Chapter 131: Slaying the A-Rank Ancient Anomalous Entity

Just as Yuan Zhikong was about to swear at Wang Hui, a shriek confirmed his warning.

"Ah!!!"

Everyone turned toward the sound to see one of the team members clutching his thigh, screaming in agony. The captain was the first to rush over to check the injury, but the sight was enough to make even his heart tremble. The entire leg from the calf upward had been reduced to a mass of bloody, mangled flesh, covered in what appeared at a glance to be fine powder. However, upon closer inspection using energy, one could see these were not particles at all, but tiny butterflies tearing away at his flesh.

What could be done in such a situation? There was no doubt these butterflies were highly venomous, and the toxin was specifically designed to target the energy of Ghost Controllers. Furthermore, using energy to drive them away was impossible; doing so within this domain would trigger a backlash from the powder in the air, resulting in a loss far greater than the gain.

The captain was left with only one choice.

"This damned beast is forcing me to cut off your leg!"

Upon hearing this, the Ghost Controller on the ground tried to say something, but before he could react, the captain seized a blade from an unknown source and swung it down. Without the protection of energy, the man's leg was severed as easily as if it were soft mud. Though he had lost his limb, the screaming stopped; he simply gripped the remaining flesh of his thigh, his face twitching uncontrollably.

Everyone else couldn't help but gasp. This strange entity was truly ruthless.

"Did you catch a glimpse of what that creature looked like?" the captain asked while tearing off a piece of his own clothing to bandage the man.

The Ghost Controller nodded with great effort, took a few deep breaths, and whispered, "I didn't see clearly, just a pair of very large wings. Based on its aura, it should be a creature from the previous era. At least A-rank!"

In truth, the creature had struck in the blink of an eye; for the team member to gather that much information was already quite impressive. But upon hearing this, the captain froze.

"What is it?"

The captain didn't answer. Once the bandage was secured, he stood up silently and addressed the group. "We are likely facing an A-rank ancient entity, the Love-Dance Butterfly. Within its domain, we have no chance of winning."

Wang Hui was stunned. Didn't this team have an A-rank Ghost Controller of their own? Why give up resistance just because they were facing another A-rank? He looked at the masked Ghost Controller beside him. This guy was even more straightforward, simply sitting on the ground with an air of total resignation. He even said to Wang Hui, "I'm sorry for dragging an ordinary person like you into this disaster."

"Wait, you're just giving up?" Wang Hui was shocked. This was nothing like the legendary spirit of the Great Xia people, who were said never to give up until the very last moment.

The masked Ghost Controller continued to mope. "What are you shouting about? We're about to die; can't you be quiet for a second?"

Seeing that these people were truly beyond saving, Wang Hui began to look for a way to protect himself. Although his strength was only at A-rank, he possessed two different types of A-rank energy, and as a 'Speaker,' he was fundamentally different from a Ghost Controller. The influence of the domain on him was far less than on the others. Besides, the captain had said the creature was only A-rank. He had often seen his boss kill A-rank entities like child's play back when he was only B-rank; surely, killing an A-rank himself shouldn't be too difficult?

He made up his mind: once the Love-Dance Butterfly finished off these Ghost Controllers, he would strike and kill it himself. With that thought, he began to adjust his internal energy and observe his surroundings.

But as soon as he calibrated his energy and finally saw the reality of the domain, he froze. A giant woman stood beside the captain, a pair of brilliant, colorful wings sprouting from her back. It seemed she was about to strike the captain the very next second. At that moment, she seemed to notice Wang Hui's gaze and glanced subconsciously in his direction.

Just as Wang Hui's heart tightened, all the Ghost Controllers sprang into action. The captain slammed his hands into the ground, causing it to crack, and the fissures, as if possessed by life, transformed into black threads that bound the woman tightly. The entire sequence took only an instant.

Before the captain could make another move, another Ghost Controller reached her side, sliced open his own wrists, and sprayed his blood onto the woman. The blood was highly corrosive, and thick smoke hissed from her skin upon contact.

"Ah!!!"

The woman shrieked, her wings snapping open and erupting with immense energy. The captain and his team, already suffering from the backlash of the domain and drained of their strength, were sent flying instantly.

Just as the woman prepared to fly off and vanish back into the domain, the masked Ghost Controller finally made his move. He dashed to her side with blinding speed and tore off his mask. To Wang Hui's horror, beneath the mask lay a face covered in dense, packed eyes. They were everywhere, each one seemingly alive, constantly darting around—it was enough to trigger Wang Hui’s trypophobia.

These were no ordinary eyes; they emitted a blinding red light. Less than a second after the woman vanished, the masked Ghost Controller leapt in a specific direction and struck at empty air. Yet, the blow landed solidly on the woman. With a violent explosion of energy, she was slammed to the ground.

Without giving her a moment to recover, all the Ghost Controllers—excluding Yuan Zhikong—charged forward without hesitation. They burned their own blood to push their combat power to the limit, unleashing a frenzied assault. Slowly, the domain began to dissipate as the woman’s energy failed.

The Ghost Controllers of the Great Xia had successfully pulled off a desperate counter-kill.

Wang Hui finally realized: was that woman the Love-Dance Butterfly? It wasn't that he was slow to react, but the process had been so rapid, and his focus had been so locked on the battle, that it took a moment to sink in. This battle had shown Wang Hui what true grit really meant.

The Love-Dance Butterfly was now reduced to a mere essence of life, no longer a threat. The Ghost Controllers, exhausted by their extreme overdraft, were spent. The masked Ghost Controller collapsed to the ground, pulling his mask back on to hide his terrifying face, and said to Yuan Zhikong, "The captain and the others must secure the life essence. You are responsible for reporting everything that happened here to Great Xia immediately."

With that, he shook his head and lost consciousness.