Chapter 196
The mont Han activated his Analyzer Eye, a flood of data stread into his mind. His vision sharpened, cutting through the chaos of the battlefield. That’s when he noticed it—a nearly invisible white smoke spread like a veil across the entire field.
His eyes narrowed. "What is this...?" he muttered.
Analyzing the substance further, Han’s face darkened. The results were nothing short of catastrophic.
The white dust wasn’t just harmless smoke—it was a slow-acting corrosive agent, subtly eating away at the energy of every hero on the battlefield. But that wasn’t all. It was also beginning to corrode their body structures, breaking them down bit by bit. The effect was extrely slow and expertly disguised, just subtle enough to avoid imdiate detection. If Han hadn’t been paying close attention, they would have never realized the truth—until it was far too late.
"If this keeps going," Han thought grimly, "they’ll be drained of all their energy... and then their bodies will collapse too."
Defeat wouldn’t co with a bang—it would arrive silently, disguised in every breath they took.
His gaze darted toward the beasts and the Red Vanguards. Surprisingly, neither group seed to be affected by the dust at all. That was when sothing clicked in his mind—the Red Vanguards were wearing specialized gas masks, tightly secured over their noses and mouths. The masks were subtly integrated into their armor, barely noticeable unless you were looking for them.
"Damn it..." Han clenched his fist. "They planned this from the start."
His eyes widened as realization surged through him like a bolt of lightning.
He turned swiftly to the battlefield, where the heroes—unaware and unprotected—continued to fight valiantly, breathing in the white dust with every ragged gasp. Many of them were already showing signs of fatigue, but none realized the true reason.
Han’s voice rang out like thunder across the field, empowered by his energy and cutting through the din of battle.
> "Everyone, hold your breath imdiately!"
The command reached every corner of the battlefield. The heroes paused, shocked by the sudden order, but not a single one hesitated. Whether they were from his guild or another, they had already learned to trust Han’s judgnt. If he said it was dangerous, then it was dangerous. Period.
As the warriors held their breath and adjusted their positions, Han didn’t waste another second.
With a burst of power, he soared into the sky, his figure streaking upward like a silver cot, leaving the battlefield behind. He had only one goal in mind—destroy the source.
anwhile, the Red Vanguard leader, still observing from the far edge of the battlefield, watched Han’s departure with sharp eyes. Beneath the respirator mask covering his face, a cold, satisfied smile curled his lips.
> "The plan worked," he muttered. "The troubleso one is gone."
His gaze shifted toward the battlefield, where the heroes were still engaged in desperate combat.
> "Now it’s ti to deal with the leftovers."
He charged forward, his weapon humming with energy. The other Red Vanguards followed in formation, moving like a coordinated wave of crimson. Without a mont’s pause, they plunged into the chaos.
The Red Vanguards had joined the battle.
---
anwhile, Han flew high above the clouds at incredible speed. The wind howled around him, but his eyes were locked onto the massive creature floating in the air—the Black Beetle.
Unlike when seen from the ground, the creature’s black shell at this distance was clearly visible, and more importantly, so were the small openings all over its body. From each hole, white dust hissed outward, thick and dangerous. Here in the sky, the dust hadn’t yet dissipated—it was dense and unmistakably the source of the battlefield’s plague.
As Han closed in, the Black Beetle’s closed eyes snapped open.
It sensed him.
Without hesitation, it lunged with its powerful limbs, each strike carrying a deadly force. The air cracked from the sheer power behind its movent.
Han dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the beetle’s crushing limb. Without wasting a second, he twisted his torso and slamd a Tiger Punch directly into the creature’s hardened carapace. The strike landed clean—shockwaves erupted outward from the point of impact, rippling through the air like a miniature explosion.
But the beetle didn’t budge.
Not a flinch. Not a twitch.
It was as if the punch never happened.
Han’s eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell?
Before he could react further, the beetle countered. Its massive limb swung toward him again—only this ti, at the final mont of impact, thin, jagged blades jutted out from the limb’s edge, slicing across Han’s torso with a brutal hiss.
Thick, crimson lines streaked across his body.
> System Alert: Host is under Corroded Effect. HP -60.
A searing sting ripped through Han’s nerves. He gritted his teeth, a pained groan escaping his lips as he stumbled back, narrowly evading the next swing. The beetle was relentless, and its attacks weren’t just physical—they were laced with corrosion, eating away at flesh and energy alike.
