Why is my anime art style so weird?

The next second, her hair turned silver-white, and a chilling white frost erupted from her side, instantly freezing the giant warrior's legs.

The charging giant warrior nearly fell to the ground, and even after managing to regain his footing, his speed was greatly reduced.

Xu Ming immediately led Erina out of the shrine hall, distancing himself from the giant warrior, while continuing to strike the giant warrior's head with the crowbar in his hand.

Ten seconds passed.

Bah!

A loud bang rang out, sparks flew from the giant warrior's head, and half of his head exploded off. He crashed to the ground with a thud.

'He deserves to die now...'

Xu Ming suddenly widened his eyes, as if he had seen a ghost.

PS: Historically, the Shinsengumi mainly operated in Kyoto, but for the sake of story integration, their activity area has been changed to Tokyo.

Chapter 164 Song of Shadows: Prologue

The giant warrior stood up again.

Looking at the big guy who was engulfed in flames, with most of his body burned to a crisp, half of his skull blown off, and his legs wrapped in frost, Xu Ming silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart, even though he was an enemy.

A real man!

Faced with such a warrior, of course we should pay him the highest respect and send him to his death with full force!

Ignoring his slightly sore arm, Xu Ming once again swung the Holy Sword of Physics in his hand, bang bang bang! Slamming it against the giant warrior's head from a distance.

"You lackeys of the Shogunate! Remnants of the old era! I am a warrior blessed by the new era! I am immortal! Die!"

The giant warrior's body was enveloped in thick black mist, and the greatsword in his hand even gleamed with a faint purplish-black light.

Xu Ming had no doubt that if he were to be stabbed, he would be half the height.

The giant warrior stomped his foot hard on the ground, leaving large and small holes in the wooden floor. He raised his greatsword high again and charged towards Xu Ming and Erina.

"Erina!!"

Xu Ming shouted, his voice involuntarily trembling with tension. His hands, gripping the crowbar, were bulging with veins, and his palms and forehead were covered in sweat.

"Yes, Dad!"

Erina, with her silver hair, kept creating wisps of cold air, trying to freeze the giant warrior's legs or create ice beneath his feet to slow him down.

The plan that was so effective just now seems to have lost its effectiveness after the opponent's ferocity increased.

Click!

With the aid of the black mist, the giant warrior easily broke free from the icy restraints and strode after Xu Ming.

Xu Ming kept retreating, but the distance between them was gradually closed.

Seeing that the two were less than two meters apart, it seemed that he could kill Xu Ming on the spot with a single big step.

"Don't even think about going there!"

A silver-white figure, radiating white light, suddenly crashed headfirst into the giant's waist from the side!

It's Haruyuki Arita!

At the crucial moment, the little piglet once again demonstrated its qualities as a god-tier teammate!

Xu Ming quickly pulled Erina back, and soon they were ten meters away from the giant warrior, where they started flying the 'kite' again.

"Tokugawa could not stop history from moving forward!"

blah blah blah!

Enraged, the giant warrior immediately drew his pistol and fired three shots at Xu Ming!

"father!"

In a moment of desperation, Erina tried to rush over to shield Xu Ming from the bullet.

But bullets travel at near the speed of sound, even outdated muskets are no exception. She couldn't possibly pounce in time; this isn't a romantic drama.

'I hope I don't get hurt...'

Just as Xu Ming felt a chill in his heart, the protective amulet on his chest suddenly heated up, and then a golden radiance, like sunlight, burst forth from Xu Ming's chest, forming a semi-transparent golden light shield that instantly enveloped him.

This is because 'Amaterasu Guardian - Ultimate' sensed danger and automatically triggered 'Corona's Protection'!

The bullet, gleaming with a purplish-black cold light, struck the golden light shield, immediately creating ripples, but was blocked by the shield.

Soon, the kinetic energy in the warhead was exhausted, and with a thud, they fell to the ground, then slowly turned into wisps of black mist and disappeared into the air.

Kato Megumi gave him this upgraded Amaterasu amulet—it's amazing!

Xu Ming was taken aback, then, with a look of utter confidence, he picked up the Holy Sword of Physics and started banging it on the giant warrior's head!

ten minutes later……

Xu Ming picked up his phone, aimed it at the giant warrior, and pressed the shutter button.

