Chapter 39: Attack Is the Best Escape
The fifth attempt! This time, Chen Mo did not hastily flee. He passed through the rain of meteors, stood at the vulnerable spot, and waited for the piranha to lunge at him. Its bloody maw was about to snap shut right in front of him.
Suddenly, Chen Mo’s left fingernails turned crimson and extended twenty centimeters, like the claws of a Wolverine!
Die!
Equipped with the Vampire’s Claw, his entire left arm shimmered with a blood-red radiance, terrifying to behold.
Bang!
The piranha was crushed instantly by the Vampire’s Claw, leaving Chen Mo unharmed!
Succeeded?!
Hahaha! So that’s how it is!
At last, Chen Mo understood. In Temple Run, he had always focused solely on fleeing, never considering a counterattack. He assumed that the piranha, like the black ape, was invincible. But unexpectedly, the piranha could be attacked and killed!
Perhaps for ordinary warriors or mages, slaying these piranhas would be exceedingly difficult—they moved fast, were agile, and hard to hit. Even if struck, their blood would splatter, corroding flesh. Fortunately, Chen Mo possessed the Vampire’s Claw, rendering him immune to the blood’s corrosive effects.
This explained why, despite over ten thousand participants worldwide attempting the hell-level challenge, only a handful had cleared the first 100 meters—everyone else was stuck at that impassable mark!
Having grasped the key secret to hell-level difficulty, Chen Mo realized it was no longer simply about escaping—it was now a dance of both evasion and offense!
He pressed on!
At the second obstacle, dodging the meteor rain, two piranhas lunged at him from left and right. Previously, Chen Mo had relied on transforming into a bat to evade, but now he sidestepped the left attack with ease, then spun around and crushed the right piranha in his grasp. Corrosive blood splattered everywhere, but Chen Mo raised his Vampire Cape to shield himself.
It must be said, the Vampire’s Claw and Vampire Cape were exceptionally useful. Chen Mo could barely wait to assemble a complete Vampire set—it would surely be cool and impressive!
At the third obstacle, skimming across the flaws with Lightfoot Steps, he perfectly dodged every meteor rain, as three piranhas soared into the air!
Heh!
A smile curled at Chen Mo’s lips. Perfect timing!
Gale Slash!
His left claw traced an arc, unleashing a crescent-shaped blood light that simultaneously vanquished all three airborne piranhas!
Gale Slash was originally a warrior’s skill—Chen Mo had never learned it. But he’d watched Commander Lin Feng of the Shadow Corps execute it once, and the AI had recorded all the data. Chen Mo mimicked Lin Feng’s movements and released the Gale Slash!
[Skill Mimicry: 37%]
[When Skill Mimicry reaches 100%, the skill is acquired]
Interesting! Chen Mo felt as if he’d discovered a new continent. If he could mimic a skill to 100%, he would master it. This was utterly remarkable! In future, he could simply imitate any impressive skill he witnessed and add it to his own arsenal, increasing his abilities without limit.
From his initial terror of hell-level difficulty, Chen Mo now fully relished the challenge.
At the fourth obstacle, Gale Slash!
Four piranhas were shredded to pieces by his claws.
[Skill Mimicry: 45%]
Fifth obstacle, Gale Slash!
[Skill Mimicry: 50%]
This time, luck was not on Chen Mo’s side. His claws struck four piranhas, but one agile creature dodged downward and then bit fiercely at Chen Mo’s lower body.
Ah—
A scream of agony tore from his lips as his lower body went cold; all strength drained away. The meteor rain did not wait—it swept in, obliterating Chen Mo completely.
[Challenge failed. Final score: 500 meters. Points earned: 5000]
Careless, far too careless!
He was not yet proficient with Gale Slash, and attempting to attack five piranhas at once was too ambitious.
Kunlong’s three challenge opportunities were exhausted, and the Little Prince had used two. Chen Mo planned to save the Little Prince’s final attempt for the novice difficulty—otherwise, if he only managed 100 meters again, he would be ridiculed by the entire school. That didn’t bother Chen Mo himself, but he feared his sister would be mocked alongside him.
The Demon King ID had one last opportunity. Chen Mo steeled himself—this time, he would break the record!
Kill!
Claw thrust! Thrust! Cross thrust! Sweeping thrust!
Relying on the Vampire’s Claw, he reached the fifth obstacle with ease—again facing five piranhas.
A confident smile played on Chen Mo’s lips. Advanced warrior skill—Double Slash!
But instead of a sword, he wielded claws. Thus, it was more aptly named Double Thrust!
Twin claw shadows became two crescent-shaped claw marks!
This time, not a single piranha escaped!
Sixth obstacle: Gale Thrust, Double Thrust!
[Skill Mimicry: 70%]
Seventh obstacle: Gale Thrust, Gale Thrust, Double Thrust!
[Skill Mimicry: 80%]
Eighth obstacle: Double Gale Thrust!
[Skill Mimicry: 99%]
Ninth obstacle: Claw thrusts flying, at will!
[Skill Mimicry: 100%]
[Skill Mimicry succeeded. Skill acquired: Gale Thrust. Using claws, unleash a crescent-shaped gale, with a maximum range of 50 meters.]
Tenth, eleventh obstacles…
Thrust! Thrust! Kill!
The difficulty increased with each kill, and the more challenging it became, the more exhilarated Chen Mo felt. Before he knew it, he had reached the twentieth obstacle—2000 meters!
Here, the challenge escalated sharply. Meteor rain no longer followed a predictable pattern—it now alternated in two overlapping waves. The piranhas no longer waited for him to dodge the meteor rain before attacking; they assaulted during his evasions. Twenty piranhas attacked simultaneously, a frenzy!
Double Gale Slash!
S-grade combat talent bonus—Quadruple Gale Slash!
Chen Mo’s claws became fourfold claw shadows, filling the air and annihilating twenty piranhas at once!
This was thanks to his S-grade combat talent—Wrath of the War God.
Wrath of the War God doubled the effect of all Chen Mo’s combat skills: Double Slash became Quadruple Slash; Gale Crescent became Gale Full Moon!
Magnificent! Hahaha!
Chen Mo laughed wildly to the heavens. He had thought this S-grade talent was useless, but now it revealed its true power!
With Lightfoot Steps, he charged through meteor rain seven times, weaving between death and destruction!
2100 meters!
2500 meters!
3000 meters!
4000 meters!
5000 meters!
With his superb equipment, extraordinary combat skills, and exceptional attributes, Chen Mo powered his way to 5000 meters in hell difficulty!
Just as he thought the hell difficulty was nothing more, the only blood road beneath his feet suddenly collapsed with a thunderous roar, plunging him into the river of blood.
Startled, Chen Mo leaped high into the air, but the blood road never reappeared. He was about to fall directly into the blood river—certain dissolution awaited. Quickly, he transformed into a bat to fly further.
Unexpectedly, meteor rain surged up from the blood river!
Panicked, Chen Mo flew upward, only to find meteor rain still crashing down above!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Fifty piranhas, like bullets, targeted Chen Mo from all directions—land, sea, and air, locking him in.
Boom!
With nowhere left to run, Chen Mo was finally struck, his body dissolving into a rising white light.
[Third challenge failed. Final score: hell difficulty 5100 meters. Points earned: 51000]