The rift sky was fully devoured by the storm, shattered clouds clawing at the earth like talons.
The system's announcements thundered through the entire server again and again:
[World Event: Storm Overture · Stage Four Initiated]
[Stage Objective: Residual Blood Maniac must survive seventy-two hours in the storm hunt]
[Note: All players may choose to follow or hunt. If the Residual Blood Maniac dies, the event ends immediately.]
——
South Ridge Plain.
The follower faction quickly gathered—barely over a hundred in number, but their eyes burned bright, as if Xu Zhu were their only faith.
All around them, however, the black tide of hunters swelled—thousands strong, weapons glinting with cold light.
Fatty Third's legs trembled so hard they nearly gave out, clutching Xu Zhu's clothes in terror. "Big bro… seventy-two hours? We'll be worn down alive!"
Ling Xue stood with sword across her chest, voice cold and sharp as steel: "If we endure this first night, the followers will only grow. Xu Zhu, you are not alone."
Xu Zhu raised his head, wind lashing his face, Residual Edge flickering in his vision.
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 92%]
[Warning: Prolonged combat will trigger extremity state]
He drew a deep breath, voice low but steady: "Seventy-two hours, or seven thousand—it makes no difference. My single drop of blood will carve the way."
——
The first siege erupted.
The hunters roared as they charged, the vanguard made up of Baqiang Alliance's elites.
Spears and shields pressed forward in iron formation, a steel wall descending upon them.
Xu Zhu shifted a step, Residual Edge blazing, his staff swinging wide—
Boom!
The steel wall burst open with a hole, three men's bones shattered, their screams fading to grey light.
Ling Xue followed in immediately, her sword gleaming like flowing light, severing throats one after another. Every strike filled the gaps Xu Zhu could not cover.
Fatty Third ran at their backs, hurling stones with wild abandon. By sheer chance he toppled an assassin creeping up from behind: "Fatty Third is battle power too! Don't underestimate me!!"
The followers roared, voices shaking the plain: "Residual Blood Maniac! Residual Blood never dies!"
They threw themselves forward, even at the cost of their lives, to shield Xu Zhu.
——
Spectator channels flooded with madness:
[Residual Blood Maniac's under siege!]
[This is the biggest battle in server history!]
[Can he hold? Seventy-two hours!]
[Residual Blood Maniac! Kill!!]
——
Blood and fire tangled across the South Ridge, corpses piling like hills.
Xu Zhu's figure wove like a phantom, Residual Edge's lines setting the battlefield ablaze; every strike he made reaped multiple lives.
But the tearing in his mind worsened by the second.
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 95%]
[Warning: Extremity approaching]
The whispers flooded back into his ears.
"Kill… kill… you are residual blood… you are the storm…"
Xu Zhu's pupils glowed crimson, his breathing heavy. Were it not for Ling Xue's sword flashing constantly at his flank, suppressing the worst, he might already have lost control.
Ling Xue's voice came low and firm: "Xu Zhu, don't fall. If you do, all of us are done."
Fatty Third wailed, "Big bro! Hold on! Fatty Third doesn't wanna die yet!!"
——
In the chaos, Baqiang's guildmaster sneered coldly, raising a hand to signal the archers for the final strike.
"Loose! Tonight, the Residual Blood Maniac dies!"
A thousand arrows shrieked through the wind, descending like rain.
The battlefield froze in breathless anticipation.
Xu Zhu's bloodshot eyes blazed. Residual Edge ignited in full burn, the world falling silent again.
His growl tore out like thunder: "Residual Blood never dies— the blood road never ends!"
His body stormed through, staff sweeping wide, shattering the deadliest volley.
Blood streamed from his ears, yet his back remained straight as a blade.
——
[System Prompt]:
Storm's Child Xu Zhu has survived Phase One: two hours.
Time remaining: 70 hours.
The channels erupted in chaos:
[He really survived it!]
[Residual Blood Maniac aaaaahhhh!]
[And this is only the beginning!]
——
Xu Zhu's body dripped blood, his gaze cold as frost.
He murmured hoarsely: "Seventy-two hours? Then let them witness… what Residual Blood Never Dies truly means."
The storm's night had only just begun.