Even though Bokhan had recovered, the shadow of the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator now completely enveloped him. The war spear, moving too swiftly, materialized streaks of shadow in the air, relentlessly striking Bokhan’s body. The rock shield Bokhan had barely managed to conjure instantly cracked, shattered, and dissipated into dust.

Suddenly, a spray of blood erupted, and Bokhan cried out in agony as the war spear pierced his right arm. The Arbitrator swung him upward with the momentum, leaving Bokhan struggling helplessly mid-air. The Arbitrator, looking like a demon god, lunged upward, bent both knees, and slammed them together, delivering two dull thuds against Bokhan's chest.

Instantly, Bokhan’s screams choked off, as more than half of his chest cavity had been driven inward. Few, if any, of his ribs remained unbroken. But as a seasoned veteran, he immediately used an Elixir of Honor and then howled as he summoned Razel, the Stone Blade.

This ferocious elemental creature arrived instantly from another plane, melding with Bokhan, shielding him within its form.

This was Bokhan’s ultimate life-saving technique. Razel, the Stone Blade, was already a legendary creature, now intrinsically linked to the earth. While not entirely invincible, ensuring survival was certainly not difficult. Under Bokhan’s will, Razel activated its innate ability: upon contact with the earth, it vanished rapidly as if sinking into water.

However, this powerful Iron-Blooded Arbitrator did not give up.

In that instant, the crystal embedded in his abdomen flared brilliantly. The scent of sulfur in the air intensified tenfold, sharp and overwhelming. The wrist blades on the Arbitrator’s hands suddenly glowed crimson. Two bone spurs visibly grew from the tips of the blades, driving deep into his own muscle. Then, the wrist blades became transparent and crystal-red.

The massive and oppressive frame of the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator vanished like a phantom. When he reappeared, he was directly above Razel, the Stone Blade, which had completely sunk into the earth. He thrust both hands forcefully down into the ground.

Where he struck, a deep, earthquake-like roar resonated. Immediately after, magma surged. The colossal Razel roared in anger, finding its massive, sturdy shoulder impaled by those two wrist blades. Its dark-blue stone skin turned crimson as it was violently yanked out of the earth.

With a surge of strength, the Arbitrator hurled his catch away. His two high-energy shoulder cannons targeted the legendary elemental creature, spitting out several high-energy lasers in rapid, machine-gun fashion. Boom-boom-boom, they continuously blasted Razel high into the sky.

Yet, this barrage of fire seemed to inflict significant damage on the machinery as well. The Iron-Blooded Arbitrator’s left-shoulder high-energy cannon exploded at that moment, spewing thick black smoke.

Having taken eight continuous blasts of high-energy laser, Razel roared in pain, but it could not alter its fate of being utterly pulverized. Even if it couldn't truly die on this plane, a significant reduction in strength was inevitable.

Bokhan tumbled out from within Razel, his face pale. He actually managed to summon a stone spike to attack the enemy at this moment, but the Arbitrator stomped down with brutal force, snapping Bokhan’s summoned spike into several jagged pieces with a crack.

Then, a flash of crimson light appeared, followed by the motion of the Arbitrator drawing back his arm to throw the spear. Looking at Bokhan now, his mouth was wide open, unable to utter a word. A war spear burning fiercely with flame pierced straight through his chest, pinning him immovably to the ground.

How much life did Bokhan have left? This blow immediately plunged him into critical condition.

However, Bokhan’s teamwork ability manifested: a ferocious maw abruptly sprouted from his back, opening impossibly wide, and swallowed Bokhan into an alternate dimension with a sound of greedy gulping.

About five or six seconds later, that terrifying mouth reappeared not far from where it vanished, perhaps twenty or thirty meters away. It spat Bokhan out. The newly reappeared Bokhan was no longer in a near-death state, but had recovered about half of his life force.

Now, with that five or six-second buffer, everyone except Fang Senyan—who was still desperately tearing at the ten-layered Combat Net—knew the enemy’s primary target was Bokhan. Paul's gruesome death had already instilled a sense of shared peril, and now Bokhan's situation felt like a chilling warning. Thus, the three of them roared in unison, rushing to protect Bokhan.

But the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator truly lived up to his name. With a series of uncanny leaps, he materialized directly in front of Bokhan.

