Lord of Prayer

Reeking of blood and killing intent, "Jack the Ripper" lunged forward. A sudden chill shot through Zhou Chen, and he leaped back warily to create distance.

A glint of cold light sliced through the air, shearing off a corner of Zhou Chen’s shadow on the ground.

The point of impact was the shoulder. A section of the shadow, about a centimeter long, was completely severed, instantly dissipating on the ground like a puff of smoke.

A sickening tear echoed.

A corresponding injury appeared on Zhou Chen’s shoulder. A chunk of his flesh was cleanly shaved off, the cut perfectly smooth, revealing stark white bone and crimson muscle tissue. Blood splattered.

Having landed a hit, "Jack the Ripper" cackled malevolently. He brandished his slender blade and charged, piercing the air as he thrust straight for Zhou Chen’s face.

’An Ability similar to Forbidden Object C-048: Sand Shadow...’ The thought flashed through Zhou Chen’s mind as he swung his Chainsaw Sword to meet the attack. He poured Essence into it, and the saw’s rotation speed instantly skyrocketed, unleashing a deafening roar.

But in the next moment, the slender blade deftly traced an arc and slashed downward.

This was Jack the Ripper’s signature feint. It looked like an attack aimed at a vital spot on the head, but his true target was his enemy’s shadow on the ground. Even if you knew about his blade’s shadow-cutting Ability, it was impossible to defend against. Whether you blocked high or low, he could instantly adjust his posture to strike the undefended area.

However, in that very instant, Jack the Ripper saw the corners of Zhou Chen’s mouth curl up slightly.

It was a look of pure mockery.

BOOM!

A ball of searing Cyan Flame suddenly exploded between them, erupting with a blinding light. It created a massive light source, instantly changing the direction of Zhou Chen’s shadow.

The blade sliced through the dirt, missing Zhou Chen’s shadow completely.

Meanwhile, the roaring Chainsaw Sword came crashing down, easily chewing into flesh and bone. Beneath his burlap mask, Jack the Ripper’s bloodshot eyes widened. Then, like a log of wood, he was split in two amidst a spray of blood and the whine of the saw blade.

Zhou Chen retracted his Chainsaw Sword, now drenched from head to toe in splattered blood. After its long-awaited drink of fresh blood, the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw Sword grew excited. Its engine roared with even more vigor, and the blades, now clogged with shredded flesh and bone, seemed to be coated in a crimson sheen.

On the ground, Jack the Ripper’s corpse spontaneously combusted in Cyan Flame, turning to charcoal and ash. Zhou Chen used Alchemy to pull the slender longsword into his palm.

At that moment, the Warlike clone’s assault suddenly intensified. The Long Spear in its hand became a tempest, each thrust blurring into a phantom streak of light under the Rapid Speed, like bolts of Thunderbolt in a hurricane.

The Emotion Avatar’s attack speed grew faster and faster. The Bloody Butcher roared as he frantically picked up his pace, his Meat Cleaver kicking up a foul, bloody wind.

Sparks flew violently as steel clashed against steel, the din of collisions incessant. Powerful shockwaves rolled out from the impacts.

Just as the fight reached its peak, the Bloody Butcher’s movements suddenly froze. Without any warning, a bloody hole appeared between his eyebrows, and his brains burst out. Then, with a flash of phantom light, his head went flying.

Decapitated!

Behind the corpse, Zhou Chen pulled the slender longsword from the dirt where it had pierced the shadow. ’Damn, this thing’s pretty useful,’ he thought. ’Perfect for backstabbing people.’

The members of the Saw Murder Association were all twisted psychopaths. When it came to the "art of killing," they could probably think up dozens of different and creative methods in an instant. But in a real fight, they were no match for him. They were defeated and killed in less than ten seconds.

In the distance, the assassins who had been held back by the Alchemy Bombs had just made it through the blast zone when they saw the two members of the Saw Murder Association get killed so easily. Their hearts sank.

The quick-witted ones already had their weapons raised. Three assassins brandished their Alchemy Firearms. Two aimed at Zhou Chen and one at Erin before pulling their triggers.

Jet-black bullets condensed from malicious Curses sprayed out like rain. But amidst the roar of gunfire, a dozen translucent, phantom-like Spiritual Tentacles extended from behind Zhou Chen. With a single sweep, the thick tentacles easily snatched all the Cursed bullets from the air.

"What the hell is that thing!" someone screamed in terror. They instinctively thought of those grotesque, mutated monsters that sprouted disgusting tentacles.

"Get back!" The leader of the group sensed something was wrong. After yelling a warning, he immediately dove to the side, taking cover behind a small food stall.

