Liu Xing froze, his pupils dilating as he witnessed the barrage of devastating attacks approaching. Each strike commanded enough power to level a small area, making him question whether the generals he'd previously defeated were even in the same realm as these creatures. His mind switched instantly to survival mode, cycling qi at maximum speed while desperately plotting an escape route.

But there was no time to think. Suddenly, the first attack came—an abomination with arms and legs of blue snakes, its body crackling with lightning. It materialized in front of him, its face twisted in contempt, black eyebrows thick as caterpillars.

As it launched a snake punch straight at his face, every attack was already dangerously close. Black snake arrows rained from above, a golden tiger descended from mere tens of meters overhead, and a giant earth snake barreled forward, sending debris flying in its wake. Yellow plasma streaked through the air alongside fireballs, water spheres, and a projectile shaped like a laughing head—and that was just the beginning.

The world slowed to a crawl as adrenaline flooded his body. Pure instinct took over. In an instant, Liu Xing summoned lightning blades in both hands, called forth his turtle statue to block the abomination’s punch and channeled his Exploding Fist technique through his gun to counter the barrage of black snake arrows.

The lightning-coated abomination struck his turtle statue with devastating force, the impact resonating like a massive gong. The statue lurched backwards and crashed into Liu Xing with the force of a speeding truck, sending him flying. Through the pain, he watched chaos unfold.

The earth snake and golden tiger crashed into the spot he'd just vacated, now occupied by the abomination coat with lightning. Their collision sent the ground surging skyward like a meteor impact. His gun, faithfully shooting down the black snake arrows, exploded in rapid succession, painting the sky with blooming clouds of black smoke. Water and fire projectiles struck the earth snake's back, triggering an explosion that sent the rising earth outward like a tidal wave and formed a huge mushroom cloud. A concentrated beam of yellow energy carved through the mushroom cloud and flying debris like a laser.

The world spun wildly as explosions, screams, and cackling merged into an indecipherable cacophony. When everything finally stopped spinning, he found himself pressed to the ground under the statue. A realization struck him—the turtle was surprisingly effective at absorbing impacts. A shield for future battles, he thought, before dismissing it and scrambling to his feet.

He began weaving through the battlefield as new threats emerged. An abomination with pure golden skin that shimmered in the sunlight launched blue orbs with bat wings. Another abomination, its skin is purple and its two ears is red cherry, transformed its snake arms into giant sickles glowing with an otherworldly purple hue and swung them in frenzied arcs.

Liu Xing dodged left, evading the deadly sickles while his gun intercepted the winged orbs. A brown-skinned abomination's screech summoned an earth serpent that slithered toward him. Black-skinned abomination with green coconuts as its ears punches the air to create two massive tigers, cackling madly from atop one of the tiger. More snake-limbed abominations unleashed their attacks—elemental strikes, qi constructs of various beasts, blue walls, even a giant one-eyed monster crawling like an infant at bullet-train speeds.

For a moment, Liu Xing considered activating his invisibility to hide. One direct hit from any of these attacks would mean grievous injury. But a glance at the golden castle steeled his resolve. While most abominations pursued him, some remained behind—he couldn't stray too far. He needed to keep their attention.

As he accelerated using his shield, his mind cleared enough to analyze the situation. This third army was formidable, but their attacks weren't as chaotic as they appeared. Many abominations simply followed the pack, with only about twenty attacking simultaneously.

High above, a black-skinned abomination decorated with shining white dots and raven wings retreated, replaced by another propelling itself with snake-feet that spewed fire.

They were taking turns, he realized, while the others hung back, cackling and pointing their snake limbs at him like audience at a circus, and he was their clown.

Anger bubbled up from his core as his teeth clenched. This wouldn't do. Their coordinated attacks worked because he played the prey, running like a rabbit from hyenas.

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A dangerous idea formed inside his mind. Instead of letting them use him for target practice, he needed to disrupt their formation by charging into their midst. On the surface, it seemed suicidal, like jumping into a pack of predators. But these weren't ordinary beasts—their attacks were powerful and struck over a wide area. If he could dodge while in their midst, their own attacks might catch their allies in the crossfire.

