Leave No Room

"You... you..."

Pointing at Ye Man, the axe-wielding man who had just cleanly killed Dean with a single swing, Xuan Ye's face was full of disbelief.

He had wounded Aide so badly that he teleported away in retreat, then slaughtered Dean like a mad dog!

Even with the wolf pack bearing down on them, they were losing people this fast!

What the hell, all because of such a ridiculous reason? You're not just a clown anymore—you're insane! Schizophrenic!

But before Xuan Ye could finish, Luo Luoji raised a hand to stop him, his expression grave.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? This bastard is most likely the one who lured all this here, working with that hidden Necromancer."

Hearing Luo Luoji's grim warning, Xuan Ye couldn't stay calm. The culprit was this clown? This clown had orchestrated this whole scene?

Who the hell is the real clown here! I actually thought he was the only decent one at first! And now even a veteran like Luo Luoji got played by him—everyone got played!

Clap, clap, clap~

Still wearing that same cheap, grinning expression, Ye Man clapped his hands as if in praise.

"Oh, don't put it so bluntly. If that Young Lady hears you, she'll get angry. And when she's angry, she's terrifying—top-tier talent and top-tier Bloodline Power, after all. I'm no match for her..."

'Zzzt~'

The moment Ye Man's words fell, a sharp air burst rang out, and a pure white, holy figure appeared above his head out of thin air like a Valkyrie, as if teleporting!

A radiant Greatsword, wrapped in holy light, descended from the sky, the air currents exploding outward in all directions, as if one strike could annihilate all evil in the world!

Paladin. Professional Skill & Sword of Divine Punishment!

"Just kidding~"

Facing the ultimate killing move, one strong enough to erase him in a single blow despite being used beyond its normal rank, Ye Man's lips curled into a mocking arc. He opened his palm, revealing a black, spiral, diamond-shaped crystal floating above it.

'Zzzt~'

Just as the Paladin girl had appeared out of nowhere, the floating black crystal vanished instantly. And with it, so did the terrifying attack about to land on Ye Man's head—and that holy figure!

'Boom!'

The air above seemed to twist from a violent collision, an explosive distortion sending wild gusts of wind whipping sand across the ground, clothes and hair flying!

'Stomp, stomp, stomp~'

The Paladin girl reappeared, now dozens of meters away in midair, then landed hard, bouncing several times across the sandy ground before finally stopping. Her massive shield spun and embedded itself into the sand even farther off.

As for her, she remained frozen in a crouched stance, both hands gripping her sword planted in the ground, all life drained from her. A single strike's power!

From Ye Man hacking away Aide and beheading Dean, to Aitiya's sudden appearance and fall—the chain of events was like sparks striking flint, too fast for anyone to react!

By the time the others came to their senses, their last hope had already turned into a final tableau of a sword propping up a fallen body.

This attack was beyond their understanding. Though the Paladin girl had shaved her head, seeing her die to Ye Man's scheme while trying to save them stirred a bitter ache in their hearts.

"Heh, one Crystal of God for her life—that's a pretty good deal. If it weren't for her exceptional talent and the fact that her intact corpse would make fine material for the High Priest, they probably wouldn't have let me carry such a valuable item. Tsk tsk~"

Gazing at the spot where Aitiya had fallen, Ye Man turned to Xuan Ye and the others with a half-smile.

"Shadow of Feralas!"

Luo Luoji stared hard at Ye Man, his face full of vigilance and a barely suppressed growl.

"Oh? You even know about the Holy Church? Not bad. How about it? Interested in joining us and letting your soul find salvation and release?"

Ye Man's face showed a flicker of surprise, as if he hadn't expected Luo Luoji to recognize his origins.

"You haven't hidden your strength—otherwise, you wouldn't have dealt with that Paladin girl like that. Clearly, that Professional-rank Necromancer hasn't noticed us. So why did those Azure Wolves attack us?!"

Luo Luoji didn't directly answer him, instead voicing what seemed like a reluctant question. He clearly didn't believe Ye Man had the power to control so many Azure Wolves.

"Ah, you're afraid I have other allies lurking, leaving you with no last shred of hope, aren't you? Do you really think the three of you still have any chance to resist me?"

The mocking, sneering expression on Ye Man's face made Luo Luoji's expression shift.

"But fine, I'll let you die with clarity. Ta-da! Look what this is."

Ye Man reached into his pocket and pulled out a corpse that looked like a puppy. On closer inspection, it was a dead young Azure Wolf, no more than two months old.

No wonder!

No wonder this pack of Azure Wolves had followed them relentlessly, even at the cost of total annihilation. No wonder they could lock onto their position—the source had been carried with them the whole time!

