Zhou Yang flicked the Kunai Gun, rotated its grip, switched it into axe mode, and charged straight at the demons.
His heavy armor seemed to weigh nothing at all. With Zhou Yang's precise, economical movements, it swept across the demons' bodies as though merely grazing them.
The moment Zhou Yang stopped moving, the demons struck by those "grazes" twisted and struggled hideously in agony, then exploded into dust and debris.
Behind him, Yuanen Yehui stared blankly at Kabuto before her, so dumbstruck that she could barely speak.
From Zhou Yang suddenly grabbing that red beetle to transform, to the incredibly fluid battle just now, everything had happened so abruptly that she had not even had time to process it.
Zhou Yang's fighting had shown none of the immaturity his appearance suggested. Instead, it had been concise and seasoned, like that of a battle-hardened warrior tempered through countless trials.
While Yuanen Yehui stood dazed, the demons had not been idle either. A group of demons quietly concealed themselves and suddenly pounced on the girl who was staring into space.
Bang!
A high-energy ion round struck with pinpoint accuracy, blasting a stealth demon away. At the same time, a figure wielding a short axe smashed the stealth demon to pieces.
Seeing that Yuanen Yehui still had not left, Zhou Yang hurriedly urged her on.
"Stop spacing out! Get somewhere safe!"
Yuanen Yehui came to her senses, nodded, and prepared to leave. She was only a young soul master who had awakened less than a year ago. She could not fight those demons whose mere appearance pressed down on her so heavily that she could barely move.
Huh? Isn't he about my age?
The thought flashed through her mind, but she obediently set off anyway. After all, she did not want to be like those girls in storybooks who held everyone back.
But at some point, their retreat had been blocked.
The densely packed demon legion slowly closed its C-shaped encirclement, swallowing them like Pac-Man opening its enormous mouth.
"Tch, you really are courting death!"
At the sight, Zhou Yang lightly flicked the Kabuto Zecter's horn. Arcs of electricity sprang from his belt and flowed over his armor. Under their influence, the armor all over his body began to loosen and open, making a pleasing series of clicks.
"Cast Off!"
As the horn was pulled, a synthesized mechanical voice rang out.
[Cast Off]
The thick, cocoon-like armor instantly burst apart and scattered, striking demons along its path. Many of the weaker demons were blasted straight to pieces.
The heavy silver-white shell had been thrown off, revealing a vivid red, sleek, streamlined form beneath. The signature horn rose from his head, sharp and keen-edged.
[Change Beetle]
As though proclaiming a larva's metamorphosis, Zhou Yang displayed a dominance unlike before, standing proud with the Kunai Sword raised.
Speed far beyond his armored form was now on display. Zhou Yang flitted about like a phantom, and the demons around them exploded beneath the piercing thrusts of his sharp Kunai Sword.
A protective ring formed around him and Yuanen Yehui. Not a single demon could reach inside, and it was slowly expanding.
Soon, he cleared an open space. But these demons were connected to a planar passage, invading the Douluo Continent through the ever-growing Demon Gate in vast numbers. This space would soon be filled again.
Even after shedding his armor to switch into rider form, freeing his movements and unleashing even more astonishing speed to deal with the demon legion, the cleared space was only expanding at a minuscule pace.
Looking at the tightly packed demons before him, even Zhou Yang found clearing them out a hassle.
The demons were endless, as though he could never finish killing them. Fighting like this would only waste his stamina. To resolve this, he would probably have to deal with that...
Zhou Yang looked toward the source of the demons. A Demon Gate stood there, wreathed in distorted spatial fluctuations, exuding an evil presence and connecting to the Demon Plane.
It was the source of the unending stream of demons.
That alone was already enough of a headache, yet the gate was actually still expanding.
As he was now, even switching into Kabuto's rider form was not enough to deal with it.
Unfortunately, he had yet to unlock the power of his final form. Without the Hyper Zecter, he was like Hajime Kashimo without a domain. However-
"What does my not having unlocked the Hyper Zecter now have to do with my future self?"
