Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System

Whoosh!

A sound like a sonic boom echoed throughout the retail area.

At the same time, a calm voice tinged with anger rang in everyone’s ears.

"Finally decided to make your move..."

The thick cloud of dust that had concealed the battlefield moments ago gradually dispersed.

As everyone’s vision cleared, they were immediately stunned.

Vikram was still standing exactly where he had been. Surrounding him was a gigantic rotating sphere of crystal-clear water, continuously flowing around his body like an impenetrable fortress. The terrifying light blade had carved a deep scar into the water barrier, but in the end, it had failed to break through.

The entire retail area fell silent.

"No... impossible..."

"That attack... was blocked?"

Even the two mysterious survivors couldn’t believe their eyes. The blade that had nearly split the entire supermarket in half had actually been stopped.

Standing beside Vikram, Watery slowly lowered his raised hand. The flowing water surrounding Vikram gradually dispersed before returning to Watery’s side, revolving around him once again as though nothing had happened.

Only then did everyone realize... It wasn’t Vikram who had blocked the attack. It was the mysterious water-element humanoid.

Lilith, who had been kneeling on the ground moments earlier, suddenly felt her eyes become moist.

"So... Big Boss Vikram is still alive..."

The overwhelming despair that had filled everyone’s hearts instantly eased slightly.

In contrast, Vikram’s expression had completely darkened.

He slowly looked toward the giant locust hovering in mid-air. There was no longer the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.

Only killing intent remained.

He calmly raised one hand and made a slight gesture.

"Phanty."

The next instant... The surrounding shadows suddenly twisted.

Everyone instinctively looked around.

"What...?"

"Who’s there?"

Before anyone could react, a black figure silently emerged from the shadows behind Vikram, as though it had always been standing there. Its body appeared to merge with the surrounding darkness, while faint streams of shadow energy quietly drifted around it.

Even after it had appeared, many survivors still found it difficult to focus their vision on it.

"What... another one?"

"How many hidden subordinates does Big Boss Vikram actually have?"

Jade’s pupils contracted violently. "First the water-element one... and now another..."

The two mysterious survivors were equally horrified. They had thought Vikram and Watery were already troublesome enough. Yet another terrifying existence had silently appeared without any of them noticing.

Even the giant locust’s constantly moving antennae paused for the first time. Its dark compound eyes slowly locked onto the newly arrived figure.

Standing beside Vikram, Phanty remained completely motionless. Only the surrounding shadows quietly flowed beneath its feet, as though waiting for Vikram’s next command.

"Phanty, clear it."

With a speed that the naked eye could barely follow, the shadowy figure disappeared from everyone’s sight.

"Where did he go?"

Even the two mysterious survivors widened their eyes, yet they couldn’t find Phanty’s whereabouts.

The giant locust, which had been slowly chewing on the unfortunate survivor, suddenly stopped moving. Its constantly twitching antennae swept rapidly through the surroundings, as though sensing an invisible danger.

The next second, a cold glimmer flashed beside its right compound eye.

Pfft!

Dark green blood splashed into the air. The locust let out a shrill screech as a deep wound appeared beside its eye.

However, before it could retaliate, the attacker had already vanished once again.

"What...?" Lilith’s beautiful eyes widened. She had only seen a faint shadow flash past.

The locust suddenly flapped its massive wings violently, releasing dozens of translucent blade waves in every direction.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The blade waves sliced through shelves, concrete pillars, and walls as if they were paper, turning the already ruined retail area into complete chaos.

Yet every attack struck only empty air.

The next instant, another black shadow silently appeared above the locust. Without hesitation, Phanty drove both shadow blades toward the base of its left wing.

Pfft!

Another fountain of blood erupted.

The locust roared furiously and instantly twisted its enormous body, its barbed hind leg sweeping toward Phanty with terrifying force.

The shelf behind him exploded into countless fragments.

However... The figure struck by the hind leg suddenly dissolved into black mist.

"A clone?"

Before the locust could react, three more identical Phantys quietly emerged from different shadows around the battlefield. Each one carried the same pair of shadow blades. Even their killing intent felt identical.

The giant locust’s compound eyes darted between them continuously. For the first time since entering the retail area... confusion appeared.

The four Phantys attacked simultaneously. Shadow after shadow flashed across the battlefield.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Fresh wounds rapidly accumulated across the locust’s body. One moment its foreleg was slashed. The next moment its abdomen was pierced. Then another shadow blade carved a long wound across one of its wings.

Every time the locust counterattacked, the figure before it would either disappear into darkness or explode into black mist. Not a single strike landed on the real body.

"This..." Jade couldn’t help but swallow hard. "So this is another one of Big Boss Vikram’s monsters..."

