CHAPTER 136 - SHATTERING THE CORE

On the second day, a large contingent of Tigermen marched into the capital to attend the ceremony. The city, already lively by nature, buzzed with even greater energy than usual.

Han Wu stood atop the mountain, watching the forbidden zone with sharp focus. Soon, he spotted a group emerging from within. About 80 Tigermen sprinted toward the capital at a reckless speed.

Han Wu could gauge their strength by their pace. Ten were High Lords, the rest ordinary Lords, but what caught his attention were the two figures leading the charge. They were the elders!

Han Wu scanned the scene for the third elder but found no sign of them. That meant only one elder remained to guard the Core, while the other two advanced to the ceremony.

It was not the outcome Han Wu had hoped for, but at least he faced only one elder today instead of three. He waited until the group disappeared beyond the horizon, then ordered his units into action. “Destroy the Core!”

Hu Chi commanded the Flight Squad as they dived toward the Core, aiming to shatter it with their momentum. Yet, when they reached 100 meters above the forbidden zone, they entered the range of the elder Tigerman’s domain.

The elder’s eyes snapped open as it sensed the intruders. Two fierce lights flared from its gaze as it growled, “Fools. You come seeking death by trespassing here.”

As the elder spoke, its body trembled and a strange wave surged through its domain. Within seconds, Han Wu lost contact with thousands of his units. Any Elite Tigerman within 100 meters was killed on the spot.

The remaining troops plunged another 50 meters before a second wave rippled outward. This time, every Unique Tigerman perished, and Han Wu lost several thousand more connections.

Only the Heroic Tigermen and Hu Chi survived the descent. The moment they touched the ground, the gravity around them intensified. Their feet felt fused to the earth, and no matter how hard they beat their wings, they couldn’t lift off.

Hu Chi knew they had fallen into a trap, but as a seasoned warrior, it refused to panic or give up. Slowly, it started moving toward the Core, vowing to carry out Han Wu’s orders at any cost.

However, the elder had no intention of letting Hu Chi reach its goal. It heightened the pressure of its domain until Hu Chi had to burn through immense energy just to move. Blood seeped from its orifices with every step. Even so, it pressed on, inching forward with grim determination.

As Hu Chi advanced, it gradually adapted to the crushing gravity and soon walked at a normal pace. The elder Tigerman, shocked that Hu Chi could still move within its domain, resolved to kill it.

The elder exploited its domain, using it to rapidly close the distance. After appearing beside Hu Chi, the elder slashed with powerful claws, tearing through Hu Chi’s flesh and exposing bone beneath. The grievous wound left Hu Chi on the brink of death, yet it endured the agony and crawled slowly toward the Core.

The elder admired Hu Chi’s tenacity but showed no mercy. It struck with a brutal punch, crushing Hu Chi’s heart with its claws. Even a High Lord would not survive such an injury, let alone a Lord. The elder assumed the battle was over, but Hu Chi suddenly jabbed a fist into the elder’s chest.

Unfortunately, the elder only suffered an injury to its resilience as a powerful High Lord. Hu Chi had still failed to kill it.

“I’ve crushed your heart! How are you still alive?” the elder Tigerman exclaimed.

The answer lay with Han Wu, who had implanted three hearts into Hu Chi beforehand. The latter made no effort to explain and launched a relentless assault on the elder Tigerman. The elder staggered under the surprise attack, briefly suppressed. Hu Chi’s goal was not to defeat the elder but to stall for time.

Han Wu ordered the Excavation Squad to dig faster. The 10,000 Tigermen responded with fierce urgency, their synchronized effort shaking the earth beneath them. They had calculated precisely and were confident the Core lay just above. Until now, they had held back because any movement would alert the elder Tigerman. That was why they needed a distraction, and Hu Chi was tasked with the critical role.

Seizing the moment, the Excavation Squad dug frantically until they broke through the ground and stopped mere centimeters from the Core. The elder tried to intervene, but Hu Chi grabbed him tightly, refusing to let go. The elder Tigerman struggled violently, attempting to kill Hu Chi, but the latter held firm.

Hu Yong and the other Tigerman Lords of the Excavation Squad launched their assault on the Core. Their reinforced claws and powerful bodies shattered its surface, cracking it open. Yet, their power only managed to fracture it; the Core did not shatter completely.

Meanwhile, Hu Hai, racing toward the palace, suddenly sensed an attack on his Core. He halted abruptly and examined his divine realm. When he returned, his anger rippled violently through the space within it.

The shockwave struck his already cracked Core, shattering it into fragments. Hu Hai watched helplessly as his Core broke apart, and he felt his connection to the divine realm snap away. Pale as paper, he collapsed to the ground, unable to accept what had just happened.

Han Wu stood triumphantly on the mountain above, laughing with satisfaction. He hadn’t expected Hu Hai’s arrival to be the final blow that toppled everything. Now that the Core was destroyed, the divine realm was crumbling. Still, given its vastness, its complete disintegration would take time.

Han Wu knew he could escape at any moment, but he stayed. He understood he would reappear near Hu Hai’s location. He also recalled that Zhang Gang accompanied Hu Hai to receive a reward from the God King.

WIth his Skills sealed away, he only had Gene Recombination and the strength of a Heroic life form. If he ran into Zhang Gang now, he would be captured without question. He needed to grow stronger before making his escape.

Then he remembered the celebration in the capital, where the Tigerman King planned to present Hu Hai with a God equipment as tribute. If Han Wu could seize the God equipment first, his chances of escape would improve.