âKill Shroud? Why would you think Iâd do that?â Atley smiled and asked.
Gu Qing Shan ignored that and continued: âWhen it was most dangerous, you and Reneedol abandoned us, I really canât think of a reason why you would return at this point in timeâ
Atley shook his head: âWe were still friends once; I donât want to make this difficult. Give me everything Shroud is carrying, Iâll let you leaveâ
Long blades of green-colored wind manifested behind his back.
One of them abruptly disappeared.
Rumbleâââ
The ground was split in half, reaching all the way to Gu Qing Shanâs feet.
Atley triumphantly boasted: âRhode, leave everything Shroud has behind, then you can bring Shroud, Epta, and Scarlet with youâ
Gu Qing Shan was looking at him with a strange expression.
From the sky, the giant bird of death descended and landed on Gu Qing Shanâs shoulder.
It turned back into boiling black flames that drifted behind Gu Qing Shan, then manifested into a long-handled black scythe.
Gu Qing Shan wielded the scythe in his hand and said: âWhere did you get the confidence that youâd be able to make me submissively hand over Shroudâs things to you?â
He lightly tapped his feet and abruptly rushed towards Atley.
Atleyâs eyes opened wide and shouted: âCut!â
Over a dozen green blades of wind behind his back shot forward, striking the black scythe in Gu Qing Shanâs hand.
The green glow and black flames clashed against one another, rising up all the way to the horizon.
The sky went dark for a brief moment, storm-force gusts of wind intensely swept in all directions, blowing the clouds directly above them away.
Gu Qing Shan rode the wind and returned to his original spot, brandishing his scythe once again: âI only used 10% of my strength just now. If you want to die, Iâll make it into reality with my next strikeâ
Atley took a step back, cautiously looking at the scythe.
He could sense that the other party was truly holding back.
Otherwise...
Atley stayed silent for a bit, then abruptly said: âYouâre forcing my handsâ
He reached his hand into the carriage and took someone else out.
Reneedol.
ââReneedol had been tied up so well that she couldnât even struggle.
Atley put two fingers together and manifested a green blade of wind from it.
He put the blade of wind against Reneedolâs neck and shouted:
âGive me everything Shroud has, or Iâm going to kill her!â
Gu Qing Shan froze.
ââwhat kind of third-rate act is this?
He turned to Reneedol.
Reneedol was glancing towards Shroud on the ground, her expression slightly surprised.
Not good!
Gu Qing Shan instantly felt alarms ringing and realized what had happened.
Reneedol could directly obtain all of someone elseâs powers.
Since Shroud is silently lying on the ground, there could only be one reason why Reneedol appeared surprisedâââ
She had tried copying Shroudâs powers instead of Atleyâs.
ââshe had realized that Shroud was recovering his strength!
Gu Qing Shanâs heart felt heavy, so he swung the long-handled black scythe with his full strength.
A wave of black flames was cast forward from the scythe, manifesting as hundreds, thousands of black flame birds that flew straight towards Atley and Reneedol.
Atley was shocked and shouted: âRhode, do you want to kill Reneedol?â
He pulled Reneedol with considerable force in front of him to use her as a shield.
Before the black flames even arrived, Gu Qing Shan had already leapt into the air, travelling several dozen meters forward and raised his scythe.
The scythe howled harrowingly as it slashed towards both of them.
Right at this point, the black flames had already arrived in front of Atley and Reneedol.
As the black wave of flames arrived without space to dodge, Gu Qing Shan had melded into the darkness to reap their lives with his scythe.
In a mere breathâs worth of time, he had completed this scenario.
ââânow that Reneedol had been restrained, it was already too late for her to unleash her Fate ability.
She had also just changed from Atleyâs Law of Wind powers into Shroudâs Radiance powers, but Shroud was currently in a strange state where he no longer had a covenant with the Law.
For Reneedol, all of Shroudâs current abilities were foreign, which she couldnât grasp in such a short period of time.
ââ-this is the best and possibly only chance to kill her!
Another wave of black flames rained down from the scythe above.
âNoââ-â Atley desperately called out.
Suddenly, the intense black flames all around them completely disappeared.
All supernatural phenomena had vanished.
A single person stood in front of Gu Qing Shan to stop his scythe.
Shroud.
He spat up some blood, then struggled to speak: âRhode, donât kill Reneedolâ
Gu Qing Shan froze.
Scarlet shouted from afar: âShroud, take a careful look at the situation. The two of them abandoned you, now theyâve come to try andâââ
Before she even finished her words, a curt grunt was heard, followed by the smell of blood.
Scarlet was stunned, unable to say the rest.
Shroud also turned around.
ââ-Reneedol had somehow broken out of her restraints and used a dagger to stab through Atleyâs heart.
