The Attack

After working nonstop for several hours, Xiaowalus returned home, exhaustion written across his face.

The mansion's great hall was empty now. Xiaowalus had hypnotized all the servants and sent them outside the city. Like the ordinary residents, they had been designated as sacrifices to welcome the Abyss.

To ensure every resident had been driven out of the city, Xiaowalus had personally led the guards on repeated patrols through every district after Frost White City had quieted down. During that time, he had also kept using Spirit Art to suppress any new crowds that rioted.

As a result, he was now drenched in sweat, so tired that his vision blurred. Xiaowalus did not want to welcome the Abyss in such a disheveled state. It would have been far too disrespectful.

He took out his pocket watch and saw that the ritual would begin in a little over half an hour. There was still enough time, so before meeting Ye Chen in the study, he went to the washroom, showered, and cleaned himself up. Then he took more care with his appearance than ever before.

It was not until the clock struck 11:55 p.m. that Xiaowalus, now enveloped in the scent of perfume, entered the study.

"Honored Messenger, sorry for the wait. I apologize. It took me quite a while to make sure no one was left in the city," Xiaowalus explained respectfully.

Ye Chen stood by the window, gazing at the moon in the night sky. After a long while, he finally turned around and asked in an even tone, "It's fine. Did the guards and your personal attendants who followed you leave the city too?"

Xiaowalus smiled and clasped his hands together in a nod, answering at once. "They did. Every last one of them! You and I are the only ones left in this mansion, so rest assured, Honored Messenger."

"Good. With so many living beings for it to devour, the Abyss will surely be very pleased when it arrives. Perhaps it will even reward us both. Now, let's make the final preparations for the ritual."

After speaking, Ye Chen made sure he could sense no one else in the room, then glanced at the clock in the study.

There was less than a minute left until midnight.

"Of course! Whatever you ask, I'll do!" Xiaowalus nodded and bowed, ecstatic.

Ye Chen told Xiaowalus to take out the sheet of paper bearing the Circle Array that he had given him earlier. Then he laid it flat in the center of the desk, ceremoniously placed a lit candle in the middle of the array, and gave Xiaowalus his final command.

"Come, stand in front of the array and focus on the candle. Let the Abyss feel your summons. I won't take this honor away from you."

"Yes! Thank you, Honored Messenger! Thank you for your generosity!"

Xiaowalus clenched his hands, his eyes brimming with tears of joy. With unsteady steps, he walked over to his desk.

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

At that very moment, Ye Chen stood behind Xiaowalus. He swiftly raised the revolver, already loaded with a Blood Bullet, and pressed its muzzle against the back of Xiaowalus's defenseless head.

The next second, Ye Chen's finger on the trigger pulled it without hesitation.

Bang!

The scarlet bullet, wreathed in flame, burst from the muzzle and pierced into Xiaowalus's brain before exploding in a bloody spray.

At less than a few centimeters away, Xiaowalus took almost the full force of Ye Chen's blood-made Spirit Art. His head burst apart like a smashed watermelon, spraying fragments everywhere as his brains splattered across the floor.

The naive, foolish Xiaowalus had not even finished silently reciting his words of welcome to the Abyss before he collapsed beside the desk, what remained of his chin hitting the tabletop. In his final fall, he snuffed out the candle on the paper.

"Phew."

After finishing the job, Ye Chen took a deep breath, but kept his gun trained on Xiaowalus's back, not relaxing in the slightest.

After all, the Alpha Ape from the previous trial, which had been connected to the Abyss, could regenerate even after being impaled through the chest and having its brain smashed. Who could guarantee that this madman, obsessed with summoning the Abyss, had not also come into contact with it and undergone some terrifying bodily transformation?

Whatever happened, Ye Chen would not overlook a single suspicious sign on Xiaowalus's body.

Still, even if the Abyss had truly infected Xiaowalus's body and was now gradually regenerating it, Ye Chen could simply hack him into pieces and destroy the Abyss Core, cutting off his ability to regenerate.

With acting skills so superb they seemed otherworldly, Ye Chen had toyed with Xiaowalus until the man was completely defenseless and unable to resist, then hunted him down.

