Chapter Sixty-Six: One More Gamble

The intelligent entity charged toward Ye Bai, undeterred by the attacks from Yao Ling and Little Monk Cao. Their blows, striking the steel armor of the creature, failed to inflict even the slightest harm, unable to impede its advance for a moment.

Wielding a crimson greatsword, now unburdened by the machine guns that once weighed down its arms, the intelligent entity moved with newfound agility. In a single, swift sprint, it closed the distance to Ye Bai.

A greatsword without an edge, wielded with supreme force—the perfection of simplicity. To Ye Bai, the red blade appeared as a heavy sword, capable of cleaving anything that stood before it.

The intelligent entity gave Ye Bai no chance to evade. The scarlet sword blocked every possible route of escape. Forced into a desperate defense, Ye Bai raised his blade to meet the assault head-on.

A metallic clang resounded, followed by a deep buzzing. The greatsword, blunt and massive, pressed down with sheer power. At the instant blade met blade, Ye Bai felt himself sink dozens of centimeters into the floor—a foundation of concrete underlaid with formidable bedrock.

Yet the crimson sword inflicted no real damage upon Ye Bai’s weapon. Instead, his blade carved a notch into the red greatsword. The immense force drove Ye Bai’s lower legs beneath the surface, accompanied by a thunderous collision and a vibrating hum that felt like drums pounding beside his eardrums.

The sword hammered Ye Bai into the ground, but his blade left a growing fissure in the enemy’s weapon. The shock from the clash numbed Ye Bai’s hand, nearly causing him to lose his grip, but the force was mutual; the trembling of his blade enlarged the wound on the greatsword.

At that moment, Little Monk Cao launched his own attack from behind, leaping onto the towering, five-meter-high entity and clinging to the transparent dome that shielded its brain.

Cao’s fingers spread wide, poised like an eagle swooping down upon its prey, seeking to seize the target in one decisive move.

A sizzling sound erupted as earth-elemental energy flared from his gauntlets. Upon contact, a flash of white light appeared on the protective dome, absorbing the burning energy. The golden claws, forged from pure metal, scraped against the shield, producing the sharp, discomforting sound of nails on glass.

The intelligent entity’s attention was drawn to Cao, giving Ye Bai a precious moment. He wrenched his legs free from the ground, though his arm still trembled from the aftershock. Another blow from the entity might render him incapable of holding his blade.

Yao Ling, unable to harm the entity with her energy form, now joined the fray, drawing a sword she had never used before—a lady’s longsword, its white blade radiating blue light, its hilt wound with red ribbons and a tassel hanging from its tip.

With a spirited cry, she charged toward the intelligent entity.

Cao had just jumped clear of the creature when he saw Yao Ling rushing in, sword raised.

The entity spun, sweeping its greatsword with casual brutality. Before Yao Ling could react, the immense force transferred through her blade and sent her flying.

The entity had intended to strike Ye Bai, but instead hit Yao Ling. Ye Bai abandoned his attack to catch her as she was launched across the room.

“Don’t take it head-on! This monster’s strength is overwhelming—no one can withstand its force. Wait for the chance to shatter its shield,” Ye Bai said, retreating several steps with Yao Ling in his arms before steadying himself.

“Yes,” Yao Ling replied, her cheeks flushed. Never before had anyone held her waist so intimately.

Ye Bai surged forward once more. The entity’s core—its brain—was encased in a five-meter-high protective dome. Every attack required him to leap with full force and strike at the shield.

Yet in midair, Ye Bai had no way to adjust his trajectory, and the colossal entity proved remarkably nimble, parrying each blow with its sword. He had struck the shield only a few times, and Little Monk Cao’s claws proved ineffective against it.

By now, Ye Bai’s right arm was wracked with pain. Each attack was blocked, sending waves of trembling force through his muscles. While Ye Bai paid with his aching arm, the entity’s sword suffered jagged wounds.

After repeated collisions, Ye Bai felt the overwhelming power of the shock force. It was a mutual exchange, but thus far, the damage was one-sided. He had managed only to scar the sword, causing no harm to the entity’s core.

“Little Monk, your agility is unmatched. Distract it, and I’ll attack,” Ye Bai said, realizing that if the battle continued this way, exhaustion would claim him before victory.

Cao replied with action, not words, demonstrating his trust in Ye Bai.

With ghostly speed, he drew close to the entity. Each time the greatsword threatened to sever him, he dodged deftly; whenever the entity turned to attack Ye Bai, Cao entangled it, diverting its focus.

No one could fathom the pressure of facing that monstrous sword, nor the mental fortitude required to dance beneath its blade. Yet Cao’s expression remained unchanged, silent and resolute—because he believed in Ye Bai.

