath the spear tip, the crack suddenly widened!
"WAAAH—!!!"
The crisis of impending death made the Crystal Spirit Race hatchling erupt with its final, most brilliant burst of life energy.
Before Lin Ye’s eyes, the last bit of light in its core was instantly drained!
All of its energy converged into a single point!
THWIP!!!
A massive purple crystal spear, thicker and more solid than any of its previous attacks, materialized out of thin air.
It gave Lin Ye no time to react.
With unstoppable momentum, the massive spear viciously pierced straight through Lin Ye’s heart!