The combination of a dried lion corpse and a golden mask seemed utterly preposterous, yet somehow, it instantly evoked the essence of a Sphinx, despite one originating from an ancient Nigerian civilization and the other from the distinct Babylonian culture.

This similarity was hardly surprising, for research showed that even vastly different civilizations, such as those in the East and the West, often shared analogous narratives—the Great Flood in Western lore paralleling Yu the Great's flood control in the East, or the Western concept of God creating man mirroring Nuwa's creation of humanity.

Thus, this coincidence of the Sphinx-like figure was merely a parallel between two ancient subcultures, nothing to be astonished about.

Fang Senyan, facing the massive, seemingly eerie and powerful lion, still favored a swift resolution. While the monster before him appeared formidable, it posed no mortal threat to him.

His only genuine fear was: that damned Will of Fu might unexpectedly manifest again to cause trouble! That was the true, unpredictable peril, rife with hidden dangers at every turn!

At this moment, Zi and the others also sprang into action, as the tower's inhabitants had detected the presence of these uninvited guests and were now rushing over, cursing and brandishing firearms. Fang Senyan also noted that centered on the mask, a sphere of dusty-yellow light had formed, covering an area of several hundred square meters—this barrier, a sort of localized barrier field, was what trapped him and the Sphinx together.

Zi then spoke a reassuring sentence to Fang Senyan:

"Hey, Sailor. I don't sense the Will of Fu’s presence. In its current frenzy, it's unlikely it can track our movements seamlessly. Furthermore, I'm quite familiar with its attack patterns; if that entity were lurking nearby, ready to strike at any moment, I would undoubtedly pick up some trace evidence. Also, this protective shield has a crucial weakness, which I’ve found. Cooperate with me, and we'll shatter it by striking from the inside."

After speaking, Zi tapped her left hand, and light immediately flickered out, condensed yet unwavering, piercing the spherical light like a needle from the side! The surface of the sphere rippled intensely where it was struck, and Fang Senyan simultaneously launched a punch from the inside at the exact spot Zi had targeted.

With an assault from both inside and out, a sharp crack echoed, and the shield instantly fragmented into a shower of yellow debris, pattering down around them.

The Sphinx let out a furious roar. The desiccated fur on its body, dead for so long, suddenly thrashed as if it were wild prairie grass whipping in a gale. An omnidirectional sonic wave erupted from its maw, assaulting everything in the vicinity, living or inanimate.

Fortunately, Old Charlie always ensured he never placed himself in direct danger; otherwise, he would have been flustered facing this situation.

Even Fang Senyan, in the face of this terrifying sonic storm, was reduced to the plight of a small boat tossed in a typhoon, clinging desperately to a nearby fixture to avoid being blown away. The entire office, meanwhile, seemed to have been thrown into a colossal, invisible juicer.

Potted plants, tables, books, sofas, stools, and the unknown location of hidden undergarments, bras, curtains, and suits—everything was violently churned together! The tempered glass curtain wall nearby shattered with a resounding crash, sending shards and debris spraying five or six meters outward as the structure buckled! The devastation looked like the result of at least two to three tons of TNT detonating.

And the unluckiest of all were the tower guards besieging them. Once caught by the shockwave, they froze rigidly in place. After a moment, expressions of agony crossed their faces, then their heads burst open with a sickening thump into clouds of gruesome bloody mist. Several headless corpses slowly collapsed to the ground, twitching convulsively, blood still oozing from the gaping stumps of their necks.

Immediately following this, the Sphinx lunged fiercely at Fang Senyan. With a single flap of its wings, it cracked the upper floor's ceiling in several places, sweeping its massive foreclaw towards Fang Senyan. Fang Senyan clenched his fist and drove his +10 Iron Fist, bearing black and red striations, forward with crushing force, meeting the Sphinx’s monstrous claw head-on.

A sonic boom, seemingly squeezed from the very air, echoed through the space. Due to the difference in mass and size, Fang Senyan was violently repelled, tumbling several meters in disarray, as the Sphinx's other claw descended upon him from above.

Fang Senyan fiercely met the descending attack with an uppercut. The instant his fist met the claw, an intensely dazzling and sharp light flashed, a brilliance that seemed to emanate from the deepest darkness, causing profound pain even in the briefest glance across the retina!

