The Western Demon Dragon Pass remained silent, yet the ground was no longer soft turf or marshland; instead, it felt unnaturally hard and thick. Five hours had passed without the slightest disturbance. Still, the knot of anxiety in my chest refused to loosen; the greater the silence, the more abnormal things felt! This unsettling tension, this constant state of suspicion, was the most agonizing burden!
It is said that the wind will not cease even if the trees wish for stillness; beneath the calm surface lay a profound killing intent. Though invisible, I could sense that cold, elusive chill that struck fear into the heart!
As I ventured deeper, this oppressive sense of dread intensified.
Suddenly!
Pat-pat-pat! A faint vibration echoed through the air. I instantly tensed like a spring about to snap, feeling as if the nerves in my mind were stretched to the breaking point! Immediately, that strange coldness and dread surged into my heart! This time, it was undeniably clear and overwhelmingly potent!
It was killing intent—a fierce, powerful aura! It came from high above and behind me, moving with terrifying speed! Years spent contending with the Demon Dragon Archers had honed my sensitivity to killing intent to an astonishing degree!
Almost simultaneously! A three-dimensional image of the Death Desire Eye materialized in my mind! Yet, even watching the Death Desire Eye’s slow-motion playback, I could perceive that gray shadow hurtling down towards me at a speed that defied belief!
Hah! I immediately dove sideways, rolling onto the ground!
Whoosh! Hum! Like a roaring Boeing 747 tearing past, I felt myself engulfed by a gale, the powerful air current tossing me forward nearly twenty meters before I managed to stabilize myself, scrambling up in utter disarray! Glancing back, the spot where I had just stood was now gashed open by a massive fissure stretching over twenty meters long, as if plowed by some colossal harrow! Even then, a deafening roar echoed in my ears, threatening to make me retch and dizzy!
Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, I managed to catch sight of a blurred, reddish-brown mass darting like lightning into the high sky, vanishing into the dim, gray mist!
What an astonishing presence! What terrifying killing intent! I was deeply shocked! Even more frightening was the speed—I was confident that in all my years, I had never witnessed any creature capable of matching that velocity! I couldn't even follow it with my eyes!
I inwardly shuddered, wondering what flying creature in the Demon Dragon World, besides the Demon Dragon Giant Moth, could be that large—at least the size of three or four Demon Dragon Blade Soldiers!
I had narrowly avoided becoming a crack in the earth like that fissure just now. As I was still reeling from the shock, that dreadful majesty struck again, swooping down from the air! A sharp, dull whistle pierced the air, making my eardrums throb painfully!
Hum! The violent blast of wind returned! I forcefully steadied my mind, then unleashed my movement technique, flashing away to the side! Though I couldn't see it yet, a primal instinct warned me that a moment's hesitation would result in utter annihilation!
Thud! Rumbled! This time, the sound was a stone-shattering cataclysm! The entire ground shook violently, as if a meteorite had broken through the atmosphere and smashed down!
Countless fragments of stone sprayed wildly in all directions! Through the haze, the huge, reddish-brown silhouette soared back into the heavens with another screech! The ground below was left with a colossal crater, its edges radiating outwards in explosive bursts. Wisps of blue smoke mingled with the gray fog, looking ephemeral and uncanny, inducing an inexpressible shudder!
Damn it! That’s possible?! That’s beyond twisted. That gigantic shadow had clearly aimed for me with its devastating ground strike, but I managed to evade it.
What astonished me was that a Demon Dragon Giant Moth, with that speed and size, could dive from such a height, smash into the ground, and then take off again as if nothing had happened!
Even the legendary Transformers aren't that exaggerated, surely!
Unfortunately, before I could finish my complaint, a massive roar echoed again! It felt exactly like a diving Boeing 747! Forcing down the near-paralyzing anxiety gripping my entire body, I took a deep breath, deployed my technique, and shot out in the opposite direction like lightning!
Whoosh!
Thump!
A powerful gust of wind whistled just over my head! Then I saw the enormous red mass—skimming the ground—streak forward like lightning!
After a flurry of flying dust and shattered rock!
The ground was once again split by a terrifyingly large, deep gouge, and then, swoosh, the red shadow tore through the air again, quickly vanishing into the gray mist.
