You Finally Caught Me

Relying on the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak's dependable defense, Ye Chen charged straight at the last two members of the Elite Guard.

At that moment, Xiaowaluwen, on the mansion's roof, hurriedly squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

But his anxious state of mind threw off his aim. The bullet failed to predict Ye Chen's path and merely grazed his heel, doing little to hinder him.

Ye Chen paid the stray bullet no mind. His blue eyes were fixed entirely on the two prey before him.

The nearest guard had no time to reload. He could only stand there in confusion, holding up his rifle to shield his torso.

But under the effects of Ye Chen's Spirit Art, it was all pointless resistance.

The bloodied dagger wrapped tightly in the boy's left hand flashed down. The rifle the guard held across his chest snapped in two in an instant, and a vertical line of blood appeared across his face.

The next moment, blood sprayed everywhere, and his head split in two.

After killing the third-to-last prey, Ye Chen charged without hesitation at the second-to-last—Kaminge, now the Elite Guard's sole remaining captain.

But Kaminge did something Ye Chen hadn't expected. He didn't try to load his rifle or make any defensive move, nor did he turn to flee. Instead, he flung his rifle aside, spread his arms, and lunged at Ye Chen to embrace him.

Hm?

Ye Chen sensed that something was wrong, but it was already too late to pull back his dagger and dodge.

In the next instant, the dagger's edge pierced Kaminge's abdomen, contorting his face as blood gushed out.

But in exchange for suffering such a deadly wound, Kaminge had managed to seize Ye Chen in a tight embrace.

At that moment, a smug, wild grin spread across the pale man's face.

"Finally got you, hahaha—!"

He grinned, baring bloodstained teeth, and summoned all the vicious determination of a dying man.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

Ye Chen heard a strange sound coming from Kaminge's body. He immediately looked down and saw a bundle of dynamite strapped beneath the man's open Elite Guard uniform.

The hissing came from sparks burning along the fuses.

Ye Chen's expression changed dramatically. He immediately channeled all his Auling Power and used his immense strength to snap both of Kaminge's arms.

But the instant he broke free of Kaminge's embrace, the fuse had already burned to its end.

"It's all for the sake of the Lord—!"

Feeling the heat scorch his skin, Kaminge couldn't help laughing wildly.

After prolonged exposure to Abyss Matter, his mind had finally descended into madness. He felt no fear at all, only overwhelming joy and pride.

The next second, a tremendous blaze and scorching heat engulfed Kaminge's entire body, swallowing Ye Chen along with him.

Rumble—!

The explosives' terrifying force set the corridor where Ye Chen stood ablaze, and smoke billowed in every direction.

A violent tremor swept through the entire Xiaowalu Mansion, sending Xiaowaluwen tumbling off the roof.

"Ugh!"

He rolled down the eaves, managing at last to grab hold of a sturdy section. After struggling for more than ten seconds, he slowly climbed back onto the roof and looked toward the explosion on the far side of the mansion. The distant corridor had been reduced to shattered ruins.

Thick smoke billowed, and flames roared.

Outside the mansion, nine figures of varying heights lay scattered across the broad paving of the fountain courtyard.

Eight wore the tattered uniforms of the Xiaowalu Family's Elite Guard. The ninth wore a pure-black cloak embroidered with golden patterns, its appearance one of great nobility.

But after being battered by the heat just moments ago, the cloak had twisted into a mass. Even so, it was still faintly shifting, as though trying to return to its original shape.

The nine figures appeared to be the people who had just fought in the mansion's corridor. The blast had sent them all flying into the fountain courtyard.

Watching from atop the high roof, Xiaowaluwen's tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed.

"Whoa!"

He let out an excited whistle, then grinned and quickly adjusted the angle of his sniper rifle. Without hesitation, he fired at the figure wearing the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak.

Bang!

The Abyss Bullet crossed a hundred meters of night sky, framed by the cold moonlight, and struck the target squarely in the exposed back.

The deadly bullet left a deep crater in the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak, twisting it into a whirlpool whose center lay over the figure's heart.

"This guy's a bundle of mysteries. I can't afford to underestimate him."

"To be safe, I'd better put a few more shots into him. No, a few dozen!"

"Hahahahaha—!"

Xiaowaluwen laughed maniacally. With practiced ease, he worked the bolt and reloaded, then unleashed dozens of Abyss Bullets on his target—first into the heart, then the back of the head, and finally both arms and legs.

Bang, bang, bang—!

The sound of sniper fire rang out over the Xiaowalu Manor, shrill and frantic beneath the night sky.

Only when the figure beneath the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak had nearly been flattened by the bullets, and only three rounds remained in his magazine, did Xiaowaluwen finally lower his rifle with satisfaction. He leaped from the roof to the second-floor balcony, then jumped down from there to the ground.

"Lord Xiaowalus, my dear elder brother..."

As he walked toward the fountain courtyard, littered with bodies, Xiaowaluwen gazed up at the full moon and recited with fervor.

"Though we suffered heavy losses, we still managed to execute that despicable little wretch."

Xiaowaluwen stepped over the bodies of the fallen Elite Guard, his gaze fixed on the cloaked figure at the front as he continued.

"I've avenged you and restored your honor. So... please rest in peace."

Xiaowaluwen drew closer and closer to his target. His face, at first earnest and moved, suddenly twisted as Abyss Matter crawled across his skin.

In an instant, his face no longer looked human. It resembled a drooling monster, its entire body radiating a desire to devour everything.

"Though I'd love to tear you limb from limb and hang you up in the city, the treasures covering me seem to be whispering about how delicious your flesh and blood are."

"Well, if that's what the Abyss wants, then I'll eat you right now and claim all your power for myself. I'm sure my brother will smile as he watches all this from beyond the grave!"

"Heeheeheeheehee—!"

Xiaowaluwen laughed savagely as he neared the figure covered by the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak.

But the next second, his twisted face suddenly froze.

At that moment, Xiaowaluwen heard a faint sound behind him.

Having handled firearms for decades, he immediately recognized it: the sound of a revolver's hammer being cocked.

Xiaowaluwen's eye twitched as he turned his head.

Then he saw the boy lying on the ground in an Elite Guard's coat, staring straight at him.

"Finally got you."

At that moment, Ye Chen's blue eyes seemed to say.

And Xiaowaluwen instantly understood everything.

While he had been tumbling off the roof and struggling back up for those ten-odd seconds, Ye Chen had already begun setting up this moment.

Then the boy's finger, resting on the revolver's trigger, squeezed down without hesitation.