Just then—

'Whoosh~'

A flash of blue streaked by, and the young wolf corpse in Ye Man's hand vanished. Twenty meters away, an Azure Wolf appeared—its back bearing a vicious wound, its left eye scarred and blind.

It was the Male Alpha Wolf that had been locked in battle with Aitiya!

It turned out that after Aitiya sensed the commotion behind and rushed to help, she had only managed to wound it and shake it off with a fierce strike. Once it recovered its breath, relying on its hunting instincts, it had crept close stealthily. Seeing its cub, it naturally couldn't hold back.

"Karma's a bitch. Now with it added in, we might actually have a chance."

This sudden powerful reinforcement, though not exactly on their side, was still an enemy of their enemy. Xuan Ye felt a vengeful thrill. The deaths of several teammates and the desperate situation had pushed him to a breaking point—if he didn't vent now, he'd go mad.

But to Xuan Ye's surprise, Ye Man—seemingly a clown but actually cunning, having played everyone from the start—showed no surprise at the Azure Wolf's appearance. His expression remained perfectly calm, which sent an uneasy chill through Xuan Ye and the other two.

"Although everything has gone according to my plan and all changes are under control, you don't really think I could have fully calculated every step of our battle against this pack of Azure Wolves whose overall strength is roughly equal to ours, do you? Hmm, for example, under normal circumstances, a few of you would already be wolf dung by now, and I would be facing a single alpha wolf and a few subordinate wolves."

Ye Man once again wore that infuriatingly smug, squinty-eyed smile as he spoke lightly, paying no heed whatsoever to the Male Alpha Wolf circling him with the cub's corpse in its jaws, searching for an opening.

This made the most experienced and steady Luo Luoji narrow his eyes slightly, a sense of unease rising once more in his heart.

Although this Azure Wolf appeared to have lost one eye, it was still a Three-Star Predator Rank alpha wolf! Its overall strength was even a notch above that of an ordinary Three-Star Professional Rank powerhouse! Even if Ye Man had some trump cards up his sleeve, he shouldn't be this arrogant.

This starkly contrasted with his earlier performance of single-handedly scheming against everyone present, even dragging Dream Island into his plans—unless he had some direct means of dealing with the Azure Wolf...

"Not good! Poison!"

Before the thought even finished flashing through his mind, Luo Luoji felt a strange, inexplicable weakness rising from the depths of his heart. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the Professional Core within his Qi and Blood Inner Mansion had become coated with a layer of grayish grime, which was steadily expanding and corroding!

His connection with his Professional Core was clearly beginning to weaken!

He was a Guardian who had unlocked the 'Qi and Blood' Inner Mansion! His immunity to toxins was extremely strong, yet even so, the poison had directly breached his Professional Core—just how overbearing was this toxin!

The poison alone was probably worth more than his own life!

"Poison? What poison?"

Xuan Ye was initially startled by Luo Luoji's outburst, then began looking around nervously, but aside from seeing Luo Luoji's poor complexion, he didn't sense anything wrong with himself. Not only him, but the sole remaining Knight Attendant beside him also wore a puzzled expression.

"Oh my, only now realizing it? It seems you still don't know enough about our Holy Church."

Seeing Luo Luoji's expression change, Ye Man opened his perpetually squinting eyes. His originally simple and honest demeanor completely transformed, his gaze turning extremely cold and ruthless. Yet even at this moment, he still chose not to strike.

'Aooo~'

Compared to Luo Luoji, who was still merely swaying on his feet, the Azure Wolf alpha that had been biding its time let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground. Though its strength surpassed Luo Luoji's and it had the physique of a Magic Beast, it was clearly the first to succumb!

Moreover, the poison's eruption was so violent that it had spread unnoticed in an instant, leaving its condition far worse than Luo Luoji's.

Xuan Ye looked at the small wolf corpse that had slipped from the Azure Wolf's jaws, stiff and slightly decayed, and a guess formed in his mind. That unknown poison had likely been applied to the wolf corpse!

But for some reason, he and the other two weaker Knight Attendants showed no reaction.

"'Shadow' reagent is our signature item, you know. A rare toxin specifically targeting Professional Cores. So, what will it be? Burn your core and fight while you still can before it's fully corroded, or die with this humiliation?"

Ye Man began to pace, circling them like the Azure Wolf had earlier, maintaining that peculiar tone as he 'kindly' explained things to the group.

This only made Luo Luoji's expression grow darker. He finally understood why the other had wasted so many words—he was wary of Luo Luoji burning his core to stalemate him!

Indeed...

If, back when the Azure Wolf first appeared and the poison had yet to take full effect on both sides, he had been willing to shatter and burn his Professional Core to hold the enemy back while coordinating with the Azure Wolf, there would have been a good chance of mutual destruction. But now...