The man in black robes sneered, and in a flash, he was in front of Bai Yu, grabbing him by the neck in mid-air.
Bai Yu's face turned even darker purple from suffocation, but he still stubbornly refused to let go.
"You want to cross the river and then destroy the bridge?" His voice trembled with pain.
The man in black robes looked at him coldly, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "You're so naive." As he spoke, he increased the pressure on his hand, and Bai Yu's eyes began to roll back, his life force gradually fading away.
"I'm sorry..." With his last breath, Bai Yu cast a complex look at Xu Yuehuai, a look filled with guilt, reluctance, and deep helplessness. As his body collapsed, the battlefield fell silent once more.
But if he had another chance, he would still make the same choice.
Xu Yuehuai stared blankly at everything, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She had never imagined that her fate would be so turbulent, let alone that so many deaths would occur around her.
"No matter what lies ahead, I will live on, for Aze and for myself." She silently made this vow in her heart.
On that battlefield stained crimson with blood, the wind seemed to carry an ominous whimper. The figure in black robes moved slowly like a ghost in the night, each step shattering the surrounding tranquility and despair.
With a flick of his sleeve, Bai Yu's once valiant body turned into wisps of smoke in the astonished gazes of the crowd, dissipating with the wind and leaving behind only deathly silence and fear.
The soldiers, witnessing this scene, were terrified, as if they had seen the most indescribable horror in the world. They threw down their armor and fled in all directions, losing even the courage to turn back.
Xu Yuehuai staggered to her feet from the chariot, trying to escape this nightmarish scene. However, the rope tightly binding her waist was like a shackle of fate, binding her firmly, making it impossible for her to escape this space.
The man in black robes approached leisurely, a playful smile playing on his lips: "Xu Yuehuai, I told you long ago, you can't escape. Fighting alongside me is your only way out."
Xu Yuehuai raised her head and said defiantly, "Do you think I would submit like those cowards who fear death? Once I lose my usefulness, will you kill me like you did Bai Yu?" Her voice trembled, but every word was firm and resolute.
Upon hearing this, the man in black robes laughed instead of getting angry. His laughter echoed across the empty battlefield, sounding particularly jarring: "Oh? What can you do then? Refusing me will only plunge your family and comrades into utter ruin."
As he spoke, he gently waved his hand, and an illusion unfolded before Xu Yuehuai's eyes—it was another battlefield where Qi Guze and her comrades were fighting a bloody battle, the situation was precarious, and it seemed that they would die at any moment.
"See? Their fate is in my hands if I want to." The black-robed man's tone carried a hint of threat, yet also seemed somewhat mocking.
Xu Yuehuai's eyes reddened as she stared intently at him. "If even one of them dies because of me, I, Xu Yuehuai, will drag you down with me, even if it means my own destruction!"
The man in black robes seemed to be touched by her resoluteness, and paused for a moment before resuming his nonchalant demeanor. He gently played with Xu Yuehuai's hair as if admiring a work of art: "Your courage is commendable, but you also need to have the ability to do it."
Suddenly, as if torn apart by an invisible hand, a tiny yet dazzling crack quietly appeared. Then, a bright red thread, as vivid as blood, carrying an undeniable majesty, slowly seeped out from the crack and finally wrapped around Xu Yuehuai's pale yet resolute fingertips.
Her pupils contracted sharply, a mixture of disbelief and shock flashing in her eyes. She whispered, "Bai Yu... is this... your last wish?"
That streak of red blood seemed to contain all of Bai Yu's purity and indomitable spirit in life. Once it touched Xu Yuehuai's body, it surged into her limbs and bones like water bursting its banks.
A powerful force surged within her, but it was accompanied by an uncontrollable undercurrent, causing wisps of black energy to begin to emanate from her body. This was a sign that her power was spiraling out of control and she was about to suffer a qi deviation.
Upon seeing this, the man in the black robe turned ashen-faced, his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his hood, flashing with suspicion and uncertainty.
"How...how could this be?" he muttered to himself, retreating hastily in an attempt to escape this sudden disaster.
However, it was too late. The power awakened within Xu Yuehuai was like a wild horse. She suddenly unleashed an astonishing aura, and the ropes binding her shattered into pieces with a crisp snapping sound. Like a raging torrent in a stormy sea, she charged irresistibly towards the man in black robes.
"You too will pay the price for what you've done!" Xu Yuehuai's voice was hoarse and distorted with anger and pain, each word seeming to burst forth from the depths of his soul, carrying an irresistible force.
The man in black robes hastily accepted the challenge. In the blink of an eye, the two clashed. The air seemed to be torn apart by their power, producing a deafening roar that shook the surrounding space.
"Xu Yuehuai, how dare you..." the man in black robes roared, but found himself unable to withstand the sudden power. Every exchange made him feel unprecedented pressure, as if he were facing not a person, but a mountain about to collapse.
"Bai Yu's sacrifice will not be in vain!" Xu Yuehuai knew that although this power was strong, it was also extremely dangerous, but she had no other choice but to go all out.
Just as the two were locked in fierce combat, the Death Servants on the distant battlefield seemed to sense some strange fluctuations and stopped their killing spree. Qi Guze, Ghost Doctor, Wang Mang and others were even more shocked. They never expected that the battle would take such a turn.
"It must be A-Yue! A-Yue!" Qi Guze, covered in blood, rushed towards Xu Yuehuai's location without regard for anything else. He knew that Xu Yuehuai's current condition was extremely dangerous, and a slight mistake could lead to utter destruction.
"Ghost Doctor, hurry! We must find a way to help her as soon as possible!" Qi Guze shouted to the Ghost Doctor who was following closely behind as he ran.
The Ghost Doctor's expression was solemn as he quickly pulled out bottles of precious pills from his robes, ready to deal with any potential crisis.
"Bang—!"
In the end, the man in black was killed by Xu Yuehuai with a single blow, and was shattered on the spot like fireworks by the powerful force.
In that space, shattered by the aftershocks of the battle, time seemed to freeze, leaving only the lingering echoes of Xu Yuehuai's fierce confrontation with the man in black robes.
As the last wisp of black mist dissipated, the dawn of victory did not immediately illuminate Xu Yuehuai's face; instead, it revealed her unprecedented weakness and exhaustion.
Qi Guze's figure swept across the battlefield like a whirlwind, his eyes filled with unprecedented anxiety and fear. He knelt down beside Xu Yuehuai, his hands trembling as he stroked her pale face, his voice low and firm: "Ayue, can you hear me? I'm back. You must hold on, we still have so much to do."
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