Chapter 305: Hacked Down by Chaotic Blades

Wisps of mist drifted above this "Corrupted Zone" covered in bizarre crystal clusters, and even the thick fog around seemed dyed an ominous purple by the crystals growing here; the Deep Dive squad from the Special Operations Bureau was sampling everywhere, packing the soil and crystals into various secure containers to bring them back to the real world upon "surfacing."

Meanwhile, the Deep Divers had also set up numerous detection devices on-site to collect nearby environmental parameters, and they had brought in a drilling rig via "Hunter Owl," intending to dig down into this pollution zone to see just how deep the "corruption" had penetrated.

Where a giant tower once stood, there was now a pit dozens of meters deep; the pit bottom had no crystal clusters, but was covered in faintly glowing dark purple patterns that looked as if they had been left behind after being eroded by something.

Hu Li and Erin (Pro) were squatting beside the pit discussing what those patterns were for; although they had reached not a single reliable conclusion, the two were discussing with great enthusiasm.

Xuan Che watched this scene from the side, looking somewhat bewildered and somewhat uneasy.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally couldn't help but mutter: "Don't you worry about him at all?"

Erin (Steel) nearby looked up upon hearing this: "Huh? Who? Oh, you mean Yu Sheng—what is there to worry about? He's not never coming back."

Xuan Che became even more worried upon hearing this; he felt he couldn't understand the thinking patterns of the various members in this "Inn"—he hadn't understood them from the very beginning: "He is in grave danger! Just now, when Miss Hu Li used... uh, used her tail to launch him up, I wanted to ask: does he always do such outrageous and dangerous things? Are you all used to it!? And now he has been transferred to another location along with that strange tower, and we don't know what dangers exist inside that tower..."

Before he could finish speaking, Erin impatiently waved her hand: "Oh, stop being so fussy; rest assured, he's perfectly fine, he was even talking to me just now. Instead of worrying about that, why don't you come over and look at this big pit? Stupid Fox says the patterns below were pressed out by the tower's base, but I think they were blasted out when the tower launched..."

Xuan Che: "..."

He let out a long sigh and decided to ignore this neurotic puppet.

Indeed, within the entire "Inn," only the High Expert was easier to communicate with—though not by much.

Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor; the tilted gravity environment made Yu Sheng feel quite uncomfortable walking here, so he simply stopped at a corridor junction, leaning against the wall to rest while letting out a light breath.

The light not far away flickered somewhat, as if there was a problem with the power supply here; in that flickering light, Yu Sheng always felt there were shadowy figures hiding.

But it might simply be that his eyes were a bit blurry, after all, he had shed far too much blood on this journey.

An ill-intentioned presence was approaching, gathering in the nearby corridors; gazes were falling upon him, observing cautiously.

Yu Sheng had noticed these presences trailing him and gathering in the dark since just now, and he had also noticed that feeling of being watched; he was not particularly surprised by this.

He knew he would be discovered soon if he stayed active here, after all, even walking in a shopping mall meant surveillance everywhere, let alone on a "spaceship" that looked stuffed with a pile of black-tech—those corridors with their eerie atmosphere, every corner, every floor entrance, were full of "eyes."

Yu Sheng raised his head and scanned the surroundings according to his senses; the corridors here all featured classical-style reliefs and complex, magnificent murals, and in many places one could even see sculptures carrying some kind of religious symbolic meaning; stylistically, this place looked nothing like a "spaceship," but rather like a church or bell tower building capable of warping and navigating space; putting aside their insane "salvation concepts," the aesthetics of this group from the Holy Hidden Order were actually quite on point.

After scanning the area like this, Yu Sheng finally broke the silence: "You've been following me all this way, traps are all set up nearby, and the nearest passage is blocked; why don't you come out yet?"

The surroundings were eerily silent, with only the faint humming sound of machinery and ventilation ducts operating behind those magnificent reliefs and murals echoing in the environment.

But Yu Sheng still waited patiently until finally another sound broke this deathly silence.

He heard the clashing of armor and the regular sound of iron boots striking the ground, interspersed with a few footsteps that sounded somewhat chaotic; these sounds erupted densely from the intersections on both sides of the corridor, and then the enemies finally appeared.

Yu Sheng saw more than a dozen familiar "Brass Knights"; these bizarre "creatures" did not turn invisible this time, but instead walked out boldly with a heavy and oppressive momentum; among the Brass Knights were several figures that were clearly human—those must be members of the Holy Hidden Order.

They wore black cloaks that fit Yu Sheng's stereotypes of cultists perfectly; everyone was wrapped up tightly, with even their faces covered by a layer of black, mask-like shells.

