But Hoolay, holding his curved blade in a reverse grip, was already leaping skyward, smashing down toward them, even faster than the shockwave itself.
------------------------------------
Two nearly instantaneous attacks.
The three were caught off guard.
Too fast! Clearly, they had set up a formation to trap Hoolay!
But the initiative of the attack was in Hoolay's hands!
Boom!
Yanqing's several flying swords blocked in front of him, forming a sword array, but were scattered instantly by the surge of blood energy.
Meanwhile, Yunli had already released Old Mettle. After several previous blocks, Old Mettle's body had turned red-hot.
At this moment, it was suddenly unleashed. The massive blade of Old Mettle shot straight to the sky.
Yunli let out a delicate shout, swinging the great sword with all her strength, smashing it down toward Hoolay, who was descending from above!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The two blades collided!
The entire warship trembled!
But such a fierce strike merely stalled Hoolay for a brief moment.
"Roar!!" With a wild howl, Hoolay lifted his blade in a reverse strike, sending Old Mettle, and Yunli along with it, flying.
Just as he was about to pursue, several flying swords pierced in from all directions. Hoolay was forced to wave his weapon, blocking around him.
"Hoolay!"
Yanqing had already soared into the sky, sword hand formed, murderous intent surging: "Die!"
The flying swords behind him merged into one in the air, forming a massive blade that came crashing down!
Facing the giant sword, Hoolay let out a cruel laugh.
The energy around him, condensed from the battle just now, had turned into tangible flames, blazing furiously.
Hoolay did not retreat but advanced.
He reversed his grip on the hilt, leaping from the ground, clashing head-on with the massive sword.
And in that moment, the red flames on Hoolay's body turned into countless frenzied crimson blade auras, violently tearing the giant sword apart in midair!
The tearing was so fast, Yanqing had no time to react before the strike was already shredded to nothing!
"Roar!!!" The aura around Hoolay grew even more terrifying!
Violent shockwaves radiated outward from him, battering the surroundings.
Even the sky dimmed, stained black and red!
Yanqing landed on the ground. Though the strike had not injured him, his breath was in chaos.
Fortunately, March 7th caught him from behind.
"Yanqing, that wolf is fierce!"
On the other side, Yunli dragged her great sword back, her face pale, but otherwise unharmed.
"Before the General arrives, we must keep him here!" Yanqing recalled his flying swords, wiped the corner of his mouth, and stared deathly at the enemy.
"Mm!"
"Let's go!"
Yunli and March 7th nodded.
The three of them readjusted their stance, facing the raging shockwaves, staring at Hoolay.
Whether it was the influence of the Crimson Moon, or Hoolay's own aura, an invisible fear was spreading in their hearts.
Even though they were already prepared to fight to the death here, the fear still clung to them like a shadow, gnawing at their hearts.
But no matter how it felt, he three of them gripped their weapons tightly.
A wolf's howl rang out. Hoolay launched another assault!
"Go!" The three shouted together.
March 7th and Yunli struck from the sides, while Yanqing drew attention from the front.
They thought they could at least entangle Hoolay for a while.
But now his power had suddenly grown even stronger!
Hoolay ignored Yunli and March's attacks, simply waving his hand, with one move, he sent both of them flying!
Then, with a single slash, he shattered Yanqing's sword array and knocked him away!
"What…?!" Yanqing and Yunli were shaken to the core.
The searing pain in their bodies nearly paralyzed them!
Compared to just moments ago, his attacks were on a completely different level.
The spectators were dumbfounded.
…
: This fight is making my scalp tingle, the tension is insane!
: Forget the visuals, Hoolay's strength is absurd!
: I thought the three would at least hold out for a bit, but he swatted them down instantly!
: That opening double strike, what kind of combo slash was that?!
: Now he's gotten even stronger, smashing Yanqing and Yunli in just a few blows!
: Damn, I thought he was just a mechanics boss, turns out Hoolay's a pure stat monster!
: They're not even a match for one round!
: This is bad, something's gonna happen!
: Where's General Feixiao?! Save them!
…
On the battlefield.
Under shock and pain, Yanqing tried several times to climb back up, but failed every time.
"I'm tired of this. Let's end it here." Hoolay took two steps forward, grabbed Yanqing off the ground in one hand.
Turns out, he had only been toying with them. Just testing their strength.
Yanqing was clutched in Hoolay's claw, struggling fiercely. His right hand swung his sword, hacking desperately at Hoolay's fingers.
But such resistance wasn't even a scratch to Hoolay.
Yanqing was about to be shoved into Hoolay's jaws.
At that moment, Hoolay's body suddenly staggered, as if drunk, nearly losing his balance.
"…What's happening?!"
For the first time, the always-dominant Hoolay showed confusion.
The audience's eyes widened.
They had no idea what was going on.
With life and death on the line, even the scrolling comments slowed, Hoolay looked increasingly unwell.
Even his grip on Yanqing loosened, turning instead to clutch his chest.
The screen suddenly went black!
A bloodstained, battered, yet familiar figure appeared.
"Jiaoqiu?!"
"How could it be Jiaoqiu!"
The audience was stunned.
The battle had been so intense, they had almost forgotten about the strategist who had been missing all this time.
Could Hoolay's strange change be related to Jiaoqiu?!
With that question in mind, they kept watching.
In the footage, Jiaoqiu lay in a corner.
His body was covered with massive gashes, but that wasn't the most horrifying part.
The most terrifying thing was, hardly any blood flowed from those wounds. Instead, there was only… emptiness.
"For hunting, secrets are indispensable weapons. Without secrets, one is nothing but prey, torn open, waiting to die in misery."
Hoolay's voice echoed from offscreen. The viewers immediately understood.
It was all Hoolay's doing. And that his kind, before battle, would drain all the blood of their prey!
Those bloodless wounds were proof of it.
This sudden flashback in the middle of the fight all but confirmed it, Jiaoqiu was already dead!