Chapter 137: козел

The cold wind from Lake Toya, carrying fine snow, swept across the empty streets.

There, Sledgehammer stood like an iron tower, motionless beneath the shadow of the G8 Building’s entrance pillars.

His gaze was sharp, locking onto the door through the slit of his sunglasses.

Truffle’s warning still echoed in his ears.

Han Tan?

A cruel arc curled at Sledgehammer’s lips.

Danger?

He loved nothing more than crushing dangerous things.

Captain Samusa had taken the others to Nakajima.

His mission was to pin down this spot and eliminate anyone who tried to interfere or track them.

Time ticked by.

The entrance remained silent, with only the howling wind.

Sledgehammer’s patience was slowly eroding.

Was it…a bit too quiet? Even the sounds inside the building had faded.

Just as he considered whether to enter and search, a gray-haired, red-eyed girl walked out the front door.

“Are you trying to rescue someone from the prison?”

The girl asked loudly in English, leaning on one hip as if it were the most ordinary greeting.

Sledgehammer raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a grin.

In clumsy English, he replied, “No, I’m here to kill you.”

“Oh. Okay. E”

So even the last shred of misunderstanding was gone.

A killing intent flickered in Jiang Jian Yue’s heart.

Bang——

Suddenly, a window by the side corridor exploded.

A medical mannequin, tangled in curtains and wearing a bomb vest stuffed with detonators, leaped out.

“Su-ka Bliat!”

Sledgehammer’s pupils contracted as he roared.

His reaction was instant—the moment the mannequin crashed through the window, his powerful body burst with strength, and he sprang back.

At the same time, he kicked up a waterproof cloth-wrapped object from underfoot, catching it precisely in his hand.

But it was still too late.

Boom——🤯

A deafening explosion tore through the tranquility of Lake Toya’s shore.

Flames shot skyward, a violent shockwave carrying countless deadly steel beads and fragments swept through like the scythe of death.

Nearby glass shattered instantly, pillars were pitted, and snow vaporized under the heat, rising in a great white mist.

At the explosion’s center, the mannequin was already obliterated.

Sledgehammer’s figure was flung, rolling through fire and wind, smashing heavily into another thick stone pillar behind him with a dull crash.

Smoke filled the air, and the stench of gunpowder stung the nose.

Jiang Jian Yue lowered the hand shielding her face as hot fragments rolled from her body.

Expressionless, she gazed at the distant smoke and dust.

On the third floor, Black Mamba, looking slightly pale, stood by a shattered window, surveying the scene below.

“Target…alive.”

Pressing his earpiece, he reported in a low voice tinged with disbelief.

A bomb vest at that range should shake even a tank’s occupants senseless, yet the target was still moving?

The smoke thinned.

Sledgehammer staggered to his feet.

His clothes were shredded by the blast, skin exposed and marked by burns and steel beads—yet the flesh rippled with a dark bluish tint, as if the explosion hadn’t penetrated.

His sunglasses were gone, revealing bloodshot, violent blue eyes.

A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth—clearly, his insides were rattled.

But he stood.

And in his grasp, freed from the waterproof cloth, was a weapon—a ferocious-looking long staff!

Its shaft was dark, crisscrossed with dense cooling grooves.

The tip was not a traditional spike, but a triple-edged, spiral armor-piercing trident, gleaming with cold metallic light.

At the end, an energy interface glowed faintly orange.

“Lightly injured.”

Jiang Jian Yue’s red eyes narrowed as she muttered.

She hadn’t expected the explosives in her Storage Space to only achieve this much.

The enemy’s physical resilience far exceeded expectations.

“Roar——!!!”

Sledgehammer let out a wounded beast’s roar, stomping the ground so hard that tiles shattered beneath his feet.

Is it too late to regret and run?

As Jiang Jian Yue hesitated, Yuki Asahi leaped through a broken window, landing below.

His movements were swift and light, like a hawk striking prey, lunging straight at the raging Sledgehammer.

“Yue! Gō!”

Don’t shout my name during battle! It’s embarrassing!

Jiang Jian Yue, steaming, covered her flushed cheeks.

Her arms mutated in an instant—something writhed beneath her skin, and chitinous carapace burst through her sleeves, covering her forearms with layered scales that swiftly extended and reshaped.

Whoosh——

A beautifully curved bone Insect Blade shot from her forearm.

She kicked off the cracked tiles and charged straight at Sledgehammer.

Fwoosh—

Jiang Jian Yue dodged the swinging staff, ducking low to slash at Sledgehammer’s abdomen—short people have their own advantages!

At the same moment, Yuki Asahi’s Supersonic Punch crashed into the back of Sledgehammer’s head.

Bang!

Even as she brushed past, Jiang Jian Yue felt the air rip and vibrate through her body.

Such impressive stats.

Ow, that hurts a bit.

