Chapter 64 Fearless

Ji Huaisu collapsed in the collapsed hall, blood flowed into her eyes, and the fireball in her vision was dyed bright red.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment, and the expansion of the fireball in Ji Huaisu's eyes also slowed down. The flames spread out in strands, like a blood-red flower about to bloom. This guy was really cautious to the extreme. Even at this time, he was unwilling to close the distance. He would rather wait a second longer to create the fireball than take a step closer to burn it.

Ji Huaisu knew the citrine was shimmering furiously, and her companions must be terribly anxious, but she had no response. What else could she say? The enemy was too strong, and I was no match? After failing to hold on, it was all up to you guys? This was lame, unworthy of being a knight, not even a captain. A captain shouldn't have tragic last words before dying; a captain should use that strength to swing his sword!

But when it really happened to me, I was still worried. I couldn't find that kind of bravery to fear no death. Instead, I felt so scared like a little child.

Perhaps there's no one in the world who isn't truly afraid of death? I just keep holding on. If I can hold on to the end like my dad did, then I won't be afraid anymore.

"I'm sorry." Ji Huaisu smiled silently.

The light shield and shadow blade in her hands grew stronger simultaneously, the sword's gleam piercing the shield, allowing the most vibrant light to merge with the darkest shadow. The two opposing poles violently collided, their fundamental hostility causing a destructive white light to emanate from between the sword and shield.

This was Ji Huaisu's last resort, a "Dust Break" that would see her die together with her enemy. She endured the pain and broke the flame spear that was pinned to her left hand, throwing the weapon away at the moment the fireball exploded.

The fire burned, the weapons exploded, and two magnificent rays of light burst out, engulfing both the knight and the ambitious man!

·

Chu Hengkong stepped on the accelerator to the bottom with an expressionless face, and the violent wind cut into his face like a blade.

He took out everything from his coat: the empty medicine bottle, the Silver Eyes Book, the small hang glider, the jade carving, the unused talismans... None of them were useful. What he needed at this moment was a helicopter or even a space portal, but there was no such thing on Sky Island.

Of course he would act. He'd already rushed to headquarters the moment he sensed something was amiss. But the Black Workshop's aircraft wasn't particularly fast to begin with, and the intense fighting above the city had caused a turbulent energy surge to dominate the sky. The half-destroyed craft was like a tattered kite, swaying in the turbulent currents no matter how hard he tried. It would eventually fall to the ground, but that would take some time.

A time that can never be caught up.

He knew he couldn't catch up. A wounded knight versus a nearly prime workshop owner. The question wasn't who would win, but how long the knight could hold out. But where was the time to spare? This wasn't even a one-on-one duel. With that damn demon behind Kanin, how could she win? How else could they win?

Therefore, Chu Hengkong had no expression on his face, not even saying a word. This battle was calculated by Kanin from beginning to end. Even if he accidentally landed on the Sky Island and even if he fought hard to kill Bethan, he was greeted by another Plan B.

Chu Hengkong sensed a fate, a destiny he could never escape. He'd tried, every time, to the utmost. He would triumph over his enemies; his assassinations had never failed. But he was only one man, his shortsightedness blind to the bigger picture. No matter how many small pawns won, it had no bearing on the outcome. No matter how many individual victories piled up, they couldn't reverse the inevitable. It had been so on the day his family perished, and it was just as true now.

He was speechless, his heart choking with so much he couldn't speak. He wasn't just a killer anymore; he was a particle, a detective with new subordinates and new friends. But was he going to repeat his mistakes again?

Once again... watching the people around me die?

"I still owe you my life." He muttered to himself, "At least give me a chance... let me pay it back!"

Chu Hengkong suddenly roared in anger. He pounded the dashboard with all his might, acting like a thug. He'd had enough. He hadn't become a skilled hand and learned Longxiang boxing to lament his fate at this moment. His skills were meant to change the world!

There is still a way, there is one last way!

Chu Hengkong stood up, facing the wind. Through the insurmountable turbulence of energy, he stared at the giant tree in the city center, at the indistinct city beneath it. The fierce wind whipped at his body, like countless invisible blades piercing his body. The talisman was clamped between his fingers, the incantation on the talisman paper as red as blood.

