Chapter 24: The Anti-Magic Field

"No, that's Xiao Wen!"

A man with a cold, stern expression narrowed his eyes and whispered a warning. Hearing this, the others took a closer look.

"Did you come here to save Xiao Wen?" Wang Hao sneered. "Where's Rat?"

"We killed him."

Lin Yu remained seated on the sofa, showing no intention of standing up.

At these words, Wang Hao and his group immediately began to close in. The pressure from seventy or eighty people was immense, and since all of them were seasoned in slaughtering zombies, they radiated a thick, heavy aura of blood.

The few people behind Lin Yu grew tense, secretly gathering their strength.

"Clatter!"

Suddenly, from the pile of women in the corner, thirteen of them stood up, their hands gripping weapons tightly. Without a word, these women walked over to stand behind Lin Yu, forming a defensive line against Wang Hao's group. Their actions caught Lin Yu completely by surprise.

"Haha, you don't really think you can rely on these pathetic broads, do you?" Wang Hao laughed. He waved his hand sharply, and a dozen of his underlings charged forward.

Liu Yu stepped forward. As he flicked his right hand, countless wind blades materialized from thin air, slashing rapidly toward the oncoming crowd.

*Squelch.*

*Squelch.*

The wind blades flew past, leaving trails of blood. Out of the dozen or so people charging forward, five or six collapsed instantly, clutching their throats, while others suffered various deep, bleeding wounds.

"An Awakened!"

Beside Wang Hao, a short man suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Liu Yu, their stealth-type Awakened has made his move. Focus on sensing the fluctuations of wind elements in the air," Lin Yu instructed. "Stealth only hides the physical form; his presence and his killing intent remain. Even his movement creates ripples in the air. If you sense the shifts in the wind, you can easily find him."

"Understood, Boss!"

Liu Yu had been flustered when he first realized the stealth-type was attacking, but hearing Lin Yu's words steadied his heart, and he began to focus intently.

"Found you!"

Suddenly, Liu Yu swung both hands violently, and an enormous wind blade slashed toward his front-left.

*Clang!*

The stealth-type was forced out of hiding. The massive wind blade snapped his dagger in two and tore a bloody gash across his shoulder. Had he not dodged quickly, he would have been sliced in half. The stealth-type retreated at top speed, but Liu Yu kept the wind blades flying, pursuing him relentlessly.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Hu Bin, the man who could control metal, intervened. Under his command, a dozen steel bars flew through the air, colliding with the wind blades.

"Hmph!"

Yang Shanshan let out a soft grunt as her talent activated. Several sand vines surged up from beneath the concrete floor, thrusting forward.

Hu Bin's expression shifted. He clawed the air with his right hand, drawing every piece of metal nearby toward him. In an instant, he formed a barrier of scrap metal in front of himself, blocking both the wind blades and the sand thorns.

"This guy is strong, and his methods aren't limited to just this," Xiao Wen said with a grave expression.

"Indeed. His mastery over his innate talent is significantly better than Liu Yu's or yours."

As expected, Hu Bin waved his hand, and the metal barrier dispersed, hovering in mid-air. He pushed his palms forward, and the steel bars spun like swords, shooting toward Lin Yu and his group. The group's expressions hardened.

"Wind Whorl!"

Liu Yu condensed countless wind blades again, forming a small tornado that swept forward. This technique was significantly more powerful; upon contact, most of the steel bars were shredded and torn apart by the storm. However, several still broke through, flying toward them.

"Ice Shield!"

With a loud shout, Xiao Wen stepped forward. Blue ice crystals rapidly condensed in his hands, forming a large, thick ice shield to protect the group.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

Several steel bars struck the ice shield, embedding themselves slightly before being brought to a complete stop.

"This guy is so strong!" Liu Yu wiped sweat from his forehead. If he were alone, he would be no match for him.

"The metal manipulator does seem stronger," Lin Yu remarked. "But you're mistaken. He is strong because his control over metal is better than yours. If you could control your talents as well as he does, you would be just as strong. When any innate ability is pushed to its absolute limit, it is not to be underestimated."

He rose slowly. "Let's finish this quickly."

"Everyone, attack together! Kill!"

Across from them, Wang Hao’s expression turned cold as he issued his command. Instantly, various supernatural abilities erupted. This was not a battle for ordinary evolved humans to participate in, unless they possessed exceptional physical attributes.

"Watch out for the stealth-type!"

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes, sensing a subtle ripple in the airflow. In the next heartbeat, he thrust his right hand into empty space and grabbed someone. It was the stealth-type. Lin Yu gripped the man's throat and slammed him heavily into the ground.

*Crunch!*

The sound of a skull fracturing echoed through the room. Blood splattered across the floor. An Awakened with an A-rank talent had been snuffed out, clean and simple.

Everyone felt a jolt of shock. Just how terrifying was this man's strength?

Suddenly, a strange energy manifested in the arena, spreading rapidly. The moment this energy appeared, the wind blades, sand thorns, and ice spikes in the air vanished into nothingness. All metal objects fell to the ground.

"It's an S-rank talent: Magic Seal."

"My innate ability won't trigger," Liu Yu said, his face filled with horror.

"Indeed, a very powerful rule-based talent," Lin Yu noted. He felt the S-rank flames within him being suppressed, unable to be summoned. However, it was not an absolute rule. As long as he unleashed his full magical power, he could easily shatter this sealing rule. Given the massive disparity in their power levels, a burst of energy was enough to break such common rule-based constraints. If it were an "Absolute Magic Seal," it would be a different story. Although it was only a two-word difference, the rules themselves were worlds apart. Under an absolute rule, everyone was forced to comply.

"You ants have no idea how strong an S-rank talent is. I want you all to die!" The death of the stealth-type had sent Wang Hao into a rage; that man had been one of his trump cards.

"Even under the Magic Seal, you can't use your talents either. What are you so arrogant about?" Liu Yu retorted. "Come over here, and see if I don't beat you to death."

"Moron," Wang Hao replied coldly.

Unable to use talents, he still had sixty or seventy evolved humans under his command to easily crush the other side; there was no reason for him to put himself in danger.

"This guy won't take the bait. He's not as stupid as I thought," Liu Yu muttered, scratching his head.

"..." Yang Shanshan was speechless.

"It looks like this is where we meet our end," Xiao Wen sighed.

"Don't underestimate us!"

"Be ready to release your talents at any moment to prevent a sneak attack," Lin Yu instructed before stepping forward.

"Release our talents? What do you mean?" Xiao Wen asked, confused. Everything was sealed; how could they possibly release their abilities?