The Sphinx shrieked in agony and staggered back several steps. The claw it had used to engage Fang Senyan was instantly covered in cracks, resembling shattered porcelain. Then, with a whoosh, it disintegrated, turning into dust and ash that drifted away before even hitting the ground.

Oblivion!!

This single thought flashed simultaneously across the minds of everyone present. Although there was no explicit sign, such a mournful, decisive attack, such swift and ruthless damage—what other ability could account for it except the activation of "Oblivion"? Furthermore, the resulting damage effect had essentially crippled one of the Sphinx's four limbs!

An invisible field surged outward from the Sphinx, making Fang Senyan and the others feel as though they were facing a full-blown sandstorm; stabilizing their bodies was impossible, and even keeping their eyes open felt like an unwarranted luxury.

Seizing this opportunity, the Sphinx violently jammed its wounded claw into the wall. The mask flashed with light, and when the claw was withdrawn, the injury appeared completely healed—it was a pristine claw once more. However, moments later, it pulsed with lightning-like light a few times, and the limb once again dissolved into ash.

This was the brutal nature of the power of Oblivion: healing might take hold, but within the microsecond after activation, the residual Oblivion energy would invariably surge back, turning any attempt at healing into nothingness. This effect was far more vicious than a simple "cannot be healed" notification.

If it simply stated "cannot be healed," one could give up immediately. But to allow healing to occur only to be immediately negated—it was as malicious as letting a wound scab over, only to be stabbed again in the exact same spot, all while factoring in the costs of recovery, medical fees, lost youth, and maintenance...

In its throes of pain, the Sphinx fixed its gaze on the primary culprit and charged Fang Senyan again. This time, it had learned caution; during its charge, shattered concrete debris was violently ejected. Fang Senyan took several impacts, and in this confined space, the Sphinx’s onslaught was as relentless as a sandstorm. While dodging the concrete shrapnel, he failed to anticipate the lethal claw and was swatted flying—outside!

Yes, outside...

Outside the seventeenth-floor window!

Fortunately, Fang Senyan had anticipated the possibility of needing to jump during his preparations for this mission. Seeing himself plummeting like a projectile, he abruptly tucked and rolled in mid-air, then thwumped open a large umbrella in his hand.

This was no ordinary single or double-person umbrella; it was the kind used at barbecue stalls for shade and shelter, large enough to cover seven or eight people beneath it. Naturally, the handle was constructed from steel tubing. If the fruit vendor near the hotel where Fang Senyan’s party had stayed previously were present, he would certainly have found this umbrella disturbingly familiar...

As the umbrella opened, Fang Senyan felt a powerful upward yank, forcing him to grip the steel handle tighter, deforming the metal tube. For an ordinary person, the sudden, immense air resistance would have torn the hand right out of its socket.

Seeing that his counterfeit umbrella was successfully fulfilling its mission, the Sphinx smashed through the adjacent sky-blue glass curtain wall and tumbled out into the open air with a tremendous crash. Countless glittering shards struck the ordinary onlookers below, immediately causing several to cry out, roll over, and pass out from the impact.

The monstrous beast whipped up a localized frenzy of wind and dust in the air, lunged forward, snapped its jaws, and inflicted several gashes on Fang Senyan before landing first. It then opened its mouth wide!

The gaping maw seemed like a deep, dark void, accompanied by the sound of countless exploding beetles. A torrent of yellow sand and wind erupted, forming a spiraling vortex that lifted Fang Senyan high into the air once more!

Watching himself ascend rapidly, almost like riding an elevator, with the building's glass facade dropping away like a rollercoaster behind him, Fang Senyan began to feel apprehension. Finally, as he reached an altitude of two to three hundred meters, the wind began to abate, and Fang Senyan started to fall back down.

However, the sun umbrella had already sustained damage during the battle. When it had to bear the massive downward pressure of Fang Senyan’s fall, it held for less than ten seconds before exploding with a sharp pop. Still, it had served its purpose, providing a necessary and effective buffer against his descent.

Seeing the ground rushing up to meet him in a dizzying spin, Fang Senyan immediately activated his wristband's intrinsic ability: Absolute Sprint! He kicked out towards the adjacent glass curtain wall.

With that kick planted firmly, Fang Senyan achieved a bizarre mid-air balance, his feet stepping onto the glass facade, though he could hear the crunch, crunch, crunch of collapsing material. The immense impact force sent him surfing violently across the building’s tempered glass layers, plowing a devastating, scarred trench over twenty meters long!