This time, the giant warrior finally couldn't hold on any longer and perished in a sea of ​​fire, with large amounts of black mist dissipating from his body.

Before he turned to ashes and disappeared, he raised his katana high and shouted.

Even if I disappear! The pace of innovation will not stop! The dawn of a new era will eventually arrive! (Heavyweight card)

Watching the ashes rising slowly from the flames, Xu Ming touched his nose.

They seem more like villains...

However, the giant warrior was right about one thing.

This world is ultimately a world of the living; it's better for the spirits of the old era to attain Buddhahood and return to the Western Paradise.

Only those who turn to ash are good spirits.

Finally, Xu Ming managed to get rid of this troublesome guy and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

With that release, he immediately felt a wave of weakness spread throughout his body, and he almost couldn't hold onto the crowbar. His body swayed as if he were about to collapse at any moment.

Erina quickly supported him, asking with a worried expression:

"Dad, are you alright?"

Xu Ming shook his head reluctantly.

Erina quickly helped Xu Ming to sit down on the steps.

Ding!

Xu Ming suddenly heard a system notification in his mind. Since he was too lazy to even lift a finger, he simply opened the system panel to check it.

—Congratulations, host, you have temporarily repelled the invasion of 'Shadow' and completed the branch event 'Song of Shadows: Prologue (2 stars)'. System settlement in progress…

Settlement complete, event completion rate: 80%

—Gained 150 Strange Points (150%).

—Special rewards will be distributed after the completion of the 'Shadowsong' event.

"Ok?"

A hint of doubt appeared on Xu Ming's face.

'System, why can't I receive this special reward?'

—The 'Song of Shadows' event initiated by the host is a special related event. The host has not completely eliminated the 'Shadow', so only the basic reward can be issued. The remaining rewards will be issued after the host completely completes the task and resolves the 'Shadow'.

'System, didn't I just resolve most of the 'strange' things here?'

Xu Ming frowned.

—The host only dealt with 'Shadow's' puppets, not 'Shadow' itself.

—Special related events are different from ordinary chain quests. 'Shadow' is related to all branch events. Only by solving 'Shadow' can the quest be considered truly completed.

After the system gave a long explanation, Xu Ming finally understood.

Although they are both chain tasks.

However, the 'Blood Moon Cycle' is actually a combination of several different branch events, which is like a circle that puts everything together.

The 'Song of Shadows' is different; it is connected by a single thread that links all the branches together, and that thread is the so-called 'Shadows'.

Xu Ming couldn't help but think of the whispers in the darkness that always launched surprise attacks on him, and the thick black fog that appeared and disappeared suddenly, containing a large number of wronged souls.

Could they be the true form of 'Shadow'?

It seems we can only wait for him to slowly unveil the mystery of 'Shadow'.

Just as Xu Ming and his men were performing an exorcism at the antique shop.

The Shinomiya family's mansion has also begun to undergo some unknown and terrifying changes...

Chapter 165 The Abnormalities of the Shinomiya Family Mansion

Akashi Yu pushed the lawnmower vigorously toward the warehouse behind the mansion.

Today he carefully trimmed a section of the lawn directly in front of the mansion, so that the old man would find it much more pleasing to the eye.

He was very grateful to the Shinomiya family for giving him the job as a gardener. Although the Shinomiya family was very large and the work was a bit hard, the salary was three times that of his peers, which was enough for him to support his wife and two children and live a very comfortable life.

The thought of his wife preparing a hot meal and a warm bath, waiting for him to come home, made Akashi Yu feel his strength return, and his steps became lighter.

He opened the warehouse door and pushed the lawnmower inside.

The moment the door opened, a gust of cold wind swept over me.

"Silk!"

Akashi Isamu couldn't help but shudder.

He couldn't help but put down the lawnmower and rub his arms with his palms.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the mansion seemed particularly cold today.

It wasn't because of the low temperature, but rather the eerie, deserted atmosphere, much like the funeral home he had visited before.

Akashi Isamu didn't know how he suddenly made that connection to that eerie, ghostly place.

He shook his head, pushed the lawnmower back into the warehouse.

Akashi Yuu put the lawnmower back in its original position and prepared to leave for home.