The air in the main hall was compressed to a suffocating degree. The crushing pressure emanating from Arthur, Qin Wuhuang, Damon, and Siren Sinclair made the Zero Horizon squad acutely aware of the sheer gap in power levels.
Seijuro lightly rotated his wrist, his sword not yet fully unsheathed. He glanced around indifferently before speaking up:
— "Hey everyone, from earlier till now, it seems none of them have actually fought seriously, right?"
Shin wiped a smudge of blood from the corner of his lips, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes:
— "Just probing us and we're already pushed this far! Don't get careless."
Arthur, who had been losing his patience, had blue veins bulging on his forehead as he saw Akai Kiriko still standing rooted to the spot. He yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice like thunder:
— "ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE?! GET A MOVE ON!"
Kiriko trembled, shooting a desperate glance toward Shin's group. Her hand gripped the hilt of the Akeomi sword tightly. The cold metal seemed to sense her intent to kill, sprouting crimson blood threads that wrapped around her wrist, ready to pierce through her skin to parasitize her body. But just as she was about to close her eyes and give up, a bizarre event erupted right at the center of Zero Horizon's formation.
A strange, ancient, overwhelmingly suppressing wave of energy suddenly surged outward. Everyone standing there startled, reflexively leaping back into defensive stances.
Kento grimaced, looking at the person beside him:
— "Hey Brother Shin, this power... was it part of the plan?"
Shin looked at the kneeling Stolas, his eyes wide in surprise:
— "I... don't know either!"
Right then, Roxy—who had managed to hold her ground after Siren's blow—turned pale. She saw Stolas's shadow cast onto the floor; it possessed no human form, but rather the silhouette of a giant owl with wings overshadowing the earth. An authority belonging to a "superior entity" crashed down. The holy runes engraved on Stolas's neck chain began to fade and vanish like ash. The heavy collar holding him corroded, turning into dust right before everyone's eyes.
The Zero Horizon group immediately backed away several more meters. Stolas raised his head, his glowing crimson eyes staring straight at the crowd:
— "No need to be so cautious!"
Arthur, who knew no fear, charged straight forward like a bolt of lightning. But then, Stolas's eyes flashed a deep red, releasing an appalling wave of killing intent that forced Arthur to come to an abrupt halt. Survival instinct compelled him to leap back several meters, cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
In Kiriko's mind, Akeomi's voice echoed—both mocking and trembling:
— "The thing in front of him... is like me. Neither I nor he belongs to this realm... don't be foolish enough to touch him."
Just as everyone was hyper-focused on Stolas, he suddenly collapsed onto his face, falling unconscious on the spot. Absolute silence fell over the hall.
Shin stood bewildered:
— "Huh? Just fell asleep like that?"
Xie Xingchen stepped closer, checking his pulse and breathing:
— "He's just knocked out!"
— "Alright, get him out of here immediately!"
Xingchen immediately darted forward, hoisting Stolas onto his back.
— "Freaking hell, is he human or what? Heavy as a barbell!"
Seeing their target about to escape, Arthur and Qin Wuhuang charged forward frantically. But instantly, Shin and Kento stepped in to cut off their path. Roxy also manifested, blocking Siren Sinclair who was about to give chase:
— "Don't think I'm weak just because I held back a few moves!"
Damon took action as well, rushing toward Xingchen, only for a blade slash to cut across his line of sight. Seijuro stood there, his sword tip pointing straight at Damon:
— "Just let me land one slash."
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
— "Fast enough!" Damon growled, leaning aside to dodge the blade.
On the other side of the hall, Kwon Tae-Joon carved out a path of blood. A squad of guards surrounding the Mikami siblings was instantly hit by Tae-Joon charging in like a Muay Thai hurricane. Brutal knee strikes and elbow blows ripped through the siege:
— "Stick close to me! Open a path outside!"
Seeing the target gradually moving away, Shin yelled to the whole team:
— "Target is away! Go all out!"