He stood there, hands behind his back with a casual air, absorbing the lightning from Aldaris, the fatal throw from Ronnie, and the frenzied assault of Daldanian’s explosive seeds. The wrist blade on his right hand once again erupted with crimson flame. He closed his five fingers like a knife and, with lightning speed and force, swung backward, plunging it deep into Bokhan’s chest.

This stab came with no warning. It felt as if he had been ten meters away a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, he traversed the distance of space and time, arriving before any rescue could materialize—arriving late but first, pressing against Bokhan with a sudden, soul-searing kiss, violently sinking his hand into Bokhan’s core, right up to the elbow.

Overwhelmed by the sheer joy of slaughter, the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator let out a wild cry. Then, his hand shot out, grasping a bright red object.

From the fist-sized wound, a stream of blood as thick as a bowl spurted out. Bokhan’s body flew upward, crashing heavily onto the ground, blood splashing everywhere. Though the blood was still warm and gushing, life had departed that shell of a body.

Witnessing this, Fang Senyan let out a bestial roar of rage.

Fang Senyan was no stranger to death, but the feeling of watching a teammate he trusted die while being powerless was utterly infuriating. His hands were slick with blood, covered in dense wounds—patches of good skin interspersed with raw flesh torn away the size of a fingernail. All this damage was the price paid for tearing through the ten layers of the net.

A massive phantom of a Savage Bull materialized, and Fang Senyan charged violently toward the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator.

Faced with this aggressive attack from the imposing and majestic enemy, the Arbitrator’s crimson eyes glinted with sharp, bloodthirsty light. He did something no one expected: he drew out a second spear, shimmering with bloodlight, and met the charge head-on, ramming it back toward Fang Senyan. The sensation was like a giant jet fighter skimming the ground, accompanied by deafening roars and whistles.

Fang Senyan never imagined his 'Rage of the Horns' would be countered this way. He crashed into the enemy’s chest but received a notification that the expected stun effect had been nullified. Immediately, his left arm felt a chilling sting as it was pierced by that blood-glowing spear.

To be so thoroughly countered upon first meeting was an unprecedented experience for Fang Senyan. It could only mean one thing: this powerful Iron-Blooded Arbitrator had clawed his way up from mountains of corpses and seas of blood; he possessed keen perception and immense combat experience, augmented by powerful technological equipment, allowing him to anticipate their every move and create such a vast disparity.

However, Fang Senyan was certainly not one to give up easily. Enduring the pain of another spear wound, he immediately hurled a Curse Potion onto the ground.

A powerful shockwave spread outward, momentarily halting the Arbitrator’s movement. Fang Senyan immediately pressed forward. The Planetary-level High-Energy Mechanical Gauntlet sprayed thick black smoke, and Fang Senyan clamped his hand tightly around the Arbitrator’s left leg.

The enemy retaliated frantically. His wrist blades once again turned into a transparent, red crystal state, and he slammed a punch into Fang Senyan’s chest, driving it into his body.

But the thick-skinned Fang Senyan was no match for the summon Razel, the Stone Blade, or the fragile Bokhan. The Arbitrator’s stab merely served to ignite the brute strength within Fang Senyan, allowing him to throw the massive, imposing body of the enemy into the air.

The others had been waiting for the opening Fang Senyan created. Daldanian’s Cannibal Fruit, Aldaris’s Enemy of Mages, and Ronnie’s Death Mark, along with a Cross-Cut slash, all struck the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator. They only produced a series of metallic clangs. A small portion of the armor plating on his body shattered, absorbing the majority of the damage intended for the wearer.

On the body protected by the armor, however, numerous old scars were visible. Seeing these brutal marks suggested countless fierce battles and countless brushes with death.

“Damn it…” Fang Senyan gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he saw Daldanian’s face etched with disbelief as a blood-glowing spear pierced his chest.

Only then did the Iron-Blooded Arbitrator slowly withdraw his hand from the throwing posture and suddenly lunge toward Daldanian.

Seeing this, Fang Senyan drew his Judgment pistol in return. Its majestic and solemn temperament instantly suppressed the field. It truly deserved to be Evolving Dark Gold equipment. The Iron-Blooded Arbitrator, who had been lunging for Daldanian, suddenly defied the laws of physics upon seeing Fang Senyan draw his weapon, instantly reversing his charge into a rapid retreat, heading straight for Aldaris. (To be continued)

p [Registered members can get a private bookshelf for convenient reading] The Ninth Chapter of Ultimate Evolution: Suppression .RT