Chapter 378: Chapter 246: Lie Down, or I’ll Take Your Life

Intercepted, Balenzuo could no longer charge into the Mage Corps and begin a massacre.

Fang Zhen and Balenzuo were locked in combat, and both Mages and soldiers alike scrambled to avoid the path of their battle.

Their battle was world-shaking. A tornado seemed to follow in their wake, kicking up violent winds that sent sand and stone flying.

Clad in his Feiyu Iron Wall Armor, Fang Zhen remained incredibly agile. His Assassination Step, in particular, pushed the very limits of speed and versatility attainable by a mortal.

Fang Zhen held his own against Balenzuo’s furious assault, not giving an inch.

To any onlooker, both Fang Zhen and the demon had surpassed mortal limits. They fought like the Sword Saints of legend, exchanging blows with a ferocity and technical skill—and at a speed—that no ordinary person could comprehend.

However, an outsider could never know what the combatants themselves were feeling.

As he continued to clash with Balenzuo, Fang Zhen felt a subtle sense that something was wrong.

He wasn’t at a disadvantage—in fact, he seemed to have a slight edge.

He wasn’t sure about Balenzuo, but if the fight dragged on like this, Fang Zhen could feel his own stamina draining rapidly.

It was only because his constitution stat was over 15. In the past, a fight this intense would have already left him on the verge of collapse.

A high-intensity battle like this was incredibly draining, even if it only lasted a minute or two.

Balenzuo’s demonic form, however, showed no signs of fatigue. It seemed it could keep this up indefinitely.

If Fang Zhen kept this up, he would soon be at a disadvantage.

Just then, in the middle of a relentless assault, Balenzuo froze for an instant.

It was like a computer freezing up—his body suddenly stopped responding, creating a fleeting opening.

Fang Zhen frowned. He didn’t act rashly, wondering if Balenzuo had left the opening on purpose to lure him into a trap.

But just as quickly, Balenzuo recovered and resumed his attack.

It was as if Balenzuo’s momentary lapse and the resulting opening had never happened at all.

But the perception lingered in Fang Zhen’s mind.

’There seems to be a problem with Balenzuo’s demonic body!’

After they exchanged another half a dozen blows, Balenzuo once again experienced that strange, computer-like freeze.

The opening was minuscule—less than a second long, perhaps only a few tenths of a second.

But the sudden halt was jarring, and to Fang Zhen, who was in the midst of the exchange, it was incredibly obvious.

This time, Fang Zhen was certain. ’This is a genuine opening!’

He didn’t hesitate.

As soon as the opening appeared, Fang Zhen thrust his spear. The white light of the Mountain Seal flared as he unleashed the Second-stage Power Mountain Seal, stabbing toward Balenzuo.

BOOM! The strike landed squarely on Balenzuo’s shoulder.

Instantly, the shoulder of the powerful demonic body was blasted into a bloody ruin.

What looked like black leather armor—in reality, a hard, keratinous exoskeleton—was blown to pieces. Flesh and blood spattered as Balenzuo let out a pained shriek.

Fang Zhen now had his confirmation: Balenzuo’s brief lapse was a genuine weakness, not a deliberate trap.

Balenzuo seemed to realize this as well. A flicker of fear crossed his face, and he looked ready to retreat.

But Fang Zhen had no intention of letting her get her way.

Fang Zhen pressed his advantage, unleashing a continuous assault with his spear.

Guided by his precognitive senses, Fang Zhen’s spear work left Balenzuo completely overwhelmed.

The tables had turned.

Fang Zhen wasn’t in a hurry to land a decisive blow. He patiently waited for Balenzuo to suffer another one of those momentary, brain-freezing lapses.

Sure enough, he didn’t have to wait long. Within a few breaths, Balenzuo’s consciousness fractured again, and his movements slowed by half a beat.

Fang Zhen seized the fleeting opportunity. With a flash of white light, his spear shot out, stabbing straight toward Balenzuo’s chest.

"BOOM!"

With a thunderous blast, the Second-stage Power Mountain Seal caved in Balenzuo’s chest, leaving behind a deep, bowl-sized depression.

The demon immediately spewed a mouthful of blood.

A realization dawned on Fang Zhen.

’When this body first appeared, Balenzuo’s original soul must have been transferring into it through some kind of energy channel. But my assault rifle fire disrupted the ritual, leaving the soul transfer incomplete.’

’The result is that this true demonic body is flawed.’

’It seems like a perfect vessel, but in the middle of an attack, the connection between Balenzuo’s consciousness and his body suddenly severs.’

Balenzuo realized this too, and terror filled her face.

She seemed to sense that she was about to be defeated by Fang Zhen once again.

Balenzuo suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

The ear-splitting sound made the eardrums of everyone nearby vibrate painfully.

Even Fang Zhen was momentarily dazed.

But Balenzuo didn’t seize this critical moment to attack. Instead, she chose to retreat. Her fleshy wings began to beat as she prepared to escape into the air.

At that very moment, however, several more Spider Web Technique spells shot out.

The Mages of the Mage Corps had recovered and were now unleashing all their control Magic on Balenzuo.

Balenzuo roared in helpless fury.

All she could do was spread her wings, unleashing a skill remarkably similar to the one she had used when night fell earlier.

Instantly, Fang Zhen felt a powerful force pulling him toward Balenzuo.

A sense of exhaustion and profound confusion washed over Fang Zhen, as if his very soul was about to be torn from his body and sucked into Balenzuo’s field of energy.

Fang Zhen managed to resist, but many of the nearby soldiers were pulled in by the field. Their faces rapidly turned deathly pale and gaunt before their bodies shriveled, as if their souls had been sucked dry.

Meanwhile, Balenzuo’s wounds began to heal at a visible rate.

Seeing this, Fang Zhen decided to stop holding back.

He suddenly lunged with his spear. A flash of white light erupted as the spearhead exploded against the left side of Balenzuo’s chest.

Balenzuo’s skill was interrupted.

A phantom image flickered in Fang Zhen’s left hand, coalescing into the AWP sniper rifle once more. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

This time, Fang Zhen didn’t even bother aiming. He pressed the muzzle directly against Balenzuo’s torso and fired three times.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The three shots tore three new bloody holes in Balenzuo’s torso. The sheer kinetic energy of the bullets sent her flying backward to crash onto the ground.

Fang Zhen charged forward and stomped down hard.

White light flared from the plate armor on his boot. With a deafening BOOM, he unleashed the Second-stage Power Mountain Seal through the stomp, driving Balenzuo’s entire body into the ground and creating a crater.

The ground for several meters around them fractured, forming a massive spiderweb of cracks.

Fang Zhen pressed the barrel of the AWP sniper rifle to Balenzuo’s head.

Gripping the AWP sniper rifle in his left hand, Fang Zhen kept the muzzle pressed to Balenzuo’s head. He stared down coldly at the demon on the ground. "Stay down," he said. "Or I’ll end you right now."