Protect the Crown Prince's Final Dignity!

Hou had already begun to consider retreating, but he did not dare reveal even the slightest hint of it.

Once the other side noticed, the offensive would surely crash down like a raging tide overhead, and by then, trying to pull away and retreat would be harder than ever.

So at this moment, his attacks remained fierce and domineering, even more valiant than before, even more reckless!

He had to make that Yama Emperor phantom opposite him firmly believe that he would never flee.

Only once that thought had taken deep root in the other's mind

would his chances of getting away later truly increase.

This was the clever stratagem he had secretly laid.

Hou's calculations were meticulous, yet he did not know that the Yama Emperor phantom was likewise gritting his teeth and holding on.

His condition was already on the verge of exhaustion, even more precarious than Hou's!

For the power stored within the Yama Emperor Sword was almost depleted.

If the battle dragged on any longer, he would very likely run out of strength and collapse in the midst of the fierce fight, vanishing completely between heaven and earth.

This was his one fatal weakness, and the vulnerability he could least afford to expose.

But for the Myriad Beings of the Underworld behind him, he could only hold on to the very end. He absolutely could not let the savage beast before him see through his true condition.

Otherwise, relying solely on the other's bestial instincts and combat intuition, he would undoubtedly be defeated.

And once he was defeated, the Underworld would fall in an instant, and countless innocent souls would be slaughtered beneath those sharp claws.

Though he was only a phantom, what he had inherited was the Yama Emperor's original vow to protect all living