"What the hell is this monster?!!"
"When the hell did I piss off something like this?!!"
He couldn't even muster the slightest thought of resisting or taking revenge.
His instinct for survival drove him onward. Ignoring the excruciating pain shooting through both arms, he frantically squeezed the remaining magic power from his body and poured it all into his feet!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Like a stray dog, he staggered to his feet on the surface of the sea, then unleashed every last bit of his remaining strength and continued fleeing for his life without looking back!
He only wished his parents had given him two more legs.
His magic power circulated at its limit. He even damaged his meridians, all to trade for that tiny increase in speed!
However, before Xu Feng, who had activated Heaven and Earth Manifestation...
His speed was as slow as a snail's.
A fierce gust of wind sharp enough to cleave steel suddenly struck from behind Huang Dongshu without warning!
He looked back in terror, only to see that enormous crimson claw, as massive as a mountain, tearing through the air toward him once again!
This time, the space around the claw seemed to distort slightly. Invisible blood-colored vortices formed out of thin air, generating a powerful pulling force. Like countless invisible chains, they firmly bound his fleeing figure and dragged him helplessly toward the palm.
"No--!!!"
Huang Dongshu let out a desperate howl and struggled with all his might. He even detonated part of the magic power in his meridians, trying to break free from that strange pulling force.
The muscles on his body repeatedly burst under the impact of his rampaging magic power, spraying blood everywhere and making him look utterly demonic.
But before the absolute disparity in strength, all of this was futile.
Like a fly falling into a spider's web, he was seized helplessly and firmly in the palm of that enormous claw.
He felt the cold clawed fingers slowly closing around him, crushing his battered body as his bones let out groans under the unbearable pressure.
The shadow of death had never been so clear or so heavy.
"I... I'm Huang Dongshu of the Cleaners in the U.S.! An S-Class Hunter!!"
Huang Dongshu shouted with the last of his strength, his voice warped by fear and pain.
"How dare you kill me! Our guild master... Lord Andre, a National Power Level Hunter... will never let you off!! The Cleaners will hunt you to the ends of the earth!!!"
He had played his final card—the one he believed would be most effective.
His background and backer!
Sure enough, the tightening claw paused slightly.
A wild joy at escaping certain death instantly rose in Huang Dongshu's heart!
Just as he thought!
Even a monster like this would fear the reputation of a National Power Level Hunter!
He was about to press his advantage and make more promises or threats.
However--
"AAAH--!!!!!"
A shrill, inhuman scream suddenly burst from his throat!
The enormous claw suddenly squeezed!
His legs from the waist down, along with part of his pelvis, instantly exploded under that irresistible, terrifying grip!
They turned into a cloud of blood mist mixed with shattered bones and mangled flesh!
"National Power Level Hunter Andre?"
That low, indifferent voice came from within the giant godlike body, seemingly carrying a hint of... amusement?
Almost fainting from the agony, Huang Dongshu heard those words. The sliver of hope in his heart instantly transformed into deeper terror and confusion.
"Who... who are you?! I have... no grudge against you!!"
His voice was hoarse, filled with despair and unwillingness.
"No grudge?"
The voice repeated the words, then gave an almost imperceptible cold chuckle that made Huang Dongshu feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
"Heh..."
Just then, Xu Feng's massive perception clearly detected several powerful S-Class magic fluctuations rapidly approaching this stretch of sea from the direction of the H-nation mainland behind him!
Clearly, the commotion from the battle here had been too great, alerting the S-Class Hunters stationed in the H-nation.
"Looks like I don't have time to play with you."
Xu Feng thought to himself.
He stopped hesitating, tightened his grip on Huang Dongshu with the enormous claw, and suddenly exerted force!
Squelch--!!!
A sound like a water-filled balloon being completely crushed rang out.
The remaining upper half of Huang Dongshu's body was instantly squeezed into an unrecognizable mass of flesh under that indescribably terrifying grip!
Blood, shattered bones, and viscera burst through the gaps between the claws, dyeing a large stretch of seawater red.
In the final instant before his consciousness was completely extinguished...
In Huang Dongshu's eyes, nearly bulging from their sockets from pain and terror...
The last emotion reflected there was not only extreme shock, but also a bone-deep hatred that, after dawning comprehension, transformed into a fury vast enough to shake the heavens—yet with no chance left to vent it!
Because at the instant the enormous claw fully closed, he heard four icy, unmistakably clear words from beneath that sinister armor:
"My name is Xu Feng."
After dealing with Huang Dongshu, Xu Feng didn't pause for even a moment.
With a thought, the vast qi and blood within his body instantly split into hundreds and thousands of condensed blood-colored strands of Qi energy, solid as matter. Like the sharpest meat grinder, they frantically sliced apart the mass of flesh in the giant claw and scattered across the surface of the sea!
In the blink of an eye, the remnants of Huang Dongshu's body were thoroughly shredded and broken down into particles finer than grains of rice, evenly sprinkled across the vast sea.
Apparently sensing the rich aura of high-level energy...
Countless enormous carnivorous fish of all shapes and sizes were drawn from the depths of the sea, swarming in from every direction.
They greedily fought over and devoured the bait containing the residual essence of an S-Class Hunter's life force.
After finishing all of this, Xu Feng's massive body slowly turned toward the mainland.
Those several S-Class auras were already extremely close. They would arrive in no more than a minute.
"It's time to go."
He focused his mind, and the Heaven and Earth Manifestation state rapidly receded like a tide.
His fifty-meter-tall body shrank rapidly, while the three pairs of armored wings on his back disintegrated and vanished.
In the end, only the dark-red Blood Dragon State armor covering his entire body remained, and his height returned to around two and a half meters.
After taking one last look toward the mainland, Xu Feng moved like a nimble fish and silently slipped beneath the waves.
His qi and blood circulated faintly, propelling his body as he dove toward the deep sea at astonishing speed.
His aura quickly contracted and faded, soon disappearing into the boundless depths of the ocean.
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