The storm's night had only lasted two hours, yet South Ridge was already a step from purgatory.
Follower corpses lay scattered, hunter blood drenched the grass.
The wind cut like invisible blades, slashing across every chest.
——
[System Prompt]:
Residual Blood Maniac current survival time: 2 hours 12 minutes.
Remaining: 69 hours 48 minutes.
——
Xu Zhu half-knelt on shattered stone, staff dripping blood, Residual Edge's lines still blazing.
His breath came ragged, the ringing in his ears sharper and sharper.
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 97%]
[Warning: Extremity approaching.]
Ling Xue steadied him, her blade still dripping with enemy blood: "Xu Zhu, you must conserve Residual Edge. Keep this up and you'll go mad."
Fatty Third wailed, face streaked with snot and tears: "Big bro! Seventy hours left! If you go crazy we're all dead meat!"
Xu Zhu slowly lifted his head, his eyes cold as knives: "Mad or not… I'll keep killing."
——
Then, a faint hum slipped through the night.
"Swish!"
Cold lights sliced out from the trees!
Three followers dropped instantly, slim throwing weapons buried in their throats.
"Assassins!" Ling Xue shouted.
From the darkness emerged a band clad in night-black gear, guild insignia gleaming—a skeletal skull clenched in a claw.
Fatty Third's knees buckled: "Shadow Guild! The number one assassin group in the whole server!"
The lead assassin's chuckle was low and cold: "Residual Blood Maniac, don't blame us. Your head's worth ten thousand gold. We have to take it."
——
In an instant, over a dozen assassins vanished into the night.
Killing intent wove a net, sealing Xu Zhu inside.
Residual Edge ignited again, burning out of control!
Death lines flared everywhere, crimson threads weaving a suffocating net ready to devour him.
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 99%]
[Warning: Extremity loss of control imminent!]
Xu Zhu's pupils glowed crimson, his world frozen still.
Dozens of daggers struck at once—but Residual Edge revealed the single thread of survival.
His staff swept wide!
Boom—three assassins smashed aside, grey light bursting as their avatars dispersed!
Ling Xue's blade flared icy, forcing another attacker back.
Fatty Third, sobbing, hurled himself onto one assassin's leg: "Aaaah! Fatty Third is all in!!"
The man staggered just a heartbeat—long enough for Xu Zhu's staff to pierce his throat.
——
Blood splattered across his face, Xu Zhu's chest heaved like bellows.
The whispers sharpened in his ears:
"Kill… kill them all… Residual Blood never dies… the storm never ends…"
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 99.5%]
His gaze blurred, as if about to be consumed completely.
"Xu Zhu!"
Ling Xue roared, slamming her hand over his eyes, voice raw and unyielding:
"You're still here! You are not the Residual Blood Maniac! You are Xu Zhu!—Come back!"
Xu Zhu's body jolted.
The crimson threads trembled violently, then under the core's suppression slowly receded.
[Residual Edge Sync Rate: 99% → stabilized at 94%]
[System Prompt]: Residual Edge extremity trigger interrupted, curse temporarily restrained.
——
He gasped hoarsely, throat coppery with blood.
"I… almost didn't come back."
But Ling Xue's hand stayed firm on his brow, her eyes like steel: "Next time, I might not be able to save you."
Fatty Third bawled, wiping his face: "Big bro, don't scare me like that again! Fatty Third doesn't have a second life to spare!"
Xu Zhu slowly raised his head, staring coldly into the corpse-littered night.
"If they insist on the hunt… then I'll show them the price of crossing Residual Blood."
The storm's night still had seventy hours left.