Without Claude’s high-altitude early warning, the specialized monster's attack speed was amplified exponentially—and Corvus reacted half a step too late.
BOOM—!
A afterimage smashed through his blind spot! A heavy kick struck his ribs like a sledgehammer; Corvus was sent flying like a ragdoll, embedding himself deep into the rock wall. Debris collapsed violently, burying half his body in an instant.
"Cough...!"
Severe pain shot through his throat as blood mixed with visceral fragments sprayed onto the gray rock. The intense impact turned his vision pitch-black; inside his right eye, the "crystal eye," runes overloaded wildly, erupting in unstable, ghost-blue electrical sparks.
"What's wrong, Mr. Detective? Where did all that imperious arrogance from earlier go?"
Through the dust and smoke, Long Qianqian approached slowly over the rubble, the crushed stone grinding beneath her feet with a piercing crunch. Her half-charred face contorted and sank under the dim demonic light, broken jawbones shifting under her skin like living parasites. "Did that 'Demon-Slaying Cannon' drain you dry, or... has your body been completely eaten away by the 'Ember'?"
A cruel smile stretched across Long Qianqian's lips. Uncurling the five fingers of her right hand, her pitch-black bone claws scraped past the granite wall beside her like razor blades—silently, five deep gouges several inches deep burst open!
"Don't be in such a hurry to die. I'll tear your prosthetic arm off inch by inch to see what kind of nasty bug is inside, daring to torment my body like this!"
SWOOSH—!
She swooped down! Crimson blood-lust crashed over him like a wave as her dark, venomous claws went straight for Corvus’s vulnerable throat!
Life hung by a thread. The raging Ember inside his body resonated lethally with his mechanical arm, burning his meridians as if they were on fire. A kaleidoscope of memories flashed across his retina: the raging inferno that consumed his home ten years ago, Rayven’s roaring tactical lectures, and Leila grit-toothed demand of "Don't die too early"...
I can't... fall here yet!
Corvus bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, the metallic taste and sharp pain piercing through his clouded brain in an instant!
Abandoning all defense, he reversed his grip on the steel sword in his right hand. Using the blade thrust into the rock wall behind him as a fulcrum, he burst with full waist power to force himself—to wrench himself—out of the collapsing crevice!
A fraction of a millimeter before the venomous claws reached his skin, Corvus forcibly reversed his mana flow! Ignoring the cost of severed meridians, he channeled every drop of remaining energy into his dark-gold left prosthetic arm—
No time to charge? Then return to purest violence!
CLANK-CLANK-CLANK—BANG!!
The metallic gears shrieked under the unbearable load. Wrapped in the backwards-flowing, violent mana, the dark-gold fist crashed directly into Long Qianqian's chest like an enraged iron beast!
Wherever the fist passed, a visible high-pressure indentation warped the air. Long Qianqian’s sternum caved in on the spot, and the heavy blow sent her flying straight back, plowing a deep trench dozens of meters long through the rubble-strewn ground before coming to a humiliating halt!
"—HAH!"
Killing intent erupted in Corvus’s hawk-like eyes.
Leaning forward, veins bulged along his right arm as his iron grip locked onto the hilt stuck in the rock.
CLASH—BOOM!
Rock chips and sparks flew wildly! Driven by forward momentum, he ripped the broadsword free with brutal force, drawing a golden arc of fire. Utilizing the centrifugal force of the spin, Corvus poured all his core power and remaining mana into both arms, sweeping out a devastating horizontal slash!
The blade tore through the atmosphere, its bright white beam turning into a decisive ray of death that slashed precisely toward Long Qianqian’s wide-open carotid artery!
SPLAT—!
Blood erupted like a geyser! The immense force of the strike dragged Long Qianqian backward again.
However, a spine-chilling scene unfolded.
Within that horrifying, bone-deep gash, the charred blood flesh began to writhe violently. Countless visible tendrils of flesh intertwined and wrapped together wildly like silk threads; in mere seconds, the gushing blood was blocked, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Corvus stared intently at the mutated monster before him. His hyper-tense fingers squeezed the hilt so hard they turned white and bled...
He spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, a trace of dread and ruthless malice flashing in his eyes as he sneered, "Tch... So conventional attacks won't work on her after all? What a stubborn humanoid monster."
Knowing physical slashes were useless, Corvus’s ruthless streak kicked in. With a sudden yank, he tore open the core casing of his left prosthetic arm, exposing the Ember Core spinning wildly inside, emanating an aura of destruction.
BUZZ—!
Under extreme overload, the concentrated mana instantly went haywire. Dark red light poured out like a volcanic eruption, turning into tangible, raging lightning that scorched the surrounding air.
Corvus gritted his teeth, his facial muscles contorting from the excruciating pain. With a roar, he slammed the steel sword in his right hand into the overloaded slot of the prosthetic arm!
HUMMM—!
