"Yunli... are you okay?"
Mo Xin asked, trembling. She couldn't quite figure out Yunli's condition. Now barely able to move again, for some reason, she felt the little girl before her was even more terrifying than the werewolf opposite.
'Oh my god! Has Yunli gone dark? I didn't provoke her, did I? Could the saying "going dark makes you ten times stronger" be true?'
Driven by her survival instinct, she chose to silently scoot backward, trying to get away from Yunli. At this moment, even the Scarred Man and the Man in Black noticed with astonishment that this ordinary person before them seemed to be emitting an invisible aura.
Then, Yunli, who had been hanging her head low, suddenly looked up! Golden flames of rage ignited in her pupils. She pulled out a greatsword from who knows where and let out a furious roar.
"How dare you??? How dare you!!!"
Golden flames erupted violently, tightly enveloping Yunli. Lava-like scorching light flowed unceasingly along the blade, as overwhelming heat waves and sharp killing intent surged outward like a tide. The horrifying aura poured out relentlessly, instantly blowing away and crushing the surrounding building debris into dust.
Facing such a mighty aura, the Man in Black and Mo Xin, being fragile, simply couldn't stand their ground. Both were sent flying away without any resistance. Feeling this killing intent, a trace of fear actually surfaced in the Scarred Man's eyes, and he involuntarily took a step back.
But he was immediately infuriated by his own thought. He raged inwardly: 'I'm a Special Grade Esper now! One of the strongest in the entire country, with less than a handful like me. And now I'm actually scared of this unknown little girl!'
His ego thoroughly inflated, he simply didn't believe he could lose, much less to Yunli. He opened his bloodthirsty maw and roared.
"You almost fooled me, brat! I'm Special Grade! Did you really think I'd be afraid of you!"
In the past, his ability could only transform him into a werewolf, offering limited enhancement. But now he could transform further. His body would grow massive, and his strength would increase exponentially! Suppressing the inexplicable fear, the Scarred Man's eyes flashed with ferocity as he roared.
"Tenfold Werewolf Transformation!!!"
As the Scarred Man desperately overdrew his ability in a final gamble, his already tall frame grew even larger, now reaching a staggering height of 15 meters! Feeling the power continuously welling up within him, the last vestiges of fear vanished. The werewolf's crimson eyes looked down arrogantly at Yunli.
"Die, brat! I'll tear you to shreds!"
With a roar, the werewolf fiercely thrust its sharp claws, larger than itself, toward Yunli.
"Yunli, watch out!" Seeing this, Mo Xin couldn't help but cry out anxiously!
Seeing claws larger than herself coming, Yunli neither dodged nor evaded. She gripped the sword hilt tightly with one hand and steadied the blade with the other, holding the heavy, mountain-like greatsword vertically in front of her.
In an instant, the razor-sharp claws tore through the air and collided solidly with the cold steel of the blade, producing a sharp clang. Intense sparks burst from the blade, illuminating the surroundings like a thunderclap. The ground beneath Yunli's feet shattered with a boom, sending rubble flying.
Witnessing this scene, Mo Xin covered her eyes in anguish, afraid to look further.
"Perish!!!" Seeing this, the Scarred Man felt a surge of joy, vowing to pierce through both his opponent and that broken sword in one strike.
But then, the excited expression on his face gradually froze. Because he realized his attack couldn't pierce that broken sword. And... just how strong is this girl! How could she stand her ground motionless against my attack?
At that moment, Mo Xin's fingers parted slightly, creating a gap. Next, she witnessed the most astonishing sight of her life. In the center of the battlefield, the ground beneath Yunli's feet crumbled layer by layer, yet she stood unwavering, rooted to the spot.
A little loli less than 1.5 meters tall was steadily blocking the opponent's claws.
"Hah!!!" After a brief stalemate, Yunli suddenly let out a fierce shout. Her greatsword sank downward with force, actually pushing the opponent back several steps!
The Scarred Man felt a mountain-like force transmitted through his claws. His body felt as if struck by a heavy hammer, staggering backward uncontrollably.
