The closest to Landon was Ethan, whose face was pale, his breathing heavy and rapid, and his body trembling violently.
His emotions had gone beyond shock; he was gripped by absolute terror, a fear so overwhelming that it consumed his ability to think about anything else.
Instinctively, he wanted to step back, but his body refused to obey, as if it had betrayed him, completely beyond his control.
The suffocating pressure emanating from Landon enveloped him, making him feel like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
He could only stand there, letting this terror slowly consume him.
Allen also witnessed the entire scene. He had never seen such a combination of violence and madness. The Landon before him no longer seemed human but rather a bloodthirsty beast out of control.
Even though he was still over ten steps away from Landon, the oppressive aura radiating from him pierced into every nerve in Allen’s body, leaving him gasping for air.
Instinctively, Allen glanced at Eli a few steps away, only to see Eli’s serious expression and furrowed brows.
Allen’s heart sank. He realized—Eli might know what was happening to Landon.
In that moment, Allen felt an overwhelming mix of emotions. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t know where to begin.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his emotions and refocused on the situation at hand.
Eli noticed Allen’s gaze and felt a pang of helplessness rise in his heart.
He knew that ever since they entered the sewer, Allen and Ethan had begun to suspect him.
Despite his best efforts to conceal his secrets through sheer acting, he had still been exposed.
If he had been colder and more detached, perhaps he could have avoided this exposure.
But what would have been the cost of doing so?
The cost would have been inevitable casualties when facing the ratmen’s assault.
Allen, Ethan, and even Landon—someone would have died here.
At that moment, Eli couldn’t help but think, “If I hadn’t joined their team from the start, escaping New York alone might have been much easier.”
But as soon as the thought surfaced, his intuition immediately countered it:
Escaping New York alone would indeed be easier, but it might lead you to take many detours in the future.
Though he didn’t fully understand why, Eli chose to trust his intuition.
Eli''s peripheral gaze swept over Allen once again, and his heart calmed slightly.
He understood that both Allen and Ethan were trustworthy people who wouldn’t share these matters with anyone else.
Eli set aside his concerns and quickly scanned his surroundings.
The remaining ratmen had been completely terrified. Screaming frantically, they fled in all directions, utterly devoid of any will to fight.
Not far away, the figure of the ratman commander grew increasingly rigid.
It let out a series of sharp, high-pitched screeches, desperately trying to call back its fleeing subordinates, but the effort was futile.
Eli took in the scene, understanding instantly: this ratman squad had already collapsed.
Suddenly, the commander’s screeches came to an abrupt halt.
A suffocating wave of killing intent crashed down upon it like a tidal wave.
It whipped its head around to meet Landon’s gaze—those cold, bloodthirsty eyes locked firmly onto it.
"He’s set his sights on me..."
The ratman commander’s crimson pupils shrank violently, and its heartbeat thundered like a drum.
In an instant, its claws began trembling uncontrollably.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Though it tried to steady itself, the fear within its heart coiled like a venomous snake, consuming its rationality.
It understood the situation perfectly: if it stayed to fight, death was inevitable.
Landon’s superhuman strength had already torn apart too many of its subordinates; it was no match for him.
“Retreat…”
The thought surfaced in its mind, but it was immediately dragged back by its primal fear.
No, failure would result in severe punishment, possibly even being torn apart and devoured alive by its own kind.
However, if it could somehow earn the forgiveness of the other ratmen, there might still be a sliver of hope.
Even though it knew that gaining the forgiveness of the other rat-men would be extremely difficult, because those of its kind would only kick it while it was down.
But if left to fight, there would certainly be no chance of survival, only being torn to pieces by that monster.
“Retreat!”
With its decision made, the ratman commander let out a low growl and turned, fleeing at astonishing speed.
It no longer cared about the other ratmen, nor did it attempt to give any orders—survival was its only goal at this moment.
Although the ratman commander was fast, it was still too late.
Landon let out a thunderous roar, deep, ferocious, and brimming with destructive power.
In an instant, the air vibrated with a low humming sound as seven blood-red energy projectiles appeared around him.
These projectiles, the size of a thumb, glowed with a sinister crimson light, as if they had emerged from the depths of hell.
The seven projectiles didn’t remain still but slowly rotated around Landon, like the scythes of death itself, awaiting his command to decide the fate of their prey.
