Split Zone No.13

Volume 2

86 99 vs 2

"Don't forget about our arrangement!" Right after Ta Lai's words, Nie Zun's voice rang out in the dark.

"Hm!" With a hum of acknowledgement, my left leg reached backwards while I clasped my hand around the Piercer and held it in front of me.

As expected, with two steps back, my back flushed against Nie Zun's.

This was the arrangement we had concluded from before; we will counter our enemies in this back-to-back position. Regardless of the direction our enemies attack from, we'll turn clockwise, staying back-to-back till the end.

Pressing against his back, I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing all my MF onto my skin and increased my sense of touch. This way, I will be able to feel the atmospheric changes caused by the movements of those giants.

Incoming!

Bang!

The Piercer struck forth horizontally just as my left foot stepped to the right before retreating back to its original position. In perfect coordination, Nie Zun mirrored the same movement. However, just as my right feet took an experimental step forward, it seemed to have landed on a thick, bear-like paw!

"Ahooo!" A roar reverberated from above my head. Since I wasn't able to discern the location of the sound in this space, I could only feel the trembling from the top of my skull.

Without a hint of hesitance, I shifted my MF and focused it on my right hand. I kept what seemed to be the giant's foot captive under my sole. The fingers of my right hand lined tightly together as though in preparation for karate and I pierced them towards the right!

Pu-tsst!

In that instant, I could feel my hand plunging into the body of the giant, penetrating right through its flesh!

"Ahooo!" Accompanied by an animalistic wail, I sensed impending danger from above!

As if I had summoned everything I could muster, I plucked the set of bow and arrow from my back at swiftest speed and aimed it overhead.

Pu-tsst!

Ahooo!

In an apparent effort to swallow my head whole, the arrow I released struck through the throat of the giant above me. At the same time, I felt Nie Zun pushing against me from behind!

I understood his intentions at once; pulling back the foot that was stepping on the giant's, I stepped back in time. With my retreat, Nie Zun moved three steps back as well. Just like that, the both of us moved backwards with my back against his.

I let go of my left hand. Distancing three steps from the giant from before, my left hand found the Piercer once more and struck another whip forward.

Swoosh! A powerful ray of Violet Blade was unleashed from the gesture.

In the split moment before it vanished, I could feel the Violet Blade slicing through dozens of giants ahead despite my lack of sight.

Thump, thump, thump!

The attack sliced across their torso and the giants fell one after another in a loud crash. It's truly fortunate that these puppets couldn't heal. Just as I exhaled a sigh of relief, a hand penetrated my body through my back!

One of the giants in front of Nie Zun had pierced its hand through Nie Zun's stomach and in consequence of our position, stabbed me through my back as well.

"Ah!" While I let out a brief yelp from impact, Nie Zun didn't even make a sound! I furrowed my brows and caught that giant's hand with my right.

There wasn't a slightest trace of concern for Nie Zun; I have complete faith in him that he'd be able to eliminate this giant which had a death wish. It was with that thought that I kept a death grip on the hand which penetrated through my stomach, not giving it a chance to escape!

Simultaneously, I shifted my MF into my left hand and held up my Piercer. "Lower your head, Nie Zun!" I bellowed, then swung the whip in a full circle above our heads!

It was the first time I've expended this much MF, to the extent of retracting those I've placed upon my skin. Similarly, it was the first time I've circled the Piercer above our heads like a halo.

Even with the pitch-black darkness, I could still vaguely make out the sheen of violet light, exploding in the room like special effects in television dramas. Surrounding Nie Zun and I, the Piercer whistled as its attack spread in all directions!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

The giants surrounding us seemed to have tumbled to the ground!

I inhaled a deep breath. Since my split symbol was still unsealed, I could distinctly feel the amount I had expended upon retraction of my MF. After all, with every usage, a portion of MF wouldn't be recoverable until the next day. In addition, under such combat circumstances, there's a rise in frequency of MF usage.

"Done!" Nie Zun muttered and I understood the meaning behind his words. Between my breaths, I kept my right hand clasped onto the giant's hand and with a gritting of my teeth, I yanked it out from my stomach.

I swung my right hand forward with a little MF, throwing the broken giant's arm in a random direction.

Thump! Ah, I have no idea which unlucky giant got hit by it.

My MF had reduced by so much that I was beginning to feel exhaustion creeping to me.

"Turn me into a Piercer!" Nie Zun spoke up from behind me.

Huh?? What did he mean by that?!

Without waiting for my reaction, I felt Nie Zun's hand snatching at my Piercer while another clenched against my left hand. Thereafter, Nie Zun scurried to my side, as though he had begun leaping!

