Absolute Zone Zero: Please call me the Dragon of Annihilation

Chapter 45 The Mysterious Demise of the Corpse—A Clash of Kings
Seeing that Ming Che had not made any further move, the mysterious Yi Hai roared, and the muzzle of the howitzer on his left arm hummed and lit up with a blinding red light. An ether shell, accompanied by a heat wave, was launched with a roar. "Bang! Boom—" The moment the fire and light exploded, the shockwave sent surrounding rocks flying, and thick smoke, as black as ink, engulfed Ming Che's figure.

Under the cover of the thick smoke, the mysterious Yi Hai's figure blurred into a blur as he rushed to the thickest part of the smoke. The giant horse-slaying sword on his right arm was infused with power, its blade gleaming coldly. He leaped into the air, raising the sword high above his head, and with the force to split mountains and shatter rocks, he slashed fiercely into the thick smoke.

"clang--!"

The ear-piercing clang of metal clashing reverberated through the air, and amidst the flying sparks, the cleaver was held firmly in mid-air by an immense force. Mysterious Yi Hai tensed, straining with all his might to unleash his power, but the cleaver seemed welded shut; he couldn't advance even half an inch further, nor could he even pull it back. A chill ran down his spine, and an uneasy premonition gripped his entire body.

The thick smoke was dispersed by an invisible gust of wind, revealing the scene behind. Ming Che's expression was indifferent, a dragon claw firmly gripping the blade of his horse-slaying sword, its dark gold scales gleaming coldly in the firelight. His vertical pupils were narrow, his eyes surging with extreme contempt for his opponent, as if he were sizing up an overconfident ant.

Before the mysterious Yi Hai could react, Ming Che suddenly exerted force with his wrist, lifting the massive Yi Hai into the air like a chick.

As the feeling of weightlessness washed over him, the mysterious Yi Hai struggled frantically in mid-air, his limbs flailing wildly, but Ming Che's dragon claws remained as firm as black iron, unmoving. A red light flashed across his core, and the grenade launcher on his left arm was once again aimed at Ming Che, its muzzle beginning to rapidly charge.

But this time, Mingche had no intention of giving him any chance.

The grenade launcher's charging light had barely appeared when Ming Che gripped his broadsword, dragged the mysterious Yi Hai, and slammed him hard into the ground! "Boom!" The hard ground collapsed in response, sending debris flying. Before the other could recover from the excruciating pain, Ming Che lifted him up again and slammed him down once more! "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The dull impacts continued in succession, each one more ferocious than the last, repeating more than a dozen times in just a few breaths.

As the dust settled, a deep crater was created in the ground. The mysterious creature lay paralyzed at the bottom of the crater, its bones twisted and deformed, its armor shattered into countless fragments, completely powerless to struggle, only able to emit weak breaths.

Ming Che then stopped what he was doing, glanced down at the dying prey in his hand, and exhaled two puffs of white mist from his nostrils, clearly indicating that the attack had not yet satisfied him.

He slightly raised his hand, violently hurling the dying, mysterious skeleton high into the air. The instant it fell, the Dark Dragon's head snapped up, its gleaming white fangs, sharp as scythes, precisely biting its prey. "Crack! Crack..." A teeth-grinding chewing sound echoed across the empty open ground. The dragon's fangs easily pierced the remaining armor, tearing through the tough flesh; each bite was accompanied by the crisp sound of bones shattering.

"Gulu——"

A suppressed swallowing sound echoed across the deathly silent battlefield. The dark, crimson vertical pupils were half-closed, and the sharp hooks at the tips of the dragon claws precisely hooked out the armor fragments embedded in the teeth. The soft sound of metal scraping against metal mingled with the ethereal matter falling like stardust.

Mingche slowly curled his long tongue, licking inch by inch along the cold-glowing dragon teeth. The wisp of translucent ether flowed down his tongue and into his throat, causing a low tremor to run through his neck. However, this energy was impure and mixed, and instead of replenishing his energy, it made the flow of ether that allowed him to maintain his dragon form stagnate for a moment.

Mingche's eyelashes drooped lazily, their tips unconsciously sweeping a shallow arc across the scorched ground, as if he was still savoring the lingering metallic sweetness of the energy. Yet, a sense of vigilance had already risen in his heart—when he had just devoured it, he had clearly sensed that the powerful aura in the distance was far more troublesome than this little minion.

After finishing his pre-meal snacks, Ming Che turned his gaze to the distant Dead Road Butcher, who was constantly emitting low growls. The etheric energy surging around that guy was far purer and more violent than that of the mysterious Yi Hai, and its outer shell was covered with a layer of dark purple corrosive armor.

