The rain was getting heavier.
The Abomination finally lost its patience and charged forward. Lin Xiao neither dodged nor evaded, but met it head-on. The blue light of the Blink Dagger shone brightly in his palm. He was like a ghostly figure pulled by lightning, slicing diagonally past the Abomination's fist. The Abomination's right fist slammed into the spot where Lin Xiao had just stood, causing the ground to collapse by half a meter. Mud and gravel exploded in all directions. The next second, Lin appeared behind him.
He thrust the dagger in his hand forcefully towards the Abomination's lower back.
The blade sank two inches before getting stuck. The muscles of the Abomination were like a tightly wound steel cable, every fiber resisting the tip of the blade. Lin Xiao tried to flip his wrist, attempting to make a cut horizontally, but the muscles in the Abomination's back were too tight to move. He only managed to push the knife forward a little more before feeling an overwhelming gust of wind slamming down on him from the front.
Abomination swung his hand back. His thick arm, like a swinging iron pillar, rained down blows toward Lin Xiao's head. Lin Xiao released his dagger beforehand, tapped his toes on Abomination's protruding spine, and flipped backward, avoiding the sweeping attack. The dagger remained on Abomination's lower back, only half of the hilt protruding, like a blue iron nail driven into a rock.
When Lin Xiao landed, his knees slid half an inch in the mud. He knelt on one knee, his left hand bracing himself in front of him, his breathing ragged like the shattering of a drum. He could feel his heart pounding against his eardrums, each beat like someone punching his skull. He glanced back. Abomination reached for the dagger at his waist, his five thick fingers sliding twice along the hilt before finally gripping it. Lin Xiao didn't wait for him to pull it out; he pressed it back against his own. Five bolts of lightning exploded from his fists, red, yellow, blue, white, and purple swirling into two balls, simultaneously striking Abomination's temples from both sides.
"Pour it for me!"
Lightning exploded on Abomination's temple, and Abomination roared in pain. The sound seemed to come from the depths of the earth, making Lin Xiao's teeth tingle. A trace of green blood seeped from Abomination's ear canal, both eyes rolled upwards at the same time, and he took half a step back.
With that half-step, Lin Xiao gave him no chance to adjust. Using the momentum of the Flight Technique, he positioned his body horizontally in the air, and his right foot, like a whip, lashed out hard at Abomination's jaw.
The Abomination was kicked backward, his chin raised high, and a rough, heavy thud escaped his throat. But he didn't fall down; he remained motionless, as if nailed to the ground, like a steel bar welded to the earth. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear that his left eye had been tightly closed, obviously blinded by lightning.
"Ah, you little bug, die! My eyes!"
A powerful punch followed, slamming into Lin Xiao Lin Xiao. Unable to dodge, Lin Xiao coughed up a mouthful of blood and flew backward. He felt pain all over his body, as if his bones had been shattered. The next second, a warm current spread through his chest, absorbing most of the impact. Lin Xiao adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed heavily on the ground. His Heartsteel hummed, and with a clang, a layer was added. At this moment, Lin Xiao couldn't care less about anything else; he glanced at Thaddeus Ross out of the corner of his eye.
The old man was still lying in the rubble, the last glimmer of light from the Blue Silver Grass had gone out, and his chest was still heaving. Lin Xiao glanced at him once before looking away, continuing to stand in front of the Abomination. Lin Xiao knew that if he wanted Thaddeus Ross to live, the only way was to completely defeat the Abomination, preventing the monster from ever landing a second punch on anyone.
The Abomination turned its head, its remaining eyeball already burned deep red. Without saying a word, it stomped on the muddy ground, and like a boulder launched by a catapult, it crashed into Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao pulled the dagger back from the System Space, tip facing forward, and gripped it in a reverse grip.
I'm planning a head-on confrontation.
Their bodies collided in the rainy night. Lin Xiao's dagger pierced Abomination's shoulder blade, while Abomination's fist slammed into Lin Xiao's right ribs. Neither of them flinched, and mud and water were sent flying in all directions by the shockwave. Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and pulled the dagger down, green blood spurting from the groove and splattering all over his face. Abomination roared, grabbed Lin Xiao's shoulders with both hands, lifted him up, and slammed him against his knees.
The first Lin Xiao felt like a hammer slammed into his spine. His vision went black for a moment, and the ringing in his ears was as sharp as two knives scraping against his head. The second blow felt like his internal organs were all squeezed together, and a metallic taste rose in his throat, which he swallowed hard. The third blow, instead of struggling, Lin Xiao used it to slam his right elbow down hard onto the top of Abomination's head.
