"Clang, clang, clang, clang—!"

Dense sounds of clashing metal joined together into a continuous roar above the ruins, sparks cascading like waterfalls.

The famous blade named "Onimaru" in Wada Hirayama's hand was swung so fast it became a blur, constructing an airtight Saber Qi barrier before him.

However, it was useless.

Those arrows carrying brilliant starlight were not ordinary projectiles at all.

They seemed to have eyes and possessed minds of their own.

Whenever Wada Hirayama stepped aside to dodge a sharp arrow aimed straight at his face, the arrow would defy physics, suddenly stopping in mid-air, spinning around, and thrusting toward his heart, armpits, or even his empty left sleeve from an even trickier angle.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Wada Hirayama's liver-spotted face contorted to the extreme, blue veins bulging on his forehead. His remaining right arm trembled violently from the intense slashing, the web of his thumb long since split open, blood flowing down the hilt.

How were these arrows?

These were clearly miniature missiles equipped with guidance Systems!

"Swish—!"

Another starlight arrow pierced through the air, shooting straight for his throat.

Wada Hirayama gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and slashed upward with the blade's edge, hitting the arrowhead.

"Clang!"

The arrow shattered.

But the immense recoil force collapsed the ruins beneath his feet once again, causing him to slide back several meters.

Before he could catch his breath, three more arrows approached in a triangular formation, sealing off all his retreat routes.

Pressure.

An unprecedented pressure weighed on his heart like a massive mountain, suffocating him.

Wada Hirayama was filled with shock and terror.

As an SS-Rank Expert, his perception of aura was extremely keen.

Though he had not seen the archer, the terrifying penetrating power contained within these arrows clearly belonged to another SS-Rank!

The Lightning-type swordsman wielding a longsword was an SS-Rank.

The mage who cast the Forbidden Spell: Meteor Rain was an SS-Rank.

And now, this archer firing cold arrows from the shadows was actually an SS-Rank too!

Just how many SS-Ranks had Great Xia Nation sent this time?

No, to be precise, why did Great Xia Nation have so many SS-Ranks?

Didn't they only have Zhao Qingcang and that newly risen Gandalf?

Where on earth did this swordsman and archer pop out from?

Could it be a reserve foundation that Great Xia Nation had been hiding all along?

Or could it be...

Countless questions tangled in Wada Hirayama's mind, making his thoughts a chaotic mess.

But he had no time to think—he didn't even have time to blink.

Under such high-intensity strain, his body's old injuries began to throb again, feeling as if countless ants were gnawing on his bone marrow.

"Old dog, getting distracted in battle will get you killed."

A playful yet cold voice sounded in his ear without warning.

Wada Hirayama's hairs stood on end, his heart tightening.

When?!

He turned his head, his pupils shrinking to needlepoints.

He saw Yasuo's figure appearing beside him bizarrely, less than three meters away, without him noticing!

There was no sound of wind, no thunder, and not even the flow of air was disturbed.

He had... appeared out of thin air!

Space-type?!

Wada Hirayama was greatly shocked as the thought flashed through his mind.

How is this possible?

The power this guy displayed earlier was clearly extremely violent Lightning-type power, so how could he also practice Space-type?

Yasuo looked at the terrified Wada Hirayama and sneered, the longsword in his hand flickering with palpitating golden lightning.

"Be on your way!"

Yasuo let out a low shout, plunging the longsword into the the void beneath his feet.

Skill—【Ten Thousand Thunder Attraction】!

Rumble—!!!

Countless thick pillars of lightning transformed into a Heavenly God's cage and slammed down centered around Wada Hirayama!

This lightning wasn't meant to strike and kill, but rather to—attract!

Wada Hirayama felt his body grabbed tightly by an invisible giant hand; the power was so immense that even the physical body of an SS-Rank Expert let out the groans of overburdened bones popping.

"Break... for me!"

Wada Hirayama roared, blood-red Saber Qi erupting around him as he attempted to sever the restraint.

But in the end, he was a step too late.

"Down you go!"

Yasuo kicked through the air, carrying the force of ten thousand thunderbolts, slamming hard against Wada Hirayama's chest.

"Bang—!!!"

A loud crash sounded like a heavy hammer hitting a drum.

Several ribs in Wada Hirayama's chest broke instantly, and his entire body was blasted toward the ground by this terrifying force.

"Boom!"

The earth shattered.

The hard ground of the ruins was forcefully smashed into a giant crater over ten meters deep, clouds of dust rising everywhere.

However, this was not the end.