Damn it, is it just relying on its size? Every single dive and pass has to create such a spectacle!
Luckily, my mental fortitude is solid; otherwise, even if it hadn't scared me to death, it would have certainly left me paralyzed on the ground.
I cursed it inwardly while desperately dodging everywhere!
For a time, in the gray mist, the Demon Dragon Giant Moth and I were locked in combat. Relying on its robust physique and ability to fly, the Moth launched frequent attacks! Every dive was accompanied by astonishing momentum, almost suffocating!
But I wasn't easy prey either. Utilizing the Death Desire Eye and my incredible speed, I always managed to deftly evade the strike at the last possible moment! While the Moth’s diving speed was immense, it still fell short of the velocity of the arrows loosed by the Demon Dragon Archers. The high-speed evasion skills honed during those past confrontations now proved absolutely crucial!
Perhaps this was the kind of battle between a nimble rabbit and a fierce eagle!
Hum! Whoosh! Another wave of violent sonic boom erupted! The Giant Moth’s massive body executed a low-altitude sweep, charging straight at me!
A chance! I finally locked onto its form!
The Myriad Miles Soul Chaser—fully charged and ready—was unleashed in a flash of the lightning slash!
Clang! The golden-red light instantly struck the rapidly approaching massive silhouette! A blinding shower of sparks erupted immediately.
Woo! With a strange cry that seemed to contain an element of unexpected disdain, the Demon Dragon Giant Moth’s colossal body remained completely unaffected, continuing its furious charge.
Damn it, it survived that?! You’re ruthless!
To take a hit from my Myriad Miles Soul Chaser and act as if nothing happened! Its defense is unbelievably monstrous!
Though I was furious enough to curse aloud, I quickly dodged clear!
Hum! The Moth, missing again, kicked up a swirling vortex that lashed me with agonizing pain, leaving me thoroughly battered.
It truly is unusually thick-skinned and tough. What am I supposed to do now!
Whoosh! The missed Moth let out a fierce shriek, its massive body instantly climbing high into the air before reorienting itself and diving toward me again.
Damn it, this thing is abnormal! If this keeps up, it will never end!
Right now, I can neither beat it nor truly escape it!
Of course, the Demon Dragon Giant Moth also couldn't easily catch me!
It performed every aerial stunt imaginable—high-altitude dives, low-altitude sweeps—but I was equally full of tricks on the ground: feints and weaving movements, moments of straight running interspersed with sharp reversals, keeping us locked in a stalemate, one chasing and the other fleeing! The Moth still had no answer for me!
Compared to the Demon Dragon Giant Moth’s speed, I was hopelessly slow, but my advantage lay in agility and rapid changes in direction.
Although the Moth’s top speed was high, that only applied during a high-velocity dive, a situation I had long since mastered. A few small, agile leaps and dodges were enough to evade it lightly.
I even seized moments to launch several sword energy strikes. While they couldn't bring the Moth down, they certainly made it howl in pain!
For a while, it seemed neither of us could best the other!
Just when I thought the Demon Dragon Giant Moth was stumped, it abruptly changed its tactics, abandoning the high dives and low sweeps, instead beginning to circle directly above my head!
Even through the gray mist, I couldn't see clearly, but under the Death Desire Eye, I could still track its shape; it was currently hovering about forty meters directly above me!
What is it doing? What is its plan?
Though I couldn't fathom the giant creature’s objective, a primal instinct told me this situation was extremely bad! This Demon Dragon Giant Moth seemed to have another hidden ace!
Woo!
The Demon Dragon Giant Moth let out a sharp, muffled cry, the sound like a fingernail rapidly scraping across a smooth sheet of glass—shrill, piercing, making my eardrums ache and my teeth feel painfully sensitive!
In the Death Desire Eye state, I watched the Moth’s immense body settle directly in front of me, slowly closing the distance. The frequency of its huge wings beating grew faster and faster until it resembled a high-powered electric fan, surrounded by a fiercely swirling air current, like a ribbon of gray light, within a ten-meter radius! Even from a distance, I could sense the terrifying energy field contained within.
