Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Time passed slowly, and Han Zu's body grew weaker from the constant fighting. Each swing of his battle axe consumed a large amount of energy, and his energy reserves were almost depleted. Yet, the excitement in his eyes remained undiminished. Each soldier he killed brought him a surge of pleasure, a pleasure that made him forget the excruciating pain of his wounds and his physical weakness. His wounds continued to bleed, and he had lost most of his blood, his face turning as pale as paper. But he continued to fight, like a terrifying killing machine that could not be shut down.

Another soldier charged forward, wielding an energy battle axe. But he was no longer facing an opponent with the upper hand of reason; instead, he was confronting a killing machine that was gradually losing control. Against such an enemy, even though his reason was fading, his memories of battle alone meant that the same attack methods would never be effective again. So the soldier did rush to the attack position and swung his weapon, but his attack missed. His head was chopped off, and his headless corpse was gradually revealed, chopped into mincemeat. Of course, since his head had been severed, he felt no pain.

A soldier who had moved to the edge of the battle zone seized the opportunity to switch weapons with his fallen comrade. He then fired a specially designed energy blast, more than three times the size of a regular one, its surface crackling with red lightning—clearly a powerful assault weapon. However, its original owner was killed before he could fire. The soldier, in a sense, had fulfilled his comrade's "last wish" and successfully launched the attack.

The large energy blast struck the killing machine in front of him and exploded instantly. The resulting energy flow tightly bound Han Zu, while the blue energy shockwave from the explosion spread outwards from Han Zu, knocking all the soldiers within a five-meter radius off balance. Han Zu himself was enveloped by the energy shockwave, his body creaking as if repeatedly struck by a heavy hammer.

Han Zu suddenly exerted his strength, unleashing a burst of flames and lightning that forcefully shattered the cage formed by the energy flow. But before he could regain his footing, two soldiers wielding bone spears pierced his back. The dark red liquid smeared on the spears spread rapidly along the wounds, melting the muscle and bone in its path. Han Zu staggered forward a few steps, then turned and grabbed the shafts of the two spears, pulling them forcefully from his body. He simultaneously pulled the two soldiers in front of him, using their bodies to shield them from the subsequent energy blasts. The energy blasts struck the soldiers, instantly blasting them into two clouds of blood mist. Han Zu was once again thrown back by the shockwave, crashing into the edge of the central vortex of flesh and blood.

The vortex of flesh and blood suddenly accelerated its rotation, and streams of purple energy overflowed from it, landing on Han Zu. He could feel the powerful restorative force within this energy, but it also carried a chaotic aura. Before he could absorb this energy, three soldiers had already rushed in front of him, their energy weapons aimed at his head. Han Zu tried to dodge, but his severely damaged body prevented him from doing so. The descending energy blasts struck the edge of the flesh and blood vortex and half of his own body. The chain reaction of explosions from multiple energy blasts created a significant gap in the vortex below, and the flesh and blood tissue within began to writhe wildly, attempting to repair the breach.

Sensing the surge of energy, Han Zu, severely injured and now only half a body remaining, seized the opportunity. Using his barely intact right arm, he lunged forward, dragging his mangled body, and reached the breach, plunging his arm into the flesh and blood within the vortex. He frantically absorbed the overflowing energy and the growing flesh and blood. The energy flowed into his body through his wounds, instantly coursing through his entire being. The wounds corroded by the dark red potion began to heal at a visible speed, and the melted bones reformed. However, this energy was too violent, and Han Zu had no time to adjust the precision of his absorption. His body swelled like an inflated balloon, his skin covered in bulging veins, and his blood vessels became abnormally large, as if they might burst at any moment.

Seeing this, the soldiers concentrated their fire on Han Zu's back. Energy blasts and armor-piercing rounds struck his body repeatedly, but were blocked by the energy surging from within him, forming brief ripples of energy. Han Zu absorbed energy at an increasingly rapid pace, and his body's expansion gradually ceased, replaced by a more refined sensation. He could feel his body becoming more intricate, his super-cell skeleton becoming harder, and even his senses becoming exceptionally sharp. Every subtle sound on the battlefield could be clearly heard. He even sensed that the super-cells within his body seemed to be evolving.

As Han Zu absorbed the energy without restraint, his body repaired itself at an incomprehensible speed. The terrifying wounds vanished instantly, and the half of his body that had been blasted apart was restored to its original state in a moment. The remaining intact parts of his body were also repaired and nourished.

Having fully recovered, Han Zu slowly rose from the gap in the vortex of flesh and blood, the blood and grime on his body completely absorbed by himself. His body was now about half a meter taller than before, exceeding two meters in height, his muscle lines were incredibly defined, and his skin even emitted a faint gray metallic sheen. A soldier at the edge of the battle zone, who hadn't clearly witnessed Han Zu's transformation, fired another energy blast, striking Han Zu in the chest. But this time, the energy generated by the blast was instantly absorbed by his body, leaving only a faint white mark on Han Zu's chest, which then vanished immediately.

Han Zu looked down at his chest, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which then turned into an even stronger excitement, reflected in the more ferocious curve of his lips.

"Crack!!!"

His heightened senses allowed Han Zu to instantly realize that he had not only fully recovered but had also surpassed his pre-battle strength. He no longer needed to use the energy battle axe he had seized, so he clenched his fist, crushing the axe's handle and absorbing all the remaining energy within.

