Chapter 609: Carter and the Collision

Carter twisted his body and dove, colliding in the blink of an eye before Cardinal David.

But David's expression did not change; he remained serene.

As if he had expected it all along.

"Rigid, Carter."

Boom!

A withered, emaciated fist struck out with a thunderous crash, erupting directly into vigorous blue plasma.

It crackled wildly across the skin, the ground, and the surrounding space.

"Ugh!"

A cry of pain rang out as half of a charred, sword-holding arm shot skyward.

Carter's left-hand magic ring shattered at the same instant, turning to dust.

Voom—

【Teleportation Spell】!

In the flash of light, the half-charred arm had already swapped places with the wooden box concealing the new crystalline pathogen held by Cardinal David.

Carter, having expected this, snatched the wooden box from mid-air amidst the gushing blood and, without turning his head, crashed toward the door.

David's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then turned cold and sharp.

"Ho? Deliberately sacrificing an arm... why bother? You were meant to have a better life, Carter."

Boom!

Although Carter's speed was extremely fast, David was clearly prepared.

The laboratory door was the first to be smashed open; dense hordes of jackalmen and snake-men slaves poured in, led by the hero candidate, Thane.

Thane smirked lightly: "Sorry, Captain Carter. Water flows downhill, people climb uphill; we simply made different choices."

Carter's upper body was charred black, his face still wearing a forced smile; he seemed not even to have realized why he was doing such a thing.

Yet his movements were not slow in the slightest; he leaned his waist backward, his center of gravity suddenly braced, and a simple, straightforward front kick landed squarely on the jackalman at the very front.

After all, he was an eighth-rank Spiritual Warrior; although he had been severely injured by a single blow from David.

He was far beyond the reach of these small-time noobs trying to claim a kill.

Frenzied power instantly tore the jackalman apart; the spraying shattered bones became a shotgun blast, directly harvesting the lives of a swath of slaves behind him.

"Arrogant!"

Thane roared, and the Heroic Amplification on his body manifested as red tassels around him.

It was just a bit too faint; compared to others' deep crimson, his was merely a thin, translucent pale red.

He planted a deep horse stance, his right hand gripping the white ceramic sword at his waist.

"This is the 【Soul-Trembling Blade】! Forged from materials from beyond the heavens, the trump card of Ranger Rod! Once drawn, it must draw blood! Today is the day I, Thane, shed my head and blood for the Yige Sect! My Lord Cardinal, please watch me closely!"

Carter's pupils contracted slightly; the name Rod was too terrifying.

But his steps did not slow; instead, he rushed swiftly toward the exit.

The next moment.

The pure white ceramic sword was drawn.

Bulging, writhing lumps rose along the blade, seeming like living creatures, constantly rolling.

"Huh?"

Thane was somewhat stunned; why did it seem to have no power?

Rrrrip—

Thirty-six blood-red demon eyes suddenly opened, radiating extreme malice and intimidation.

The sound of eyeballs turning in their moisture-filled sockets, all snapping to look at the master holding them.

Thane froze completely, his entire body rigid.

Bloodshot veins crawled across his wide-open eyes at visible speed; the extreme, frantic terror on his face was as if he had witnessed the most horrifying thing in the world.

He could not stop himself from trembling.

A torrent of cold sweat began along his rapidly whitening brown hair, sliding continuously down his deathly pale face.

Thirty-six demon eyes!

【Domain of Fear】!

Cardinal David's expression shifted slightly; his body involuntarily stiffened.

Fortunately, the domain on the sword was not too strong; even he, old and in declining condition, could achieve Huo Mian Cheng Gong within a short time.

But it was just that short time.

Captain Carter, whose momentum had not waned, happened to miss the exact moment the Soul-Trembling Blade was drawn; he froze briefly in mid-air, leaping into the crowd of slaves and thus dodging the attack.

David instantly flew into a rage.

His withered, emaciated arm swung violently forward; the gushing plasma either shattered or swept away the slaves and guards who were strongly controlled by the 【Soul-Trembling Blade】.

