After this brutal round of battle, the Green Alliance had but a handful of warriors left standing. Of those still willing to fight, only Sun'er, Huzi, Dali, and Xiaokang remained with unyielding resolve.
Ran Xiaofei had reached the final moments of his life. Had his arm been severed by a blade, or even torn off by fangs, Linghu Min might have found a way to save him. But it had been ripped off by sheer force—too much damage, too wide a reach.
With Xiaokang's help, Linghu Min employed every hemostat at his disposal, yet the bleeding could not be stopped.
"Sun'er… Sun'er…" Xiaofei called faintly, his breath like silk threads unraveling.
"I'm here, I'm here, Sun'er is here."
"Xiaofei, stay with me! You're going to be okay, I promise!"
"Sun'er… if… if there is… another life… would you… be my wife…?"
"Xiaofei, don't talk nonsense, you have your whole life ahead of you!"
"No… you… you…" Xiaofei's eyes began to dim, the light fading.
Linghu Min gently patted Sun'er on the shoulder, urging her to answer.
"Alright… I promise you. If there is a next life, I will marry you," Sun'er choked out.
Ran Xiaofei's lips curled into a peaceful smile. He closed his eyes and departed, calm and serene. Sun'er collapsed onto his chest, wailing in grief. Xiaokang, Dali, and the others wept uncontrollably by her side.
"Brothers, for now—set your sorrow aside. They're coming back," Li Zhui warned.
"Then let's finish this! We fight to the end!"
"Who has a Loyal Heart Grenade left? Give me one!"
"I'm all in! One's enough to break even, two means profit!"
Li Zhui raised his hand to quiet them. "Brothers, hold this ground. I'll handle what's below."
Someone tried to speak, but Li Zhui's gesture swiftly cut them off. With a formidable foe looming, every millisecond was precious; he had no patience for impassioned speeches.
"Sun'er, Huzi, Yongzi, come here." Summoning the three, he gave brief instructions before grabbing his fire axe and stepping out of the cavern.
"CHT1024, you're insufferably arrogant—injured my sister the other day and now you dare to humiliate me again," the lizard demon growled with a sinister edge.
"Your sister?" Li Zhui momentarily faltered.
"You twisted her neck, forcing her to reassemble again."
"So it's that monstrous lizard. Thanks for the reminder. This time, I won't be twisting your neck." He raised his axe. "I'll cleave you, beast."
"Ha ha ha!" the lizard demon laughed grotesquely. "CHT1024, you're nothing but a bragging joke! An experimental subject for eighteen years—junk, plain and simple!"
Li Zhui remained unfazed, smirking coldly as he contemplated how to deal with the creature.
"Number 1024, come down here! Let big brother show you a thing or two!" The demon brandished its claws, clearly forged from alloy steel.
Li Zhui fixed his gaze on the demon's chest, unsettling the creature. "Pervert, what are you staring at? Brother's a man!"
"I've heard of a parasitic worm called the Superbrain Body that controls hosts through neural bridges. So, I'm going to split open your shell and see for myself!" Li Zhui taunted.
The demon shrieked but didn't advance an inch; instead, Li Zhui took a bold stride and leapt toward it.
Suddenly, a steel chain flew from Li Zhui's hand, the lock smashing against a recess seven meters away. Stones scattered as a figure burst forth.
Li Zhui whipped the chain around the figure's waist, but the man flipped several times midair, evading to ten meters away.
At first glance, Li Zhui felt nauseated. The man wore only swim trunks, his brown skin thick like leather—yet what was more repulsive were the pustules and lumps peppering his flesh, resembling toad skin.
Li Zhui couldn't discern if he was genetically modified or a hybrid, but certainly not a humanoid beast; his eyes clearly reflected humanity.
The toad man's arms and legs were muscular, his chest broad, yet his waist and abdomen surprisingly slender. By appearance and build, non-human traits were minimal.
"Let the other one crawl out too!" Li Zhui commanded.
The lizard demon, intending to ambush Li Zhui, was easily seen through. Enraged and humiliated, it bellowed a horn-like roar, rallying the crocodile lizards to attack.
Li Zhui coiled his steel chain over his shoulder, swung up the fire axe, and charged at the demon. In the blink of an eye, they closed to within five meters, yet not a single crocodile dared to pounce.
With a mighty roar, Li Zhui swung the axe at the left rock wall. The stone exploded like a blast, shattering a large section and eliciting a tortured scream.
The demon, out of tricks and with no place to hide, screamed and lunged at Li Zhui, clawing down from above.
Li Zhui spun left with a backhanded strike, the fire axe slicing across the demon's chest. The demon pushed back with its steel claws, blocking the blow.
Li Zhui's palms tingled, and he leapt back five meters. The demon stood its ground, appearing dominant—but in truth, it suffered; its ten toes were nearly shattered from the impact.
Suddenly, from a crack in the left rock wall, a humanoid monster leapt out, raising two slender arms, each fitted with hooked blades.
The creature's limbs were long, its head large like a bucket, but its torso small—resembling a ten-year-old child. Clad in a black helmet and chest armor, it looked remarkably like a black long-legged ant.
"Kill him! Dismember him! Dismember him!" the lizard demon roared frantically.
The two monsters closed in on Li Zhui from front and back, while the toad man stood frozen.
Li Zhui swung his axe at the demon but suddenly retreated; his left palm seized the ant man's right forearm.
"Break!" He twisted fiercely, expecting the limb to snap—but it was like grasping a thick rebar, utterly unyielding.
The ant man's left hooked blade slashed down in response, while the demon's ten steel claws blocked Li Zhui's retreat.
