456: Chapter 453 It wasn't easy.

Shen Mingyuan stood up and pressed his hand against his armband.

Matte black armor instantly covered his entire body, followed by a form switch—a pair of iridescent black bionic wings unfurled from his back, two slender Arm Blades slid out from his forearms, and red energy cores lit up on the blades.

"I'm going out." He walked to the hatch. "This isn't an ordinary airliner; it has a specialized passage, so there won't be decompression."

The hatch opened, and the high-altitude wind instantly rushed in with a whistling roar. Shen Mingyuan glanced at the churning clouds below and, without hesitation, leaped out.

He fell rapidly through the air, the wind shrieking in his ears. His wings were tucked tight against his body, not yet unfurled—his speed wasn't high enough. He adjusted his posture, head down, plummeting through the clouds like a black cannonball.

His speed grew faster and faster.

When he reached a certain critical point in his descent, he suddenly snapped his wings open.

The airflow instantly buoyed him up, converting his downward potential energy into forward thrust. His wings vibrated as he traced an arc in the sky, transitioning from a dive to level flight, chasing after the jolting airliner.

Closer.

Even closer.

The fuselage was crawling with insects. They were densely packed; the small ones were only the size of a palm, while the large ones were as big as cats or dogs. They gnawed at the metal hull with sharp mouthparts, leaving countless tiny pits on the surface.

Shen Mingyuan swung his arms, and the two Arm Blades drew two red and black arcs of light in the air.

He skimmed past the fuselage, his Arm Blades slashing through. The insects fell like dumplings into a pot. He turned, slashing again and again; red and black energy exploded across the hull as the insect remains tumbled away.

As soon as he cleared one area, more insects swarmed down from above.

Just as Shen Mingyuan was about to meet them, a whistling sound came from behind. He instinctively performed an aerial roll, and a massive dark shadow grazed past his wings.

It was an eagle.

No, it was much larger than an eagle. Its wingspan was nearly five meters, its feathers were pitch-black, and its eyes glowed with a dark red light. It circled once in the air before diving down again.

Shen Mingyuan steadied himself and glanced at the fuselage—there were still insects, but not as many as before. He kicked off, flapped his wings, and gave chase to the giant eagle.

Man and eagle became entangled in the sky.

Every time the eagle's talons struck, they whistled through the air. Shen Mingyuan dodged to the side and slashed upward with an Arm Blade, carving a gash into the eagle's wing. The eagle shrieked and turned to peck; Shen Mingyuan parried with his other Arm Blade while using the momentum to spin in mid-air, landing a kick on the eagle's chest.

The eagle was kicked back several meters but quickly recovered and lunged again. Shen Mingyuan met it head-on, crossing his two Arm Blades in front of him to clash with those iron-hook-like talons.

The screech of clashing metal echoed high in the sky.

"Come on!"

Shen Mingyuan steadied himself in the air, watching the giant eagle circle back for another attack. His Arm Blades extended at his sides, the light from their red energy cores trailing two afterimages through the clouds.

Man and eagle clashed once more.

Talons tore and Arm Blades slashed. The high-speed aerial combat meant each collision lasted only an instant before the two pulled apart and lunged again. Shen Mingyuan tried to gain altitude several times, but the eagle seemed to see through his intentions; every time he began to climb, the eagle would swoop in from the side, forcing him to change course.

The trump card of this form was the high-altitude dive.

When Han Chengyu designed the Falcon Dive Form, he specifically referenced the characteristics of the Peregrine Falcon—diving from a great height at speeds as fast as a bullet. Coupled with the strength of an Evolver, which far exceeded that of ordinary creatures, the diving speed was several times faster than that of a Peregrine Falcon. With two Arm Blades leading the way, it was enough to deal with the vast majority of enemies.

But the prerequisite was that he had to reach a sufficient height.

And this eagle wasn't giving him any chance.

It constantly maneuvered, keeping a tight lid on his altitude and denying him any space to climb. Shen Mingyuan's attempts were interrupted repeatedly, leaving him no choice but to continue the dogfight.

Just then, the eagle suddenly climbed as well.

It flew upward, putting distance between them, and then turned around—it was also preparing to dive.

Shen Mingyuan's eyes lit up.

