# Chapter 357: Suppression

Blood of Machinery headquarters.

A single collision between Lu Yuan and the King of Flesh shattered the spatial distortions in the void, exposing the terrifying storms of space beneath.

Both were thrown back by the recoil. Everywhere they passed, space itself crumbled inch by inch.

Cracks spider-webbed across Lu Yuan's arms from the impact—but in an instant, bronze grains of sand spiraled and time reversed, restoring them to their uninjured state.

Far across the battlefield, the King of Flesh's blade-arms bore similar fractures. His exposed musculature writhed, and within a heartbeat the cracks vanished, the blades whole once more.

Lu Yuan raised his gaze and peered through the spatial storm at the King of Flesh. He was operating at full power now—Cosmic Body, Life Spirit, Heart of Light, and Wheel of Fate all running simultaneously.

Under their combined influence, his pupils had turned a crystalline, glass-like hue—an eerie, otherworldly sight.

His gaze sharpened. The moment he locked onto the King of Flesh, his body vanished.

Spatial Rift.

Lu Yuan merged with space itself. Even the raging spatial storms couldn't hinder him.

In a flash, he appeared behind the King of Flesh.

A pale gray scythe materialized above the creature's head while Lu Yuan's greatsword, blazing with stellar and radiant power, cleaved downward.

The King of Flesh snarled. Green flames erupted across his body—a devastating conflagration laced with Corruption—and exploded outward in every direction.

The Wheel of Fate warned of extreme danger. Streaks of light danced through Lu Yuan's pupils, and he vanished, teleporting backward in an instant.

But the pale scythe ignored the green flames entirely and struck the King of Flesh dead-on.

The creature's body seized. The flames wreathing him snuffed out in an instant.

The Scythe of Death had killed the Aberration fire.

Seizing the opening, Lu Yuan flickered back into close range, greatsword sweeping horizontally.

A terrifying arc of sword light shattered space in its wake as it carved toward the King of Flesh.

The creature moved noticeably slower than before—a lingering effect of the Scythe of Death. Powerful as he was, even taking the Scythe's strike head-on without suffering grievous injury, the King of Flesh couldn't fully negate the debilitating effect.

That slight sluggishness was already a serious problem.

Sensing the devastating sword light bearing down on him, ferocity flickered in the King of Flesh's deep green eyes.

He growled, green streaks of energy rippling across his skinless body as he raised both arms in a cross-guard—the same defensive technique he'd used before.

The greatsword crashed into the green barrier. A shockwave rippled outward in concentric rings, spawning cosmic storms and tearing random fissures through space wherever it passed.

The green glow around the King of Flesh dimmed sharply. The blade landed on his forearms, cracking them with a web of fractures, and Radiant Fire threaded through every gap, boring into his flesh and ravaging the Aberrant body from within.

The sheer force sent the King of Flesh hurtling backward like a meteor, shooting an unfathomable distance.

Lu Yuan didn't hesitate for even a breath. He vanished again.

He reappeared behind the King of Flesh and swung the greatsword once more.

Just then, he noticed that the creature's legs had separated from his body at some point.

His precognition revealed it: two blades of flesh formed from those severed legs lurked hidden in the void, slicing toward him.

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes. His greatsword didn't waver—it continued its arc toward the King of Flesh—while flowing light blazed in his gaze.

The King of Flesh grinned savagely.

Then his grin froze.

The flesh blades had stopped dead, frozen in midair for no apparent reason.

Fantasy Manifestation—Illusion.

Lu Yuan had used Fantasy Manifestation to trap the flesh blades in an illusory world.

The technique drew on his battle against the Mirage Dragon. At his current level, he could only freeze the flesh blades for a single instant—but an instant was enough.

"What?!"

Shock flashed through the King of Flesh's deep green eyes—and then the greatsword slammed into his emerald barrier.

**Boom!!**

The second impact was too much. The already-dimmed barrier shattered, and the greatsword smashed into the King of Flesh's chest.

**Hiss!!**

Stellar power and radiant force poured into the wound with devastating ferocity.

A gruesome fissure split his chest wide open.

His body was blasted backward once again.

By the time the flesh blades seemed to "wake up" and resumed their attack, Lu Yuan had already vanished, using Spatial Rift to pursue the King of Flesh.

Once he had the upper hand, Lu Yuan never gave an opponent room to breathe.

He materialized at the creature's flank and brought the greatsword crashing down.

The wound on the King of Flesh's chest writhed, struggling to expel the Radiant Fire embedded within. Stellar power barely affected him, but Radiant Fire was another matter entirely.

