The Ambush

Xiaowalus, having been busy for several consecutive hours, returned home with a weary expression.

At this moment, the grand hall of the mansion was completely empty; all the servants had been driven out of the city by Xiaowalus using hypnosis. Like the ordinary residents, they had all been arranged by Xiaowalus to serve as sacrifices to welcome the Abyss.

To ensure that all the residents of the city were driven out, after Frost White City became quiet, Xiaowalus had personally led the guards to patrol every area repeatedly, and during this time, he had continuously used his Spirit Art to suppress any new riots.

Therefore, he was now drenched in sweat and so exhausted that his eyes were swimming. To welcome the arrival of the Abyss in such a disheveled state was clearly something Xiaowalus did not want to see; it would be far too disrespectful.

He took out his pocket watch and found that there was still more than half an hour left before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. It was still reasonably ample time, so before meeting Ye Chen in the study, he went to the shower room to bathe and clean his body, and then groomed his appearance with the most serious attitude he had ever possessed in his life.

When the clock pointed to 11:55 PM, Xiaowalus finally walked into the study, smelling of perfume.

"Lord Envoy, sorry to have kept you waiting. I apologize; I spent quite some time ensuring there were no people left in the city." Xiaowalus explained with a reverent attitude.

Ye Chen stood by the window, quietly watching the moonlight in the night sky. It was only after a long while that he turned his head and asked in a flat tone, "It is fine. Have the guards and personal attendants who followed you also left the city?"

Xiaowalus smiled, clasped his hands, and nodded, answering hurriedly, "They have, all of them! Now, in this mansion, there are only the two of us left, so please rest assured, Lord Envoy."

"Very good. With so many living beings available to be devoured, I believe the Abyss will feel very satisfied after its arrival. It might even grant you and me additional rewards later. Now, let us proceed with the final preparations for the ceremony."

After Ye Chen finished speaking, he confirmed that he could not sense the presence of anyone else in the room, then glanced at the pendulum clock in the study.

There was less than a minute left until twelve o'clock.

"Understood! Whatever you tell me to do, I will do!" Xiaowalus nodded and bowed, ecstatic with joy.

Ye Chen had Xiaowalus take out the sheet of white paper with the Circle Array that he had previously given him, then lay the drawing flat in the center of the desk. He placed a lit candle in the center of the Circle Array with a solemn air, and then issued the final order to Xiaowalus.

"Come, stand before the Circle Array and gaze at the candle with all your focus. Let the Abyss feel your summoning. I will not fight you for this honor."

"Yes! Thank you, Lord Envoy! Thank you for your generosity and selflessness!"

Xiaowalus clenched his fists in excitement, his eyes brimming with tears of joy, and he walked to the desk with trembling steps.

Then, this Lord of Frost White City gazed wholeheartedly at the candle burning on the Circle Array, silently praising the mystery of the Abyss in his heart and singing of the greatness of the Abyss.

At the same moment, Ye Chen stood behind Xiaowalus, quickly raised the revolver already loaded with a Blood Bullet, and the muzzle immediately pressed against the back of Xiaowalus's defenseless head.

The next second, Ye Chen's finger, resting on the trigger, pulled it decisively.

Bang!

The bright red bullet, cloaked in flames, rushed out of the muzzle, drilled into the brain, and then shattered in a bloody explosion.

With a distance of less than a few centimeters, Xiaowalus bore the full extent of the damage from Ye Chen's blood-based Spirit Art, causing his skull to fly apart like a shattered watermelon, instantly splattering brains across the floor.

The ignorant and naive Xiaowalus did not even have time to finish reciting the congratulatory words for welcoming the Abyss in his heart before he collapsed beside the desk with his remaining jaw, powerlessly extinguishing the candle on the white paper.

"Hoo."

After finishing the job, Ye Chen took a deep breath, yet he still kept the muzzle aimed at Xiaowalus's back, without the slightest relaxation.

After all, the Alpha Ape that had been involved with the Abyss in the previous trial was able to regenerate and revive even after its chest was pierced and its brain shattered. Therefore, who could guarantee that this madman obsessed with summoning the Abyss would not have also made physical contact with the Abyss like the Alpha Ape, causing some terrifying mutation in his body?

Regardless, Ye Chen would not overlook any suspicious signs on Xiaowalus's body.

However, even if Xiaowalus's flesh had truly been parasitized by the Abyss and was gradually regenerating, Ye Chen was fully capable of slicing it into chunks of meat and ultimately crushing the core of the Abyss, severing its ability to regenerate.

Ye Chen had used his superb acting skills to play Xiaowalus in the palm of his hand, ultimately causing him to be hunted down without any defense or resistance.

