Chapter 81: Confronting Stormbringer

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The world of the Underworld differed greatly from the Overworld, shrouded in perpetual darkness.

This was especially evident in Rivet Town, swallowed by the rift.

Desolate and eerie, it resembled a ghost town.

Light sources were scarce to the point of frustration; only a few houses emitted any illumination.

In this deserted setting, the strangely lit rooms seemed even more unnerving.

Amidst this atmosphere, a figure stealthily moved through the shadows.

Bochang attempted a surprise attack before Stormbringer could detect him, but unfortunately, the rustling wind betrayed his presence. Before he could strike, his enemy already sensed him.

The green monster reared its hooves and turned, spotting the black-haired youth approaching from its flank.

A faint yet blinding glow emanated from Bochang's spear.

Instantly, Stormbringer recognized...the formidable strength of its opponent, despite the considerable distance between them.

A vague sense of impending danger washed over Bochang.

Lifting his hand, a green light ball began to coalesce in Stormbringer's palm, growing larger and emitting a dazzling glow.

This was potent Wind elemental power.

With mastery of the Destruction fate path, Bochang effortlessly sensed the strength being mobilized by his opponent.

Compared to the energy within himself, Stormbringer's power far surpassed his own.

Just as the enemy prepared to launch its attack...

Bochang felt a sudden chill.

His Spider Sense indicated that the target was aimed at his abdomen.

Perhaps striking centrally would be easier to focus the attack, leading the enemy to choose the stomach area.

Wearing the black bear mask, Bochang bent his legs slightly and swiftly darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the incoming green light ball.

He then continued his charge.

Stormbringer missed, with its attack hitting the ground instead, creating a small crater.

This brief delay allowed...

Bochang successfully reached his opponent's front, noticing the green-glowing hooves lifting up, indicating another attack from Stormbringer.

"If I let you strike even after getting this close, wouldn't that be quite embarrassing?"

With a swift thrust of his spear, Bochang forced the enemy to halt its attack.

The maneuver proved effective.

Seeing the long spear aimed at its chest, Stormbringer quickly changed course, taking a large step backward to evade the spear tip.

Bochang seized the opportunity relentlessly, driving the Vow Spear forward with renewed vigor.

In an instant, he executed over a dozen rapid, intricate thrusts.

This bewildered Stormbringer, unable to anticipate the direction of the next attack amidst the dazzling flurry of strikes.

March 7th murmured, "That move by Bochang looks pretty impressive. Did you teach him that, Dan Heng?"

"No... I only taught him some basic spear techniques; nothing like this at all... It seems he may have developed it himself."

Dan Heng had only taught Bochang the spear techniques for a few days; many moves were yet to be covered...

Seeing Bochang execute such rapid and intricate thrusts surprised even Dan Heng, as it felt like Bochang was no longer a novice.

Stormbringer hastily retreated.

Bochang relentlessly pursued, his blue long spear swirling through the air like a dragon.

"Just...just a little more...almost there!"

Despite wearing the black bear mask and possessing high Speed, Bochang still couldn't match Stormbringer's retreat pace. The spear tip narrowly missed, striking close but unable to penetrate deeply. Even if it connected, it would only graze the surface without causing significant damage.

If not for the purpose of training his spear technique, Bochang might have simply used the Invisible Hand to capture his opponent, just as he did against Cocolia before.

As long as the enemy was within reach, he would first immobilize them with his Invisible Hand and then deliver a heartfelt barrage of punches.

The Sheep Talisman's power against souls remained formidable.

Cocolia had solely relied on Stellaron to withstand these attacks, eventually even expelling its influence.

Without assistance from Stellaron, capturing such rift creatures could potentially allow him to directly extract their souls once restrained. A body without a soul is merely an empty shell, entirely at Bochang's mercy.

"Don't get distracted; defeat your enemies using your spear skills! Seal off all abilities except for Spider Sense," Bochang reminded himself internally, intensifying his attacks.

Stormbringer retreated continuously, attempting several counterattacks along the way, but each move was evaded with uncanny foresight. This made its fight increasingly frustrating.

Finally, Stormbringer found itself cornered, backed up against a wall with no further retreat possible.

Seizing this opportunity, Bochang delivered a decisive strike, piercing through the creature's throat and slaying it.

He withdrew the Vow Spear, watching as the enemy's body slowly crumbled to Honkai upon hitting the ground.

Bochang sighed softly and muttered, "Not good... Even with the advantage of surprise, my Spider Sense, Vow Spear, and Black Bear Mask's enhancements, I still took too long..."

The battle had lasted nearly three minutes, during which time it also attracted some additional minor monsters. However, Dan Heng and March 7th dealt with them promptly, ensuring they didn't interfere with Bochang's one-on-one duel against Stormbringer.

In summary...

The black-haired youth was not entirely satisfied with his performance.

Noticing this, Dan Heng approached him and said, "Considering you've only been learning spear techniques for a few days... achieving such results is already quite impressive."

"Thanks," Bochang nodded, accepting the reassurance from his "teacher."

Moving forward...

Bochang decided not to waste any more time. He insisted that splitting up to clear monsters would be more efficient.

Thus, he began scouting ahead alone.

Bochang hadn't forgotten his primary mission—to find Clara. Practicing his spear skills and eliminating rift creatures from the Underworld were merely excuses, with the latter being a justification suggested by Dan Heng himself.

The latter excuse was actually devised by Dan Heng, and Bochang simply went along with it.

It didn't take long to search Rivet Town.

Finally...

His efforts bore fruit.

Bochang found Clara, the red-clothed girl leading several robots down the street. The barefoot white-haired maiden carried a bag, possibly indicating her reason for visiting Rivet Town—to find something specific.

However...

It seemed she had already succeeded. The bag appeared full, and the robots were also carrying items.

"Am I too late?" Bochang muttered to himself.

Wearing his black bear mask, he stepped forward.

Hearing footsteps, Clara turned cautiously and asked, "Who's there?"

The surrounding robots immediately moved ahead, shielding her in their midst.

Undeniably...

Clara's entourage was quite impressive, consisting of nearly ten Automatons protecting her. There were hulking gray bears, unstable spiders, humanoid dholes, vehicle-like warhounds, and signal-light resembling beetles.

"Little girl, what are you doing here in the rift?" Bochang removed his black bear mask. "It's incredibly dangerous, even with robotic protection; safety can't be guaranteed."

"Clara... Clara is searching for usable machine components..." Seeing that the newcomers were ordinary humans, Clara relaxed her guard considerably.