âReneedol!â
Atley shouted and raised his hand, manifesting a howling green sphere.
Reneedol tossed the dagger away and shouted: âShroud, save me!â
Shroud rushed forward without hesitation, opened the Book of Prophesized Destiny, then released a halberd made of pure golden light.
The halberd shot forward and sent Atley flying.
After he did that, Shroud spat up more blood.
Reneedol hurriedly embraced him and sobbed as she spoke: âIt was Atley who forced me to leave you, if I didnât follow him, he said he would kill you!â
Shroud nodded and forced out a reply: âAs long as youâre safe...â
Gu Qing Shanâs expression turned grim.
Shroud was clearly at the most crucial point of recuperating, yet he risked it all to stop me and hit Atley away.
ââthis was Reneedolâs charm ability!
Gu Qing Shanâs figure flashed and flew towards the cliff just a few hundred meters away.
As he looked down, he saw that Atley had just fallen to the bottom.
Gu Qing Shan followed the cliff down and quickly landed next to Atley.
ââafter Atleyâs heart had been pierced through, he received another full-power attack from Shroud, then rolled down an entire cliff, so he was already at his deathbed.
âAtley...â Gu Qing Shan crouched next to him and called out in a low voice.
Atley appeared to be unresponsive, blood continued to flow from his mouth.
âAtley!â
Gu Qing Shan silently transferred his spirit energy into the other partyâs body.
Atleyâs body shook, then regained his consciousness.
He abruptly caught Gu Qing Shanâs hand.
âRhode, I... I was deceived by a devil...â
His eyes regained their clarity and tears of regret began to flow.
His love for Reneedol seemed to have completely disappeared.
Gu Qing Shan pursed his lips tightly and said nothing.
Atley sobbed: âRhode... Iâve always... considered you guys to be my brothersâ
Gu Qing Shan held his hand tightly and whispered: âDonât say anything, we also consider you to be our brothersâ
âBut... Reneedol...â Atley hesitantly.
Gu Qing Shanâs tone became even softer: âNo one will blame you, Iâll call Shroud here right away, weâll explain it to everyone, weâll remain good brothersâ
Atley sighed in relief, then smiled satisfactorily.
He said nothing else.
Gu Qing Shan silently watched him.
This young man had already admired Shroudâs strength and wished for nothing but to be stronger.
This young man, no matter how fearful he was, had never abandoned his companions, he had even made a bed for Shroud by himself.
But now, he is dead.
He died by Reneedolâs charm and manipulation.
Gu Qing Shan closed his eyes.
A second later, he abruptly disappeared.
...
On the other side.
Reneedol embraced Shroud and gently asked: âHow are your injuries?â
Shroud shook his head: âMy most serious injuries have already healed. I was a bit heavy-handed just now, could Atley haveâââ
Reneedol shed tears: âI donât know what came over him, he even wanted to kill me earlier, I had no other choice but to act firstâ
Shroudâs lips twitched as if he wanted to say something.
Suddenly, Reneedol felt a chill run through her entire body.
Some sort of extreme danger was causing her to tremble.
This was an unprecedented experience for her.
Shroud could also feel it.
They both turned in the same direction.
An unfamiliar person was standing on top of a rock.
He wore a pure-white mask painted with black shade to depict a pair of eerie thinly opened eyes that flickered between black and red.
He was wielding a single sword in his hand, completely stationary, devoid of any killing intent or presence. It was as if he was only an illusion or a shadow, something that didnât exist.
But anyone who looked closely at him would find themselves soaked in a cold sweat as if they were witnessing some sort of unprecedented ghost anomaly.
âRed Wraith!â
Reneedol exclaimed in shock.
As soon as she said that, Shroud had already disappeared from her embrace.
Reneedol was shocked.
This is [Shadow Shift]âââ
Space had already been sealed by the Law Behemoths; how could he still be so fast!?
Reneedol attacked without hesitation, only to find the golden light halberd that she unleashed had struck her instead.
One second.
One fleeting moment.
Victory and defeat had been decided.
Chill spread all over Reneedolâs body.
In her last moments, the only thing she saw in front of her eyes was Red Wraithâs mask.
His sword had stabbed so deeply into her neck that she couldnât even utter a single word.
At the very next moment.
âRelease her!â
Red Wraith suddenly turned Reneedolâs body towards Shroud.
âDonât move, you twitch once and she diesâ Red Wraith said.
Shroud had no choice but to remain still.
Red Wraith only paused for that single split second as he leaned into Reneedolâs ears and spoke with a hoarse voice: âSparing no means to achieve a goal, youâre not the only one who knows how to do thatâ
He lifted his sword.
Reneedol felt heaven and earth turning around themselves.
The world became dark.