Seizing the opportunity while Cao occupied the entity, Ye Bai managed to leave three pale scars upon the shield, but each time, the marks were swiftly repaired.

Elemental energy was ineffective, and his blade lacked sufficient damage—what now? Ye Bai asked himself repeatedly, feeling at a loss. He had exhausted all his tricks, unable to breach the iron shell.

Once more, he struck the shield, leaving a mark only for it to vanish before he touched the ground.

Each attack was delivered with his utmost strength, every collision exacting a toll of recoil upon his arm. Ye Bai had lost count of his assaults, and the capillaries beneath his skin had ruptured from the relentless force, leaving patches of red beneath the surface.

As he landed again, feeling the reverberation in his arm, a realization dawned—he still had one technique left unused. From the first moment the greatsword struck, he had instinctively learned to harness the shock force, though he had never consciously controlled it.

“Little Monk, hold on a moment longer—it’ll soon be over,” Ye Bai called. Under the greatsword’s relentless barrage, Cao was no longer as composed; his face flushed, his sleeve torn in several places by the blade. No one could maintain such focus indefinitely, not in the era before or after the Dark Age.

Ye Bai recalled the sensation of the first shockwave transmitted through his arm, his muscles vibrating. On the second attack, his biceps and triceps convulsed fiercely.

From afar, Yao Ling watched in astonishment. Even the elders who had practiced martial arts for decades could not make their muscles tremble in such a way.

Third, fourth—time after time, until the last strike upon the shield, Ye Bai’s muscles synchronized, his whole body quivering.

With a determined step, the debris beneath his feet crumbled to powder, clearing a path for him.

He closed in, leapt, and seized the moment as the entity targeted Cao. His trembling blade swung toward the protective dome.

A metallic ring echoed as blade met shield. Ye Bai poured all his gathered energy into the strike, the vibration channeling through his arm into the sword.

A series of inaudible impacts reverberated.

A sharp crack sounded at Ye Bai’s ear—the shield was fracturing. The shock force surged through his arm and body. Suddenly, his skin split and blood spurted from his arm, unable to withstand the tremendous recoil; his entire arm tore open with wounds of varying size.

His wood-elemental power sensed the injury, rushing to repair his body. But Ye Bai’s arm was so ravaged it would take much more time to heal.

The intelligent entity, finally wounded, panicked. It abandoned the pests before it and lunged at Ye Bai, who had harmed it.

“Ye Bai, get out of the way!” Cao’s voice crackled over the earpiece. No longer merely dodging, Cao launched a frenzied assault, hoping to buy Ye Bai a moment.

‘Let’s gamble,’ Ye Bai thought. He could no longer count how many times he’d risked his life; it seemed every desperate moment left nothing but his life to wager.

The shield had cracked. If Ye Bai didn’t act now, it would soon repair itself, and none of them would have another chance.

His arm trembled anew, more violently than before, suppressing the overwhelming shock force and channeling it into the shield once more.

“Shatter!” Ye Bai roared, blood and fragments of his shattered organs flying from his mouth. At that instant, his arm could no longer withstand the force—it exploded.

Cao and Yao Ling barely registered the rain of blood that scattered across their faces, laced with bits of flesh.

The intelligent entity’s greatsword was poised to strike Ye Bai, but suddenly its body froze, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.

“It’s finally dead,” Cao murmured, his last words before darkness claimed him. Blood trickled from his mouth as he lost consciousness.

“Ye Bai, Little Monk!” Yao Ling cried, rushing to her companions.

She found Ye Bai beneath the steel corpse of the entity—his right arm gone, mouth smeared with fragments of internal organs. His right hand, reduced to bare bone, still clutched his sword tightly. Yao Ling wept as she poured her elemental power into Ye Bai, striving to restore his body.

As her power entered Ye Bai, Yao Ling’s heart ached. He was like a clay figure riddled with cracks, so fragile she feared he might shatter at a touch. Though only his right arm was lost, his internal organs were covered in fissures. Her power first repaired his insides, and once they were whole, Ye Bai’s own wood-elemental energy emerged to help Yao Ling reconstruct his missing shoulder.

Once Ye Bai was stabilized, Yao Ling hurried to aid Little Monk Cao. As her power flowed into him, she finally sighed in relief—his spirit was exhausted, his organs damaged in several places, but a little treatment and a good rest would suffice.

She moved Ye Bai and Cao to a clean spot and then noticed Ye Bai’s sword was emitting a white glow. On the blade, two characters appeared—“Jinghong,” meaning “Startling Swan.”