Chapter 247: Brawl
While his companions fought, Lithe Snake, with his keen night vision, spotted Black Sparrow, Yellow Butterfly, Dark Li, Old Joe, and body number 4.
Old Joe wasn’t much of a combatant, so he was the farthest away from the battlefield. On his back was a charred body that had lost all mobility, which must be Yellow Butterfly.
Dark Li had his eyes closed as he wandered around, most likely looking for Can and Ronnie.
As for body number 4—
“Your six!”
Lithe Snake shouted at Ghost Horse and simultaneously cast two throwing knives at the shadow in the corner not far away.
A figure jumped out of the dark to avoid it. It was body number 4.
Ghost Horse caught it at a glance and vanished immediately.
With two teleports, he made it to number 4.
It was a short, brown-haired middle-aged man, dressed in loose blue clothes for cadavers. He had a black eyepatch on his left eye while his right eye flickered with green light. On his chest was a faint web-shaped brand.
Ghost Horse thrust his karambit toward the body’s chest, but failed to penetrate.
At some point, the living shadow had wrapped around number 4’s torso, forming a hardy black armor.
Ghost Horse was caught off guard. He didn’t know that the shadow could put up such a strong defense.
The shadow spread along the blade of the karambit, attempting to grab onto Ghost Horse’s wrist. He immediately let go of his weapon and teleported seven meters away.
As soon as he steadied himself, a figure pounced on him from the side.
Ghost Horse caught the movement from the corner of his eye and tilted his head. The fierce punch missed him, the sheer force of it brushing past the tip of his nose, accompanied by a slightly bitter smell.
A second later, Ghost Horse teleported again to put some distance between him and his attacker. At the same time, he felt a numbness spreading through his body. Although it was only for a fleeting moment, it was enough to alert him.
Ghost Horse collected himself and looked at the body attacking him.
It was a strongly-built woman with a shaved head and tanned skin. On her temple was a dark hole with blood stains. She must have been killed by a shot in the head.
Her right hand and forearm were a dark violet, which looked eerie under the moonlight.
Ghost Horse realized then that it was Black Sparrow from the fourth team, and her Talent was Drunken Master.
...
Roaming about, Dark Li suddenly came to a halt. His body had been ravaged by rune corpses’ bites before his death, and the loose blue clothes looked like they were hanging on a skeleton.
He seemed to have noticed something, and he slowly turned to an empty space.
Although he saw nothing, he could sense two quickening heartbeats.
Dark Li rushed over.
A second later, Can and Ronnie showed up.
Can’s use of Invisibility was broken in her fear and nervousness, but in truth, her Talent meant little to Dark Li to begin with.
“Whoa! Here he comes!” Can shouted in panic.
Ronnie was caught in inaction as well, unsure if he should use Disorientation.
Growl!
A growl came from the collapsed working room.
Countless ice shards shot into the air from the now hoodless room, glinting brightly under the moonlight.
Level 5 Beastly was more than enough to deal with level 3 Frost.
Gray Bear was momentarily caught by body number 7’s ice. But soon, he broke free of the ice encasing him with raw power at the cost of a momentary loss of control.
In a state of frenzy, he lunged at number 7 and broke her neck, destroying the web-shaped brand at the same time.
Bam!
A few seconds later, the giant bear knocked the metal door of the working area down with number 7 still in his mouth, rushing out on all-fours.
When Gray Bear slowly recovered his rationality, he spotted Dark Li on the clearing in front of him immediately, as well as the helpless Can and Ronnie.
He shook his head and flung number 7 at Dark Li.
Sensing something flying his way, Dark Li dodged.
Can and Ronnie came back to senses and quickly held onto each other, disappearing from sight yet again.
Dark Li didn’t have the time to track the two of them. Gray Bear was already charging toward him like a tank.
A dull thud, and Dark Li flew off his feet, getting speared through the abdomen by a steel rod in the garbage dump, pinned and unable to move.
With no sense of pain, Dark Li struggled to break free as green light burst out of his eyes.
A dagger moved toward Dark Li in the air.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry...” Can’s apologetic voice came.
The hovering blade pierced into Dark Li’s chest, through the web-shaped brand.
Dark Li shuddered before the green light in his eyes died down in an instant. Finally, the body stopped moving and returned to eternal slumber.
...
Atop a tower facility, Xiuyi pulled the bow string while half-crouching, aiming at the bottom of the spiral staircase below without moving an inch. In order to get to him, Nine Frost would have to go through the spot.
The stalemate lasted for about thirty seconds.
During those thirty seconds, Nine Frost had been sticking close to the wall, his voice hoarse and bitter. “I know you can’t hear me, Xiuyi. But I still want to tell you this. Your grandmother is doing well in the nursing home. I told her that you went abroad to study, and every month, I wrote to her. She couldn’t see now, but she always beamed happily when I read your letters to her.”
“Old Joe and Black Sparrow were killed as well. Yellow Butterfly was a spy from the Godbearer Cult. We dealt with her.”
“I will eliminate the Cult and avenge you all. Rest in peace.”
The green light in Xiuyi’s eyes dimmed for a moment, or it might simply be the dark clouds obscuring the moon and dulling the moonlight. It was as if he had heard and acknowledged Nine Frost.
The next second, arrows flew from Xiuyi’s bow.
Swish, swish, swish.
Three arrows fired at the same time, hitting only a gray jacket.
It turned out that Nine Frost had spoken loudly to bid Xiuyi farewell, but also to hide the rustles of him taking off his jacket.
When Xiuyi nocked another arrow, it was already too late. Nine Frost had already charged toward the top of the tower.
He made three quick punches at Xiuyi’s chest, where the brand was.
Weak Point activated.
Xiuyi’s body stilled for half a second before his chest sank in dramatically and his back bulged, making him curl up like a lobster. His frail body was thrown off his feet, almost flying away.
Nine Frost quickly grabbed Xiuyi’s arm with his other hand and yanked him back into his embrace.
Tightening his arms around Xiuyi, Nine Frost said with tears of pain brimming his eyes, “I’m sorry, Xiuyi. I made a mistake. In my next life, I’ll be your big brother again, and I’ll be the one to die for you...”
The only response he got was the whine of the night wind.
...
Black Sparrow’s fists rained down on Ghost Horse. He could only dodge and move away.
It would’ve been easy for Ghost Horse to deal with Black Sparrow were she alive. Now dead, however, Black Sparrow felt no pain, and she wouldn’t stop moving just because she had been hit in her vitals.
Her only weakness was the brand on her forehead.
Ghost Horse could attack her forehead with Teleportation, but then she would also hit Ghost Horse in that instant with Drunken Master.
Once hit, he would be paralyzed, and even two seconds of inaction would give number 4 enough time to capture him with Phantom.
Actually, number 4’s Phantom had approached Ghost Horse secretly from the ground many times while Ghost Horse faced Black Sparrow, but Ghost Horse teleported away every time.
He was starting to feel weighed down.
Teleportation wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Every use was a test on his explosive power, and frequent uses would quickly exhaust him.
At most, Ghost Horse could use Teleportation 40 times in an hour.
In less than ten minutes, however, he had already used it 20 times.
His eyes were on Black Sparrow while he looked out for Phantom from the corner of his eye, which could come for him at any time from under his feet. They were in a stalemate.
Suddenly, Ghost Horse looked up and spotted something.
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