“Boss, B-boss… what are we going to do!” The driver was already scared out of his wits, trembling with his head buried in his hands.
He was merely an ordinary driver; though aware of supernatural beings, this was his first encounter with a battle between them.
The terrifying tree-spear, hurled forth like Odin’s Gungnir, had already thoroughly unnerved him.
Now, the grotesque plants closing in around them proved to be the final straw.
Under the pervasive influence of Null Energy, ordinary people were far more susceptible to mental collapse.
“What are we going to do, what are we going to do! You bloody ask me?” Yan Huarong’s eyes were bloodshot. “Quickly, lock the doors!”
He yelled, but the driver seemed not to hear him, only continuing to shiver with his head clutched.
Furious, Yan Huarong simply rose, stretched out his arm, and pressed the central door lock control to the left of the driver’s seat.
With a distinct click, the specially bulletproofed alloy car door became his last line of defense.
‘This alloy door might buy me some time, but it’s not a long-term solution; the urgent priority is to escape,’ he thought.
Yan Huarong’s mind remained clear enough; he knew his only means of escape now lay in his own supernatural ability.
Closing his eyes, he focused on sensing the core of his ability within, intent on activating it prematurely to unleash its power and save his life.
Just then, the Locust Tree Giant struck, its massive wooden arm smashing down like a siege hammer.
*Bang!* A horrifying crash echoed.
The multi-ton bulletproof Cullinan was struck on its side, skidding several meters across the ground.
The alloy car door had buckled inward, its pristine black paint scraped away, revealing the silver-white alloy beneath.
The bulletproof glass, moreover, had fractured into a web of cracks resembling a turtle’s shell.
A massive shockwave reverberated through the vehicle, nearly sending Yan Huarong flying from the impact.
Disregarding the wailing driver, he steadied himself and continued his attempt to activate his ability.
However, the fissures on his ability core had not yet fully healed.
The moment he tried to activate it, the barely healed fissures rapidly expanded, spreading across the core’s surface.
An unbearable throbbing pain also erupted within his mind.
Forcing an early activation now would, in all likelihood, lead to complete failure.
*Bang!* Another punch landed!
The vehicle was sent hurtling sideways, one side lifting precariously high before its sheer weight prevented it from overturning at the last moment.
‘There’s no time left! Even if the ability core shatters, I can still seek assistance from the Black Tower (TL Note: A powerful, clandestine organization specializing in supernatural affairs and artifacts) for a remedy. But if I’m captured now, everything will be lost!’
Yan Huarong was a man of decisive action; otherwise, he would never have risked so much to conspire with the Black Tower.
He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he forcefully activated his ability core.
Though the fissures on his ability core widened relentlessly, the white light emanating from its surface grew increasingly dazzling.
Potent energy surged through him, and his familiar supernatural ability returned to his body.
In that moment, everything came rushing back!
“Hahahaha!”
He laughed heartily, as rock fragments erupted from beneath his skin, enveloping his body.
This was his supernatural ability: [Stone Skin].
Not an overwhelmingly powerful ability, perhaps, but one exceptionally practical, offering both formidable defense and enhanced strength.
The instant Yan Huarong successfully activated his ability, a grinding, twisting sound suddenly erupted from the right car door’s hinge.
Apparently, after failing to breach it alone, the Locust Tree Giant had enlisted the help of other mutated plants, combining their might to forcibly tear the door open.
And they succeeded!
The hinge, unable to bear the strain, gave way, and the alloy car door, now detached, was ripped off and flung onto the ground outside.
Outside the car, the Locust Tree Giant bent down, while inside, Yan Huarong looked up.
A pair of wooden eyes, their pupils indiscernible, locked onto a gaze filled with venomous malice.
An inexplicable silence descended for a moment, only to be swiftly shattered by the Locust Tree Giant’s aggressive move.
Its large hand reached into the car, seizing Yan Huarong’s shoulder, then abruptly yanked him backward.
The slightly overweight, middle-aged man in the expensive suit was hurled outward like a missile, slamming violently into the guardrail and creating an outward-facing, humanoid dent.
Fragments of shattered rock, remnants of his ability, flaked from his face, clattering to the ground and kicking up plumes of yellow dust.
Yan Huarong brushed himself off, smoothing the wrinkles from his suit, then lifted his head, his eyes alight with a chilling resolve.
“Didn’t you eat your fill?” he murmured.
Before his words had fully faded, the other mutated plants surged forward, denying him any further opportunity for taunts.
Yan Huarong grunted softly, swiftly parrying their attacks, though his movements were initially clumsy and stiff.
He frequently failed to attack or dodge in time, taking hits from the mutated plants.
Remarkably, his only injuries were to his expensive suit.
Yet, as the battle progressed, the man’s movements abruptly transformed, becoming fluid and swift.
The battle memories, long sealed away in the depths of his mind, were now reawakening through the intensity of this high-stakes combat!
*Bang!*
The Locust Tree Giant, after a prolonged charge and guided by Huang Xiu’s precise control, once again hurled its Forest Spear.
The tree-spear, eerily resembling Gundyr’s Halberd from Dark Souls III, pierced two mutated plants too slow to react with unimaginable speed before slamming heavily into Yan Huarong.
He was sent flying backward once more, crashing into the guardrail again.
His suit jacket instantly shredded into tatters, revealing skin that now resembled granite.
*Crack!*
Fragments of rock shattered and fell, only to be immediately replaced by newly grown black-and-white stone.
However, the spiral tree-spear, its momentum spent, disintegrated into splinters.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the ground as Yan Huarong staggered back to his feet.
“Hahahaha, my blood is boiling!”
He laughed raucously, the intense life-or-death peril transporting him back to that familiar battlefield.
Amidst his laughter, a green blur darted from behind him—it was Huang Xiaoxian, seizing the opportune moment.
It delivered a flying kick directly to the back of Yan Huarong’s head.
“Trying to ambush me? You’re far too early!” Yan Huarong sharply twisted his body, turning his head to face Huang Xiaoxian.
Having long endured the crucible of battle, how could he possibly neglect his rear?
His right hand, moving faster than thought, shot out with a punch aimed directly at Huang Xiaoxian.
*Splat!*
The mutated cactus, Huang Xiaoxian, was sent flying, vanishing into the surrounding jungle.
But then, something utterly unexpected occurred!
A dense array of sharp thorns erupted from beneath his stone skin, causing an unbearably stinging and itching sensation!
“How is this possible!” Yan Huarong exclaimed in disbelief. Even though his ability had only just revived, and his Null Energy was merely at the Silver Tier,
his foundation as a former Turbid World Tier (TL Note: A tier of power indicating immense strength and mastery over Null Energy) practitioner should have made him impervious to such an attack!
“What kind of ability is this!” His chest burned with fury, and he yearned to charge at the girl and cut her down.
Yet, a searing pain suddenly surged from the depths of his mind.
Yan Huarong’s eyes bulged, his temples throbbed, and he clutched his head, howling in agony.
“What’s happening!”
He scanned his inner being, and his face instantly contorted into an expression of profound horror.
His ability core, piece by agonizing piece, fractured along its fissures, transforming into black shards that plummeted into the ocean of Null Energy.
His ability core was disintegrating!
The stone fragments covering his body crumbled and dissolved one after another, turning into a carpet of dust on the ground.
He attempted to reach out and catch the ochre dust.
But a faint breeze swept through, and the dust, unimpeded, drifted away through his fingers, vanishing with the wind.
“No!” Yan Huarong collapsed to his knees, stretching out a hand as he let out a truly horrifying wail.
He still needed to fight; he refused to lose his ability now! He refused to revert to being that frail, ordinary man!