Discarding his weapon, Han Zu charged into the crowd once more, bare-handed. A soldier fired wildly, energy blasts striking Han Zu's body from various angles, but this time, before the explosion, they vanished as if into thin air. Reaching him, Han Zu grabbed the soldier by the neck, lifted him up, and slammed him to the ground. The ground caved in, and the soldier's body shattered instantly, scattering like mud in the crater. Several other soldiers, using the momentum from their power backpacks, attacked from the side, again stabbing Han Zu in the waist with energy daggers. But this time, the daggers pierced the surface of his skin and couldn't penetrate any further; instead, they were firmly held by Han Zu's body. Han Zu grabbed the soldier's wrist with his backhand and twisted it gently, breaking the soldier's wrist instantly. He then snatched the energy dagger, crushed it into pieces with one hand, and slapped the other side with his palm covered in shards, cutting another soldier's skin into several pieces. One of the shards pierced the soldier's throat, stopping his attack and ending his life a few seconds later.

At the edge of the battlefield, the expressions of the two leading middle-aged men turned unusually grave. The scarred man pulled a black device from his pocket, which appeared to be some kind of communication equipment. As the button on the device was activated, several beams of light appeared behind them, and in an instant, a large number of fully armed reinforcements were teleported in. The weapons they carried were more advanced than those of the previous soldiers, and all of them wore combat armor and carried heavy weapons such as twin-barreled energy machine guns, while some were equipped with small energy shoulder cannons. They were clearly the Ferdinand family's support force.

As soon as the reinforcements entered the core area, they immediately took formation, their twin-mounted energy machine guns unleashing a furious barrage of fire. Blue energy streams poured down like a torrential downpour, while small energy shoulder cannons fired massive energy projectiles that whistled towards Han Zu. Han Zu did not dodge, allowing the energy streams and projectiles to strike his body. He absorbed the energy continuously, making the metallic sheen on his skin even more pronounced. He advanced through the dense fire, each step carefully placed within the gaps in the energy streams, walking towards the reinforcements as if in a leisurely stroll.

Seeing this, a soldier using an energy shoulder cannon quickly changed ammunition and adjusted the muzzle, aiming it at Han Zu's head and firing a specially designed armor-piercing energy bullet. The bullet's casing was wreathed in purple lightning, clearly utilizing energy extracted from the central crystal. The bullet struck Han Zu's forehead with a deafening roar, the purple energy exploding at his forehead and forming a massive energy vortex. Han Zu's body jerked backward, a small wound opening on his forehead, from which a trickle of grayish blood oozed. However, the wound healed instantly, even before the energy explosion had fully subsided.

Han Zu reached out and touched his forehead, feeling the surging energy within him, his excitement reaching its peak. He suddenly accelerated, his body transforming into a blurry, pale gray afterimage, instantly rushing to the soldier pushing the cannon. He clenched his right fist and slammed it down, but instead of aiming directly at the soldier's weak point, he aimed at the cannon's barrel. Under Han Zu's terrifying power, even the cannon barrel, created using the power of the Creation Engine, was instantly bent, causing a violent explosion. The explosion shattered the soldier connected to it along with his combat armor, and the blue energy shockwave blasted several surrounding soldiers away. Han Zu, unharmed in the aftershocks of the explosion, continued charging into the crowd, his fists raining down, each punch sending a soldier flying and shattering parts of their combat armor. The sounds of armor shattering, energy explosions, cracking bones, and the soldiers' screams gradually echoed throughout the core area.

The battle lasted for half an hour, and the Ferdinand family's soldiers had already lost more than seventy men, but reinforcements continued to pour in. The environment in the core area became increasingly chaotic. The flesh-and-blood walls were riddled with holes from the energy attacks, and pink liquid spurting from severed nerve channels formed streams on the ground. The red runes on the altar also flickered due to the impact. The central vortex of flesh and blood spun faster and faster, with purple energy constantly overflowing from it, repairing the damaged areas. However, as soon as this energy appeared, it was absorbed remotely by Han Zu, becoming nourishment for his evolution.

Han Zu's body underwent another transformation. The metallic sheen on his skin gradually faded, replaced by a pale gray. His physique became more symmetrical, no longer exuding the explosive power of before, but instead revealing a restrained strength. A soldier fired an armor-piercing round imbued with runic power. The bullet struck Han Zu's heart, but was completely absorbed the moment it touched his skin, leaving not a trace. Han Zu didn't even look at the soldier; he simply continued forward. His left hand grazed a soldier's shoulder, and this seemingly insignificant movement instantly shattered the soldier's shoulder, sending him collapsing to the ground.

The scarred man and the middle-aged man's faces had turned deathly pale. They could clearly sense that Han Zu's aura was growing stronger and stronger, far exceeding their comprehension. The scarred man pulled a black box from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a black crystal radiating a dense, evil aura. The crystal's surface was covered with tiny pores, constantly absorbing the surrounding energy. He grasped the crystal in his hand and crushed it instantly, releasing an even denser cloud of black mist that surged into the battlefield.

However, this time, the mist had no effect. Before it even reached Han Zu's skin, it was instantly absorbed by his unconscious energy conversion ability, disappearing without a trace.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man knew there was no chance of defeating the monster that hadn't uttered a word since the start of the battle. He immediately changed tactics, hurriedly pulling out another device to press a button—perhaps to call for reinforcements, or perhaps to use teleportation technology to escape. But before he could press the button, the humanoid monster, which hadn't uttered a single word except for its ferocious expression and terrifying laughter, had already passed through the ravaged battlefield and appeared before him.