The legendary Butcher of Dead Ends is said to be a title built from the remains of hundreds of powerful individuals he has torn to pieces; none of his prey has ever escaped alive. Ming Che sensed the slightly disordered etheric energy within his body due to the absorption of power, knowing he couldn't maintain this state for long. Seeing that his opponent showed no intention of attacking, Ming Che's gaze fell upon the half-collapsed boulder behind him—a remnant of the previous battle, sheared off by the aftershocks. The stone was as hard as an alloy, its edges still bearing the lingering etheric burn marks. He devised a plan, a calculating glint in his eyes.

Mingche narrowed his eyes slightly, a low growl rumbling from his dragon throat. He braced himself on his forelimbs, his muscles bulging beneath his scales, every inch of his muscles brimming with power.

Its heavy body shifted forward half a foot, its coiled tail slowly unfurling, the barbs at the tip scraping the ground, leaving a thin, long burn mark. He was waiting, waiting for the Dead End Butcher to lose his composure first—for a guy like the Dead End Butcher, who relied on brute force and had a strong defense but lacked adaptability, using the terrain to his advantage was the most effortless way to finish him off.

"Roar!" The Dead End Butcher, who had been hesitating, seemed to be completely enraged by this snort and roared. He took a big step with his huge feet covered with bone spurs and charged towards Ming Che, leaving a deep pit in the ground with each step.

A violent surge of ethereal energy coursed around him, even crushing the rubble in his path into dust. Unlike the mysterious skeletal creature's grenade launcher attacks, the Dead End Butcher's methods were straightforward and ruthless, purely using brute force to crush everything in its path.

Seeing this, Mingche no longer hesitated. He slammed his hind legs into the ground, creating spiderweb-like cracks in the scorched earth beneath his feet. The massive dragon body rose upright with the force of the impact. Facing the oncoming Dead Road Butcher, Mingche did not retreat but instead charged forward, his speed no less than the Butcher's. However, as he moved, his peripheral vision remained fixed on the giant rock mountain behind him.

"Boom!" The two were rapidly closing in distance, like two out-of-control giant beasts colliding violently. The enormous impact sent debris flying everywhere, and the nearest buildings collapsed with a deafening roar, raising clouds of dust that enveloped the surrounding area.

"Roar! x2" Two different roars rang out. The Dead Road Butcher raised his fist, the size of a sandbag, with a dark purple aetherial halo around the knuckles, and fiercely attacked Ming Che. This punch was several times more powerful than the mysterious Yi Hai's slash.

Caught off guard, Ming Che could only turn his head to block, his fist slamming heavily into the dragon's horn. The immense impact forced Ming Che to tilt his head to one side, sending several bloodstained, dark gold scales flying to the ground. A flicker of pain, mixed with a hint of excitement, flashed in the dragon's eyes—this was more than worthy of being his opponent!
"Roar~" A red light flashed in the Dark Dragon's eyes. With a low roar, it quickly turned around, its thick dragon tail taut like a steel whip, lashing towards the Dead Road Butcher's chest with a sharp whistling sound. "Whoosh! Bang!" The dragon tail struck the Dead Road Butcher's chest heavily, but only a piercing metallic scraping sound was heard. The opponent's corrosive armor was only dented in one place, without breaking.

The immense force still caused the Dead End Butcher's massive body to stagger backward a few steps, leaving a thick dragon tail mark on his chest. "Roar!" The Dead End Butcher was completely enraged, and its two arms, each covered in heavy armor, spread out from behind it, letting out a deafening roar at Ming Che.

The Butcher of the Dead End, enraged, took several steps forward, his four arms swinging in rapid succession, his fists a dense, impenetrable barrage, each punch carrying the force to tear through the air. This time, Ming Che was on guard, quickly raising his dragon claws to grab the two incoming fists.

Claws embedded themselves in the gaps in the armor, sparks flying. Then, Mingche immediately raised his other dragon claw and fiercely grabbed at the black core in the chest of the Dead Road Butcher—his energy core and only weakness.

Just as the dragon claw was about to strike, the Dead End Butcher's remaining two arms suddenly crossed, grabbing the attacking dragon claw. Neither side was willing to let go, and they were locked in a stalemate, each trying to unilaterally suppress the other with their own strength.

The dragon claws of the Dark Cleaver dug deep into the gaps in the opponent's armor, while the Dead Road Butcher's arms tightened more and more, the joints creaking under the strain, and his peripheral vision once again glanced at the boulder behind him.

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(End of this chapter)