Chapter 1274: To Each Their Own Designs

The large hand twisted Duan Tiande’s neck, then flung him into the pool of blood. Soon afterward, his flesh completely dissolved, revealing a set of bones that were much more slender than most others. That was how elves were; their bodies were more delicate than those of other races.

Qiao Heng’s face twitched a bit when he saw that. Even though the two of them had been mortal enemies, he still felt a bit unwell to have seen Duan Tiande die so miserably.

Meanwhile, the other fiend race experts felt more fear than anything else. If even someone like Duan Tiande had been killed, wouldn’t the rest of them meet similar fates?

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both looked at Zu An and cried, “It’s him!”

Zu An nodded. The terrifying aura he sensed was extremely familiar. Previously, he had detected a powerful being watching them when they were in the fog forest. Now, it had finally shown itself.

A dark figure slowly walked over, revealing its appearance to the gathered experts. It would be hard to call it a person; even though it was mostly humanoid in appearance, there was long, black hair covering its entire body. Its face was hard to see clearly. The shaggy monster had black energy swirling around its body, as if it were a reaper from hell. It walked casually across the pool of blood, moving on it as if it were just ordinary, flat land. The powerful corrosive blood didn’t do a thing to it.

A powerful pressure immediately filled the entire place. The fiend race experts felt despair. Was this a grandmaster? It definitely carried the pressure of a grandmaster!

Zu An looked back at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, replying with a grave expression, “Its aura seems to be a bit stronger than even yours at your peak.”

The two women didn’t dispute what he said. However, they quickly reminded him, “This monster is indeed extremely strong, but it doesn’t seem to be that intelligent. It’s unable to use many of a grandmaster’s special abilities, so we might still have a chance.”

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but feel admiration. As expected of these two grandmasters! While everyone else felt despair, they had instead immediately found the entity’s weakness.

Princess Suolun secretly gave Zu An a look. Usually, the other fiend race experts were extremely arrogant, shooting their mouths off and boasting about themselves. And yet, right now, they were all scared out of their minds. Only this man alone remained calm, even before such a powerful enemy. So the human race had such an outstanding individual…

Just then, the black-haired monster quickly arrived between the two bear brothers. It raised its hand, and in an instant, the two brothers could no longer cling onto the statues on the walls. They flew straight toward the monster.

“Ahhh!”

The two were utterly terrified. They had clearly seen what happened to Duan Tiande mere moments before. Out of despair, they both brandished their respective weapons. They swung the club and hammer toward the monster with all their strength, trying to fight for a sliver of a chance at survival. In such a moment of crisis, both of them unleashed twice their usual strength, causing their weapons to erupt with sonic booms.

The black-haired monster didn’t dodge. It reached upward with its large hands, then grabbed the club and hammer with its bare hands. The impact made its body shake a bit, but that was all. The bear brothers tried to push down with everything they had, their chubby faces completely red, but their weapons didn’t move at all.

Then, the black-haired monster moved. It closed its hands gently, and the two weapons that had previously seemed awe-inspiring and overwhelming actually began to bend. It crushed them into scrap!

The other experts’ eyes widened. They had fought against the bear brothers before. The brothers’ attacks were incredibly fierce and difficult to take head-on, and their heavy blunt weapons were even more famous, having crushed countless cultivators into a bloody paste. Yet now, they had actually been crushed with bare hands? Were grandmasters actually this terrifying?

The black-haired monster reached out with both arms, and even the tall and sturdy bear brothers couldn’t escape being grabbed. They couldn't break free no matter what they did. The monster brought its hands together, smashing the two brothers with a loud crunch.

Unlike the force of the barrier below that had stopped the brothers’ attacks, which had only made their internal energies stir, the collision instantly scattered all of their ki. Their bones shattered, and their inner organs were crushed to bits. Blood spurted endlessly from their facial orifices. There was no surviving such a blow.

