Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

Zhao Hao brandished his broadsword and charged towards the remaining water demons. In an instant, limbs were severed and blood flew everywhere. It wasn't exactly like chopping melons and vegetables, but rather like butchering pigs and sheep, which didn't take much effort at all.

That is, the crab water demon and the turtle water demon could withstand three moves from him. There were also two other water demons whose species he didn't know, but they actually knew a sewage magic spell, which made Zhao Hao retreat repeatedly and feel nauseous and dizzy. They were quite troublesome!

Zhao Hao is in relatively good shape, but Guo Jiu, the old man who rushed out first, is in a bit of trouble!

Although the black fish monster was tricked by him and ate the rooster blood poison that he had prepared for nearly ten years, the difference in strength was still undeniable.

A mortal with 3 stars can fight a black iron monster with 4 stars, and that black fish monster is a very difficult type to deal with even among 4-star monsters.

Leaving aside his special features, his physique alone could easily turn Guo Jiu into mincemeat with a single move!

Although Guo Jiu looked old and thin, he was surprisingly strong and nimble. He moved swiftly and ruthlessly, and had already cut many long and deep wounds on the black fish monster's legs and abdomen.

That boning knife was truly sharp; it couldn't even stop the black scales with a single strike. Moreover, the wound was wrapped in a layer of red psionic energy, preventing it from healing and causing blood to gush out like a faucet being turned on.

But the black fish monster attacked haphazardly, flailing its legs and arms wildly in a wide-ranging assault. Guo Jiu was repeatedly left in a sorry state, his clothes tattered, covered in mud and blood. If he had failed to dodge even once, he would have been dead!

Moreover, as the black fish monster attacked, its body was constantly dripping with slime, quickly turning the surrounding area into a sticky mess. After Guo Jiu got covered in it, his movements noticeably slowed down, and the skin that had come into contact with the slime quickly turned abnormally pale.

Orange, who had been following behind the two, secretly waded into the water and killed two water demons who knew sewage magic from behind.

It was soaked to the bone, its fur completely drenched, showing that it was truly fat, not just thick-furred. It had made a huge sacrifice for victory.

Taking advantage of this time, Zhao Hao used a barrier spell to trap the hardest turtle-shell water demon and cut the rest of the water demons into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

He quickly glanced at the black fish monster's side, "Old Guo, is he not going to make it?"

However, Lao Guo was a ruthless man who could plan to exorcise demons for more than ten years. He actually risked being knocked away by the giant claw and cut off one of the black fish monster's thin legs with a single stroke!

The black fish monster's two legs were already very fragile. Although they were as thick as tree trunks, they were far too slender compared to its body. Old Guo actually managed to cut them off!

The black fish monster, lacking balance, immediately fell over. If it hadn't used the twisted bone blade in its left hand to prop itself up, it would have surely crashed into the mud.

Old Guo was swept away by a claw and flew at least five or six meters, rolling seven or eight times on the ground. He barely managed to get up, and although he didn't vomit blood, he was pale.

His tattered clothes were long gone, not only from the damage during the battle, but also from the corrosive effects of the slime.

Although it wasn't a strong acid or alkali, it was highly corrosive to objects. Coarse linen clothes would rot in just over thirty seconds, and skin would only last a little over a minute before turning pale and swollen.

Zhao Hao could see that there was very little spiritual energy in the mucus, and that the black fish's spiritual energy could corrode matter.

The black fish monster probably realized it wasn't doing well; it had lost a leg and couldn't stand, so it could only lie paralyzed. It began to open its mouth and emit a strange hiss, the sound so faint that it could barely be heard unless you listened carefully.

However, Zhao Hao's demon-hunting senses detected rings of spiritual energy spreading from the black fish monster's mouth like sound waves.

The distant Rumor River began to boil, and many things floated to the surface. At first glance, there were more than twenty! And who knows if there were more further out!

"Damn it, call for backup?! I can do that too!"

Zhao Hao pulled out a handful of paper figures and dogs from his pocket and scattered them, along with three magic beans. Then he grabbed the little soft creature attached to his body and threw it out, shouting, "Orange Master, you guys hold on for me!"

