OPTC Chapter 264 A Mere Cat Dares to Steal From Me?
Golden light burst across the battlefield as Artoria's silver armor and blue skirt shimmered. Her sword swung in wide arcs, each slash sending blades of golden energy slicing through the air. Beasts fell in waves before her.
Rui Meng Meng, wielding a black alloy sword, charged into the thick of the beast horde, testing the limits of her new strength. Every swing left craters in the ground, her reckless energy screaming one word across her forehead — brute.
Zhang Da Ye noted mentally that he'd need to remind her later: a skilled assassin shouldn't suddenly turn into a berserker. Her power would be far more effective focused on precision strikes rather than raw destruction.
Brook darted through the chaos with ghostly agility, his rapier concealed within his cane flashing as it struck vital points. For someone who had just said he wasn't good against large beasts, anything under ten meters probably didn't count as large to him.
Zhang Da Ye, thanks to his well-rounded training, fought with a flexible style that adapted to his opponents — speed against power types, strength against agile ones. Against hybrids, he managed to outperform them in both.
When danger loomed, he blocked with a streetlamp in his left hand and countered swiftly with his sword in his right. His past "dual-wielding kitchen utensils" practice — frying pan in one hand, folding chair in the other — had clearly paid off.
As the number of fallen beasts grew, so did his mastery of the blade. The shattered bones, horns, and claws scattered at his feet only heightened his battle sense.
"Would love to try this with a chain next time," Zhang Da Ye muttered, ducking beneath a massive jaw and cleaving through its teeth. "That's it. That's the feeling. Again!"
Looking at the sea of claws and fangs before him, he grinned. "Come on, fellas. Let's see if I've improved today."
While he and the others handled themselves smoothly, Ye Yan was having a harder time. Six of his eight flag spirits were still on their way back. His Soul Suppression Hammer had short range, and the Soul Gong risked friendly fire — neither was ideal here.
The only two flags he still had active, Old Horse Five and Golden Peng, were more support-type than combat. After knocking out two beasts with his hammer, Ye Yan decided it was wiser to have Golden Peng carry him up into the air.
Looking down at the beasts leaping up to reach him, he extended his hand and shouted,
"Summon: Chaos Beast!"
A round, hulking creature crashed down from above, flattening several beasts beneath its weight. Despite Ye Yan's earlier antics that morning, the Chaos Beast still followed orders loyally when summoned to battle.
"Roll, Chaos Beast!" Ye Yan commanded.
The creature obediently rolled forward like a living boulder, crushing and scattering beasts by the dozens — a move clearly inspired by Ye Yan's last bowling session.
The beasts tried to fight back, but their fangs and claws barely made a dent in the creature's hide — at best, shrinking it by an almost invisible fraction.
"Now let's show them the power of the Super Shark Giant!" Shark Chili shouted.
Towering over the battlefield, the Shark Giant was a colossus among monsters. Each swing of its massive fists and feet sent beasts flying like rag dolls. Even their strongest horns could only leave faint dents on its metal legs.
Numbers meant nothing if you couldn't even scratch your opponent — and coordination was out of the question.
Their leader, the gorilla Scarlado, was busy chasing a cat around like a lunatic. Not only did he fail to give any orders, but he also kept smashing his own allies in the process.
Tom darted nimbly between obstacles and stomping feet, racing from one end of the field to the other while Scarlado rampaged behind him — shoving aside beasts, toppling obstacles, eyes bloodshot with rage as he fixated on the cat that had ruined his hairstyle and mocked him.
The result? Their chaotic chase carved a series of perfect lines, curves, and waves across the battlefield — with Scarlado knocking out one beast after another along the way.
By the time they were done, Tom hadn't scored a single assist, while Scarlado had accidentally wiped out dozens of his own troops.
Finally, Tom decided he'd had enough running. He raised his hand in a "timeout" gesture.
Scarlado instinctively skidded to a stop, his feet scraping twin trails in the dirt before tripping on a rock and sliding face-first until his huge head stopped right in front of Tom.
Tom tugged at the white glove on his left hand with his right, intending to throw it down as a challenge.
But the glove didn't come off. His hand slipped — and he ended up slapping Scarlado across the face.
Scarlado's expression darkened with fury. Tom chuckled awkwardly, took a few steps back, and raised his fists like a boxer — hoping the gesture would be understood.
It was. Scarlado pounded his chest and laughed mockingly in a disturbingly human way.
Tom looked up at the towering gorilla and briefly considered running again — but then remembered Zhang Da Ye's advice: "Guns, cannons, bombs — whatever works."
So he pulled out a black bomb, lit the fuse, and threw it at Scarlado.
Scarlado caught it easily, then realized what it was when he saw the sizzling fuse — and immediately threw it back.
Tom caught it in a panic and hurled it right back again.
Scarlado, equally frantic, caught it and stepped forward, shoving it into Tom's arms.
Tom quickly stuffed it back into Scarlado's hands.
The two of them passed it back and forth like they were playing hot potato — or perhaps a very deadly game of catch.
Then, a lightbulb went off in Tom's head. He snatched the bomb from Scarlado's grasp and made a taunting face.
Scarlado's temper exploded. A mere cat dares to steal from me?! He ripped the bomb back furiously.
Tom grabbed it again. Scarlado seized it once more.
Finally, as the fuse burned down to its end, Tom feigned defeat and slunk away in mock surrender.
Scarlado triumphantly lifted the bomb above his head, admiring his "spoils of war."
Then — boom!
The explosion echoed across the island like thunder. The ground shook violently.
Scarlado, now charred black from head to toe, collapsed to the ground. A puff of black smoke escaped his mouth as his last thoughts flickered hazily:
Who am I? Where am I? What was I… doing again?
Tom dusted off his paws, feeling very pleased with himself.
The massive explosion caught everyone's attention. The remaining beasts, now leaderless, trembled in fear.
Their boss was down — should they avenge him or run?
After a quick moment of collective thought, they decided their bond wasn't that deep. Maybe it was the Golden Lion's incomplete drug formula, but they still had enough reason left to choose wisely — and fled in all directions.
Zhang Da Ye and the others didn't bother chasing them. There was no real grudge, and besides — someone far more dangerous had arrived.
A shadow fell over them. A man descended from above, golden mane flowing in the wind, a broken helm embedded in his head, and blades where his legs should've been.
It was the Golden Lion himself.
"You've really made a mess of things, haven't you, brats?"
Zhang Da Ye tensed, the battle just about to turn again.
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