Chapter 69: Killing the Rat

“Damn it!” Seeing this situation, Rod cursed inwardly. His feet were in motion as well—his combat energy surged, filling his entire sole. With a sudden burst of force, he overcame the heavy gravity and darted to the side as if propelled by wind.
Immediately afterward, the Anlong in his hand was swung out with great momentum toward the black monster. Stimulated by his combat energy, the Dark Dragon let out a deep hum, appearing extremely massive.
In an instant, the Dark Dragon reached the black monster, about to strike it. Yet the black monster was incredibly agile. Despite still being in mid-air, it turned around abruptly, twisted its body, and delivered a fierce kick that precisely hit the Dark Dragon sent by Rod.
Boom… The force of that kick was astonishing, sending Rod stumbling back several steps. Meanwhile, the rat-like monster used the rebound to charge forward and landed gracefully, facing Rod head-on.
“Damn you, beast!” Rod cursed fiercely, feeling numbness in his hand. For the first time, facing an opponent weaker than himself, he felt struggling—something that usually only happened when confronting foes far stronger than him. Even then, he could easily handle peers, but now it was different. This made him feel frustrated.
He knew it was all due to this damned environment. Under such gravity, his abilities were hindered, and he couldn’t even unleash even a third of his true strength. As for the black rat opposite him, it must have grown up here. In such an environment, it thrived and had become accustomed to it—this gravity posed no threat to it at all!
One side was strong, the other weak. In terms of strength, this rat, with quasi-saint-level power, was equivalent to at least mid-to-high saint-level warriors in the outside world.
Taking a deep breath and calming down gradually, Rod realized he couldn’t panic or lose composure. Panic or recklessness would only lead to failure and put him at a disadvantage. He needed to plan carefully and respond calmly—only then could he find the opponent’s weaknesses.

Squeak… Another series of mouse screams could be heard. The black magical beast summoned a gust of dark wind and lunged at Rod once again. With a jump, it opened its mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning straight at Rod. At the same time, it rushed forward with its claws outstretched!

“Fen Tian!” With a roar, Rod knew that for safety’s sake, the only option now was to summon Fen Tian to help—more hands meant more strength! He was quite surprised by the fact that this damned mouse was skilled in both magic and martial arts. He moved his feet just in time to avoid the lightning strike, but the mouse was already in front of him, its front claws sweeping forward, accompanied by several deep noises from its mouth. Instantly, four bolts of lightning blocked all his escape routes.

Looking at those dark bolts of lightning, Rod’s brows tightened in anger. Clearly, dodging was impossible; he could only confront this monster head-on!

Howl… Another roar came from Fen Tian, seemingly sensing Rod’s emotions. After roaring, it appeared beside Rod.

Its fiery red body, contrasted against Rod’s purple combat energy, created a stunning red-purple hue.

As soon as it appeared, Fen Tian spat out five or six fireballs, heading straight for the black mouse. Clearly unprepared for the sudden appearance of this magical beast that targeted it right away, the giant black mouse let out a shrill scream, retracted its claws, gave up on its prey, and jumped away to evade Rod and Fen Tian.

Boom… Dust filled the air as the fireballs hit the ground, causing tremors. Rod’s gaze turned icy cold as he looked at Fen Tian. “Let’s go! Today, we’ll kill this beast together!”

Repeated setbacks and being at a disadvantage filled Rod with rage. The appearance of Fen Tian further fueled his fighting spirit. The fact that even Fen Tian could drive back such a giant mouse while he himself was helpless was something he refused to accept.

After letting out a long howl, Rod unrestrainedly unleashed his combat energy, using it to counteract gravity and boost his speed to more than double in an instant, at the cost of exhausting his energy.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the giant black mouse. His Shadowless Sword was instantly drawn, while Fen Tian engaged the mouse in a magical battle. Fireballs and bolts of lightning filled the sky, colliding with each other constantly!

The roaring sounds never ceased, with waves of energy surging everywhere, stirring up gusts of wind that swept forward with fierce momentum! The sparks generated from the collisions shone brilliantly, scattering in all directions. The roaring cries of Furnish the Sky and the screeches of the black giant rat filled the entire world for a time.

