Chapter 120: Rampant, Unbridled Flames

"I see," Venigo whispered, utilizing the *Cang Kong* to glide two steps aside. He unleashed a Hadoken, cutting off the man in black's path of attack. "Using optical illusions to make me misjudge your speed and distance, combined with techniques to simulate a 'shortened earth' effect. In truth, your speed is only slightly faster than that of an ordinary person."

Venigo crouched slightly, squinting at the man in black.

The man didn't hesitate, rushing at Venigo again. But just as his body began to tilt, Venigo launched his ultimate technique.

"Rising Dragon Crack!"

Howling flames swirled around Venigo’s fists. With a powerful sequence of rising dragon punches, he enveloped the entire arm’s length in front of him. The man in black practically threw himself into the onslaught, instantly caught by the crushing force of Venigo's fists. He was struck repeatedly by the ferocious, flaming blows, until the final hit sent him soaring into mid-air.

"Refreshing!" Venigo muttered, landing gracefully as he watched the now-lifeless man in black.

High speed and ferocious attacks, but a fragile constitution. Once struck by a powerful blow, it was an instant kill.

"So weak," the little wolf-girl complained.

"Watch out, Brother Young Fox, you seem to have… drawn all the skeletons over," little Hani warned.

Venigo looked up to see hundreds of skeleton warriors swarming from all directions. Interspersed among them were skeleton archers and warriors—since when did skeletons have such acute hearing?

Venigo had no time to complain. He swept his gaze across the field and led Hani and the wolf-girl toward the area with the fewest skeletons.

That direction happened to be the encampment of the Silver Helm Brotherhood!

Ken’s speed was naturally quite high, and his flaming rising dragon punches were devastating against the skeletons; one punch could shatter them into pieces or even burn them to ash. By comparison, the little wolf-girl’s claws seemed almost too gentle for these piles of bones.

"Use this." Amidst the chaos, Venigo rummaged through his Dimensional Pocket and tossed a one-handed hammer to the wolf-girl.

The little wolf-girl swapped her spider-claws for the hammer and excitedly charged the nearest skeleton, swinging with all her might. Bone shards splattered as a skeleton collapsed to the ground.

"Not bad, not bad! Are there any more?" the little wolf-girl asked, testing the weight of the hammer with a grin.

Venigo thought for a moment and pulled out a short staff as well.

With a war hammer in one hand and an iron staff in the other, the wolf-girl shrieked with excitement, rampaging through the horde. In the blink of an eye, she had charged back and forth, cutting a massive cross through the dense mass of skeletons.

"Not a bad little one," Venigo chuckled.

He snapped his fingers, and Cita appeared behind him, floating and drifting as she peered around.

"Cita, mimic me," Venigo said. "Hadoken!"

The phlogiston sprite giggled, placing her palms together just like Venigo and pushing forward. With a *whoosh*, a ball of flame followed his Hadoken, landing in the middle of the skeletons and blasting a dozen of them apart.

"Next, Rising Dragon Flame Fist!" Venigo roared, surging into the sky wreathed in raging flames, sending several skeletons flying into the air to be reduced to burning bone dust. Cita followed suit, miming the motion with her tiny fists as she shot upward as well.

Clearly, Cita’s flames were more violent, though without the fire, her tiny fists would have felt like a gentle back massage.

Venigo paused, then burst into laughter. He beckoned for Cita to cooperate with him.

The next second, an explosive pillar of fire erupted into the sky, spreading wildly and incinerating a vast number of skeletons!

"Fantasy Finisher: Dragon Punch!"

As the flames dissipated, Cita giggled, eager for more. Venigo landed and deactivated his Character Build, gasping for air.

"Cita, I'll leave the rest to you," he said. "I'm out of strength."

Cita cheered and dove into the fray. She mimicked every move—the Flaming Hadoken, the Rising Dragon Flame Fist, the Flaming Tornado Kick, and even the Rising Dragon Crack and Dragon Punch. She looked like a pint-sized Ken wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

Venigo found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Whenever a skeleton managed to reach him, though still weakened, Venigo relied on his *Cang Kong* and his genetically-enhanced body—which was still superior to a mortal's—to easily dispose of the bone-piles.

Skeleton warriors and skeleton kings were slightly more troublesome, but Venigo wasn't alone. Cat-Sith leaped forward with a meow, and with a single tap, the rock-hard skeleton king shattered. Hani’s Light Arrow spell proved to be the best weapon for dismantling the frames.

Soon, Venigo’s party cut through the skeletons like a hot knife through butter, reaching the Silver Helm Brotherhood’s camp in the center of the swamp.

