The Insect Tide Recedes
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The Executioner's attack, powerful enough to cleave anything in two, came to an abrupt halt less than half a meter from Chen Fan's head.
Its massive body suddenly froze, and for the first time, a fear originating from the deepest instincts of life surfaced in its scarlet compound eyes.
It doesn't understand.
It didn't have time to understand anything.
The next second, centered on that point of Scarlet-Gold Spark, the silent annihilation began.
The bone armor, which even Lei Kun's Battle Axe could hardly break through, decomposed rapidly from the inside out, turning into the finest particles, like an ice sculpture thrown into Aqua Regia.
This Sixth Grade Undying Realm beast, which had filled Leng Yan, was wiped cleanly from the world in the blink of an eye, without even being able to utter a most mournful howl.
A gentle breeze blew by.
The ashes scattered throughout the sky.
In its place, only a Life Core the size of a fist, its entire body a dark gold color radiating pure and powerful energy fluctuations, remained, spinning in mid-air.
Chen Fan reached out, his movements as natural as plucking a ripe fruit from a tree, and precisely caught the core in his palm.
He weighed it with satisfaction.
The entire battlefield seemed to have been paused by an invisible hand.
In the distance, Lei Kun's Battle Axe remained suspended in mid-air, still in the posture of a powerful chopping motion.
On the defensive tower, Leng Yan's Sniper Scope clattered to the ground, but she was completely unaware.
In the shadows, the data stream in front of the Monkey froze instantly, revealing an unprecedented string of gibberish.
There was a deathly silence on the communication channel.
You could hear a pin drop.
The silence lasted for a full three seconds before being broken by a clear, youthful voice.
"Captain, are you done fighting over there?"
On the communication channel, that clear and calm question pierced the eardrums of the three people.
His only response was deathly silence.
All that remained for Lei Kun, due to excessive exertion, was his heavy breathing.
"Roar!!"
The Mid-Tier Executioner opposite him wouldn't give him time to be stunned. It was also briefly enraged and confused by the instantaneous evaporation of its companion, but the instinct to kill quickly took over.
The Bone Scythe, imbued with the aura of death, slashed down with even greater ferocity!
The sense of crisis, hanging by a thread, forcibly pulled Lei Kun back to reality from his blank thoughts.
"Hold!"
He roared, and the flames on his Battle Axe surged once more as he charged forward like a madman.
But his heart was completely in turmoil.
In that single, intact One-Eye, there was no longer pure savagery, but rather a deeper horror.
What did he just see?
A novice, with a single finger, killed a sixth-rank Executioner?
What the hell is that monster?
"Boom!"
Distracted, Lei Kun's defense showed a slight flaw, and he was blasted dozens of meters away by the immense force attached to the Bone Scythe. His Battle Axe slipped from his hand, leaving a long trail of blinding sparks on the steel ground.
A kilometer away, atop the defensive tower.
Leng Yan accidentally dropped her Sniper Scope, which crashed onto the metal floor, but she seemed not to hear it.
She just stared intently at that slender figure, and for the first time, a violent storm appeared in those eyes that were always as calm as ice.
In my mind, that unbelievable scene was replaying itself in slow motion.
There were no energy fluctuations, no resonance of laws, and no martial arts starting stance.
It was just a faint wisp of Scarlet-Gold Spark, almost impossible for any instrument to detect.
Then, a powerful life form at the Sixth Grade Undying Realm was cleanly... annihilated from this universe.
Seeing his captain being knocked away and in danger, Chen Fan finally let out a soft sigh.
He realized that relying on his teammates, who had already lost their composure, was a complete waste of time.
"What a hassle."
He muttered something under his breath, turned around, and glanced at the chaotic and bloody battlefield before him.
In those amber eyes, there was no longer any feigned tension or panic, only an absolute calmness that was almost indifferent.
The next second, he moved.
His figure moved like a ghostly Stream of Light, charging directly towards the other side of the battlefield, towards a sixth-rank Executioner who was wreaking havoc on the defensive line.
He didn't even bother to avoid the dense swarms of low-level Insect Race along the way.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Any insect that tries to get within three feet of his body, whether flying or crawling, will instantly turn into the most basic particles the moment it touches that invisible area, like snowflakes thrown into the scorching sun, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
He was like a deity walking among humans, surrounded by an absolute sanctuary.
"Bah!"
The new Executioner had clearly spotted him as a sudden target, its crimson compound eyes locking onto him instantly as it roared and charged forward.
Under the distant Leng Yan and the Monkey were now completely numb.
Chen Fan's figure suddenly appeared in front of that enormous creature.
He calmly raised his hand and pointed.
It was still that barely visible wisp of Scarlet-Gold Spark.
Then, the enormous Executioner, like a sand sculpture weathered by time over millions of years, disintegrated inch by inch, from the inside out.
Chen Fan casually pocketed the newly formed dark gold core, the whole process flowing smoothly and so fast it was like an illusion.
Having done all this, he didn't even glance at the group of insects that had completely gone dazed. With a flash, he appeared in front of the third Executioner.
"Point."
The fourth one.
"Point."
In the next few dozen seconds, everyone in the entire C-4 Gate Defense Zone witnessed the most unforgettable scene of their lives.
A boy who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old strolled leisurely through Insect Tide, his hands in his pockets, as if taking a leisurely walk.
He would occasionally raise his hand and casually tap on those terrifying beasts that were capable of wiping out an entire elite squad.
Every instruction was accompanied by the silent annihilation of an Executioner.
As the four Executioners who served as battlefield Commanders disappeared one after another, the once orderly and fearless Insect Tide instantly descended into chaos.
Immediately following, a fear originating from the deepest part of the collective will spread like a plague.
They didn't know what was happening; all they knew was that their kings were disappearing one after another in an incomprehensible way.
And that boy is the source of all this fear!
"Hiss!!"
It's unclear which insect was the first to let out a terrified shriek, but it abruptly turned around and fled backwards like a madman.
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
The black tide, which had been surging forward, seemed to have crashed into an invisible cosmic dam, abruptly halting before crashing back in the direction it had come from at an even more frenzied speed!
This sudden defeat greatly reduced the pressure on Lei Kun, who was locked in a fierce battle with the Mid-Tier Executioner.