Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Feeling the child in his grasp struggling less and less, the smile on Luo Hai’s face broadened.

While it’s true that his raw strength may not compare with the child’s, that’s the beauty of a battle—you never know what will happen next... So, the process doesn’t really matter; a fight is all about the outcome! It’s a question of life and death!!!

The next moment, a fierce wave of energy surged forth. Luo Hai channeled all his strength into the giant hand holding the child. The energy-wrought hand visibly enlarged, and even the lines on its palm became much clearer.

Then, Luo Hai controlled the great hand to squeeze hard...

However, the clear feedback from his ability made Luo Hai’s expression darken.

The energy hand’s supposedly lethal squeeze had grasped nothing but air.

He turned to see Wen Yu in the distance, his face pale, and beside Wen Yu, a small, charred figure. Luo Hai sighed deeply.

”You meddlesome fool!”

”Thanks for the compliment!”

Wen Yu smiled and nodded at Luo Hai. While pushing an elixir pill into the child’s mouth, he ordered Faceless to fend off Ah Gui’s attacks from afar.

He gently nudged the child’s body with his foot.

”How are you holding up? You can’t die now!”

Who’s going to keep Luo Hai at bay if you die?

This was Wen Yu’s fundamental reason for saving the child. Given the current state of the battle, the child was a ”friendly unit.” If Luo Hai simply snuffed out the child, the balance of power on the battlefield would inevitably shift again. In that situation, Wen Yu would likely have no choice but to flee.

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... I won’t die...”

A weak voice emanated from beneath Wen Yu’s foot. The child let out a series of coughs. His heavily injured body and exhausted strength recovered slightly under the effects of the elixir pill. Then, the child quickly pulled out a jade strip and sent a clear Spiritual Fluctuation into it.

”Old-timer, help me...”

The next moment, a dark space crack suddenly appeared before Wen Yu.

From the black space crack, sounds resembling demonic howls echoed continuously. A cold, sharp gust blew out from the space crack, chilling Wen Yu to the bone.

Meanwhile, accompanied by the sound of TAP, TAP, TAP, a figure slowly emerged from the depths of the space crack—a stooped figure, covered in ash with sporadic flames flickering over its body, holding a monstrous pipe that glowed continuously with embers.

In the bowl of the pipe, a grotesque, bloodstained head seemed to ignite, billowing vibrant flames. Wisps of smoke, carrying an unknown, fascinating aroma, curled out from the skull’s seven orifices. The scent wafted across the space crack to Wen Yu, stirring his spirits and making him feel as if the seal from Heaven’s Sealing had loosened considerably...

Looking at the old-timer’s calm demeanor, it seemed Hawk, his opponent, hadn’t lasted more than a few moves before the old-timer twisted his head off. Hawk’s corpse was then turned into tobacco for the old-timer’s pipe.

Seeing this, Wen Yu shook his head with a wry smile.

No one is a fool. I obviously brought the old-timer and the child here intending to use them as pawns. After Hawk dragged the old-timer into the Dimensional Maze, the old-timer acted decisively. He killed Hawk immediately and then concealed himself within the Dimensional Maze, creating the false impression that he and Hawk were still locked in battle.

If nothing unexpected had happened, the old-timer probably planned to wait for the battle outside to conclude before emerging to clean up. He didn’t intend to spare either Luo Hai or me!

If the child hadn’t run into trouble, the old-timer’s plan would likely have succeeded. According to a normal comparison of strength, Luo Hai’s squad should have eliminated Wen Yu and Tang Haofei, leaving the child to struggle against the remaining three. At that point, the old-timer would have jumped into the fray directly from the Dimensional Space.

Luo Hai’s trio would have been heavily fatigued, some of their trump cards already spent by Wen Yu and Tang Haofei, while the old-timer would be in peak condition. Coupled with his and the child’s individual strength, they were undeniably stronger than Luo Hai’s trio—the battle’s outcome would have been a foregone conclusion...

However, with the child seriously injured, the old-timer’s cunning little plan was easily thwarted.

Step by step, the old-timer walked out from within the space crack. His pace seemed as slow and leisurely as an old man taking a stroll, yet in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the entrance of the dimensional fissure.

As if crossing his own threshold, the old-timer stepped out of the space crack. He first looked at Wen Yu, who was close by, and then at Luo Hai, who was still standing in his original spot in the distance, making no move at all. Finally, he glanced at the child lying on the ground, letting out low, pained groans.

”What a sorry sight...”

This friendly jest, however, only annoyed the child further.

”Enough nonsense! That Luo Hai—help me kill him!”

Wen Yu, standing right there, was thoroughly ignored by the old-timer and the child—after all, one couldn’t expect a Level 7 Breakthrough Achiever to pay much heed to a Level 5 Breakthrough Achiever who had lost all his abilities.

This was actually part of Wen Yu’s initial strategy—when a lion and a tiger decide to fight to the death, the jackal standing aside merely watching can very easily be overlooked.

The old-timer raised his pipe and took a hefty puff. The intense flame instantly set the skull in the pipe’s bowl ablaze, and in an instant, a strange aroma filled the entire space.

The overpowering scent flooded Wen Yu’s senses. Realizing the peculiarity, he quickly held his breath, fearing this was some sort of trick from the old-timer.

Seeing Wen Yu’s reaction, the old-timer smiled kindly. ”Relax, young man. This is just a small healing trick...”

Sure enough, the flesh on the child’s charred body began to regenerate, and his mental state also improved considerably.

Seeing the child slowly sit up, the old-timer smiled gently, then turned to look at Luo Hai, who was standing aside as if watching a show.

A flicker of doubt crossed the old-timer’s mind.

”Luo Hai, why haven’t you made a move yet?”

Luo Hai’s smile was his answer to the old-timer’s question. Looking at the three of them standing together, the smile on Luo Hai’s face grew wider.

”I knew you were fine. I also knew Hawk was long dead. Your team has Life Brands too, right?”

Seeing Luo Hai’s smile, the old-timer’s heart sank.

”So...”

Luo Hai casually snapped his fingers, looking pleased with himself.

”Killing one and severely injuring two others is far better than just killing one, don’t you think?”

The next second, countless white spots of light suddenly flared up on the child’s body. Realizing what was happening, Wen Yu and the old-timer reacted almost instantly.

When that giant energy hand had gripped the child earlier, it must have planted some deeply hidden mechanism within him—a mechanism that had transformed the child’s body into a human bomb!

”EXPLODE!”