Volume Two: Life and Death at High Speed in the Northern Realm - Mold, the Third Hand, and the Strongest Debuff (3)

In the small stone chamber, the Sena Sisters and Givinia quickly settled Abidar and his three companions in.

A dozen or so dazzling blood crystals were placed around the stone chamber. The blood crystals continuously emitted high heat, preventing the ubiquitous mold spores from entering the stone chamber.

"Alright, that's all we can do. The bleeding has stopped; the rest is up to them."

Givinia wiped her sweat, her expression grave.

"At least get them out of here first—"

"Impossible!" Givinia immediately interrupted Ally.

"She's right, sister... there are still other members of that terrifying convoy outside. Sister Ye lured one away, but we have to deal with the rest ourselves. It's too dangerous to take them out now!" Ailin advised.

"We need to leave Emilia and the others here first, because it's impossible to fight with four wounded people on board! We'll go out and deal with the other team members, then come back and take them away. That's the only way! And we have to be quick. The high temperature of A Ye's Blood Crystal is necessary to resist the mold, but if we leave the four wounded people here for too long, they might die of dehydration!"

Ally lowered her head and pursed her lips, as if she had made up her mind.

"... Okay! Let's do it this way!"

What do you think madness is!?

Thud! The Claw of Rift tore through the ground and slammed heavily into the Void Greatsword.

Is it an illness? Is it a tragedy? Is it humanity?

Boom! Four long spatial rifts formed an encirclement, and I forced my way out by burning the blood in my feet to its limit.

If you ask me --

Just as I broke free from the rift's pursuit, a three-armed, deformed monster burst forth from the narrow crevice, like liquid overflowing from a rift, but far more ferocious.

"--Madness, it's nothing!"

Third Hand slashed down, and I parried with my Void Greatsword. The blood in my arm instantly ignited, imbuing my hand with the force of ten thousand tons—but even so, I only "barely managed to block the attack." After a deafening roar, I lost my footing and was sent flying backward, piercing through three Stone Tower before barely coming to a stop. If it weren't for the blood crystal protecting me, I would have been torn to pieces by now!

Damn, this guy is different from I. B.

I·B indirectly attacks by imbuing substances with new properties through dyeing, while Payne's attack is pure violence, making him a far more direct threat in terms of combat power. Now, having absorbed the Yan Yi Ming Hua and wielded the Void Greatsword, my combat strength has increased many times over, yet I can only barely hold my own in a direct confrontation. If I had encountered Payne instead of I·B in the capital, I would have been finished long ago with my current strength.

"Don't even try—"

Here we go again!

The rapidly expanding spatial rift swept in like a tidal wave, giving me no chance to breathe! I swung my greatsword, and a waterfall of dazzling crystalline light burst forth from it, rushing towards the waves of rifts. However, the moment we clashed, the crystalline light was torn apart along with the space itself and vanished completely! Only the sword itself could stop the rift!

"--Definitely define madness!!!"

A deformed figure poked its head out from the crack, shouting incomprehensible words. My blood boiled faster, and I transformed into a pink lightning bolt, fleeing at breakneck speed, dodging the attacks of crack after crack.

"Burning Blood Thorns!"

Liquid blood gushed out, transforming into countless sharp and scorching blood spikes that flew towards Payne —as expected, the blood spikes vanished like smoke the instant they touched the countless spatial rifts in front of him—however!

I have a backup plan!

Just as his attention was momentarily drawn to the blood spikes in front of him, three blood spears, also wreathed in flames, approached from behind him, aiming straight for his blind spot!

Snap! Snap! Snap!

However, my plan backfired. Before he could react, the Third Hand moved on its own! With a single swing, the three blood spears were knocked down!

So that's how it is—there's even an automatic defense mechanism!

Even if the main body doesn't react in time, the Third Hand will automatically recognize the attack and protect the main body!

"Hoo... Ha... Ha... Ha..."

I created distance again, using my sword to support myself, gasping for breath. Thankfully, the guy finally stopped attacking. What should I do next? Faced with this kind of pure violence and a madman spouting nonsense, strategy and wit were meaningless; it seemed that only a hard-fought battle remained.

"Crazy is crazy!"

He walked toward me, and with each step he took, a deep pit appeared where his foot landed.

"It is the most beautiful and purest thing in the world!"

The twisted Third Hand wiggled merrily, like a creature with its own consciousness.

"Anyone who arbitrarily defines 'madness' is a damned idiot! Beauty and purity need not be tainted by human arrogance! There is only one way to understand madness—"

The arm swelled several times its original size, turning an even more bizarre purplish-red, with long fingernails extending from between the fingers, making it extremely ferocious and terrifying!

"--That's to drive yourself mad!! Haha..."

The spatial rift attacked me again, and this time it was much larger than before! A twisted humanoid figure appeared and disappeared within the massive rift, charging towards me from its crevice!

"Blazing Flame Burst Sword!!!"

Brilliant Blood Flame coalesced at the tip of the Void Greatsword, and driven by the blood, I thrust the greatsword fiercely into the ground!

"Burst!"

The ground on the fourth floor collapsed with a crash, and at the last second, I fell to the fifth floor along with countless rubble. A crack cut across my head; a few inches more and I would have lost my head.

