Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Chapter 515: Chapter 96 Falling_2

After a while, the commotion outside slowly subsided. This meant that all nearby professionists and mutant beasts had moved far away from the disaster’s epicenter.

Claus, who had been as still as a stone sculpture, gently rolled his neck, slightly relieving the stiffness from his prolonged sitting, and slowly climbed out of the rubble.

Outside, the friction between the meteor and the Purple Light Spawn and Grow Barrier continued, but the barrier itself had turned a deathly pale. It seemed it would only take a few more seconds for external forces to shatter it. And when that happened, it would be everyone’s doom!

Yes... Everyone... Claus thought.

The low-level professionists and mutant beasts fleeing for their lives had never considered one crucial point: in this situation, regardless of their actions, death was inevitable. Even if they could escape the initial shockwave from the meteor’s impact, how would they deal with the Demon Fiends surrounding them? There was no way out. From the moment the Demon Tribe chose Las Vegas as their first target, the fate of all Earth’s creatures in the city was sealed.

At this thought, Claus gave a self-deprecating smile. Perhaps I’m mocking my own lamentable state... Mocking my own powerlessness, my feeble efforts in the face of absolute strength, and mocking the fact that I placed my hope in others. In short... looking back now, I feel I have too many reasons to laugh at myself...

Slowly pulling a cigarette from his pocket, he lit it and took a deep drag. COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... A series of coughs escaped Claus’s mouth. Claus didn’t actually smoke. Carrying cigarettes was merely an old habit from his time as the boss of the Red Stone Hotel. Perhaps finding the taste of tobacco unbearable, he tossed the cigarette aside. Claus then slowly lay down on the bloodstained street, squinting at the ever-growing ”sun” in the sky.

Born here, die here... That’s fine...

The light and heat in the sky grew increasingly intense, the scorching rays making Claus’s eyes feel dry. But even so, Claus kept his eyes open. Perhaps he wanted one last look at the sky he had sacrificed everything to protect.

Then... POP...

It sounded like a bubble bursting.

The Purple Light Spawn and Grow Barrier completely collapsed!

Instantly, an incredibly fierce heat surged into the area previously protected by the barrier, and terrifying pressure descended relentlessly from above. Under the extreme temperature and pressure, Claus’s body slowly melted, then gradually turned to ash, like a black shadow deeply seared into the very soil of Las Vegas.

Born here, die here...

In the sky, the meteor and the Purple Light Spawn and Grow Barrier collided violently. Then, POP. The barrier was directly obliterated by the meteor. The next second, immense heat and pressure struck. Even Wen Yu, who had already reached the edge of the Purple Light Spawn and Grow Barrier, could feel the energy contained within the meteor. The sheer power of it... It’s even a bit frightening! Wen Yu felt a chill. Then, with nothing to obstruct it, the meteor smashed straight down.

First, an intense roar and an earth-shaking tremor erupted. The ground cracked and split; under the meteor’s sheer size and weight, Las Vegas’s terrain couldn’t withstand such an assault. In an instant, Wen Yu felt as if he were at the mouth of an erupting volcano. Fortunately, Wen Yu’s strength was exceptional. Even with the blast wave hitting him head-on and the ground trembling violently beneath his feet, he remained unharmed.

The same couldn’t be said for the Demon Fiends stationed outside the Purple Light Spawn and Grow Barrier. The shockwave and tremors posed little threat to Wen Yu, but for these Low-grade Demon Fiends, it was a cataclysm. The surging blast wave instantly tore through the Demon Group behind Wen Yu, and grotesque fissures in the earth swallowed countless Demon Fiends.

And it wasn’t over yet! The next second, the meteorite, having crashed to the ground, instantly cracked open and exploded. A mushroom cloud soared as if from a nuclear bomb, while an overwhelming conflagration of high temperature and flames wreaked havoc everywhere, turning the entire land into scorched earth in an instant.

