"Hao Te, don't worry about me—kill them first!" Oscar shouted calmly, halting his advance and retreating rapidly instead.
Under normal circumstances, this was an exceptionally unwise move. The closer he stayed to Hao Te, the more readily Hao Te could protect him, yet he was deliberately widening the gap between them, placing himself squarely in harm's way.
A Food-Type Soul Emperor facing off against two Agility Attack Soul Emperors—in anyone's eyes, this was a grossly lopsided confrontation. Both Agility Attack Soul Masters had their eyes locked on the Zhuge Divine Crossbow in Oscar's hand. After all, the impression it had left on them moments ago was searing. A weapon capable of annihilating three Soul Masters in the blink of an eye was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
Playing it safe, both Soul Emperors activated defensive soul skills and closed in on Oscar at extraordinary speed. In their estimation, all Oscar could rely on was the crossbow in his hand. As for the Excitement Pink Sausage he had just eaten, it could at best give his speed a marginal boost.
But they had underestimated Oscar. A Food-Type Soul Master who had survived five years in the chaotic Frost Forest had not done so on luck alone. Oscar had never truly revealed his strength in front of others, but now was not the time for restraint.
His body sprang upward and he bolted to the side at full sprint. The explosive burst of speed startled even the two Agility Attack Soul Masters. They could clearly feel that Oscar was running purely on physical strength—not a single soul skill in play. Yet his speed seemed almost too fast.
How could they know that Oscar, who had trained at Shrek Academy, had endured the Great Master's brutal regimen and been nourished by Tang San's immortal grass? The toughness of his body was far beyond what any ordinary Food-Type Soul Master could boast. And he had just consumed the Excitement Pink Sausage on top of that.
Of course, no matter how fast he was, he could not rival the two Agility Attack Soul Emperors before him. The distance between them closed at a dizzying pace.
Suddenly, Oscar stopped. Pivoting on his left foot, he spun his body around in a swift rotation, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow already raised in his hand.
Both Agility Attack Soul Masters possessed excellent control over their bodies. Despite having their defensive skills active, they had no desire to face that unknown weapon head-on. The two of them paused almost simultaneously and slipped past him from either side, denying him the chance to lock on. The one who was closer had already closed to striking distance along the ground, bony spurs shooting from between his knuckles as he thrust toward Oscar's lower abdomen.
A cold smirk crossed Oscar's face. The muscles in his legs tensed in an instant.
With a sharp clanging sound, six crossbow bolts shot simultaneously from the outer sides of his thighs.
Hidden Weapons relied on surprise above all else. With the Zhuge Divine Crossbow raised high, the Agility Attack Soul Master would never have expected an attack from his thigh area. In his haste, he could not follow through with his strike against Oscar—he did not know the bolts' destructive power. He slammed both palms against the ground, forcibly redirecting his forward momentum, and flipped backward at breakneck speed.
Even so, he only dodged three of the bolts. The remaining three hammered into his defensive soul skill, producing a string of explosive cracks.
This Agility Attack Soul Emperor was no ordinary fighter. Still airborne, his fourth soul ring lit up, and a pair of invisible wings materialized behind his back. They were not strong enough for true flight, but changing direction in midair was well within their capability. He pivoted sharply in the air and was now positioned directly above Oscar's head. Hatred burned in his eyes as both hands clawed downward toward Oscar's skull.
The other Soul Emperor was cutting in from the flank, now only five meters away. Without question, this should have been a death trap for Oscar.
But in that instant, Oscar performed two baffling moves. He transferred the Zhuge Divine Crossbow to his left hand, thrust his right hand upward to block the clawing palms descending on his head, and simultaneously stamped his right foot hard against the ground. In a flash, all six of his soul rings flared to life at once, each shifting to an eerie shade of grey.
What followed left both Soul Emperors completely stunned. Oscar's upraised right hand swelled without warning—at least tripling in size. The entire palm was covered in a layer of snow-white fur, solid and heavy, as it seized the descending palms of the airborne Soul Emperor. A tremendous force surged outward, and the Soul Emperor felt a searing pain shoot through his wrists, his entire body going numb for a brief moment.
Meanwhile, Oscar's right foot struck the ground, unleashing a powerful shockwave that radiated outward with devastating force. The Soul Emperor flanking from the side stiffened abruptly, his body carried forward only by inertia toward Oscar as his prepared soul skill was forcibly interrupted.
"Goodbye." The icy word slipped from Oscar's lips. He ducked his head swiftly, pulling his right hand downward. A thick crossbow bolt erupted from the nape of his neck in a straight line, piercing deep into the throat of the Soul Emperor still hanging in the air. At the same time, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow in his left hand once again spat forth a ray of death.