Once, twice, three times.
A Abomination wound opened on his scalp, and green blood flowed down his forehead, into the eye socket where Lin Xiao had punched him. He let go.
Lin Xiao rolled to the ground, then sprang up like an arrow. His left fist crackled with lightning, his right fist blazed with blue flame. One punch landed on the outside of Abomination's knee, the other slammed into the same spot where he had previously slashed. Abomination's leg seemed to lose its support, its entire body collapsing to the right, its knee slamming into the ground, creating several deep cracks.
Lin Xiao didn't stop. Like a wolf cornered in Extremis, he knew his opponent was twice his size, yet he still pounced and bit. His breathing was heavy, like a broken bellows, but each punch was more ferocious than the last. He was covered in blood, some his own, some his Abomination. He couldn't distinguish between the new and the old; he only felt unnaturally light and unnaturally heavy.
Abomination knelt on one knee, and Lin Xiao lunged forward, his knee aimed at Abomination's face. Abomination ducked and took the blow head-on with his forehead. Lin Xiao felt as if he had hit a wall, his entire leg going numb from his knee to his waist. Using the momentum, Abomination thrust forward, sending Lin Xiao flying backward. Before he even hit the ground, he threw the dagger.
The Blink Dagger drew a blue arc in the air, aiming straight for the Abomination's last remaining eye.
Abomination tilted his head slightly. The dagger grazed his cheekbone, slicing off a piece of flesh, but missed.
Lin Xiao rolled as soon as he landed, and with a flick of his left hand, Blue Silver Grass sprouted from the mud. A dozen thin vines wrapped around the bleeding calf of the Abomination, like blue snakes, tightening their grip. The Abomination froze, and Lin Xiao seized the opportunity to close in again. With a flick of his right hand, another Five Thunder Spell struck the Abomination's face.
The Abomination was blasted backward half a meter, carving two deep furrows in the mud.
Lin Xiao gave him no chance to catch his breath. He stomped his right foot, sending mud and water splattering, and pressed himself into Abomination's arms. He didn't use his fists or his knife. He pushed his speed to the limit, his right shoulder forward, crashing into Abomination's chest like a cannonball. Abomination's massive body was thrown back two steps, his back snapping against the half-burnt flagpole behind him. Lin Xiao bit down on Abomination's earlobe, his teeth sinking in, green blood spurting into his mouth, tasting as bitter as burnt copper.
He roared in Abomination, his arms closing in like two gates, trying to crush Lin Xiao alive in his embrace.
"You'd better die--"
Lin Xiao didn't let go; instead, he bit even deeper. His left knee thrust upwards, once, twice, three times, each thrust hitting Abomination's abdomen. There were no bones there, but inside were vital organs. Abomination's breathing became slightly erratic.
Then the two arms of Abomination closed completely.
Lin Xiao felt as if the heavens and earth were pressing down on him from both sides, as if the edges of two worlds were about to crush him into a piece of paper. He loosened his teeth and let out a roar squeezed from the depths of his throat. He heard his ribs cracking, not one by one, but row by row, like someone snapping a pair of chopsticks inside his chest. He used his still-movable hands to brace himself against the chest of the Abomination, desperately pushing himself upwards. The Abomination's arms wrapped around his back, tightening around his waist, but not completely restraining his hands.
Lin Xiao looked up and saw that Abomination was less than half a foot away from him. His face was covered in blood, and his mouth was full of blood; he couldn't tell whether it was Abomination's or his own.
Lin Xiao headbutted Abomination hard in the chin, making himself see stars. The monster, in pain, loosened its grip slightly, and Lin Xiao seized the opportunity to kick off Abomination's arms, landing heavily on the ground, panting heavily.
Lin Xiao tried to stand up. His legs felt like lead, but he still managed to stand. He no longer activated the Blue Silver Grass, nor did he unleash the Five Thunder Spell. His spiritual power was exhausted, leaving only the most primal strength squeezed from his bones. He clenched his fists and walked step by step toward Abomination.
Abomination also approached him. Neither of them ran. They were like two Beast meeting in a storm, neither able to retreat. The rain poured down on them, as if cooling down the bloody battle that was about to burn out.
Then they attacked simultaneously.
Abomination's left fist slammed into Lin Xiao's chest, while Lin Xiao's right fist smashed into Abomination's temple. As if by prior arrangement, neither of them dodged. Each punch landed on the other, producing a dull thud, like a tree trunk being split open. Lin Xiao's shirt was completely torn apart by the third punch. Abomination's skin also caved in. The two stood there, frantically fighting each other, their feet leaving crater after crater.