Little Soft worked tirelessly, then spread out its body and began to devour the water demon's corpse on the ground.

The paper figures, horses, and magic beans all transformed into tall, imposing warriors, ready for battle. The three magic beans themselves became figures resembling Peking Opera actors on a stage—Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei!

Orange looked at Zhao Hao with a resentful expression: I can't hold on! What can I use to hold on?!

……

Zhao Hao charged towards the black fish monster. The black fish monster was currently crawling towards Guo Jiu!

Surprisingly, after losing a leg and switching to crawling, he became faster and more agile than when he used both legs!

Damn, has this entered the second phase?

There's a "danger" written all over Lao Guo's head!

However, Lao Guo was a ruthless man after all. He held the boning knife in his mouth, ran his finger along the blade, and then drew several blood lines on his face.

"You beast, you are doomed to die today!"

Zhao Hao saw red spiritual energy emanating from Guo Jiu's body, making him appear as if he were on fire.

Suddenly, he leaped more than three meters into the air, and the black fish monster's twisted bone blade swept across his feet.

Guo Jiu not only dodged the devastating sweep, but also jumped onto the black fish monster!

Then, the boning knife was also coated with red, and under Guo Jiu's control, it began to slash at the back of the black fish monster. With each slash, a huge wound appeared, and dirty blood gushed out!

Unable to reach Guo Jiu with its twisted bone blades, the black fish monster used its large right claw to slap and scratch at his body. While dodging the claws, Guo Jiu relentlessly tore at the black fish monster, leaving it covered in countless wounds. However, Guo Jiu himself was also slashed and cut all over by the clams and shellfish on the monster's body!

The two, one human and one monster, had such similar experiences that it was as if they were mortal enemies torturing each other, completely disregarding their own injuries and only wanting the enemy to fall first!

Zhao Hao had already arrived. He slid in and unleashed a dazzling burst of blade energy from his Dragon-Slaying Crescent Blade!

"A tiger eats its fill with a shovel!"

Zhao Hao ripped a hole more than a meter long into the black carp demon's belly, and its intestines and other messy things spilled out!

But Zhao Hao never expected that the black fish monster's internal organs were actually like monsters, some with sharp teeth, some with tentacles all over their bodies, and some even had hands, feet, and eyes!

It immediately wrapped itself around Zhao Hao!

"Holy crap!!!" Zhao Hao felt a buzzing in his head and almost had a stroke on the spot.

In that instant, he truly felt his spiritual vision improving, and the entire space began to distort and shake.

He didn't dare to think too much and immediately lay down on the ground to unleash a sword aura flying blade ring slash!

"Whirlwind Sweep, Spiral Dragon Slayer - Sludge Cleave!"

In desperation, Zhao Hao used all his strength and spiritual energy. At this moment, Afu himself possessed him, and he was not fighting alone!

He spun around on the ground five or six times, and a huge crescent-shaped blade of energy, almost connected end to end, flew out from the Dragon-Slaying Crescent Blade, not only slicing all the mutated internal organs into several pieces, but also severing the black fish monster's last remaining leg cleanly at the root! A large piece of the lower half of the fish's body was cut off!

Zhao Hao: Haha! The surgery was a success! From now on, you're a female fish!

Just then, a loud explosion occurred not far away; the explosive barrel that Orange had buried had detonated!

Orange grabbed the grappling hooks that were circling around him and let out a long breath.

By this time, all the water demons had been killed, but Zhao Hao only had four or five paper figures and paper dogs left. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were indeed sworn brothers, having died on the same day, month, and year.

Zhao Hao quickly got up, and the black fish monster had already begun to relax its muscles!

Guo Jiu lay on the black fish monster's head, his boning knife almost completely embedded in the two eyes that were close together—a fatal blow.

Guo sought to exorcise the demon for ninety years and finally got his wish.

"Old Guo, are you alright?" Zhao Hao went over to help Guo Jiu up, but then he stopped.

A broken black fish bone was stuck in Guo Jiu's chest, and it looked like it had already pierced through...