In an explosion of that magnitude, even Wen Yu couldn’t escape unscathed.

Nearly a minute later, as the dust slowly settled, Wen Yu gradually climbed up from the ground. He immediately reached for his space ring, took out a healing potion, and gulped it down. The blast wave was easy enough to handle. In his darkness state, Wen Yu was completely immune, as a shockwave was, after all, a form of physical damage. However, the high temperature did cause Wen Yu some minor injuries. Under the effect of the healing potion, the burns slowly subsided. Wen Yu exhaled deeply, unable to bear looking at the tragic state of Las Vegas again.

It was clear: few could have survived an attack of this magnitude. To be precise, aside from Qin Tian and Arthur, it was unlikely any other creature could have survived this onslaught.

The reality didn’t deviate much from Wen Yu’s prediction, the main difference being two additional survivors: Qin Shiyuan and Nicole.

The moment the meteorite fell, Arthur, who was holding Qin Shiyuan and Nicole, promptly took precautions. Since he had already brought the two women this far, Arthur had no reason to give up on them. Fortunately, Arthur had managed to run a considerable distance; at least, he was not within the meteorite’s direct impact zone.

He hurriedly pushed the two women (one older, one younger) to the ground and, with both hands, pulled a large pile of items from his space ring—defense tools of various levels. Arthur possessed many such items. In fact, powerful experts like Arthur and Wen Yu typically had plenty of these tools on hand. However, most were largely useless: unnecessary against low-grade creatures and ineffective against high-grade ones. Thus, these defense tools occupied an awkward position. Wen Yu also had many of these items but had yet to encounter a battle that required them.

However, at this moment, these tools were a great help to Arthur. Qin Shiyuan and Nicole were not foolish. Seeing Arthur throw a large pile of items before them, they acted quickly. One defense tool after another was crushed or torn by them, constructing numerous defensive barriers in front of themselves.

Then, Arthur himself planted his giant sword into the ground before him, facing Qin Shiyuan and Nicole. His muscles tensed all over his body, using his own physique as the first line of defense to protect the two women. The effect was clear: Arthur’s defense capabilities were exceptional, and at this distance, he wouldn’t be swept away by the meteorite’s initial impact.

BOOM!

The sound of the explosion erupted from behind him. The raging shockwave instantaneously slammed into Arthur’s back. Although the tremendous impact didn’t cause Arthur much harm, the sheer force of the blow still made his body lurch forward. Fortunately, Arthur was somewhat prepared. Gripping his weapon firmly, the giant sword provided Arthur with excellent support. When the first shockwave dissipated, Arthur squinted ahead and exhaled deeply.

”We made it through...”

Then, the second wave of the explosion followed closely.

The consecutive shockwaves and flames caused Arthur no harm. If Arthur had been hit directly by the meteorite, he might have died. But once he was outside the meteorite’s direct impact zone, mere shockwaves and fire could not breach his defense. In terms of defense alone, Arthur might even be stronger than Wen Yu!

Under Arthur’s protection, Qin Shiyuan and Nicole also survived. However, the instantaneous high temperature breached their defense shields, scorching the two women badly. But these were injuries a few healing potions could resolve, hardly qualifying as serious wounds.

Casually handing several healing potions to Qin Shiyuan and Nicole, Arthur didn’t wait for their injuries to fully heal before picking them both up. Gazing at the distant, smoke-filled landscape where the shadows of Demon Fiends flickered intensely, Arthur said solemnly, ”In a moment, you two hold on tight, and close your eyes...”

For Arthur—no, for all surviving creatures of Earth—the meteorite’s fall didn’t represent the end. Instead, it was merely the beginning...

The beginning of their desperate flight for survival.

「In another direction.」

Compared to Arthur’s group, Qin Tian was somewhat closer to the meteorite. Moreover, Qin Tian didn’t possess Arthur’s defensive capabilities, so when the meteorite fell, Qin Tian was the one among them who suffered the most damage.