Chapter 44: The Bloody Butcher

Transformation time is approximately 1.5 seconds, during which there is no special energy protection. An opportunity can be taken to launch an attack.

Ye Mingqiu calmly analyzed the intelligence.

"Roar!!"

The crimson monster roared angrily. Its stature was nearly twice as tall as the previous Crimson Lurker, looking as robust and hulking as a miniature giant.

Not only that, its skin was no longer the sickly, morbid dark red of bare muscle. Once stabilized, its musculature resembled solidified, cooling magma—a deep brown nearing black, covered in thick, gnarled blood vessels that throbbed faintly like living entities, through which a dull red light flowed.

No!

Ye Mingqiu's gaze shifted, as he noticed that the monster's roar seemed to contain a special kind of power, one that felt capable of shaking his very soul.

[Prompt: The Crimson Butcher uses 'Soul-Suppressing Roar', inflicting a 2-second Soul-Departure effect on you.]

[Prompt: Your abnormal status resistance check succeeded. You have resisted this Soul-Departure effect.]

Ye Mingqiu's own spiritual attribute was already quite high, and he possessed two passive skills that increased abnormal status resistance: [Valiant] and [Undead Tyrant]. Even without entering the [Tyrant Form], Ye Mingqiu still possessed exceptionally high abnormal status resistance.

Just how high? Even he didn't know for sure. Ever since he became a Psionic, he had never been crowd-controlled—not even for a single second.

At the same time, the Crimson Butcher moved. Its massive body erupted with a terrifying speed that defied its bulky frame! Its heavy footsteps slammed against the discarded metal on the ground, producing deafening "Clang! Clang!" echoes that caused the earth to tremble slightly with every step!

It casually picked up the bone blade by the entrance, grinning malevolently as it swung it back and swept it forward with full force. The bone blade cut through the air with a piercing whistle, as if it intended to cleave Ye Mingqiu in two the very next moment.

"Boom!"

It missed completely.

A pang of shock struck the Crimson Butcher's heart, and it quickly realized that the eyes hidden behind the green-faced, fanged mask at its side were gazing at it from an extremely close distance.

What kind of gaze was that?

Pure murderous intent... pure indifference...

Blood spilled from the corners of the Crimson Butcher's mouth. A violent wave of agony washed over it, and the sensation of its internal blood energy being drained caused it excruciating pain, much like a fish being stripped of the water it relied on for survival.

Such a fast spear...

His weapon is abnormal...

Just a moment ago, as the bone blade descended, Ye Mingqiu's blood spear thrust forward simultaneously. Furthermore, his attack speed was faster and more ruthless, aiming directly for the vital heart without giving the opponent any chance at all.

He discovered that individuals possessing forced crowd-control abilities always shared a common flaw: after unleashing their crowd-control skills, the subsequent moves they executed would invariably reveal massive openings, making them far easier to kill with a single strike.

In battles among peers of equal strength, this was an extremely dangerous thing. Never overestimate the effects of crowd control, and always maintain vigilance against your opponent.

I've learned this lesson on your behalf!

"Roar!!"

The Crimson Butcher shrieked in desperation, a terrifying surge of crimson power erupting in an instant to knock back Ye Mingqiu, who had pierced straight through its heart.

Clutching its chest with one hand, a higher-grade boiling blood spilled out uncontrollably, and crimson mist billowed into the surroundings. However, the wound on the Crimson Butcher's chest began to self-heal at an astonishing speed, as if having its heart run through was of no consequence to it whatsoever.

Ye Mingqiu did not stop it; he simply watched while analyzing the enemy's intelligence.

Before facing the Crimson Supreme, he needed to understand the traits of these crimson monsters as thoroughly as possible. Disregarding the earlier Crimson Lurker, the Crimson Butcher was strong enough that deducing certain intelligence from it was a necessary endeavor.