What astonishing power! I inwardly gasped, instinctively raising my guard! Though every fiber of my being wanted to turn and flee, instinct and intuition screamed that this was not the time to run!
With a series of deep, muffled thuds, the Demon Dragon Giant Moth lowered its body closer to the ground, the roar intensifying until the entire earth began to tremble. It looked like the landing scene of an alien saucer in a sci-fi movie—an event of colossal magnitude!
What was even more terrifying was that the once solid ground began to crack, sending shards of stone flying everywhere. And when the Moth’s enormous body was almost skimming the ground!
Those massive stone fragments suddenly shot towards me like shrapnel from an explosion.
Damn it! This is possible too!
Even I, as slow-witted as I might be, could see that this Demon Dragon Giant Moth was truly a genius!
This move bore a striking resemblance to the 'Stone Rain of the Yellow Springs' once used by the Yellow Springs Cult Master. However, the Cult Master used his Yellow Springs Hammer to shatter stones and then swung them like a baseball player.
But this Demon Dragon Giant Moth was even more extreme than the Cult Master. It used the incredible flapping frequency of its two giant wings to generate hurricane-force winds, literally shaking the ground apart, and then used the resulting vortex of air to blast those fragments!
Though each stone was only the size of a human head, the sheer volume it was blasting—at least hundreds, perhaps thousands—combined with the terrifying velocity meant each projectile carried a force of more than a thousand jun—it was like being strafed by a heavy-caliber machine gun!
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!!
Countless stones shot out, sweeping towards me in a dense, overwhelming barrage!
While their individual speeds weren't as exaggerated as the Demon Dragon Archer’s arrows, the sheer quantity, density, and wide coverage were overwhelming!
I could no longer hesitate! I frantically channeled my Thunder Battle Qi and fled desperately back the way I came!
But the Demon Dragon Giant Moth pursued swiftly from behind, and the dense rain of stones never ceased! One flying above, one running below—the speed differential immediately became apparent. Worse still, although the Moth was faster, it deliberately maintained only a slight lead, like a shepherd herding sheep, always staying about a hundred meters behind me, while continuously flapping its wings to launch those endless stones my way.
The situation was exactly like being locked onto by a heavily armed attack helicopter! The sounds behind me grew louder, and the stones hitting me grew heavier!
Pang! Pang! Thump!
I must have taken several hits to the back! The pain was so intense I almost spat blood.
Thankfully, thanks to this custom-made God of War Armor and my robust Thunder Battle Qi, I managed to hold on without collapsing!
However, escaping the Demon Dragon Giant Moth's relentless tailing attack proved nearly impossible! Once they closed within a certain range, even stones the size of my head carried enough terrifying force to be fatal.
I pushed my speed to the limit while executing irregular evasive maneuvers, my mind racing furiously.
How can I escape this predicament!
Facing this monstrous Demon Dragon Giant Moth, which was more perverse than an attack helicopter, I couldn't outrun it, couldn't defeat it, and now, couldn't even evade it!
Drat, if I had surface-to-air missiles right now, I’d have blasted it out of the sky already.
But given the Moth’s absurd defense, even my Myriad Miles Soul Chaser was useless!
Did I have to resort to close-quarters combat to slay the Demon Dragon Giant Moth! Looking at the current situation, that seemed highly unlikely. Though I didn't know the exact power of the hurricane field surrounding the Moth, seeing the solid ground shatter into head-sized stones just ten meters away told me exactly what would happen if I got close.
And at a thirty-meter distance, my strongest sword energy attack, Myriad Miles Soul Chaser, had already proven incapable of inflicting any damage.
Unless the power of my Myriad Miles Soul Chaser could be drastically increased to a level capable of harming the Demon Dragon Giant Moth.
But how could I possibly boost the attack power of the Myriad Miles Soul Chaser? That was already the limit of my long-range capabilities. Any further increase would require another leap in Battle Qi intensity, but the total amount of Battle Qi was fixed, impossible to increase in such a short time.
What should I do! The sounds behind me were growing closer! The stones hitting me were heavier! If I couldn't think of a solution, I would certainly be crushed into meat paste!
Damn it! I’ll fight you to the death! At worst, I’ll go berserk again, but that’s better than dying!
