-621!
Screech!
With the sound of a dagger slicing through flesh, the anomaly's right hand was severed and fell to the ground!
But Hua Wuye didn't press the attack. He kicked the anomaly and retreated with Lin Ling.
The others immediately rushed over to cover them, forming a human wall to conceal their movements. The ground around them was littered with Guard Team corpses.
Earlier, they had also used their lives to protect the two captains and buy them time to catch their breath.
Fortunately, this time the anomaly didn't attack right away. It clearly froze for a moment, staring down at its severed hand for a long while. Then it slowly raised its head, opened its mouth wide, and let out a savage roar.
In the firelight, many of them saw the anomaly clearly for the first time.
It was none other than... Xiaoyu, Madam Chen's personal maid from the Chen residence!
"It's her!"
"Someone from the Chen residence?!"
"I've been wondering why Captain Chen hasn't come to help. Now it looks like something happened at the Chen residence!"
As the crowd murmured among themselves, Lin Ling and Hua Wuye moved separately behind the protection of the human wall.
Hunched low, Lin Ling reluctantly took out a medicine bottle, poured the last few black pills into his hand, and swallowed them.
Then he took out several more small bottles, tipped the pills into his palm, and tossed them into his mouth.
As soon as he swallowed them, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his face twisted in pain, as if he were enduring something.
The black pills he'd taken earlier were precious medicine that restored Internal Breath.
The other pills were inferior medicines that quickly replenished Qi and Blood.
They were poor quality, toxic, and harmful to the body. Still, they were the best pills Ancient Moon Village could provide.
The medicine that restored Qi and Blood was one thing, but even Lin Ling didn't have much of the kind that restored Internal Breath. It was extremely precious.
He usually used it sparingly, but today he'd spent it all in this fight. Lin Ling was furious and wanted nothing more than to tear that Maid Anomaly apart.
Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough. Without Hua Wuye's help, the anomaly would have killed him already!
Boom!
As Lin Ling endured the pain and recovered his Internal Breath and injuries, a heavy thud suddenly rang out from the Earth Core.
Lin Ling's expression changed. Then he heard cries of alarm from the crowd.
"It's attacking the Earth Core!"
"Charge! Don't let the anomaly have its way!"
"Protect Ancient Moon Village!"
From where Lin Ling stood, he saw villagers and members of the Guard Team swarming toward the Earth Core in a dark mass.
But those in front were soon swept high into the air by the anomaly's monstrous strength. They crashed to the ground, struggled a few times, and then lay still.
Lin Ling saw it clearly. Every time the Maid Anomaly raised a hand, it sent several people flying. Every time it charged into the crowd, it claimed more than a dozen lives.
Before the anomaly's terrifying strength, human lives were no more than blades of grass.
Watching familiar villagers die one by one with anguished cries, Lin Ling's eyes reddened.
"Beast!"
He couldn't wait for the signal to coordinate with Hua Wuye. He bent his knees, pushed off the ground, and shot out of the crowd with a bang, leaping high into the air.
"Lance!"
He shouted in midair. A nearby Vice-Captain, already anticipating the call, immediately hurled his long spear toward Lin Ling.
Lin Ling caught the iron spear firmly. In midair, he circulated all the Internal Breath he'd just recovered, aimed at the anomaly, and thrust.
"Cloud Dragon Ascending Heaven!"
Boom!
Internal Breath surged through the butt of the spear and burst forth in a powerful current, generating terrifying momentum.
Lin Ling shot forward like a blur, diving toward the Maid Anomaly below.
"Don't!"
Hua Wuye, concealed among the crowd, saw what was happening. His face went pale, and he screamed.
His scream drew the attention of the others—and the anomaly.
But just as the anomaly looked up... the spear was already upon it!
Bang!!
The sharp spearhead struck the anomaly's forehead, but it was like stabbing solid rock. Resistance surged against it, and Lin Ling seemed to pause in midair for an instant.
But the next moment, veins bulging on his forehead, Lin Ling let out a desperate roar.
"Get in there!!"
He unleashed all his Internal Breath, and power surged through him.
The metal spearhead at the tip of the shaft crumpled flat under the pressure, but the spear still tore through the anomaly's scalp, pierced its skull, and shot out through its forehead before embedding itself deep in the ground.
Bang!!
The ground burst apart with a loud crash, leaving a crater, and the anomaly was pinned firmly in place.
Only then did a huge, blood-red number, like a critical hit, slowly appear above the anomaly's head.
-1351!
The scene fell utterly silent. Everyone stared at what had happened in shock, their minds racing.
But before they could express their feelings, their faces all turned to terror and despair.
The Maid Anomaly had been pinned in place, its head bowed and its body motionless. Then, in a flash, it raised its hand and grabbed the exhausted Lin Ling by the throat.
"The anomaly's still alive!?"
"Captain Lin is in danger!!"
Amid the overlapping cries and screams, a graceful figure suddenly emerged from the shadows and appeared behind the anomaly.
As if sensing her, the one-handed Maid Anomaly abruptly spun around and swung its severed hand at her.
The figure ducked, feeling the roaring wind pass so close it nearly brushed her face.
She clasped both hands around the anomaly's severed wrist from behind, locking her legs around its neck.
With a joint lock, she twisted the Maid Anomaly to the ground with a crack, forcing it onto one knee, then frantically stabbed at its neck with her dagger.
"Let him go!!"
-211!
-522!
-321!
-386!
As a string of numbers appeared above its head, the Maid Anomaly seemed to fly into a rage. It flung Lin Ling, whom it had been holding by the throat, away, slapped the ground with one hand, and sprang from its kneeling position to its feet. Then it yanked Hua Wuye off its neck and slammed a fist into his chest.
Bang!
The ground cracked. Hua Wuye's chest caved in, his bones shattered, and his limbs went rigid. His eyes rolled back as blood sprayed from his mouth.
"You stupid woman!!"
Lin Ling, who was already out of strength, stared wide-eyed and cried out in his heart.
But after delivering that blow, the anomaly didn't pause. It leaped forward, caught up with Lin Ling in midair, and kicked him in the stomach.
-151!
Agonizing pain spread from Lin Ling's stomach throughout his body. He spat out blood with a cry and shot into the crowd, sending everyone into a panic.
When the anomaly landed, it charged straight toward where Lin Ling had fallen.
The crowd hurried to form a human wall, but the anomaly swatted them away by the dozen with a casual slap, as if brushing away flies.
In a few strides, it reached the barely breathing Lin Ling and swung a fist at his head.
Everyone screamed and squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear watching such a brutal scene.
Bang!!!
A thunderous crash rang through the night. Then the entire scene fell silent.
The crowd opened their eyes in terror. Lin Ling was still alive, lying on the ground with his head intact. He stared upward in shock.
Above his head, two fists were shaking as they slammed together, each pushing against the other.
The fist smashing downward belonged to the Maid Anomaly.
The one in an uppercut stance, meeting that fist head-on and protecting Captain Lin, was... Fang Yue!
As if sensing the anomaly's savage gaze, Fang Yue smiled faintly.
"Miss with a hole in her head, don't be so angry."
Before you continue