"You want to dive too? Then let's do it together!"

He flapped his wings violently, climbing upward with all his might. The eagle climbed simultaneously. Man and eagle faced each other from a distance high in the sky, both gathering power for the dive.

The altitude was sufficient.

Shen Mingyuan folded his wings and plummeted headfirst toward the eagle like a black cannonball. The eagle dove down at the same time, its iron-hook-like talons leading the way.

The two figures closed in on each other rapidly in the air.

Faster and faster. Closer and closer.

At the final moment, Shen Mingyuan snapped his wings open and slashed with his Arm Blades in a cross pattern—

The eagle's talons collided with his twin blades.

The sound of tearing metal pierced the sky. Blood splattered.

The eagle let out a shrill shriek as its body was sliced open by the two Arm Blades. Losing its balance, it tumbled toward the sea of clouds below. Its figure was quickly swallowed by the mist and disappeared.

Shen Mingyuan steadied himself, panting heavily. He glanced at the gashes torn into his wings by the eagle's talons, and without lingering, he turned and flew back toward the plane.

The insects were still on the fuselage. He landed back on the roof of the plane and swung his twin blades, cutting down the remaining insects one by one. The last insect was sliced in half, sliding off the fuselage and falling into the sea of clouds.

Standing on the roof of the plane, Shen Mingyuan let out a long breath.

It was over.

Just as he was about to retract his Arm Blades, a whistling sound came from behind.

He spun around—the eagle was charging at him again.

It was covered in blood, with massive wounds torn into its wings by the Arm Blades, yet its dark red eyes remained fixed on him. It didn't dive; it just charged straight ahead, lunging at Shen Mingyuan with the last of its strength.

"Have a death wish?"

Shen Mingyuan didn't have time to think. He flapped his wings, leaped off the roof of the plane, and took flight again to meet the death-struggling giant eagle.

Man and eagle clashed once more.

But this time, the roar of the plane grew more distant. The airliner carrying Lu Jianchuan and the others was gradually disappearing into the distant clouds.

As Shen Mingyuan fought the eagle in the air, he caught a glimpse of the plane's shrinking silhouette in the distance.

His heart stirred as he noticed the eagle's tactics—it was no longer trying to attack the plane but was instead clinging to him relentlessly, giving him no chance to escape.

So that's how it is.

Realizing it couldn't stop the plane, it changed its mind to just stop me? I guess stopping even one person counts, huh?

The corner of Shen Mingyuan's mouth twitched. He flapped his wings violently, turned around, and charged in the direction the plane had disappeared.

The design of the Falcon Dive Form was based on the Peregrine Falcon—level flight speed was its forte. He was like a bolt of black lightning cutting through the clouds, moving so fast he almost left afterimages. The eagle pursued relentlessly from behind, but with every flap of its wings, it could only watch as the distance between them grew.

The plane reappeared in his field of vision.

Closer. Even closer.

But Shen Mingyuan could feel his stamina depleting rapidly—between the continuous combat and the full-speed flight, his energy was nearly bottomed out. Every flap of his wings was more strained than the last, and his breathing began to grow heavy.

On the plane, Lu Jianchuan had been staring out the window. Seeing the black dot getting closer and the eagle in hot pursuit behind it, he instantly understood the situation.

"Open the rear hatch!" he shouted to the pilot. "Quickly!"

The moment the hatch opened, Shen Mingyuan mustered his last ounce of strength and lunged inside. He rolled a few times on the floor to bleed off the momentum, and at the same time, he clapped his hands together—the Falcon Dive Form deactivated, and twin pistols were already in his hands.

He lay on the cabin floor, his muzzles aimed out the door.

The eagle reached the hatch, but before it could react, black and red plasma bullets poured out.

Several consecutive shots, all of which pierced through.

The eagle's body stiffened in the air, its dark red eyes glaring at Shen Mingyuan inside the cabin, before it fell powerlessly and disappeared beneath the clouds.

The hatch slowly closed.

Shen Mingyuan lay on the floor, panting heavily. Looking up at the lights on the cabin ceiling, he suddenly gave a short laugh.

"Finally..." he wheezed, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "It's been so long, but these twin pistols have claimed another kill."}],