Forge a path to success.

Chapter 178 Chasing Shadows and Slaying Beasts (The End)

I guess I'm getting old.

Wakolo thought this as he ran.

Originally, Shadow Chase was an "overflow" that affected all life within its range. Its speed surpassed the combined speed of all enemies, capable of destroying the entire battlefield in a mere instant. For Vaklo Lockvar, ganging up on it was a pointless tactic; only a one-on-one duel offered any chance of victory.

Therefore, the warriors of the Allied forces sacrificed their lives to construct a magic circle to trap it, and with the resolve to die, they entered the circle one by one to fight it. Only when all its members had perished did Vaklo fall amidst the mountain of corpses. The weapons and wounds remaining on its body were proof of those people's deaths.

However, now that Shadow Strike has been greatly weakened, it can only target a single enemy, making it vulnerable in multi-player battles. Using the ability like this makes it seem like a coward who bullies the weak.

Ultimately, it failed to cross the Second Abyss, and it changed with the passage of time. In its previous life, it wouldn't have made the decision to intercept alone. Back then, it simply fought according to orders, fearless and unstoppable. But now it would seek help from those above, and it would come to nip the threat in the bud itself. Wacro knew perfectly well why.

Because it was afraid.

It knew perfectly well that Lord Vansalar was not invincible. Even gods can be defeated, and even gods can die. In the past, it was the fear that chased its prey, but now the death of a god had become the fear that chased it, forcing it to make judgments. It made it anxious and indecisive. It made it hesitant and indecisive. It made it make a series of foolish moves.

Perhaps this is what flesh and blood life calls "aging," and now it is the beast that is being chased by fear.

"He's become an old dog... no, he's been a dead dog for a long time!"

Wacro laughed heartily, its laughter shaking the entire arena. "But that doesn't matter."

"Feelings don't fade with time, I'll definitely kill you all!"

It suddenly stopped, plunging its claws into its own skull, stirring the murky darkness within. It shattered meaningless emotions, ripped out fragments of its former self, and recalled the way it fought in the past. It stopped unnecessary thinking, drawing upon all its strength, and charged forward, ever forward—

The colossal demon roared and accelerated, relentlessly pursuing the two like a shadow. Its speed increased continuously, becoming faster and stronger every second than before. From this moment on, Shadow Pursuit would only target Chu Hengkong. Vaklo had no intention of playing the game of sudden stops anymore; this pure, uncompromising battle was more in line with its old style.

"Watch out, Mr. Chu!" Qingxia shouted, "It's using its real power!"

"Were you just playing around until now? It's not funny at all." But Chu Hengkong on horseback laughed. "Then let's have a showdown!"

The shadowy power within the arena surged and gathered due to the surge of emotion, forming a dark, tsunami-like wave behind Vaklo. From that wave emerged numerous ghostly faces, weapons, and limbs, all imbued with planar magic, shooting forth simultaneously. Chu Hengkong swung his Calamity Scythe wildly, deflecting all the shadowy weapons with its annihilating blade.

Wacro accelerated again, chasing from the side, running almost parallel to Qingxia. Its body emitted a burnt, foul odor from the scorching blue flames. "Don't even think about escaping." Then Wacro, engulfed in flames, charged without hesitation! "Want to test your strength?" Qingxia used her bone-armored shoulder as a spear, clashing head-on with it! The surging blood energy and shadow power collided, and both fell to one side. Qingxia's ribs were pierced by the blunt blade on the giant beast's body.

"Can you hold on?" Chu Hengkong asked instinctively. Qingxia chuckled, casually pulling the knife from her body. "This general is born with superhuman strength, and is even a little stronger than General Chu~"

"Then why don't you try taking this move?"

A charred arm extends from Vaklo's back, its five fingers clenched in the air and hanging down, from which fine characters flow, forming a spell that influences the world.

Then, the sky over the desolate wasteland cracked open.

The thick clouds were blasted to either side by immense magical power, tearing a void open in the center of the sky. Dark blades descended from the valley, like colossal celestial beings bringing scythes to earth. Qingxia's face was reflected on those blades, powerful enough to cleave a city in two.

"Illusory Sky Shadow Technique - Terrifying Execution"

The massive blade that cleaved the sky suddenly fell, like a guillotine magnified a thousand times, slashing towards the two fleeing figures. A vision of blood and gore flashed through Qingxia's eyes—a warning from her intuition. There was no escape, no way to avoid it; this was an execution that could never be avoided as long as fear remained in her heart.

This was the Shadow Magic of the Void Angel; even she couldn't counter it. All the techniques she had learned were useless in this desperate situation, and her fate of death was sealed. Therefore, Qingxia poured her power into her heart, striking out an exceptionally loud heartbeat. Her other heart beat in response, and her power flowed into Chu Hengkong's body through the resonance of their two hearts.