Now's the chance! At this moment, Yunli held nothing back. Gripping the hilt with both hands, she raised Old Mettle high in front of her.
"Let's go, Old Mettle!"
As a torrent of power surged into the blade, it seemed to respond to its master's call, emitting a low hum. With a thunderous boom, the three present witnessed a sky-obscuring giant sword erupt from Yunli's hands.
The blade was covered in blazing flames like lava, as if intending to incinerate heaven and earth. That colossal sword pointed straight at the clouds, flames swirling around it. Every inch of its markings exuded a terrifying pressure that made the very air tremble.
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Is she... a god... a deity?"
Mo Xin: (ﾉ ○ Д ○)ﾉ
At this moment, all three were stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing. The Man in Black nearly had an emotional breakdown. This power was practically on par with a deity's! Since when did Dragon Country have such a powerhouse!
Yunli raised Old Mettle high, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Judgment Cleaves the Clouds, Hah—"
The next moment, with a shout, Yunli swung down this world-destroying blow with immense force. The Scarred Man stood dumbfounded, looking up blankly at the divine punishment about to descend from the sky.
When he clearly saw Yunli raising Old Mettle, he was already unable to dodge, having almost given up resistance. His once-proud, massive body seemed utterly laughable compared to this magnificent sight, like a firefly foolishly trying to rival the bright moon.
Then, under the horrified, helpless, and despairing gazes of the onlookers, this sky-obscuring giant sword slowly pressed down from the clouds. The flames entwined around the blade poured down like lava. The earth cracked open under the pressure, and the air distorted from the intense heat.
In the end, everyone faintly heard Yunli's furious, enraged shout.
"Pay with your life—for my skewers!!!"
...Meanwhile, outside the residential complex.
A car sped over and stopped outside the complex. Two people got out of the car, warily observing their surroundings. The arrivals were none other than Captain Chen Yuxuan and Lu Hao, who had received the mission.
"We've arrived. Everything seems perfectly normal so far."
"Hmm. To guard against the possibility of Sparkle using us as pawns, you're only to reconnoiter the periphery. Remember, do not enter the complex interior lightly."
"Roger."
Chen Yuxuan hung up the phone with a grave expression. Neither dared to be careless, preparing to carefully observe from the perimeter. However, seeing the utterly normal complex, Lu Hao couldn't help but whisper.
"Captain, are you sure this is the place Sparkle pointed out?"
"Correct. You've witnessed Sparkle's ability firsthand, so we absolutely must not let our guard down," Chen Yuxuan reminded gravely.
"Alright!" Lu Hao nodded, his movements becoming even more cautious. And there was no helping it. Their original team configuration was four: Captain Chen as DPS, Lu Hao as the front-line tank, Qing Yutong for detection and support, and Mu Yao as the healer. In a game, that would be a decent, functional team.
But now Qing Yutong was injured, and Mu Yao wasn't here. With both their scout and healer absent, the two had no choice but to be extra cautious. Adhering to their duty, they continued their careful inspection.
In the following time, the two found absolutely no trace of anything unusual. Just as Lu Hao thought it might be another one of Sparkle's pranks...
"Huh?" Lu Hao suddenly asked in confusion. "Captain, did you hear something?"
Hearing this, Chen Yuxuan confirmed again. "What sound?"
Lu Hao stroked his chin, carefully recalling before saying uncertainly, "It's like... the sound of glass breaking?"
Crack!
"Yes! That's the sound! Captain, did you hear it?!"
"...Yeah, I heard it... but this..."
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering echoed again. They simultaneously lifted their gazes to look. They saw the air above the edge of the complex actually cracking open out of nowhere, as if a layer of transparent glass had been covering the sky.
Exchanging a glance, both were flooded with a sense of foreboding.
CRACK!!!
Their previously calm expressions immediately changed drastically.
"Run!!!" Chen Yuxuan urgently shouted a warning.
That tiny crack suddenly spread rapidly like a spiderweb. Not daring to look back, they ran straight outward. But before they could take more than a few steps...
The next second.
BOOM!!!
A golden pillar of light shot up into the sky from within the complex.