Chapter 76 The Balance of Fate: Every gift of fate comes at a price, the balance of the scales...

The woman on the motorcycle unexpectedly didn't approach. She spun the handlebars with one hand, narrowly stopping the motorcycle, and then swung the other hand violently in the air. Several playing cards, as hard as daggers, sliced ​​through the metal bar in mid-air.

His superpower level is low, but his fighting skills are quite good.

The security team leader was puzzled, unable to understand why a C-level ability user was involved in their fight. Suddenly, Bian Shaoyan's urgent shout came from behind him:

"Interrupt her!"

His doubts deepened, but his body already acted on command.

This distance is only a few steps for an A-level ability user. Just as his metallic fist was about to slam heavily onto the person's head, a bright purple light flashed before his eyes, and a hand suddenly appeared. The thumb hooked on the middle finger and flicked it lightly, and a cluster of purple flames slowly drifted out.

"!"

Although there were no spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the purple flames, the security team captain was on high alert. His arms instantly swelled to twice their original size, crossed in front of his chest, and his spiritual energy surged recklessly, continuously flowing into his arms, which gleamed with a black-gold metallic luster.

"Huh?"

A questioning whisper seemed to come from within the purple light, but he no longer had the energy to pay attention. The cluster of purple flames was no bigger than two fingernails. When it exploded on his arm, seemingly slowly but actually very quickly, he felt as if he had been hit by a meteorite.

The arms, which were as strong as heavy trucks after being fully charged with their supernatural abilities, were shattered into pieces as easily as two fragile toothpicks upon contact with the purple flame, due to the terrifying force.

Amidst the excruciating pain of a comminuted fracture and the constant phantom pain emanating from his nerves, the first thing that entered the mind of this superpowered individual was relief. His arms hung limply at his shoulders like boneless chicken legs, and just as he had charged at his opponent like a cheetah, he retreated at twice the speed.

The purple flames shattered his arm, but the impact also sent him flying, avoiding the raging purple flames that followed, which even seemed to scorch cracks in the space itself.

Illuminated by the ever-growing purple flames, in the door-shaped halo formed by the twisted purple flames and fluttering gray moths in mid-air, the outstretched hand retracted and rested on the "door frame." With a slight exertion, a figure emerged from the "door."

The figure looked like an adult woman, but it resembled a wax figure made by a novice apprentice. Although the joints were mostly aligned, upon closer inspection, the human body was awkward in every way. The left arm was slightly longer, the right elbow was reversed, and the two legs were frighteningly long.

Compared to these increasingly unsettling details, the woman's face features a giant white pixelated question mark where the eyes and nose should be, and a horizontal pixelated letter "D" where the mouth should be. These bizarre features, because they deviate so much from reality, seem less terrifying.

"Bishop D?"

From behind, the woman's hair flew about, seemingly shimmering—only upon closer inspection could one discover that each strand of "hair" was actually a constantly burning, leaping purple flame, spreading out exaggeratedly in the air like the layered hem of a gown. At the ends of the purple flame-formed hair, within the subtly distorted spatial fissures caused by the scorching heat, gray creatures constantly darted and danced.

Whether she was seeing things or not, the moth's scales and wings opened and closed slightly in the flames, like bird feathers.

Xu Xunyuan dared not look any longer, discarding the dimmed element core in his hand, which had become indistinguishable from an ordinary piece of glass, and releasing the black bread that had burned to charcoal.

Even though she herself had summoned any spatial portal according to the ritual requirements, Xu Xunyuan still felt somewhat incredulous as she watched the toy plastic door grow larger out of thin air and Bishop D emerge from it amidst endless purple flames—was this really a power that a human could control?

"Um."

The woman gave a casual reply. Xu Xunyuan knew she couldn't get involved in the upcoming battle. He glanced worriedly at his companions, who were more or less injured, and said nothing more. Following the plan, he turned the motorcycle handlebars all the way and roared towards the shrinking portal, disappearing into the open space along with it.

"You come from the mist."

Even with the most rational approach, having lost his prized arms, the security team captain's eyes were bloodshot, his robust body trembled uncontrollably, and nine-tenths of his strength was gone.

Bian Shaoyan didn't even look at him, scrutinizing the woman's strange limbs and the moths lingering in her hair. His expression changed from initial shock to gloom. "You dare to violate the 'March Contract' witnessed by March?"

March contract?

Previously, in the mines at the Folenza docks, when the messenger of the [Mimi Yin], He Xian, mistakenly thought he was a security guard sent by the Public Security Bureau, he also mentioned this word.

However, judging from He Xian's words, the content of this contract should be that the people of the city-state are not allowed to interfere with the affairs in the mist. Now, judging from Bian Shaoyan's meaning, the beings in the mist are also not allowed to interfere with the city-state.

The March contract has restrictions on both parties? Interesting. Who has such great power to make two irreconcilable parties simultaneously enter into an agreement?

March……

Recalling that before the operation, 166 warned himself not to enter the city-state in his true form, and even went so far as to activate the "advanced on-demand" function, allowing himself to unlock the new function of creating clones only after building the [Coffin].

Countless thoughts raced through Du Yu's mind. She had only been out in the outside world for the time it takes to smile. After a moment's thought, she decided to tell the truth:

"'The March Contract'? Never heard of it."