The rain of arrows filling the sky did not miss this opportunity to strike a drowning dog, blasting down into the crater where Wada Hirayama lay!

"Swish swish swish swish swish—!"

The ear-splitting sound of piercing air merged into a sharp whistle threatening to pierce people's eardrums.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dense explosions erupted at the bottom of the crater; every arrow that landed triggered a violent chain explosion of energy.

Starlight and lightning intertwined, turning the deep pit into a meat grinder.

The earth trembled, and shattered rocks wailed.

The entire West Gate area trembled in fear under this terrifying offensive.

...

Far away, inside the underground command room.

The chandelier overhead swayed violently, and the water glass on the table was shaken off, crashing to the floor.

From the communicator came the frontline agent's voice, trembling with extreme excitement:

"Report! Report!"

"Target Wada Hirayama has been defeated head-on! Suffered a devastating blow!"

"Repeat! Suffered a devastating blow!"

"Currently, the energy reaction inside the crater is extremely chaotic. Wada Hirayama... status unknown!"

Just then, the communication light on another channel lit up as well.

It was an agent responsible for eastern reconnaissance, his voice filled with terror and ecstasy:

"Team Leader! The east... the east has been destroyed too!"

"That Lord Gandalf... he's practically a mobile artillery turret!"

"He destroyed the defense hubs of both the East and West Gates one after another!"

"Those Akagi... those usually insufferably arrogant Akagi were utterly vulnerable before his Forbidden Spell, leaving not even ashes behind!"

Listening to these successive battle reports...

The atmosphere in the command room erupted.

"Great! Well killed!"

"Damn it, after suffering in silence for so many years, it's finally time for these little devils to take a beating!"

Tang Qi clenched his fists, his emotions growing excited as well.

But he was a veteran agent after all, and reason quickly calmed him down.

He shouted into the microphone:

"Don't celebrate too early, everyone!"

"That's an SS-Rank—they don't die that easily!"

"Everyone listen to my command: take this opportunity and hurry up to escort more people out of the city!"

"Every person who can escape counts!"

"Don't waste the opportunity these lords created for us!"

...

Center of the battlefield.

The dust cleared.

At the edge of the crater, the soil had been baked into a glassy state by the extreme heat.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Violent coughing echoed from the bottom of the deep pit.

Right after, a bloody, mangled hand grabbed the edge of the pit.

Wada Hirayama.

He wasn't dead yet.

But his current state was tragic to the extreme.

His originally majestic black kimono was reduced to a few tattered rags hanging on his body, revealing his shriveled, aging torso beneath.

Covered in blood, he was littered with holes pierced by arrows and scorched black marks from lightning.

Especially his chest, which had caved in significantly, all ribs completely shattered.

Yet he was still alive.

"Great Xia... Great Xia..."

Wada Hirayama squeezed an extremely venomous growl from his throat.

He crawled out of the crater with great difficulty and stood upright shakily.

With a flip of his hand, a purple potion emitting a rich life aura appeared in his palm.

Advanced Recovery Potion.

He tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp.

Zzzzt—

Visibly to the naked eye, the wounds on his body began to squirm, fresh granulation tissue growing, and broken bones forcibly reconnecting under the potion's effect.

"Phew..."

Wada Hirayama spat out a breath of turbid, bloody air.

He flew up into the sky once more, but this time, there was no contempt left in his eyes—only dread, and madness.

Relying on himself alone, he was definitely no match for these three monsters before him.

If the fight continued, he would undoubtedly die.

Wada Hirayama turned his head, looking toward Takamagahara in the center of Tokyo City.

He let out a piercing shout:

"Lord Masakage!!!"

"At this point, do you still not intend to make a move?!"

His voice rolled like thunder, spreading across the sky over the entirety of Tokyo City.

Yasuo frowned, holding his longsword horizontally, his gaze turning vigilantly toward that direction.

The instant Wada Hirayama's words fell...

A spine-chilling coldness enveloped the entire world without warning.

"Hehehe..."

An aged, dry laugh full of indescribable evil came from the direction of Takamagahara.

The laughter echoed directly inside everyone's minds, making their scalps tingle.

"What's the rush..."

"Little Wada, you're still so impatient."

"Yours truly also needs some preparation time, after all."

As he spoke...

The sky over the entire Tokyo City suddenly darkened.

It was not dark clouds blocking the sun.

Rather, it was a thick, viscous darkness, like ink dropping into clear water, spreading rapidly.

Within that endless darkness...

Countless pairs of crimson eyes slowly opened.

Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!