Everything had gone exactly as Ye Chen expected, exactly as he wanted. Yet he still had a vague sense that something was wrong.

Strange.

The hunt had been far too easy.

His teacher had said this Third Trial was much harder than the previous two.

But although Xiaowalus's hypnotic Spirit Art had been troublesome, it was easy enough to deal with once Ye Chen had anticipated it. It was nothing like what his teacher had described.

Did the Lord have some other secret?

Ye Chen was full of questions, but he still had no way to find the answers. So he drew his long blade, intending to dismember Xiaowalus's corpse first and check whether it contained something like an Abyss Core.

However, just as Ye Chen raised the bloodied blade and tried to cut Xiaowalus's remains apart, an eerie footstep sounded behind him without warning.

Ye Chen's pupils contracted.

Fortunately, he was still on high alert. After hesitating for just 0.3 seconds, he immediately whipped his head around.

It was precisely Ye Chen's lightning-fast reaction that let him glimpse the black shadow rushing toward him before it could pierce his neck.

The boy instinctively threw up his left hand and raised his blade to block, but the weapon could not move fast enough. He had no choice but to catch the oncoming shadow with his bare left hand.

Shing! Clang!

The sound of flesh and bone splitting and the clatter of a blade hitting the floor rang in Ye Chen's ears almost simultaneously.

A razor-sharp black blade had pierced straight through his left palm.

If Ye Chen had not swiftly turned his head aside, the thrust would have taken his left eye along with it.

Having escaped the fatal sneak attack, Ye Chen stared at the assassin who had appeared out of nowhere. Shock and confusion surged through him.

But his combat instincts still made him raise his right hand and fire at once.

The instant Ye Chen lifted his gun, however, his opponent quickly reached out with his other hand and forced the revolver down, preventing him from firing.

At the same time, Ye Chen gripped the blade with his injured left hand, refusing to let his opponent pull it free.

They immediately began struggling against each other, grappling in close quarters.

Ye Chen covered all four limbs with Auling Power and resisted with all his strength, but his opponent's Auling Power was just as strong. He was no one Ye Chen could easily shake off.

The two of them wrestled on the floor in front of Xiaowalus's corpse.

The assassin pinned Ye Chen down, swiftly yanked the blade from his right hand, and prepared to stab him again. But Ye Chen managed to kick him in the stomach with his heel, sending him flying several meters into the wall.

"Ugh!"

The assassin slammed into the wall and let out a cry of pain.

Ye Chen's sideways kick had pressed the man so hard into the wall that cracks spread across its surface.

"Guh..."

But Ye Chen was in even worse shape.

Blood poured from his left hand, the bones in his palm pierced through. Sweat drenched his head, and his face twisted with pain.

Who was this man!?

Where had he come from!?

Why hadn't I noticed him at all just now—!?

Ye Chen forced himself to stay focused, thinking in shock.

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

He wore nobleman's clothes much like Xiaowalus's, and his features bore some resemblance to Xiaowalus's too, though he was clearly much younger.

Before shooting Xiaowalus, Ye Chen had clearly checked several times that there was no one else in the study or the corridor outside.

So why—why had a man he had never seen before suddenly appeared behind him and attacked him?

Why hadn't he noticed the man at all, from beginning to end?

What method had he used?

Countless questions swirled through Ye Chen's mind. The young Frost White Person, who looked like Xiaowalus, glared at Ye Chen with bloodshot eyes. Then, in a hoarse voice trembling with rage, he slowly spoke.

"You actually killed my elder brother..."

"You tricked him into serving you all night, then stood behind him and shot him in the back like a despicable coward."

"After he'd treated you with such warmth and trusted you so completely..."

"Ah, you ungrateful, despicable wretch! My innocent, pitiful elder brother Xiaowalus! Ahhh!"

The mysterious assassin muttered to himself, then threw his head back and roared. His hoarse voice rang throughout the entire Lord Manor, pouring out all his grief and fury.

Ye Chen still did not know who the man was or how he had appeared out of nowhere.

But as he looked at the wound in his left palm, where blood continued to gush, and at the Abyss Matter inside the wound, which was now howling and buzzing, one thing was perfectly clear to him.

His current predicament was extremely dangerous.

The situation had already taken a sudden turn for the worse.