The dim world resembled a vast, shattered mirror, and suddenly, this mirror was marred by tens of thousands of cracks.
The rifts to another dimension stood out starkly in the darkness, their eerie light almost blinding, casting a sinister glow.
"Roar... roar..."
"Howl..."
Thousands of otherworldly creatures surged out of the rifts, and in an instant, the entire Blue Planet was plunged into hell.
According to Xu Que's memories from his past life, during the first rift eruption, over seventy million otherworldly creatures flooded out, causing damage comparable to that of the Abyssal Rift's first year.
The Abyssal Rift was far more terrifying, and the two phenomena were not even in the same league.
Creatures emerging from the Abyssal Rift were mostly elites and bosses, while the rift from another dimension would release at most one elite creature.
As spatial tremors rippled through the air, a horde of shadowy demon wolves poured out of the rift before Xu Que.
"Flying Sword Technique!"
Xu Que manipulated his sword to slay the nearby demon wolves while simultaneously pounding the beasts in front of him with his fists.
The bloodshed erupted in an instant.
At this point, Xu Que had expanded his senses to their fullest, locking onto every faint trace of life within a five-hundred-meter radius.
"Are they out?"
Xu Que narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as it fixed on an elite demon wolf that had just emerged from the rift.
With a spray of dark, viscous blood, Xu Que recalled his sword and sent a swift sword strike through the pack of wolves charging at him.
The blade cut through the air with incredible speed, and any wolf struck by the sword was cleaved in two, unable to rise again.
"Howl!"
The elite demon wolf let out a fearsome howl. Its muscular limbs dug into the ground, propelling it forward with terrifying speed toward Xu Que.
"Slash!"
The powerful Slash of the Heavens technique activated.
Before the elite wolf could even reach him, it was cleaved in half by Xu Que's blade.
With their leader slain, the rest of the wolves charged toward Xu Que like rabid dogs.
His sword cleaved through the air, cutting down at least two wolves with every strike.
Two minutes later, Xu Que quickly gathered the orbs left behind by the fallen beasts, barely glancing at what he had collected.
He had no time to worry about the wolf corpses—they would be dealt with soon enough.
Xu Que's speed was unmatched. In less than a minute, he reached his first marked point.
As his senses expanded, he felt that a significant number of people had already perished in one particular area.
"What happened?"
Xu Que froze in shock.
At the farthest reach of his senses, there was no trace of human life.
"Howl!"
A wolf's howl snapped Xu Que back to focus.
He dodged the attack of a demon wolf, then swung his sword in swift retaliation.
Though he was uncertain of what had transpired in that area, once he dealt with the immediate threat, he knew he would need to adjust his strategy.
As time ticked by, within just half an hour, over a hundred thousand people had perished in Z Country, and the death toll was still rising rapidly.
The artillery from various military districts continued to bombard, but even this overwhelming force proved powerless against the relentless onslaught of the otherworldly creatures.
At this moment, the major live-streaming platforms were eerily silent, as no one dared speak or provoke others.
The carnage continued unabated, and Xu Que had lost count of how many otherworldly creatures he had slain.
After eliminating two more rifts, he quickly arrived at the first support point.
After slaying the creatures there, he left hastily. As for the lives lost, he could only tell himself that he had done his best.
Xu Que's anger had not subsided; in fact, it was only growing more intense.
The fury that spread from his heart seemed to consume him entirely.
Kill! Only kill!
He rampaged through Silver City, slaughtering anything that wasn't human, his eyes as blood-red as a vengeful spirit.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sharp sound of gunfire rang out nearby. Xu Que, gripping his sword, charged straight into the barrage of artillery.
Amidst the constant bombardment, he became a killing machine, an unyielding force of destruction.
As Xu Que swiftly dealt with the otherworldly creatures in his path, a monster from the A-Class rift finally breached the defense lines of Silver City.
Over a hundred Lava Hounds charged into the crowd, attacking like hungry wolves, tearing through anyone they encountered.
The sounds of wailing and cries of despair filled the air as the people faced certain death.
"Look! Over there!"
A D-Class esper pointed frantically, seemingly seeing a glimmer of hope.
Xu Que's strikes grew even faster, as he unleashed the full power of an A-Class fighter.
"I've found you!"
Xu Que locked onto a particularly large Lava Hound.
Before it could react, his blade cleaved the creature in half.
Xu Que hadn't expected that the Lava Hounds, the very monsters that had caused the greatest destruction in Silver City in his past life, would be so easily slain.
Without stopping to collect the items on the ground, he turned and rushed toward the remaining Lava Hounds, determined to clear them from the city.
Unbeknownst to him, several figures nearby had their eyes greedily fixed on the glowing orbs left behind.
"Grab them and leave!" one man ordered.
His companion nodded, and together they charged across the defense line toward the orbs.
Seeing others rush for the orbs, more followed suit.
Under Xu Que's senses, it was clear these people were courting death.
"Whoosh!"
Just as one man touched an orb, a black sword pierced through his skull.
"Who sent you?" Xu Que's cold voice rang above them.
He chose not to deal with the remaining creatures—he had no intention of helping Silver City unless everything was his to claim.
"What do you mean?" a bearded man demanded.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Xu Que retorted, his voice icy. "Who ordered you to do this?"
"We're fighting the monsters. We deserve some of the rewards," the bearded man replied.
"That's right. So many of us have died. If we don't get something in return—"
"Slash!"
Before the man could finish speaking, Xu Que's sword cleaved through his neck.
"You, you... you're not human. You kill the innocent without remorse!" a chubby man stammered, pointing at Xu Que.
"Is that so?" Xu Que smirked, his voice cold. "I thought the same."
With that, he swung his sword again, slicing the chubby man in two.
The remaining figures were frozen in terror, stumbling backward in fear.
No one was unafraid of death, and no one was eager to meet it.
Xu Que collected the orbs on the ground and gave the group a cold glance.
"I intended to let you go, but I'm afraid some people might try to take advantage of me in the future. Sorry."
Hearing this, the others instantly understood, and just as they turned to flee, a sword's ringing sound shattered their hopes.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
The black sword, as though guided by some supernatural force, pierced through their hearts before returning to Xu Que's hand.
At this moment, the people lurking on the outskirts dared not move, as a terrifying thought crept into their minds.
Xu Que had no concern for those seeking to take advantage. In his past life, such people had been everywhere, including himself and Duan Jiude.
Returning to the breach, Xu Que continued his relentless slaughter of Lava Hounds.
Only when the last one had been slain did he slowly approach an armored vehicle.
"Good work," the lieutenant saluted.
"You'd better have your people investigate this group thoroughly. If I hadn't arrived in time, all of you would have died here," Xu Que said coldly.
The lieutenant instantly understood what Xu Que meant by "investigate."
"All right. I must move on to the next district," Xu Que added, mounting his sword and flying away.
On this day, Blue Planet felt like a living hell. Despite the daylight, it was suffocated by an aura of death.
The war raged on, and the onslaught of otherworldly creatures tore the once-beautiful planet apart.