NABC Chapter 64: Battle
Chapter 64: Battle
Immediately afterwards, shadows loomed over, and the distorted "face" rapidly magnified in the field of vision.
The enormous human-faced spider, reeking of a nauseating stench, swooped down, its gaping maw, covered in mucus and sharp mandibles, swallowing Wang Jinxi's head whole!
"Click...click..."
The teeth-grinding chewing sounds were exceptionally clear in the silent forest.
Indescribable pain and extreme fear overwhelmed Wang Jinxi like a tidal wave. Then, his hands lost control and fell limply to his sides. Immediately, his consciousness sank into boundless darkness.
"Something's happened! Emergency medical team, quick!"
Inside the monitoring room outside the Ascension Platform, a piercing alarm and the staff's urgent shouts rang out simultaneously. The metal capsule corresponding to Wang Jinxi quickly rose from the ground.
The hatch opened, revealing a boy inside whose face was ashen, whose body was trembling violently, and whose clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
More than a dozen emergency responders in white coats arrived instantly.
One of them skillfully took out a syringe, accurately inserted it into Wang Jinxi's neck, and quickly pushed in the pale yellow medicine.
As the medicine took effect, the boy's trembling gradually subsided, and a faint trace of color returned to his face.
Time ticked by, the atmosphere heavy. After a full ten minutes, the white-clad leader finally let out a long breath and turned to the tense-faced Long Hengxu, saying:
"This child was truly unlucky to encounter such a ferocious creature as the Human-Faced Spider. Fortunately, he received timely treatment and is now out of danger. With proper rest, he will recover without any lasting effects."
"Thank you!" Long Hengxu finally felt relieved and thanked him sincerely.
"What... what exactly is going on?"
Zhang Yangzi, who witnessed the entire process, turned pale and her voice trembled with lingering fear.
Wu Changkong's dark green eyes swept across the screen, his voice remaining calm:
"The Ascension Platform is not purely virtual. It is deeply connected to the spirit and perception of a Soul Master. 'Death' within it means that one's spiritual power will suffer a near-real shock. If the shock is too strong, it will cause the situation you see now, and in extreme cases, it may even lead to brain death."
"Brain...brain death?!"
Zhang Yangzi gasped, his heart pounding like a drum. He finally realized the cruel risks lurking behind the opportunity presented by the Ascension Platform.
Let's turn our attention back to the Ascension Platform.
After devouring Wang Jinxi, the human-faced spider seemed satisfied and silently retreated back into the dense canopy, blending into its surroundings and waiting for its next prey.
At this moment, Yu Chen was following the guidance of the soul contract, quickly traversing through the forest.
His mental energy was highly concentrated, far exceeding the vision, hearing, and keen perception of energy fluctuations of ordinary people. It was like an invisible net, sweeping across a range of nearly a hundred meters around him.
The rustling of the wind through the leaves, the faint roar of beasts in the distance, the faint pulse of life beneath the soil... he instinctively filtered and processed a large amount of information.
Suddenly, he paused slightly. Not far ahead, an area of residual energy was abnormally chaotic, carrying a lingering aura of violence and coldness, as well as a... faint smell of blood.
"There was a battle, and the residual aura of a very strong soul beast... Also, which direction is the moon in?"
Yu Chen's eyes narrowed, and he instantly increased his speed.
He soon arrived at the area.
Beneath a giant tree, there were obvious drag marks on the ground and several broken, fishy-smelling white threads.
Although the residual soul energy fluctuations in the air were dissipating, the sinister and sticky feeling was still discernible.
In the monitoring room, the staff watched as Yu Chen "carelessly" approached the danger zone on the screen, and nervously looked at Wu Changkong:
"Another one is approaching the Spider-Man's hiding place! Should we warn him to retreat immediately?"
Wu Changkong's gaze remained fixed on the screen, his expression unchanged: "No need, just watch."
His understanding of Yu Chen far surpasses that of others. This young man may seem carefree at times, but his alertness and insight in battle are terrifying.
At this moment, Yu Chen's seemingly relaxed posture appeared to Wu Changkong as a deliberately exposed weakness.
Just as Wu Changkong had predicted, when the human-faced spider attacked Yu Chen from the tree, Yu Chen didn't even raise his head. A flash of light appeared on the yellow soul ring beneath his feet, and then with a loud "BOOM!", the human-faced spider, along with several surrounding trees, was blasted away and turned into charcoal.
Wh...what?!
Inside the monitoring room, the staff member was dumbfounded, barely able to utter a complete sentence.
"One, one strike?! And that was it, the Human-Faced Demon Spider was defeated?!"
His gaze toward Wu Changkong had changed from businesslike to a complex mix of shock and awe.
Wu Changkong's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing, his gaze remaining fixed on the screen.
"Since you've already made your move, I'll accept this spiritual energy."
Seeing the spiritual energy transformed from the dead human-faced demon spider, Yu Chen directly absorbed it.
He focused his mind again, amplified the connection to the soul contract, and extended his powerful perception toward the direction where Gu Yue was.
He quickly detected clear and intense energy fluctuations coming from that direction—and there was more than one.
