Gathering

The very instant Qi Qianyang struck Heros away, Xu Chan bolted outward without the slightest hesitation. Qi Qianyang watched his retreating figure. He stared for a moment, but as if having grasped something—or simply not caring much—he did not pursue. And besides… He turned his face in another direction. In the distance, two figures entered his sight, moving through the terrain like flashes of lightning accompanied by thunderous roars. They were closing in on him rapidly, one from the left and one from the right. His gaze swept swiftly to either side. Seeing faint luminescence flickering along the arm-fins trailing behind them, his eyes narrowed slightly. The next instant, with a deafening boom, Sigvald, the younger brother of the Thunder Twins, was hammered into the ground by his fist. The earth quaked violently beneath the impact, cratering deeply around his body. Qi Qianyang borrowed the momentum of the strike to bend downward, fluidly evading a kick sweeping in from above by the elder sister, Svea. Svea kicked empty air, propelled forward a distance by her sheer momentum. Yet using the fin-wings on her body, she banked sharply in midair like a zagging bolt of blue lightning, wheeling back once more. Just as she prepared to rush forward, however, Sigvald's body suddenly expanded in her vision. She hurriedly reached out to catch him, and the two went rolling and tumbling across the ground. Before Qi Qianyang had even finished the motion of hurling Sigvald away, an immense shadow appeared behind him without a sound. Standing roughly three meters tall, this newcomer was scarcely smaller than Heros, yet moved with blistering speed, like a fleeting silhouette. It was "Gray Whale" Sente Valkoni. The iron hammer in his hand had long been raised high, faint luminescence gleaming across its head. Now it crashed down with savage force, smashing squarely onto Qi Qianyang's shoulder! Even though Qi Qianyang had channeled a portion of his spiritual perception there in advance, neutralizing the glow on the hammer's face, the force that followed still tore into his body. The bones shattered instantly upon contact, collapsing his entire shoulder. Yet he seemed completely oblivious to the trauma; his back remained ramrod straight without bending in the slightest. Tilting his head, he rolled his eyes back to cast a glance behind him. Gray Whale's heart gave a sudden leap as a wave of danger washed over him. Before he could react, his hulking frame was already airborne. Flying across dozens of meters, he crashed heavily into the river channel off to the side. Qi Qianyang tore off the upper half of his training suit, exposing a sleek, glistening back and deeply defined latissimus dorsi muscles that flared out like wings. He rolled his shoulder slightly, producing a flurry of crisp popping and snapping sounds as the splintered bones pieced themselves back together. By the time he stood fully upright, the shoulder was completely restored to its original state. Around this time, personnel from the Consortium and the Linakes Federation arrived one after another. What greeted them was the sight of Heros and the three who had arrived ahead of them all sprawled on the ground, laid low by Qi Qianyang alone. Every one of them felt a surge of shock. Major General Sebier's gray eyes settled on Qi Qianyang. His boundary credential yielded no records on the man; judging solely by the fighter's features and techniques, he appeared to be from Great Shun. Sebier turned to a panting fighter who had caught up beside him. "Go inform those behind us. Have them radio rear command immediately. Tell them that whatever the cost, they must have that equipment operational before tomorrow." The fighter was taken aback, but dared not ask questions. Saluting on the spot, he turned and sprinted back without a word. Qi Qianyang turned around, facing the figures emerging from the woods with an amused smirk. He rolled his neck to both sides, the joints popping and creaking loudly. Just then, a thunderous crash sounded in the distance. A mound of rubble burst outward, and Heros stood up once more. His skin now seemed to have taken on a pale golden sheen, gleaming brightly under the daylight. His kelp-like hair had grown longer, trailing all the way down his back, and his frame had gained yet another layer of stature. In his current form, the title "Colossus" truly fit him in the eyes of all present. Meanwhile, the Thunder Twins, Gray Whale, and the others whom Qi Qianyang had struck down also clambered to their feet one after another. Each watched him with intense wariness, realizing that this man before them might well be the most formidable adversary they had encountered on this operation. Was he affiliated with Great Shun, or with the former imperial house? At the same time, numerous gazes settled on the sphere clutched in his hand. That had to be the object. Qi Qianyang tracked their eyes and grinned. There were quite a few people here. Had they scattered in every direction, cleaning them up might have cost him some effort, but now that they were gathered in one place, he couldn't very well decline such generosity. Yet at that moment, he sensed a strange anomaly. Hmm? The ground beneath his feet suddenly bulged upward. A giant, centipede-like creature with countless legs burst through the soil and coiled rapidly around him. The creature had surged from underground with unbelievable speed, arriving without the slightest warning. In an instant, it had coiled tightly around him. Dense clusters of sharp, hooked legs dug into his flesh, trying to burrow into his muscles. Even so, it was evident that more than half of its length remained buried in the dirt beneath his feet. And it was not just under him. The surrounding earth burst open in several places as similar serpent-like worms shot out from the depths, converging toward the relic held in his hand. Clearly, all of them were desperate to seize it. This relic was not only fiercely contested by human factions; it also held a powerful attraction for the creatures