Suddenly, the crimson glow intensified!
The seven energy projectiles shot out like arrows, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as they streaked toward the fleeing ratmen.
“Boom—boom, boom, boom!”
Explosions erupted one after another, sending blood and shattered bones flying in all directions.
Flesh splattered across the ground and walls, turning the scene into a living hell.
In less than a second, the crimson projectiles struck every fleeing ratman with pinpoint accuracy. They didn’t even have time to scream before the sheer force of the explosions tore them to pieces.
Only the ratman commander managed to narrowly avoid a fatal hit by relying on instinct, but its desperate dodge left it off balance, causing it to fall to the ground in a pathetic heap.
The ratman commander flipped onto its back, its chest heaving violently as terror consumed it.
However, the crimson projectile that had missed the commander suddenly came to a halt mid-air.
In that moment, its trajectory defied all physical laws!
Without any inertia, it turned at an almost perfect right angle, as though guided by an unseen force.
The energy projectile flew directly toward the ratman commander, its trajectory eerily defying all logic.
The ratman commander had no time to react, not even enough to let out a final scream.
“Boom!”
In the next moment, its head was completely engulfed by the crimson light, with shattered skull fragments and brain matter splattering in all directions.
The sewer fell into complete silence, with only Landon’s cold, heavy breathing echoing through the space.
The energy projectiles were incredibly fast—so fast that even Eli, with his extraordinary dynamic vision, struggled to track their trajectories.
But Eli was no ordinary person; even though his vision couldn’t keep up, his perception, spiritual power, and instinctive intuition clearly locked onto the trajectory of each energy projectile.
In fact, the moment Landon began forming those crimson energy projectiles, Eli’s intuition had already warned him: Be careful.
How fast were the projectiles? By Eli’s estimation—700 meters per second!
"We''re in big trouble."
Eli murmured to himself, his tone calm and analytical, devoid of panic.
He knew that in the upcoming battle, he would have to unleash his true power to subdue this beast consumed by its own strength.
Allen and Ethan witnessed the scene but were utterly unable to comprehend what was happening.
All they saw was a flash of crimson light, and wherever it passed, all the ratmen exploded instantly, their flesh and blood reduced to countless fragments, scattering across the ground in utter chaos.
Ethan, being the closest to Landon, felt like prey trapped in an iron cage, facing an unstoppable beast.
The fear in his heart was beyond words—every muscle in his body screamed: Run!
But he couldn’t move. The oppressive force emanating from deep within his soul made it feel as if his heart could stop beating at any moment.
Allen gripped his fire axe tightly. Compared to Ethan, the pressure he felt was slightly weaker, but the scene completely shattered his understanding of reality.
At that moment, Landon slowly raised his head, his crimson eyes locking onto his next target—Eli.
Even in his berserk state, he instinctively knew:
Among everyone present, the only one capable of threatening him was the calm, composed man.
However, in the next instant, a flicker of struggle appeared in those frenzied eyes.
Though the power of his berserk state urged him to kill, the remnants of his humanity fought back, unwilling to harm his companions.
Landon’s expression began to shift, a mixture of madness and struggle intertwined on his face.
His hands clutched his head, his nails digging deep into his scalp.
He let out a series of pained growls, starting as the roar of a beast and gradually transforming into the anguished moans of a human.
His body hunched slightly, as if enduring immense torment.
That visible struggle was so raw that even Allen and Ethan could feel a trace of his pain.
Eli quickly made a decision and said to Allen beside him:
“Take Ethan and leave now, but don’t go too far—there’s still danger ahead.”
Allen froze for a moment and instinctively asked, “What about you?”
“Landon can still be saved.”
Eli’s gaze remained fixed on Landon, his tone unusually firm. “But if we leave him be and let the madness completely consume his humanity, then he’ll truly be beyond saving.”
Although Allen didn’t fully understand Eli’s reasoning, he knew now wasn’t the time to argue.
He took a deep breath, forcing his body into motion.
Quickly, he ran to the collapsed Ethan and helped him to his feet.
“Move!” Allen’s voice was low, laced with urgency.
Ethan’s gaze was unfocused, but with Allen’s support, he stumbled forward step by step.
Behind them, Landon’s roars still echoed, the agonized sound compelling them to glance back.
Eli stood there, his back straight as steel, as if bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.