Endless Debt Chapter 666 - 177: The Life-Sacrificing Object
The countless torrent of steel converged into a rushing flood, pouring onto Bologue like a storm, and even though Bologue quickly gathered a round shield to protect his body, he still retreated step by step under the impact of this torrent.
The sound of metal scraping against each other was sharp and high-pitched, now multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold. Bologue’s eardrums were tortured, causing him to temporarily lose his hearing, leaving only a long, straight buzzing in his mind, with blood oozing from his ear canals.
This made Bologue recall the days of his military service. Now, he seemed to be facing the concentrated fire of a reinforced company, only worse as there were no trenches to hide in this time, leaving him no choice but to face it all with his shield.
High-speed impacts brought high-frequency vibrations, the round shield consistently being broken open, patched, and broken again. In the rapid strikes over a short time, metal fragments were like a forging iron hammer, and the round shield turned a burning red.
The torrent ceased.
The arm holding the shield was now numb from the vibrations, with red mercury pooling at the tip of the flame-shaped sword. Bologue swung the flame-shaped sword, throwing it with all his might, driven by ethereal amplification, making this strike akin to artillery.
The flame-shaped sword shot forward swiftly, just as it was about to strike the woman, she raised her left hand, and lightning reflected in her eyes.
Ether erupted, spreading to the area surrounding the woman, and the flame-shaped sword left the Cauldron Flame, breaking into the woman’s secret energy range.
The blade’s high-speed rotation began to slow, its speed drastically reduced, with the deadly tip ultimately halting in front of the woman’s left hand.
The woman’s left hand wore a delicately crafted piece of hand armor, as if dismantled from some armor, overall in silver-gray. Golden inlays on the back of the hand created intricate and gorgeous patterns, with ether adhering to the hand armor, conducting waves of mysterious power.
Clenching her left hand tightly, as if gripping the flame-shaped sword from afar, the woman gritted her teeth and growled softly, her body twisting along with the movement of her left hand, and the flame-shaped sword whirled in midair, accelerating toward Bologue.
Ether condensed into a visible blue flame, an angry sea of fire engulfing all surrounding metal, with Bologue now resembling the true demon, emerging from burning lava.
Secret Energy·Cauldron Flame.
Steel obeyed Bologue’s call, rows of iron spears erected and then hovered in midair, like an army on standby, ready to unleash a spear rain upon Bologue’s command.
The flame-shaped sword approached, and Bologue was about to counter, but the flame-shaped sword suddenly veered off course, crashing into the ruins on one side. Bologue had no time to intercept as red mercury ignited and exploded upon violent impact, with flames shooting up from the ground.
The blast wave’s impact caused the spears to collide with one another, and Bologue lowered his body to avoid being overturned by the air currents.
The successive battles were progressively destroying the already fragile structure of this area, with metallic cries echoing as large chunks of metal collapsed, broken ships sinking, and snapped masts falling from the sky like a suspended sword, penetrating the ground.
Within the sea of fire ignited by the flame-shaped sword, angry roars echoed endlessly, as though a monster had broken free from its restraints, driving ether and relying on protection to completely escape from its cage.
The demon’s tall figure emerged before Bologue; the woman’s goal was not him but to rescue the demon.
Hot lava spewed from the demon’s mouth, spilling onto its massive fists, making the demon’s fists ignite with burning flames as if enchanted.
The demon did not immediately attack Bologue, instead turning around to repeatedly strike the steel nearby.
As if an earthquake occurred, everything Bologue could see was shaking violently. Bologue knew what the demon was doing, like a lumberjack making precise chops in the right places to make the tree fall in the desired direction.
The tree fell!
The demon broke the most crucial bearing structure, with an entire metal structure crumbling amid trembling. At some point, the woman had also approached, making dragging gestures, and then invisible hands grabbed the debris, laboriously tearing them down.
Like a breached river, a true steel torrent, with rusted ships breaking through the waves, all crashing towards Bologue, completely covering the area, leaving no escape route.
It was an apocalyptic scene, with the tower built from debris completely collapsing, countless iron scraps rising like dust, then swept away by the torrential wind and rain.
