Luo Li Went Down in a Crash

"Mission A-021, target: Howling Wind Canyon. Signs of activity by the A-rank vampire Earl Shadowwing and his personal guard have been confirmed.

Your mission is aerial reconnaissance: pinpoint his central lair and assess his troop deployment.

Engagement is strictly forbidden. Withdraw immediately after obtaining intelligence. Repeat: engagement is strictly forbidden!"

The atmosphere in the guild's operations command room was grim.

On the holographic terrain map, the Howling Wind Canyon region, marked in red, showed treacherous terrain and intense energy readings.

Luo Li stood among a hastily assembled six-person reconnaissance squad, listening to the commander's stern instructions.

The squad consisted of two B-rank elemental ability users, a B-rank defense enhancer, a C+-rank medic, Luo Li, and another B-rank scout skilled in stealth and tracking.

This was the first official A-rank mission Luo Li had accepted, and both its risks and rewards were extremely high.

Success would not only earn him an enormous number of contribution points, but also grant him access to higher-level intelligence and resources.

"Understood!"

The squad leader, the B-rank fire ability user, answered gravely.

"Move out!"

The group boarded a military transport helicopter bound for the outskirts of Howling Wind Canyon.

The rotors whipped up powerful currents of air, lifting the iron bird into the sky and carrying it toward the distant expanse shrouded in dense Blood-Erosion Clouds.

The atmosphere inside the cabin was somewhat heavy.

Apart from Luo Li, the other squad members were all seasoned veterans who knew full well how dangerous A-rank missions were.

The medic, in particular, kept nervously checking his equipment.

Watching the rapidly passing landscape outside the window grow increasingly barren, Luo Li also felt a barely perceptible weight in his heart.

The way Castorice had looked when she saw him off that morning-hesitating to speak, worry buried deep in her purple eyes-now surfaced clearly in his mind.

[Casti]: Be careful.

[Casti]: I'll wait for you to come back.

He clenched his fists, pressing that concern deep into his heart.

For their future, he had to seize every opportunity to grow stronger.

After roughly an hour of flight, the helicopter began descending, preparing to enter the canyon region for low-altitude reconnaissance.

Just then-

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

A piercing alarm suddenly sounded inside the cabin!

"Warning! Rapidly approaching high-energy signature detected! Extreme speed!"

The pilot's terrified voice came over the comms.

"Which direction?!"

The squad leader demanded sharply.

"Rear right! It... it disguised itself as a friendly signal! It's... it's a vampire! A-rank!!"

Before he finished speaking, a dark figure shot in from the rear flank like lightning tearing through the sky, slamming into them at a speed far beyond the helicopter's limits.

It was a figure wearing a tattered human pilot's uniform, but with a twisted face, crimson eyes, and enormous membranous wings spread behind him-none other than their mission target, the A-rank vampire Earl Shadowwing.

He had actually been lurking in the nearby airspace all along, using some sort of disguise ability as he waited for the reconnaissance helicopter to arrive.

"Evasive maneuvers!!" the squad leader roared.

But it was too late!

BOOM-!!!

A violent crash rang out alongside the piercing screech of twisting metal.

Earl Shadowwing's claws tore through the helicopter's tail rotor and part of its cabin wall in an instant, like a hot knife through butter.

The entire helicopter instantly lost its balance like a toy struck by a giant hammer, spinning wildly as it plummeted.

"Aah-!"

"Hold on!!"

Chaos engulfed the cabin. Objects flew everywhere, and desperate cries and curses were drowned out by the sensation of weightlessness and the howling wind.

Luo Li activated [Super-Speed Reaction] and [Future Preview] the instant the impact occurred, but the A-rank vampire's ambush was simply too fast. The preview showed nothing but chaos and imminent destruction.

He clung desperately to a securing strap beside him, feeling as though his internal organs were about to be flung out of his body.

Worse still-

Humm-!!!

Bloodblade Enma behind him, though unsummoned, began vibrating violently on its own inside the system space, emitting a hum of incomparable hunger, bordering on madness.