Arthur flew into a absolute rage, his pride thoroughly trampled. He unleashed his entire energy pool, blowing away everything in his vicinity. Spreading both hands wide, he condensed Photon energy into two brilliant light discs.
— PHOTONIC CASCADE: RAY TEMPEST!
From Arthur's palms, tens of thousands of parallel red-gold beams shot forth. They did not travel in straight lines, but rather curved and bent their trajectories like a storm of light, hunting down every living being in the hall. Continuous violent explosions resounded as the already ruined hall was decimated even further. Qin Wuhuang reacted quickly, dragging Lu Xie—who was still stuck upside down—out of the fire zone.
Arthur laughed maniacally:
— "HAHAHAHA! LET'S SEE IF MY LIGHT IS ENOUGH TO LEVEL THIS ENTIRE PLACE!"
Kiriko was about to leap in to slash Arthur to stop him, but Seijuro swiftly grabbed her wrist tightly.
— "Don't be foolish! He's wildly slinging moves right now, no one is paying attention to us. Listen, you must engage in combat with me. We have to put on a show. Shin already has an escape route, our job is to fake it, understand!"
Kiriko swallowed hard, her eyes resolute:
— "Okay... I understand!"
When the bombardment finally ceased, thick dust covered the entire hall. Arthur stood amidst the ruins, breathing heavily. The moment he lowered his guard, a figure charged out from behind, locking him in a tight bearhug. It was Shin!
— "With me holding you like this, where are you going to run?!"
Before Arthur could react, Kento rushed out, delivering a brutal Muay Thai knee strike straight into his face. Arthur staggered back, bowing his head low. His arrogance vanished, replaced by a terrifying, dark fury.
— "YOU DIRTY DOGS... DARE TO ACT TOUGH WITH ME?!"
Kento gritted his teeth:
— "Brother Shin, he activated his true combat state!"
Arthur was no longer the relaxed man from before. His skin began to glow with blinding white light as electro-magnetic photon energy wrapped around his entire body. The real fight had only just begun.
His rage fully erupting, Arthur joined both wrists together before his chest. All surrounding Photon energy was forcibly compressed into a needle-point beam of light at the center of his palms, radiating destructive heat.
— HYPERION BEAM: CORE MELTDOWN!
BOOM!
A column of pure white, infinitely dense photon discharge blasted out! The destructive beam tore through space, piercing through a line of guards standing outside, disintegrating them to ash in a fraction of a millisecond. A glowing, straight line scorched red-hot from the extreme heat stretched across the main hall.
Shin and Kento cleverly leaned aside, dodging by a hair's breadth. However, the brutal thermal wave from the ultimate technique still singed their skin, leaving severe burns across their bodies.
Kento wiped his sweat, his face pale:
— "Damn it... What do we do, Brother Shin? At this rate, how do we escape?!"
Amidst the life-or-death moment, an easygoing voice echoed down from the 2nd-floor balcony:
— "Looks like everyone is starting to focus on the real battle, huh?" Shen Hansen took a sip of his drink, his tone dripping with mockery.
Damon raised his eyes coldly:
— "This is none of your business. You just stay there and watch!"
However, the moment those words left his mouth, an extreme sense of dread flashed inside Damon's mind. He suddenly realized a fatal detail:
— "Wait... I distinctly remember there was still one more person?!"
Before he could finish his thought, Ling Mo's dark shadow manifested right behind Damon! The man who moved like an elusive ghost gave his opponent not even a single millisecond to react.
CRACK!
A brutal 180-degree neck snap was executed instantly! Damon's breathing stopped short as he collapsed onto the hard floor. He vomited a thick puddle of blood, his eyes instantly turning lifeless as he lay motionless.
Shin smirked, a crafty glint in his eyes:
— "You guys focused so much on us that you forgot about an extremely dangerous person!"
Without wasting a single second, Seijuro stepped forward, gripping his sword hilt with both hands. He swung a clean, powerful slash aimed directly at the reinforced concrete main support pillar of the hall!
