Chapter 23: Counterattack
Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Counterattack
"Run! There are ghosts!"
The crowd erupted in terrified screams, scattering in all directions.
The walls of the Martial Arts School were much higher than those of ordinary schools. It was impossible to jump over them, leaving the main and rear gates as the only ways out.
Meanwhile, the monsters born from the nightmare were rapidly multiplying, continuously pouring out from the teaching building, the shadows, and even from beneath the ground.
The students rushed toward the school gates, but the moment they arrived, several twisted Ghost Shadows with pitch-black claws burst from the earth.
SWISH!
The shadows’ claws were impossibly sharp and phantom-fast. The ordinary students didn’t even have time to react.
In a single encounter, seven or eight students running at the front were instantly decapitated, their blood spraying into the air.
The same tragic scenes unfolded simultaneously at the rear gate and all across the sports field.
In less than a minute, dozens of students had been brutally killed.
Panic spread like a plague. The survivors were forced back to the field, trying to band together against this supernatural terror. However, just as the crowd gathered...
BOOM!
The tentacled monster looming over the teaching building suddenly leaped. Its massive, mountain-like body crashed directly into the densest part of the crowd.
The tremendous impact shattered the ground, sending nearby students stumbling and falling.
In the next moment, its dozens of tentacles struck out like lightning.
SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
The tentacles easily pierced through the students’ bodies, skewering them like meat on a spit. The monster reeled them in, stuffing them into its gigantic maw with sickening crunches!
This hellish sight made everyone feel the imminent approach of death.
The moment the monsters appeared, Fang Chen had immediately darted into the first-floor teachers’ office.
He kicked the door open, scooped up the few standard steel swords and long staffs stored inside, and sprinted straight back out.
"Wang! Hand these out to all the students who have reached the True Martial Realm!" he shouted, shoving the armful of weapons into the hands of Wang Mang, who was busy organizing the resistance.
Fang Chen himself grabbed the heaviest steel sword with a backhand grip, instantly locking his eyes on a Pursuing Beast hunting down students nearby.
"Three types of monsters," Fang Chen thought. "Phantom-like Ghost Shadows, incredibly fast Pursuing Beasts, and that massive tentacled monster."
He chose to target the relatively easier Pursuing Beast.
"While the monsters are still relatively scattered and the crowd is drawing most of their attention, I must reduce their numbers as quickly as possible! Blindly running and hiding will only lead to death. We have to fight our way out!"
The True Qi from the Peak of True Martial Realm erupted within Fang Chen. Activating his Gale Step and the Perfection level of his Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique, he shot forward like a gust of wind.
"Ahhh! Save me!"
A male student screamed as a Pursuing Beast clamped its jaws tightly around his thigh, dragging him to the ground.
Fang Chen’s gaze narrowed. "Perfect opportunity!"
Seizing the moment the Pursuing Beast was tearing at its prey and largely stationary, he pushed off the ground and leaped into the air. The steel sword in his hand carved out a sharp, cold arc.
Lingxi Swordsmanship—Wind Breaker!
SWISH!
The blade cleanly sliced across the Pursuing Beast’s neck.
SLICE!
The Pursuing Beast was cleaved in half.
The onlookers were just about to breathe a sigh of relief when the headless body of the Pursuing Beast continued to blindly sprint forward. Worse yet, its severed head kept its jaws viciously clamped onto the student’s flesh!
"It’s not dead? Physical decapitation doesn’t work?" Fang Chen thought. "As expected, monsters brought out of a dream can’t be judged by common sense."
His eyes grew cold. "In that case, I’ll just blast you to pieces!"
He looked at the severed head and grabbed it firmly with one hand.
"This is going to hurt. Bear with it!" he yelled at the student in agony.
The student’s face was deathly pale, but he gritted his teeth and nodded. "Senior Brother Fang! Just do it! I can take it!"
Fang Chen’s arm surged with power as he gave a fierce yank.
RIP!
Accompanied by the horrifying sound of tearing flesh, the head was forcibly ripped from the student’s leg, taking a large chunk of meat with it. Blood instantly dyed the ground red.