"Trying to escape again? What a coward! I've finally found a worthy opponent to fight to my heart's content, how could I let you get away!!!"

The crack made a bend in the air and then burst through the ground, hurtling downwards.

"... snort."

Good timing.

And so, keep chasing me, layer by layer.

While Payne and I were locked in a fierce battle—

"Are we just going to chase after them like this, Geronimo?"

Inside a somewhat dilapidated car, Xiu Lin once again entered his lethargic mode, lazily sprawling on the back seat.

"Of course! Compared to the easily defeated Redhead and her group, these few unexpected troublemakers are clearly more interesting!"

"So you're just going to ignore the four of them?"

"Take care of the prey in front of us first, then deal with them! Anyway, they've been injured so badly by Payne, they're practically half-dead anyway!"

Crash! The broken-down car ran over a large rock, jolted violently, and Xiu Lin rolled directly from the back seat to the ground.

"Geronimo! Your skills are terrible!"

"What can we do? It's a stolen car anyway! And those guys' drivers are absolutely top-notch!"

"Now things are really messed up, they're falling further and further behind..."

Indeed, they were only a few dozen meters apart at first, but now the other car has become a small gray dot in the distance. Both the driver's skill and the car's performance are far inferior.

"Xiu Lin, where's your mold?"

"They seem to have a superhuman who can generate high heat, which killed the spores... These kinds of guys are the most troublesome."

If positioned upwind, Xiu Lin's abilities could easily wipe out a medium-sized city, but he was helpless against those with heat and fire control abilities. The principle of one thing subduing another applies everywhere.

"If you can't do it... sigh, I'll have to step in. But you know my ability can't hurt anyone, so the job of killing will still have to be left to you."

"Okay, okay, stop nagging."

On the other side--

Have they caught up?

"They're getting further and further apart, the difference is at least two or three hundred meters!"

Upon hearing this news, Ally immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"What? I thought they were so great, but all they can do is let mold grow!"

"Don't let your guard down, Ally. If it weren't for Liu Ye, we'd end up like those poor people outside."

As she spoke, Givinia glanced out the car window, while the Sena Sisters both turned their heads away.

The third level of the underground ruins has been completely transformed into a living hell.

"My eyes! My eyes are rotten!!!"

"Waaah... Captain... Where are you... I'm in so much pain..."

"Help! Help! My arm, my arm is gone!!!"

"Ugh, ugh!!!!"

Countless innocent people struggled in the sea of mold, utterly defenseless against the erosion of the spores. Disgusting mold spots covered their entire bodies, and the ubiquitous mycelium bored them in and out of their bodies. A piercing scream echoed from the ground, and the death toll rose every second.

Their opponents were characterized by excessively cruel abilities and a ruthless style of unleashing those abilities without restraint.

Geronimo, and the Xiu Lin.

Several blood crystals emitting intense heat are now circling Sirius. The air around the car is distorted by the heat, which is both a barrier against fungal invasion and a furnace that can bake people alive—a true double-edged sword.

After another bumpy ride, the car finally arrived at an open area, a huge square, where there were no other convoys around, and the wailing noises were left behind.

Just then, something strange happened.

With a creak, Sirius suddenly shook slightly, though the movement was small, it was extremely sudden.

"What's wrong, sister?"

"Uh... it's nothing, it's just..."

Ally frowned. She had only wanted to switch gears, but suddenly something felt... off?

Depressing the clutch, releasing the accelerator pedal, shifting gears—actions I've performed countless times since childhood, actions that should be ingrained in my subconscious and something I could do without even thinking—but this time, something went wrong.

For a moment I felt like I'd become estranged, but it wasn't the same.

"Calm down... Think it over... Depress the clutch first, then release the accelerator pedal..."

It's done.

"Then... moving the gear shift lever..."

Done again! This time I successfully shifted gears up.

But is this truly "finished"?

If I had to describe it, it's like "something that could be done subconsciously, but you have to think about it carefully."

"Ally, what's wrong?" The perceptive Givinia noticed that Ally was acting strangely.

"It's okay, I... oh...?"

What happened this time?

It was just a normal reply.

Tell Givinia, "I'm fine."

To respond, one needs to speak up.

The first word I want to say is "I".

However, to pronounce the sound "I" --

How should it be pronounced?

It's very simple.

Press your tongue down while opening your mouth into a small "O" shape, then exhale to make the sound.

Let's do it this way—and so, Ally uttered her first word, "I."

Then comes the second word - "No"

To pronounce this sound, you need to open your mouth slightly and bring the tip of your tongue close to your lower teeth.

"Ally? Ally?"

Then exhale, "No" --

"Ally! Something's wrong with you!"

Givinia grabbed her shoulders. "What are you doing? We're driving! It's so dangerous to do this!"

Then just push her hand away.

In that case, you'll need to move your right hand.

--Move your right hand?

Let's contract the biceps first, and then move on to the next muscle...

"Sister, watch out ahead!!!!"

Front?

Is there an obstacle ahead?

To see clearly what's in front of you, you have to move your eyes.

But if you want to roll your eyes, which muscle should you use?

"Elder sister!!!"

"Ally!!!"

--boom!

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My relatives don't have broadband or Wi-Fi, so I have to copy the document from my laptop to my phone and use mobile data to post chapters. I'm really going all out.