Lin Xiao's brain was almost shattered. His vision began to blur, but his body kept moving forward. The Heartsteel locked his life away from his body bit by bit, and with each punch, he could hear the sound of gears meshing within him. It was as if an invisible armor was growing from between his bones, swallowing up the injuries that should have knocked him down on the spot, and turning them into the power for his next punch.
But he also knew that this armor wouldn't last long. He could already hear the Heartsteel shattering. Starting from the center, like cracks beneath ice, it expanded and deepened. When it finally broke completely, he wouldn't be able to move a single finger.
He threw his thirteenth punch, and Abomination's left eye finally closed. He threw his fourteenth punch, striking Abomination's Adam's apple. Abomination's breath caught in its throat. Lin Xiao knew this was his last chance. He poured all his strength into his right arm, and his fifteenth punch slammed straight into Abomination's chin.
The body of Abomination fell backward like a tree uprooted.
Lin Xiao was exhausted. He stood in the rain, his legs like two unsteady wooden stakes. He looked down at the Abomination lying in the mud, his chest still heaving violently. The rain fell on them, making the surrounding firelight flicker intermittently.
"You..." Lin Xiao's throat felt like it was being torn apart, his voice so soft it seemed to drift back from a great distance, "Still... want to fight?"
Abomination offered no answer.
Lin Xiao couldn't move either. He stood there until he could no longer stand. He saw his knees slowly bend, and he collapsed into the muddy water beside Abomination. There was fire, rain, shattered weapons, and blood of someone unknown all around. He closed his eyes and heard his heartbeat slow down, each beat slower than the last.
He thought of Betty.
Betty was still in the hotel, fast asleep. Before she fell asleep, she grabbed his wrist and said, " Lin Xiao, I only have my dad left." He had said then, "Trust me," so confidently. Now he was less than twenty meters from Thaddeus Ross, but those twenty meters felt farther than the distance from New Mexico to New York. He thought of May, of how she had glanced back at him before leaving this morning and said, "Come back early tonight," to which he had replied, "Okay." He thought of Gwen Stacy, that girl who always liked to bury her face in his chest, her hair smelling faintly of jasmine. He thought of Natasha, of her leaning against the bar, holding a glass, saying with a half-smile, "Guess what I'm here for tonight." He thought of Sif, of the blue cocoon woven from Blue Silver Grass, of her saying, "Don't keep me waiting too long."
He thought of many people. Their faces floated up one by one, like photos blurred by rain, too indistinct to grasp. He suddenly felt incredibly sorry. Not sorry to any one person, but sorry to everyone. All along, he had always felt he could handle it, protect everyone, and make every promise a reality. But now he lay in the mud, unable even to turn himself over.
The rain was still falling. The Brazil rain was heavy and dense, like someone was pouring buckets of water down from the sky. The campfire had all gone out, and the surroundings were so dark that only the occasional flash of lightning pierced the sky could be seen. Lin Xiao lay there, listening to his heartbeat grow slower and slower.
But the next second, he heard a voice.
The voice was very soft, as if it came from the other side of the world, yet it made the hairs on his body stand on end in an instant.
The Abomination finger moved.
Lin Xiao recognized the sound all too well. He had heard it in countless battles; it was the dull thud of bones bending. He forced himself to lift his head and look.
But his body was completely out of his control. He could only feel the ground trembling beside him. He saw the Abomination plunge one hand into the mud, its five fingers sinking half a foot in, as if trying to grab the entire earth. Then came the other hand. The whole body, like a demon crawling out of hell, was slowly lifting itself off the ground.
Lin Xiao tried desperately to prop himself up on his elbows, but his hands would slip back down every time he raised them halfway. The Blue Silver Grass completely retracted, and the Five Thunder Spell couldn't even release a Mars. He could only watch helplessly as Abomination slowly stood up.
The Abomination charged at Lin Xiao, each step leaving a deep crater in the ground, the mud churning out like waves. Lin Xiao heard the wind exploding in his ears, the raindrops turning into mist as they crashed against the body, and his own heart pounding like a drum about to burst. He wanted to get up, to hide, to react in any way he could, but he couldn't move.
He even saw the one-eyed Abomination let out a sinister laugh, followed by the feeling of a giant hand slamming heavily onto him.
His consciousness began to blur. The surrounding military camp, fire, rain, Abomination, and even Thaddeus Ross lying there all seemed to sink into a dark pool, receding little by little until they could no longer be seen.