The Blood-Burning Qi-Controlling Talisman. This was Ji Qiufeng's final resort, allowing the martial artist to temporarily control their "will and energy" at the cost of burning their blood!

Chu Hengkong slapped the talisman against his body, the out-of-control aircraft spinning wildly. He tensed all his muscles, using the aircraft as a springboard to launch himself out, leaping into the turbulent air alone! Like an eagle swooping down from the sky! Leaping countless kilometers below, toward the final battlefield that would determine their fate!

A storm. Clouds. A deafening roar. His vision rapidly turned red. His eardrums vibrated violently. His brain felt like it had been struck by a blunt object, confused and empty. He smashed through the gray clouds, his body burning from the heat of high-speed friction and the streams of fire streaking from the sky. But he could still hold on, the weakness from blood loss spreading, a different kind of "qi" coursing through his body, distinct from blood.

It was as if another self roared within him, burning a resolute will as fuel. That will was the warrior's spirit. As long as the warrior lived, his spirit would not fade!

The muscles in his back warned him of the approaching gale. Chu Hengkong flung open his glider, using the wind's force to propel him forward. The glider collapsed the instant it flung open. His vision was awash in blood. His limbs felt frozen. He continued to tense his muscles, using them to protect himself. He could see almost nothing, only the blurry outlines of the city.

The heat is ahead. He must keep moving forward. There's no sail left. Chu Hengkong took off his coat, a symbol that had accompanied him from his assassin days to the present day, and spread it out like a sail! Using the fleeting wind, he advanced, approaching the sky above his destination. He concentrated his energy into his eyes, straining to open them. He saw a burning silhouette, a familiar figure. Demons, fireballs, a dying girl, a radiance emanating from sword and shield—

He flung out his tentacles, stretching his arms as far as he could. His tentacles transformed into silver lightning, sweeping Ji Huaisu up into the air!

Two explosions occurred simultaneously on the surface, and the air currents crashed into Chu Hengkong like an invisible wall. He fell to the ground, clutching Ji Huaisu tightly, and the recoil bounced him up, hurling him like a stone skipping on water.

Each time he landed, a vortex-like trail formed. Chu Hengkong employed the "Shou Shen" technique from Longxiang Fist to continuously dissipate the force, ultimately landing in the lobby of the headquarters building. He coughed up a breath that felt like he was spitting blood, nearly collapsing in the rubble. Ji Huaisu lay in his arms, his eyes vacant, as if in a dream.

"...Akong?"

"What...apology..." Chu Hengkong slurred, "Even if I die...I have to die with a smile...!"

Kanin stood at the headquarters gate, staring at them in a daze. A bullet-crater-like wound pierced his upper body, deep enough to reveal his heart, engulfed in flames. It was the wound inflicted by Dust Break, and should have been the final mark of Ji Huaisu's life. But Ji Huaisu had been rescued by tentacles. By tentacles...?

How come there are tentacles?

(Kanin! Chase her as soon as possible!) Bethan yelled in his mind, (Damn it, I didn’t even remember… That’s a Discipline Knight! I can’t let her live!!)

Chu Hengkong, Ji Huaisu, Kanin. Currently, no one was able to function normally. Kanin tried his best to sort out his thoughts and recover from the damage done by Chen Po. Still not fully awake, he asked a rather unwise question.

"Why are you here?"

Chu Hengkong smiled. A very proud smile. Kanin used fire to repair his wounds. He pointed to the sky.

"Come on, killer." He laughed. "Did you jump from the sky?"

"Yes." Chu Hengkong touched his partner's pocket where the pills were kept, and Ji Huaisu moved aside.

“Haha, hahaha, hahahahahahaha…”

Kanin couldn't help but burst into laughter, covering his face with his hands and laughing a few times. He suddenly threw his hands away and roared without any grace: "You are mentally ill, Chu Hengkong!!!"

"Unhappy?" Chu Hengkong laughed viciously, "Come and kill me if you dare, you bastard!!"

Kanin swung his arm and launched a cylindrical flame cannon, pushing the two men in the rubble towards each other, using the recoil to dodge left and right. The few words he had spoken earlier were enough to recharge their batteries, and they leaped off the wall, attacking from two directions!