The entire area was utterly destroyed, with metal densely piled together, the steel dome overhead completely collapsed, exposing the thunderous clouds, with a chilling rain pouring down.
Destruction spread outward like a virus, bringing down the surrounding debris along with it.
The scavenger rat thought today’s day was utterly awful, with the ground beneath tilting to one side. He and the divination master were running frantically through the changing tunnels.
A thunderous echo came from behind; the Scavenger Rat knew it must be the monster of Bologue battling its enemies.
After advancing a few steps, the corridor behind was split in half by intersecting bows, the rusted metal no longer as sturdy as before, amid fierce sparks, the entire corridor was twisted and deformed under the great force.
"Run faster!"
The Divination Master shouted loudly, the Scavenger Rat’s deformed body made his movements very slow.
The Scavenger Rat gritted his teeth and pressed on; he could clearly hear the sound of wind and rain, damp air rushing in through the breach, the cold attacking his body, exhaustion, coldness, and terror quickly made the Scavenger Rat lose feeling in his legs, but this paradoxically made him run faster.
"Damn it! Where are you going!"
The Divination Master noticed the Scavenger Rat suddenly ran towards another fork.
The Scavenger Rat shouted, "I’m going to get my stuff!"
"Are you crazy?" The Divination Master cursed, "Thinking about that at times like this."
The Scavenger Rat didn’t want to explain anything; he knew the Divination Master wouldn’t understand.
Luckily, the frenzied collapse stopped, the Scavenger Rat twisted open the watertight door and rushed into a carefully arranged cabin, an odd smell lingering in the air, with a simple bed on the ground along with some daily necessities.
This was the home of the Scavenger Rat... at least it was where he spent every night.
In this line of work, unexpected situations were inevitable; the Scavenger Rat stuffed his most valuable belongings into a bag. When needed, he could just sling it on his back and flee to safety.
In a nook, the Scavenger Rat retrieved his bag, and upon leaving the cabin, the Divination Master was actually waiting for him outside.
The Scavenger Rat didn’t ask why, and the Divination Master shouted impatiently, "Hurry up!"
The two continued their escape, but after a series of collapses, this bizarre maze had already distorted, familiar paths cut off, new paths opened, the two felt like mice lost in a new territory, forced to constantly test and run.
A woman stood atop the ruins; her gleaming eyes searching for Bologue, not far away, high temperatures surged as the Demon spewed angry flames, burning through obstructive steel plates and crawling out from under the wreckage.
Both had witnessed Bologue’s power; Bologue was a Condenser of the Commanding School, that strange, blue flame capable of driving steel; this earth-shattering steel torrent might not necessarily kill him.
The woman and the Demon exchanged a glance; the Demon strode over the rugged ruins, high temperature brewing in its throat, while the woman manipulated large chunks of metal fragments, floating slowly around her like shields, poised like archers ready to release a volley of arrows at any moment.
The rain poured heavily, a thin mist of water rising over the ruins; they were keenly aware of Bologue’s terror, maintaining a cautious distance without straying too far from each other.
Soon, the Demon sensed the presence of a living being; the woman summoned a piece of bent steel, hurling it in the direction indicated by the Demon.
The two groped their way forward in the narrow tunnel, the Scavenger Rat leading, with the Divination Master behind.
The Divination Master curiously eyed the Scavenger Rat’s bag, this was the first time he had seen this item, not knowing what was hidden inside, so important that the Scavenger Rat would risk his life to take it.
He asked, "What’s inside?"
The Scavenger Rat did not want to say, "It’s none of your business."
The Divination Master did not continue to inquire; now was indeed not the appropriate time to question someone else’s secrets.
A sharp whistling pierced through the wind and rain, and a moment later, a speeding piece of steel penetrated the tunnel, the cold metal inserted precisely in front of the Divination Master, separating him from the Scavenger Rat, while simultaneously slicing open the Scavenger Rat’s bag.
The Scavenger Rat turned in terror; the bag ripped open, countless jewelry, coins, and gems spilled from the opening, clinking melodiously as they scattered across the ground.