The minotaur let out a pained roar as the frontal blast struck it, its chest now riddled with bloody holes, its flesh and muscle utterly mangled.
Before it could even recover and swing its weapon to drive the enemy away, the blood droplets that had splattered across its body began to creep along its skin—crawling into its wide-open mouth!
Mouth, nose, ears, eyes—blood surged in through every orifice, flooding into the monster's body and violently ravaging its internal organs.
As the blood kept pouring in, the struggling minotaur, still flailing its weapon wildly, began to swell at a visible speed.
Finally, with a gut-wrenching scream—its body exploded!
Flesh and blood flew in all directions as the blood mist spun and reformed, once again condensing into the shape of Qin Ming.
He had effortlessly dealt with the thick-skinned, tough-bodied boss, and hadn't even sustained a scratch—but that didn't bring him any satisfaction.
On the contrary, after taking down the minotaur, Qin Ming's expression darkened even further.
Because in the brief time it had taken to finish off that one boss, four more BOSS-level monsters had emerged from the black mist—one of which was clearly fire-based!
Worse still, although the minotaur had been a full-fledged boss, Qin Ming didn't receive any loot after killing it.
The monsters summoned by the Skeleton Reaper… didn't drop anything!
This discovery instantly soured Qin Ming's mood.
Seeing there was no reward to be had, how could he possibly be willing to waste energy clashing with this endless wave of conjured enemies?
Suddenly raising his head, eyes flashing with murderous intent, Qin Ming once again locked his sights onto the true boss—the Skeleton Reaper.
As he transformed into blood mist once more, he opened his mouth wide and roared with fury:
"Zhao Honghua!"
Hearing his shout, Zhao Honghua—who had been standing by and waiting for her cue—dropped to one knee without hesitation and drove her peachwood sword into the ground.
The next second, flames erupted from the sword's hilt, and blazing fire surged outward in all directions.
S-rank ultimate skill—True Phoenix Summoning Flame!
This time, what Zhao Honghua unleashed was no small-scale spell—it was a full-powered, no-holds-barred killing move.
The roaring fire engulfed the entire hall in an instant—it was a massive area-of-effect blast!
The only ones spared from the flames were the two humans in the room: Angel and Sakamoto Eiri. They were unharmed by the inferno's direct blaze.
Everyone else—including even Qin Ming—couldn't escape the effects of the fiery explosion.
Bathed in the Phoenix Fire's all-consuming burn, the surrounding monsters screamed in agony as they were instantly set ablaze.
Ordinary dark creatures were reduced to ash on the spot. Even elite-class monsters were burned to the brink of death. Only the boss-level dark creatures fared slightly better—but even they were charred and mutilated, left in horrendous condition.
With one devastating ultimate move, Zhao Honghua nearly wiped the floor clean.
More importantly, even the Skeleton Reaper couldn't escape the blast. Its base stats weren't that high to begin with, and now it had taken a significant hit.
Before the Reaper could stabilize the surging black mist around its body, Zhao Honghua raised her sword and pointed it straight at him.
Crackling with lightning, arcs of electricity danced from the blade as several miniature thunder dragons burst forth—racing toward the enemy.
The Skeleton Reaper was startled. Realizing the danger, it instinctively tried to flee.
But just as it turned around, the blood mist behind it stirred—and a ferocious face took shape right in front of it.
Qin Ming—had closed in for the kill!
As the saying goes: different trades require different skills—expertise doesn't transfer across disciplines.
Since Zhao Honghua was the protagonist of this world, her effectiveness against monsters and demons was beyond question.
Qin Ming might be able to defeat—or even kill—Zhao Honghua in a direct fight. But if it came to capturing ghosts or exorcising demons, even three of him combined wouldn't be a match for her alone.
That was exactly what was happening now. The Skeleton Reaper, which had left Qin Ming at a loss, was successfully restrained by Zhao Honghua using a surprise combo.
Phoenix Flame cleared the field! Thunder Dragon locked down the enemy!
Zhao Honghua controlled the lightning that tightly bound the Skeleton Reaper. The other end of the lightning was connected to her peachwood sword, which she gripped with both hands, teeth clenched, and kept yanking back with all her strength.
Trapped in the middle and finding itself unable to transform into black mist, the Skeleton Reaper began to struggle desperately.
As the electricity touched its body, crackling sounds rang out—just like water hitting hot oil—accompanied by frequent bursts of sparks.
Seizing the moment, Qin Ming charged forward head-on.
He clamped both hands around the Skeleton Reaper's skull, his face twisted with ferocity, pouring blood energy madly into its body, trying to locate its core.
Even as the Reaper's thrashing sent both of them crashing into the electric bindings—his body crackling with sparks and burns—Qin Ming refused to let go.
After a frenzied internal search, Qin Ming was stunned to realize—he couldn't find a core inside this thing at all!
Or rather—the Skeleton Reaper was fundamentally different from them! It didn't even have a core!
But that didn't make sense. Even machines had engines! For a being whose body had already been energy-transformed, how could it lack a driving core?
Either Qin Ming had missed it during the search…
Or—this Skeleton Reaper wasn't even the same type of creature! Its body might not be energy-based at all!
Or perhaps—its core had been stored elsewhere through some special means!
Realizing something was off, Qin Ming hurled the Skeleton Reaper aside and quickly looked around.
His gaze suddenly locked onto something lying on the ground up ahead.
The object looked very familiar—he'd seen it once before. Wasn't that the manhole cover used to seal the Dark Gate?
Now, however, the manhole cover had been dislodged, allowing black mist to continuously seep out from the hole below.
Most importantly, the cover was glowing faintly now, and atop it was a shimmering outline of a humanoid figure—one that looked exactly like the Skeleton Reaper.
Qin Ming had found the Reaper's core! It wasn't in its body at all—it was on the manhole cover.
So this so-called Skeleton Reaper… was actually powered by the seal!
Finally uncovering the true source, Qin Ming's eyes lit up. His body instantly dissolved into blood mist and shot straight toward the manhole cover.
Seeing this, the Skeleton Reaper panicked, let out a furious roar, and forcibly tore free from the lightning restraints—charging madly toward Qin Ming.
With howling wind all around, Qin Ming reached the cover first.
He instinctively reached out to grab it—only to scream in agony the moment his hand made contact.
The densely packed runes on the manhole cover had all lit up at once.
A searing, terrifying pain surged through his arm—his entire hand was scorched pitch black.
The array of sealing formations meant to contain the Dark Gate also had devastating effects on Qin Ming.
His arm burned to a crisp, Qin Ming stared at the manhole cover in front of him—completely unusable, and without any idea how to destroy it. He was absolutely livid.
Especially when he heard the enemy closing in behind him—his fury only intensified.
So, without hesitation, he extended both hands, enduring the intense burning sensation as he lifted the manhole cover.
Then he spun around without a second thought—and slammed the entire thing down on the charging Skeleton Reaper's head.
"You want the manhole cover, huh? Here—TAKE IT!"
BANG!
(End of Chapter)