If the self-detonation of the hundreds of Soldier Beetles earlier was like a sudden crash of thunder, it was still within the realm of understanding.

Then at this moment, the dark cloud formed by ten thousand Soldier Beetles was a silent heavenly tribulation announcing the arrival of the apocalypse.

The color on the face of the surviving middle-aged man in the alley drained completely in a flash.

He tilted his head back, his mouth opening unconsciously, and a sound like a leaking bellows came from his throat, "Hoo, hoo".

What was that?

That was not a swarm of insects.

That was death itself.

That was living despair, which completely swallowed the sky and was unwilling to let even a shred of light filter through.

Tang Qi and Maeda Hanami similarly looked up at this terrifying night curtain, their hearts churning with monstrous waves.

This was... the true strength of the Ever-changing Star Lord?

Unlike the middle-aged man's trembling that came from his soul, Hasegawa Yama's half-closed eyes were completely open at this moment.

There was no fear.

There was no shrinking back.

In those eyes burned a flame bordering on madness, the ultimate excitement of meeting a match of equal skill.

"Interesting..."

"Truly interesting!"

Hasegawa Yama split his mouth open, revealing a row of white teeth, his smile wild and morbid.

"Come on!"

"Let me see just how strong you really are!"

He proactively issued an invitation.

On the rooftop, the arc of Zhou Huai's lips deepened.

He liked this kind of spirited opponent.

Unfortunately, spirit could not change the ending.

"As you wish."

Zhou Huai's voice was not loud, but it clearly entered the ears of everyone present.

He gently spat out a single word.

"Go."

Buzz—!!!

The moment the order was given, that dead-silent dark cloud came alive!

Ten thousand insects flapped their wings, and the harsh buzzing sound converged into a destructive torrent, instantly tearing apart the tranquility of the rainy night!

The black tide descended from the sky!

"Wall of Wind Storm!"

Hasegawa Yama let out an angry roar, waving the Katana in his hand upward.

A cyan tornado visible to the naked eye soared into the sky with him at the center!

The violent airflow swept in rain, gravel, and even the debris of the ruins, forming a huge storm wall connecting heaven and earth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The first wave of diving Soldier Beetles fearlessly crashed against that rotating wind wall.

The light of the explosions was like thousands of sparks ignited in the storm.

Amidst the continuous roaring, the violent shockwaves were completely torn apart and neutralized by the tornado.

Hasegawa Yama stood in the eye of the wind, his clothes fluttering, his expression arrogant.

"Is this all?"

Zhou Huai chuckled as if he had heard his inner thoughts.

"This is just the beginning."

Just as the words fell, the insect swarm in the sky changed its formation.

They no longer dove randomly, but split into dozens of streams, like living black streams, launching attacks from all directions at various tricky angles toward that towering tornado!

"One-Blade Style · Chaotic Wind Slash!"

Hasegawa Yama's gaze narrowed, and the Katana in his hand turned into a blur of afterimages.

Countless crescent-shaped cyan wind blades shot out from the tornado storm, like the most efficient mincer, slicing all the Soldier Beetles attempting to approach into pieces mid-air!

The flashes of the explosions rose and fell one after another, illuminating the entire night sky flickeringly.

Hasegawa Yama's strength was indeed formidable.

He was like an indestructible reef; no matter how the black tide beat against him, he still stood tall and unfallen.

However, on Zhou Huai's face, there was not the slightest trace of surprise.

He manipulated Insect Emperor Caesar, hands deep in his pockets, as if enjoying a fireworks performance unrelated to him.

"Not bad strength."

His voice carried a hint of commentary.

"Pity, you are not Wada Hirayama."

"Nor have you comprehended your own Domain."

"This is where it ends."

Hasegawa Yama could not hear his evaluation.

But he could feel that his physical strength and energy were being consumed at an astonishing rate.

Every wind blade and every maintenance of the wind wall required the consumption of energy.

Yet the opponent's bugs seemed to be endless.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from his temples, and his breathing had also grown heavy.

This could not go on any longer!

A flash of resoluteness crossed Hasegawa Yama's eyes.

He abruptly contracted the range of the wind wall, gathering all his power into a single point!

"As long as I kill you!"

He let out a roar, his entire body turning into a cyan stream of light, like a sharp sword piercing through the firmament, forcibly tearing open a path through the insect swarm to take Zhou Huai directly on the rooftop!

He had bet right.

As long as he killed that yellow-haired kid, this nightmare would end!

He had also bet wrong.

Because the moment he turned all his defenses into offense, a fatal flaw was exposed at his side.

Dozens of Soldier Beetles, like sharks smelling blood, precisely seized this opportunity.

They pierced right through the side of Hasegawa Yama's condensed-to-the-extreme protective wind aura!

Hasegawa Yama's pupils suddenly shrank.

Not good!

He wanted to dodge, but his old strength was exhausted and his new strength had not yet been born.

It was too late.

Boom—!!!

The first explosion detonated at his right shoulder.

Immediately following were the second sound, the third sound...

The light of the explosions connected into one piece across his body!

"Ugh ah—!!!"

A shrill, miserable scream echoed through the night sky.

Hasegawa Yama's charging figure abruptly stalled, and his protective wind aura instantly collapsed.

His entire right arm holding the blade was blown into a sky full of blood mist amidst the serial explosions!

The residual shockwave fiercely slammed into his chest, shattering his combat uniform into pieces, his charred flesh turned inside out.

Like a bird with broken wings trailing billowing thick smoke, he fell powerlessly from mid-air.

Rumble—!

A loud noise.

The ground was smashed into a deep pit several meters in diameter, with gravel splashing everywhere.

In the alley, there was a deathly silence.

That sky-covering insect swarm had stopped attacking at some unknown time, simply floating quietly in mid-air, as if waiting for the final order.

"Mr... Mr. Hasegawa!"

The middle-aged man let out a shrill exclamation, scrambling and crawling toward that deep pit.

At the bottom of the pit, Hasegawa Yama was covered in blood, looking wretched to the extreme.

Supporting the ground with his only remaining left hand, he struggled to crawl up.

In his eyes, there was no longer the previous fanaticism and excitement, leaving only the fear of surviving a disaster, and... the instinct to want to escape.

He was afraid.

He was truly afraid.

However, a figure blocked the edge of the pit faster than the middle-aged man.

It was Tang Qi.

He looked down condescendingly at the puddle of rotting flesh at the bottom of the pit, his gaze icy.

Hasegawa Yama raised his head, and upon seeing that face, his pupils dilated with fear.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

He begged for mercy with difficulty.

Tang Qi did not speak.

He merely raised his foot, using all his strength, and kicked fiercely into Hasegawa Yama's face.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

Hasegawa Yama's somewhat handsome face collapsed instantly, and his whole body rolled like a tumbling gourd back down to the bottom of the pit.

Zhou Huai's will was issued once again.

The tens of thousands of Soldier Beetles suspended in the air seemed to have received some kind of guidance.

They transformed into a black tornado of death, silently pouring entirely into that deep pit.

There was no intense sound of explosion.

There were only wave after wave of teeth-aching, subtle popping sounds.

A moment later.

The insect swarm dispersed, gathering once more behind Insect Emperor Caesar.

Inside the deep pit, it was completely empty.

Aside from the scorched, pitch-black earth, not a single trace of Hasegawa Yama's existence could be found anymore.

Not even a speck of ashes was left behind.