27 Thunderclap

Only now did they scramble over to beg for mercy, still harboring the delusional hope that if they knelt and kowtowed to admit their faults, Lu Tangtang would convince Ji Yanmo to let them off.

Ming Si stiffened at my words, but then seemed to grasp my intent. He curled the corners of his mouth and, offering no further comment, simply nodded.

Watching their hands—one dark, one fair—intertwined, Lin Nuannuan felt a wave of heat rise slowly from her fingertips, soon flushing her ears and cheeks a deep crimson.

Linglong had calculated well: Ji Chengfeng had only just arrived and would not be leaving anytime soon. If that person were indeed He Mubai, he would certainly be caught red-handed by He Jingchu.

Every move was the same; after a flurry of exchanges, Li Huairen realized that each time he struck, he met nothing but the hem of Yun Chi’s robes.

The kitchen staff in the military camp crept out to see what was happening, only to run straight into the large force led by Ruan Meng.

She hadn't looked closely before because the room was dark and chaotic, but thinking back now, it was entirely possible that Xue Mingrui had been inside.

Hu Hu’s temperament was more steady and mature than Ban Ruo’s; upon hearing Ban Ruo’s words, her voice remained perfectly calm.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoyi silently stowed his Soul-Severing Blade. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, the only thing he could rely on was…

Some things are destined to be missed. As the saying goes, some people exist only to be missed. I do not wish to miss out, yet I have no choice but to do so.

This kingdom had always bowed before brute force, and when it stood tall, it did so only to bully the weak.

***

Yuan Yuan’s thoughtfulness and maturity warmed my heart slightly. After a few more casual words, the phone was passed to Chu Yi.

Yu Yue was dazed for a moment. A formal wedding? Did they really have to get married all over again? She stared at the Emperor, who was filled with tenderness, and reached out to touch his forehead, finding it cool to the touch.

The crowd couldn't help but curse; they were completely surrounded. The great hall was essentially a series of linked traps, and just as they were about to be engulfed by the corpse-eating bees, Jiang Lan suddenly pulled out a piece of candy. A cloying fragrance instantly filled the hall, and he flung it far into the distance.

Their posture and movements were truly like those of brothers who had grown up together, sharing an incredibly close bond.

This was something that could be wiped out in the snap of a finger; why bother making such a mess of things?

Then again, while refining a perfect godhood wasn't exactly reliable, that broken machine of his had unexpectedly helped him improve his cultivation; it wasn't entirely useless.

I lay back on the bed for another ten minutes. When no further call came, I felt a mix of reluctance and relief, though I couldn't quite name the emotion.

"That’s good. But didn’t you join the Imperial Academy? Why are you managing a bank now?" Shen Huan thought of Qin Yi. Back then, Qin Yi had abandoned the Academy to take the Ministry of Personnel exams and become an official at the Court of Judicial Review. It was only then that Shen Huan realized how intense his desire for revenge truly was.

Sitting in the car, Ma Liu couldn't understand why Louis, a major arms dealer, would go to such lengths to participate in a competition. Even if it was an international event, Louis wouldn't be here without a hidden motive.

After the initial three exchanges, Dionysius’s expression grew increasingly grim. The Big Dipper Formation provided sufficient defense while maintaining its lethality. The magic released by the other two Arch-Magi in their sneak attacks had been deflected or neutralized.

"Brother Guo, take Jin Yan and Donggua and secure the Red Light District for me! That district is our lifeblood; if we lose it, the Tianmen will be as good as bankrupt!" I turned my gaze toward Guo Han.

***

"Young lady, are we that familiar?" Shen Huan sighed, but she couldn't refuse that herbivore-like gaze, so she sat on the stone bench beside her.

Li Shenfu didn't even look at the fallen demons. It wasn't out of fear, but out of pity. The demons had possessed these bodies; in killing the demons, these innocent, ordinary humans would not survive either. Yet, it was an unavoidable, cruel reality.

Shen Huan obediently drank the medicine. Though she lacked strength, she didn't want to lie in bed any longer, so Zhong Ling and Zhong Xiu helped her outside for a walk.

Chen Zhihan picked up the man’s pistol from the ground and inspected it. "Beretta 92F. To die under such a world-famous weapon is no disgrace." With that, she tucked the pistol into her jacket.

"Your Highness, Zhao Wuyou has become a turncoat; I have truly failed the grace of the Great Song that raised me!" Zhao Wuyou rose to his feet, unable to help but think that, now a subject of the Jin Kingdom, his chances of returning to the Great Song were slim. A trace of sorrow was inevitable.

The battle had been raging for some time. The Western Holy See and the dark factions had suffered dozens of casualties, while the opposition had lost none. Though the two Sky Knights hadn't fallen, they had been severely tormented by the Big Dipper Formation, their armor rendered useless.

Luo Tianjiao couldn't believe her eyes. She had struck the blow herself, and she was certain the target’s internal organs would have been shattered by her power. How could the person she deemed dead be alive, and even saved? How could she not be horrified?

Seeing the dense array of weapons around him, he felt no surprise, despite seeing so many for the first time; instead, a smile of "as I expected" spread across his face.

The sound of metal clashing rang out. The black arm remained unscathed, not even a shallow mark left on its scales. The Eight-Trigrams Xuanhua Axe was sent flying instantly, whistling through the air before embedding itself into the wall.