Taking advantage of the situation, Rhode activated Shadow Sword, splitting his body into two, then four, then eight—within moments, there were twelve figures. Yet at this point, Rhode was shocked to realize he had reached his limit. While Shadow Sword could create eighteen forms elsewhere, under these environmental constraints, it could only produce twelve, marking the end of his capabilities. With six forms reduced, the power of Shadow Sword diminished significantly, its combat strength now less than half of its peak! This was merely equivalent to the strength he could exert as a Golden Warrior. It seemed he had underestimated the impact of this environment, which far exceeded his expectations.

“Kill!” With a furious roar, ignoring everything else, Furnish the Sky was at a disadvantage in the battle. Despite the issues with Shadow Sword, Rhode had no choice but to act! Moving with heavy steps, he flashed forward to stand in front of the black giant rat. All twelve forms exerted their strength simultaneously, charging at the black rat with a force like thunder.

Squeaking… A rapid, shrill sound came from it. The black rat seemed truly enraged, its fury evident as it opened its mouth and unleashed bursts of lightning in all directions, targeting Furnish the Sky in the sky. The roaring sounds and thunder were terrifying; it seemed half of the sky was illuminated by those lightning bolts.

Seizing the threat, it glared resentfully at the multiple figures and the red creature in the sky. With a long howl, it leaped upward—something bizarre happened: its leap reached an astonishing height, and its speed was incredible. In just a flash, it disappeared from Rhode’s attack range, as if half of it had vanished into thin air. It seemed gravity posed no obstacle to it at all.

Howl… Furnish the Sky spat out several fireballs again. With a flash, it rushed to the giant rat in mid-air at a speed that was no less impressive. Then, it opened its mouth wide, spewing magic while swatting with its tail, aiming straight at the rat.

In the air, the giant rat clearly hadn’t expected the red creature to be so fast! Its judgment had clearly failed—this jump was a massive mistake. How could it possibly compete with the dragon clan, the rulers of the skies?
The outcome was obvious: its physical strength and defense were on par with any other creature, and its magic was extremely powerful. In the aerial clash, despite the black giant rat’s formidable strength, it couldn’t withstand the dragon. As it fell, it was struck by Fen Tian’s sweeping strike and tearing motion, which ripped off a piece of flesh, spraying blood everywhere as its entire body was flung far away.
Seeing this, Rod’s eyes lit up. He clearly noticed that Fen Tian’s speed and strength hadn’t been affected at all in such an environment. Without time to ponder why, he focused on the falling black giant rat, not daring to be careless or distracted. He quickly channeled his combat energy upward and unleashed the Sky-Piercing Sword once again. Learning from the previous experience, Rod was fully prepared this time. Although its power was greatly reduced due to various constraints, he still managed to use it.
Boom… A dull sound followed by a sound of flesh being torn apart. The falling giant rat was caught by Rod before it even hit the ground. How could Rod, who had already suffered before, miss such an opportunity?
He mastered the Sky-Piercing Sword perfectly. The moment the rat landed in front of him, Rod targeted the wound created by Fen Tian. He unleashed his combat energy into the Dark Dragon, which, with its purple-black glow, pierced through the rat’s body in one swift motion.
Squeak… The rat on the ground let out two weak screams before its body stopped twitching. Its eyes were wide as it stared at the creature that had killed it—the very one it had once pursued closely. Now, it was dead at its hands, all because of underestimating it.
Its eyes gradually lost focus until they became blank, and its trembling body settled down, coming to rest completely. The giant rat died instantly after being struck in a vital spot by Rod’s sword!
Only after ensuring safety did Rod draw back his sword and sit down, panting heavily. The situation had been extremely dangerous. Without Fen Tian, he would likely have lost this battle today. This strange place was truly damned! The creatures born here were abnormal—beings at the quasi-saint level could rival those in the later stages of the saint level. Immune to gravity, it was pure bullying of outsiders.

What was even more infuriating was the defense. When he rushed to deliver that sword strike, he felt a tremor in his heart. He could clearly sense an immense resistance and defensive power! One could imagine just how sharp the Dark Dragon’s blade was. Although his full-power strike was affected by gravity, it still seemed insufficient compared to the strike of a mid-tier imperial-level warrior. Combined with the sharpness of the Dark Dragon’s blade, it was extremely difficult and painful to deliver such a strike.
And this was even after the guy’s outer skin had been torn away by Furnace Sky, reducing his defense to less than one-third of its original level. If it were his peak defensive ability, Rod knew that his attack this time would likely be completely futile!
At these thoughts, Rod broke into cold sweat, his pores tightened, his face turning pale. Staring at the dark forest ahead, he began to tremble slightly.