------------

Chapter 69 Old Guo, if you keep going like this, you'll become the general manager!

Zhao Hao gently supported Guo Jiu's body, trying his best not to move him.

The fishbone, as thick as three fingers side by side, pierced his chest, and blood trickled out.

It's over! There's no saving him!

The few bottles of healing potions I had were completely ineffective against this kind of injury. Unless I possessed some extraordinary ability to revive the dead and heal the wounded, Old Guo was doomed!

Guo Jiu, however, was unusually relaxed, his expression light and cheerful, and he even smiled, appearing very approachable, just like a kind and simple neighbor.

Old Guo stuffed something into Zhao Hao's hand, blood frothing at the corner of his mouth as he forced a smile: "I...I'm not afraid to die. I've died many times...I'm happy to have avenged my great enemy. Remember...remember, your time is running out, so you must...you must hurry...This isn't over yet, before the new...cough! begins...the town...the town has...strive...strive..."

Then he loosened his grip on Zhao Hao's hand and breathed his last!

Zhao Hao stared at Guo Jiu in disbelief, his voice filled with grief as he roared, "Old Guo? Old Guo! You can't die! Hang in there! Finish what you were saying! Holy crap~~~~"

"Holy crap, holy crap~~~" Zhao Hao roared to the sky!

It's not that I have a particularly good relationship with Guo Jiu; after all, I've only known him for a day.

But Old Guo actually managed to say half a sentence before he died!

Old Guo, if you reincarnate like this, you'll be a eunuch!

What are you rushing to? What's the new wheel? What's in town? Strive? Strive for what?

Old Guo, I'll fuck you to death!

Zhao Hao stood up blankly and looked around.

With the help of Orange and Soft, along with a group of paper-cut shikigami, they managed to wipe out all of the black fish monster's water demon minions.

At this moment, Orange is engaging in extremely unusual "hard work"—plucking "ingredients" from the water sprites!

Mr. Orange is a master chef with exceptional culinary skills!

The only thing that can get this lazy, muscular man moving is food.

Orange didn't care about Lao Guo's life or death. Shaking its fat body, it walked to the black fish monster's side, brandished its gleaming hook knife, and began to cut various parts of the black fish monster with shining eyes!

While cutting, he kept exclaiming, "So many large, firm chunks of high-quality meat!"

"Wow! Top-quality black fish tail! Rich in various collagens and water-attribute spiritual energy that will leave you mesmerized!"

"Ah! Blade-scaled fish skin is an excellent ingredient for making pickled pepper fish skin! After eating it, you can gain the effects of Dragon Scale Technique for a short period of time!"

"Ah! It's top-quality mutated black carp whiskers! If this stuff were made into a flying shark fin soup, drinking it would probably allow you to directly enter the depths of the spiritual energy sea!"

"Ha! A pair of huge black carp kidneys! Marinated in the juice of wild vine, then roasted with meat fungus, they'll make you feel rock hard all over!"

"Hey! It's a freshwater psionic barnacle! Delicious! Eating it raw with our secret sauce will grant me the ability to breathe underwater! Slurp~"

"Oh! It's a person... This old man can't be eaten."

Orange walked past Guo Jiu with a regretful look on her face, complaining as she went, "She smells like fish all over. How strange, so strange!"

Zhao Hao was worried that Ju Zuo would go berserk and ruin Lao Guo's body, so he quickly picked him up and put him aside.

After all, respect for the dead is paramount! What's that saying again? The person is dead...

Only then did he realize that a yellowed booklet had been slipped into his hand. It was still stained with Lao Guo's blood.

"The Ritual of Offering Sacrifice to the Bell?"

Zhao Hao then realized that Lao Guo probably hadn't planned to go back before he came, so he handed over the technique he had obtained to Zhao Hao.

But Guo Jiu's clothes were already gone, revealing his withered muscles. Where did he pull out the booklet from?

Could it be his crotch?! Lao Guo, you hid it too well!

Besides this, there's also the boning knife in Lao Guo's hand, the one that allows mortals to kill 4-star Black Iron monsters.