From the finger bones, a huge black hand extended, the concentration of its Source Power shocked people to the core.
Compared to the casual manner in which the Black Skeleton had killed the Ancestor Dragon Awakener just moments before, now, it seemed even more serious.
If it weren't for the few from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the hiding place of their race would never have been discovered.
But the Black Skeleton was not worried at all, in fact, it seemed on the verge of laughter.
"Merely weak humans, who don't deserve to force us into hiding, watch, with just a slap of my hand, I can wipe them out."
A loud thunderclap shook the ground.
The fastest and strongest among the Luoxia Awakeners were furious, each attacking the Black Skeleton, but the Black Skeleton easily blocked them with a backhanded gesture.
Director Jin struggled to his feet and looked over to the place where Tang Yu and his friends had been standing. The ground had collapsed, and the dispersing black energy swirled chaotically, sizzling as it turned a large area of stone slabs to dust.
The power left them terrified.
Their expressions grew somber.
Director Jin suddenly noticed a flash of orange-glow cutting through the dark chaotic streams.
The black chaotic streams gradually dissipated.
A man with brown short hair, wielding a broadsword, was half-kneeling, grasping the hilt of his sword, angled upwards.
The brown-haired man's hair stood on end, and circles of orange aura erupted from him like a coat of orange-glow was painted on his whole being.
Director Jin's eyes bulged.
The brown-haired man, having blocked that terrifying giant hand, was unscathed... at most, his hair had just become frizzy.
Even the other members of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall behind him were all safe and sound.
The other Luoxia experts also breathed a sigh of relief.
They saw the brown-haired man slowly stand up, his majestic aura rolling towards them like a surging tide.
"Awakening Ninth Layer!"
Such a level of life surpassed everyone present.
The strongest of the Luoxia experts, being closest, felt it most acutely and had complex expressions on their faces.
They knew well that even if they possessed the strength of the Ninth Layer of Awakening, they likely wouldn't last more than a few moves against the Black Skeleton, yet the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's brown-haired expert managed to protect all his comrades single-handedly.
The disparity between them was as vast as the gap between them and ordinary Awakeners.
Along with their shared astonishment, they also sighed in relief.
Looking towards the Black Skeleton, their fighting spirit burned fiercely.
The Black Skeleton's head turned a hundred and eighty degrees, and even though one couldn't tell expressions from a skeleton's head, one could deduce that if it had an expression, it would be 'astonished.'
Its jawbone moved up and down, "Ninth Layer? Seems like he knows a thing or two about the use of strength, a bit better than those Battle Qi scraps over there, but... still too weak!"
The Soul Fire in the Black Skeleton's eye sockets flared up, and an aura many times stronger than that of Boss Carmen erupted like a volcanic explosion, instantly enveloping the entire city.
The aura was so tangible it whipped up a hurricane.
The closest Awakener masters felt as if a heavy object had suddenly struck their chests, unable to withstand the pressure, their expressions changed over and over, and their feet were pushed backward by the force.
Director Jin and others who had been injured, just regaining a fraction of their fighting spirit, now clenched their fists in front of their chests, their teeth involuntarily chattering, eyes fixated on the Black Skeleton at the center of the storm, filling with bloodlust.
The detached villas, row houses, and even the tall residential buildings close to the villa area, where residents had already been evacuated...
Glass windows shattered, and objects placed on the windowsills were blown into disarray.
Among those residents forced to evacuate by the City Defense Army were many Awakeners with formidable strength. They were annoyed by the attitude of the City Defense Army and their unexplained actions. However, now these more powerful Awakeners, with their sharper Perception, all looked up in the same direction.
Their faces were ashen.
Equally pale were the Ancestor Dragon Awakeners, who were ready to be the main force in the siege against Mr. K in this case. But their powerful wills forced them to withstand this momentum: even if their faces were pale, even if blood seeped from the corners of their mouths, even if their feet dragged deep grooves into the ground...
But they could not retreat any further!
The six-person advisory team confronted the Black Skull.
Tang Yu's face was also somewhat pale. Had it not been for Boss Carmen standing directly in front of him, blocking the brunt of the oncoming breath and momentum, he, with only Fifth Tier Awakening and a qualitative difference in life level, would probably be in worse shape than the Ancestor Dragon Awakeners and people like Director Jin.
At this moment, Xing Yue stood behind him. Shay had drawn her weapon. Even Xiaoli had a solemn expression, focusing intently on the enemy not far away.
Tang Yu exhaled a breath of turbid air, "twelfth layer Awakening."
The Black Skull opposite him was almost at the pinnacle of the Awakening Tier. Beyond that lay Thirteen Layer Perfection and the Half-step Transcendent, a step out of the mundane.
He admitted that this Black Skull was strong.
He also cleared the doubts in his heart—the mastermind behind the case could evade Xing Ling's divinations, had incredible powers, and possessed strength beyond imagination, because this being was not the human Awakener he had imagined at all!
Yet, you damn creature, you're not even as good as the original Zuofo. What kind of presence are you putting on, what arrogance are you pretending?
He, Lord Tang, was about to demonstrate with facts that villains often die from their pretense.
Boss Carmen was the first to charge out. His hands tightly gripped his Broadsword, wrapped in orange Battle Qi, slashing towards the Black Skull.
The broadsword was blocked by the Black Skull's finger bones. The Black arm bones bent slightly, and a circle of shockwaves erupted from the center point.
At the same time, Shay switched her multi-functional personal weapon to sniper mode, and a genuine Consuming Crystal bullet, inscribed with multiple Advanced runes, spiraled towards the Black Skull's eye sockets.
The Black Skull was about to counterattack.
Suddenly, his surroundings changed drastically—the whole... environment around him became dazzling, as if surrounded by many little suns, causing his soul, unaccustomed to pain for who knows how long, to feel as if it was being burned, suffering from bursts of piercing pain.
The Skeleton paused, the Soul Fire in its eye sockets flickered wildly, and the blinding white light in its vision immediately dissipated, revealing the brown-haired man with the broadsword in front of it.
Black energy surfaced around him, flowing from the skull down to the arm bones, and finally, twining around the finger bones, transforming into a black ghost claw intending to blast Carmen away.
However, on his left and right sides, as if from nowhere, appeared two figures clad in full-body armor with helmets on—silver-white Warriors... no, not warriors, but two Warrior Puppets.
The Black Skull was a Skeleton with knowledge. He quickly recognized them, but it was of no use. The two Super Soldier Puppets, one on each side, took hold of him.
A Star Light Array appeared under his feet. Points of starlight climbed up his legs, making his movements somewhat sluggish.
Under the various effects, the Black Skull's arm struggled, but for a moment, it could not break free.
The rune bullet, inscribed with a complex pattern, shot into the Black Skull's empty eye sockets.
The Consuming Crystal bullet, containing Shay's Source Power, along with Blast, Armor-breaking Rune, and Thunderbolt Rune capabilities, exploded in an instant.
Bright red fire and violent thunder erupted from the Skull, blowing the top of the skull open, scattering black fragments everywhere.
The Soul Fire in the eye sockets also went out.
Tang Yu, with his arms folded, shook his head and sighed, "That fragile? I haven't even made a move yet."