Volume Two, The Demon Game Chapter Forty-One: The Perilous Dust Explosion

After rushing out of the Warden’s skill range, Lu Yi felt a growing sense of trouble. During his first kill of this Warden, he had discovered that the most critical part of the creature was a core hidden within its body.

If the core remained intact, obliterating its water-composed body was useless. Conversely, the moment his attack shattered the core, he received a notification that the Warden had entered its resurrection phase.

This presented Lu Yi with a thorny dilemma: shattering the core triggered the resurrection, and the Warden would undoubtedly return stronger. If he did not shatter the core, he would have no impact on the entity at all, rendering his efforts futile. Furthermore, simply being chased by the Warden in its current state was already exhausting; he estimated it wouldn't be long before he had to choose between killing the Warden or being killed by it.

Lu Yi frowned and cursed under his breath, "Damn it. If I don't kill the Warden, I'll be stuck by its various skills and die from a single mistake. But if I do kill it, it’s different from previous Wardens; I can't just accumulate damage through demon hunting to kill it. This one only has two states: shattered core leading to resurrection, or an intact core that shrugs off damage. And what's worse, it gets stronger after resurrecting."

As he spoke, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. He licked his lips—this was a crazy plan, and its success rate was far lower than when he dealt with that iron hunk earlier.

He steadied himself and revealed a grim smile. "Friends, the plan has to change."

"Black Phosphorus: Streamer, what is that expression?"
"Sweetie Yiyi: Streamer, what are you trying to do?"
"I Am a Husky: The streamer is going all out."
"Warm-Hearted Guy: Even though I don't know what you're planning, good luck!"

"I intend to verify a hypothesis," Lu Yi explained. However, at that moment, something in the sky refracted the light, startling him. He quickly dashed to the side.

A second later, several water arrows fell from the sky in a cross formation, carving deep pits into the ground where he had just been standing.

"Kid, if you have such powerful moves, why run? Come and fight me face-to-face," the Warden’s voice echoed from the distant, slowly receding waves.

*What powerful moves do I have? One is a random finishing move, and the other is a gift skill I was lucky enough to receive only because many people were watching. Do you think everyone is like you, tossing skills around at will?* Lu Yi thought to himself.

Although he thought this, Lu Yi didn't stop moving. While running, he said, "Hey, I’d love to fight you head-on, too. But my skills can't be used whenever I want. How about this? Wait two hours for me, and then we’ll have a real showdown."

The Warden was clearly stunned, then slowly replied, "True. If such skills could be used at will, they wouldn't have been sealed."

Lu Yi was taken aback. What was the Warden thinking? Was it actually going to wait two hours? He wasn't begging for mercy; he was feigning weakness to lure the Warden into making a move.

With that in mind, Lu Yi prepared to throw out a taunt to provoke the creature, but the Warden spoke first.

"Two hours is impossible. Since you no longer have that capability, prepare to die." As the Warden spoke, its body twisted violently, quickly transforming into a water tornado.

The tornado surged into the sky, covering a hundred meters in an instant and landing right in front of Lu Yi.

Seeing this, Lu Yi cursed, "Are you kidding me! Is the gap-closer skill really that overpowered? How is anyone else supposed to run from this?"

The Warden didn't care about Lu Yi's feelings. Once the tornado landed, it bounced forward, heading straight for Lu Yi's face.

Lu Yi’s Demon Eye flared. He kicked off the ground, vaulting backward and narrowly dodging the assault. The tornado crossed fifty meters and bounced again, charging at Lu Yi once more.

Lu Yi leapt from the ground, performed a backflip over the tornado, and upon landing, rushed forward while whipping a paper talisman behind him.

An energy shield manifested instantly, vanishing upon contact with the water bullets fired by the Warden, which had reformed after the tornado landed.

"Your reaction is quite fast," the Warden praised, then its tone shifted. "But it's useless!"

The Warden waved a hand, sending a stream of water shooting out, which it then whipped toward Lu Yi.

"Sweetie Yiyi: Streamer, watch your back!"

Someone in the live chat warned him. Lu Yi felt the threat and simultaneously activated a Speed Talisman and his Wind-Riding Pendant, narrowly escaping the range of the water whip.

"Kid, running is useless," the Warden shouted, dissipating the long whip and giving chase.

Soon, the Warden followed Lu Yi into a warehouse. Seeing the building, the Warden chuckled. "Heh, the five people before you also came to a place like this, thinking they could kill me with some cheap tricks."

As the Warden spoke, Lu Yi had already vanished into the warehouse.

The Warden was unbothered. "I once thought you were the most valuable prey to hunt, but it seems you're just like the others. Aside from that skill you can rarely use, you're no different."

"Not talking?" The Warden smiled. "Fine. Let me see what tricks you have."

The Warden walked inside. The warehouse was hazy, with plenty of fine powder floating in the air. The Warden was slightly surprised at first, then said with disdain, "Oh? Flour? This stuff can absorb water, indeed, but do you think this can finish me off?"

The Warden looked around and quickly spotted Lu Yi. He chuckled, "Found you."

The words had barely left his lips when the Warden transformed into a water arrow and shot forward, piercing straight through Lu Yi's body. But the next moment, the "Lu Yi" before the Warden turned into scraps of paper and scattered across the floor.

"Tch, escaped?" The Warden sounded displeased.

Just then, something was thrown into the warehouse from outside, and Lu Yi’s voice rang out, "Escape? I never intended to escape. And you're wrong—flour can absorb water, but it has another use. Dust explosion—I wonder if you've heard of it."

"BOOM." With a deafening roar, a turbulent serpent of fire erupted from the warehouse door. The entire structure trembled, followed by another explosion that blew the warehouse roof clean off.

Lu Yi walked slowly toward the warehouse and slightly lowered his head to remove his sunglasses. The hexagram in his left eye became increasingly distinct.

Through his Demon Eye, Lu Yi stared intently at the raging flames. A moment later, a smile appeared on his face, for he could clearly see a cluster of energy wrapped around an object within the fire—there was no doubt that it was the Warden's core.