"Fans?"

Even someone as calm as Bologue was shocked when he heard the enemy utter such an absurd statement.

Red Mercury flowed into the blade in his hand. Bologue drew the sword and slashed vertically, unleashing a fire that tore through the darkness.

This wasn't Bologue's first battle with such Shadow Beasts. During an earlier ambush against Man-eaters, he had encountered similar Secret Energy.

Back then, the opponent's Secret Energy was affected by light; once strong light dispelled the darkness, he lost the foundation to maintain the Shadow Beast.

Relying on past experience, the fire blazed suddenly, glaring and intense.

The fleeting light couldn't affect the beast; its fur remained so dark, seemingly swallowing all light, unable to be illuminated.

"Yes! Fans!"

A man's face appeared on the beast's head, a grotesque blend with a bizarre creature, excitedly shouting at Bologue.

"I've been so looking forward to meeting you!"

To express his uncontrollable joy, a sharp tail blade attacked from the side. Bologue raised the Round Shield single-handedly, the tail blade accelerating with a cracking sound.

The Round Shield visibly dented, and Bologue's arm went numb from the impact. His steady steps were shaken, and his footing became somewhat erratic.

Bologue took a deep breath, genuinely feeling the fervor of this fan.

"This is really troublesome!"

His previous experiences didn't match this current enemy, and Bologue had to find a new strategy.

The dented Round Shield transformed into a Long Axe, which he swung down towards the frenzied face in the darkness. Ethereal Amplification bolstered Bologue's strength, and the axe blade carved a pale Thunder, rousing searing flames.

The beast's tail blade was extremely lethal, and Bologue's offensive was equally fierce.

The fiery axe blade penetrated deep inside the beast. With this full-strength strike, the axe blade completely sank into the beast's body, leaving only the long handle exposed.

Bologue had chopped many people and felled many monsters. Like a skilled Butcher, he could decipher what he was cutting based on the resistance felt through the handle, even with his eyes closed.

This time, the sensation from the axe handle was extremely odd. Even with Bologue's extensive chopping experience, he couldn't categorize it. He furrowed his brows in confusion.

A hideous wound opened up on the beast's body. Below the wound, there was no blood, no bones, or organs — nothing but a swirl of darkness.

Bologue forcefully drew the axe blade out. The crackling flames rolled within the split wound, unable to further consume the beast's body — as if the beast's body was incombustible.

It truly was incombustible; Bologue had realized the beast's true nature. It became clear to him that mundane flames could not burn an ethereal creation.

A torrent of Ether surged inside the beast, healing the wound the axe blade had cleaved open, snuffing out the flames along with it.

No blood, no bones, no flesh.

The beast before him was neither an Alchemy Creature nor a Condenser from a transformative school; its shell was entirely constructed from Ether — a pure ethereal creation.

A monster conjured by Secret Energy.

As Bologue made this judgment, he thickened his Scale Armor, and sparks flew across the metal's surface. Shattered bullet fragments embedded into the ground, shattering the streetlamps.

Fragments of glass rained down, startling the crowd below. Fortunately, after a brief panic, the pedestrians calmed down. To them, this just seemed like a natural malfunction of the streetlights, and none of them noticed the rooftop skirmish.

The gunfire under the night sky continued. During intervals while fighting the beast, Bologue attempted to locate the shooter. However, under the cover of this dark night, he couldn't see the trajectory of the shots nor the flash of the gun muzzle. He couldn't even hear the gunfire.

Judging by the direction from which the bullets hit him, there was likely more than one shooter firing at him. They occupied multiple angles and completely surrounded Bologue.

However, there was also another possibility. Perhaps the shooter's bullets were capable of changing direction mid-flight, allowing them to bypass cover and hit him.

For ordinary people, this seems like a movie plot, utterly impossible, but in the Extraordinary World, it's just a common phenomenon. Whether it's Secret Energy or Alchemy Armament, they can easily achieve this.

Not long ago, Belli recommended a whole set of coordinated Alchemy Armaments to me. As long as you hit the enemy with a beacon, within the firearm's range, the alchemically treated bullets will automatically track the beacon, hitting the enemy.

Using these tracking firearms, even if Bologue were a shooting idiot, he could still deliver headshot after headshot. The downside is that the tracking bullets can only hit targets with beacons, targeting a single enemy, and the bullets are expensive.

The axe blade blazed with fierce fire. Bologue calmly chopped off the beast's front paw. It was clearly damage to the enemy, yet the face on the beast's head wore a joyful expression.

Bologue's feeling of annoyance grew increasingly intense.

Damn, usually he's the one enjoying the violence. Why are these people more excited than he is?

"Since you're my fans!" Bologue surged forward, the Silver Hand expanding from the scale armor, gripping the beast tightly. "Let me give you an autograph!"

Bologue leapt high, raising both axes, and struck down on the face laughing wildly.

The beast was entirely constructed of Ether. Bologue tore its body, merely destroying the Ether. As long as the hostile Condenser was present, endless Ether would reconstruct the beast's body.

That crazily laughing face was different, it had substance and could be harmed.

The heavy flames fell like meteors, the bright flame filling those pitch-black pupils, followed by rolling hot tears, shedding tears moved by the heroic posture.

"So beautiful..."

The man murmured. In the next second, the beast's body began to wriggle violently. The part bound by the Silver Hand dissolved into Ether, while the released part sank into the shadows, disappearing.

Bologue's heavy strike missed, just as before, this beast possessed the ability to traverse the shadows, and now it hid once more.

As the beast vanished, several bullets successively shot out from the night. This silent gunfire was well-suited for assassination, but against the Iron Armor-clad Bologue, it could only harass him.

Bologue ignored these bullets, letting them be deflected by the armor, while he continued searching for the beast's figure.

Suddenly, a strong Ethereal Fluctuation emerged from Bologue's side, overflowing with killing intent.

The continuous gunfire had numbed Bologue's nerves, making him pay little attention to these bullets. Now the Ether attached to the bullets exploded and spread, making each bullet increasingly lethal.

The ether's glow emerged on the bullets, their speed surged, and their kinetic energy doubled, effortlessly penetrating steel and stone.

Bologue felt like being hit by multiple iron spears, and the tiny bullets released tremendous force, pushing and striking his armor. Cracks appeared on the surface of the armor, as if alive, the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid quickly repaired the gaps.

Multiple enemies.

Based on the unfamiliar Ether reaction on the bullets, Bologue judged that the shooter and the beast were not the same person. Both had Ether strength comparable to Prayer Believers of his own level.

This was a hunt aimed at him, seemingly planned for a long time by the other side. In this night environment, it was difficult for Bologue to track the beast's path, or even detect the presence of the shooter.

Bologue accelerated, leaping between rooftops, with wind whistling past his ears. Every time he passed a place, a series of bullet craters appeared on the ground behind him instantly.

The shooter fired continuously, the bullets chasing Bologue. He guessed that at that moment, the opponent was probably watching him in the scope with a maniacal smile.

Indeed, as Bologue thought, several blocks away on a water tower, Ferguson set up an Alchemy Firearm, following Bologue's figure through the scope.

It's normal for Bologue not to find Ferguson. With the coordination of alchemy firearms and his own Secret Energy, Ferguson's range far exceeded the limits of modern technology and surpassed Bologue's perception range.

"I see him..."

Ferguson struggled to control the joy in his heart, pulling the trigger again, the Ether fire burned in the chamber, and the bullet silently launched, hitting the silver armor several kilometers away after a short flight.

This time, the silver armor failed to block Ferguson's shot, shattering into a pile of debris the moment the bullet struck.

After the debris, Bologue's figure disappeared from the scope.

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