Chapter 352: The Core, Slaying the Great Swarm

Chapter 352: Chapter 352: The Core, Slaying the Great Swarm

Seraphina Sullivan felt that even Sean Chandler’s [Monster Power] Talent was likely no match for this [Titan Power].

Previously, a Player squad, confident in their superior firepower, had tried to "clean up" this unstable bystander.

They had strafed Solomon Ennis with heavy machine guns.

But the bullets hitting him were like striking super-alloy.

They sent sparks flying but failed to even graze his skin!

To him, the bites of ordinary zombies were nothing more than a tickle.

Upon hearing Julian Shaw’s taunt,

Solomon Ennis’s expression darkened, and a brutal glint flashed in his eyes. "Hmph! You’re like a frog in a well. Do you think I’m as useless as you?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he let out a low roar.

His muscles suddenly bulged, and his bones popped and cracked as his entire body rapidly expanded as if being inflated!

He activated his [Titan Power] at full strength.

Instantly transforming into his Titan Giant form!

In the blink of an eye, a "lesser giant" nearly ten meters tall appeared before them. His muscles bulged like granite, and his skin gleamed with a metallic luster.

The intimidating pressure from his sheer size momentarily rivaled that of the ever-growing [Large Group·Aggregation]!

"Shatter for me!"

The Titan-form Solomon Ennis bellowed.

His enormous fist shrieked as it tore through the air, slamming viciously into the part of the Aggregation that could barely be called a "head"—a mass cobbled together from countless skulls!

THUD—!!!

An incredibly deep, muffled boom!

The Aggregation’s massive "head" was sent flying from its body by that single punch.

It shot off like a cannonball and smashed through half of a distant Wall!

Hiss...

Many Players gasped at the sight of this incredibly ferocious blow.

’That Power is insane!’

However, in the end, Solomon Ennis’s attack met the same fate as Dustin Sullivan’s.

The headless body of the Aggregation merely swayed.

The shrieking from its core didn’t stop for a second.

The surrounding zombies swarmed even more frantically toward the severed neck. In the blink of an eye, the outline of a new, more twisted "head" began to take shape.

"Hahaha! What’s the use of knocking its head off? It just grew right back!"

Julian Shaw seized the opportunity to taunt him.

"Seems you’re all brawn and no brains, big guy!"

Solomon Ennis’s face turned black as soot, and murderous intent flared in his eyes.

But more than that, he was furious at being toyed with by the "rules" of the fight.

"Its core!"

Seraphina Sullivan’s calm voice cut through, pointing out the crucial detail.

"Unless we destroy its core, attacking any other part of its body is a waste of effort. The ordinary zombies are an endless supply of material for it. It can use them to recover from its injuries instantly."

"Where is the core?"

Dustin Sullivan immediately pressed, his gaze sweeping over the Aggregation’s constantly writhing and shifting body as he tried to find an unusual Energy node.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t answer right away.

She raised the [Universal Sniper Rifle] in her hands again. Instead of aiming at the massive body, she made a slight adjustment to the muzzle.

Instead, she locked onto a specific location where the Energy reaction was the most concentrated and unusual.

It was in the upper-left of the Aggregation’s chest, an area protected by dense layers of zombie torsos.

Skill switched—[Flame Continuous Punch]!

But this time, the Flame Energy was highly compressed and molded, transformed into a special type of ammunition with greater penetrating and explosive Power: the [Fire Bomb]!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Without the slightest hesitation, Seraphina pulled the trigger.

A volley of [Fire Bomb]s, enhanced by her [Continuous Shooting] Skill, precisely struck the same tiny area on the Aggregation’s chest!

The first shot blew away the outer layer of mangled corpses!

The second shot tore through the deeper layer of twisted limbs!

The third shot struck some kind of hard barrier!

The fourth shot was accompanied by a crisp sound, like shattering glass—

BOOM!

A small, violent burst of Flame erupted from that spot. Amidst the firelight and splattering chunks of flesh, a crystal sphere roughly the size of a soccer ball was revealed! It was pure black, with an inky mist swirling within it, now starkly exposed to the open air.

It trembled slightly, emitting a rapid hum. The surrounding zombies instantly went berserk, desperately trying to cover and protect it once more!

"That’s it! That’s the core!"

Trevor Tanner shouted.

At that moment, it dawned on every Player who witnessed the scene!

’So that’s how it is!’

’Attacking the body is useless.’

’We have to attack this hidden core crystal!’

"Heh, so that’s where you were hiding! Thanks for the help... my anonymous friend!"

A sharp glint flashed in Solomon Ennis’s eyes. He was relatively close to the exposed core and still in his Titan Giant form—he had a massive advantage!

With a manic laugh, his massive body surged forward. His dustpan-sized fist once again gathered terrifying Power, aimed directly at the exposed black crystal core!

"I’ll be taking this reward for myself!"

"You bastard! Trying to steal the kill?!"

Julian Shaw cursed. Dustin Sullivan also lunged with his greatsword, attempting to intercept.

However, Solomon Ennis was incredibly fast and too close. His Titan fist was already flying!

But no matter how fast his fist was, could it possibly be faster than a sniper rifle that had been poised to fire all along, its target clear from the very start?

In the split second before Solomon Ennis’s fist could touch the black crystal...

A faint, almost imperceptible trajectory of distorted Space, moving at a speed beyond the limits of sight, struck first despite being fired later!

[Space Bullet]!

There was no deafening explosion, only a soft *CRACK*, like a crystal glass shattering.

The black crystal core, the very source of the [Large Group·Aggregation]’s life and Power...

...had already silently disintegrated into a cloud of glittering dust before Solomon Ennis’s fist could land, scattering in the wind.

The core was destroyed.

The Aggregation’s massive body suddenly went rigid.

The structure of countless zombies lost the Power that held it together. It began to tremble violently and disintegrate, collapsing with a great crash like a toppled block tower.

The air filled with falling, disintegrating zombies.

Solomon Ennis’s guaranteed-kill punch hit nothing but air.

He remained frozen in his punching stance. The manic grin on his face solidified, slowly transforming into dumbfounded disbelief, then into a searing rage—the fury of being utterly played for a fool, a rage hot enough to burn through his sanity.

Seraphina Sullivan slowly lowered her still-scalding sniper rifle. A faint echo of the spatial disturbance seemed to linger around its muzzle.

She glanced at the rapidly collapsing "corpse mountain" in the distance.

She then glanced at the frozen Titan Giant, her tone nonchalant, as if she had just done something trivial.

"It seems your fist wasn’t fast enough."

Seraphina’s voice, laced with mockery, seemed to travel along the last of the dissipating spatial fluctuations:

"If you’re going to steal a kill, you should first see if you have the skill—and the speed—for it."

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it drilled into Solomon Ennis’s ears as sharp as a needle.