SWOOSH!
The slash carried massive sword intent that sliced through the air, dividing the surrounding space in half. The load-bearing pillar was cut cleanly in two!
Akai Kiriko immediately seized the opportunity, leaping out to swing her weapon and block the residual slash for Arthur, continuing to play her role of protecting her faction.
Shin screamed at the top of his lungs:
— "EVERYONE, GET OUT OF HERE FAST!"
Right after Shin's shout, the massive architectural structure of the banquet venue began to shake violently before collapsing in a chain reaction. The Zero Horizon squad sprinted outside to avoid being crushed under thousands of tons of stone.
However, right before the ceiling fully caved in, Arthur, in utter madness, condensed energy at his fingertip and fired a deadly beam of light!
ZIP!
The light beam speed through the air, piercing straight through Roxy's body, causing her to spew blood and fall severely injured! Without stopping, the beam redirected straight at Shin.
In that split-second of life and death, an unexpected event occurred—Kento spun around, putting all his strength into his leg, and delivered a brutal kick that deflected the lethal beam straight up into the sky!
BOOM!
Ignoring the enemy's shock, Seijuro immediately turned around to hoist the collapsed Roxy onto his back. The team accelerated with explosive speed, escaping the scene just as the entire auction venue collapsed into ruined rubble.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thick dust clouds surged high into the sky. The most urgent priority now was retreating from the Central District's area of control.
However, from deep within the rubble-strewn debris, a blinding surge of light energy exploded, blowing away all obstacles. Arthur stepped out with blood-red eyes filled with killing intent, preparing to give chase after Shin's group.
Yet, his path was instantly blocked by a figure.
— "That's enough!" Shen Hansen's voice sounded icy cold.
Arthur roared:
— "Hansen! Get out of the way! They're escaping!"
Shen Hansen nonchalantly dusted off his shoulder, replying calmly:
— "What's the point of chasing them now? Look at what you've lost today!"
Just as he spoke, a deformed hand pushed out from beneath the pile of stones behind them. The person standing up from the rubble was Damon—with his head still twisted 180 degrees backward!
CRACK! CRACK!
Damon grabbed his own head with both hands, twisting it back into its original position with an unnerving, brutal composure. He smirked, wiping dry blood from his chin:
— "Unbelievable... I was careless to this extent!"
Siren Sinclair stepped out from a corner of the ruins, clicking her tongue in annoyance:
— "Looks like we're getting chewed out today... All the auctioned alien slaves escaped, and now losing the special item from VIP 666 as well, we better prepare for an earful!"
Arthur gritted his teeth tightly, his fists clenched till blood dripped:
— "Dammit! I clearly could have killed them all!"
With that, Arthur shot a glance at Kiriko standing quietly not far away, lowering his voice:
— "Hey Kiriko... Thanks for blocking that slash for me earlier. But I'm still keeping my guard up against you, hear me?"
Kiriko didn't answer, merely bowing her head in silence, her eyes hidden behind her bangs.
Arthur turned to Shen Hansen, shouting angrily:
— "Why didn't you help us earlier, Hansen?!"
Shen Hansen smirked playfully, his eyes showing clear boundaries:
— "I'm under no obligation to help you guys. The Federation and I only do business based on cash contracts, and I don't work for you guys for free, ever."
— "You bastard!"
Furious, Arthur stepped forward and grabbed Shen Hansen tightly by the collar.
Shen Hansen's eyes instantly darkened, a violent, overwhelming surge of killing intent radiating from his body:
— "Take your hand off me... Otherwise, I'm not sure if that arm will remain attached to your body!"
Sensing a spine-chilling threat, Arthur instinctively let go, taking a step back while gritting his teeth:
— "We'll await further orders from Lu Xie. Get ready, because we're about to hire you!"
Shen Hansen smiled once more, calmly adjusting his collar:
— "A pleasure to be of service... But my price this time won't be cheap!"
(To be continued)