Without hesitation, Li Zhui stomped the ground, colliding with the ant man and sending him flying several meters like a ragdoll.
The lizard demon raged, "You d*mn toad! You idiot! I'll skin you alive!"
Li Zhui laughed heartily. "You pathetic fool—expecting others to fight for you?"
Words flowing from his lips, his hands never ceased swinging, raining blows toward the demon's vital spots—though he held back strength. When the demon's claws flashed, he retreated swiftly.
This was no savage clash between mutated beasts; it resembled a dance of martial masters sizing each other up.
Li Zhui disliked this, but the demon's overwhelming strength and absolute speed left him no choice but to tread carefully.
After several intense exchanges, the lizard demon's flaws became glaringly apparent—its turns were sluggish, its reactions sluggish, and most fatally, a half-second pause lingered between every movement.
This was because it was not a true hybrid but a bridged body; its controller manipulated the host's brain via a single neural tether. Every command had to traverse first to the host brain, then relay to the motor nerves.
By contrast, after successfully merging with the host's nervous system, Li Zhui's dual nervous networks functioned in perfect synchrony. That half-second hesitation was all the time he needed to cleave open the demon's skull with a single strike. Yet in the chaos of battle, such precision was elusive, so he dared not act recklessly.
"You useless toad! Worthless ant! You two maggots, come finish him off!" the demon screeched.
The toad man snorted coldly, turning sharply and charging toward the cavern entrance. The ant man hesitated briefly, then followed suit.
Furious, the demon stamped the ground, bellowing, "I'll skin you alive! Come back! Or I'll devour you whole!"
Seizing this distraction, Li Zhui spun sharply, bringing his axe crashing down toward its right leg. A clean hit would sever the limb.
Just as he celebrated inwardly, a sudden mist sprayed from the demon's maw! Instinctively, Li Zhui rolled sideways, retreating three meters—dropping his axe in the process.
Though quick to react, a fiery sting seared his face, his eyes momentarily blinded. With a powerful leap, he plunged into the creek bed below.
The demon gained no true advantage; the axe blade had sunk deep into bone, severing nearly two-thirds of the limb. Yet it remained standing on one leg, howling hysterically.
Under its oppressive aura, the crocodile lizards surged forward, swarming toward Li Zhui.
On the cavern platform, onlookers were poised to erupt in thunderous cheers, only to be stunned as the battle turned into a mutual bloodbath.
She Yao sprang up, her serpent tail flicking like a pole vault, propelling her downward.
The ant man swooped in, crossing his hooked blades like scissors, attempting to intercept her. Unexpectedly, she undulated in a wave-like motion, her serpent body slipping beneath the blades. In an instant, she struck the ant man's abdomen and vaulted him three meters away.
By the time he regained his footing, She Yao had vanished. Knowing pursuit was futile and would only invite humiliation, he snarled in frustration and scrambled back toward the cavern entrance on all fours.
Though Li Zhui's eyes remained sealed, his auditory senses were poor. Upon hearing the crocodile lizards' approach, he rolled down the creek bed, tumbling into a deep pool. The lizards followed, plunging after him.
She Yao chased down the last crocodile lizard, driving her spiked hammer hook deep into its neck before plunging into the water alongside it.
Underwater, Li Zhui could now open his eyes, but the abyssal darkness rendered sight useless. Pressing against the pool's wall, he descended freely, brandishing a pair of daggers in defensive posture.
His twin hearts ceased beating for a moment, silencing him completely. Yet the crocodile lizards detected his scent and attacked without hesitation.
Hearing the rush of water, he thrust his daggers into the rock face, cutting sharply to propel himself upward.
Suddenly, a crocodile lunged from above, jaws agape.
"B*st*rd!" Li Zhui cursed inwardly, but his hands were resolute. He stabbed upward; his left forearm plunged into the crocodile's jaws, the dagger piercing its throat.
The lizard snapped shut in agony—one bite could shatter his arm.
Li Zhui anticipated this, wielding daggers ambidextrously. After the left arm's thrust, his right hand pierced the crocodile's lower jaw, wrenching it forcefully until dislocated.
A sudden, searing pain struck his left thigh—it had been bitten! Snatching his leg back, he withdrew his left arm, twisting his wrist as the dagger stabbed into the crocodile's eye.
Yet the beast, wracked by pain, refused to release and bit down harder. A torment so fierce shook Li Zhui's entire body, igniting a surge of terrifying power within.
"D*mn beast, you're courting death!" Enraged, Li Zhui abandoned his daggers, plunging his ten fingers into the crocodile's mouth and wrenching again, dislocating the jaw a second time.
But he was relentless—his left hand stabbed in anew, fingers clamping tightly onto its tongue, and with a roar, he ripped it free.
At that moment, She Yao struck, diving with blinding speed. Her left hand grasped a crocodile's upper palate, wrenching hard as her right rammed the spiked hammer hook inside, gouging and tearing savagely.
This crocodile's death was even more gruesome than the others; by the time it succumbed, its entire oral cavity and throat had been reduced to a grotesque pulp.
Whether the other crocodiles witnessed this is uncertain, but the agonized howls of their kin surely resonated clear. In the blink of an eye, the surviving crocodiles fled, not back into the cavern but through the water channels, retracing their escape.
She Yao swam to Li Zhui, nestling against his chest. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist. At the moment of contact, a shiver coursed through him. Could this be real? No—it couldn't be. People like them, neither fully human nor fully other, how could it be possible?
He recalled Xiao Fei's dying words—"If there's a next life…"
"Alright, Yao, if there is a next life..."