The moment the slot engaged, the steel sword vibrated violently. The silver blade absorbed the raging mana in an instant; wild, dark-red streams of light spread furiously along the runes of the blade. The entire steel sword expanded and elongated, transforming into a blade of black and crimson constructed from pure energy, emanating a suffocating, destructive pressure.
"Taste this, Miss Monster!"
Facing the black-red blade with its exploding aura, Long Qianqian showed no fear; instead, she let out a morbid laugh.
"HA HA HA! Giving up on yourself, Detective?"
Before her voice faded, the ground beneath her feet shattered explosively. She turned into an afterimage barely visible to the naked eye, pouncing frantically at Corvus once more! Her venomous claws, gleaming with metallic coldness, tore through the air straight for Corvus’s throat!
But this time, Corvus neither dodged nor ducked.
His deep eyes were cold without a trace of warmth, staring fixedly at the claws just inches away from his throat. In the life-or-death moment when the tips were about to pierce his flesh—already bringing a fierce pressure—Corvus lowered his center of gravity. He converted all his strength along with the raging Ember into a final, most decisive straight thrust!
PUNCTURE!
The muffled sound of steel entering flesh echoed through the cavern.
The black-red blade impaled Long Qianqian's chest without resistance, piercing straight into her heart! Raging mana exploded into a shockwave from behind her back, shattering countless rocks into dust.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The tips of Long Qianqian's claws stopped at the skin of Corvus’s throat, a single millimeter away from slitting his carotid artery. A mocking, cold smile curled at the corners of her mouth as she whispered morbidly, "Heh... Detective, game over. This level of damage, it's not even..."
However, before she could finish, the smile on her face suddenly froze.
"AAAAAAAHHH—!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed deep underground! Long Qianqian's eyes bulged violently, her eyeballs covered in a spiderweb of blood vessels. Unable to even maintain her balance, she collapsed to the ground in agony as if her spine had been removed, twitching and rolling wildly on the floor.
The black-red Ember energy acted like countless bloodthirsty serpents, spreading wildly along the blood vessels of her heart, ravenously devouring and destroying the regenerative cells she was so proud of. The flesh tendrils that could normally heal rapidly turned into charred, dead meat the moment they touched the Ember.
Corvus panted heavily, dense black smoke and electrical sparks continually rising from his left prosthetic arm. He looked down from above at the woman struggling in agony on the floor, the corner of his mouth pulling into a tired yet cruel arc.
"The taste of the Ember going wild... doesn't feel so good, does it?"
Long Qianqian's agonizing screams gradually weakened, eventually turning into a low wail deep in her throat. Her slit pupils, which had flashed with a cruel red light moments before, now dimmed as her body tissues collapsed. Large patches of human-looking skin peeled off, revealing the red, charred, alien flesh beneath, which then turned to ash under the Ember's consumption.
Corvus did not relax immediately; he kept a tight grip on the black-red blade stuck in the monster's chest until the very last trace of mana was injected into it, completely destroying the regenerative core inside Long Qianqian. Then, he yanked the broadsword out. He swayed violently from exhaustion and the backlash of the Ember, nearly dropping to one knee.
Just then, a heavy rumbling sound echoed from above the cave—the vibration of heavy machinery and mana barriers being forcibly breached.
Several intense beams of light swept down from the collapsed entrance, piercing the underground darkness. Following that was the synchronized thud of tactical combat boots hitting the ground.
"This is the Exorcism Public Security Special Operations Squad! The scene has been taken over. Everyone, drop your weapons!"
Corvus raised his head, his blue crystal eye reflecting the cold light cast down from above in the darkness. He saw Leila's anxious figure running toward him at full speed, right behind a group of fully armed squad members.
Leila rushed to Corvus’s side, ignoring the cold gun barrels around them, and caught his collapsing body. Looking at the dark-gold prosthetic arm that was on the verge of breakdown—its shell covered in cracks—her eyes instantly turned red: "You big idiot! Didn't I tell you not to use this move?!"
Corvus didn't speak; he merely pulled at the corner of his mouth helplessly, showing a tired, bitter smile. He shifted his gaze toward the rescued residents and then to Sirius, the captain of the Special Operations Squad who walked over slowly—the man in charge of this commission.
"Nice work, Mr. Corvus." Sirius squinted at the remains of the monster on the ground, a hint of awe in his tone. He waved his hand, and the medical personnel behind him immediately rushed forward to treat the residents. "Though the process was a bit... violent, the residents inside the cave were indeed successfully rescued."
He paused, handing over an electronic signing tablet: "Mission accomplished smoothly. The commission fee has been transferred to the dedicated account of the Monster Detective Agency immediately. As for the rest..." Sirius pointed at Long Qianqian's remains, a cold flash passing through the slit of his squinting eyes, "...leave it to us. The Public Security will be responsible for digging out the organization behind this trickster."
Using the last bit of his strength, Corvus pressed the fingerprint of his mechanical prosthetic arm onto the signing tablet.
"It's over," he muttered to himself. Then, supported by Leila, he collapsed completely into darkness.
ns216.73.216.48da2
and then Add to home screen.