Chapter 26: The Phoenix’s Roar Echoes Through the Desolate Village

“Zijin! Find somewhere to hide for now, leave this to us!” Li Jiajie, still locked in a fierce struggle with Zhang Gong, seemed to have plenty of strength left. He turned his head and called out to Zijin.

“Oh… oh! Alright!” Zijin had been in a daze for quite some time. Having lived only half his life, he had never witnessed such scenes: the dim surroundings, the transformed bird-man and chameleon nearby, and the scattered remains of limbs splattered everywhere. It was not a sight any ordinary person could bear.

Forcing himself to run, despite trembling legs and a pale face, Zijin bit his tongue hard to stay calm and clear-headed, not daring to look back as he rushed into a nearby concrete house.

The place was deserted; the courtyard was eerily quiet. Zijin gasped for breath, his chest heaving. Only after some time did he calm himself and stop shaking.

“Will the captain and the others be alright?” he wondered anxiously, though he knew he was powerless to help. He was only a newly awakened Sequence user, unfamiliar with how to wield his abilities. Staying in the square would only burden everyone.

Yet a glimmer of determination flashed in his eyes. He refused to be a coward who simply ran away. Even if his contribution was small, he wanted to help the group escape danger!

Once calm, Zijin began to fulfill his role in the squad—the reasoner. He reviewed everything that had happened in Wangshi Village over the past two days, and soon discovered something suspicious.

“That old woman isn’t like the monsters Zhang Gong controls!” It struck him suddenly: those monsters were mindless, entirely manipulated by Zhang Gong. On close observation, Zhang Gong’s control was actually quite crude.

But the old woman on the first night, though her voice was mechanical and cold, her subtle facial expressions were beyond Zhang Gong’s ability to mimic!

If that’s the case…

“Could it be…?” As Zijin pondered, he was unaware that the spot he’d chosen to hide was precisely the concrete house where Zhang Gong and the old woman were!

A hunched figure suddenly darted out from the doorway, charging straight at Zijin!

In the square,

Li Jiajie wielded his standard straight blade, cleaving open the shield of threadworms. Zhang Gong retreated in terror, his face contorted in fear as he howled, “Who are you! Why are you ruining everything!”

Li Jiajie replied lightly, “Reborn Scout Unit, Phoenix’s Cry!”

“What useless trash! Watch me blow you apart!” Zhang Gong remained unfazed, unleashing a barrage of threadworms toward Li Jiajie.

Li Jiajie deftly dodged the ones aiming for vital points, then sliced through the rest of the thin threads one by one.

“Is that all you’ve got?” With a flourish, Li Jiajie flicked his blade, the transparent fluid from the threadworm corpses dripping slowly from its tip.

“Don’t underestimate me!” Zhang Gong, enraged by the taunt, unleashed even more threadworms from his chest.

He altered his fighting style: instead of acting individually, the threadworms assembled into a massive arm, looming over Li Jiajie and obscuring the moonlight.

Li Jiajie dared not take it lightly. He sensed sharply that the corpses of threadworms slain by himself and Dai Yin, not yet fully dissipated, were quickly joining this enormous arm!

If that arm truly struck down, Li Jiajie estimated he would lose his fighting ability even if he survived. He gazed upward, his expression grave.

The best solution was to immediately slay Zhang Gong’s true body. But Zhang Gong was no fool: while gathering his killing move, he summoned several threadworm shields around himself. Even if Li Jiajie broke through his defenses, he would have to withstand a punch before killing Zhang Gong—too risky to gamble.

As time passed, the threadworm arm grew stronger, but on the other side, Dai Yin and his partner felt less and less pressure. Li Jiajie sensed this and made a swift decision.

Dai Yin and his partner were fighting fiercely when a voice suddenly came through their communication chips: “Get ready, we’re about to amplify!”

They immediately understood the captain’s intention. While finishing off the remaining monsters, they gradually moved closer to Li Jiajie.

Soon, the colossal arm was nearly complete. Zhang Gong’s face twisted further into mania, “Die, all of you! Hahaha!” The arm’s attack radius now enveloped all three.

As the last monster fell to Dai Yin’s blade, Si Guilong activated his ability, leaping several meters into the air. His tongue shot straight down, covered in a keratinized layer, plunging deep into the earth, his uniform wrapping tightly around it.

Li Jiajie plunged his standard blade into the soil as well. At that moment, Dai Yin and Li Jiajie’s eyes simultaneously flashed with a fiery golden-red light, each placing a hand on the tongue or blade.

Si Guilong’s tongue and the blade began to heat up. Seizing the moment, they shouted together, “Combo Technique: Phoenix’s Might!”

Visible sound waves gathered in their palms, vibrating through the blade and tongue to emit a piercing, thunderous roar.

“DONG!!”

A terrifying shockwave flew upward, smashing into the massive fist overhead.

The threadworm arm began to disintegrate, clashing fiercely with the sound wave. Zhang Gong’s face lit up with smugness: “Hmph, three people’s combined strength is only a match for me. Let’s see what else you… what the—!”

The deadlock between both moves was suddenly shattered by a slightly weaker sound wave, ripping the giant hand apart with unstoppable force. It exploded in midair into fragments of broken corpses.

“Who said we could only unleash one move?” All three were pale, clearly drained by the effort.

Li Jiajie suddenly vanished in place, appearing before the stunned Zhang Gong in a flash. Before Zhang Gong could react, his limbs exploded.

“Aaargh! What have you done to me!” Realizing he’d become a cripple, Zhang Gong screamed in agony.

Li Jiajie ignored him, pulling a collar from his backpack and fastening it around Zhang Gong’s neck. Instantly, Zhang Gong felt his powers disappear.

With the matter resolved, Dai Yin and his partner collapsed to the ground, far more exhausted than the captain. Li Jiajie fiddled with his communication chip, trying to contact Zijin, but received no response.

“Are you looking for him?” From the village entrance, two figures emerged from the shadows.

It was the old woman and Zijin. This time, the old woman held Zijin in a tight grip, one arm around his neck, the other pressing against his temple, her fingertips transformed into threadworm-like shapes. Terror filled Zijin’s face, his earlier composure gone.

The old woman remained calm, speaking, “Shall we have a proper conversation?”