MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1081: Space Bandits-3

Anthony disappeared once more, materializing next to one of the four assailants targeting his companions, and without pause, he unleashed a punch, his fist hurtling toward the man's abdomen at blinding velocity. The attacker hastily summoned a mana shield at the final second to defend, yet it proved completely worthless, as Anthony's fist shattered the barrier without effort, smashing into the man's torso with ruinous power.

A horrific sound of ripping flesh and cracking bones echoed as the man's chest imploded inward then exploded outward through his back, his life force keeping him breathing for mere moments longer, his expression locked in stunned horror at his looming demise. Yet Anthony spared him no further attention; with a swift slash across the void, the man's head was sliced neatly from his shoulders in the blink of an eye.

The remaining trio instantly blurred away, fleeing at full speed, but could they outpace Anthony? No chance.

Anthony bridged the gap in a flash, yet before he struck, a torrent of inky black mist exploded into the cosmic void around them. Anthony knew without doubt it came from the octopus-headed foe, unleashing a technique laced with poison, illusions, and disorientation meant to bewilder and overpower.

However, it amounted to nothing.

Anthony lifted his hand, drawing the black mist streams toward it, condensing them into a sinister dark sphere that throbbed with ominous energy. Moments later, he materialized in front of another bandit, a subtle grin playing on his lips. His grip seized the man's face, the bandit thrashing wildly to escape, but to no avail. Anthony wrenched his jaw open and rammed the orb down his throat, compelling him to gulp it down.

Anthony let go, and the man started convulsing fiercely, crimson blood dribbling from his lips while his skin turned unnatural hues from the toxin. His sanity shattered as he babbled senseless nonsense, fully ensnared by the mist's hallucinatory and bewildering powers.

Anthony ignored him entirely; the bandit was doomed already.

Witnessing Anthony dispatch two comrades with such ease, the survivors ditched the fight and bolted for their vessel. True to Anthony's words, they cowered before the mighty and preyed on the frail—honor, resolve, unyielding spirit, standing ground... meaningless concepts. Survival trumped all.

They arrived at their ship in seconds, triggering its defensive shield that enveloped the craft completely. Of the five left, just three boarded safely; the other pair still sprinted toward it in panic.

"Don’t run, weren’t you going to kill me for being Human?" Anthony's voice boomed across the void as he flickered into view. Ruthlessly, his fingers ripped through the first man's chest with gruesome simplicity. He pulled back his hand, slick with azure blood, and flicked it casually, sending droplets scattering into nothingness.

He blinked out of sight again, rematerializing before the sole female bandit. Undeterred by terror, she struck anyway. A colossal fireball detonated right in his face, as if she'd readied it all along.

Anthony made no move to evade.

He plunged straight into the blaze, flames engulfing him wholly, but it changed nothing. With Romulus housed in his soul, Anthony shrugged off every fire assault. He erupted from the flames' far side, his leg whipping forward in a blur to crash into her midsection with colossal might. The blow vaporized her lower body, hurling the mangled torso spinning through space to smash against their ship's protective field.

The last three bandits freaked out, soaked in icy perspiration as they gaped at the horror: the mutilated remains, gore, viscera, and guts plastered over their vessel's shield like a macabre masterpiece of slaughter. The mere sight demolished their nerve utterly.

"Fuck! We should have bought a normal aircraft like everyone else! I don’t even know how to control this damned ship, and the fool who could control it is dead!" the octopus-headed one bellowed in fury and despair.

Another thud reverberated against their barrier. They jerked their gazes up, finding Anthony perched there, serene and collected, eyeing them like a predator sizing up quarry from on high.

"Miss this Human?" Anthony teased lightly, his smile subtle but chilling.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I knew we shouldn’t have robbed this Human, he was too handsome to be normal!" the shark-built bandit ranted wildly.

Anthony effortlessly passed through their worthless barrier like it was nonexistent, his sky-blue eyes fixing intently on the three survivors left standing.

"Spare us, and we will give you everything we have on the ship and in our space rings!" the octopus-headed one pleaded right away, his voice shaking as terror made his heart hammer fiercely.

"Why would I spare you when your treasures become mine anyway if I kill you?" Anthony responded coolly, his reasoning straightforward and impossible to refute.

He blurred ahead in a flash. His knee smashed into the octopus-headed one, exploding the head instantly into a horrific slurry of meat and splintered bone, the body crashing down with a resounding thud.

Anthony swiftly narrowed the gap to the shark-physique bandit, his palm crashing into the man’s chest. The blow annihilated his whole upper body, blood and innards erupting in a savage spray over the ship’s deck.

As Anthony finished off the shark-like bandit, the last one countered without hesitation, summoning a prison-shaped barrier under Anthony’s feet that surged upward to enclose him completely.

Anthony gazed at the bandit like a doddering idiot, his voice laced with obvious scorn: "I literally phased through your ship’s barrier—why wouldn’t I phase through this one too?"

With calm steps, he moved forward, no phasing even necessary this time. His body demolished the structure through raw physical power alone as he pressed into it, the cage splintering like brittle glass beneath overwhelming force.

Before the bandit could make another move, Anthony materialized in front of him, delivering a casual backhand that burst the man’s head into chunks of brain matter, the lifeless form slumping to the ground.

A thick, suffocating reek of blood now permeated the ship. Its insides were smeared with coats of red, blue, and deeper hues, cluttered with guts, severed limbs, and butchered corpses strewn over every inch.

Amid that ghastly carnage, Anthony remained poised, serene, and completely pristine. No drop of blood marred his form, as if he hadn’t just slaughtered seven Apexus Mana Rankers like they were mere pathetic Mortal Mana Rankers, his very aura ruling the hushed remnants of utter devastation.

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