There might have been better plans, but time was short, and this strategy could also help him draw the unengaged abominations away from the castle. Liu Xing summoned his shield, kicked it, and charged directly at the third army.

Seeing him coming, some of the abominations cackled madly, as if watching a clown slip on a banana peel. Their mockery only hardened Liu Xing's resolve. He reactivated his lightning blades in both hands, extending them dozens of meters, and accelerated faster using his shield. This time, he wouldn't just run—he would attack, determined to take at least one down with his gun!

As he gained speed, the front-line spirit beasts unleashed their techniques. A yellow laser whipped toward him, thousands of fireballs rained from above, close-combat specialists leaped at him, and a creature with green skin and a single yellow eye in its head crawled forward at a frightening speed.

Liu Xing extended his lightning blades to their maximum length, whipping them against the yellow laser. Their collision created a blinding spark, both attacks shattering into brilliant fragments. His gun worked overtime, shooting down the falling fireballs, each hit creating impromptu fireworks in the sky.

Intensifying his Lightning Cloak technique, he cycled qi faster through his body, pushing for greater speed.

His goal seemed simple—reach the center of the third army. Yet every meter was a battle.

He weaved through snake-limbed abominations attempting close combat, his lightning blades dancing to parry their unorthodox strikes. When a creature with bright green, poison-coated snakes attempted to grapple him, Liu Xing maneuvered using his shield, only to face a green creature that exploded, sending shards of laughing stone flying—which he deflected with his newly-appreciated turtle statue.

He ascended skyward on his shield, thinking the attacks would diminish at height. He was wrong. Instead of just the front-line dozens, even the center ranks began their assault.

The air filled with an impossible array of projectiles coming at him—elemental balls and arrows of fire, water, lightning, wood, steel, and organic matter, alongside floating hearts and bone swords.

Some collided and exploded, releasing purple toxic mist, but most formed a dense, colorful wall with gaps barely wider than his pinky finger. Behind this curtain of death came golden tigers, earth-forged eagles, a rocket-propelled giant hand, a boulder wrapped in green miasma, and a giant abomination with green skin and yellowed teeth, leaping into the air and cackling maniacally.

Seeing this, Liu Xing steadied himself atop his shield and popped the Ethereal Pearl into his mouth. He stretched out both hands, covered with stable qi, and manifested two lightning balls in front of his hands.

To his surprise, they merged into one massive ball, growing beyond twenty meters in radius until it completely blocked his view. As a Lock Opening cultivator, he'd never imagined creating such a massive attack. While his Thunderstrike Gauntlets would break under such power, the enhanced quality and durability of his qi now made it possible.

"Eat this!" He unleashed a double palm strike, and a colossal white pillar erupted from his lightning ball. Though it couldn't match the entire wall of attacks, it carved through hundreds of projectiles and struck the giant abomination's head, making it shriek in agony and recoil until its body began to shrink.

The pillar's immense size made it unwieldy. He couldn't sweep it around. As it began to recede, Liu Xing kicked his shield and flew through the opening he had created. Countless attacks curved to follow him, but many couldn't change direction, resulting in a chain reaction of collisions.

After a moment, he came to a stop, standing on his shield as he finally reached the heart of the third army. Below him, the army converged like a massive, colorful sphere contracting inward. Then, as if in sync, the outer abominations began to leap upward, until Liu Xing found himself surrounded on all sides—abominations lunging from below, approaching from all four directions, and diving from above, their mad cackling filling the air.

He had achieved his goal—he was now truly at the center of the third army. Cold sweat drenched his back as he steadied himself, analyzing his precarious position. Any attack from above would endanger those below; any massive strike from the front would threaten those behind. His strategy could work, but there was one crucial catch—he had to survive each attack before it could create the desired collateral damage.

As a giant abomination swelled in size again, its snake limbs reaching for him like tentacles while attacks converged from every direction, Liu Xing acknowledged the dire nature of his situation.

Yet hope remained. His goal was simple: to be the last one standing. All he had to do was survive long enough to see an abomination fall to friendly fire. Or perhaps he would find the first abomination he had attacked. If he could finish it off, victory would be within his grasp.