"Unwelcome guests have arrived!" Venigo shouted, charging into the camp, seemingly indifferent to the possibility of an ambush. The moment his feet touched the ground, a violent inferno erupted.

It wasn't a Character Build, but Cita, who had grown addicted to the game.

The burning sprite hovered behind Venigo with a giggle, controlling the flames in sync with his movements. She had mastered the sequence, and her coordination was flawless.

It wasn't more efficient than Cita attacking directly, but since the little one was happy, Venigo was more than glad to play along.

Yes, it was just a game.

The remaining forces of the Silver Helm were numerous, but their strength was truly lackluster. A mere hundred swordsmen, only half of whom were experts, plus one bottom-tier sword master—that was all.

The little wolf-girl took out three or four men in a single charge. She dropped the hammer and staff, brandishing her spider-claws and killing happily among the crowd. Little Hani and the big cat didn't even need to move; they stood on the periphery, using Fear and Berserk spells to control the rhythm of the battle and keep the outer skeleton horde at bay.

"Flaming Tornado Kick!"

*Pop! Pop! Pop!* Amidst the rhythmic explosions, Venigo kicked the skeletons attempting to enter the fray into powder. He seemed indifferent, as if he weren't using much force, yet under Cita’s violent flames, even his casual kicks possessed the power to shatter boulders.

"Come out, you hidden worms," Venigo hummed.

Almost simultaneously, a silent shadow appeared behind him, gripping a short blade and stabbing toward the back of his neck with a dazzling flash of light.

"I see you..." Venigo muttered. "Dragon Punch!"

See? No, it was Cita who had sensed the shadow's heat. This assassin-like fellow was merely an agile warrior. His ability to hide his tracks was only "passable," and completely incomparable to his impressive speed and bizarre swordplay.

A pillar of fire shot into the sky, burning the man in black until not even ash remained. Only his short blade clattered to the ground, which Venigo scooped up and tucked into his pouch.

"But, why are there so many..." Venigo complained.

He saw black-clad figures rising like ghosts from the surrounding swamp.

They were all short, armed with short blades, their wolf-like, eerie green eyes staring fixedly at Venigo from behind their black masks.

The pressure was mounting.

Venigo scoffed and snapped his fingers.

He had wanted to do this for a while.

Character Build: Galon, the Gale Werewolf. A demon warrior from *Darkstalkers*, a descendant of the demon nobility, a half-werewolf hybrid with immense agility and lethality.

A strange fellow.

"Weaklings," Venigo grinned, revealing a row of sharp, white teeth. He shook his hands, revealing nunchucks hidden within the long white fur.

"Death Light Slash!"

The nunchucks whistled, striking the charging men in black and forcing them back. Then, Venigo crouched, leaped, and delivered a high kick.

"Flaming Fierce Foot!"

The flaming kick sent the men in black flying into mid-air. Venigo immediately followed up with an aerial burst, slamming his head into one of the men and driving him into the ground. He paused for a heartbeat in the air before crashing down.

"Beast Burst!"

As he impacted, Cita’s flames exploded, forming a shockwave that surged in all directions. Just like the effect of the Dragon Punch, it incinerated the men in black who were too slow to retreat.

But most of them had already backed away.

The special forces of the Sheep-Bleating Sect: the Blade of No-Light. A strange unit built upon high-speed, assassination-style combat.

"Failures," was Venigo's assessment of the Blade of No-Light.

"All of you..." Venigo bowed his head slightly, crouching, as if seeing a large group of the Blade of No-Light attacking from behind.

Hmph, holding blindingly bright short blades and failing to hide their tracks—and they call themselves the Blade of No-Light?

With such obvious attacks, even without turning around or using Cita’s thermal sensing, Venigo could perceive the strikes behind him. He let out a low growl and thrust his claws forward.

"Ultimate: Fire Dragon Burst!"

A wolf-headed flame dragging a dragon's tail erupted from behind Venigo. The moment it appeared, it ignited the unfortunate souls behind him, pushing them forward and slamming them violently into the front lines.

That was the Silver Helm’s camp, the battlefield for their swordsmen!

With a deafening roar and sweeping flames, the camp was instantly turned into a sea of fire.

Amidst the flames, the little wolf-girl emerged, furious. She jumped onto Venigo’s shoulder, grabbed his head, and shook it violently while shouting in a language he couldn't understand. Venigo chuckled and pulled her off.

Clearly, the little wolf-girl was complaining because her battle had been interrupted. Yet, even when interrupted by Venigo, she had still managed to execute the Silver Helm's last sword master, tearing him to bloody pieces.

Oh my, she usually looks like such a cute little girl, yet she insists on being so gruesome...