Chapter 268: Chapter 49: A Disturbance in the Orchard Alarms Xingyu

Murphy darted across the scorched earth and scattered rocks, the din of the beast tide behind him gradually fading away.

His Flying Sword, a streak of Dark Gold Streaming Light, darted nimbly within a few meters of his body, piercing through the scattered monsters that lunged at him one by one.

As he moved farther from the center of the Rift Valley Slope, the number of monsters visibly thinned, and the reek of sulfur and gore in the air diminished significantly.

Just as he was crossing a cluster of low stone spires, a dark red figure emerged silently from the shadows of an unremarkable crevice ahead, blocking his path.

It was a full size smaller than any of the large Scorching Beasts he had previously encountered, not even matching some of the more robust medium-sized ones. But its entire carapace was a pure, rich, bright red.

Its six pairs of compound eyes were a deep, dark red, like red-hot coals, and they were locked onto Murphy.

It didn’t immediately let out a threatening hiss. Instead, it crouched low, its jointed limbs gently scratching at the charred rock, making a faint scraping sound.

Murphy stopped in his tracks. His gaze fell upon the creature, and his eyes narrowed.

The feeling this small Scorching Beast gave him was completely different from any of the other monsters.

There was no frenzy, no chaotic killing intent. But the contained Life Energy Fluctuations rolling off it were like magma surging deep underground—dense and violent. Its power had already firmly crossed the threshold into the Extraordinary realm!

"So, it’s a watchdog," Murphy murmured, his voice clearly audible in the silence.

As if it had understood his words, or perhaps had simply sensed his killing intent, the Bright Red Scorching Beast moved!

With no Omen, no windup, its body instantly exploded from absolute stillness into motion. It became a blurry, dark-red afterimage, its speed astonishing as it lunged straight for Murphy!

As it moved, it tore through the air with a piercing shriek!

Murphy’s pupils contracted. At his command, the Flying Sword shot out, aimed straight for the creature’s head!

However, in the instant before the Flying Sword struck, the Bright Red Scorching Beast made an unbelievable move.

It whipped one of its forelimbs upward, the dark-red light on its carapace flaring, and swatted the side of the Flying Sword with incredible precision!

CLANG!

A sharp, loud clang of metal on metal exploded through the air!

The Dark Gold Flying Sword was actually knocked slightly off course by the blow, scraping past the armor on the side of its head and leaving only a shallow scratch and a few sparks!

At the same time, the claws of its other forelimb, wreathed in a vicious wind, tore through the air and slashed straight for Murphy’s heart!

Murphy drifted backward, simultaneously maneuvering the Flying Sword to wheel around and strike again.

The Bright Red Scorching Beast, however, displayed incredible agility and combat intelligence. It refused to clash head-on with the Flying Sword. Instead, it used its smaller frame and faster reflexes to dodge and weave in the tight space, tanking non-lethal hits on its carapace and seizing every tiny opening to launch a relentless barrage of cunning and vicious attacks at Murphy.

Its carapace was astonishingly tough. The Flying Sword’s ordinary strikes struggled to penetrate deep, leaving only significant gashes.

Meanwhile, its every lunge, swipe, and tail sweep contained terrifying power, forcing Murphy to devote his full attention to defending. For a moment, the Flying Sword’s assault was actually tied up by the monster!

’Troublesome.’

Murphy’s eyes grew cold. The monster’s combat instincts and defense were exceptional, making it an incredibly tenacious opponent.

He stopped holding back. The Qi in his body surged, and a faint aura of Black Light Mana emanated from his form. The glow of his Flying Sword intensified as the Thunder Punishment Dao Pattern on it abruptly lit up.

BOOM!

Violet-black lightning coiled around the blade. The Flying Sword’s speed and might surged again, transforming it into an enraged dragon of thunder and fire that slashed toward the Bright Red Scorching Beast with the force of a thunderclap!

The Bright Red Scorching Beast seemed to sense the mortal danger. A vicious light flared in its dark red compound eyes. The rich, bright red luster of its body suddenly contracted inward, coalescing as if to form a denser, sleeker layer of armor over its carapace.

At the same time, it let out a low, savage roar. Instead of retreating, it charged forward, meeting the Flying Sword with an even more rabid frenzy!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! BOOM!

A series of violent collisions and energy detonations rang out!

Each slash from the Flying Sword made the bright red layer of energy on the Bright Red Scorching Beast’s body ripple violently and dim. Deep cracks appeared on its carapace. Yet, relying on its formidable defense and suicidal ferocity, it actually managed to withstand the relentless, lightning-infused assault of the Flying Sword!

Though its limbs were shattered and its carapace was broken in multiple places, with dark red ichor gushing from its wounds, it continued to shriek and lunge, desperately trying to close the distance to Murphy and engage in its deadly close-quarters combat.

Murphy frowned slightly. The monster’s tenacity and defense were beyond his expectations.

He ceased the direct engagement, his figure abruptly shooting backward to create distance.

The hovering Flying Sword let out a long, clear hum. The light on its blade completely receded, and all of its Thunderbolt Power, Sword Qi, and killing intent seemed to be compressed to an absolute limit, condensing upon the very point of its Dark Gold tip.

The very air seemed to solidify as a heart-stopping aura of pure sharpness and destruction began to spread.

The Bright Red Scorching Beast instinctively sensed the ultimate danger. It let out a piercing shriek and ceased its pursuit, instead adopting a defensive posture. It tucked in all its limbs, protecting its relatively vulnerable chest and abdomen as best it could beneath its thick back plate, while the bright red Energy on its body frantically converged on its chest.

"Break," Murphy uttered a single, cold word.

The Dark Gold Flying Sword moved.

A thread of Dark Gold light, so fine it was nearly invisible, shot through the space in an instant, lancing toward one of the Bright Red Scorching Beast’s compound eyes.

In the exact instant the sword’s tip was about to touch the compound eye...

...right in the center of the Bright Red Scorching Beast’s Chest Armor, the naturally formed, dark-red patterns suddenly seemed to come alive, twisting, intertwining, and igniting with light on their own!