Han staggered a step, sucking in a ragged breath. His fists clenched. His eyes burned with a fierce, barely restrained fury.
He glared at the beetle and growled under his breath, "You bastard... You’ll pay for that."
Flas ignited around him.
> Skill Activated: Inferno Roar
The fire didn’t just flicker—it roared to life, engulfing Han in a sphere of blazing heat. The beetle lunged again with its bladed limb, aiming straight for the core of the flas.
Bad move.
> Skill Activated: Twelfth Jungle Art – Turtle Shield – Fla Style
The flas surged, compressing and intensifying until they ford a compact, nearly impenetrable sphere of fire around Han’s body. As the beetle’s limb pierced into the inferno, a loud screech echoed through the air. The appendage imdiately began to sizzle and burn, the intense heat lting through its armor-like shell. It jerked back in pain.
But Han was already moving.
He burst forth from the fire sphere like a cannonball, roaring, "Thirteenth Jungle Art – Rhino Charge!"
The flas surged forward, condensing into the fiery head of a charging rhino. With brutal montum and explosive force, Han collided with the beetle, slamming it with devastating power. The beast was hurled into the sky, spinning uncontrollably.
It managed to halt its flight midair, flapping its wings desperately to steady itself.
But Han was already there.
Blazing with fury, he closed the gap in a blur and unleashed a flurry of Tiger Punches into the beetle’s already-weakened shell. Each blow rang out like thunder, shaking the air with raw force. The beetle screeched, this ti in pain, its cries louder and more desperate.
Then, it dropped—plumting toward the battlefield below.
Han’s eyes narrowed. His expression darkened.
White smoke began to pour from the beetle’s body as it fell.
His heart skipped a beat.
"Smart bastard..." he muttered, realizing what was happening.
The beetle wasn’t defeated yet—it was releasing its most dangerous weapon. The white smoke wasn’t ordinary. It was corrosive dust, thick and deadly. If the beetle crashed to the ground, the cloud would engulf the battlefield, lting armor, eating through skin, crippling the heroes. It would be a massacre.
Not on my watch.
Han charged straight at the beast with blazing determination, but the black beetle still had two distinct advantages—the initial montum from its fall and its sheer plumting velocity. The air trembled from the force of its descent, but Han didn’t hesitate. His veins bulged unnaturally as he forced even more energy into his limbs, activating a speed multiplier. In a flash, his body blurred—doubling, then tripling in pace—becoming a streak of motion that chased the beast down like a predator honing in on its prey.
He appeared directly behind the beetle, whose multiple eyes twitched in surprise. It hadn’t expected him to catch up so quickly. But the beast didn’t panic. With instinctual precision, it tried to soar back into the sky, wings buzzing furiously to regain control—but it was too late.
In Han’s fist crackled a sphere of condensed lightning, the energy so dense it seed to distort the air around it. The thunderous power continued building, arcs of blue-white electricity dancing up his arm like living serpents. His lips curled in a snarl.
"No, you don’t!" he barked, and in a flash of light, he was right behind the beast.
He unleashed the devastating Tiger Punch—now supercharged with layered lightning essence—directly at the already fractured shell of the beetle. The impact was earthshattering. A deafening boom rang through the sky as the shell cracked violently. In that instant, the lightning surged through the beast’s body, invading every limb, nerve, and muscle fiber. The creature convulsed mid-air, its body twisting and spasming under the electrical onslaught.
Then—it froze.
Midair, motionless. No flutter. No twitch. Lifeless.
Han hovered, breathing heavily, waiting for the system notification to appear. Seconds passed.
Nothing.
His pupils shrank.
Suddenly, the beast’s body swelled, like a balloon on the verge of rupture. Han’s danger sense flared—too late.
BOOOOOM!!!
The black beetle detonated in a violent burst of pure white dust, mixed with sizzling crimson streaks—corrosive, blinding, and impossibly thick. The explosion expanded like a do, engulfing a full kiloter in every direction. The dust hissed on contact with the ground, lting rock and eating through nearby vegetation. Even the air shimred as if scorched by acid.
Han’s form vanished within the chaos, his figure swallowed by the blinding cloud.
A mont passed.
Then silence.
And nothing moved.
No figure erged. No sound followed.
Only the soundless drift of the poisonous mist remained, swirling in the air where a warrior once stood.
To be continued...
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