Volume 2, Chapter 26 – Street Brawl（2）

Fuck—on top of a bio-beastman they even have fire support?

Pinned by the sniper, Han Li couldn’t so much as stick his head out. All he could do was huddle behind the broken wall with the three girls and watch the monster rampage and slaughter.

“Monster!”

A middle-aged man in a suit suddenly rushed out, drawing a longsword. A beast-shaped phantom flared up behind him as his sword art surged from flat ground straight up, about to blast the monster to pieces.

But in the next instant, the lizard-man flickered and stepped out, twisting aside from the slash even as its bone spur thrust forward—only to be caught on the middle-aged man’s raised sword.

Its strength was enormous. The man couldn’t stand against it and was driven back step by step, the two locked in a test of power until he was forced up against a wall.

“Condensing the Aspect?”

The lizard-man stretched its neck, its face almost pressed to the man’s.

Gritting his teeth, the man pulled all the phantom around him back and condensed it into his sword, trying to shear through the bone spur—and then, in one stroke, take its head.

But what he saw next shocked him: the bone spur on the lizard-man’s arm was gathering a haze of crimson mist as well!

Demonic Power?

What the hell is this thing?

Squelch!

Before he could think any further, the other bone spur punched up through his lower abdomen. His face went white and he spat a mouthful of blood.

“Busybody…”

His strength gone, he couldn’t hold his guard. The lizard-man drove the first bone spur in too, then braced both arms and tore him in half from the middle.

And it still wasn’t done. It grabbed one half of the corpse, hoisted it over its head, and kneaded it hard, letting all the blood, chunks of flesh, and innards pour down over itself. On its reptilian face, a disturbingly human expression of pleasure appeared.

Hope they don’t blame me for taking too long.

After finishing its “bath,” the lizard-man turned its head toward the gate of No. 1 High, remembering that its main task wasn’t done yet.

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Whatever.

It started toward the gate, not caring in the least.

That was Plan B for you.

They’d already brought me out. If I don’t enjoy it, isn’t that a waste?

“Sha… sha…”

Its footsteps drew near.

Everyone.

Including the remaining Inspectorate officers—and Han Li himself—felt a wave of despair wash through their hearts.

“Uu…!”

Just then, a low rumble sounded in the distance.

A pitch-black old-style sedan came tearing down the road at high speed, practically plowing through the vehicles blocking the way, shoving them aside. With a hard swing of its tail it slid to a stop dead center in the street.

Huh?

The lizard-man halted, seeing the rear door swing open as Bai Xiang stepped out with her sword in hand.

It’s her?

White hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, loose white hair—wasn’t this the latest big celebrity?

The lizard-man bared its teeth in a grin and slowly turned to face Bai Xiang.

After getting out, Bai Xiang first took in the battlefield. Her gaze swept quickly over the cracks in the ground, the corpses, and the shattered buildings before finally settling on the lizard-man’s face.

Clang…

Feixiang Heaven left its sheath.

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A strip of cold, snowy sword light flashed out.

Neither side moved. Only the sunset bled like spilled paint, staining the whole scene scarlet.

“Sha…”

The lizard-man moved first, walking toward Bai Xiang in deliberate steps.

Bai Xiang tossed the scabbard aside, took the sword in her right hand, and started forward toward the lizard-man as well.

Three steps.

Five steps.

“Clang!”

As she was about to take the fifth step, her stride halted. Her fingers shifted on the hilt, reversing her grip in a twist. Silver light flared around her as she swept the blade out to the side, and a metallic blast boomed in the air.

The bullet was knocked away, and the sniper hidden in the dark stared in shock.

He could clearly see through his scope that the white-haired girl had glanced this way—as if she’d met his eyes through the glass.

Bang!

An explosion kicked off under the lizard-man’s feet as well.

“Careful, Sis!” Bai Zhuqing cried out, seeing that terrifying black shape already on top of Bai Xiang.

Whoosh!

Its arm swung up. The muscles of its chest and right arm bunched into one chain, channeling a staggering power into the downward chop of its bone spur.

“Clang!”

Bone met blade in midair with another ringing impact.

The lizard-man’s eyes flew wide. It poured all its strength down… and found the sword wouldn’t budge.

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It looked again at Bai Xiang. She still held the sword one-handed, bracing it in what looked like a casual posture, her expression completely unchanged.

Only her shoes… The soles had blown out completely, and even her short socks had burst, exposing the white jade of her feet and toes. Hairline cracks spider-webbed out under her stance, spreading farther and farther.

What kind of force-redirecting method is that?

A prickle of fear ran through the lizard-man’s heart. It twisted on instinct, its spiked tail trailing afterimages as it whipped toward Bai Xiang’s supporting leg.

The black blur shot in—but hit resistance midair, slammed down as Bai Xiang stamped it to the ground.

Boom!

It was crushed into a pit and couldn’t move.

The lizard-man opened its mouth, a terrifying thought rising in its mind.

What if that wasn’t some force-redirecting method at all…

But pure…

Sword light flashed. Bai Xiang’s stomp shattered the scales on its tail. Using that force, she stepped forward, right arm swinging in a full arc to bring the blade down like an axe.

The lizard-man didn’t dare slack off. Both bone spurs crossed together, lifting to block the falling sword.

Three slim shadows met in midair. At the instant of contact, a wave of blood-red killing Qi burst up around Bai Xiang.

No longer colorless and transparent.

No longer pink like flower petals.

But blood-red.

From that crimson haze, a cicada demon phantom coalesced!

“Screeeee—!!!”

The cicada demon threw back its head and beat its wings. It looked as if the “divine cry” came from the phantom, but the sound was really pouring from the blade itself—under Bai Xiang’s precise control, Feixiang Heaven’s edge was vibrating a thousand times per second!!

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Boom!!!

The sonic shockwave alone whipped up a gale. The small area where they clashed was wrapped in a thin film of blood-red air, which detonated with each vibrating chop of Bai Xiang’s sword.

There was never any suspense. The crossed bone spurs were bitten into, cut through… and the sword kept going, unstoppable, driving straight into the body beneath.

The lizard-man’s expression was still frozen in place as a red vertical line opened from its forehead down over its chest and all the way to the tops of its thighs. Before any blood could seep out, killing Qi surged in and tore it apart, the corpse splitting cleanly in two and flinging away to either side.

Thud!

Splat.

As the vision faded, the mangled halves and scraps of viscera finally hit the ground.

Bai Zhuqing clapped both hands over her mouth.

Hu Hu stuck her tongue all the way out in shock.

Chen Jing stared wide-eyed through her fingers.

Han Li’s mind went blank.

Strands of hair drifted slowly back to rest. Bai Xiang didn’t bend down to pick up the scabbard. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly, eyes sweeping the surrounding buildings.

In the darkness, the sniper shivered.

She glanced his way again. He’d meant to pull the trigger—but now, he didn’t dare.

“There are four more.”

Barefoot, Bai Xiang walked into the tunnel and stopped just outside the cover, meeting Han Li’s eyes.

“I can tell you where they are.”

“I’ll leave the rest to you, Inspector Han.”