Chapter 54: The Unstoppable Knight! An Unbreakable Deadlock?

"Let me witness your capabilities."

Ullrich stroked his chin, eagerly anticipating his very first battle since rebirth.

Eerie green flames flickered within his eye sockets, swaying excitedly.

Lowering its head, the dark shadow leaped high into the air, plunging directly toward Ullrich’s head.

Ullrich twisted his hips and swung his arm.

His massive fist dragged a trail of afterimages, connecting instantly with the shadow’s chest and sending it hurtling away once more.

"Too slow!" Ullrich sneered.

Zhou Quan's heart sank.

The terrifying strength of the Old Covenant Wolf King lay in its elusive, instantaneous teleportation.

Stripped of its teleportation charges, though still formidable, the Wolf King was as frail as an infant compared to the immensely superior Ullrich.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Fu Qingshan darted around Ullrich's lower body like a gust of wind, sparks flying wildly as he hacked away with his horse-slaying saber, yet failing to inflict even a scratch.

Ullrich was clad in heavy armor, with fish-scale plating protecting even his ankles.

Lowering his head, he watched Fu Qingshan scuttling about beneath him and emitted a creaking chuckle.

"You are truly adorable!"

Ullrich lashed out with a kick.

Fu Qingshan nimbly sidestepped just in time to evade the blow, but before he could catch his breath, a tremendous force descended from above, driving him flat to the ground.

He curled up on the earth, his face deathly pale.

A violent agony surged through his internal organs, suffocating him.

In the fraction of a second he had spent dodging, Ullrich had bent down and driven an elbow into his shoulder—a blow heavy as a mountain that rattled his entire frame apart.

"A bit too tender."

Ullrich reached out and gripped Fu Qingshan's head.

Against the backdrop of that colossal palm, Fu Qingshan's head looked absurdly minuscule, carrying a surreal sense of unreality.

Fu Qingshan struggled desperately, but the blinding pain drained him of strength. He swayed like a ragdoll caught in a steel claw.

"Sweet dreams," Ullrich said with utmost gentleness.

His palm slowly began to tighten.

At that very moment, a shadow loomed over him.

Bang!

A section of a concrete pipe came flying sideways, crashing into Ullrich and forcing him back a few steps as Fu Qingshan tumbled to the ground.

"Are you alright?"

Not far away, Zhou Quan was panting heavily.

Fu Qingshan raised his head, casting a complex look at Zhou Quan.

Without answering, he scrambled up using hands and feet, snatched his fallen saber, and stared vigilantly at Ullrich, who was now rising from behind the concrete pipe.

"I am starting to get angry," Ullrich said, fixing his gaze on Zhou Quan as the green flames in his eyes burned fiercely.

"I'm sorry," Zhou Quan said sincerely.

Ullrich choked for a moment.

Are people these days this polite? Apologizing right in the middle of a brawl?

He kicked the concrete pipe aside, abandoned Fu Qingshan, and charged straight at Zhou Quan.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground trembled beneath Ullrich's stride.

Zhou Quan was consumed with tension, yet he refused to retreat, knowing that backing away would only expose deadlier vulnerabilities.

When narrow paths meet, the courageous prevail!

Let's finish this!

In the blink of an eye, Ullrich materialized right before him.

Throwing a howling punch, Zhou Quan raised his arms to guard his head. The moment physical contact was made, Zhou Quan was sent flying.

He crashed heavily into the load-bearing pillar of the unfinished building and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Pfft!"

The crimson spray stained the earth.

At that moment, Zhou Quan fully understood Fu Qingshan's plight.

Ullrich was a human-shaped tank; graze him and die, touch him and maim.

That previous punch embodied a millennium of accumulated power against which Zhou Quan had no defense whatsoever.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ullrich approached Zhou Quan step by step. He walked deliberately slowly, seemingly intent on inflicting psychological torture.

Zhou Quan struggled, attempting to drag himself up.

Yet the agony wracking his body betrayed him. Limp and exhausted, he could no longer support the four-meter-tall physique of the Wolf King.

"Farewell," Ullrich said, looming over him. "I shall miss you, and all those bizarre remarks about how you were going to kill me."

He slowly raised his hand.

Feeling the throbbing pain throughout his body, Zhou Quan was gripped by a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

Something is wrong here.

The simulation didn't mention this part!

According to the simulation, didn't I help that ghostly entity slay the headless knight?

Why does it look like I am the one about to die?

Zhou Quan's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be...

Was this so-called "wholehearted assistance" actually a demand for my life?

A desperate survival instinct drove him backward, but his movements were so sluggish they appeared stationary to Ullrich.

Ullrich spoke mildly, "Allow me to ask a bold question: if I slay you, will that dark monstrosity crawling inside you perish as well?"

Zhou Quan clenched his teeth.

There's still a chance!

I still have the [Heavenly Noble] trait!

The worst-case scenario won't materialize. I won't die; I can still turn the tables!

Clink!

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed from behind him.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

A few more followed.

A trembling voice rang out from nearby: "Look at me, Prince Charming!"

Ullrich turned his head with a flicker of amusement.

There stood Qin Xue in the corner, clutching a handful of small stones, her lips trembling with fright.

Ullrich shrugged.

He smiled at Zhou Quan. "Wait a moment. Prince Charming will return shortly!"

Zhou Quan froze slightly.

The next second, Ullrich sprang into the air, hurtling like a meteor toward Qin Xue.

Mid-flight, he spread his arms wide, as if offering her an embrace.

Qin Xue looked up.

Watching Ullrich descend upon her, she parted her lips in sheer terror.

Time seemed to slow down. Qin Xue watched helplessly as Ullrich plunged downward; she wanted to flee, but her legs refused to obey.

The next second, the shadow swallowed her whole.

Bang!

Ullrich straightened up, his entire body splattered with crimson blood.

He had smashed a crater into the earth, and Qin Xue's mangled, unrecognizable body was embedded at the bottom.

"Qin Xue!"

Veins bulged in Fu Qingshan's eyes as they threatened to split.

A massive surge of adrenaline flooded his system, transforming into a torrential wave of power that propelled him forward.

Leaping high, he brought his horse-slaying saber down toward Ullrich's neck.

Yet Ullrich merely flicked his hand, snatching Fu Qingshan right out of the air. The blade struck the soft armor over Ullrich's palm without leaving even a faint scratch.

Gritting his teeth, Zhou Quan forced himself to his feet.

Is Qin Xue dead?

He peered into the crater Ullrich had smashed and beheld her tragic state.

Boom! A deafening roar echoed in his mind.

Had it not been for those small stones Qin Xue had thrown, the one lying dead right now would have been him.

By extension, Qin Xue had effectively died in his stead.

Zhou Quan could not help but clench his fists.

Is this because of my trait? If I refuse to die, must someone else die in my place?

Did I cause her death?

Zhou Quan couldn't be sure; he didn't even know if his trait had truly activated.

Yet there was no denying that Qin Xue had died because of him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The dark shadow darted behind Ullrich once more, showering him with a fresh cascade of sparks.

Occasionally, its claws struck Ullrich's head, only to slide off harmlessly amidst a flash of green light without inflicting any real damage.

Paying no heed to these assaults, Ullrich merely studied the furious Fu Qingshan struggling within his grip with amused detachment.

Witnessing the scene before him, an overwhelming sense of despair washed over Zhou Quan.

One was dead, and the other was on the verge of it.

The Wolf King's claws couldn't even breach Ullrich's defenses, and his own transformation was rapidly running out of time.

How on earth was this deadlock to be broken?