Although everything that had transpired was within Ye Chen's expectations and was exactly what he wanted to see, he still vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Strange.

The hunting process was too easy.

The teacher had said that the difficulty of this third trial was far beyond the first two.

However, although this Xiaowalus's hypnotic Spirit Art was indeed a bit tricky, it was easy to deal with as long as one guessed it in advance, which did not match what the teacher had said at all.

Could it be that The Lord had other secrets?

Ye Chen was full of doubts, but he could not know the answer at this moment. He simply drew his long blade, intending to dismember Xiaowalus's corpse first to confirm whether there was anything similar to an Abyss core inside.

However, just as Ye Chen raised his blood-stained long blade, attempting to completely separate Xiaowalus's remains, a strange sound of footsteps rang out from behind him without warning.

At this moment, Ye Chen's pupils shrank.

Fortunately, he was still in a state of extreme alertness, so after hesitating for 0.3 seconds, he immediately whipped his head around to face behind him.

And it was precisely Ye Chen's lightning-fast reaction that allowed him to catch a glimpse of the black shadow flashing toward him before his neck was pierced.

The youth subconsciously raised his left hand and lifted his blade to parry, but the blade could not keep up, forcing him to take the incoming black shadow with his bare left hand.

Swish! Clang!

The sound of bone and flesh breaking and the sound of the long blade falling to the ground reached Ye Chen's ears almost simultaneously.

A sharp, pitch-black blade pierced directly through the center of his left palm.

If Ye Chen had not quickly tilted his head, this thrust would have taken his left eye along with it.

Having dodged the fatal sneak attack, Ye Chen looked at the assassin who had appeared out of nowhere, and countless shocks and confusion surged in his heart.

However, his combat instinct still made him decisively raise his right hand and fire at the opponent immediately.

But the moment Ye Chen's muzzle was raised, the other hand that the opponent quickly extended immediately pressed down on Ye Chen's revolver, preventing him from firing.

At the same time, Ye Chen used his injured left hand to grip the blade tightly, preventing the opponent from pulling the sword back.

The two immediately began to grapple, spiraling into a fierce struggle.

During the scuffle, although Ye Chen had coated his limbs entirely in Auling Power to resist with all his might, his opponent's Auling Power was not the least bit inferior, proving to be an adversary Ye Chen could not easily shake off.

The two of them wrestled into a tangled mess right in front of the corpse of Xiaowalus.

As the assassin pinned Ye Chen to the ground and swiftly pulled the blade out of his right hand, intending to strike again, Ye Chen's heel landed a timely kick to the opponent's abdomen, sending the assassin flying several meters away into the wall.

"Ugh!"

The assassin slammed hard against the wall, unable to suppress a cry of pain.

Ye Chen's side-kick had been powerful enough to spiderweb the wall with countless cracks.

"Ngh."

However, compared to him, Ye Chen's condition was even worse.

His left hand, with its metacarpal bones pierced through, began to pour blood uncontrollably, causing Ye Chen to break out in a cold sweat, his face contorting in agony from the searing pain.

Who is this person!?

Where did he come from!?

Why didn't I notice him at all just now--!?

Ye Chen thought, his mind reeling in shock while he struggled to maintain his focus.

The youth gritted his teeth and looked toward the assassin, who was quickly scrambling to his feet. He then realized that this assassin was a Frost White Person he had never encountered before.

He was dressed in noble attire similar to that of Xiaowalus, and his facial features bore a slight resemblance to Xiaowalus, though he was clearly much younger.

Before shooting Xiaowalus, he had clearly confirmed multiple times that there were no other presences in the study or the hallway outside.

But why? Why would someone he had never seen before suddenly appear behind him and launch a surprise attack?

Why hadn't he sensed his existence from start to finish?

What kind of method had he used?

Countless questions flooded Ye Chen's mind, and then the young Frost White Person, who looked like Xiaowalus, glared at Ye Chen with bloodshot eyes. He then spoke in a hoarse voice, trembling with extreme rage.

"You actually killed my elder brother."

"You deceived and manipulated him for an entire night, then stood behind him and launched a despicable, shameless sneak attack with a gun."

"And to think he was so warm and trusting toward you."

"Ah, you ungrateful, treacherous villain. My naive and pitiful brother Xiaowalus, ahhh."

"Ah------!"

The mysterious assassin muttered to himself before roaring toward the sky. His hoarse voice echoed throughout the entire Lord Manor, venting his grief and fury to the fullest.

Although Ye Chen still did not know the origin of this person or the reason for his sudden appearance out of thin air—

But looking at the wound on his left palm, from which blood continued to gush, and the Abyss Matter buzzing and howling within the gash, Ye Chen understood one thing very clearly.

His current situation was extremely perilous.

The tide had begun to turn for the worse.