Chapter 35: A Clash of Might, Whipping the Corpse of the Demon Rat!

Like a man possessed, Yu Le brandished his "Dragon-Subduing Rod" and charged straight toward the Golden-Maned Demon Rat, which was swaying as it tried to rise in the corner.

The Golden-Maned Demon Rat heard the footsteps, looked up, and its beady eyes narrowed in shock. Even with its limited intelligence, it was terrified by the sight of Yu Le. Blood vessels pulsed beneath his skin like writhing earthworms, and a faint, bloody mist seeped from his pores with every step he took.

"Squeak!"

The Golden-Maned Demon Rat let out a warning cry, but Yu Le heard nothing of the outside world. Everything in his field of vision was a deep, burning crimson. His breathing was heavy, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears like a muffled drum. The drop of blood Feng Jiujiao had left in the jade vial had fully integrated into his own bloodstream. The rapid circulation of his blood not only mended the wounds he had sustained throughout the battle but flooded him with an inexhaustible surge of power.

He had to vent it. And the Golden-Maned Demon Rat was the perfect outlet for this pent-up fury.

Seeing its warning ignored, the Golden-Maned Demon Rat gnashed its teeth and lunged forward, claws raised to meet the onslaught.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal striking metal was piercing. Yu Le stood as steady as a mountain, while the Golden-Maned Demon Rat recoiled in shock and agony. Its claw had been repelled, and its hand—already refined through the Bone-Forging stage—throbbed with numbness.

There was no time to ponder this bizarre development. Yu Le swung the rod again, forcing the rat to raise its other claw to parry. Just like the first strike, both of its formidable claws were left tingling and numb.

"Squeak, squeak!"

The Golden-Maned Demon Rat was enraged. It had always been the one to tear its prey apart; it had never been forced onto the defensive in a head-on collision. Yu Le’s mind was clearly clouded, and he did nothing but swing his rod blindly, but the injured rat was unable to dodge.

Seeing no other choice, the rat opted for its specialty: brute force. Based on their previous skirmishes, it was certain that Yu Le’s cultivation was far below its own and that he had not yet reached the Bone-Tempering realm. If Yu Le had chosen to dance around it, the rat—already hampered by its crippled hind legs—would have found it troublesome. But in a direct slugfest, the one who endured the longest would win.

The logic was sound, but the outcome defied the rat’s expectations.

The warehouse was filled with the rhythmic, metallic clanging of a blacksmith’s forge. The rat’s claws, honed through the second stage of Bone-Forging, collided with the rod, showering the room in sparks. Yet, as the fight dragged on, the rat’s arms grew numb, while Yu Le showed no signs of fatigue; in fact, his breathing began to steady.

The Golden-Maned Demon Rat grew afraid. It could feel the bones in its arms, tempered through the Bone-Forging process, beginning to tremble. If this continued, its arms would be destroyed. But Yu Le’s assault was relentless, and unable to retreat, the rat was forced to trade blow for blow. It had been completely dragged into Yu Le’s rhythm.

After another violent clash, a sickening *crack* echoed. One of the rat's claws snapped, and like a dam bursting, the integrity of its limbs began to crumble. One by one, its claws were shattered by the rod. Looking down at its mangled, bloody paws, the Golden-Maned Demon Rat fell into despair.

"Squeak...!"

Following a shrill, piercing cry, the rat attempted to block with its clawless arms, but the already fractured bones shattered instantly. One arm went limp, followed by the other.

With all four limbs rendered useless and the "Dragon-Subduing Rod" descending toward its head, the rat desperately wanted to flee, but it could not. One strike to the skull made the rat feel as if its brains were being pulverized; its body rolled across the floor like a tumbling gourd, crashing into a pile of debris. It lay there, its beady eyes reflecting a sense of existential dread.

Before it could draw a breath, Yu Le was upon it again.

"This strike, for your waist!"

*Crack!*

The rat’s spine was shattered, pinning it to the ground.

"This strike, for your belly!"

*Bang!*

The Golden-Maned Demon Rat vomited a mixture of half-digested food and fragments of its own internal organs. Its body was launched into the air like a ball. Before it could even land, Yu Le brought the rod down on its head, slamming it back into the floor.

The rat lay motionless, its breathing shallow and labored, looking like a discarded carcass.

