"Hateful..."
The sound of Hoolay grinding echoed through the gate:
"Since you are so ungrateful, then use your blood to consecrate my flag!"
The words had barely left his lips when a blade slashed through the air, and three sword energies rapidly approached Xueyi.
Xueyi deftly dodged the attack and vanished from her spot, leaving a huge dent in the doorway with the three sword energies.
Before Hoolay could even react, Xueyi's short sword left an "X"-shaped wound in his chest.
"You... you lowly beast!"
Enraged by this, Hoolay lunged forward again, his massive hand grabbing Xueyi, who couldn't dodge in time, with increasing force.
"Let her go!"
Qiong's voice was already close at hand; the baseball bat had long since disappeared from her hand, and she was now gripping an orange spear tightly. The two were less than ten steps apart.
" Flaming Lance: Charge!"
Qiong's figure flashed past swiftly, leaving a streak of red-orange light that triggered a violent explosion the instant he passed through Hoolay. He turned around again, looking at the billowing smoke and dust.
"Those darn mosquitoes..."
As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Hoolay's hand, which had been gripping Xueyi's, vanished without a trace, while Xueyi stood by for a long while, recovering.
Hoolay was pierced by the Flame Spear, creating a huge gash in his body. White smoke billowed from the wound, which was originally deep enough to expose the bone, was quickly covered by new flesh and blood.
Suddenly, the enormous body burst forth with incredible speed, slashing heavily towards the sky with its blade.
"So fast!"
Before he could even process what was happening, Qiong instinctively raised his Flame Spear to block. Although there was no immediate danger, he was still sent flying against the wall by the sudden force.
"Qiong!"
Dan Heng thrust his spear into the approaching Borisin, then turned to see Qiong being thrown away. Without further hesitation, he released his "Never-Away-Handed" Cloud-Piercer, which landed directly on Hoolay's hand as he prepared to pursue with his sword.
"Ah... Vidyadhara-- "
Hoolay gave a meaningful smile, then violently pulled out the spear and tossed it aside. His wound healed completely once more.
"This toy alone can't stop me— Imbibitor Lunae."
Upon hearing this name, Dan Heng involuntarily paused for a moment:
How did you know...?
Is this important?
Hoolay's voice was full of sarcasm:
"Use your power to control water, or... you'll just have to watch me leave!"
Moze slashed open the throat of Borisin with a single stroke, his eyes fixed on Dan Heng.
Don't listen to him, he's trying to make you lose your mind.
"Damn it, none of us have a way to defeat them in one strike, what should we do..."
While delaying the other Borisin from a distance, the Hanya constantly pondered a countermeasure. If they didn't cripple Hoolay in one fell swoop, they would only die if they continued to wear him down.
" Hoolay!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched roar resounded in the distance from the prison.
Without a doubt, Qiong and Dan Heng were all too familiar with this roar.
" Hanxing?"
Accompanied by barely concealed excitement, Hanxing appeared, embraced by Sam. His expression grew increasingly cold, as if he were staring at a long-dead corpse.
"I've returned from hell, Hoolay!"
As her entire body was revealed, the longsword, gleaming with a faint green light, was fully exposed. Firefly gently put down Hanxing, whom she was holding beside her. The light-energy sword and the path of the Netherworld converged at a single point, pointing directly at Hoolay.
"Damn it... that thing caught up again... and that green light just now, was that the mech? Strategist, what should we do now?"
Hoolay's voice was cold and panicked as he stared at Modu beside him.
"Then... let's try the same trick again!"
A resolute glint flashed in Modu's eyes. The angel had only given him two smoke bombs, which he had originally intended to use on the generals of the Xianzhou to weaken their fighting power. Now it seemed he would have to use them here.
Hoolay's curved blade sliced through the air once more, unleashing three sword energies that struck the gate precisely at the original three marks, creating a huge gash in the gate.
At the same time, Modu also threw out his last smoke grenade. The thick smoke exploded instantly, obscuring visibility and posing a significant threat to everyone.
"Everyone, cover your mouths and noses!"
Hanxing shouted loudly, already pulling the corner of her trench coat over her nose tightly:
"This thing can sever the connection with Path; don't absorb it!"
Despite everyone being on guard this time, the smoke bomb had achieved its purpose. While everyone was in confusion, Hoolay led several pawns to escape from the Prison of Deep Seclusion.
Before long, the smoke completely dissipated. Everyone checked their Path connections and found that they were only slightly sluggish, without any particularly serious problems.
"What... what was that just now?"
Dan Heng asked, still somewhat shaken.
"I don't know either."
Hanxing answered honestly:
"I lost my strength down there because I inhaled this smoke."
"Losing power... what does that mean?"
Qiong also asked from the side.
"Just now Hoolay used this method to obstruct my view. I thought it was just a trick, but I never expected—"
Hanxing glanced at Firefly beside her and didn't continue speaking.
"When I found him, he was surrounded by a Borisin soldiers, and he was covered in blood--"
Firefly only finished speaking; she never wanted to experience what had just happened again.
"So, our objective remains clear."
Dan Heng glanced around but didn't speak further. Moze then continued, picking up where he left off:
"Catch up with Hoolay, then lock him up again. And... considering the damage he might cause on the Xianzhou, the sooner the better!"
Xueyi and Hanya looked at each other, as if exchanging a glance, and then Hanya spoke:
"Now that the mission is set, we won't keep any more of you. My sister and I will wait here for Astra Yao."
Aren't you going?
Qiong asked with some curiosity.
"My sister and I... can't get away for now. Hoolay's escape has thrown the entire prison into chaos. Without a judge to oversee things... this place will probably become an empty cell."
The Hanya explained its motives and then said no more.
"Wishing you all a triumphant return. Farewell."
Xueyi left her blessing, and was about to turn away when she seemed to remember something:
"That Yaoqing envoy named Jiaoqiu, who is also Mr. Moze's colleague, has already left the Prison of Deep Seclusion to seek help from the general. You can go find him first."
The group looked at each other and nodded.
"And now, we'll move on to the tense and exciting chase!"
Hanxing wiped the knife in his hand, his eyes blazing with an unquenchable fighting spirit, but then he turned around and handed a piece of iron to Qiong:
"Qiong, take this. If there's a problem, inject some power into it. I can sense it."