Overwhelming

Beneath the azure sky, sunlight glittered across the sea.

Yet this tranquil scene

was torn apart by a crimson figure that had appeared abruptly on the horizon.

He stood atop the waves, wielding his vital energy to turn the churning sea into solid ground beneath his feet.

Beneath his crimson armor, a low voice rang clearly across the sea and sky:

"Phase Two: Dharma Manifestation—"

"Begin!!!"

Vmmm—!!!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling light.

Only an immense aura, powerful enough to shake heaven and earth, burst outward from Xu Feng!

It was not a mere blast of energy, but the oppressive presence of power revealing its very nature, almost like a domain!

Rumble—!!!

The calm sea erupted into fury!

Merely swept by the edge of this phantom aura, the seawater within several kilometers churned and rose as if stirred by an invisible giant hand!

Terrifying waves, each more than ten meters tall and like towering walls, surged up and crashed toward the luxurious white yacht with overwhelming force!

Before the might of heaven and earth, the yacht was like a child's toy. The waves tossed it from side to side, and its hull groaned under the strain.

The deck chairs, tables, and other furnishings were swept away, while terrified screams and shouts were drowned out by the roar of the waves.

Huang Dongshu stood rooted to the wildly pitching deck.

The formidable physique of an S-Class Hunter kept him as steady as a rock.

Yet his eyes, hidden behind dark sunglasses, were fixed on the figure over the horizon, now undergoing an astonishing transformation. His pupils contracted to pinpoints, and every muscle in his body tensed in an instant!

Before him,

a colossal figure fifty meters tall was clad in heavy crimson armor, as if forged from solidified lava. Every plate was covered in vicious barbs and mysterious patterns.

Behind him, three pairs of scarlet armored wings, formed from pure vital energy and armor, slowly unfurled like the wings of a demon.

Each slight beat stirred a low roar of wind and spread a faint blood mist.

Most terrifying of all

was the gaze beneath the armored membrane covering his face, piercing across several kilometers to lock onto Huang Dongshu on the yacht's deck.

Cold and indifferent, yet brimming with undisguised killing intent.

Fear!

A primal terror, like standing before his natural predator, flooded his heart like icy venom!

He couldn't sense any magic power coming from the other man.

Instead, he felt a force utterly unlike it—more primitive, more savage, and purer!

The killing intent within it was like a tangible blade, making his skin prickle with pain!

Danger!

Extreme danger!

He couldn't win!

"Are you kidding me?!!"

"W-what the hell is that thing?!!"

The muscles in Huang Dongshu's face twitched uncontrollably, and his voice quavered with a tremor he himself didn't notice.

"Did the boss of some S-Rank Dungeon get out?!!"

Reason instantly overwhelmed his rage and bloodlust.

He wasn't an idiot!

There was no point staying to fight this terrifying, unknown creature that had clearly come for him!

"Run!!"

The thought struck his mind like lightning!

Without the slightest hesitation, Huang Dongshu stamped his right foot against the violently tilting deck!

Crack!

The alloy deck buckled beneath him!

His figure shot away like a cannonball, leaving the pitching yacht behind as he raced across the sea in the opposite direction from the blood-red giant!

The strength of an S-Class Hunter was on full display.

His feet were wrapped in dense, pale-black magic power. Every time they struck the sea, they touched down as if on solid ground, unleashing tremendous thrust.

His speed was so great that he left a long white wake across the water, hurtling hundreds of meters away in an instant!

Revenge?

There'd be plenty of time for that later!

For now, staying alive came first!

But he was fast. Someone else was faster!

Above the horizon, the blood-red giant, fifty meters tall, suddenly beat all three pairs of crimson armored wings!

Boom—!!!

It was like a storm had descended!

The violent force pressed a vast crater into the sea, raising waves more terrifying than before!

And Xu Feng's mountain-sized form shot skyward, the recoil propelling him up at a speed completely at odds with his enormous body!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!

Several successive sonic booms exploded in the sky!

The air was being ripped apart by sheer force!

Xu Feng's figure flickered through the air, accelerating and leaving behind several blurry afterimages. Like a teleport, he crossed several kilometers in an instant!

As Huang Dongshu fled for his life across the sea, the light above him suddenly dimmed. A terrifying pressure, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth splitting apart, came crashing down!

He looked up in horror.

The crimson figure, blotting out the sky, was somehow hovering above him like a demon god, casting him completely in shadow!

A colossal claw, each of its five fingers thicker than his entire body, came down on him like it was swatting a fly, its force enough to tear the firmament apart!

Before the claw even reached him, the sea below had already been pressed into a vast hand-shaped crater!

There was nowhere to dodge!

Nowhere to run!

"You forced me into this—!!!"

Driven into a corner, Huang Dongshu's last shred of reason was swallowed by madness!

He let out a bestial roar, and all the magic power in his body erupted like a volcano!

Black qi energy tinged with destructive magic power gushed from him, instantly staining the surrounding seawater dark as ink!

The qi energy gathered around his fists, forming two energy black dragons that thrashed and roared, their claws and fangs bared.

He unleashed the full strength of his low-tier S-Class power, meeting the descending giant claw head-on!

This was his ultimate trump card.

[Black Dragon Twin Devour]

Its power was enough to destroy a small mountain with ease!

BAM—!!!!!!!!

Claw met fist!

There was none of the stalemate he had imagined. It was a one-sided crushing!

The two seemingly ferocious black dragons touched the crimson claw and immediately shattered and vanished, wailing like snow before a red-hot iron!

Next came Huang Dongshu's iron fists, charged with S-Class power!

Crack! Crack!

The nauseating sound of bones breaking rang out like firecrackers!

Huang Dongshu felt an indescribably terrifying force surge through his arms and into his body!

The S-Class physique he had always prided himself on was as fragile as paper before that power!

"Pfft—!"

Blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain!

His entire body shot backward as a blurry afterimage, as if struck head-on by a ten-thousand-ton ship at full speed. He flew away even faster than he had come!

Rumble—!!!

He slammed into the distant sea like a meteor, and the terrifying impact raised a towering column of water a hundred meters high!

The seawater was driven aside, forming a vast bowl-shaped crater. Then the water rushed back in, churning up even more chaotic, violent waves that spread outward in a ring!

Several seconds passed before a figure struggled to rise from the churning water like a broken sack.

It was Huang Dongshu.

There was no trace left of the S-Class Hunter's former swagger or savagery.

He was in a wretched state.

His arms hung limp at his sides. At the elbows, two snapped, flesh-streaked white bones protruded through his skin, gruesomely exposed to the air.

The muscles in his arms were twisted and deformed, his flesh mangled, and blood poured out in a steady stream, staining the surrounding water red.

Pain surged through his nerves like a rising tide, but all he could feel now was boundless terror and one crystal-clear thought:

"Run! Run! Run!!!"