"Ah…"
After passing through the body of the captain of the enforcement team, Shui Wuhen suddenly turned his head, his face filled with astonishment.
Th-this isn't right, is it?
Wasn't his opponent supposed to be a Title Douluo? How… did he seem… to be instantly killed in a single move?
As if to confirm Shui Wuhen's doubts, the enforcement team captain, who was only four or five meters away from him, suddenly collapsed like a pile of falling blocks, splitting into countless fragments that dropped toward the bottom of the Hell Slaughter Arena.
What Shui Wuhen didn't realize was that after his continuous improvements and optimizations, Ice Slash had already become stronger. Now, with the stacking of twenty-one consecutive slashes, its instantaneous explosive power even surpassed many hundred-thousand-year soul skills.
On top of that, the enforcement team captain hadn't treated Shui Wuhen as a true opponent at all. He underestimated him and didn't make sufficient preparations. Faced with Shui Wuhen's attack—which required no charge-up and had no wind-up—he had no ability to resist.
Just as Shui Wuhen was beginning to doubt life itself, the clash on Articuno's side had also reached a conclusion.
Although the Slaughter King managed to block Articuno's attack with his pair of massive blood-red wings, the enchanting woman beside him was completely obliterated by the Ice Beam, transforming into a blood-red bat and falling to the ground, barely clinging to life.
Seeing the outcome of this exchange, Shui Bing'er couldn't help but widen her eyes. The captain of the Slaughter City enforcement team, a Title Douluo-level expert, had actually been instantly killed by her brother!
Tang San and Hu Liena were nearly popping their eyes out.
With the body of a Soul Douluo, under conditions where soul skills were forbidden, he had instantly killed a true Title Douluo—were they really not dreaming?
Moments later, as Articuno's Ice Beam ended, the Slaughter King spread his blood-red wings. Looking at the already dead enforcement captain, then at his fallen concubine, he erupted in fury:
"You… all… truly… deserve… to… die!!!"
At the same time, Shui Wuhen instantly eliminated the remaining Soul Douluo-level enforcers and returned to Articuno's side.
However, despite instantly killing a Title Douluo, there was not the slightest hint of relaxation on Shui Wuhen's face, because he knew that the Slaughter King before him was the greatest threat.
A powerful aura surged forth. Blood-red light burst from his body, instantly covering the entire Hell Slaughter Arena, even faintly suppressing Articuno's domain.
"A domain—and of extremely high quality!"
Shui Wuhen's expression turned serious. If he could use his Martial Soul True Body, such a domain would be nothing to fear. But in this situation, it was indeed troublesome.
"Brother!"
Below, Shui Bing'er looked at the changing surroundings, concern appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shui Wuhen.
Could he still handle such an opponent?
Suddenly, Shui Wuhen's voice transmission sounded in her mind.
"Bing'er, be careful. The next battle—this Slaughter King is very strong. I may not be able to guarantee your safety."
"If that's the case, should we…" Shui Bing'er asked.
"Not yet. Our martial soul fusion skill is our final trump card, and it consumes a huge amount of energy. We shouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary."
Shui Wuhen rejected her suggestion.
If the Slaughter King displayed overwhelming strength, Shui Wuhen would naturally join hands with Shui Bing'er to use their martial soul fusion skill immediately.
But judging from the Slaughter King's current performance, although he was strong, it hadn't reached the point where they had to risk everything.
After all, Shui Bing'er didn't have an "inner core." If they misjudged the situation, they wouldn't get a second chance to use the martial soul fusion skill.
At that moment, the Slaughter King's figure flashed, instantly appearing in front of Shui Wuhen. His two blood-red claw-like hands, tipped with long nails, lunged toward Shui Wuhen's chest, aiming to tear out his heart.
"So fast!"
Seeing the Slaughter King suddenly appear before him, Shui Wuhen's pupils shrank. While dodging, he simultaneously condensed an ice shield in front of him, trying to block the attack.
Although Shui Wuhen had developed corresponding or even advanced self-created soul skills for most of his abilities, Protect was an exception.
The complexity of Protect far exceeded that of other soul skills. Thus, with his soul ring abilities sealed, Shui Wuhen lacked this defensive skill comparable to Invincible Golden Body.
The hastily formed ice shield naturally couldn't withstand the Slaughter King's attack. After delaying it for only a moment, it was pierced through by those blood-red claws, continuing toward Shui Wuhen.
"Mm—!"
At this critical moment, Articuno acted.
In an instant, layers of Light Screen and Reflect appeared between Shui Wuhen and the Slaughter King's claws.
One layer… two layers…
After breaking through three layers of barriers, the Slaughter King's attack was finally stopped, unable to advance any further.
"What a chance!"
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he swung his blade!
In an instant, twenty-one dazzling blade lights appeared in the air once more, slashing toward the Slaughter King before him.
At the very moment Shui Wuhen swung his blade, the Slaughter King's hair stood on end. A sense of death enveloped his heart.
Sensing this, the Slaughter King didn't hesitate in the slightest. He abandoned his attack and instead wrapped himself with his massive blood-red wings to defend.
The moment his wings closed, the twenty-one blade lights struck them.
"Boom!"
The next instant, the Slaughter King's body was sent flying, crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.
"Pfft—!"
Upon landing, the Slaughter King spat out a mouthful of blood. His once-proud blood-red wings were now covered in deep wounds from Shui Wuhen's previous strike.
Within those wounds lingered strands of extremely cold soul power, which almost instantly turned into stubborn ice, clinging to his wings.
Although the Slaughter King was injured, Shui Wuhen and Articuno's attacks did not stop.
In an instant, countless spinning ice spears formed in front of Shui Wuhen and shot toward the Slaughter King below, while Articuno opened its mouth again, gathering another Ice Beam as a follow-up attack.
Seeing this, the Slaughter King was greatly alarmed and quickly flapped his wings to dodge. However, he soon discovered that due to the damage to his wings and the extreme cold energy clinging to them, his speed had been greatly reduced.
After only a short time of evasion, he was struck by Shui Wuhen and Articuno's attacks.
What followed was an unending barrage of continuous assaults.
Moments later, the light in the Slaughter King's eyes finally faded, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"Die!"
Shui Wuhen looked at the Slaughter King coldly. Although he found it strange that the Slaughter King still hadn't used any soul skills after all this time, Shui Wuhen wasn't someone who insisted on investigating everything.
Right now, killing the Slaughter King was the most important thing.
However, just as Shui Wuhen and Articuno gathered soul power, preparing to deliver the final blow, a sudden change occurred.
The Slaughter King, who had already lost consciousness, suddenly regained light in his eyes, and the aura around his body began to surge at a geometric rate.
In just a short moment, it reached a level that even shocked Shui Wuhen.