Chapter 382 Taoist Master, I will become a demon for this world! - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

"Damn, Old Li, am I seeing things? Your hand just turned into tentacles." The scientist next to him rubbed his eyes in disbelief, staring in shock at his old colleague's hand. "Old Li, can you control it a bit? Can I cut some off for research?" "Those people usually keep things too tightly regulated." "......" As soon as he finished speaking, he looked down at his chest. Old Li's tentacle had pierced through his heart at some point, blood gushing. The pain was sharp but fleeting. With a thud, he collapsed, consciousness plunged into darkness. Dead. "Ahhh..." Having killed his colleague unexpectedly and as his body began to twist, the scientist completely lost control. The spiritual practitioners left to guard the area rushed over upon hearing the commotion and were met with a thoroughly distorted monster. "Not good, quickly contain it..." Before the first entering spiritual practitioner could react, he was impaled by the tentacles. The two who followed reacted more swiftly, managing to block the incoming tentacle attack. "Sword Talisman!" One of them activated a talisman in hand, which transformed into a spiritual sword, swooping down and slicing off multiple tentacles from the twisted monster. "Kill it!" Drawing his sword, the other one attacked with a cold gleam. As practitioners, they'd seen many transform into mutated monsters; however strong the emotions, hesitating would mean death not only for them but for many around. But the monster before them wasn't just any mutant—this was a grotesque from the inner world. Using methods to kill mutated monsters on a grotesque was destined to fail. Their skills were formidable and swift, quickly slicing through many tentacles and closing in on its core. As they prepared for a fatal strike, the tentacles severed earlier exploded on the ground. Both practitioners were instantly drenched in the contamination. As they attempted to move, countless tentacles sprouted from the polluted areas, binding their movements. "What?!" The astonishment was clear on their faces. Worse still, the severed tentacles on the grotesque were regenerating. With closer inspection, the grotesque was absorbing the life force and flesh from the fallen spiritual practitioners, growing stronger. "We're done for, but we'll fight with everything!" "What about the plasma shield?" "We don't know, no time to hesitate!" Twelve explosive fire talismans hovered in midair. Although their legs were immobilized, and arms similarly constrained, it was problematic. Thankfully they still had their mouths. One decisively bit his tongue, spraying blood onto the talismans. The explosive fire talismans erupted. Flames engulfed the two, the grotesque, and the entire plasma shield control center. The grotesque let out an anguished cry, but it couldn't withstand this time. Its body was consumed by flames, turning to ashes in the blink of an eye. Amid the flames, a grey core fell but was soon engulfed by the explosion. Successive explosions triggered alarms throughout the spiritual practitioners’ outpost base. "What happened?" Chu Jiuyuan glanced at the main screen, his expression suddenly changing. The most critical area had gone dark. Nearby surveillance showed thick smoke billowing—it was evident something had gone wrong inside. "What's happening in the plasma shield control center? Quickly, someone check it out!" Chu Jiuyuan ran outside, looking towards the sky. The plasma energy shield was disintegrating... "Roar! Roar! Roar!" Trapped demon soldiers began to roar frantically. Once this cursed shield was gone, their reinforcements would arrive, allowing them to survive, while humans would become their feast. Re-enthroned in the sky, the demon leader Belleseder waved her hand, sending more airborne demon troops into the battlefield. "She really did it!" "How did she manage to break down the humans' shell?" "No time to care. Kill! Charge in!" "Come on, tear through them!" "......" Powerful demons surged into the human forces, igniting even fiercer combat. "Is that one in the purple robe the head human commander? He’s mine!" The kobold leader bore his giant axe, charging in. Until now he had been forced to watch from the back, which was unbearable. Hauling him by air had required over 30 gargoyles. Wielding his giant axe, he smashed through several human artillery positions, killing a few humans. Killing the weak was dull—the thrill lay in slaying human elites. The target of his fury, Chu Jiuyuan, donned in purple robes, orchestrated the defenses, keeping the human line intact and preventing collapse. Any demon approaching was swatted away with casual ease. Slaying a human elite like him would absolutely be a thrill. The kobold tore through several practitioners, closing in on Chu Jiuyuan. "Human, perish." The giant axe cut through the air, descending toward Chu Jiuyuan. The kobold grinned, anticipating Chu Jiuyuan's panic, shock, and fear. But Chu Jiuyuan, keen-eyed and sharp-eared, had long noticed the kobold. He opened his hand, making a grasping motion through the air. The kobold felt the air around him whisked away in an instant; his attack crumbled instantly. In the next moment, he felt his 3000-pound body inflate impossibly with air, becoming a massive balloon. Terror painted across the kobold's face—he struggled, yet couldn't even land on the ground. Boom! The 3000-pound kobold exploded, bursting in mid-air. Nearby demon troops stood aghast at the sight. Some demons had been poised to snatch the glory, only to see the kobold leader obliterated in seconds by the human in purple robes—too ruthless. But for Chu Jiuyuan, slaying one demon general was futile; more powerful demons were flooding in, and their defenses were inevitably going to be overrun—unless there was someone with the power of the witch Su Miao... Thinking of Su Miao, Chu Jiuyuan gave a bitter smile. He had to order a retreat! He fired three signal flares, visible across the battlefield. This was the signal to retreat. Following the original plan, the plasma shield was supposed to hold out for at least a day before resources expired, granting sufficient preparation for a withdrawal, minimizing losses. At the current pace, breakout and retreat could dangerously devolve into a chaotic rout. "It's the retreat signal." Wang Xuandao spotted the signal and immediately ordered his cousin Wang Meng, "Get the brothers moving now, go!" Wang Meng replied, "Brother, you have to go too!" Quickly, the