of the Melded Lands, drawing them forward like moths to a flame. Seeing him ensnared, the fighters recognized this as an undeniable opportunity and surged forward at breakneck speed. The first to arrive were the Thunder Twins. Pincer-attacking from left and right as before, they struck Qi Qianyang's body like twin bolts of lightning. His hip and one of his arms simultaneously absorbed the staggering impact of their force, snapping in the blink of an eye and twisting his entire posture. Next, Army Ant, a renowned fighter from the Linakes Federation, charged forward boldly. Clenching his fists together, he brought his two massive gauntlets into a unified hammer and slammed them ruthlessly into Qi Qianyang's chest! With a booming crash, the concussive Mind Jin drove the chest inward into a sunken hollow. Even wrapped in the coils of the centipede worm, Qi Qianyang's spine arched high backward. Gray Whale appeared at his back. Whirling around, he drove an upward hammer strike into Qi Qianyang's lower back. The blow lifted Qi Qianyang's feet clean off the ground; had it not been for the anchoring pull of the worm, he would have been sent flying. Even then, the straining coils of the creature groaned and creaked under the tension. Yet although these fighters had all landed their attacks squarely on Qi Qianyang, his expression remained set in the same feral grin as before, laced with arrogance and a touch of madness. It gave them an inexplicable sense of deep unease and impending peril. Without lingering for a follow-up, every one of them broke off after their strike and retreated at top speed. Faint wisps of light could now be seen emerging from the places where Qi Qianyang's flesh had ruptured. The sunken, torn tissues swelled back outward, knitting and healing at astonishing speed. As they mended, the tightly constricted coils of the giant worm began to swell, then ruptured and burst apart. Qi Qianyang spread his arms, tearing the severed carcass of the creature from his body and hurling it to the ground. But just then, another figure charged forward. Any centipede worms in the path were smashed to pulp, and a fist shimmering with faint luminescence slammed solidly against his cheek! Qi Qianyang was hurled backward through the air, the colossal force rolling his eyes back into his head. He bounced and tumbled across the earth for dozens of rotations before finally halting dozens of meters away, sprawling prone and motionless. The relic rolled from his grasp once more. The surviving worms scrambled toward it, but before they could reach the sphere, an explosive shockwave blew them to pieces. Heros strode forward, bending down to retrieve the spherical relic. As he stood there, the winged mouse-monkeys that had previously harassed him were gripped with fear. They merely circled and hovered around him, none daring to dive down and attack again. As the crowd gazed upon his tall, powerful, nearly flawless physique that looked as though it had stepped straight out of myth, the look in their eyes was filled mostly with awe and reverence. Heros's martial art was inherited from the famous Hapmoyas hero murals, one of the primary fighting lineages of the Western Continent—the very martial art practiced by the heroes of ancient legends. This discipline possessed no elaborate flourishes; it simply elevated physical attributes to staggering heights. In truth, it was often this sort of unvarnished, solid amplification that most effectively raised combat power. Suddenly, a low laugh drifted over. Qi Qianyang's shoulders twitched as he slowly propped himself up. Then he snapped his head around, sending a jolt through everyone's heart. Half of his skull and face appeared pulverized, yet the remaining half of his mouth was split in a spine-chilling grin. Faint light seeped from the edges of his wounds, and amidst faint cracking sounds, flesh, skin, and bone were steadily knitting back together. By the time he stood upright again, he had returned to his previous state, that half-crazed grin never wavering. As long as the entity melded with him was not thoroughly depleted, he could draw freely upon its power to regenerate his body. It was worth noting that he had not unleashed his full strength earlier—he had utilized at most a third of it. Yet the higher the limit, the harder it was to advance. The foundational gap between fighters was never as wide as imagined; often, a single increment represented a tremendous leap, to say nothing of such a vast stride forward. Now, he inhaled slowly. Amidst the cracking of bones, his height grew a fraction more. His loose trousers pulled taut against solid, bulging muscles, while his pupils turned an absolute, pitch black. An aura of extreme danger radiated outward. The corners of his mouth curled. He looked back toward the relic in Heros's hand, preparing to seize it once more. But just as he took a step, his head whipped around to face a certain direction. Heros's expression turned grim. He had already braced himself for an attack, yet at that moment, he too turned to look in that exact direction. The others had not sensed anything yet, but seeing the two men's reactions, they immediately grew vigilant and looked over as well. At first, nothing seemed to be there. But moments later, a massive flock of birds took flight in panic, scattering as though fleeing some terrible danger. At the same time, a faint tremor traveled through the earth, causing pebbles on the ground to vibrate and hop. A rolling white line surged into view. Wherever it passed, low grass and trees snapped and flattened. It closed in rapidly, accompanied by a rumbling roar like approaching thunder. Under the suspicious, watchful eyes of the crowd, the surging shockwave finally burst out from the dense woods and ground to a sudden, thunderous halt. A muffled boom rippled in all directions. Amidst the billows of churning dust, the tall, upright silhouette of a person stood faintly visible. His face could not yet be made out, but a swath of red scarf was clearly fluttering in the wind. …… ……