Starforce Warriors

Chapter 286: Cyborg

A power armor could be equipped with a variety of super firearms. For example, the power armor combat squad facing Li Xiaofei had Blade Hunter II model power armor, which were armed with laser weapons and second only to power guns in power. Laser weapons often posed a serious threat to warriors below the Golden Body Realm.

In an instant, five gun barrels locked onto Li Xiaofei. Countless incandescent beams pummeled Li Xiaofei’s armor like a torrential downpour. These laser beams had considerable recoil, but possessed a horrifying penetrative ability. The floating armor, made of Bull Demon blood, was burned and pierced in large sections.

The beams reached Li Xiaofei's flesh and blood body but that was all. His physical body was no weaker than the armor. The incandescent beams, partially blocked by the Bull Demon blood armor, couldn’t effectively injure Li Xiaofei. Moreover, the Blade Hunter II power armor was only equipped with four magazines. Soon, all the incandescent beams were completely spent.

The battlefield fell silent. The superheated air was filled with the stench of burning ozone. But Ghost Slayer Zhong Kui was standing motionless in the center of the battlefield. His crimson battle robes had been completely scorched to a charcoal-like black. His face was scarred and pitted by the laser beams. His already grotesque appearance now resembled a demon straight out of hell.

His entire body seemed completely carbonized as it emitted faint wisps of smoke. But he stood unmoving.

Is he dead?

From above, Zhen Jiahui and Gu Juechen held their breath. Five Blade Hunter II power armors, each about three meters tall, approached swiftly under the cold moonlight. Their weapon systems were still locked onto their target, ready to launch a lethal attack at any moment.

Zzz.

The pale incandescent glow of the laser sword illuminated the night. The power armor soldier at the front raised his laser sword and forcefully thrust it forward.

At that moment, the charred Zhong Kui suddenly moved. His left foot shifted, and his body flickered to the side to narrowly dodge the attack. The blood-red broadblade in his hand turned into a streak of crimson light as he swiftly slashed horizontally.

Bang!

The blade struck the power armor, but it was blocked by a layer of glowing white light. The power armor's energy shield had activated just in time to block the lethal strike.

“Damn, that slash took out 67% of the shield’s energy. Be careful, everyone.”

The power armor soldier was shocked and quickly warned his teammates over their communication channel. But in the next moment, he could no longer speak. Zhong Kui's second slash landed in the exact same spot. The strike was too fast for even the passive defense system of the power armor to react. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Szzzt.

The energy shield shattered and both the power armor and its pilot were cleanly severed in half. Sparks flew from the damaged machinery, and blood gushed out between the joints.

“Damn it.”

“Be careful! Don’t give him a chance for a second slash!”

“Overheated flamethrower!”

The remaining four power armor pilots immediately realized the dire situation.

This monster’s defense was incredibly strong. A typical warrior at the Five Spirits Realm wouldn’t have been able to withstand the first barrage of lasers. Even if they had survived, they would have been gravely injured. They certainly wouldn’t have the strength to break through the power armor’s energy shield.

But this guy in front of them had both an insane defense and an even more horrifying offense. He was practically the bane of power armors. One of the power armor units barely managed to raise its arm, and before it could fire the toxic, superheated flames from its flamethrower, the Ghost Slayer’s blade swiftly severed its metal arm.

“Ah!!”

A scream echoed through the night. Zhong Kui’s movements were simply too fast. His swordsmanship was incredibly powerful. It was as if man and blade had become one as he launched slash after slash with unmatched precision. Two strikes! It only took two strikes for him to violently tear through the power armor and kill the pilot within.

Even the battle-grade light core equipped in the Blade Hunter II power armor couldn’t calculate Zhong Kui’s movements or predict his attack vectors in time. The power armor in front of him was nothing more than an oversized toy. It couldn’t even perform its function as a nemesis of martial arts experts. Instead, it became a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter.

The battle ended swiftly as all five power armors, along with their pilots, were reduced to broken scraps. Zhong Kui, still holding his Ghost Slayer, slowly lifted his head. He had sensed the presence of two figures standing on a distant balcony.

In that instant, both Zhen Jiahui and Gu Juechen shuddered in fear. Zhong Kui’s grotesque, charred black face looked like a Shura Death God, reaping lives in the dark of night.

But then something even more terrifying occurred. The fatal, charred injuries on Zhong Kui’s body began to heal before their very eyes. The injuries on his head vanished as well.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Kui stood before them as the unscathed demon god he had been before. His smile was filled with mockery.

It was as if he was silently saying, "Accept your fate—wounds like these are no threat to me."

"Monster... monster..." Zhen Jiahui muttered, his scalp tingling with fear.

Could this unkillable creature truly be a demon?

Cold sweat began to form on Gu Juechen’s forehead. Now he understood why the entire Ye family had been annihilated overnight. This Ghost Slayer, Zhong Kui, was terrifying beyond belief.

Zhong Kui made his move. He leaped toward the balcony like a black meteor.

But just then...

Whoosh!

A micro-missile slammed into his side.

Boom!

The explosion sent Zhong Kui flying through the air. The moment he hit the ground, a figure dove down and unleashed a flurry of punches. The rapid-fire iron fists pounded into Zhong Kui’s body like a high-speed pile driver.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once again, Zhong Kui was blasted away. The figure's body emitted crimson jets of energy, propelling him forward as he struck again. Zhong Kui swiftly swung his blade, executing the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade technique.

Boom!

The figure was split apart with one powerful slash. When Li Xiaofei took a closer look, he noticed that the figure was not tall, and half of its body had been entirely replaced by gleaming silver metal. Its metallic skeleton and mechanical face gleamed in the light, with one eye glowing a menacing red. The other half of its body remained human, with intact flesh and blood.

"A cyborg?"

Li Xiaofei was shocked. Prosthetics had long become commonplace in this era, with many people who had lost limbs using them to live as normal. Sometimes they would even surpass normal human abilities thanks to the advanced features of these artificial limbs. However, prosthetics were typically limited to arms, legs, or small parts of the body. But this creature before him had more than half its body replaced with machinery.

Can he even still be considered human?

Whoosh!

The cyborg raised its hand, launching another missile the width of a finger. This thing was like a miniature arsenal.

Li Xiaofei slashed with his long blade.

Boom!

The missile exploded. But Li Xiaofei had already broken through the flames of the explosion and was closing in on the cyborg. His blade flashed as he aimed for the cyborg’s neck.

Yet, in that very moment, the cyborg's head bent backward at an impossible angle, dangling behind its body. The blade sliced through empty air.

Meanwhile, the cyborg's assault was completely unaffected. Its right hand transformed into a high-speed rotating electric drill, which shot out and slammed into Li Xiaofei’s left chest.

Zzzzt!

Sparks flew as the armor was quickly pierced. Li Xiaofei gritted his teeth through the impact, grabbed the drill with his left hand, and with a burst of brute force, crushed it into a twisted lump of metal.