Zhou Yang smiled confidently and reached a hand into the air.
"As the king of time, I seized the future long ago, and I will keep holding it in my hands!"
Answering Zhou Yang's call, light flickered in his palm, and space warped.
A silver-and-red metallic horned beetle appeared-the final piece of Hyper Kabuto's puzzle, the Hyper Zecter.
It had always existed, accompanying Zhou Yang at every moment, silently and without a trace, transcending time and space.
It quietly awaited its master's summons, never having strayed far.
Zhou Yang raised his hand and caught it firmly, sidestepped a demon's attack, shattered the demon with a punch, and mounted the Hyper Zecter on the side of his belt. He pulled its horn with incredibly practiced movements, as though he had rehearsed them tens of thousands of times.
"Hyper Cast Off!"
As the Hyper Zecter's horn was pulled, his emerald compound eyes blazed with dazzling light.
[HYPER CAST OFF (Transcend)]
Blue electrical arcs released by the Hyper Zecter spread along his belt to the armor covering his body. The current crackled and snapped, and under its influence, his originally sleek red rhinoceros beetle armor underwent a wondrous change.
His horn lengthened and expanded, becoming sharper, fierce and imposing. His armor expanded and thickened, and a raised V-shaped pattern formed symmetrically across his breastplate. The formerly solid red became a horn motif emblazoned in its center. Both pauldrons broadened and thickened, the corners of the red armor along their edges jutting out sharply.
Sleek efficiency became a steady, oppressive presence, as though a larva had grown into an adult insect. Under the Hyper Zecter's power, his armor became more magnificent and striking.
Zhou Yang beckoned to the side, and golden ripples spread high in the air, shining like the radiance of the sun.
An ornate gold-and-red longsword suddenly appeared and fell, its point aimed at Zhou Yang, only for him to catch it precisely in his hand.
[Kabuto Power (Power of Kabuto)]
With a single swing, the crimson Sword Qi he had gathered effortlessly cut down a great swath of demons.
"Hyper Clock Up."
He pressed the button on the Hyper Zecter, his gaze fixed ahead, straight at the Demon Gate. His enormous compound eyes encompassed everything before him; he had already marked every last demon.
[HYPER CLOCK UP (Transcendent Clock Up)!]
The next instant, Zhou Yang vanished. Every demon before him was swept through, the Perfect Zecter's slashes landing on them all and reducing them to powder.
Red electrical arcs enveloped the Perfect Zecter, turning into broad waves of Sword Qi with every slash, like an encirclement gradually tightening and devouring the demon legion.
This act saved many members of the Yuanen Family who were fighting bloody battles against the demons. Many who had been slipping into danger, exhausted from fighting with everything they had, were given a chance to catch their breath.
In their eyes, it had taken only an instant for the demon legion blanketing the mountains and plains to be wiped clean.
Seemingly sensing the demon legion's sudden disappearance, the Demon Plane appeared to realize something and hurriedly closed the Demon Gate.
The woman who had turned into a demon also returned to human form and fell unconscious.
Stopping before Yuanen Zhentian, Zhou Yang knitted his brows slightly, his expression somewhat sour.
Naturally, he had recalled a little of the relevant plot. Roughly speaking, Yuanen Yehui's mother had a connection to the Demon Plane within her, and after she became a Titled Douluo, she would open a Demon Gate, allowing it to invade the Douluo Continent.
His earlier training under Hyper Kabuto had made him suffer his fill and accumulate a bellyful of resentment. Normally, he could only vent it in games.
Today, he had finally gotten a rare chance to vent on the Demon Plane, only for this to happen...
He had just been mowing down enemies in a one-man rampage, too busy enjoying himself and admiring the demons' annihilation to pay attention to the Demon Gate.
He had not expected the Demon Plane to be so shrewd, instantly cutting the connection and running away when it saw things going wrong.
Demon Plane: I'm out of here, brother. I'm out of here.
How could Zhou Yang accept that when he had only just vented a little of his resentment?
You offended the Demon King, and now you want to leave?