Chapter 286: Empty Shell

Destruction, destruction!

Become stronger, become stronger.

In the dense forest, two yummy were quickly advancing toward the wedding venue.

When Anku and Huo Ye Yingsi arrived, the distance between them was less than a hundred meters; pushing aside this low shrubbery would allow a direct attack on the two individuals entering the wedding.

At this point, the wedding proceedings had progressed halfway; the bride and groom had already exchanged rings, the sky had grown dim, but the guests had begun celebrating, and the atmosphere and enthusiasm had reached their peak.

If the yummy attacked at this moment, casualties would surely be heavy, because too many people were gathered together.

Everyone in the hall was singing and dancing, unaware that a battle was unfolding not far from them.

At the instant of his transformation, Huo Ye Yingsi suddenly leapt; the Holy Emblem Slash Sword in his hand traced a thread of sword light in the air, and a sharp arc of light instantly struck the body of the Rhinoceros Beetle yummy.

That Rhinoceros Beetle yummy did not dodge or evade, behaving like a real Rhinoceros Beetle in battle, it charged forward against the sword light toward Huo Ye Yingsi.

However, it seemed to overestimate the defense of its insectoid armor; sparks scattered and instantly exploded from its interwoven carapace.

"Yingsi, replace the middle one with this." Anku, who had been observing the battle, tossed a gray-white coin to Huo Ye Yingsi.

Instantly, the incredibly sharp golden tiger claws, under a flash of light, had both hands rapidly expand, and silver-gray armor replaced the fists.

As another yummy began attacking Huo Ye Yingsi from behind, just as he was about to succeed, his heavy fist instantly struck its body.

At the point of contact, a noticeable tremor transmitted.

And at that moment, Oz's power directly blasted the Beetle yummy apart with a fist.

This exchanged coin was precisely the Core Coin originally belonging to Kamel, and it was specifically a Core Coin that enhanced hand strength—the Ape Core Coin.

In a pure contest of strength, both the Beetle yummy and the Rhinoceros Beetle yummy were struck hard enough by this hammer-like fist.

At this moment, a shower of scarlet feathers fell from above, drifting down before Anku, who caught the feather descending from the sky.

Looking up, a pair of eyes glowing with green light stared at him from the tree trunk above.

Intense fear burst from Anku's heart; his body trembled as he gazed at the shadow hiding in the tree.

Bird-type Greed extended his left hand, and a red light wave burst forth from his body.

Anku barely blocked with his hand, but the difference in power between them was truly enormous; after a few seconds, his body suddenly felt a tremendous suction force that tugged at his very self.

Anku strained to hold onto his body, preventing it from being pulled away, but as the crimson wings unfolded from behind Bird-type Greed's back,

A tremendous pressure instantly crushed Anku's feeble resistance; he wanted to resist this force, but it was already too late.

Scarlet light burst forth again, the red light rising,

"Puchi."

Several Cell Coins were forcibly torn from Anku's right hand, and as the red flames were injected into Bird-type Greed's body,

Even so, Anku did not give up; the hint of red on his wrist persisted.

Anku steadied his body, using his willpower to try to avoid being completely absorbed.

Or rather, he had no control; without external intervention, Anku would be forcibly torn from Quan Xinwu's body.

As Anku's Cell Coins were continuously drawn away, Bird-type Greed's interior was undergoing a tremendous transformation.

The aura stripped from Anku reconverged within its body; amidst the countless interwoven Cell Coins, it actually formed a dazzling red radiance inside. The final illusory Core Coin generated within it, and its internal Cell Coins, like water in a river suddenly finding a gap, surged madly toward that somewhat illusory Core Coin.

With the passage of time, unknown how many Cell Coins had been absorbed, that red Core Coin gradually stabilized and floated silently within Bird-type Greed's body.

Even Anku himself had not noticed; previously, the Bird-type Greed he considered his body contained no Core Coin at all, only tens of thousands of Cell Coins—in other words, it was merely a hollow shell resembling Anku's body in appearance.

But now, after continually capturing and absorbing Anku's bodily essence, it gradually approached the true body that Anku lacked.

And at the moment the Bird-type Core Coin was born within it, Anku, who was continually being absorbed, felt his whole body relax; the devouring urge that had sought to completely consume him weakened considerably.

He could now muster some resistance.

Although he didn't know what was happening, opportunity must not be missed.

As Anku gave a fierce swing,

only a soft 'peng' sound was heard.

The red energy wave that had been entwined together, under Anku's resistance, instantly snapped into two segments.

A trace of blood trickled from the corner of Anku's mouth, and his body rolled on the ground.

Although many Cell Coins had scattered, at least he had created distance; in such a situation, creating distance was the best choice.

Huo Ye Yingsi clenched both hands into fists, breaking space with his swing; the pattern on his chest instantly burst with light, gray-white power traveling along his arm to his fist, and the shining fist fiercely punched through the bodies of the two yummy.

That dark brown armor could not block Huo Ye Yingsi's full-force strike.

The two yummy exploded with a boom, their bodies blown away and rolling to a stop between Anku and the Bird-type yummy.

At this moment, a distant, melodious bell rang—this was the final step of the wedding.

However, this bell's sound now seemed to Anku like a death omen; the church bell appeared to be pronouncing his death sentence.

Anku now felt all his strength drained, as if it had been sapped the moment he resisted; he could only barely lean against the tree trunk.

Huo Ye Yingsi stood between them, Oz's body cutting off their line of sight.

He tried to redirect Bird-type Greed's target onto himself.

Huo Ye Yingsi stared at Anku's other right hand; its right hand had lost its armor, leaving only bare, skinless bone, while the intact left hand resembled an eagle's claw.

This also let Huo Ye Yingsi confirm once again that this was Anku's body.

He silently replaced the middle Ape Core Coin with a Tiger Core Coin, reverting to Oz's most basic combination.

Bird-type Greed watched as the yummy, even with a huge hole torn in its chest, still tried to stand; its left red wing flashed, and instantly a scarlet shockwave exploded in the air.

In the air, the crackling of burning flames echoed, and sparks rose.

The red impact detonated on the bodies of the two yummy, and all of its force was fully borne by these two very unlucky fellows.

Boom! In the explosion of the spark impact, heavenly Cell Coins scattered in all directions.

But then, the air wave suddenly reversed direction, and the scattered Cell Coins gathered together, all being sucked into Bird-type Greed's left hand.

(End of chapter)