Chapter 63: Swarm of Worms

The group that had come from the passage to kill Gusion all froze, staring at Lu Tian's corpse.

The man holding the black blade in front of Lu Tian's body wore a smile so demonic it was suffocating, accompanied by the stench of blood.

"Fool. To attack someone as strong as Fang of Metsudo so rashly…"

Fei Wangfang, holding a spear, entered Divine Demon mode, staring at Gusion but not attacking immediately.

The four who came to kill Gusion were all The Other Tokita Niko's disciples. Originally, they should have attacked from four directions at once, but Lu Tian had rushed in before the others were in place.

Even with only three left, the advantage should still have been theirs… or so they thought.

Fei Wangfang was certain he'd been watching Gusion closely, but he hadn't even seen where the black blade came from.

If the three of them attacked unarmed Gusion with weapons, he was confident. But now that Gusion was armed too, things looked grim.

And besides, there was the supremely strong Kuroki. Even unarmed, he could easily hold off one of them.

Bang—!

The sound of the Devil Lance clashing with steel rang out. Fei Wangfang frowned as his ally, Long Min, was knocked back.

"You've disrupted my duel with Gusion. I hope you're prepared for the consequences."

Kuroki stared down Long Min. Unarmed, yet he held the advantage.

"What, not moving?"

Gusion, holding Mazuko, stepped forward with a smile.

 "Let me see your spear technique."

As if drawn by fate, Fei Wangfang found himself attacking, feeling an overwhelming pressure—if he didn't act now, he'd never have another chance.

With Divine Demon activated, a cold point shot forth, followed by a spear like a dragon!

It was a supersonic strike, his full strength and skill.

Under extreme pressure, he felt a strange clarity. After the strike, his mind relaxed. The way ahead was clear.

A point—he saw an opening in Gusion's defense for the first time!

I can do this, I'm faster!

My spear tip can pierce his throat!

In Divine Demon mode, even time seemed to slow. He watched his spear approach Gusion's vital point, saw Gusion's smile vanish, saw Gusion's face turn cold, saw… Gusion tilts his head slightly.

The spear grazed Gusion's neck, leaving a small wound.

Before Fei Wangfang could be surprised, a slicing pain from waist to chest hit him.

He'd been struck!?

When did Gusion draw his blade!?

I missed!?

How did Gusion dodge!?

In Divine Demon, his split heart burst like an overinflated balloon, a crimson flower blooming.

He fell back, raising a cloud of dust, blood gushing from his mouth, eyes fixed on Gusion as he asked, with his last breath,

 "Am I… really that weak?"

Gusion didn't look at him. He turned to Long Min, who had frozen mid-attack and touched the small wound on his neck.

 "That was a beautiful strike."

Then, with a flick, Mazuko's blade plunged into Fei Wangfang's skull, ending his pain.

Gusion stared at the trembling Long Min.

 "What, aren't you going to show me your swordplay?"

In a flash, Gusion vanished, reappearing behind Long Min. A head rolled to the ground.

Gusion flicked the blood from his blade.

 "Looks like there's no need."

He turned to take Long Min's head but found Kuroki had already stabbed the Devil Lance into Long Min's heart.

Kuroki Gensai was a martial arts master, but also a killer. This wasn't a match, but a real fight. Long Min barely resisted.

"Kuroki, let's put our duel on hold and deal with the Worm first."

Gusion rushed out of the arena. He knew Kuroki would understand—his teacher had ties to Ohkubo, and he knew about the Worm.

Gusion didn't want to waste time on small fry inside the arena. Mazuko seemed to prefer strong opponents—only killing masters gave him much growth.

More importantly, he was worried about the Kure clan. Erioh had left before the attack started. If one of the Westward faction leaders was here, a fight might have already broken out.

He didn't want to see Erioh die at Edward Wu's hands again, so he had to find him quickly.

From Lu Tian's appearance to Gusion killing all the Worms in the arena took less than a minute. The stands were chaotic, fighters barely maintaining order to protect important people.

Karura leaped onto the field to join Gusion, but was too late—she could only see his back as he rushed into the passage.

 "Gusion—!"

Gusion didn't look back, only called,

 "Stay in the arena! Don't come out!"

He knew the Worm had limits—they wouldn't attack the crowd, which included world leaders. If they did, they'd become public enemy number one and be wiped out by the world's combined forces.

From the bomb placements, it was clear—they just wanted chaos, to split the battlefield, and kill their real targets.

By this point, Hayami's plot was finished. The Worm's attack wasn't to make him chairman, but to destroy the Kengan Association!

In the original story, there were no masters like Fei Wangfang or Lu Tian invading—just small fry, easily handled by Katahara's guards and the other fighters. Hayami's rebellion was quickly crushed; he was just a clown.

But now, the Worm was making a full-scale assault. Given Gusion's strength in the tournament and the rule-breakers' support, if the Worm wasn't stupid, they'd bring their peak fighters.

How many of you came?

My Mazuko is already hungry.