The scream rose, then abruptly ceased. After a brief pause, it burst forth again.
Ripping the curse apart, breaking the darkness, shattering the spite.
Marching forward righteously.
Extinguishing evil.
In an instant, the broken sword in Huai Shi's hand had already penetrated her abdomen.
As if a natural nemesis, merely piercing the flesh, it brought severe damage to the Molting Snake Mark, causing Lin Yu to emit a despairing howl.
"How does it feel to be imbued with virtue?"
Huai Shi contemplated her twisted face and asked with a smile. His fingers slowly twisted the sword hilt, stirring the wound, making the screams and curses even sharper.
As he lifted his right hand and placed the Sacrificial Knife against Lin Yu's neck, the sound of the wind behind his head ceased abruptly.
The still-burning iron fork was but an inch away from the back of his head.
But that inch was as distant as Sky Gorge itself.
"Please give us some privacy, thank you."
Huai Shi slowly turned around and saw Guo Nu's livid face. His hand shook slightly, cutting Lin Yu's neck. Guo Nu's complexion changed dramatically, and under Huai Shi's threat, he reluctantly stepped back a few paces.
He waved his hand, signaling the other team members not to come forward.
Lin Yu's expression twisted, "Guo Nu, you useless trash, attack, kill him... AHHHHH!!!"
"Shhh!"
Huai Shi slightly twisted the sword hilt, cutting off her angry scolding and cursing, examining her twisted face for the first time with real seriousness.
Only now did he notice: Even distorted by such anger and ferocity, that face was still considered beautiful.
Indeed a rare beauty.
"We meet again, auntie. Do you really use skincare products?"
He remarked softly, "Why don't you take care of the wounds on your face? Here, let me help you…"
Casually, he smeared some Silver Blood Potion on her, allowing the quickly hardening potion to seal her mouth, and finally, with a CLICK, a metal ring was placed around her neck.
Connected to an Alchemy Bomb the size of a fist.
"Step back."
Huai Shi reiterated to the air beside him, "Step back further."
Guo Nu's face changed, he clenched his teeth, waved his hand, and a faint sound stirred in the air, as if something was moving away.
"I said, step back."
Huai Shi suddenly twisted the sword hilt, causing Lin Yu, whose mouth was sealed, to emit a muffled scream and convulse violently, "Sorry, I can't see where invisible people are hiding. Could you please turn off that piece of equipment?"
As if asking someone to turn off the light before bed, polite and gentle, yet making Guo Nu's face twitch. After a long time, Guo Nu waved his hand again, and behind him, a figure carrying what looked like a radio backpack emerged, followed by the surrounding Sublimators revealing themselves.
Nine in total.
Huai Shi waved his hand, and a thin Lock Chain with black smoke and sparks flew out, sweeping around in a rapid, erratic motion twice before suddenly binding something, tightening and pulling it in front of Huai Shi.
Huai Shi raised his hand, and the Axe Blade fell.
A Golden Coin hit the ground.
He exhaled, feeling refreshed, securing The Sorrow of Index to Lin Yu's body, as if tethering a fierce beast, holding the chain, and finding a clean Stone to sit on. He looked up and scrutinized the unpleasant-looking enemies before him.
Only a little over half a minute had passed.
Xi Jiang, who was leading the search in the woods, rushed back with his men. Seeing the scene before him, they instantly understood what had happened, and their expressions turned ferocious.
"Now that everyone is here," Huai Shi said with a smile, "we can have a proper talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
Guo Nu said expressionlessly, "You let her go, we let you go."
"Are you dreaming?"
Huai Shi laughed, pointing to the ground beneath his feet, "If anyone dares to take one step further from where you are now, I'll kill her, immediately. Even if I can't cause her any harm, I can still make her withdraw from the race."
"You said it yourself, you can only make her withdraw from the race."
Guo Nu said coldly, "It's just a game after all, Huai Shi. You've got no more chips in your hand; your only choice is to accept my terms—you let her go, and I can let you go."
"So, we're just going to let it all go to ruin then?"
Huai Shi shrugged, "I don't really care. After all, at worst, I can just dust myself off and go back to the Astronomical Society. You know the Astronomical Society, right? I'm a promising operative. Even if I lose the match and don't get a ranking, my previous performance speaks for itself. Who could deny my strength? However, you'll be the one in trouble then, won't it?"
He scrutinized Guo Nu's face with a smile, "The Lin family seems to be quite powerful, eh? They hired you to work like a dog, just so she could withdraw from the race?"
Guo Nu's expression faltered, and under the mockery of the boy's smile, he actually felt a sense of powerlessness.
Like these Border mercenaries who are accustomed to dirty work, even if they seem free, aren't they just Hyenas at someone's beck and call?
With no control over advancing or retreating.
He was silent for a long while before asking, "What exactly do you want?"