Lu Yan followed behind Ning Huai, surrounded by a swirling white mist with a faint strange odor, not too unpleasant, a mixture reminiscent of blood and rotting fruits.
In his highly distorted form, Ning Huai's limbs stretched out to a length of 10.4 meters when fully extended, towering at 3.7 meters when upright. From Lu Yan's perspective, Ning Huai walking resembled a brooding hen with eight spider-like legs forming a cage-like space, housing a brood of spiderlings. Some of these spiders still retained humanoid features, while others had fully transformed into arachnid forms.
These were the legions produced through fission by Ning Huai. Although none matched the usefulness of the initial almost identical fission body, even the lowest among them had a spiritual power threshold of two thousand two.
"Currently, there are only two guards outside the Lord's Gate. One is Fei Qing, and the other is Di Tai," Lu Yan remarked.
Unlike other pollutants implanted with auxiliary brains, Di Tai was originally a piece of moss with no brain of its own, nor any consciousness. Compared to the guards of the divine realm, it was more akin to a plant-based pollutant transplanted from elsewhere.
Di Tai grew on the ground like a lawn, unable to move on its own but possessed the characteristic of consumption. Areas covered with moss would randomly generate swamp-like mud pits, devouring invaders into its stomach.
In the past, it survived by being regularly fed by other guards of the divine realm.
"To deal with this type of plant-based pollutant, fire is best. You don't have it, but fortunately, the dagger of hellfire barely does the trick," Ning Huai commented.
A patch of grassland abruptly appearing amidst concrete ruins was indeed conspicuous. However, Lu Yan couldn't bypass it because it was the only way to the Lord's main body.
He squatted down and plunged the dagger into the edge of the lawn, causing it to ooze a crimson hue from the soil, as if its flesh had been sliced open, blood seeping out.
The incinerating effect of hellfire on pollutants was vividly demonstrated at this moment. Even without flames, the moss seemed to be burning like paper, with faint red flames appearing at the edges of the wound.
Meanwhile, fission bodies emerged one after another from the space supported by Ning Huai, marching forward and using their sharp limbs as scissors to pave the way. In a flurry of grass and withered moss, the area became littered with human bones.
The anomaly here finally alerted the guards on the other side of the divine court.
Above, Fei Qing spread his wings like a fleeting meteor, landing silently on the eaves.
Ning Huai hurled his spear fiercely towards Fei Qing. Though Fei Qing's wings fluttered slightly in response, the spear came too fast and too hot, leaving him with a gash on almost half of his wing, causing azure feathers to flutter down.
The spear deeply embedded into the ground, erupting in a thunderous roar.
Ning Huai turned to Lu Yan, saying, "I'll hold him off - you go ahead!"
Lu Yan understood that now was not the time for idle talk. Without even glancing back, he followed the system's instructions and ran towards the location of the Lord.
Fei Qing's gaze shifted to Lu Yan, but before he could chant, Ning Huai leaped up, his fist aimed directly at Fei Qing's face.
Fei Qing frowned, murmuring, "Wind."
A strong wind blew, causing nearby houses to collapse, yet Ning Huai's massive body remained firmly rooted to the ground like a mountain.
The wind formed a barrier around Fei Qing. Countless spiderlings took the opportunity to leap onto Fei Qing's back, baring their fangs and biting at his still bleeding wounds, attempting to tear off some flesh.
Although these harassments weren't fatal to Fei Qing, they did prevent him from catching up to Lu Yan.
Fei Qing pursed his lips tightly.
His talent had a casting range.
This was something Ning Huai, who had been his teammate for decades, understood better than anyone else.
Bending down, Ning Huai picked up the spear dropped on the ground, a wild grin spreading across his face. "Your opponent is me!"
Spiders faced off against birds.
For pollutants capable of flight, headquarters had emphasized numerous times the importance of finding a way to break their wings.
Ning Huai naturally followed suit. He leaped more than ten meters high, using his sharp arm blades to slice off Fei Qing's wings, then grabbed the exposed bones, pulling them fiercely.
A piece of broken bone was pulled out.
Fei Qing's half-wing drooped weakly, no longer able to support his flight, and he crashed to the ground.
Flapping his wings, feathers turned into sharp arrows, piercing into the surrounding fission bodies and Ning Huai's body.
Several fission bodies exploded on the spot, leaving behind a pile of debris.
Fei Qing clutched his broken wings, saying, "Electricity."
The pain seemed to have no effect on him, his tone of speech as calm as ever, like a programmed machine. It's just that his throat had begun to feel hoarse.
The use of talents was not without limitations. Pollution levels and spiritual power thresholds determined the upper limit of talent strength. However, excessively frequent use in a short period could still result in the talent ability entering cooldown.
Purple lightning flashed through Ning Huai's body in an instant, his powerful heart almost going into shock momentarily, severe charring appearing on various parts of his body.
Ning Huai opened his mouth and vomited out spider eggs. The little spiders inside were already active, some legs twitching slightly, but they hadn't yet broken out of their shells.
When Ning Huai saw spiders in his fission bodies, he realized that his time was running out.
He didn't even stop to wait for another teammate.
Even with three pairs of eyes, Ning Huai's vision was still blurry.
He looked towards Fei Qing, clutching his throat in the distance, roaring, and charged again. Following him were the surviving fission bodies.
Rain began to pour from the sky, drenching Ning Huai, washing the blood into a faint pink.
With a determination to die and a determination to win, Ning Huai's massive body didn't become a burden. Instead, it made him as fast as a fleeting lightning in the rain.
Fei Qing didn't dodge, perhaps it was too late to evade.
Ning Huai's completely transformed arm was like a blade, piercing Fei Qing's chest.
Unexpectedly, there was no heart inside, only a mass of blood-red brain matter.
Ning Huai's hand rotated in his chest, warm blood flowing from the wound, dripping onto the ground with the rain.
Despite the apparent victory, Ning Huai couldn't bring himself to smile in that moment, only wanting to cry. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, clutching his collar tightly, seemingly trying to alleviate the intense pain in that way.
Fei Qing lay on the ground, his body trembling slightly. He struggled to raise his hand, grabbing Ning Huai's arm.
His fingers were like eagle claws, but he didn't exert any force.
Ning Huai saw him open his mouth, but he was already too mentally foggy to stop him.
He heard Fei Qing's voice.
Perhaps it was a long time, perhaps only a few brief seconds. Ning Huai finally reacted to what the other had said.
Fei Qing said, "Thank you."
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