Chapter 40: Throne Guard

After running for a while, Ding Mo pushed open the great doors and arrived in the hall.

Dong Xiaoyu, who was at his side, was set down; she had appeared somewhat exhausted since just a moment ago.

"Hold on," Ding Mo said, then looked into the hall.

Inside the hall, there were indeed many eerie figures wandering about, though they did not seem very interested in Ding Mo and his companion.

In truth, it was mainly because of the Mask Ding Mo was wearing; once they saw it, they dared not approach.

In the corner of the hall, Ding Mo noticed one Guaishou after another continuously pouring into this world from an entrance on the ground.

It was the Crystal Coffin!

That "entrance" was the "Crystal Coffin," whose lid had been pushed open for some unknown reason!

Meanwhile, the corpses of Leng Rourou and Zhu Jie, which had originally been inside the coffin, lay to the side, twisting and writhing as if they were about to come back to life.

However, although this scene was eerie, it was not what concerned him most.

What he cared about was—Ding Mo shifted his gaze.

At this moment, below the steps of that high-backed throne,

a red and blue figure was standing with its back to them!

It was the "Substitute Actor"!

Seeming to sense the arrival of the two, it suddenly turned around, revealing a face that was half-Mask and half-faceless.

It originally had no face; at this moment, it had found half a Dwarf's mask from somewhere and wore it on its face.

The effect produced by this... seemed to be that there was now a light above its head as well!

A sense of gravity rose in Ding Mo's heart; he felt that this guy blocking the way was likely not a good omen.

Sure enough, the very next second after he thought this, "it" drew its sword! And pointed it at Ding Mo!

What was the meaning of this? An Imperial Duel? Ding Mo drew his sword as well.

Regardless of all that, his "Threshold" was getting lower and lower; he had to resolve this as quickly as possible!

Since "it" wanted to fight, then let's give it a try!

The slaughter along the way had given him a bit of confidence.

Ding Mo temporarily set Dong Xiaoyu aside and stepped forward, sword in hand.

"It" also walked over, facing Ding Mo directly.

As the two strong opponents met, Ding Mo took the lead with a sudden lunge, thrusting toward "its" chest with near-inhuman speed!

Yet, unexpectedly, "it" did not block!

Ding Mo's sword tip drove straight in, about to pierce "it" through, when "its" body suddenly flickered.

Accompanied by a change in the light overhead, Ding Mo's attack was actually dodged by "it"!

What kind of ability was this... Ding Mo, who had never seen it before, could not help but be startled!

Whoosh—! The enemy sword slashed over rapidly, carrying a fierce whistling sound.

When Ding Mo's attack failed to land, he had already pulled his sword back at top speed to dodge, but the sharp blade still sliced open a large patch of skin on his chest!

Fresh blood flowed along the tip of the sword, just like the crimson warmth flowing onto Ding Mo's belly.

Ding Mo gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.

Flicker...

Slash!

Flicker...

Strike!

Flicker...

I'll kick you to death, you bastard!

Flicker...!

Damn it! Ding Mo retreated step by step—he admitted that he was somewhat losing his composure.

This was simply invincible! "It" could attack others, but others couldn't attack it!

Was there no justice left?

Fortunately, "its" attacks could still be parried, leaving some room to struggle.

However, just at this moment of despair for Ding Mo, he revealed a flaw!

Clang!

The steel vibrated, a sound that made Dong Xiaoyu, who was watching from the side, tremble in her gut.

The sword in Ding Mo's hand traced an arc and landed in the distance. As for him, he retreated frantically, "stumble, stumble, stumble!" He wanted to create distance and think of another way!

But "it" gave Ding Mo no chance to catch his breath, directly flickering to arrive at Ding Mo, who had just retreated to Dong Xiaoyu's side.

With a flash of sword light, the artery in Ding Mo's neck was slashed open, and a large amount of blood sprayed out!

Even though Ding Mo already had one hand on Dong Xiaoyu's shoulder, he still subconsciously covered his wound, his brain stalling for a moment due to the blood loss!