At that moment, I remembered the unique energy gathering skill I used when practicing the Offensive Sword Techniques! For a long time, to avoid falling into that chaotic berserk state, whether using Offensive/Slaying Battle Qi, Assassination Battle Qi, Half-Moon Battle Qi, or Thunder Battle Qi, I had subconsciously avoided excessive accumulation. My attacks involved a brief gathering before immediate release, much like Long Zhan releasing his Offensive Sword Qi—store a certain amount, then immediately release.
Because I knew clearly that accumulating too much Battle Qi energy within my body would lead to an uncontrollable berserk state.
Now, facing this situation, I had no choice but to risk it. With that thought, I cast all caution aside. The Thunder Battle Qi within my body began to circulate wildly again!
Simultaneously, I carefully controlled the Thunder Battle Qi to converge on my sword-wielding arms. As the intensity of the Thunder Battle Qi increased, the restlessness and murderous urges that hadn't surfaced in a long time reappeared in my mind. Though rationality still controlled my thoughts, the impulse to destroy everything was like a demon possessing me, stirring my soul. This moment of intense yearning for slaughter caused the Thunder Battle Qi inside me to increase at an astonishing rate, condensing further.
In the past, I never fully understood what this was, but Ji Du had told me it was the unique bloodline inheritance of the Demon Dragon Royal Family: Frenzy (Kuanghua). Without a doubt, I was now entering a Frenzy state! However, this Frenzy was incomplete; at least I retained conscious awareness, which was precisely what I needed.
Feeling that the accumulated Thunder Battle Qi was nearly sufficient! Due to the dense concentration of Battle Qi, both my sword-wielding hands and the Dragon Shadow Sword were enveloped in a dazzling, multi-colored stream of light.
My consciousness, operating within the state of the Death Desire Eye, suddenly enveloped the entire world in a hazy, blood-red filter. Then I felt as if my body had been taken over by a monstrous beast! That violent, restless, and frantic intent surged like a tsunami, nearly shattering my consciousness into fragments!
I couldn't let it continue, or I would lose control entirely.
At this moment, the Demon Dragon Giant Moth was approaching within about forty meters behind me! But as the Thunder Battle Qi furiously condensed, the protective Thunder Shield grew stronger, actually capable of withstanding the bombardment of stones at such close range.
This was almost unbelievable—I hadn't expected the Thunder Shield to be this monstrously tough! But I knew this wasn't the time for astonishment! Under the Death Desire Eye, I immediately locked onto the Demon Dragon Giant Moth’s flight path, completely ignoring the storm of stones raining down! Gradually, the Moth drew closer and closer! Finally, it entered my effective range!
A perfect opportunity! Now is the time!
“Roar! Die!” I bellowed, and the poised Myriad Miles Soul Chaser was finally unleashed—this attack was the simultaneous release of all the condensed Thunder Battle Qi!
Whoosh! Wielding the sword with both hands, a simple diagonal slash looked no different from the countless previous swings of the Myriad Miles Soul Chaser. But this time, the resulting strike was a strange, seven-colored stream of light, rather than the previous fiery red glow.
With a sharp whistle, the seven-colored light streak was like a brilliant meteor tearing across the night sky! Leaving a long, rainbow-like trail of light! It shot towards the rapidly approaching Demon Dragon Giant Moth!
Clang! Rumbled!
A massive explosion accompanied by an earth-shattering tremor. The entire space seemed to be forcibly torn apart by some terrifying power, revealing strange distortions and ripples, followed immediately by the Demon Dragon Giant Moth’s earth-shattering, agonizing roar!
A dazzling sphere of seven-colored light burst open in the sky!
The Demon Dragon Giant Moth, like an attack helicopter struck by a missile, instantly shattered into pieces!
The splattering green ichor mixed with the surrounding mist and flying limbs and gore coated the entire world in a hazy, sickly green, a truly horrifying sight!
Ah! So! So powerful! I could hardly believe my eyes.
Heavens, what kind of power is this! To shatter such a terrifyingly monstrous creature as the Demon Dragon Giant Moth with a single sword strike!
Is this... is this the power of the Frenzy!