I felt a force pressing down on my left hand and finally understood his intentions. Swiftly recovering my right hand, I held onto his tightly and swung his entire body up!

I clenched my jaw. "You're so heavy!"

Nie Zun's voice, on the other hand, was relaxed and carefree. "You can only blame your MF for dropping."

If this room had been brightly lit, I'm sure our current scene must not have looked unglamorous, but also hilarious.

I held onto him tight and swiveled him around in the air and just like a dancer twirling on a pole, Nie Zun brandished my Piercer as he whirled; no living giants could infiltrate this circular formation of ours.

As much as we couldn't see it, our imagination would suffice; within this perfectly guarded ring, any giants who approached would be sliced into halves!

Fighting against 99 giant in this space where our four other senses were compromised, creating a protective barrier in this manner was our best bet. With the circumference of safety from our enemies, we were able to attack at a distance. Otherwise, as soon as a group of giants managed to make their way near us, the both of us would surely be reduced to mush by their attacks!

Just as I was celebrating in glee at our achievement, Nie Zun yelled out a word of warning, "Careful!"

An enormous pressure pushed down towards us from overhead!

Like a metal structure free falling from the sky towards your skull, the sort of pressure was something that could be detected even with the loss of senses.

It was as though one of the giants had realized the futile efforts to get near us. From the feel of it, it must have leapt towards us from afar, striking downwards in the direction above the crown of my head!

I took a hasty step back. What should I do?!

My mind is drawing a blank!

Ah, there's no time to over think it; it wasn't like I could predict where it would land either. Increasing MF in my left hand, I maintained my vice-like grip on the traversing Nie Zun. Freeing my right hand, I held it over my head in preparation to block the incoming fall at any moment!

Even though it was impossible to stop a free falling giant with just an arm…

Thump!

The abrupt shift of my right feet seemed to have escaped the fallen giant by sheer chance! It collapsed onto the ground beside me but just by the distorted sense of hearing, I couldn't accurately discern its position.

Not giving me any chance to ponder further, Nie Zun seemed to have collided into something in mid-air.

Ah, it must be the giant!

I let Nie Zun go, knowing for sure that he would be able to defeat the giant.

There was an inexplicable understanding between Nie Zun and I; at the very moment I flung Nie Zun out, he had already whipped the Piercer towards me. The moment it touched my skin, I wound it around with the back of my hand but the Piercer didn't feel light.

I pulled, immediately understanding the reason he threw the Piercer towards me; he had already wound it around his own ankle with the other end when he did. This way, as he engaged in combat with the giant he collided into, it would prevent us from being completely separated. It would have been difficult to find each other again in this space that's obscured from our four senses.

I speedily calculated the length of my Piercer in my head and stepped back accordingly. Not only would I prevent myself from holding Nie Zun back by his ankle, I could even lend him support in this manner.

"Done!" At the sound of his voice, I immediately pulled him back.

Nie Zun returned to my side with an arm wrapped around my waist. His other hand took my Piercer from me and circled it above us with more damage than I had mustered before!

In the darkness, I blushed at the feeling of his arm firmly wrapped around my waist.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Ahoo, ahoo, ahoo, ahoo, ahoo!

Innumerable wailing and cracking echoed from all around us.

"That should be all." Nie Zun's voice was calm and composed as always; even his breathing remained steady.

I tried to pull myself away from his grip. However, not knowing if I had stepped on a pool of giant's blood with my step back, I slipped with my attempt and fell backwards at once. My immense exhaustion of MF had also delayed my reflexes during the process!

Considering his tight grip on my waist and the Piercer in his other hand, Nie Zun didn't seemed to have realized the impending fall either. Just like that, I pulled him down with me. With a flip of his body, his arm was trapped under my waist and I latched onto him subconsciously.

Thump!

I felt a splattering of something as I crashed onto the ground.

I must have landed in a pool of blood!

"Ahh!" I screamed, feeling Nie Zun's presence as he fell on top of me; our skulls collided with each other and imaginary stars filled my eyes.

Are you serious? After such a long battle with those giants, I would end up getting a concussion because of Nie Zun?!?

After the collision, I turned my head to my left instinctively and his lips made contact with my right cheek. One of his arms was still trapped underneath my body and his other seemed to have wanted to push his weight up. With the amount of blood on the floor though, all we heard was the slid of his arm.

Right as the lips that had collided against my cheek lifted, it came crashing down again from his slip. It was a coincidence when I turned back right at that moment, and our lips met.

In the darkness, the clash of our lips brought upon a surge of pain. His lips were pressed brutally against my own.

"Hm…" I screwed my eyes shut in pain. In the chaos of trying to push him off with my right arm, I had laced my fingers with the back of his head by accident.

Ah, what was supposed to be rejection turned into an invitation!