Chu Hengkong's left arm contracted, gathering power as he poured all his strength into his prosthetic arm. The blade of the scythe then expanded dramatically, extending from the ten meters that Olek had used to a hundred meters, exceeding the length of the behemoth. Just before the blade was about to strike, he unleashed his left arm, using the power of doom to unleash the Heavenly Spear.

The Heavenly Spear and the Guillotine were locked in a stalemate in mid-air, and then the silver spear, empowered by the Calamity Wrist, pierced through the darkness and shattered the butcher's blade!

The terror of execution was shattered, and Chu Hengkong's prosthetic arm quickly retracted to a length of 1.5 meters. The prosthetic arm had greedily plundered his power, almost draining him dry. "Are you alright?" Qingxia asked with a smile, though she was sweating from the excessive energy expenditure. "General Chu is so brave!" "When will you ever be serious!"

Wako nodded in agreement: "That's right, you can't be so nonchalant in a life-or-death situation." "You're the last person who has the right to say that!"

Wacroo let out a joyful howl, its roar flowing into the shadowy waves behind it, weaving into thousands of six-pointed star-shaped magic arrays. These arrays collapsed inward like "gates," and a thousand beast heads emerged from behind them, their eyes filled with pitch-black killing intent. They howled along with Wacroo, their bloodthirsty roars converging, merging, and resonating, forming a black tide of annihilation that kills on sight.

Xutian Shadow Technique: Angry voices and roars.

Qingxia took a deep breath, her powerful blood energy solidifying before her face, forming a magic array identical to the one used by Vaklo. This array rapidly multiplied, nesting together to form a 60-layer concentric circle array approximately three meters wide. Qingxia exhaled, unleashing a terrifying roar like that of a dragon. Her roar, amplified by layers of crimson arrays, clashed head-on with the howls of the beast horde. Two ripples, one black and one red, collided in the center of the arena, shattering the surrounding stone stands with the aftershocks!
Void Blood Technique - Roar of Fury. A shadow spell that forcibly simulates magic using blood and qi, reproduced through extraordinary talent.

The concept of sound had almost vanished; all that remained was destruction mediated by vibration. Vaklo held a numerical advantage, but the battle lines remained evenly matched. For the instant the roar was unleashed, the other also acted. Chu Hengkong hurled colorless water blades in succession, slicing through the beast heads in the shadows with astonishing accuracy. 10, 50, 100… in the blink of an eye, 376 had been killed. A third of the beast heads were destroyed by the water blades, shattering the balance. Both sides' spells collapsed simultaneously, and the dissipating sonic boom even extinguished the raging fire!
Chu Hengkong shook his head violently, using his Undying Technique to regenerate his ruptured eardrums. He had previously covered his entire head with a protective aura; otherwise, his overly sensitive hearing would have caused him to die instantly. But even with his hearing impaired, he could still hear sounds—the frantic heartbeats of his own and Qingxia's chests. In battle mode, he had almost lost control of his heart; his blood circulation completely followed the rhythm of his opponent, as if demons were dancing within his body.

He turned back, peering through the scorched earth, hoping to see the enemy's exhaustion or weakness. But this time, even Chu Hengkong felt immense pressure. Vaklo's agility was as sharp as ever; it remained unharmed, still at its peak, maintaining its strongest state through the immortality depicted in the painting. Its gigantic maw opened as if tearing open, shadows swirling within, forming spheres like miniature celestial bodies.

"Ah, my throat hurts so much..." Qingxia's voice was hoarse. "Please use that biu~ light wave."

Chu Hengkong suppressed the urge to sigh again: "That thing was made from my spine, I can't put it away."

"Really? You can't control your bones?" Qingxia exclaimed in surprise. "General Chu is so weak..."

"That's enough, I'll handle this!"

"Just kidding, leave it to me~"

"Illusory Sky Shadow Technique!" the behemoth cackled. "Pseudo-Celestial Collapse Cannon!"

The giant beast's shadow sphere in the air shrank to the size of a needle, then suddenly burst forth, transforming into a jet-black arrow that pierced the world. The world directly in front of Vaklo twisted like a vortex, the air vanished, the land crumbled, and space itself "flowed" like a waterfall toward the line. That black line was like a crack in the world, and everything in its path was pulled into it by gravity.

This is one of the vicious spells developed by Vaklo, the "Collapse Cannon" that uses the power of planarization to destroy the real world and bring everything into the shadow!
On one side of that inescapable black line, there was a blood-red figure perpendicular to it. Qingxia, carrying Chu Hengkong, charged forward with all her might, mist and soil flowing past them, forming a torrent of matter rushing down. Xinyin grew heavier under the pressure, and Qingxia continuously increased her speed; a moment's slowness would mean being swept into the artillery fire and falling into a place of no burial.

Even now, she was still laughing, her maniacal laughter echoing in the wind like a demon's song. She raised the Qingkun Spear, her back to the black line, and launched a final charge. The gravitational pull from the dragon bones propelled Qingxia away from the annihilating storm, escaping beyond the range of the Collapse Cannon!

