Chapter 754: Close Combat
"...You know what? I was actually prepared to face a deity. This was a trump card meant to deal with a god. But I didn't expect you to be this difficult to handle."
Ebert looked at Lin Ye, a sense of absurdity rising in his heart. He never thought the day would come when a mid-level spiritual energy user would push him to such a desperate point.
"Then you'd better use it soon, because your time is running out."
Every flower around them was a parasitic node, and every alienated body was a special compound spiritual energy bomb capable of using Red Flash. It wasn't time to attack yet, but Lin Ye was already prepared to strike.
"I've already used it. About half a minute ago."
Ebert had to admit it—Lin Ye had cornered him completely.
"What a coincidence. I started making my move a long time ago too."
Lin Ye smiled and retreated behind the alienated bodies.
Ebert's body suddenly began to collapse as massive numbers of alienated bodies charged at him from all directions using Red Flash, simultaneously unleashing self-destruct Extreme Slashes.
The World of Ashes began to fade and disappear, along with the gray-white mist and the red ocean at the top of the pipe.
The flowers withered, and the entire world returned to its original state.
The red umbrella in Lin Ye's hand vanished completely like an illusion. Behind him, six figures appeared.
He didn't turn around because he could sense something crawling out from inside that vertical giant pipeline, perched on the pipe's exit, blocking the waterfall.
That thing was staring at his back.
Staring at everyone here.
This crippled near-deity in front of him couldn't even compare to that thing.
This was indeed a dangerously powerful trump card.
"...What happened to me?"
Colt climbed up from the ground, looking around in confusion.
His gaze landed on the little girl leaning against him—the girl he had adopted in the Old City District, the foster daughter he had forgotten.
"Dad? Why are you here? Am I dreaming? Or did those people capture you too?"
The little girl hugged Colt tightly, pressing her head against him.
"It's all right. I'll get you out of here."
Colt held the little girl close, glanced at the man confronting Lin Ye not far away, and reached for the pistol at his waist.
Near Colt, Ephesus was holding her little sister, and Wen Luo was embracing her mother.
Only then did Lin Ye dare to look back. There was nothing left at the pipe's exit.
He picked up the sniper rifle from the ground and fired a shot at the thing barely holding its human form.
Thud!
The bullet buried itself into Ebert's head, but the shot didn't bring him down.
"What a pity. You almost killed me."
Ebert stared at Lin Ye, struggling to control his collapsing body as he stepped closer step by step.
"You did choose a good location. If you had turned and run just now, I might not have been able to catch you."
Lin Ye spoke while firing at Ebert, not aiming for vital spots but trying to destroy the body structures related to movement.
But the sniper rifle's bullets only slightly affected Ebert's movement speed. The effect was mediocre.
"My body is about to completely collapse, but before it does, I'll make sure you're dead first."
Ebert had no intention of going back. He wouldn't let Lin Ye leave this place alive.
"Die! You monster!"
Colt pulled out his light machine gun from the nearby luggage bag and pulled the trigger at Ebert.
A hail of bullets slammed into Ebert's body but only slowed his advance.
The small wooden boat had already entered the vertical pipe. The platform's length was limited—at best, they could only retreat to above the waterfall.
So if they couldn't stop Ebert from getting closer, they'd have to engage in close combat with this monster that wasn't afraid of bullets.
Ephesus and the others also grabbed weapons from the luggage bags and joined the fight. They had finally found their loved ones—no one was going to stop them from going home now.
"Don't retreat! Stay away from the waterfall!"
Lin Ye suddenly spoke.
He felt that Ebert was deliberately luring them back above the waterfall.
"But that monster is closing in! We have limited bullets—we can't exactly jump into the water!"
Colt knew very well what it meant to withstand bullets head-on. He had no desire to get close to that monster.
"...I'll handle it."
Lin Ye emptied his magazine at Ebert. Colt and the others also fired off all the spare ammunition in the luggage bags.
"Even if you don't retreat, it doesn't matter. I'll break your limbs and throw you in there!"
With no bullets to stop him, Ebert rushed at Lin Ye and threw a punch at his head.
Lin Ye sidestepped the blow. He didn't make contact with Ebert but instead used the flaws in Ebert's body to evade his attacks.
Earlier, he had used the sniper rifle to damage the outermost layers of some of Ebert's critical parts. That level of injury couldn't take Ebert down, but it created openings in his movements.
"Damn it! You bastard!"
Ebert realized the problem too. In his terrible state, with Lin Ye's eyesight and reflexes, there was no way he could even touch Lin Ye.
"Most of the enemies I've faced love to curse. You're supposed to be a near-deity—can't you be a little more civilized?"
Lin Ye had no idea why all his enemies were so uncouth.
"...You're right. I shouldn't be cursing. I should make you pay with action!"
Ebert abandoned Lin Ye and charged at Colt and the others like a small tank.
"You must care about these people, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have followed them to a place like this!"
"Aren't you afraid I'll just cut and run?"
Lin Ye didn't follow Ebert. He didn't have the strength to fight Ebert head-on right now. Following would be pointless—it would only put him in danger.
"Suit yourself!"
Ebert reached Colt and ignored him entirely, swinging a punch at the little girl behind him.
Thud!
Colt punched Ebert and sent him flying.
"Bastard! That's the second time you've gone after my daughter!"
Colt crushed the empty syringe in his hand, stomped on Ebert's lower body, and punched his head clean off!
Boiling blood erupted from every pore in Colt's body. The intense heat clouded his mind, but he didn't stop. He kept swinging his fists, smashing every single part of Ebert's body to pieces.
Earlier, he had found a pale yellow syringe in the luggage bag. He didn't know what it was for or what the consequences of injecting it would be, but he had brought it with him anyway.