Countless rays of sword light filled the surroundings.
Xiao Mengyu charged a step forward, and she and her sword vanished at once.
"Block!"
The man braced himself and roared.
A crescent of sword light hurtled toward him, only to be blocked by all the corpses rushing out of the surrounding walls.
The crescent of sword light sank into the corpse wall and vanished in an instant.
Xiao Mengyu reappeared, withdrew her sword, and stepped back.
The corpse wall and the man froze in place.
Boom-
Countless rays of sword light blasted the corpse wall apart, manifesting as a blazing sun that slashed out overlapping sword shadows in every direction.
The sword energy stripped away the man's clothes, revealing a suit of blood-red chain mail.
A vicious gash appeared in the chain mail, cutting straight through it.
That sword strike had been blocked!
Even so, the blow sent the man flying several meters backward. He spat out blood and roared:
"Don't think you can kill me!"
Lines of blood-red runes appeared beneath his feet again.
At the same time, every corpse in the Hotel roared in unison and began loudly chanting an obscure incantation.
Their voices surged like a tide!
With that unparalleled chorus of chanting, a dark-red shadow emerged behind the man.
Xiao Mengyu's expression grew slightly grave.
She had used almost all her strength in that last strike, unleashing that move while in this unprecedented state.
Yet he hadn't died!
No, he was definitely more than just an assassin.
Who exactly was he?
The man gave a cruel smile and said quietly:
"Let me show you my true killing move. Once you've seen it, you should kneel before me with no regrets-"
"Of course, you'll already be dead by then."
He waved a hand, forming a bizarre spell seal.
The bloody light grew ever denser. Just as the shadow behind him solidified, another sudden change occurred-
A deafening voice rang out from the Hotel's first-floor lobby again:
"Dear departed, can you sing the Happy Birthday Song?"
All the chanting stopped at once.
The dead scrambled to answer:
"Yes!"
"Of course we can!"
"Who doesn't know how to sing Happy Birthday!"
"I can too!"
The male voice continued:
"Wow, our departed friends over here, you're really loud."
"Looks like you really do know it!"
"Come on, then. How does the Happy Birthday Song go?"
"3, 2, 1!"
"-Everyone, sing together!"
With that exchange, all chanting of the Blood Demon Curse disappeared.
"Today is your birthday,"
"Oh my, oh my, what a happy day!"
"Little cutie, sweet as can be, cut the cake and blow out the candles!"
"..."
A supreme chorus of ten thousand voices began.
The intense red glow around the man abruptly dimmed, and the terrifying shadow behind him blurred, losing its former might.
Without enough curse power, he couldn't unleash this ultimate technique!
He stood there, stunned.
At the other end of the corridor, Xiao Mengyu's face was also solemn.
But a closer look would reveal that her slender body was trembling slightly.
Even though she was hailed as the strongest swordswoman of the new generation and had seen all kinds of grand spectacles.
Even though she knew this was a battle to the death, and it was utterly inappropriate.
But-
Right now, it took all her strength to keep from laughing aloud.
The man, however, could no longer contain himself. Humiliated and furious, he shouted:
"Damn it, I'm going to kill you!"
He stomped through the floor and charged straight toward the first-floor lobby.
Xiao Mengyu inwardly cried out in alarm.
According to her investigation, Shen Ye didn't know how to fight!
The way Shen Ye had turned and run earlier proved it too-
His abilities weren't suited to a head-on battle!
"Open!"
Xiao Mengyu shouted.
The instant her sword energy cut through the floor, she was already chasing him down.
The man moved like lightning. In a single breath, he smashed through floor after floor and landed in the first-floor lobby, spotting Shen Ye at once.
Wasn't this his assassination target?
-He paused.
When Xiao Mengyu encountered him, her injuries had immediately healed.
Several members of his mission team had also died while trying to assassinate him.
Perhaps...
He knew something beyond what the man could imagine?
Things had diverged so far from his expectations that the man cautiously stopped instead of advancing immediately.
Shen Ye had heard the commotion long ago. Now, with his back against an office door beside the lobby, he held the microphone and called out:
"Everyone, join me!"
"Remember the songs you used to sing? How did the lyrics go? Keep singing them, one after another!"
The corpses sang all kinds of songs.
-This would take a long time. His opponent would no longer be able to receive the support of the dead's incantations.
With that done, Shen Ye tucked the microphone inside his clothes, held his gun in one hand and the Nightfall Short Sword in the other, and took a stance ready to attack at any moment.
