Chapter 1923: Chapter 1916: Your Relationship Is Like a Pile of Loose Sand
"You few, go grab Gu Xiao for me!"
Ose’s appearance directly shattered Vic’s plan to pieces. He might have sounded all calm and breezy, but inside he was under massive pressure. Facing Ose, he basically had zero confidence; the only thing that gave him a bit of courage was Ose’s heavily corroded Soul.
Back then, several times when they besieged Ose, it was always when Ose threw himself fully into battle that the Soul corrosion affected his body control, letting them wound and drive him back. In his eyes, this time was just going to be a replay of that scene.
"Stop them!"
With a shout from Zhang Menglong, a few more people in City Management uniforms appeared in front of him. They were all Ose’s old subordinates, lured into Illusion City by Zhang Menglong with the promise of an official slot.
"It’s you!" Vic and the others immediately recognized them. "Back then we didn’t wipe you all out. We were way too soft!"
"Vic, let’s settle what happened back then today!"
...
"Crack!" Ose’s body erupted with a chorus of bones popping. The power belonging to the Peak of Dao Realm instantly flattened the entire manor. The coverage and precision of this power made even Zhang Menglong have to admit his admiration.
All these years of swallowing his anger, once the suppression from the Soul corrosion was lifted, Ose’s strength had made an essential leap!
"Vic, you thought my Soul corrosion was still severe, that you still had an opening to exploit?" Ose sneered. "This time, put away your delusions. I’ll show you what fear and despair really mean!"
In an instant Ose’s body appeared behind Vic. Vic reacted fast, whipping around with an elbow aimed straight at Ose’s cheek.
But such a counterattack looked pathetically weak in Ose’s eyes. Before Vic’s elbow could land on his face, Ose had already flickered away from his original spot.
Vic only felt a surge of killing intent in front of him. Ose’s forehead was already pressed against his. A chill ran through him instantly—if Ose had attacked right then, his head would’ve already been blown apart.
"Your strength..." Vic knew very clearly that the last time he fought Ose, he could still vaguely suppress him. How did such a massive gap appear now?
"Holy shit! That’s badass!" Zhang Menglong and Wu Yang watched from the side, thoroughly entertained. By Zhang Menglong’s estimation, one Ose could at least beat ten Vics, but judging by this, he’d actually underestimated him.
"Killing Vic is like slaughtering a chicken to me!" Coming from Ose, this line wasn’t arrogant at all!
"You’re shocked, huh?" Ose laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you—half of my Soul corrosion has already been healed. I can now bring out at least over fifty percent of my strength. The current me, are you scared yet?"
Vic was indeed terrified. His hands and legs were trembling uncontrollably. A Vic with over fifty percent of his strength restored was something he really couldn’t beat!
But how was that even possible? So far, there was absolutely no way to resolve the erosion damage from Soul Shards. All the Alchemists in the Endless Land had been researching for so long and still come up empty. How the hell did he do it?
Suddenly, his attention fell on Zhang Menglong.
No one knew what kind of person Ose was better than Vic. Ose was proud and untamed, immensely powerful, absolutely impossible to serve under anyone—unless the other party offered something that truly tempted him!
Yet now he’d actually brought his old subordinates to join Zhang Menglong’s City Management Squad, which meant he’d become Zhang Menglong’s subordinate? Could it be Zhang Menglong had something in his hands that could heal Soul injuries?
"Boom!" With a ripping sound through the air, one of Vic’s Martial Artists at the Peak of Dao Realm was viciously knocked out of the sky. As old-generation powerhouses, once free from the suppression of Soul corrosion, they finally unleashed the strength they always should’ve had.
"What a piece of trash!" The Martial Artist in the air spat on the ground, then headed straight for another of Vic’s subordinates.
"Still got time to watch others? Vic, did you forget how you first got beaten half to death and tossed out of the City Lord’s Mansion by me?" Ose’s fist slammed toward Vic’s abdomen. A layer of invisible force appeared over Vic’s stomach, but in just an instant, that force shattered with a bang.
Vic’s body staggered back dozens of meters, a suffocating pressure crushing his chest.
"All these years and your strength hasn’t improved much. Looks like life in my Rosai Fortress City has been way too comfortable for you!" Ose kept attacking, and his mouth showed no mercy either.
Zhang Menglong hadn’t expected Ose to be a full-on Zaun trash-talker. Every line he spit out ruthlessly jabbed at Vic’s nerves. This was even more painful than just beating him up.
Although Vic hadn’t been defeated yet, he had clearly fallen into a complete disadvantage. Ose’s attacks were wild and wide-open, with terrifying power; every single blow could kill an ordinary Martial Artist at the Peak of Dao Realm. Just from Vic’s expression, you could see how hard he was struggling to block them.
"I really thought he was some big shot. This is actually kinda funny." Zhang Menglong and the others watched the show from the side, tossing out sarcastic commentary.
"Yeah, I almost pissed myself just now. I really thought he was invincible under heaven, but turns out he’s just a flashy spear with a wax tip."
"Bro, you really shouldn’t toss around words you don’t even know the meaning of."
"Come on, keep it up. Hold on for another twenty seconds and you’ll have lasted a whole minute. How can a man not even last one minute?"
...
Zhang Menglong and the others’ commentary distracted Vic a little. In a fight like this, especially with Ose being stronger than him, even a single distraction could get him killed.
Sure enough, that split-second distraction let Ose land a punch straight on Vic’s chest. The terrifying force surged into his body, pulverizing his chest on the spot.
At this realm, martial arts and the like didn’t matter much anymore. They didn’t need any fancy martial arts, just the purest raw power—unless it was some secret technique that boosted speed or strength.
The body of a Martial Artist at the Peak of Dao Realm had an insane regenerative ability. In an instant his body had already reformed, but Ose’s second punch had already slammed into his shoulder again.
In that instant, the scene turned very R-rated and very violent.
"You people hiding in the dark, if you’re thinking about making a move, you’d better think it through," Zhang Menglong had already sensed the restless auras around them. "Are you really going to tear faces with me over a Vic who’s about to get beaten to death, or are you going to sit your asses down and stay put?"
"If you withdraw now, I’ll let bygones be bygones. If you keep hanging around here, once Vic gets killed by my people, you’re up next!"
Zhang Menglong’s warning took immediate effect. Those auras scattered and fled at once. The situation was way too clear now; everyone could see he was basically done for. This Ose’s strength was terrifying, worthy of being one of the first people to build up Fortress City back then.
"Sigh," Zhang Menglong shook his head and said to Vic, "Look at your crew—they’re like a pile of loose sand. A single gust of wind and they’re gone."