One was fiery and violent, with a familiar rhythm (the aftershocks of the Lord's Flame); the other was heavy and frenzied, filled with a sense of oppression.
"It's Yue... and there's a very powerful soul beast. Is she using the Monarch Flame?"
Yu Chen understood.
Since the two formed a soul contract, Gu Yue gained some copying and comprehension abilities through the "Mirror Eye," allowing her to simulate Yu Chen's "Word Spirit" to a certain extent.
Although its power may not be as great as when she uses it herself, combined with her own strong elemental control, its power should not be underestimated.
How will she explain to others that she used a soul skill similar to Yu Chen's?
She could easily claim that it was a deep imitation and elemental reconstruction of her teammate's soul skill—given the rarity and control over her "Elementalist" martial soul, this was not impossible.
Judging that Gu Yue might have encountered a formidable opponent and that the intensity of the battle was not low, Yu Chen did not delay any longer and sped off towards the direction from which the energy fluctuations were coming.
At the same time, with a slight thought, as he passed the charred remains of the human-faced demon spider, he casually tore off two relatively intact spider legs with sharp, spear-like tips and a purplish-black eerie glow.
"Maybe it will come in handy."
……
Another part of the forest.
Gu Yue's nimble figure darted swiftly through the trees, sometimes swinging on vines, sometimes changing direction by stepping on tree trunks.
Behind her, a five-meter-tall giant bear, its body seemingly made of pale yellow crystals, roared angrily as it chased after her. Every step it took caused the earth to tremble, and the trees that blocked its way were easily smashed by its blows.
"Xie Xie! Wu Lin!"
Gu Yue called out loudly, and in a flash, she met up with Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, who were cautiously exploring ahead.
"My God! A Crystal Bear?! It's huge! Big Sister Gu Yue, did you tamper with its den or steal its honey? This thing is practically a tyrant in the beginner Spirit Ascension Platform, right?!"
Xie Xie recognized the giant beast at a glance, his eyes widening in astonishment. Tang Wulin also wore a solemn expression and assumed a defensive stance.
Gu Yue was slightly out of breath, but her expression remained calm:
"Is it my fault? It was the one that attacked me first, and it's just a thousand-year-old soul beast. I sense that Chen Zheng is heading this way. When the four of us join forces, we'll be able to handle it and take it down."
Upon hearing the first part of the sentence, Xie Xie's lips twitched slightly, and he inwardly scoffed:
An active attack? It's most likely that Gu Yue's exploration alerted this creature with a strong sense of territory.
But upon hearing the next sentence that Yu Chen was on his way, he immediately perked up: "Brother Chen is coming? What's there to be afraid of! Let's get him!"
As he spoke, his martial spirit instantly possessed him, and the Light Dragon Dagger appeared in his hand. He actually wanted to rush up and give it a boost.
"Thank you, Xie! Calm down!"
Tang Wulin reacted swiftly, a thick blue silver grass vine quickly wrapping around Xie Xie's waist and pulling him back.
"Brother Chen hasn't arrived yet, don't be impulsive!"
Ignoring Xie Xie's antics, Gu Yue calmly analyzed the situation:
"Given our current state, a direct confrontation with this incredibly strong and powerful Millennium Crystal Bear would inevitably result in casualties. The best strategy now is to hold it off while we use our dragon-like abilities to our advantage, and wait for Chen to arrive before launching a combined counterattack."
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie both nodded in agreement. Although the Crystal Bear possessed immense strength and astonishing defense, its movements were relatively clumsy, and its speed was a weakness.
With their agility and teamwork, the three could easily hold off the enemy for a period of time without taking any damage.
……
After a while,
"roar--!!"
Enraged by the three men's taunts, the crystal bear roared to the sky and slammed its massive paw against a large tree beside it, snapping the trunk in two. Then, it picked up the broken piece of wood and hurled it at the three men like a javelin!
The broken logs hurtled towards us at high speed with a whooshing sound, covering a considerable area.
The three were about to scatter and avoid the enemy's attack.
Just then—
A dark shadow shot out from the woods behind and to the side at an astonishing speed!
The blade flashed like a cold moon, instantly drawing several dazzling yet deadly arcs in the air.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
The massive tree trunk, which posed a significant threat, was cleanly and decisively cleaved into seven or eight pieces in mid-air, sending splinters flying everywhere.
The dark figure landed, and it was Yu Chen, who was holding a long naginata.
Without any hesitation, he raised his left hand, and two dark purple shadows shot out like arrows, accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound, straight towards the crystal bear!
Those were the forelimbs of the human-faced spider, hard, sharp, and containing deadly venom!
The crystal bear roared and swung its right paw at a spider spear.
"Snap!" A spider spear was snapped in two by a bear's paw.
But another spider spear deftly evaded its block and, with a "plop," pierced deep into its relatively vulnerable left arm joint!
"Awooo—!"
The crystal bear let out a painful howl.
The venom on the spider's claw spread rapidly, causing a sizzling, corrosive sound at the wound and emitting faint purplish-black smoke, making it suffer terribly.
Yu Chen held the knife in one hand, casually twirling it, then turned his head to look at the three slightly surprised people, a slight smile playing on his lips:
Am I too late?