The arena's boundaries had long been obliterated by the collapsing cannons, and they ran into the bottomless fog. The cannon fire, now without a target, vanished, and Vaklo pursued them, stepping through the shadows. Fueled by excessive speed, Qingxia could no longer make sharp turns. Her trajectory was veering towards Vaklo, and she hesitated, wondering whether to force herself to stop.

“It’s alright,” Chu Hengkong said. “Let’s continue like this!” The banshee smiled upon hearing this. She turned her position, the tip of her spear pointing directly at the giant beast’s eyes. The two combatants faced each other directly, launching a deadly charge, like knights in an ancient arena about to decide the victor!

Both sides were in a straight line; one more Collapse Cannon shot would end the battle. But Vaklo abandoned that idea. Time was running out. Abandoning the pursuit and choosing to confront each other would result in a collision in a split second, faster than thought. The Spiral Tower's spells were too slow at this point; there was no such luxury in battle. A faster, more destructive, best, most effective, and most direct attack was needed, just like before learning to live—

It closed its eyes. Returned to darkness. For the moment, it abandoned its intellect. The shadowy waves flowing behind the behemoth contracted with a terrifying breath, enveloping Vaklo's body. It grew larger, stronger, more terrifying, like a living building, a moving mountain. The extreme-sized beast roared and charged, as if the vast night itself had transformed into a demon.

Shadow Chase: The Darkest Night!

Chu Hengkong gripped the white spear tightly with his prosthetic hand, and the crumbling weapon emitted a clang. He dispersed the scythe of calamity, and the power of misfortune poured into the weapon, transforming into perfectly round raindrops that embedded themselves into the final rune slot. The rune beads given by Youyou, the fire of ambition, and the raindrops of misfortune—the three forces resonated under the influence of divine magic, transforming into a mottled dragon shape.

The dragon stretched its neck and roared, channeling its energy into the shadows. The white spear shattered upon leaving its hand due to overload, yet the concentrated power remained undiminished. It pierced through the dense shadows and plunged into Vaklo's skull. The behemoth's counterattack slowed, and the distance between them narrowed to only 5 meters... 3 meters...!
At that moment, a beam of black light flew out from the distant painting and plunged into Vakuro's body. The black light transformed into another ferocious head—the half of its body that had been separated from the painting! At that instant, Vakuro deliberately retracted its half of its body and used all its strength to bite and kill its opponent who was right in front of it!
"—A duet!"

The two clashed head-on, only inches apart. Qingxia's lance pierced Vaklo's chest first, while the second beast head snapped down, its canine teeth sinking into Chu Hengkong's shoulder!

At this point, all means had been exhausted. Relics and divine arts alike—there was nothing left to use. All that remained was himself, his unwavering will to never give up, and his courageous heart. Chu Hengkong's right hand thrust out like a spear, piercing the giant beast's mouth. His fingertips swayed with a blood-red aura; the life force burning under his steely will illuminated the night like a real fire.

Dragon Village Fist Technique, Third Secret Transmission. A method of transforming one's suffering and pain into power, a burst of fiery energy!
Burn the night!

The man's powerful punch shattered the beast's skull, his burning energy piercing the shadows and incinerating the beast's fear. Chu Hengkong's right hand, sharp as a spearhead and amplified by incredible speed, sliced ​​through the beast's mouth, cleaving through Vaklo's massive body!

Then, the two passed each other. They barely managed to control their speed, stopped sprinting, and turned back almost simultaneously. Qingxia and Chu Hengkong were panting heavily from exhaustion. Wakolo transformed back into human form, clutching his chest; a fiery red slash mark marred his upper body.

Their gazes met in the air, both urging themselves to raise their hands faster. Qingxia raised her spear, while Wakolo extended his razor-sharp claws. They crouched, preparing for their next charge—

But suddenly, Wacro's movements slowed. Its wounds hadn't healed, and a burning resentment seared its broken body. It braced itself with its claws, trying to keep from collapsing.

Inside the mural, Qingye sheathed his sword and simultaneously severed the execution platform and the statue of Van Salal.

“Oh dear…” Vacklo scratched his head in frustration. “I was too impulsive. How should I put it? I got carried away after a few words from the young people. A more measured approach would have yielded different results. I kept going in circles with you guys, then tried to snatch the paintbrush back!… But that would have destroyed the mechanism in the painting first… So let’s allocate our resources more carefully! A smaller share here, and a larger share there!”

It chattered on and on, meticulously reviewing the battle, constantly searching for any possibility of turning defeat into victory. If only they hadn't made mistakes, if only they had been more cautious, if only they had anticipated the enemy's moves… Chu Hengkong and Qingxia remained silent, standing still. Like helpless young people yielding to the old man's nagging.

“Yes, just kidding.” Vaklo laughed. “Sorry, Lord Vansalal.”

"Well done, I admit defeat."

It vanished and shattered in the flames, like a swarm of black butterflies.

The Nightmare King's strongest emissary met his belated death.

(End of this chapter)