Dark crimson baleful energy spilled out uncontrollably, even faintly affecting Luo Li's mind.

[Warning! Blood and soul energy source of exceptionally high quality detected! Bloodblade Enma is experiencing extreme hunger and has entered a semi-uncontrollable state! Host, exercise caution when using it!]

A high-risk vampire! And a powerful one even among A-ranks.

His blood and soul were an irresistible temptation to Enma.

Bastard!

Luo Li cursed inwardly, desperately suppressing Enma's agitation as his mind raced.

I can't die here!

The helicopter spun as it hurtled toward the jagged rocks of the canyon below.

In the instant before the helicopter hit the ground, a flicker of resolve flashed through Luo Li's eyes. He unleashed [Time Retardation] and [Existence Anchoring] at full strength, then staked everything on pouring most of his remaining mental energy into the Spacetime Path's most essential life-saving ability-State Reversion.

Target-himself.

Hum!

Time seemed to be forcibly turned back... three seconds.

It did not change the fact of the crash, but instead secured him a sliver of survival within the "process" of the crash itself.

In his perception, everything around him went into slow motion.

The helicopter slowly twisted and broke apart, terror and despair frozen on his teammates' faces.

And within those forcibly stretched three seconds, he mustered every ounce of strength, tore free of the already deformed securing strap, kicked off the cabin wall with both legs, and activated [Space Folding] at the same time.

It was not a long-distance jump, but a blink over the shortest possible distance in an uncertain direction, performed within this extreme, chaotic spatial environment.

Whoosh!

His figure vanished from the cabin the moment before the helicopter completely disintegrated.

The next second-

BOOOOM!!!!!!!!!

A deafening explosion echoed through the canyon.

The helicopter became an enormous fireball and slammed into the ground, scattering wreckage in every direction as fierce flames erupted.

A powerful shock wave swept outward, carrying fragments with it.

Luo Li staggered into view inside a recess in a steep rock face dozens of meters away.

"Pfft-"

He violently spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee, his face as pale as paper.

Forcing a spatial jump and State Reversion under those conditions had placed an immense burden on his body and mind and inflicted tremendous backlash.

His organs felt displaced, his head felt as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and his vision kept blackening.

But he had survived.

He raised his head and looked toward the still-burning wreckage in the distance, his eyes filled with lingering fear and coldness.

They were all dead.

Other than him, every member of the reconnaissance squad, along with the pilot, had absolutely no chance of surviving such an impact and explosion.

And the one responsible for all this...

Luo Li abruptly raised his head and looked toward the sky.

Earl Shadowwing hovered in midair, his membranous wings beating slowly. His crimson eyes held the cruel amusement of a cat toying with a mouse as he looked down at the burning wreckage below, and... Luo Li, who had just appeared and looked utterly bedraggled.

He seemed somewhat surprised that this insignificant human had actually survived his ambush and the crash.

"Oh? A... slightly stronger bug?"

A hoarse voice with the texture of scraping metal sounded directly inside Luo Li's mind, laden with mental pressure.

Luo Li wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly straightened, forcibly enduring the discomfort in both his mind and body.

He stared fixedly at Earl Shadowwing in the sky. There was no fear in his eyes, only almost tangible killing intent and... a trace of barely suppressible brutality born of Enma's influence.

Humm-!!!

Enma behind him vibrated even more violently, its thirst for blood almost breaking through his suppression.

"Heh..."

Luo Li gave a low laugh, his voice hoarse.

He stopped suppressing it.

With a thought, the dark crimson, vicious blade instantly appeared in his hand.

The instant the blade appeared, blood-red light blazed.

It was as though countless wronged souls were howling within the blade-even the surrounding air grew thick and cold.

Luo Li could feel that what Enma conveyed was not only hunger, but also excitement at facing a powerful enemy and... greed to devour everything the other possessed!

"You want... his blood?"

Luo Li tightened his grip on the hilt, his knuckles whitening from the force. He raised his head and looked at Earl Shadowwing in the air, his lips curling into a cold, crazed arc.

"What a coincidence..."

"I want his life, too!"