The black-haired monster casually flung the brothers’ corpses downward, and two more lives were sacrificed to the blood pool. Meanwhile, the Three Three Flower at the center seemed to become even more beautiful, vaguely showing hints of blossoming.

Jin Shi and Ma Huang both cried out, “This brother over there, how about we put our enmities aside to face this powerful enemy together?” They knew they had absolutely no chance against the black haired monster alone. If Zu An, someone similarly powerful, helped them, they might still have a chance at survival.

Zu An thought for a moment before replying, “Alright.”

Kong Nanjing reacted and quickly grabbed him in alarm, protesting, “Don’t go!” At the same time, she said quietly, “They’re closer to that monster right now. If we’re going to die anyway, they’ll die first. Who knows, that monster might be satisfied if it kills them!”

Zu An was already the only one she could rely on. If he left, there would be no one else. According to what the other two had said, they clearly had to face the black-haired monster together; in that situation, she couldn't do anything. What difference was there between that and throwing their lives away?

Princess Suolun felt dissatisfied and remarked critically, “As things stand, there is only going to be a chance if we fight together. If you use the lives of others to satisfy that monster, what if it fails? At that point, we will not even have that sliver of a chance to resist.”

Kong Nanjing felt unhappy to receive such criticism, and retorted, “Fine, you’re so amazing and high-sounding. But just now, you even ruthlessly killed your own follower. Just who is more heartless here?”

Princess Suolun was left at a loss for words. Frustrated, she turned around and said, “Those with narrow and shallow knowledge should not try to talk about deeper topics.”

Afterward, she seemed to be intent on joining Zu An, but Yan Xuehen stopped her and said, “That monster is too strong; it will not be of much help even if you head over. He will instead have to worry about taking care of you.”

Princess Suolun panicked and replied, “But I cannot just watch here without doing anything, can I?”

“Let’s watch the situation for now,” Yun Jianyue added, her tone suggesting she would accept no disagreement. Princess Suolun opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything else in the end.

Kong Nanjing was happy to see Princess Suolun be denied, and remarked, “Weren’t you boasting not too long ago? And yet look at you now, only interested in saving your own neck.”

“You!” Princess Suolun exclaimed angrily. She looked away and ignored Kong Nanjing.

Kong Nanjing secretly moved backward, staying all the way at the back so that even if they were going to die, she would be the last. No, that monster might just stop once it killed enough… She gave the Three Three Flower in the blood pool a look. The monster seemed to be feeding the experts’ blood essence to the eternal flower, so she actually had a hope of keeping her life if she hid all the way in the back.

…

Zu An quickly stepped onto the Wind Fire Wheels and flew over. Jin Shi flapped his wings, flying along the wall, while Ma Huang turned into a bloody mist to move around. The three of them surrounded the monster.

The monster seemed to have sensed that Zu An was extraordinary. It raised its hand directly toward him. In an instant, an aura locked down the space around Zu An. The palm seemed to be able to control the entire world, containing a terrifying power that was impossible to escape from. Zu An finally understood why, whether it was Duan Tiande or the bear brothers, they couldn't resist at all.

Jin Shi didn’t attack to help Zu An alleviate a bit of pressure, but instead seized the chance to turn into a streak of golden light, rushing out of the hall! It was the unparalleled movement skill of the Golden Peng King race, Invincible Heavenly Peng! Even though he was only starting to delve into the complexities of the skill, its speed was already terrifying.

Meanwhile, Ma Huang didn’t attack either and instead rushed in the opposite direction. He intended to take the chance to seize the Three Three Flower at the center of the blood pool as Zu An stalled the monster.

Princess Suolun panicked, exclaiming angrily. “How can you all be this despicable?!”

Even Kong Nanjing cursed, “Do you all have no sense of shame?!” Zu An was already the last person she could rely on. What was she going to do if he died?

However, no matter how they cursed, there was no changing what had already happened.