Without even looking, Fang Chen hurled the still-snarling head high into the air.
True Qi surged wildly within him. He clenched his right fist, his bones and muscles popping in unison.
Rock-Breaking Fist—Eight Echoes!
BANG!
His fist shot out like a cannonball, accurately striking the airborne head.
SMASH!
The force of the punch penetrated straight through, blasting a hole clean through the skull! Immediately after, the fierce True Qi vibrated violently.
SPLAT!
The head exploded in mid-air. Bone fragments and foul blood splattered in all directions as the remnants fell powerlessly to the ground.
His actions were witnessed by many surrounding teachers and students.
"That’s right! Don’t be afraid, everyone!" Wang Mang took the opportunity to shout loudly, boosting their morale. "Look closely! These monsters aren’t invincible! They’re just some scary-looking beasts! Do exactly what Fang Chen did! Hack them into mincemeat!"
After all, most of the people present were Martial Artists. Having weathered the initial panic, seeing someone take the lead and prove that the monsters could be killed ignited their bloodlust and courage.
With dozens of students and teachers at the True Martial Realm spearheading the counterattack, the tide of the battle momentarily turned!
The number of Pursuing Beasts began to drop sharply under the organized retaliation. The remaining few seemed to sense the danger and leaped back onto the ruined teaching building, refusing to come down so easily.
However, just as many students thought they had opened a gap and tried to rush toward the school gates again...
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Those eerie Ghost Shadows phased out of the walls and the ground once more!
Like true specters, their claws reaped lives the moment they appeared. Several students at the front were killed instantly!
Several True Martial Realm Martial Artists roared and swung their blades at them, only to find that their weapons passed right through the Ghost Shadows’ bodies. It felt like hitting empty air, completely unable to inflict any effective damage.
"These Ghost Shadows are the real problem!"
Fang Chen’s expression turned solemn.
Wang Mang, having just finished off a Pursuing Beast, regrouped with him, his breath slightly ragged. "What’s the plan? These ghost things are tough to deal with!"
Fang Chen nodded. "I’m afraid our attacks won’t work on them. Have the police been called?"
Wang Mang’s face was grim. "Called them ages ago! But ordinary police will just be sending themselves to their deaths. We need experts sent from the Martial Arts Association or the City Defense Army who specialize in handling Superpower incidents! And that takes time!"
"Then we change our strategy!" Fang Chen decided promptly. "Stop thinking about running away. Have everyone form small, clustered groups, but keep them spread out enough while staying within visual range to support each other. We need to minimize the Ghost Shadows’ chances of launching sneak attacks while guarding against any large-scale bombardments from the tentacled monster. We hold our ground and wait for backup!"
Wang Mang immediately agreed. "Got it!"
He quickly organized the students and teachers who were still capable of fighting, forming small defensive circles according to Fang Chen’s suggestion.
Fang Chen rapidly surveyed the battlefield. The threat of the Pursuing Beasts was temporarily lifted, and the colossal tentacled monster was currently being pinned down by four Martial Arts instructors who had reached the High Martial Realm.
The fight was intense. A dozen meters around them was an absolute blur of tentacles and flashing blades. Even Fang Chen couldn’t afford to jump into that fray.
Although they were on the defensive and peril surrounded them, they had at least managed to restrict the monster from carrying out a widespread massacre of the students.
The most lethal threats right now were the dozens of elusive Ghost Shadows.
Most of them had sealed off the escape routes.
A smaller portion of them was constantly flickering in and out of the panicked crowd, their every appearance accompanied by blood and death.
"We can’t interfere with the battle against the tentacled monster, and we can’t seem to touch these Ghost Shadows either," Fang Chen thought.
"It looks like the situation is stable for now, but the instructors are already at a disadvantage. It’s only a matter of time before they fall. Once that tentacled monster is freed, everyone will be in grave danger.
"Damn it, are we just supposed to sit and wait?"
He rapidly racked his brain for anything he could do to turn the tide.
"Wait, there’s one incredibly simple solution! If I find the Dream Superpower User themselves, maybe I can put an end to this dream invasion!"