abilities users from Lao Shu Town mobilized swiftly, fending off demon attacks while regrouping with the main force, preparing a concerted breakout. "You must go, but I will stay!" An abilities user, his body battered and bruised, rolled off a stretcher, refusing aid, and shouted, "My injuries are too severe, and the pollution here is fatal—I won't last even back home." The others, inspired by his spirit, rolled off their stretchers, those able to move doing so resolutely. "Brothers, what are you doing?" Wang Xuandao rushed over, urgent. "We haven't much time!" The leader of the stretcher escapees smirked, "Master, you took me in, helped me awaken and survive today. My wife and daughter live well in Lao Shu Town. Yet my injuries are fatal and I sense the inner pollution." "The inner world's pollution is far harsher than Earth's—even if we return, I'll only transform into a mutant monster." "If it's like that, why not stay, become a mutant here, and take down more demon spawn." "Brothers, isn't that right?" Others agreed: "Absolutely true!" One wounded man smiled, saying, "Master, that's our plan. We'll go all out against the demon spawn! Let's show them what mutant monsters are truly made of." Another spoke, "Master, do we still have that mixed venom? Leave it for us—we’ll give the demons a big farewell." One daredly laughed, "Once feared becoming a mutant, never thought I’d choose it. Yet here I go—embracing monstrosity for the world’s sake!" Voices erupted, chaotic but clear to Wang Xuandao. "Alright!" Wang Xuandao resolved, "I'll leave the mixed venom for you. Go!" After arranging the wounded and the defenses, Wang Xuandao departed swiftly with his men. Wang Xuandao hadn't anticipated that just as he prepared to retreat, other groups of abilities users also requested the mixed venom. Some had even collected a bit during the last battle, risking poisoning. "The humans are fleeing!" The fiendish dwarf standing in the rear commented, "Aren't we chasing them?" Succubus leader Belleseder replied, "What's the rush? Isn't their portal's location our primary objective?" The fiendish dwarf argued, "These humans have cost us dearly. Even for the portal's position, we can't let them escape en masse." Belleseder retorted, "You fools, all you ever think of is fighting. Do you ever use your brains?" The fiendish dwarf turned red with anger at her words—the damned succubus! Belleseder reassured, "Don't worry, I have made my arrangements." ... On the Demon Ridge battlefield, demon generals rampaged with killing intent. Seeing the humans begin to retreat and flee, their killing was in full force. Especially when they reached the main human defenses and witnessed the numerous wounded left behind, the scent of blood in the air whetted their appetites. Some demons couldn't resist wanting to sink their teeth in and feast immediately. However, these heavily wounded humans were oddly suspicious. Exactly why, they couldn't tell. "Been waiting for you demon bastards for a long time," laughed a nearby Daoist abilities user, his grin wide and bright, irking the nearby demons. These were supposed to be helpless prey—what's with the arrogance? Did they plan to use some explosives? Even if they did, it didn’t matter. Shards of flesh would scatter, and they could still feast, possibly even on grilled meat if lucky. As for potential injuries from explosions, it didn't concern them; their skin was thick and resilient. They'd seen such tactics before on battlefields days earlier. Useless. But things didn't go as they thought. The heavily injured human, laughing maniacally, suddenly bore bizarre patterns on his body, transforming into a grotesque, neither human nor ghost—a mutant monster. This mutant roared and charged at the advancing demons. In a single encounter, a leading demon soldier was cleaved in two. Reacting to the demon blood's stimulation, the mutant sampled the demon soldier's blood, eyes turning a sinister crimson, seemingly growing stronger. Simultaneously, the heavily injured humans around the battlefield began absorbing pollution, willingly embracing mutation to become mutant monsters. Uninjured, such transformation took time. But injured, their bodies succumbed to pollution easily. Especially in the current state, it took just a minor provocation to willingly transform into mutants. The technology for this was long advanced. Who would've thought the very knowledge to prevent becoming mutants would one day be used to initiate such transformations? As a mass of heavily injured Daoist practitioners turned mutant monsters joined the fray, the battlefield descended into chaotic pandemonium—a haven for mutants. Whether demon soldiers, creatures, or powerful demon generals, as long as they came into the mutants' view, they faced relentless attacks. What's tenfold power in corruption? This is it! While alive, they had to consider their true essence and energy, mulling over countless factors during combat. But in this moment, they needed think no more; as mutants, their instincts told them the world could continually supply darkness' power to them. "What are these creatures? Weren't they human?!" A kobold leader, seeing the heavily injured mutant repeatedly launch attacks, found his outlook changed. With every assault, his own attacks proved less effective, while the opponent seemed to evolve, acquiring grotesque tentacles. That was a grotesque... But using his methods for grotesques on the opponent, he realized they had little effect. Even more terrifying, the opponent's abilities grew increasingly monstrous. In their last encounter, the kobold felt stabbing pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw the mutant, whom he’d been battling, emerge from his belly—ripping through from within. In his final moments, the kobold remembered—at the battle's onset, he'd torn off the mutant's arm and swallowed it whole. His intent had been intimidation. It resulted in his demise. Through numerous battles, the mutant unconsciously utilized abilities known in life, like phase-shifting. Thus, the kobold leader perished. Scarier still, the mutants’ frenzied attack ruptured one vat after another. Stored within these were the previous battlefield’s mixed venoms, used by humans. This time, would they take demons down with them? "Ahhh!" Amidst the chaos, a demon soldier broke down. Fighting humans instilled not fear, but excitement. But battling indistinct mutants led to fear. The mutants invoked thoughts of grotesques among the demons—similar in terror despite not being the same atrocity!