She looked down at her arm, then shook the Insect Blade, now snapped and barely attached, from her hand.

She spun around to see Yuki Asahi kneeling, clutching his striking arm, trembling.

Sledgehammer remained standing, merely rubbing the back of his head as he slowly turned.

What a monster.

Yuki Asahi, undeterred by a failed attack, charged again, fist driving into Sledgehammer’s chest.

But the bluish-black skin thickened instantly at the impact, as immovable as a mountain.

Armament Haki? Or nanomachines?

“KO3e ba (Stubborn Mule)…”

Sledgehammer seemed less annoyed, reaching out to grip Yuki Asahi’s neck, lifting him high.

“You two brats have made quite a mess of me…”

Staring into Yuki Asahi’s furious golden eyes, Sledgehammer savored the sight.

As for the other brat…

Hmm?

Where—

Suddenly, Sledgehammer’s body stiffened.

He felt something rod-shaped thrust into his backdoor.

Then—boom!

A violent explosion erupted at his rear.

His grip on Yuki Asahi loosened as he staggered, looking down at his now bloodied and ruined crotch.

He’d protected his rear but hadn’t watched the basket.

Not far behind him, Jiang Jian Yue crouched, claws formed from Insect Blade glinting.

She deactivated the Invisibility Wristwatch strapped to her leg.

Anything to save a bit of energy.

Her transformed arms couldn’t wear the wristwatch, but fortunately, the strap was quite flexible.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Sledgehammer let out a piercing scream—a lament for his lost basket.

At the same time, his bluish-black skin flowed like liquid, covering his body.

He shifted from Central Asian to African in appearance.

Sledgehammer whipped around, bloodshot eyes locking onto Jiang Jian Yue.

Why look at me? The invisible one did it, and I wasn’t invisible.

“TblyMpeub! CYKA! (You’re dead! **!)”

His roar, rough with Slavic rage, echoed.

He ignored the fallen Yuki Asahi, focusing all his killing intent on Jiang Jian Yue.

The menacing triple-edged trident spun in his grip.

The energy interface at its end flared with orange light, emitting a low hum.

His massive frame exploded with terrifying speed, charging like a berserk battering ram toward Jiang Jian Yue.

Jiang Jian Yue’s red eyes contracted.

His speed was far beyond expectation.

She kicked off the ground, the fractured tiles sinking beneath her, body darting back.

At the same time, her Insect Blades regenerated rapidly.

She dared not take that energy-amplified trident head-on.

Only her small size and agility let her weave between the frenzied attacks.

Whoosh——

The trident screamed through the air.

Jiang Jian Yue ducked just in time, the wind scraping painfully across her cheek.

She rolled, Insect Blade sparking against the floor, aiming for Sledgehammer’s ankle joint—a spot where the bluish-black coverage seemed thinnest.

Clang!

Her blade struck, only leaving a shallow white mark.

Sledgehammer’s foot came crashing down in a powerful stomp.

Jiang Jian Yue rolled aside, barely dodging as the ground shattered into a web of cracks where she’d been.

“Senpai!”

Yuki Asahi gritted his teeth through arm-wrenching pain, struggling to his feet.

He drew a deep breath, ignoring his arm’s protests, and charged at Sledgehammer from the side with a roar.

“Get lost!”

Sledgehammer didn’t even look back, swinging the staff in a wide arc.

Yuki Asahi’s pupils shrank.

He twisted, left fist turning to a palm, trying to parry.

Bang!

A heavy impact crashed.

Yuki Asahi grunted as the force hurled him across the plaza, slamming into the G8 Building’s outer wall.

The structure trembled, stones raining down.

He tasted blood, feeling it drip from his lips, his left arm throbbing with pain.

“Yuki!〞

Jiang Jian Yue’s heart clenched.

In that instant of distraction, Sledgehammer’s trident drove straight at her chest.

Its triple-spiral tip glinted with deadly light.

No escape!

At the edge of life and death, determination flashed in Jiang Jian Yue’s eyes.

Instead of retreating, she lunged forward, twisting her body at an impossible angle to let the tip graze her ribs—sharp edges tearing coat and skin, drawing a trail of blood.

Pain flared, but she pressed in close.

Jiang Jian Yue’s crossed Insect Blades slashed toward Sledgehammer’s neck like giant scissors.

It was the only weak point she could reach.

Squelch!

Her blades bit deep into the bluish-black “skin.”

Yet the expected decapitation didn’t happen.

Her blades sank only an inch, stuck in what felt like tough, rubbery glue.

Sledgehammer’s muscles writhed, clamping down and trapping her weapons.

“Got you!”

He grinned savagely, left hand reaching for Jiang Jian Yue’s head like an iron vice.

That hand could crush her skull.

Jiang Jian Yue’s eyes widened in panic, struggling to pull free, but her blades wouldn’t budge.

Just then—