Butcher let out a low growl, and his five fingers suddenly clawed toward the center of Su Wan’s back!
The strike was as fast as lightning and as vicious as a venomous snake.
A full-force blow from a Level 4 Shadow-type Ability User was enough to tear through alloy armor, pierce concrete walls, and kill any Level 3 Ability User in an instant.
But just as his fingertips were about to touch Su Wan’s back—
“Buzz—!”
An invisible force field erupted with Su Wan at the center, suddenly expanding outward!
The force field was silent and intangible, yet it carried an indescribable sense of pressure.
It was exactly the milestone reward Su Wan had obtained—“Domain Projection”!
The moment Butcher’s fingertips pierced that force field, he felt as if his hand had plunged into some kind of viscous liquid. His speed plummeted, and his power dissipated.
Then, his fingertips brushed against Su Wan’s clothes.
But that was it.
The strike that could have torn through alloy armor landed on Su Wan like a stone dropped into the ocean, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
Su Wan’s body didn't even wobble.
She continued to run forward with steady steps, her speed never faltering.
Butcher’s pupils constricted violently.
How was this possible?!
Even a fellow Level 4 Ability User wouldn't dare take that strike head-on.
Yet this woman, a Level 3 Late Stage ant, was completely unharmed?!
Butcher’s gaze locked onto the invisible force field surrounding Su Wan.
At the moment of his attack, the force field had produced an extremely faint fluctuation, like a ripple on the surface of water, spreading from the point of impact before quickly dissipating.
Butcher sensed it.
That force field had weakened after blocking his attack.
Though the weakening was slight, it was real.
A thought flashed through Butcher’s mind—defensive gear!
An incredibly powerful piece of defensive gear capable of withstanding a full-force blow from a Level 4 Ability User!
He had only ever heard rumors of such things!
Butcher’s heart rate accelerated sharply.
The Shadow Crystal had already made his eyes go red, but this defensive gear capable of blocking Level 4 attacks made the greed in his heart spread like wildfire!
As long as he killed this woman, the Shadow Crystal would be his, and this defensive gear would be his too!
Butcher’s eyes grew even redder, and his mouth curled into a nearly frantic grin.
“Good stuff... all of it is mine!”
His body surged forward again, his fingers pressed together like a blade as he slashed toward the back of Su Wan’s neck!
Shadow energy condensed in his palm into a black blade as thin as a cicada’s wing, its edge sharp enough to slice through steel.
“Screech—!”
The blade struck Su Wan’s neck, and the invisible force field rippled once more.
Su Wan remained unharmed.
However, the amplitude of the force field’s fluctuation was larger than before, and it dissipated much faster.
Butcher was not discouraged; instead, he grew more excited.
He chased after Su Wan, striking with alternating hands and putting his full strength into every blow.
Black energy blades fell upon Su Wan like raindrops, slashing at her back, shoulders, the back of her head, and her waist.
Every strike was enough to kill a Level 3 Ability User, and every strike was enough to make a Level 4 expert wary.
But Su Wan ignored them entirely, running forward without looking back.
Her mental power was being consumed at an alarming rate!
Su Wan could feel her Domain Projection being weakened with terrifying speed.
The Domain Projection, which should have lasted thirty minutes, was shrinking rapidly under Butcher’s constant barrage.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
Every time she neutralized an attack, it drained a massive amount of her mental power.
Butcher’s attack frequency grew faster and faster. His excitement made him completely forget to think; he only attacked instinctively and frantically, targeting the prey before him that simply wouldn't die.
Su Wan gritted her teeth, running forward with everything she had.
Butcher’s attacks became denser and more crazed.
His eyes had turned completely blood-red, saliva hung from the corner of his mouth, and he let out animalistic growls.
“Die! Die! Die—!”
Black energy blades poured down like a violent storm.
The remaining duration of Su Wan’s Domain Projection was plummeting!
Fifteen minutes left.
Ten minutes left.
Five minutes left.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Su Wan’s forehead, and her face began to turn pale.
Her mental power was almost bottoming out.
And the madman behind her was still attacking relentlessly.
The gate to the Terminal Station was only fifty meters ahead.
Butcher struck again.
The black blade slashed across Su Wan’s back, and the force field fluctuated violently, like a lake surface ruffled by a gale.
Two minutes left... the distance was only ten meters!
Butcher let out a nearly manic roar. He brought his hands together, interlacing his fingers as shadow energy condensed in his palms into a massive black sphere, its surface roiling with violent energy fluctuations.
This was his strongest attack.
“Go to hell—!”
The black sphere smashed down, striking Su Wan’s back!
“Boom—!”
The invisible force field shuddered violently, becoming covered in fine cracks like glass struck by a boulder.
And then—
The force field shattered.
Su Wan’s mental power was completely exhausted at this moment.
The Domain Projection vanished.
However, most of the lethal blow’s power had already been neutralized by the force field. Only the final sliver of residual force slammed into Su Wan’s back.
“Pfft—!”
Su Wan spat out a mouthful of blood, her entire body flying forward like a kite with its string cut.
Her body traced an arc through the air before slamming heavily onto the steps in front of the Terminal Station.
Severe pain radiated from her back, and her bones felt as if they were falling apart, but Su Wan couldn't care about that.
She struggled to climb up, but her body wouldn't obey.
The Shadow Crystal in her hand gleamed with a dim, dark light under the murky sky.
Seeing Su Wan fall on the steps, Butcher’s blood-red eyes instantly erupted with a burning light.
He lunged forward, reaching Su Wan in just a few strides.
“Finally... it’s finally mine...”
Butcher’s voice was hoarse and trembling, filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.
He bent down, reaching out to grab the purplish-black Shadow Crystal in Su Wan’s hand.
Just as Butcher’s fingertips were about to touch the Shadow Crystal—
The corners of Su Wan’s mouth slowly curled into a smile.
The smile was very light, very faint.
But it was this single smile that caused the blood in Butcher’s body to freeze in an instant.
Not good!
An extreme sense of danger shot up his spine to his brain like an electric current. It was a primal instinct honed through countless brushes with death, faster than consciousness and sharper than thought.
Retreat!
In that instant, Butcher’s body erupted with the full power of a Level 4 Ability User. His legs pushed off with sudden force as he tried to leap backward—
But he couldn't move.
He couldn't even move a single finger.
Maintaining his posture of bending down and reaching out, he was frozen on the steps of the Terminal Station like a stone statue.
Rate on N.U.
