Four S Class Corruptors!
At these words, Meryl’s face turned deathly pale. Beside her, Bailian’s expression darkened so deeply it seemed moisture might drip from his scowl.
Which faction could muster such overwhelming force?!
After all, in many medium or small factions, a Class S individual is as vital as a stabilizing pillar—the very foundation of their existence! Even in weaker major factions, S Class Corruptors are numbered on one hand. Yet now, four appeared at once—nearly the full might of a major power!
It wasn’t that Loki Squad was weak. In truth, they ranked among the strongest Class S combat squads, capable alone of rivaling a medium-sized faction. But facing this extravagant lineup? They were clearly outmatched.
Meryl’s mind raced, desperately searching for an escape. Yet every path led only to certain death.
*Do what we can, and leave the rest to fate.* She closed her eyes.
"Bailian… this may be our final battle."
"Let’s hold them off. Give Ming Yi and the others a chance to run."
Slim as the hope was, it beat waiting helplessly for death.
Bailian gave a silent nod.
"Admirable," the cloaked man sneered. "But today, not a single soul leaves alive."
No sooner had he spoken than Meryl roared:
"Run!"
She swung up her sniper rifle and fired forward.
Ming Yi and the other two, who’d been watching the chaos, went pale. They weren’t fools—they saw the enemy came fully prepared to assault the Liberation Syndicate. Meryl and Bailian were already cornered. A dead end.
At Meryl’s shout, they spun and fled.
"Told you—it’s too late!" The alluring purple-haired youth now stood blocking the far exit.
"Damn it!" Xiao Chengcheng cursed, swinging the Hundredfold Forged Staff with thunderous force. "I’ll smash you, you damn pretty boy!"
The staff descended like lightning—but Xiao Chengcheng’s heart sank.
His supposedly unbreakable weapon was caught effortlessly in the youth’s single hand. Not a tremor shook the man’s stance.
Shocked, Xiao Chengcheng yanked the staff. It didn’t budge—an inch. Welded fast.
"You, the lowest insect, thought to harm me?" The youth flicked his wrist. Xiao Chengcheng slammed into the wall, staff and all. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone.
"Ugh!" Face beet-red, limbs twisted unnaturally, he coughed blood violently.
Ming Yi and Chu Tong paled.
*Is this the gap between an S Class Corruptor and me?*
Too vast! To him, they were ants—crushed without effort.
The youth turned, licked his lips, eyes gleaming with eerie light.
"Won’t you two join him?"
Chu Tong and Ming Yi exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and attacked from both sides.
The youth narrowed his eyes. "Boring."
Before Ming Yi registered movement, his body flew. The world spun. Scenery blurred.
Agony erupted from every bone.
"Pfft!" Organs shattered to pulp. Bones snapped to fragments. His body collapsed like a soft insect, limp on the floor.
Beside him, Chu Tong lay unconscious, blood streaking her face—fate unknown.
Pain blurred Ming Yi’s vision. Helplessness. Despair.
*Too weak…*
*Still so fragile…*
Before true power, he was nothing.
——
——
Meanwhile, Bailian and Meryl fought desperately.
"Die!" Eyes crimson from witnessing Ming Yi’s fate and researchers gunned down by mercenaries, Bailian charged the woman, spear raised.
"Spear of Deaththorn!" Crimson light flared along the shaft. Like a dragon unleashed, it shot for her face.
The woman frowned. A whip materialized in her hand, sparks dancing along its molten-lava glow.
"Whip of Molten Lava!"
She cracked it toward him.
Bailian flicked the spear tip, weaving a flourish that ensnared the whip. Roaring like thunder, he hurled her backward.
Mid-air, she spun gracefully and landed lightly.
Bailian pivoted instantly, launching the spear at the white-haired elder closing in on Meryl.
"Hit!"
The Spear of Deaththorn became a crimson streak—reaching the elder in a blink.
The elder barely twisted, golden-threaded gloves clamping the spear tip. But the force sent him stumbling back.
Before he steadied, Bailian seized the shaft, driving him backward.
"Die…!"
Back slammed against the wall. Stalemate.
"This brat’s tough! Will you three just watch?!" the elder gasped.
The cloaked man finally moved. A heavy ancient tome floated above his palm. He flipped a page, murmuring:
"Codex of Silencing—Nullify Strength!"
Eerie dark light pulsed. Bailian’s strength vanished. The spear nearly slipped.
The elder roared, shoved the spear away, and slammed stacked palms into Bailian’s chest.
"Corruption Artifact: Golden Thread Gauntlets!"
Impact like a mountain. Bailian coughed blood, stumbling back.
"Bailian!" Meryl cried, firing.
The bullet grazed the elder’s arm—a deep gash bloomed.
"My dear lady," a sinister voice purred behind her, "ambushing is impolite."
Meryl’s eyes widened in horror. The purple-haired youth smirked.
"Corruption Artifact: Earth-Shortening Boots!"
She rolled forward. A silver flash sliced air—severing strands of hair.
Before she rose, he reappeared, tilting his head. Dagger gleamed.
*Shhk!*
She twisted—but too late. A deep, bone-exposing gash tore from neck to collarbone.
Eyes wide with disbelief, one hand clutched the gushing wound. The rifle slipped, clattered down… and dissolved into a puddle of blood.
"MERYL!" Bailian’s roar tore from his throat, eyes blazing with grief and rage.
