Though the initial wave of malevolent spirits was wiped out in under five minutes by Huangquan and Kagura, aided by their respective spirit beasts, the assault would not cease. Soon after, thousands upon thousands of spirits manifested before their eyes. Not just ahead, but from all directions; the four of them were now completely encircled.

"That fellow, Youming, clearly doesn't want to give us a moment's rest," Lin Luo murmured, a slight frown creasing his brow as the countless malevolent spirits rapidly closed in. While their fighting strength had experienced a massive surge, such overwhelming numbers were still troublesome. Even with his power, it would drain a significant portion of his strength, making the outcome against Youming uncertain afterward.

"Big Brother, why don't we just cut straight through to the city? Youming must be hiding in some corner of the city. If we carve a path, we’re bound to find a clue—we won't fail to find him," Arthur suddenly suggested.

Lin Luo remained silent, yet internally, he felt Arthur’s proposal had merit. After all, things were different now; both Huangquan and Kagura had advanced to the early Spirit Rank. Unless the enemy was a mid-level Spirit Rank existence or higher, there was nothing to fear. Even if such an opponent appeared, they could be instantly recalled to the Fourth Dimension during moments of danger, minimizing real peril.

And Arthur possessed immortality; it was difficult for him to truly die.

The current battle scenario made it clear: Youming was likely in the final stages of deciphering the power of the Rules. Once his strength returned to its peak, coupled with the entire world’s undead army, fighting him would become even harder. It was better to strike hard now while they had the advantage than to simply wait passively.

"Good, it's decided. We charge straight through!"

Without further hesitation, Lin Luo stepped forward. As his calculation power activated, countless iron filings rose from the earth, slashing towards the approaching spirits. This time, he held nothing back, unleashing the full might of his LV5 power. Every spirit struck by the whip of iron filings was either cleaved in half or shredded.

Furthermore, under his control, more iron filings surged from the ground, instantaneously forming an iron-filing dragon over thirty meters long in the air. Any spirit that required physical existence to remain was utterly annihilated by the sweep of the iron-filing dragon.

Simultaneously, he divided his focus, using the Light of Fantasy in his left hand and Atomic Collapse in his right—the same white light, yet unleashing distinctly different power. Regardless of whether the malevolent spirits were tangible or intangible, once struck by the Light of Fantasy, their very mode of existence was immediately absorbed. The intangible would vanish entirely, and the tangible would be reduced to nothing more than a mere corpse.

Atomic Collapse, however, was a force capable of shattering all matter. While ineffective against intangible spirits, it proved sharper and more dominating against physical foes than the Light of Fantasy. Streaks of electrons shot out like laser beams, causing countless spirits to shred like pieces of paper.

Faced with such terrifying power, the malevolent spirits possessed no ability to resist. In just a brief moment, nearly half of them were annihilated by Lin Luo. Yet, their strength lay in sheer numbers. Knowing no fear, they cared nothing for death and continued to surge forward like an unending tide.

In the distance, even more spirits streamed toward them.

On the other side, Huangquan and Kagura had long since re-engaged in battle. Although there were some spirits among the horde equal to their own rank, the spirits inherently possessed low intelligence, and being controlled left them with only the instinct to fight. While this purest instinct could allow them to exert maximum combat potential, their attack patterns were overly simplistic and riddled with openings. This might suffice against weaker opponents, but it was utterly insufficient against Huangquan and Kagura.

The two fought in tandem, weaving continuously through the ranks of spirits. With every flash of their blades, enemies fell in droves, as if they were walking through an empty field.

Among the four, Arthur was likely having the toughest fight. His offensive power was simply too low, and the attacking spirits were all enhanced; some he couldn't even penetrate their defenses. However, he was clever, staying close to Honglian and supporting her attacks with the Roar Wave of the Lion King, making the struggle manageable.

In truth, the main reason was that Lin Luo had taken on the powerful spirits himself, leaving only the weaker ones behind. Otherwise, he and Honglian alone would genuinely struggle against those reaching the Spirit Rank.

The four pushed forward, killing as they advanced. Though the enemy numbers were vast, even the greatest number of ants cannot fell an elephant. After ten minutes, they had burst out of the deep mountain region, leaving countless corpses scattered across the slopes. However, even more spirits kept converging on them.

Lin Luo and the others paid little mind to those trailing behind, merely instructing Bai Rui to provide minimal defense while they pressed forward at full throttle. Soon, the four reached a hillside, and the sight awaiting them made their scalps tingle.