In fact, in the eyes of Dong Xiaoyu, who was standing by, his neck was already half-severed!

Feeling the surging healing power, Ding Mo, having recovered, thought "sorry" to himself while simultaneously thinking of a countermeasure at top speed.

Although this action would drastically consume Dong Xiaoyu's lifespan, Ding Mo had no choice; otherwise, once he was defeated, both of them would die!

The problem now was what to do? Although this idiot in front of him had no intelligence, its combat power was ridiculously high!

Just as Ding Mo pushed his brain's processing to the limit, "it" made another move.

Seeing this, Ding Mo hurriedly tried to dodge, only to find that "it" was not using its sword.

Instead, it reached out a hand, grabbing toward Ding Mo's face!

"Its" goal, it turned out, was also the 'Prince's' Mask!

However, since "it" wanted to touch him... Ding Mo grabbed "it" by the hand that reached out!

He had caught "it"!

Only, what his five fingers touched felt as if it did not belong to a living person's body; cold and stiff was Ding Mo's first sensation,

and immense, boundless strength was his second.

He could not block this hand!

Looking at the hand slowly approaching before him, Ding Mo suddenly gritted his teeth,

and tore the Prince Mask off his face.

You like the mask, right? Take it! Forced into a corner, Ding Mo threw the mask far away!

He was desperate!

Sure enough, seeing this, "it" had its half-faceless visage twist for a moment, then it turned around, "gazing" at the mask, seemingly as if judging where it would land.

It didn't care about Ding Mo at all!

And Ding Mo, after tearing off the mask, felt the healing power coming from Dong Xiaoyu vanish.

But by this time, his neck had already recovered mostly.

The mask flew through the air, and "it" suddenly flickered, arriving first beneath the landing spot,

just about to reach out and catch it, but halfway there, another hand reached out!

Ding Mo, clutching "its" hand, had actually teleported over along with "it"!

This point was actually something Ding Mo hadn't anticipated—he had originally thought this guy shouldn't be able to fly, so as long as he threw the mask into the air, high enough,

and then ran to the landing spot before it hit the ground, he could complete the "relay."

Anyway, there was no other way, so he thought he would gamble and shift this Guaishou's attention.

But things weren't bad this way either!

Grabbing the mask and putting it back on his face, Ding Mo sprinted toward the throne to the side!!

The throne was only two steps away from his current position!

That's right, Ding Mo had thrown the mask toward this side on purpose, all to get closer to the throne!

He couldn't beat this guy, but he didn't necessarily have to win the fight to sit on the throne!

"It" seemed to roar silently at this moment, and after a flicker, it blocked Ding Mo's path, standing between him and the throne!

Looking at the throne only a step away, Ding Mo looked at "it" unhurriedly.

Come on!

As Ding Mo wished, "it" plunged its sword into Ding Mo's stomach the next second!

"Ugh..." Intense pain struck, and Ding Mo's face turned pale.

But fortunately, it wasn't the first time he had been disemboweled today anyway.

And just as he was pierced through by the sword again, Ding Mo grabbed "its" shoulder!

With the muscles in both arms exerting force, Ding Mo prepared to fling it away!

"Ahhhhh!" Roaring, with blood spraying, "it" was indeed lifted off its feet and flung away!

With the blessing of the Prince Mask, Ding Mo used his strength to throw it dozens of meters away, knocking over a pile of debris, looking just like a bowling ball!

However, Ding Mo did not see this scene; after flinging it away, he prepared to walk toward the throne,

wanting to reach the top of the throne during this short window of time!

"I hope I didn't get the Script wrong..." Just as Ding Mo was thinking this,

suddenly the world spun around!

Thump!

Ding Mo looked down blankly and discovered that his body—perhaps because he had exerted too much force, perhaps because of what "it" did before flying away, or perhaps both—

his waist had been completely severed by that sword!

At this moment, his lower body stood in place, while his upper body fell to the ground,

and large pools of blood flowed before the "throne," dripping down the layers of steps...