The Crimson Butcher had a fatal weak point, but attacking it did not produce a fatal outcome; it could expend energy to recover, and its self-healing speed was terrifyingly fast, far surpassing ordinary Crimson Lurkers.

At the same time, the Crimson Butcher was faster, boasting roughly 17 points of agility, with a strength between 22 and 25—unable to be precisely estimated without direct combat. Its physical defense was not high, with a constitution of at most 15; the resistance against the blood spear piercing its body was negligible, but this fellow had an extremely thick health bar.

Taken as a whole, it was roughly at the level of a Level 3 boss. Relying on its hyper-regeneration and group-control abilities, it was even more troublesome to deal with than ordinary bosses.

Yet this was merely the Crimson Butcher, not the Crimson Supreme. If the Crimson Supreme happened to be a Level 3 Monarch, or an even more formidable entity, then he would have virtually no hope of victory.

There was no helping it; the level gap was simply too vast.

"What kind of look is that?"

The Crimson Butcher rasped in a hoarse voice.

He was not unfamiliar with Ye Mingqiu's gaze. It did not look like the look of someone fighting an enemy; it looked more like a researcher testing data in an experiment.

In your eyes, am I nothing more than a plaything being tested in an experiment?

"Stop looking down on people!"

The Crimson Butcher's anger was ignited. Fragmentary memories of pain flashed through its mind, and a tyrannical aura burst forth explosively. Crimson power coiled around its body, forming a suit of blood armor. It dropped into a crouching posture, its thick legs exerting sudden, violent force.

"Boom!"

The concrete ground shattered on impact, and the massive crimson figure shot forward like a cannonball, the bone blade tracing an arc through the air and unleashing overwhelming might.

"Clang!!!"

A deafening, ear-piercing screech of metal echoed out. Sparks splattered like fireworks, and the bone blade grazed past Ye Mingqiu, cleaving a massive gouge into a half-meter-thick abandoned alloy foundation—yet the bone blade itself remained completely undamaged.

This bone blade is extraordinary, Ye Mingqiu's pupils constricted slightly.

"Roar!!"

After missing its strike, the Crimson Butcher did not hesitate for a second. Roaring angrily, it swung its giant-like arm, sweeping horizontally like a battering ram with astonishing speed.

Beneath the green-faced, fanged mask, the corners of Ye Mingqiu's mouth curved upward slightly as he murmured inwardly: This time, let me test your mental resistance.

"Have you made enough of a ruckus?!"

Ye Mingqiu roared with a furious glare. The immense volume completely overwhelmed the Crimson Butcher's roar, and the deafening sound unleashed a terrifying mental suppression effect.

The Crimson Butcher, mid-swing with its bone blade, seemed to instantly lose all its strength as it stumbled forward. Instinctively, Ye Mingqiu wanted to launch an immediate offensive, but his previous experiences with the Black-Armored General and the Crimson Butcher caused him to curb the impulse in his heart, opting instead for the relatively conservative approach of thrusting his blood spear toward the Crimson Butcher's skull.

"Bang!!"

The sound of clashing weapons rang out. The white bone blade intercepted the blood spear just in time, and the Crimson Butcher raised its head. The two crimson specks deep within its eye sockets flickered violently like candlelight caught in a gale.

Not low mental stats, or does it possess some kind of control-resistance ability?

Ye Mingqiu's gaze shifted slightly. Fortunately, he had restrained his impulse just now; otherwise... he might have lost some health points right about now.

Then...

How about this move?

Murderous Intent Fluctuation!

A tidal wave of murderous intent surged outward, engulfing the Crimson Butcher like a tsunami.

At the moment its movements stalled, Ye Mingqiu directly batted the bone blade aside. With one spear thrust he slashed open the Crimson Butcher's eyes, with a second he severed its tendon, and with a third he pierced straight through its heart. The blood spear greedily devoured the high-grade boiling blood within the Crimson Butcher's body, its blood-crystal patterns pulsing rhythmically with light.