The slope wasn't overly steep, roughly at a sixty-degree angle, but it was absolutely covered in the living dead—crawling like dense ants, extending all the way to the base of the mountain and even into the city. There were at least over one hundred thousand of them... To put it simply, everywhere the eye could see, there was nothing but the living dead.

"Well, it looks like the entire city’s supply of the living dead has launched an assault on us."

Such numbers gave even Lin Luo a headache. If they continued fighting in the same manner, someone would fight until their arms went numb.

"Forget it, time to borrow some might!" Before the living dead on the slope could attack, Lin Luo flashed over to Huangquan and Kagura, taking their blades, and then leaped high into the air.

Though the two young women were momentarily disarmed, with their current strength, they could handle most spirits with magic alone. Coupled with the massive slaughter they had just committed, there weren't too many spirits immediately surrounding them, so they paid it no mind.

Lin Luo intended to use preemptive striking. Since the decision for an all-out assault had been made, as long as the Black Flame devastation wasn't exposed, there was no need to hide any aspect of his power.

As he soared into the air, the Lion King and the Iai Blade in his hands erupted with incredibly brilliant light. The Light of Fantasy began to bloom, and as the twin blades swept down: "Demon-Slaying Sword Two: Second Katana… Fantasy Carnival—Lily Avenue!"

Unlike the previous Lily Bloom, this time, two straight beams of light shot out from the blade tips forward, instantly stretching for kilometers. Within the white light were countless budding lily petals. The instant the petals unfurled, clusters of mushroom clouds erupted from the ground. Every single living dead caught in the explosion vanished into ash and smoke.

"Now! Run along this path!"

Landing back on the ground, Lin Luo immediately turned and called out to the other three. They instantly grasped his intent and followed closely behind him, running at full speed ahead.

With such immense numbers of the living dead, even if they could win, they would fight until exhaustion. There was no need to get bogged down fighting these things; they just needed to carve open a route and rush into the city while they had the chance. After all, the city was vast; they couldn't possibly have millions of living dead concentrated everywhere.

Thus, Lin Luo charged forward, carving a path, while the others followed tightly behind him. This was because the aftershock of the explosion carried an intensely purifying aura for a short time. While it couldn't cause physical harm, this purifying energy was the natural enemy of malevolent spirits, preventing them from approaching. As a result, Lin Luo and the others successfully surged through the masses of the living dead.

Aside from Lin Luo needing to deliver a few supplementary strikes, everyone else simply needed to run.

...

"Damn it! That pervert, he can't even be stopped by that!"

In that dark room, Youming, who was sitting cross-legged, nearly popped his eyes out as he witnessed everything Lin Luo had done through the surveillance of the malevolent spirits. He was so furious he nearly cursed—no, he was already cursing.

He was currently pushing through the final stages of deciphering the power of the Rules. Nearly all the humans across the world had become his power source under the assault of his undead army. Now, as long as he could quickly absorb this power, he could immediately achieve one hundred percent control over the Rules.

He had intended to use the malevolent spirits to stall Lin Luo during this crucial period, but unexpectedly, Lin Luo hadn't defended but actively attacked. This greatly disrupted his plan. If he couldn't find Lin Luo, it would be one thing, but if Lin Luo discovered his hiding spot now, with his current power level, he absolutely could not defeat the enemy.

What shocked him even more was that the two hosts, who were previously as weak as tiny insects, had now reached the Spirit Rank... Unbelievable!

Youming felt his lungs might explode from sheer anger. These hosts were all monsters!

In a previous world, he had encountered another host. Although she was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl who didn't seem particularly strong, when the fight started, even his one hundred percent control over the Rules was barely enough to contend with her. In the end, the girl even summoned a Demon King, and if he hadn't recognized the bad situation and fled quickly, he might have been instantly finished by a single strike.

What was that 'Flame Haze of the Blazing Eyes' creature... To hell with it!

And now, just a day ago, these two hosts were pathetically weak, but in the blink of an eye, they had grown strong enough to threaten him. This speed of growth... Damn it! Were they using rocket boosters?!

Both Lin Luo's active aggression and the hosts' lightning-fast growth filled Youming with rage. However, there was one development that brought him mixed feelings: the great weapons carried by the two hosts were gone.

"Lin Luo must have taken them. Since I can’t sense them, he probably sealed them away using some method. This means he doesn't know how to use that thing... That counts as a stroke of luck. But he should know the danger of that item; if he used it to detonate this world, I'd be finished... Still, he wouldn't be foolish enough to do that, right?"

"Never mind. The Four Great Ghost Kings have already been dispatched; let them buy me some time."

Finally, Youming let out a cold sneer and fell silent.

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