Chapter 482: An Arrow to the Head

Indeed, almost two-thirds of Shicang's army had now been destroyed, and she would be able to exterminate the remaining third easily if Shicang didn't stop her. Shicang had had no choice but to make his move.

"You humans are quite a bit stronger than I had expected. I'm very curious—just how did you humans become so strong? Or were you simply hiding your strength and biding your time?"

Six zombies surrounded Shicang, protecting him from danger. The three zombies that had gone against the garuda likewise returned to his side, battered and broken—all three had lost half their arms to the garuda's explosion.

The leader of the rock spirits likewise rushed back and stood in front of Sun Mengmeng. He whispered to her, "Each of those corpses is on the level of a sura king."

Most of those corpses were of sura, whereas the others were of other alien races.

A pair of eyes sparkled within black robes. Shicang's eyes scanned Sun Mengmeng up and down. "Beautiful! My treasury's lacking a collector's piece like you, no, you're superior to any of my prized corpses! Yes, just like a goddess of war... I implore you, become the most prized jewel of my collection!"

Sun Mengmeng frowned. "I intend to serve no one but my captain, the governor of Renhuang!"

It was evident that Shicang only collected the dead.

Shicang sighed. "What a shame! I don't want to destroy a work of art—it'll take me considerable effort to put you back together if you injure yourself. Furthermore, once I have to repair you, you won't be as good as new. Losing an arm or a leg will diminish your value greatly, do you understand?"

"I have no interest in a necrophile's whims or desires. [Lunarflame Shot]!"

Three arrows, brimming with purple flame, flew toward her opponent.

Three of Shicang's corpses stepped forward, fending off the arrows with their fists.

"Please, don't call me a necrophile. I'm just a collector." Without any visible signal, Shicang sent the six corpses charging toward Sun Mengmeng.

"[Lunarflame Shot]!" Fire-attuned genetic energy burst from Sun Mengmeng's body as her body erupted in flames. She pulled her greatbow taut, and her right hand seemed to blur. Countless arrows of purple flame shot out of her bow like a meteor shower, that tinted the air purple and gave the valley a phantasmagorical appearance. The air turned dry and arid, as though a cataclysm was nigh.

Under the brilliant purple sky, the zombies began to burn, drowned in a sea of purple flame.

Nevertheless, it wasn't enough to stop the corpses that were on the level of sura kings, who agilely darted through the sea of flames like fish.

Sun Mengmeng sent more and more meteor-like arrows flying toward Shicang, but they were shot down by his three remaining bodyguards.

The leader of the rock spirits sent two of the zombies flying with his fists as the other four surrounded him. They punched forward with their fists, attacking one by one and forcing the leader of the rock spirits to grit its teeth as it was pushed back by their combined force.

Although the leader of the rock spirits was stronger than any individual sura king, there was only one of it and six of the zombies.

More zombie balls came rolling in from the distance, but Sun Mengmeng couldn't spare them any attention given that she had to deal with Shicang and his elite zombies. She left them for the other rock spirits and hunters to deal with.

The elite zombies charged toward Sun Mengmeng.

"[Baptism of Hellfire: Full Moon]!" Sun Mengmeng whirled her daggers all around her as a black moon rose into the air.

The zombies were sent flying by her attacks. In mid-air, Sun Mengmeng followed up with a second blow. As her peak-grade bow began to burn, she fired an arrow into the skies, creating a glowing purple-black moon which burst apart into a shower of arrows.

The remaining corpses in the vicinity massed together into a gigantic ball of zombies which struck the valley and exploded, propelling a huge wave of them toward the forces of Renhuang.

The elite zombies continued charging toward Sun Mengmeng, uncaring of their comrades' deaths.

"[Netherworld's Gaze]!" Sun Mengmeng retreated with [Flameburst Step], her hands burning with flame. She sent pillars of purplish-black flame flaring toward the skies. The pillars exploded in mid-air and transformed into a violet moon, which shot down rays of light that pierced her enemies.

The elite zombies defended themselves against the barrage, but quite a few more holes appeared through their bodies.

The leader of the rock spirits sent more of the elite zombies flying with his fists.

"[The Nine Moons of the Underworld]!" Nine more flaming moons appeared in the sky, so bright they eclipsed the sun and dyed the entire land in shades of purple and black.

Each moon shone upon one of Shicang's nine elites. Four were by his side, and the other five were still charging toward Sun Mengmeng. Shicang had to act now or risk losing all his elites completely. He moved through the air like a shade, helping to defend against the moonbeams.

Just then, an arrow pierced the sky, soundless and colorless, so quickly even Shicang couldn't react. It pierced through his head.

Everyone paused as Shicang's head burst open.

Nevertheless, Shicang didn't fall. He remained standing, black mist billowing forth from his neck and seemingly regenerating another head. Shicang's body was composed of black mist, and his features were obscured and unclear.

"As expected." Sun Mengmeng wasn't surprised to see such a sight, as though she had long since unraveled his mystery...