Chapter 140 – Watch Closely!

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

When the Isolation Barrier exploded from within, Wen Yu was standing directly before it, swinging his War Blade without pause.

It was like an overinflated balloon bursting. The impact released when the Isolation Barrier shattered was enough to make even Wen Yu in the Dark Demon Monarch form stagger several steps backward.

The Dark Demon Monarch form, after all, made Wen Yu effectively immune to most physical damage.

Smoke and dust poured wildly from the cramped space. In the next instant, Wen Yu forced his way through the smoke and reached a place where lightning still flickered.

Kuangliu lay on the ground, mechanically pouring Healing Potions and Stamina Recovery Potions into his mouth. His unfocused eyes studied the enormous black shadow before him for a moment. Then his head slumped to the side, and he lost consciousness.

The contest of attrition with the Ancient Demon Seed, followed by the explosion's instantaneous shock wave, had already exhausted Kuangliu's stamina and left him severely wounded.

"What did I tell you?"

The Dark Demon Monarch's buzzing voice rolled through the air. It scooped up Kuangliu and stuffed him inside its own body.

As long as Wen Yu did not activate any curses or corrosive Abilities, the Dark Demon Monarch's body could naturally be used to hold a few "things."

Wen Yu then turned toward the source of a sound within the smoke.

…

The smoke and heat slowly dispersed. A stream of Silver Light "swam" out of the ground and gradually gathered into Claire's form.

Nanomechanical Body (SSS-Rank, Active Ability): The user's body is composed of nanomachines and may freely alter its size and form. With sufficient stamina, the user's body can even transform into all manner of mechanical structures.

The Ability resembled the liquid-metal Terminator. It was easy to imagine how terrifying and bizarre its effects would become as Claire's level increased.

She might even develop a wide variety of additional Skills from it, just as Wen Yu had with Darkness.

Claire stood beside the Dark Demon Monarch, her face deathly pale. She first studied the enormous figure, then asked hesitantly, "You are…?"

"Wen Yu."

Claire nodded. She did not ask anything like "How did you turn into this?" and ruin the mood.

Instead, she quickly said, "I used a super bomb to break the Barrier just now. The blast knocked Andrei unconscious. I thought I saw that Demonic Creature seize him."

"Mm."

Wen Yu nodded in understanding.

Claire's ability to liquefy her body resembled an Elemental-type Ability and greatly reduced the damage she suffered from shock waves and other physical attacks.

Andrei had not been so fortunate.

"What about the others?"

"They're all dead…"

A hint of desolation entered Claire's eyes.

"Ah…"

Wen Yu sighed heavily. The sigh was his small memorial to Fang Wenhai.

Wen Yu had not known Fang Wenhai for long, and most of their contact during that brief period had taken place through communication devices. Even so, Wen Yu had to admit that Fang Wenhai had been capable. It was a pity for him to die here.

The smoke before them slowly cleared. Through it, Wen Yu could make out the Ancient Demon's nearly three-meter-tall figure.

It held another burly silhouette in one hand.

…

When Wen Yu saw the Ancient Demon Seed, he waved his War Blade by way of greeting.

Through the thick smoke, the Demon Seed raised its right forelimb and waved enthusiastically at Wen Yu twice.

"Hello. We meet again."

"We do. I just didn't expect your greeting to be quite this loud."

Wen Yu controlled the Dark Demon Monarch as it spoke in its buzzing voice, but made no other move.

Wen Yu was not certain he could defeat the Ancient Demon Seed. And judging from appearances, the Ancient Demon Seed had no desire to fight him either.

The Ancient Demon Seed tilted its head. It first glanced at the motionless Dark Demon Monarch, which showed no killing intent, then pointed at Andrei in its grasp.

"What? Aren't you going to save him?"

Wen Yu shook his head.

"I can't. You're faster than I am."

"A wise choice."

The Ancient Demon Seed nodded gently and casually twisted Andrei's neck until it broke.

Even the life of Sequence 7 appeared insignificant before this Ancient Demon Seed.

Perhaps one day Wen Yu himself would face an opponent he could not possibly resist, only to be casually disposed of like a helpless chick.

Claire clearly felt the same sorrow of seeing one of her own kind perish. Her lips trembled as she looked at Andrei's broken neck.

She turned her head away slightly, as though unable to bear the sight of his body lying on the ground.

…

After killing Andrei, the Ancient Demon Seed raised its head and studied the Dark Demon Monarch without expression.

Wen Yu still did nothing.

If he had intended to fight the Ancient Demon Seed, he would have acted while Andrei was still alive. Attacking now would be entirely meaningless.

Seeing Wen Yu remain so "wise and calm," the Ancient Demon Seed nodded slightly and gave him a thumbs-up.

It looked down at Andrei's corpse and considered something briefly. Then it tore open the palm of its lower-right hand and removed a pure-black cylinder from within the flesh.

The Ancient Demon Seed gently opened the cylinder's lid and gave Wen Yu and Claire a strange smile.

"Let me ask you a question. Have either of you ever had doubts about the Ruler's existence?"

…

The smoke over the battlefield had already dispersed, so Wen Yu could see the Ancient Demon Seed's movements clearly. The sight of that black cylinder made him frown.

The object had been stored inside the Ancient Demon Seed's body. It had now injured one of its arms just to remove it, which made the cylinder's importance obvious.

Wen Yu was considering what scheme the Ancient Demon Seed might be plotting when its question froze his gaze.

…

"You know what the Ruler is?"

Wen Yu's thoughts spun. He immediately abandoned his intention to retreat first and questioned the Ancient Demon Seed.

The Ancient Demon Seed played with the black cylinder as it shrugged.

"The Demon Race has fought the Ruler across more worlds than we could ever count. If we couldn't even uncover intelligence about our enemy, you'd be underestimating us far too much."

"I can't tell you anything about the Ruler-at least, not yet. But that doesn't stop me from making trouble for the Ruler, or for you."

The Ancient Demon Seed gave Wen Yu a mocking smile.

"Human Sequence 2-watch closely!"

It slowly placed the black cylinder above Andrei's head.