Chapter 426: The Decisive Strike

Chapter 426: The Decisive Strike

In the 5th Sector, as Li Wu raised the Celestial Cloud Sword, he was about to get serious.

Previously, he hadn't shown his full strength against Fei Yinghao or even the Second Messenger's clone, as his combat style had changed.

The core of his fighting spirit had become the final strike that Ryuichiro Ryukawa used to slay the Zeroer.

All of Li Wu's sword techniques were cultivated within that one decisive strike.

One could say that his ninth layer of combat power was contained within it.

Without utilizing this ultimate move, his strength was merely at the first layer.

But now, Li Wu was about to unleash this powerful strike.

The Second Messenger was engulfed by a strong sense of crisis, and being as clever as he was, he certainly didn't intend to withstand Li Wu's attack head-on.

Even before Li Wu could lift his sword, the Second Messenger was already preparing to flee.

However, whether he could escape or not depended on Li Wu's decision.

"Roar!"

Just as the Second Messenger took a step back, a roar echoed towards him.

Accompanying the roar, a terrifying black dragon breath surged forward, and the silhouette of a massive bone dragon appeared.

If it wasn't Intix, who was with Little Skeleton, then who was this creature? As an entity intertwined with Little Skeleton, its strength had naturally reached the Epic Rank after Little Skeleton's breakthrough.

When Little Skeleton took action, Intix lurked on the sidelines. Seeing that the Second Messenger was about to escape, it opened its mouth and unleashed an attack.

"What? There's another one!" The Second Messenger's expression changed.

His retreating steps halted, and with a simple gesture, he easily blocked the black dragon breath.

After all, as an Epic 2-Star existence, deflecting an Epic 1-Star attack was relatively effortless.

However, this deflection caused his movement to pause.

At that moment, Hahah and the Golden Dragon opened their mouths and unleashed their attacks.

An icy ray and a golden roar descended simultaneously from the left and right, striking the Second Messenger's hind legs once again.

At the same time, Little Skeleton raised the black scythe in his hand.

The Will of the King erupted, unleashing the aura of an undead legion and forming a powerful domain that trapped the Second Messenger.

The Second Messenger's expression shifted again.

In that instant, he clearly understood that escape was impossible.

Even if he managed to break free from Little Skeleton's domain, he couldn't evade Li Wu's sword.

The damage he would receive might be even more severe.

So, he made a choice at that moment, halting his retreat and recalling the Fear Demon into his body. He looked at Li Wu, who was still gathering his strength, with indifference and disdain.

"I was planning to leave, but I didn't expect you to be so reluctant to let me go. You've put on such a grand show to keep me here, so it seems I have no choice but to exchange a few words with you."

Li Wu, still gathering his strength, didn't respond.

The disdain on the Second Messenger's face intensified, and his body began to emanate a terrifying aura.

Black, ominous mist rose, enveloping him and making him appear enigmatic and fearsome.

"Do you know why I retreated just now? It wasn't because I was afraid of you, but because I didn't want to accidentally kill you. After all, it's quite an effort to avoid squashing an ant. However, since you're so eager for death, I have no choice but to grant your wish!"

As he spoke, the black mist around the Second Messenger expanded, spreading a sense of terror and despair.

Within the mist, something seemed to be taking shape.

The Second Messenger gazed at it, a slight smile on his face, and he pointed at Li Wu.

"Come, let me show you what absolute power disparity feels like..."

Before the Second Messenger could finish his sentence, Li Wu's power-up was complete. With a swing of the Celestial Cloud Sword, he slashed downward, creating an ordinary, unremarkable curve.

This strike held no radiant sword beams or terrifying sword intent; it was as plain as when he had slaughtered countless lives, like the slaying of a lonely soul.

Yet, as the sword descended, the Second Messenger couldn't utter a single taunt.

His face paled.

"Fear Demon!"

He unleashed the beast soul of his summoned creature, frantically absorbing its energy. The powerful feedback caused blood to gush from his body, making this esteemed member of the Zero Organization, who was above ten thousand others, appear utterly disheveled.

But he no longer cared about any of that.

He had no time to care, for he knew that if he couldn't withstand this sword strike, he would die.

So, he unleashed every technique at his disposal.

The beast soul erupted, epic power surged, and various items were activated, all to stop Li Wu's sword.

However, no matter what he did, it was all nullified by Li Wu's strike.

Lu Wu's sword strike was so powerful that it seemed capable of breaking through all defenses.

"How is this possible? How could his attack be so terrifying?

It's absurd! It makes no sense at all!"

"Oh, I see. It's his doing. He must have concentrated all his power into that one strike, and now he's completely spent afterward."

"As long as I can endure this strike, as long as I can withstand it, I'll..."

"Pfft!"

Before the Second Messenger could finish his struggle and elation, his body was cleaved in two by Lu Wu's sword.

At that moment, the Second Messenger's mind became tranquil.

All the chaos, pain, and panic vanished, and he stared blankly at his bisected body. Across from him, Lu Wu's face was deathly pale, yet unsteady nod, he gave his response.

The Second Messenger didn't have time to say another word before he was engulfed in darkness.

Thus, the Second Messenger of the Zero Organization met his end at Lu Wu's hands.

However, Lu Wu's powerful strike came at a cost.