Even his normally extraordinary regeneration couldn't keep up.

Under Lu Yuan's relentless pressure, savagery twisted the King of Flesh's deep green eyes. His arms morphed into twin long blades—and rather than defending, he slashed straight at Lu Yuan's head.

Green fire blazed along the edges of both blades.

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed.

The King of Flesh knew his own defenses and regeneration were exceptional. He was betting on a mutual exchange of wounds.

With the Corruption effect of Aberration fire, even Lu Yuan couldn't afford to let it touch him.

Sensing the horrific Aberration fire closing in, Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, cascading light flowing through his gaze.

Spatial Rift—within arm's reach, yet worlds apart.

Lu Yuan warped the distance between himself and the Aberration fire into infinity.

The green flames hung mere millimeters from his skin, close enough to seem as though they could make contact at any moment—yet they never truly reached him.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan drove forward with devastating sword light, cleaving toward the King of Flesh's head.

The King of Flesh stiffened when he realized his attack had been neutralized. He wrenched his body sideways, trying to dodge.

He saved his head. The blade landed on his shoulder instead.

Green blood erupted outward. His shoulder was nearly torn clean through, a horrific gash laid open to the bone.

"AAAGH!!"

Radiant Fire seared the wound, ripping a roar of fury from the creature.

Aberration flames surged across his entire body, their intensity warping the surrounding space.

The Wheel of Fate warned Lu Yuan that the flames were about to breach the infinite-distance barrier. He abandoned his follow-up without hesitation and vanished.

The instant he disappeared, green fire exploded outward, shredding the spatial barrier and flooding forward to engulf the spot where he'd stood a heartbeat before.

But Lu Yuan had already reappeared behind the King of Flesh, greatsword descending once more.

**Boom!!**

A savage wound tore open across the creature's back, and his body was sent hurtling away yet again.

Lu Yuan's gaze was ice-cold. He pressed his advantage without relent.

In the distance, Garton, Kro, and a host of Battle Saint and Battle Emperor-ranked Blood of Machinery members watched the battlefield—watched Lu Yuan systematically suppressing the King of Flesh—and fell into stunned silence.

Every mechanical eye among them flickered rapidly, disbelief written across their faces.

After a long, heavy pause, Garton murmured:

"This is impossible... How could My Lord be losing?! How can a human this powerful even exist?!"

Kro was equally shaken. Hearing Garton snapped him back to the present. "What do we do?!" he blurted. "Should we go help?!"

Garton collected himself. "Yes!"

At that exact moment, a stray shockwave swept toward them. Both Kro and Garton choked, expending considerable effort just to block the residual force.

The Battle Emperor and Battle Saint-ranked Blood of Machinery members nearby fared far worse—blown away entirely. Some of the Battle Emperors were critically wounded on the spot.

Garton: "..."

Kro: "..."

The two stiffened, exchanging helpless glances.

They couldn't even get close to a fight like this. How were they supposed to help?

In another sector, Adela—a Battle Saint of Mechanical Heart—tore through space and emerged less than ten light-years from the battlefield.

The moment he stepped out of the spatial tear, residual shockwaves struck him. Before he could even react, he was sent tumbling backward.

Sparks crackled across his body. He'd already sustained minor injuries.

*What in the...?!*

Ice flooded Adela's circuits. At this distance, mere aftershocks had wounded him. What kind of monsters were fighting out there?

He retreated hastily, eyes locked on the battlefield as he went.

At Battle Saint level, his vision was exceptional. Even across a gap of nearly ten light-years, the combat was perfectly clear.

Before long, he made out a human and a bizarre, skinless creature locked in battle.

The human wielded a greatsword. One glance at the sword light radiating from it sent a chill crawling down Adela's spine.

He had absolutely no doubt: just the shockwaves from that blade would be enough to kill him outright—the sword wouldn't even need to touch him.

And right now, that human was raining blow after blow upon the creature.

Yet even sword light that terrifying could only carve wound after wound into the thing's body. Despite being covered head to toe in gashes, the monster's flesh continued regenerating stubbornly. It still hadn't died.

Adela's mind went blank.

*What kind of monstrous defense is that? What kind of regeneration?!*

*It can withstand sword light like that?!*

In just the span of a single moment, he watched a dense flurry of strikes land on the creature—and it still lived?!

*But... that human should be one of the reinforcements, right?*

*I need to notify Lord Mados and the others!*

*Get their assessment!*

Determination flashed in Adela's eyes. He immediately produced his communicator, preparing to contact Mados and the other War Gods.