"And this strike, to shatter your soul!"

*Bang!*

With a final, heavy blow, the rat’s skull split open, spraying blood and gore across the floor. The Golden-Maned Demon Rat, a creature of the second Bone-Forging stage, let out a whimper and finally breathed its last.

Yet, whether due to his clouded mind or an unspent rage, Yu Le did not stop. Even as the rat lay dead, the rod continued to fall, blow after rhythmic blow. The tearing of skin was not the end; it was only the beginning.

The dull, wet thuds were bone-chilling. The Golden-Maned Demon Rat never imagined that in death, it would be subjected to such desecration. Yu Le repeated the motion like a machine, pounding the creature until it was nothing more than a heap of minced meat. If not for the matted fur and splintered bone shards mixed in, the flesh could have been used as dumpling filling.

"Yu Le, that’s enough!"

With the Golden-Maned Demon Rat neutralized and the previous five rats dealt with, the remaining six had been dispatched by Han Yuesu and her team. Upon reaching the corner, Su Rui immediately ran aside to retch, Gu Xiaoyuan trembled in terror, and even Han Yuesu turned deathly pale.

But Yu Le seemed deaf to her voice, continuing his tireless assault on the shapeless mass of meat.

"Enough, stop!"

Han Yuesu stumbled forward, trying to grab Yu Le to stop him, only to be shoved away by his sheer strength. What was happening to him? Seeing him in such a frenzied state, Han Yuesu gritted her teeth and cast her "Spirit Rhyme Ice Chain," binding him tightly.

The cold energy from the chain seeped into Yu Le’s body, cooling his boiling blood. His struggles weakened. Han Yuesu pulled back on the chain, and Yu Le collapsed into her arms.

Cupping his face, she asked anxiously, "Yu Le, wake up! The battle is over!"

Influenced by her voice and the biting cold, the crimson tint in Yu Le’s eyes slowly receded, and he grew deathly weak.

"Is... is it over?"

Han Yuesu let out a long sigh and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, the demon rats here have all been killed."

"I'm so tired..." Yu Le murmured.

"Rest then. You'll be fine when you wake up." This was perhaps the first time Han Yuesu had spoken to a teammate with such tenderness.

Leaning against her, the utterly exhausted Yu Le closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

"Xiaoyuan, how is he?" Han Yuesu asked, her concern evident as Gu Xiaoyuan stepped forward to check his injuries.

"Huh?" Gu Xiaoyuan looked puzzled. "Yu Le’s physical condition is excellent. All his injuries have been repaired."

"Then why is he unconscious?"

"Captain Han, he fought his way through all of this. Even an iron body would reach its limit. He’s just suffering from total exhaustion and energy depletion."

Han Yuesu frowned. "What did he drink earlier?"

Gu Xiaoyuan shook her head, unable to answer.

"Never mind that for now. Go save Meng Huai." With Yu Le safe, Han Yuesu gave the order.

"Right, right away!"

While Yu Le was fine, Meng Huai’s situation was dire. To land a significant blow on the Golden-Maned Demon Rat, he had sacrificed an arm, only managing to wound the beast before collapsing from blood loss. Fortunately, Han Yuesu had used her ice powers to preserve his severed arm, meaning it could potentially be reattached if treated in time.

As the five of them regrouped in the warehouse, Geng Xiao’s voice crackled over the communicator.

"Yuesu, how is it on your end?"

"Captain Geng, the crisis here is resolved. Yu Le killed the second-stage Golden-Maned Demon Rat, and the majority of the fifty-plus lesser rats have been wiped out."

"What?" Geng Xiao paused. "What about casualties?"

"Little Meng lost an arm; Xiaoyuan is treating him now. Yu Le is unconscious from exhaustion, one of my Spirit Rhyme Ice Chains is destroyed, and Su Rui and Xiaoyuan have minor injuries."

"We’re coming over immediately."

Before long, Geng Xiao, looking as bedraggled as the rest, arrived at the warehouse with the soot-covered Ling Xiao. Seeing the carnage, both men gasped. Especially when Han Yuesu pointed to a pile of pulverized meat and identified it as the second-stage Golden-Maned Demon Rat, their minds nearly short-circuited.

"Are you certain... Yu Le did this?"