Seeing this situation, Yu Sheng laughed and couldn't help but point at one of the black-robed figures: "Hey, I'm just curious, is there some industry standard or code of conduct or something? Do you cultists have to dress like this?"

The black-robed figure he pointed at stepped forward half a pace, and a muffled sound came from beneath the mask: "You have no way to escape, intruder—surrender, and you may yet live."

Yu Sheng pouted, casually reached into the air beside him, opened a small door, and pulled out his broken Tetanus Staff.

Then, carrying this spiked club, he strode purposefully toward the Hidden Order members surrounded by the Brass Knights.

The few black-robed figures opposite probably hadn't expected this intruder to be so reckless; as Yu Sheng walked toward them, two of them even instinctively retreated half a step, but after just a moment of dazed confusion, they reacted.

"Kill him!"

The Brass Knights received the order and instantly charged forward.

The slightly tilted gravity environment did not affect the agile movements of these bizarre armors at all; they swarmed forward, heavy greatswords swinging down with cold killing intent, yet Yu Sheng's speed was even faster than theirs; he had no intention of getting tangled up with these metal cans, but instead charged straight through several pieces of armor, risking injury, making only limited blocks and dodges, letting his torso and limbs be slashed open with terrifying wounds, letting his fresh blood spray everywhere and stain all parts of this corridor.

He swung his Tetanus Staff and charged at the nearest black-robed figure, smashing down on his head before the opponent could react.

That black-robed figure also hadn't expected this "intruder" to charge at him with a club despite being half-killed by the knights; the injuries sustained during this short charge of over ten meters were almost fatal, clearly a fighting style with no intention of surviving; in that instant, a huge pile of questions flooded his mind, the first being suspicion that he must have some deep grudge against this bizarre "intruder"—why? On what grounds? What was the point?

The black-robed figure's body suddenly retreated, exploding with speed far surpassing that of ordinary humans, yet Yu Sheng's reaction was even faster; missing the downward strike, he suddenly kicked forward a step, changing his battle staff to a horizontal sweep, smashing it into the Hidden Order member's body.

A massive recoil force came through his hands, accompanied by the explosive roar of metal colliding and a series of dazzling sparks.

Yu Sheng was instantly stunned, then saw that cultist fly sideways, while the black robe was torn apart by the blades on the spiked club, revealing underneath—power armor.

The side of that power armor had been smashed apart by Yu Sheng's brute force; the black-robed figure was already severely injured upon hitting the ground, but seemed to still be alive.

Without that armor, he would have been smashed into two pieces by that single strike.

Yu Sheng turned around, covered in blood, and saw two black-robed figures frantically rushing to rescue that severely injured comrade, while the other black-robed figures stood together with the Brass Knights; they unfastened their robes to reveal weapons in their hands—various swords and blades, and even two of them were carrying chain-saw swords.

Obviously, they did not want to use firearms inside a spaceship that was already severely damaged.

Beneath these cultists' robes were all power armor—much weaker than Xu Jiali's "Muscle Man Can," but clearly not cheap goods either, and the black "mask" beneath the hood was actually part of the power armor helmet.

This was very un-stereotypical.

Yu Sheng felt the wounds on his body inflicted by the Brass Knights gradually healing, but the weakness brought on by excessive blood loss told him he was about to die here; he adjusted his posture slightly, propping himself up with the spiked club in his hand, staring at those Hidden Order members: "... Who taught you to wear power armor under your robes? Can you cultists synchronize your art style?"

His answer was a wave of sword light and blade flashes coming straight at him.

The cultists were very unchivalrous.

Yu Sheng was much more reasonable—he was immediately hacked down by a chaotic storm of blades.

He didn't die instantly on the spot; he was still clinging to a thread of life, lying on the ground, looking extremely miserable.

A group of black-robed, power-armor-clad Hidden Order members and Brass Knights surrounded him in a circle, yet all of them appeared somewhat hesitant and vacillating.

They probably hadn't expected this intruder, who was full of eeriness and made the "Sage" nervous beyond measure, to be so easily "killed."

This intruder was strong; at least from the perspective of flesh and blood, he could no longer be considered human; being able to beat a power-armor-clad combatant to death with a club was something no one would believe if told.

But his strength was limited to this; when trapped in a siege, he too would die.

The black-robed figures looked at each other, and someone muttered in a low voice: "... Is he dying now?"

Yu Sheng, lying on the ground, struggled to open his mouth, as if wanting to say something.

A black-robed figure hesitated for a few seconds before finally gathering the courage to approach slightly closer.

He heard the "intruder" whisper to him in a weak, dying voice—

"Yes, I am dying now—but some things should live."

(End of Chapter)