With that single strike, he exhausted all his reserves, leaving him with only a tenth of his peak strength. It would take at least half a month, if not longer, for his power to recover.

Nonetheless, Lu Wu had won this battle.

"Move! Empty out everything from below!"

After the battle, Lu Wu immediately issued his orders.

The Gate of the Dead opened, and Little Skeleton's side sprang into action under Lu Wu's command. With the help of a vast army of the Dead and five Epic-ranked summon beasts, they swiftly cleared out the Second Messenger's base.

Within a few hours, all the resources from the Second Messenger's base were transported to the Seventy-Second Sector.

All related documents were sent to Sector 72.

Lu Wu repeated the same process he had done at Feng Xiu's base, gathering all the remaining members and converting them into his followers.

"Lu Wu, that should be enough, right? Your condition doesn't look good. Why don't we head back?"

After Lu Wu secured the Second Messenger's base, Lin Jian Ying emerged to offer this suggestion.

Lu Wu shook his head.

"Go back? Why would we go back? We've already started, so we must go deeper!"

"What else do you plan to do?" asked Lin Jian Ying, his heart racing as he observed Lu Wu's clearly abnormal state.

Lu Wu's response was enough to make Lin Jian Ying's heart skip a beat.

Lu Wu stared at Lin Jian Ying, and whether it was due to the influence of the Second Messenger's Abyss of Despair or some other reason, he spoke with utmost seriousness: "I will uproot the entire Zero Organization!"

Lin Jian Ying almost choked on his words upon hearing this.

He wondered if Lu Wu truly understood the implications of his actions. What he intended to do was something the Alliance hadn't accomplished in over a century, something they hadn't even dared to consider.

Not only did Lu Wu dare to think about it, but he also spoke of it and was willing to act on it.

This was sheer madness.

Perhaps he didn't comprehend the true terror of the Zeroers.

In the 619th chapter of the novel, Lu Wu said...

"Lu Wu, I know Dudu's situation has affected you, but we can't act recklessly. There's still a chance for Dudu's resurrection, so we should plan carefully..."

"Plan carefully? How long can we plan? We're already at a disadvantage, and the information gap is significant. Why bother with so many thoughts? I'll just do what suits me best!"

Lu Wu's words were like a broken vessel, and he immediately took action.

After successively eliminating Feng Xiu and the Second Messenger, Lu Wu struck again, securing the bases of the First and Second Apostles.

Simultaneously, members of the Zero Organization who had been recruited by Lu Wu also took action during this period, launching a frenzy of cleansing against the Zero Organization across the entire Alliance.

From the capture of Feng Xiu's base to the present, within a mere half-month, the Zero Organization's bases in various sectors of the Alliance were cleansed one by one.

Throughout Lu Wu's cleansing campaign, they encountered no significant resistance.

The enigmatic First Messenger and the Third Messenger never made an appearance.

They seemed to have vanished into thin air, indifferent to Lu Wu's actions. They allowed Lu Wu to cleanse and conquer one Zero Organization base after another.

After half a month, the entire Alliance was devoid of any Zero Organization bases.

The original members of these bases had switched allegiances, now serving the Dark Organization.

For over a century, an organization had been established, but now it seemed to have vanished without a trace. However, this was merely the surface. Everyone knew that Lu Wu had only destroyed the outer shell of the Zero Organization; its core remained untouched.

Even after Lu Wu killed two Messengers and over a dozen Disciples, and took control of several dozen more Disciples, the foundation of the Zero Organization remained unshaken.

The true terror of the Zero Organization wasn't the organization itself, but its founder, the Zeroer. As long as he remained, so would the organization.

Thus, Lu Wu's actions over the past half month were seen by the Alliance as nothing more than a young man's irrational outburst.

Lu Wu was only able to act because the Zeroer allowed it. Had it not been for his permission, Lu Wu would have been eliminated the moment he arrived at Feng Xiu's base.

Consequently, the Alliance didn't offer any evaluation of Lu Wu's actions. They even treated the shadow organization Lu Wu had created as a joke.

After Lu Wu's half-month-long frenzy of cleansing the Zero Organization, he seemed to have finally vented his anger and returned to the Necromancer's Secret Realm.

The half-month of slaughter and venting had left Lu Wu looking exceptionally exhausted. He appeared so drained that even 72 felt a shiver run through his body, fearing that Lu Wu might strike him down with a single sword.

However, 72 needed to meet with Lu Wu at this very moment. As Lu Wu's logistics manager, 72 had been handling the logistics of Lu Wu's clear-cut killings and resource plunder over the past half month.

Before Lu Wu's absence, 72 didn't have time, but now that Lu Wu had returned, he needed to report on related matters.

"Sir, in the past half month, we have captured 78 bases of various sizes and acquired resources..."

72 didn't dare finish his sentence.

"Don't tell me about the resources. I've skipped over the ones brought in, and I've taken what I wanted. So, there's no need to brief me on resources."

Lu Wu asked, "What about the investigation I tasked you with? How's it going?"

72 looked at Lu Wu, who was deep in thought, and his heart couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

His boss was probably going to target those places.

As expected, Lu Wu soon opened his eyes and issued an order: "Prepare all our bases. We're going to make a big move!"

"Sir, are you going after the Technology Alliance? Or the Holy Church Alliance...?"

72 almost choked on his own blood.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end