Brilliant blue-white light flared across his body; with a boom, the ground exploded, and he vanished from his spot.

"Carter! You cannot escape!"

Carter felt the powerful fluctuation and terrifying plasma rapidly approaching from behind; his face already wore an expression of facing death without fear.

The Yige Sect is rotten to the core.

Aethelorn is rotten to the core.

The Campbell family is also rotten to the core.

His self-proclaimed fence-sitting now felt like sitting in an outhouse, looking left and right at two sides swarming with flies and reeking of a shit pit, then being asked to choose a pile to join.

For the future of my son and daughter, I can endure.

For the sake of my family's stability and safety, I can endure it too.

But you want me to slaughter all of humanity right now?!

What the hell kind of joke is that!

The azure plasma vanished in an instant, piercing through his abdomen in a flash.

Carter let out a muffled grunt, and without caring about any effects, frantically crushed a handful of magic rings.

Fortunately, among them were 【Spatial Shift】 and a spell that briefly granted immunity to paralysis.

But it was only a drop in the bucket—the speed of a ninth-tier was terrifyingly extreme, closing the distance again almost in the blink of an eye.

The upward tunnel was nearly at its end.

But what about outside?

This was still a labyrinth controlled by the Campbell family—how was he supposed to escape outside?

Despair welled up in Carter's heart.

Boom!

The plasma surged out once more, and the spiritual membrane was pierced through again.

The tremendous impact force also sent him crashing straight through the wooden door at the top end of the tunnel, then through the wooden ceiling, carrying a skyful of dust as he flew into midair.

"Is this the end."

In the labyrinth's simulated sky environment, the intense pain nearly kept him from opening his eyes; every muscle and bone in his body felt as though they were being forcibly ripped out.

Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh—

In the sky.

Came the sound of fierce flames erupting

Carter suddenly reacted slightly, weakly and instinctively turning his gaze toward the sound.

He saw a blazing fireball in the far distance of the horizon charging madly toward this side, dragging a thick trail of rolling black smoke behind it.

Carrying wild, frantically compressing spiritual essence, its oppressive might blanketed the heavens and earth, making the hearts of all who beheld it tremble.

Within the fireball, a familiar figure made the weakened Carter's eyes widen slightly.

"Right. There's still him."

But why would he bother with me?

The Archbishop, carrying a massive amount of arc plasma, arrived behind him at extreme speed, his furious fist already crashing toward him.

Fwoosh—

From within the fireball surging forward in layers, dozens of 【Flame Ray】 spells suddenly scattered out, radiating vigorous heat as they struck the Archbishop David first.

Just as he was within arm's reach of Carter, the high temperature and impact force forced him back several meters.

Archbishop David's eyes bulged in fury, the boiling plasma in his eyes splitting apart into countless fragments, trailing a massive amount of electric arcs.

"ROD!!!"

"Hahahahaha!! You've got guts!!"

Rod, flying in midair, paid him no heed, throwing his head back in wild laughter.

Behind him, the war soul of Hyakume flashed into view, its withered, blood-red long arm grabbing the tumbling Carter and hurling him backward.

His right hand then yanked backward sharply.

With a sharp hiss, under the effect of the 【Invisible Rope】, the 【Tremor Soul Blade】 deep underground was pulled out at extreme speed.

As it arced through the air, a small blob of liquid-metal black slime on the porcelain-white blade extended two tiny arms in cheerful excitement.

David's body crackled with electric current, blasting the white robe on his upper body into powder, revealing a wiry, dark-skinned frame.

Boom!

He blasted out thrust in midair, able to erupt with overwhelming speed once more without any foothold, charging straight at Rod.

"Reverser! Die!!!"

"Reverse my ass!"

Rod showed not the slightest fear; midair, flames and airflow surged, and he met the opponent head-on in a brutal clash!

【Blazing Wind Leap】!

【Surrounding body erupts with flame airflow to amplify all flight techniques, greatly increasing flight speed; accumulated flame airflow can erupt in damage upon landing.】

(End of chapter)