"I just used my ultimate and now I can't deal damage!" "I can still hold on for two minutes." "Be careful of his speed." "Each of us will take half of the pill." "I'll assist this time..."

"I'll take the lead!"

Ji Huaisu ducked his head, dodging a lightning bolt. He swallowed half the Changle Pill and dropped the other half into Chu Hengkong's mouth. Chu Hengkong swallowed the pill and raised his sword to parry the claw attack. Kanin's wings flashed behind him, and he shifted rapidly to land behind Chu Hengkong. However, his next attack only struck his afterimage, and Chu Hengkong shifted his feet to avoid the sneak attack.

After using the Blood Burning Talisman, his speed is comparable to that of Kanin who has fused with the demon!

The two exchanged blows several times in a flash. Chu Hengkong, using his rock blade and his masterful swordsmanship, parried each attack. With the protective Qi flowing through him and half a Changle Pill, the burning flames of ambition proved ineffective. He seized the opportunity to unleash a flurry of kicks, using his Qi to inflict a crushing blow on the elemental form. Kanin retreated, and he retaliated with a blazing blue flame from his eyes, only to be blocked by a light shield conjured from thin air. Ji Huaisu followed closely behind, using a spherical light shield to provide support. Her shadow blade, reduced to the size of a regular dagger, stabbed Kanin's shadow.

If the Shadow Blade hit his shadow, even Kanin, now in his current form, would be harmed. Cautiously, Kanin distanced himself, flapping his wings and sending dozens of feathers scattering towards Ji Huaisu, who had just drawn his sword. In a flash of silver, Ji Huaisu vanished. Chu Hengkong used his tentacles to rescue his partner, carrying her on his back as they charged forward.

Kanin's gaze shifted several times, and six cyan rings appeared on the ground. Six cylindrical attacks of blue flames followed one after another. "You can't handle it," Ji Huaisu warned. Chu Hengkong immediately changed his strategy, leaping to dodge, but the blue flames limited his evasive range. Kanin seized the opportunity to fashion a longbow from the blue flames, and simultaneously launched several flaming arrows.

"Fire Arrows and Poison Rain."

The bowstring trembled, the sound of piercing air continued, and the flaming arrows shot towards the unavoidable blind spot. "I'll do it!" Ji Huaisu clapped his partner's shoulder. Chu Hengkong rushed forward regardless. Ji Huaisu placed her light shield in front of her to block four arrows. The fifth and sixth arrows flew forward, but she swung her shadow blade to cut them into several pieces. However, the flaming arrows exploded into a red poisonous mist, temporarily blinding the two men trapped in the mist.

"Three meters to the left," Chu Hengkong announced by ear, while Ji Huaisu swung his sword to cut off the fireballs emanating from the darkness. "Five steps forward, turn left." Ji Huaisu, using his shield to dimly illuminate the path ahead, warned his partner to adjust their direction. The two men kept reminding each other, working together as closely as they had on their first mission. In a few breaths, they burst through the poisonous fog, and Kanin used this time to launch a new offensive. A boiling blue flame erupted from his claws, and from it flew a flock of blue fire crows, chirping incessantly!

The crows flew as fast as swift stars, carrying deadly poisonous fire and overwhelming force. Chu Hengkong hurled water bombs at the crows at top speed, clearing a path through the flock wide enough for one man to pass, but more crows surrounded him. He could see nothing but countless burning feathers. The crows' beaks and claws pierced his already tattered light armor, gouging dozens of searing, bloody holes in his body.

But Ji Huaisu was still there. The knight leaped into the fleeting path, his shortened shadow blade held high in both hands. Seeing the distance too close for him to dodge, Kanin created a wall of fire to defend against the attack. But Ji Huaisu didn't strike down. Instead, she hurled the shadow blade like a dart, piercing Kanin's shadow, which had momentarily flashed due to the wall of fire.

"superior!"

Kanin froze as the shadow blade struck. Chu Hengkong, who was among the crows, had already sheathed his blade. He leaped forward, breaking through the crows, using his senses to determine his position, and unleashed an unstoppable vertical slash.

The surging power in the rock blade exploded, cutting off Kanin's right hand and one of his wings!

(End of this chapter)