-621!

*Chi-la!*

Accompanied by the sound of a short dagger slicing through flesh, the grotesque right palm was severed and fell to the ground!

However, Hua Wu Ye did not press the attack. Instead, she kicked the grotesque away and retreated rapidly with Lin Ling.

The surrounding people immediately rushed to cover them, forming a human wall to conceal their movements. The ground around them was littered with the corpses of the guard squad.

Previously, they had used their lives to protect the two captains, buying them time to catch their breath.

Fortunately, this time, the grotesque didn't rush to attack. Instead, it seemed stunned for a moment, looking down at its severed hand for a long while before slowly opening its mouth and letting out a ferocious roar.

Under the firelight, many people saw the grotesque's appearance clearly for the first time.

It was none other than… Xiao Yu, Chen Madame’s personal maid from the Chen manor!

"It's her!"

"Someone from the Chen manor?!"

"I've been wondering why Captain Chen hasn't come to support us. It seems something has happened at the Chen manor!"

Amidst the whispers, Lin Ling and Hua Wu Ye moved separately under the protection of the human wall.

Lin Ling crouched low, painfully taking out a medicine bottle and swallowing the last few black pills.

Then, he took out other small medicine bottles, poured the pills into his palm, and gulped them down.

As he swallowed the pills, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his face contorted in pain, as if he were enduring something.

The black pills from before were precious medicines for restoring internal energy.

The other bottles and jars contained inferior pills for rapidly restoring blood and qi.

The quality was poor, they contained medicinal toxins, and they were harmful to his health. However, they were the best pills that Gu Yue Village could provide.

While the blood and qi restoring medicines were manageable, even Lin Ling didn't have many of the internal energy restoring medicines. They were extremely precious.

He usually saved them sparingly, reluctant to use them. But today, he used them all in this battle, which made Lin Ling furious, wishing he could tear that grotesque maid apart.

But alas, his strength was inferior. Without Hua Wu Ye’s cooperation, he would have been killed by the grotesque earlier!

*Dong!*

As Lin Ling endured the pain of restoring his internal energy and injuries, a loud sound suddenly came from the direction of the earth core.

Lin Ling's face changed, and then he heard exclamations from the crowd.

"It's destroying the earth core!"

"Charge! Don't let the grotesque succeed!"

"Protect Gu Yue Village!!"

In Lin Ling's sight, the villagers and members of the guard squad surged toward the earth core in a dark mass.

However, those at the front were quickly swept away by the grotesque's monstrous strength, falling heavily to the ground and ceasing to breathe after struggling a few times.

Lin Ling could see clearly that each time the grotesque maid raised her hand, she could sweep away several people, and each time she charged into the crowd, she could take more than a dozen lives.

In the face of the grotesque's terrifying strength, human lives were like grass.

Watching familiar villagers die screaming one by one, Lin Ling's eyes turned red.

"Beast!"

Unable to wait for the signal from Hua Wu Ye, he bent his legs and pushed off the ground, jumping out from the crowd with a bang, leaping high into the air.

"Spear!"

He shouted sharply in mid-air, and a nearby vice-captain, who already knew what to do, immediately threw the spear in his hand toward Lin Ling.

The iron spear flew toward him, and Lin Ling grabbed it firmly. In mid-air, he circulated all the internal energy he had just recovered, pointed the spear at the grotesque, and thrust it straight down.

"Yunlong Zai Tian (Cloud Dragon Ascends to Heaven)!"

*Peng!*

Internal energy flowed through the spear shaft, suddenly erupting in a powerful burst of air, forming a terrifying force.

Lin Ling transformed into an afterimage in a flash, swooping down toward the grotesque maid on the ground.

"No!"

Hua Wu Ye, hiding in the crowd, saw this scene, her face instantly paled, and she cried out.

This scream attracted the attention of others, as well as the attention of the grotesque.

But just as the grotesque raised its head… the spear arrived!

*Peng!!*

The sharp spearhead pierced straight toward the grotesque's forehead, but it felt as if it had struck a hard rock, encountering terrible resistance. Lin Ling in mid-air seemed to pause for a moment.

But in the next moment, Lin Ling's forehead veins bulged as he let out a desperate roar.

"Stab it through for me!!"

Internal energy was unleashed, and strength surged forth.

As the metal spearhead at the very tip of the spear was compressed into a pancake shape, the spear *chi-la* pierced through the grotesque's scalp, penetrated the grotesque's skull, and shot out from the forehead, stabbing hard into the ground.

*Peng!!*

With a loud bang, the floor cracked, blasting out a circular pit, and the grotesque was firmly pinned in place.

Only then did a huge, critical-hit-like, blood-red number slowly float up from the grotesque’s forehead.

-1351!

The scene fell silent, everyone watching this scene in shock, their thoughts fluctuating.

However, before they could express their emotions, they all turned to expressions of horror and despair.

They saw the maid grotesque, pinned to the spot, head lowered and motionless, suddenly raise her hand and directly choke Lin Ling, who was already exhausted.

"The grotesque is still alive?!"

"Captain Lin is in danger!!"

Amid the cries of alarm, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows, appearing directly behind the grotesque.

As if sensing something, the grotesque maid with the severed hand suddenly turned around and swung her stump around.

The figure ducked low, feeling the whistling wind that almost grazed her face.

She reached around with both arms and hugged the grotesque maid’s stump hand, her feet locking around the grotesque maid’s neck.

With a cracking sound, a joint lock forced the grotesque maid into a kneeling position. Then, like a madwoman, she stabbed her dagger wildly at the grotesque maid's neck.

"Let him go!!"

-211!

-522!

-321!

-386!

As a series of numbers popped up on her head, the grotesque maid seemed to be completely enraged. She threw away Lin Ling, whom she had been choking, slapped the floor with her single hand, and suddenly went from kneeling to standing. She grabbed Hua Wu Ye, who was wrapped around her neck, and slammed her fist hard into her chest.

*Peng!*

As the ground cracked, Hua Wu Ye's chest caved in instantly, her bones shattered, her limbs stiffened, her eyes rolled back, and blood gushed from her mouth.

"Stupid woman!!"

Lin Ling, who had no strength left, stared wide-eyed, shouting in his heart.

The grotesque, after delivering that punch, did not stop. It jumped forward, chasing after Lin Ling in mid-air, and kicked him in the stomach.

-151!

Intense pain spread from his stomach to his entire body. Lin Ling coughed up blood in mid-air, and with a *swoosh*, he crashed into the crowd, causing chaos.

When the grotesque landed, she charged directly toward Lin Ling's landing spot.

The crowd formed a human wall, but the grotesque swatted them away like flies with a wave of her hand.

After only a few moves, she reached the dying Lin Ling and slammed her fist down on his head.

Everyone screamed and closed their eyes, unable to bear to watch such a cruel scene.

*Peng!!!*

A loud bang echoed through the night sky, and then the entire scene fell silent.

The crowd opened their eyes in terror, only to see that Lin Ling was still alive, lying on the ground, his head not shattered into pieces. He stared wide-eyed, looking up in shock.

Above his head, two fists were trembling, colliding fiercely against each other, struggling for dominance.

The fist that was slamming down was the grotesque maid's.

The one in an uppercut position, slamming against the fist and protecting Captain Lin, was… Fang Yue!

As if sensing the grotesque’s ferocious gaze, Fang Yue smiled slightly.

"Little missy with a hole in her head, don't get so angry."