Even Watery merely stood quietly beside Vikram, showing no intention of interfering. His mission was simply to protect Vikram. As for the battle... It belonged to Phanty.

The giant locust finally became completely enraged. Its massive wings vibrated at an astonishing speed as countless translucent blade waves burst outward in every direction. The entire retail area shook violently. Rows of shelves collapsed one after another. The remaining lights shattered instantly. Even the reinforced concrete walls were carved full of deep scars.

Darkness completely engulfed the battlefield. However... for Phanty, darkness was home.

The moment the lights disappeared, every remaining shadow inside the retail area seemed to come alive.

The giant locust suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of danger.

Without warning, enormous shadow-infused vines erupted from beneath the shattered floor.

They instantly wrapped around all six of the locust’s legs while dozens more coiled around its wings. The locust struggled violently, releasing blade waves continuously. Although the shadow vines snapped apart one after another, they had already accomplished their purpose.

For a single second... The Legendary-level locust was completely immobilized.

Standing beside Vikram, Phanty’s true body finally appeared. His crimson eyes calmly stared at the struggling locust.

Without a word... He slowly disappeared into the shadows once more.

The next instant, Phanty’s true body silently appeared above the struggling locust.

His crimson eyes remained calm as both shadow blades became completely enveloped in condensed black energy.

Without the slightest hesitation— Phantom Rift Step!

His body instantly dissolved into countless shadow particles before disappearing from everyone’s sight.

The locust’s compound eyes frantically searched in every direction. Its antennae trembled violently.

Danger! An unprecedented danger!

Before it could break free from the Shadow Thorn Prison completely, a cold voice echoed from behind.

"Abyssal Assassination."

Both shadow blades pierced deep into the joints where the locust’s wings connected to its body. Dark energy erupted violently. The locust let out an ear-piercing scream as another large amount of dark green blood sprayed across the battlefield.

Before it could retaliate, Phanty had already disappeared once more.

The Shadow Thorn Prison finally shattered under the locust’s violent struggle. It immediately flapped its wings, preparing to soar into the sky again.

However, just as its enormous body rose several meters into the air, countless identical shadow figures suddenly appeared throughout the ruined retail area.

One... Five... Ten... Twenty...

Dozens of Phantys surrounded the giant locust from every direction. Every one of them carried a pair of identical shadow blades. Even their killing intent felt exactly the same.

"What..."

"Which one is real?"

Even Jade couldn’t distinguish the real body.

The locust became completely furious. Its wings vibrated at their limit as countless translucent blade waves erupted in every direction.

Shadow figures were continuously sliced apart. Yet every destroyed figure simply exploded into black mist before disappearing. The real Phanty was nowhere to be seen.

The giant locust suddenly froze. A dark mark had quietly appeared beneath every wound Phanty had created. The Abyss Marks were resonating.

The locust instinctively sensed that something was terribly wrong. It no longer dared to continue fighting. Without another moment’s hesitation, it immediately turned around and fled toward the supermarket exit.

"Tsk." Vikram crossed his arms, calmly watching everything unfold. "As expected... You’ve already realized you can’t win."

The giant locust smashed through the ruined entrance and escaped into the open sky.

Everyone subconsciously believed the battle had ended.

However... A shadow silently emerged from beneath the locust. No one knew when Phanty had already entered its shadow.

The giant locust suddenly felt every Abyss Mark on its body erupt simultaneously. Its movements instantly slowed. Its reactions became sluggish. Its massive body stiffened for a brief moment.

At that exact instant... A cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Nightfall Reaper."

The entire sky seemed to darken. Before anyone could blink, the shadow beneath the locust suddenly disappeared.

Then, a black slash silently swept across the sky.

The giant locust’s body froze completely. It continued flying forward for several dozen meters before stopping abruptly.

For several seconds... nothing happened.

Then, dark green blood suddenly burst from hundreds of wounds covering its body. Its wings split apart. Its forelegs separated from its torso. Its abdomen cracked open. Even its enormous head slowly slid away from its body.

Boom!!

The giant corpse finally crashed heavily onto the ground outside the supermarket, raising another huge cloud of dust.

Silence. The entire battlefield fell deathly silent.

Every survivor stared blankly toward the supermarket entrance. No one had expected such a terrifying Legendary-level creature to be executed so cleanly.

The two mysterious survivors felt chills run down their backs. Even Jade unconsciously tightened his grip on his shield.

Lilith’s beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Big Boss Vikram... So... this is another one of your hidden trump cards..."

At that moment, a small crystal bead rolled out from the shattered remains of the locust’s head. It bounced across the broken concrete several times before slowly rolling all the way to Vikram’s feet.

Vikram glanced at the bead, bent down calmly, and picked it up.

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