"Are you really going to fight?" Big Skeleton asked nervously.
"You've got to be kidding-as soon as he moves, I'm running," Shen Ye said.
Crash!
Xiao Mengyu dropped down, blocked the way in front of Shen Ye, and shouted quickly:
"Run! I'll hold him off!"
"Okay! I'm counting on you!" Shen Ye said without hesitation.
Yet the man had kept his eyes on Shen Ye all along. Only now, seeing him about to run, did he breathe a sigh of relief and laugh loudly:
"So you're my assassination target-"
"Listen here, kid. If you dare run, I'll capture your parents and kill them."
Shen Ye halted and turned to give the man a long, penetrating look.
Xiao Mengyu shouted:
"Ignore him! If you die, you'll have nothing left. Run!"
Shen Ye nodded slightly. Instead of going through the door, he rushed toward the stairs.
The man immediately charged after him.
But Xiao Mengyu had anticipated this and blocked him beforehand, her sword erupting with one phantom image after another.
The man had no choice but to stop and deal with Xiao Mengyu.
Still, he shouted at Shen Ye:
"Adorable little fellow, I'm going to kill your entire family. Make sure you remember that."
"In the end, I'll eat your parents right in front of you!"
"Then it'll be your turn!"
Shen Ye never looked back. In a few strides, he rushed up the stairs and disappeared from their sight.
He reached the second floor, stood outside a guest room, pressed his hand against the door, and shouted:
"Gate."
A new guest-room door.
Shen Ye pushed it open and returned to the Secret Passage in the Nightmare World.
He paced back and forth in the Secret Passage.
"Buddy, I know you're angry, but let me tell you, you haven't learned any combat moves yet. You can't interfere in their fight at all. If you actually join in, you'll only get killed-what happened with Dark Whisper was just an accident. Don't think too highly of yourself."
Big Skeleton tried to persuade him cautiously.
For some reason, although Shen Ye had no expression at all, at that moment Big Skeleton instinctively began to worry.
Worry about what?
Even Big Skeleton didn't know.
Shen Ye suddenly stopped.
"You're right," he said.
Big Skeleton breathed a sigh of relief.
"But if it were you, could you beat him?" Shen Ye asked.
"Obviously! Fighting at your level is far too childish. At my peak, I could crush him with one hand!" Big Skeleton said.
"All right. Looks like we can discuss something else," Shen Ye said.
"What?" Big Skeleton asked.
"We have a trade Contract," Shen Ye said.
"That's right. What exactly are you getting at?" Big Skeleton asked.
"I remember something you once told me-'Use a special incantation to manifest a Sacrificial Altar City, imprison a group of undead or living beings, and draw power from them. That can also restore us immediately.'"
Shen Ye continued calmly:
"I just proved that undead spellcraft can break his Blood Demon Arts."
"Now, I'll help you recover your power."
"You help me deal with him."
"How about it?"
Big Skeleton froze.
When had Big Skeleton told him that?
Ah...
Now it came back. It seemed Big Skeleton had said it when they were discussing healing methods.
He had actually remembered!
And the situation at this moment-
Big Skeleton suddenly shuddered uncontrollably.
That was right.
The Hotel was full of corpses right now!
All the souls were imprisoned within the corpses, perfect for performing an Advanced Power Extraction.
If those injuries could be healed-
Big Skeleton said in a trembling voice:
"But I've lost my power. I can't force those corpses to chant my Sacrificial Incantation."
"Leave that to me," Shen Ye said.
"I don't have the materials either, and I have no hands. I can't form spell seals to imprison those corpses and force them to offer me their power," Big Skeleton said.
"I'll go ask them," Shen Ye said.
"The whole process takes some time. Once that fellow notices, he'll do everything he can to stop you," Big Skeleton said.
"I'll buy us time," Shen Ye said.
"You're determined to kill him, aren't you?" Big Skeleton asked.
"Are you scared?" Shen Ye asked flatly.
Big Skeleton snapped, "Me, scared? I'm desperate to regain my strength-don't underestimate me. Deal!"
Shen Ye turned to look.
Sure enough, the terms of the deal appeared on the sticky note on the Gate:
"Party A: Shen Ye."
"Party B: Feren (true name)."
"Both parties have amicably agreed that Party A will help Party B recover his strength, and once Party B's strength has recovered, he must fight on Party A's behalf against the human male known as 'Skinner.'"
"This agreement is hereby established."
-It worked!