Otherworldly Affairs Office

Wang Wenze, gripping his mighty sword, frowned as he looked at the strange man kneeling before him. It was clear that his previous assessment of the man's abilities was somewhat underestimated. Putting aside the protective array, the sheer physical sturdiness far surpassed that of an average Three Corpses Slasher Cultivator. His powerful slash, infused with internal energy, had only managed to sever the man's forearm, and now the blade was stuck at the creature's neck as if it were embedded in solid iron.

No one knew how this stranger's body was composed, as the successive attacks left no blood flowing from his body. The wounds resembled a lump of gray-white rotting flesh emitting a foul stench, leaving Wang Wenze both horrified and slightly nauseated.

Seeing the ineffective strike, Wang Wenze kicked the creature in the chest to retrieve his long sword. Yet, even without its arms, the creature fearlessly twisted its neck, pinning the blade tightly. No matter how forcefully Wang Wenze tried to pull, the blade jerked back and forth within the gory wound, grating against bone, but refused to move an inch.

"Wang Shenpo, move!" Xia Yu's shout came from the side. Knowing trouble was near, Wang Wenze released his grip and rolled to the side. No sooner had he moved than two creatures closed in from both directions.

Xia Yu's backup had arrived, grabbing an airborne creature by the ankle and swinging it forcefully onto the ice. As the monster struggled to get up, Xia Yu, with a fist wrapped in red glowing energy, struck its face repeatedly like raindrops. With each hit, the blows resounded like thunderclaps, and the rapidly dissipating blue array and twisted features of the creature showed that the punches packed a far greater force than they appeared.

Meanwhile, Ye Jiumu launched himself beside Wang Wenze, blocking another creature's attack path with a flash of light and shadow. A dull thump echoed as the creature crashed directly into a steel panel, creating a deep dent in the thick barrier.

Taking advantage of the situation, Wang Wenze escaped the peril, rolling and scrambling to his feet on the ice. As his eyes widened in anger, he clasped his hands tightly; the green glow on his body receded, and a golden light shone brightly. An image of an angry vajra flashed behind him, leaving a fleeting mark. Then, he extended his right hand, channeling his internal energy wildly through his fingertips, forming a massive golden palm in the air.

Once formed, Wang Wenze swung the golden palm horizontally, catching the creature that had collided with the steel panel. Its head spun dizzily, and the palm smacked it back onto the panel again.

The slap sent the creature and the steel panel flying sideways, crashing into four or five advancing monsters before gradually stopping. After the feat, Wang Wenze was visibly short of breath, studying the endlessly approaching monsters and silently cursing, "Damn it, this Black-robed Man surely thinks highly of us. We have the fewest people here, yet he sends more than twenty creatures against us, while there are far more people on that side, and he only sends ten!"

"It doesn't matter about the others; it's good the entire force isn't against us. Let's hope they can hold out a little longer!" Ye Jiumu said while dodging left and right.

"Pei Yan!" Zhao Yuanhu's sharp cry caught the duo's attention as the crowd of creatures grew too large. Despite Shangxing having managed to hold off five creatures single-handedly, it was futile as the remaining people still had to battle one or two creatures simultaneously.

In this kind of situation, a creature finally broke through the bureau's defense, lunging at Pei Yan who was supporting the team from the back with gunfire.

"Shit! That damn monster's set its sights on me!" Pei Yan, who had switched to point shooting to aid his teammates, cursed loudly upon seeing a creature charging at him. Despite their similar appearances, he instantly recognized this monster as the one he had tangled with in the water earlier.

"Damn it, treating me like an easy target!" Pei Yan, infuriated and embarrassed, aimed all six machine gun barrels at the approaching creature, pouring bullets onto its body like there was no cost.

This attack clearly had some effect; with each step forward, the blue light on the creature dimmed slightly. When the blue glow eventually dissipated entirely, it found itself right in front of Pei Yan, lunging and swiping its blade-like claws at Pei Yan's helmet.

Pei Yan quickly transformed the machine guns back into his arms, grabbing the creature's wrists, and disengaged both the guns from his back and the braces on his feet. They collapsed to the side, tussling like two kids in a playground fight.

On the other side, clad in ancient attire, Zhao Yuanhu batted away three creatures with ease. Their straightforward attack methods seemed clumsy compared to her unpredictable movements. Her graceful evasions and dances secured her hold on their attention, engaging them continuously.

But seeing Pei Yan under attack, Zhao Yuanhu's formerly calm defense became slightly chaotic, darting swiftly as if to lend a hand.

"Don't disrupt the formation! If it's just one, I trust Pei Yan can handle it! Your rush will only cause greater casualties throughout the team, including him!" Shangxing bellowed as he tightly squeezed the neck of the creature he held, ignoring its claws scratching shallow bloody marks on him.

No notification was needed to know she was sent from above to monitor and protect Pei Yan. Yet if she didn't heed the situation and blindly executed protection duties, it would lead to the collapse of the defensive line and endanger everyone.

Zhao Yuanhu heeded Shangxing's advice, realizing its rationality. Reluctantly, she glanced back at the three creatures, gritted her teeth, whispered softly, and gradually faded away like air.

"Still ignoring advice? Using the camouflage imprint's transparency feature? Panicked choices waste internal energy!" Watching Zhao Yuanhu vanish, Shangxing shook his head in disappointment, sighed, and tossed the slain creature's limp body aside, preparing to step into the gap Zhao Yuanhu left behind.

After taking a couple of steps, he saw that the creature initially engaged with Zhao Yuanhu suddenly flickered with blue light along its arm, revealing an eerie procession of circular wounds that would terrify anyone with a fear of clusters.

The unknown assault clearly infuriated the creature, and in its rage, it swung both arms wildly yet missed its target, only managing to injure its own ally. Before it finished venting, similar wounds appeared out of thin air on its thigh.

"Oh, not using camouflage imprint but rather inherent ability for invisibility?" Shangxing breathed a sigh of relief, nodded satisfactorily, and pressed his palm against the head of another attacking creature, employing the same brute method he had used before.