If Su Li had been unaware, that sharp claw would have instantly crippled one of his feet and dragged him into the water below. The assassin, using its mutated ribs, could have crushed Su Li into pulp in an instant.
Thanks to Xu Xuehui’s warning, Su Li was prepared in advance. The moment the claw grabbed his foot, the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword in his right hand stabbed downward.
With a "hiss," the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword pierced straight through the top of the ninth-level assassin’s head as it emerged, driving down through its skull and finally protruding from its back.
The assassin’s pitch-black pupils showed pain and shock.
It seemed unable to comprehend how Su Li could have foreseen its attack like a prophet.
But it had no time to ponder the reason. Su Li twisted the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword, instantly shredding the ninth-level assassin’s head and killing it.
This sudden turn of events startled everyone nearby. The group fell into chaos as some failed to dodge the incoming tumor bombs. With a thunderous explosion and several screams, shattered rafts and mangled bodies flew in all directions. In an instant, at least three were killed, and four or five were injured.
Two massive, bloated Corrupters staggered forward.
With one ninth-level assassin dead, Su Li breathed a sigh of relief as a spirit source entered his forehead.
"Level 8 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 13/130"
This ninth-level assassin yielded six spirit sources.
"Two left. Are they coming?" Su Li returned to Xu Xuehui’s side.
"They’re approaching, one on each side." Xu Xuehui replied, glancing around nervously.
"Gong Xiao." Su Li quickly called Gong Xiao over and whispered, "There are two more assassins hiding in the dark, one on the left and one on the right, creeping closer. Only Xuehui can see them. I’ll take the left one; you handle the right."
As he spoke, Su Li activated his "Peeking Rune." Though not as effective as Xu Xuehui’s eyes, with her telling him the approximate time and area, he could use the rune to observe the enemy’s information and pinpoint their location.
The location wasn’t precise, but assassins couldn’t fully merge into darkness without leaving any trace. With close observation, he could barely detect them.
Gong Xiao nodded in understanding, grabbed his spear, and led Xu Xuehui to the right.
"They’re coming, getting closer." Xu Xuehui hurriedly told Su Li.
Su Li acknowledged and darted left like lightning. Under the "Peeking Rune," he caught the assassin’s data—a level-eight assassin, lower than the one he’d just killed.
This assassin, sneaking in from the left, had just reached the outer fire wall, ready to pierce through and strike a man behind it. But Su Li charged out like a flash, too fast for it to react, and sliced through its upper body.
He cut the level-eight assassin through the chest, severing both arms, killing it instantly.
A message appeared in his mind.
"Level 8 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 16/130"
On the other side, Xu Xuehui and Gong Xiao worked together. Reaching the right side, Xu Xuehui stepped forward, eyes wide, and pointed into the darkness ahead. "Here."
Gong Xiao thrust his Everlasting Spear into the darkness where she pointed.
Xu Xuehui activated her "Strange Eye Technique." The assassin, hidden in the dark, suddenly saw her eyes and felt its soul sucked into a black void. It froze, unable to move, and by the time it struggled free, Gong Xiao’s spear had pierced its chest.
Gong Xiao flicked the spear, unleashing immense force, lifting the assassin and slamming it hard to the other side.
With a "bang," the assassin crashed onto another raft, shattering it.
Its invisibility broken, it fully revealed itself and tried to counterattack. But Gong Xiao’s spear retracted and shot out like a venomous snake, piercing its face with a "hiss," through its head, dragging out brain matter, finishing it off.
The three deadliest assassins were finally dealt with. Su Li exhaled deeply. Xu Xuehui had been instrumental in this battle.
"The three assassins are gone—attack!" Su Li shouted, charging out first.
Like lightning, he dodged a stream of corrosive venom, circled to the side of a bloated Corrupter, and swung the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword horizontally, slicing off half its head. He gained three more spirit sources.
Then he saw the undead, less than one and a half meters tall, covered in tumors.
A message appeared in his mind.
"Name: Thrower, Level: Eight, Race: Undead, an evolved high-level undead with a special name. The Thrower’s special ability is ‘Pustule Bomb,’ produced by its own special organs. They look like tumors but are actually special energy bombs. Thrown, they have immense power. A high-level undead skilled in ranged attacks. Weakness: weak in close combat."
Su Li realized that of the four high-level undead this time, aside from the assassins, the others—whether Spitters, Corrupters, or this Thrower—were all ranged attackers. In close combat, they weren’t strong.
Su Li moved swiftly. The Thrower barely saw him before its head was lopped off, killing it instantly.
Gong Xiao charged out right behind Su Li.
With Su Li and Gong Xiao leading, the others roared and surged forward.
Everyone had seen Su Li and Gong Xiao kill the three assassins, realizing the hidden ambushers were gone. Now they could counterattack freely.
With furious shouts, they unleashed their full power—spirit source techniques and special abilities erupted. Explosions rang out endlessly. Amid the rain, flesh and blood flew, and the water turned red.
Without the deadly assassins, the tide turned. In moments, at least ten high-level undead fell, while only one of their own died, caught off guard by a Corrupter’s black liquid that corroded him to death.
…
…
…
At that moment, in the water behind the building, a black figure emerged.
From a distance, it looked like it wore a black robe covering its head and face, holding a bone scythe in its right hand, resembling the legendary Grim Reaper.
This Reaper-like figure extended black tentacles with suckers from its body, latching onto the outer wall.
Using these tentacles, it climbed upward, alternating grips, rising steadily.
It wasn’t wearing a robe—the "robe" was actually a mass of black tentacles growing from where its head should be, hanging down to cover its body. From afar, it looked like a black cloak.
When it used these tentacles, the body beneath was revealed to be not flesh, but a white skeleton.
The bone scythe in its right hand was even stranger, with a twisted human face and a large mouth on it, dripping yellowish-brown saliva.
Using the tentacles, it climbed the building’s outer wall with incredible speed.
Soon, it reached the roof of the forty-four-story building.
The tentacles waved, and it leaped, landing steadily on the roof. Then the tentacles drooped again, clinging to the white skeleton, forming the black robe.
Scythe in hand, it descended through the roof entrance, down the stairs to the forty-fourth floor.
Only two people were on the forty-fourth floor: Zhong Rongrong and Qi Mengyu.
They were level-6 spirit source users and had wanted to join the fight, but Ding Longyun sent them back, fearing danger and not wanting Zhong Rongrong to take risks. Besides, aside from Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui, no other women were fighting, so no one would criticize them for not participating.
Though not in battle, they stood on the forty-fourth-floor corridor, watching below. When their side gained the upper hand, they cheered excitedly. When the assassins appeared and people died, they clasped hands, sweating with worry.
Zhong Rongrong was especially tense, desperate to rush down, worried about Ding Longyun.
Only after Su Li and Gong Xiao killed the three assassins did they exhale in relief, their hearts settling.
Then Zhong Rongrong glanced sideways and noticed a figure standing at the dark end of the corridor, appearing out of nowhere.
"Huh?" She blinked and nudged Qi Mengyu beside her.
Downstairs, Su Li and Gong Xiao led the counterattack, killing nearly ten high-level undead in moments.
"What’s wrong?" Qi Mengyu felt the nudge, asked casually, and turned to look. She too saw the figure at the corridor’s end, holding a scythe-like weapon, slowly walking toward them.
"Who’s that?" The thought flashed through Qi Mengyu’s mind, and a strong unease hit her. Instinctively, she activated her spirit source technique.
In an instant, the scythe appeared before them, too fast for them to react.