Apocalypse Gachapon

Jie Kui clutched his shoulder; even after intense movement, the severed arm still throbbed with sharp pain.

He was worried. The medicine prepared by the Star-Eye Clan was useless for this kind of injury, and he didn’t dare let the broken bones heal on their own—even a millimeter of misalignment would cripple his arm permanently.

It would be two more days before he could return to camp for treatment. The thought made Jie Kui’s nose sting with frustration. It meant that to prevent his body’s natural healing from fusing the broken bones incorrectly within those two days, he had to jolt his shoulder to keep the bones separated periodically. It was tantamount to self-torture.

Several dozen meters away, the sound of rapid movement approached. He knew the two pursuers were closing in again. With the Tearhound Ghost tribesman among them, no matter how far he fled, they would find him.

He glanced in the direction Ye Zhongming had run, thinking, Hang in there, Ye. This is all I can do. Then, Jie Kui plunged into the dense forest’s darkness. A fight broke out a dozen seconds later, ended quickly, and was followed by another chase…

……………………………………

Two companions stood before Ye Zhongming, giving him a fleeting illusion of being back on Earth.

He hadn’t been in the celestial realm for long, but facing so many lifeforms with bizarre forms different from humans had given him aesthetic fatigue.

Just now, the three of them had exchanged blows—Ye Zhongming’s fists against the two’s right hands. Each side was forced back two steps.

Ye Zhongming wanted to use a short-range teleport to break free from the encirclement, but the two used a special ability to prevent it.

Looking at the faint halo connecting the three of them, Ye Zhongming felt a headache coming on.

Whether it was an ability they retained from Earth or a skill learned here, these “pale, monochromatic rainbow-like” energies had linked them together. Because of this, Ye Zhongming couldn’t use teleportation abilities, and even his movement speed was significantly reduced.

“Three-Phase Link. How does it feel, Cloud Peak King?”

The burlier of the two Earthlings chuckled, a smug expression on his face.

Between his teeth, shreds of meat remained, so disgusting that Ye Zhongming averted his gaze after just one glance.

The others closed in, their faces twisted with ferocity.

Ye Zhongming didn’t respond… because he couldn’t hear.

Over thirty shadowy figures suddenly appeared around him, separating him from the others.

“A dying struggle!” Hawkins sneered, a pair of twin blades appearing in his hands. He began advancing inward, slashing as he moved.

They were all top-tier experts; they could tell these shadows were mere illusions. The others reacted similarly, with the little girl, Ya Ka, being the most aggressive—charging in at full force.

But what Hawkins and the others didn’t expect was that while these shadows were indeed fragile, each one, upon being destroyed, released a burst of toxin and mental hit, causing everyone to freeze momentarily.

It wasn’t that it posed a real threat—each shadow’s nuisance was minor—but it was incredibly annoying.

Black mist spread as the shadows shattered one by one. Suddenly, a grunt came from within the mist, startling Hawkins and the others.

It was Hofukafu’s voice.

A golden light suddenly shone from Aimusi’s body, instantly dispersing the surrounding black mist. Everyone saw that Hofkaf, who had just been sneering at Ye Zhongming, was now clutching his ribs. Though no wound was visible, blood was seeping out.

The injury wasn’t severe, but it proved Ye Zhongming had the ability to harm them even while surrounded.

Hofkaf’s face twisted in rage. His mouth suddenly gaped open, and his head enlarged along with it—transforming into a monster with a head at least one and a half meters long!

From the enormous mouth, he began spewing grayish-brown, foul-smelling mucus.

Seeing this ability, the little girl, who had been ready to attack, immediately leaped away.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to fight—it was just too fucking disgusting.

Even the Hawkins couple, consumed by hatred, halted their advance.

Ye Zhongming’s body flickered, avoiding the direct spray. Simultaneously, several more shadows appeared, blocking the limited mucus from the sides.

True, his movement was slowed by the two humans’ ability—but only relatively.

While dodging, Ye Zhongming flung several projectiles from his hands toward the little girl and the Hawkins couple.

They were teeth and claws from prey he had collected and processed—decent throwing weapons.

Even the simplest items, in his hands, became as powerful as bullets fired from a gun.

Each person responded differently. The little girl directly slashed them away with her blade. Hawkins swatted them aside with a palm strike. Aimusi was even more direct—she didn’t move at all, the light emanating from her body blocking and deflecting the projectiles.

“Ye Zhongming, have you run out of tricks?” Aimusi meant to taunt, but she suddenly realized something and fell silent, looking up at the sky.

The massive mountain shadow Ye Zhongming had summoned earlier had been intercepted by the Netherworld Starbeing’s white energy net.

Although it couldn’t make the shadow disappear entirely, the net was under immense pressure and slowly descending. It would still take several minutes to pose a threat to everyone—more than enough time for them to surround and kill Ye Zhongming.

The situation was highly unfavorable for Ye Zhongming, especially since he was affected by Hofkaf and the Wade brothers’ abilities, almost eliminating any chance of escape. So, whether it was the little girl or the Hawkins couple, they all felt somewhat “relaxed.”

Coupled with Hofkaf’s disgusting attack, everyone was a bit careless, feeling victory was assured.

That said, none of them stopped pressuring Ye Zhongming, ready to strike at any moment.

In their view, even if Ye Zhongming wasn’t struggling to deal with Hofkaf’s ability, he still had to guard against their attacks.

They didn’t expect—or rather, couldn’t believe—that in such a short time, Ye Zhongming still had the capacity to attack a lifeform that currently posed no immediate threat to him.

But, Ye Zhongming did attack—and with significant force.

Two shadows, indistinguishable from physical bodies, appeared beside the Netherworld Starbeing. They didn’t launch physical attacks but instead detonated.

After Jie Kui had named this lifeform, Ye Zhongming knew it had very poor resistance to mental attacks.

So, his shadows were packed with dense mental energy.

The exploding smoke acted like a shockwave, causing the energy being to let out a sharp scream before frantically fleeing to one side.

The white energy net naturally collapsed without support.

The mountain shadow descended like a mountain peak, enveloping everyone beneath it.

“First one.”

Ye Zhongming suddenly spoke three words. The others had no time to process them. The little girl shouted, slashing at the giant shadow with her blade. Aimusi also raised a hand, firing a white energy beam toward the sky.

Hawkins and Wade seized the moment when Hofukafu’s ability had already hit Ye Zhongming, both charging forward to rout the Cloud Peak King.

But the Cloud Peak King smiled—a genuine smile.

“Eight left.”

As he spoke, the Cloud Peak King’s eyes suddenly turned pitch black.