“You’re asking for death!”
Wang Qian let out a furious roar as his body began to spin at high speed like a top.
With both arms and his head sporting massive blades, his spinning form turned into a terrifying whirling storm, shredding everything in its path. The ground was gouged out, and not a blade of grass remained where he passed.
Li Ran, however, remained completely unshaken. He brandished the shadowy fangs of his magic arms, easily clashing against Wang Qian’s spinning storm of blades.
The magic shadows in his hands moved like wolves snapping at their prey. With rapid slashes, he unleashed one after another of his [Bite of the Shadowfang], appearing from afar like a whole pack of wolves pouncing.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!
The two forces collided in a deafening clash. Yet, Li Ran showed no sign of weakness—in fact, he seemed on the verge of tearing the spinning blade storm apart.
“After activating Bite of the Shadowfang, my strength and speed have both increased temporarily. The areas covered by the shadowfangs also gain enhanced armor. Even tanking this spinning blade storm head-on, I’m not seeing any signs of damage. No doubt—this is a rare-tier skill.”
Li Ran grew fiercer the more he fought. With bare hands and magic claws, he shredded the terrifying storm of blades apart by sheer force.
BOOM!
The storm collapsed. Wang Qian was sent flying through the air, slamming into the ground with a heavy crash.
He looked at Li Ran in utter disbelief.
He destroyed my ultimate move… with his bare hands?
What the hell is this fight? We’re not even in the same league!
At that moment, one thought flashed through Wang Qian’s mind—Run!
But before he could act, Li Ran appeared behind him like a ghost.
Wang Qian’s expression froze in terror. He slowly turned his blade-like head around, dread filling his eyes.
With killing intent blazing in his gaze, Li Ran raised one magic claw and struck Wang Qian’s head. The shadowfangs bit down hard on the massive blade sticking out of his skull.
Twist. Grip.
CRACK… BOOM!
With a sharp sound, the blade-shaped headpiece was twisted and crushed, misshapen and destroyed.
“AAAH!!”
Wang Qian screamed in agony, flailing his arms to push Li Ran away and narrowly escaping having his entire skull torn apart.
The searing pain from his scalp nearly blinded him. Blood covered his face. He knew that the massive blade emerging from his head had been destroyed—his scalp was surely nothing but a mangled mess now.
Li Ran casually tossed aside the broken blade, approaching Wang Qian like a demon god out for blood.
Wang Qian trembled with fear, stumbling backward.
But behind him… was that cunning fox.
He had nowhere left to run.
It was then that Wang Qian realized—he had provoked someone he should never have crossed.
Still, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. “If I can’t escape, then I’ll take him down with me!”
With that thought, Wang Qian’s eyes filled with bloodlust. His body tensed, veins bulging, and from his skin, countless blood-colored tendrils sprouted, writhing as they surged toward his ruined head.
Even if he died—he’d make sure the other guy paid dearly!
But… It was too late.
With the system's golden-finger prompts, Wang Qian’s every move and thought were laid bare before Li Ran.
From a distance, Li Ran slashed both arms, the shadowfangs giving a brutal tug, leaving Wang Qian no chance to react.
The twin giant blades on Wang Qian’s shoulders were ripped off like disassembled machine parts.
A flash of shadow flickered from Li Ran’s body. An overwhelming surge of dark aura exploded from him—the passive effect of Bite of the Shadowfang: [Shadowfang Stomp].
Beneath the night sky, the dark domain allowed [Shadowfang Stomp] to reach its peak potential.
BOOM! A roar echoed as black clouds churned.
A massive aura, a storm of shadows and darkness, blanketed the entire block.
Then suddenly, from within the black clouds, a colossal demonic foot appeared and came crashing down!
“So… strong…”
Even as disbelief still lingered in Wang Qian’s eyes, he was already doomed. His body of steel, his iron bones, and brass skull—none of it mattered anymore.
CRASH!!
A deafening boom rocked the whole block.
Wang Qian never got the chance to regret anything. He vanished beneath the crushing blow of the giant shadow foot, like a bug stepped on by a passing titan.
When the shadow foot finally dispersed, the infamous killer Wang Qian was reduced to a mangled mess of flesh, no longer even remotely human.
[Mission Complete: Eliminate the Murderer]
[Reward: +100 Eerie Power, +1000 Points, Special Equipment ×1]
Hearing the cold voice of the system in his ear, Li Ran finally felt a weight lift from his chest.
This mission had been hanging over him like a ticking time bomb, constantly gnawing at his mind.
He wasn’t worried for himself—it was Su Bingyao and Li Ziyang he feared for. If Wang Qian had set his eyes on them…
Luckily, taking out Wang Qian went much smoother than he’d expected.
If not for his nearly 800 Eerie Power, the surprise attack, and Chitong’s coordination, killing Wang Qian wouldn’t have been this easy.
Especially with Wang Qian’s steel body—regular attacks couldn’t even hurt him.
“Next time I go up against an A-rank enemy, I’ve got to be more cautious. This time the ambush worked. But next time? Will I be this lucky again?”
Li Ran couldn’t help but feel this strike had been reckless in hindsight.
Still, at least the threat of Wang Qian was now gone.
The five-minute limit on [Bite of the Shadowfang] had expired. The shadow faded from his body.
He glanced at Wang Qian’s corpse.
He used to think he’d need to keep a trump card hidden to defeat the killer. But now, he hadn’t even needed to use his final trump.
The Family Summon Card + Bond Card.
“Phoenix Flies with the Dragon”—a 50% boost to all attributes.
That card… was tied to his wife, Su Bingyao.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would never play that hand.
“The mission’s done. I wonder if this kind of mission monster drops loot?”
Curious, Li Ran walked toward Wang Qian’s body.
Unlike the mantis monster he’d slain before, Wang Qian didn’t immediately drop anything like a [Drop of Life].
So he began searching the mangled corpse.
Murder and looting—this was just how it worked.
Soon enough, he found something round in Wang Qian’s coat pocket. His eyes lit up—jackpot.
But as he held it in his hand, his brow furrowed slightly.
“What the hell is this thing?”
“Squeak?”
(End of Chapter)