Bian Shaoyan's forehead veins throbbed. Although he hadn't yet recognized which evil god's familiar this guy belonged to, the one who had just defeated Ramsden, the company's best of the best, and beaten hundreds of competitors to become the security team captain, must be Divine Fire!

Only the Divine Fire could render a top-tier A-level ability user so disheveled in a single encounter. And those beings in the mist who ignited the Divine Fire—which one of them hadn't met with March? How could they not know about the 'March Contract'?

It's just a pretense of ignorance. As long as the people at the marine research center arrive and leave without being caught in the act, there's still a chance to turn back.

Who would go to such lengths to kill themselves?

Bian Shaoyan's eyes gradually darkened. He and Quark had quite a few enemies. When he recognized Cat Whiskers, he thought the attack was a personal vendetta, but now that a follower of an evil god had been involved, things couldn't be that simple...

Thinking of the several evil gods who had intervened openly and secretly when the Holy Grail shattered, Bian Shaoyan's heart sank to the bottom. They were clearly after the fragments of the Holy Grail! With the Holy Grail involved, this matter probably wouldn't end easily today…

He slowly shifted his gaze, looking at the security guards who had beaten several attackers so badly they couldn't lift their heads after being injected with the drug. There was no joy in his eyes. He knew his own drug; in ten minutes, the increase in strength would backfire on these security guards!

Moreover, although the attackers brought by Cat Whiskers appeared to be beaten badly, they did not suffer any fatal injuries at all, and the minor injuries they sustained were quickly healed by the A-level healing ability user on the other side.

Damn it, healing ability users are already rare, but the one on the other side not only has outstanding healing abilities, but also has strong combat power, while our side was inexplicably defeated by the enemy!

The pent-up frustration that had been suppressed for so long ignited a fire in Bian Shaoyan's heart. The fire burned brighter and brighter. Suddenly, he raised his hands, palms facing the sky, making a lifting motion. In the depths of his dark eyes, a silver light, like magnesium burning intensely, suddenly shone.

"The gifts of fate need to be carefully weighed, on the scales of equivalence!"

A huge, illusory scale appeared behind Bian Shaoyan. It looked somewhat like the spiritual artifact that Du Yu obtained from Lan Ge through Dong Shiwu, but it was far more magnificent than that instrument. As it swayed, it seemed to be weighing all things in the world.

Bian Shaoyan withdrew his hand and glanced coldly at the arms of security team captain Ramsden. A pink light suddenly shone and flew from the middle of the armored truck to the right end of the scale.

The scales swayed a few times, and silver light surrounded Ramsden's broken arms. In the blink of an eye, the arms, which were as weak as boneless chicken legs, twitched a few times. With a "crackling" sound, the misaligned muscles straightened, the broken bones grew back, and the arms were restored to their original state.

"...Thank you, boss."

Ramsden thanked him in a hoarse voice. The wound healed so quickly that his brain hadn't even had time to process it. His nerves stopped producing phantom pain a few seconds later. His new arm was smooth to use and even stronger.

Bian Shaoyan did not answer. He clenched his fists in the air as if he were catching something, shook them a few times, and the remaining five security guards all emitted silver light, some thick and some thin, which fell to the right end of the scale.

This time, the scales reacted even faster. The silver light disappeared almost the instant it landed on the tray, and five black beams shot out from different directions, landing on the heads of the five security guards and then surging into their bodies.

The five security guards, whose already excessively muscular bodies had changed again after being injected with the enhancement drug, now shrunk in size, as if metal had been tempered and impurities removed. Their aura, instead of diminishing, increased, making them resemble strong, humanoid beasts.

Cai Chunyu wiped the blood from her forehead, panting heavily, and frowned slightly: "The aura of [Erosion]..."

Even though her traits include the element of [corruption], she has never had such a strong aura before. It is so strong that she doesn't seem like a living person, but rather like a fallen being in the mist.

"Grace, Winifred, Yuan Haoqiang, Bell, Sabrina..."

Looking at the changes in his team members, Ramsden's joy at the new growth on his arm vanished. As the captain of the security team, he knew more inside information than his subordinates.

Every gift of fate comes at a price. The scales of fate weigh all things in the world, and the more you gain from them, the more you lose.

The boss paid the price for my arm, but what about my teammates...?

Thinking too much was pointless. Ramsden took a deep breath, a fierce glint in his eyes. Now, the only option was to finish this quickly, and his teammates might be able to escape with their lives.

"Bang—"

The already formidable enemy was further strengthened after the upgrade. Despite using all her strength, Cai Chunyu could only manage to leave a white mark on the enemy's skin, without even breaking through its defenses.

As she was filled with horror, a ghostly figure suddenly appeared behind her, moving so fast that it almost left a trail of afterimages. Cai Chunyu's pupils shrank, and she instinctively moved to the side, but it was too late!

"Clang—"

In the nick of time, the attacker inexplicably slipped, and the gleaming dagger stabbed straight at his teammate. Cai Chunyu disregarded everything else, threw herself to the ground, and rolled several times to dodge this potentially fatal blow.

It's a captain's trait...

Cai Chunyu glanced at the black cat on the library rooftop, its fur growing increasingly dull. Her mind raced; she had to finish this quickly, as the captain wouldn't last much longer.

She herself didn't notice that all the team members, including herself, were looking expectantly at the figure in mid-air enveloped in purple flames.

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Author's note: This long battle should be over by tomorrow, lol