The next second, the tentacles that had caught the Cursed bullets whipped forward—Return to sender!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The white wakes of sonic booms erupted. The deadly black bullets, now traveling faster than the speed of sound, glowed red-hot from the intense friction. The assassins who couldn’t dodge in time were hit, and the vicious Curses detonated inside their bodies instantly.

Aging, poison, decay, mutation, fission, strangulation... They dissolved into pools of blood, screaming in agony.

Zhou Chen tossed the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw Sword to his Emotion Avatar, letting it deal with the remaining assassins, while he used Flame Jump to appear next to the food stall.

The leader had just scrambled up from the ground when, a second later, the blade of a Crystal spear was pressed against his neck. Zhou Chen looked down on him coldly. "Who hired you?"

At the same time, he made a wish in his mind for the man to be compliant.

[Heart’s Wish Value -50]

"It was the boss of Feng City’s Mu Yuan Group. He hired us to kill you," the leader answered truthfully.

’The boss of Mu Yuan Group?’ Zhou Chen thought for a moment. He didn’t recall the name. ’When did I ever offend this person?’

’Could it be... the family of a Corrupter I killed coming for revenge?’

"Were the men from the Saw Murder Association hired by him too?"

"Y-Yes. They’ve been wanting to kill you and take back the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw for a long time, so as soon as they heard about the contract, they sent people right away. But I never expected them to be so useless."

As he spoke, screams echoed continuously in the background. The leader subconsciously glanced over, and the color drained from his face. He saw his comrades, men he lived and fought with day in and day out, being dismembered by the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw. Torrents of blood sprayed everywhere. It was like a scene from a violent movie, but this wasn’t a movie—it was a horrifying reality unfolding right before his eyes.

A little further away, Erin fired the last Dragon Breath Bullet from her chamber, melting and evaporating the final attacker’s head. With all the surrounding enemies cleared out, she took a shallow breath, suppressing the discomfort of killing and witnessing such a bloody scene. She deftly swapped in a new magazine and provided ranged support for the Emotion Avatar.

"How much did the boss pay you?" Zhou Chen asked.

"Fifty million US Dollars, plus a lot of benefits more valuable than money." Hearing his comrades’ screams, the leader couldn’t help but swallow hard. "The boss of Mu Yuan Group has connections with some big shots in the Star Association. With a single word, he can give us things we could never obtain in a lifetime."

"Which big shots?"

"I don’t know."

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Take me to see this boss."

A minute later, the battle was over. The inside of the Barrier was a complete mess, littered with corpses.

"The Star Association will definitely send people to investigate the incident here. You should go back with them in a bit," Zhou Chen said to Erin.

Erin was currently using her Extraordinary Abilities to heal the wound on his shoulder. As a warm light washed over him, the severed muscle and bone on his shoulder rapidly regenerated. She then nodded slightly. "I’ll wait for you to come back. Be safe."

「 Meanwhile. 」

In an office in the Mu Yuan Group tower, the boss, Huang Yunshan, was smoking a cigar as he answered his phone.

"How’s the mission going?"

"Boss, I’m calling to let you know that the mission needs a little more preparation. The target’s strength needs to be reassessed," the leader on the other end of the line said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Tsk, didn’t I give you an Artifact?" Huang Yunshan said, sounding displeased. "Delays breed trouble. Get rid of him as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, we’ll do it as fast as we can."

The call ended abruptly. Huang Yunshan grumbled a few curses, then slapped the butt of the Secretary beside him. "Go find another reliable mercenary team. I have a feeling one isn’t enough."

"Yes, sir."

Just as the Secretary was about to leave, a ball of Cyan Flame suddenly ignited in the office, and Zhou Chen stepped out of it—the phone call just now had been to confirm that Huang Yunshan was in his office.

The Ascender bodyguards in the office erupted into action. The Secretary also reacted quickly, leaning forward into an attack stance. But a second later, they were all knocked unconscious by the translucent, phantom-like Spiritual Tentacles.

Huang Yunshan was about to press the alarm button, but no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t outpace a thought. He was instantly brought under Zhou Chen’s control. As the boss of a major corporation, Huang Yunshan also possessed Spiritual Armor. To conserve his Heart’s Wish Value, Zhou Chen didn’t wish for brainwashing, but instead wished for Huang Yunshan to lose his ability to move and be forced to speak only the truth.

[Heart’s Wish Value -50]

"Why did you hire people to kill me?"

"It was an order from my superior. He wanted me to eliminate you as soon as possible." Huang Yunshan’s eyes widened in terror. He had wanted to say he didn’t know anything, but the words that came out were the truth.

"You have a superior?"

Zhou Chen was taken aback. "Who is your superior?"

"Song Bensong, a council member of the Star Association’s Southern East Continent Division."