Chapter 98
"Morde... Caesar..."
"You recognize me..." The massive suit of armor emitted a series of hoarse, terrifying laughs. "This world hasn't forgotten me..."
The next moment, a huge hammer fell.
Thump--!
The terrifying power brought terrifying destructive force. The Black Mage who was hit head-on by the Nightfall was instantly turned into a pile of minced meat, and the aftershocks of the Death Realm energy also killed dozens of people around him.
In just one encounter, the large number of Black Mage was reduced to less than thirty.
Mordekaiser then let out another burst of pleasurable yet terrifying laughter.
But another voice poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "You only have seven seconds, hurry up—this is just an appetizer, don't miss out on even that."
"The affairs of the Lord of the Death Realm are none of your business, a mere mortal..." Mordekaiser retorted verbally, but obediently raised Nightfall once more.
The surviving Black Mage had absolutely no intention of resisting.
The Death Realm aura emanating from the Nightfall reminded them of the Immortal Bastion... and the even more terrifying dark magic...
We can't beat them...
There's no escaping it...
All we can do is obediently wait to die...
Thump--!!
With another hammer blow, the souls of the remaining twenty-odd Black Mage were also permanently imprisoned in Nightfall.
Seven seconds have passed, just halfway through.
But for an appetizer, you can spend the rest of the time "picking your teeth".
"A fine soul... I sense the aura of the Immortal Bastion ..." Mordekaiser turned and looked down at the insignificant mortal with whom he had made a deal, his tone filled with a thirst for slaughter and death.
"In half an hour, I will appear on the battlefield to seize the remaining 50,000 souls..."
"If you like, don't say half an hour, I can get you on the battlefield in ten minutes," Chen Ce replied with a smile. "It all depends on whether you can bring all the dead souls to the Death Realm within seven seconds."
"Heh..." Mordekaiser did not give a clear response, but gradually faded away with a terrifying chuckle.
This is the "time limit" of [Realm of Death].
There are no restrictions on others, but there is a strict seven-second time limit for Mordekaiser, who is "imprisoned" in the Death Realm.
The principle behind this is easy to understand: the key to entering and leaving the Death Realm is to open the Gate of the Underworld by using [Realm of Death] on others. Mordekaiser's desire to enter the material realm is the same. However, unlike others who enter and leave the Death Realm, he is constantly being "pulled" by the Death Realm. Therefore, even if he leaves the Death Realm, he will be pulled back to the Death Realm in just seven seconds.
In short... there's a time limit, but it's enough.
Chen Ce looked at the only living person left in the safe house— Morse, a survivor deliberately left behind by Mordekaiser.
"Now, I want to hear you admit something yourself, Morse."
Regarding a task that has been delayed for a long time and has yet to be completed...
Find the traitor who betrayed [the Seventh Squad the Second Legion of the Ionia Resistance Army].
[Rewards: [Random Skill] *1 (Max Level); [Random Tier 2 Equipment] *1 (e. g., Serrated Dirk, Spectre's Cowl, etc.)]
Chapter 105 Why are you building Muramana, you Shaco?
After Chen Ce was attacked, the second thing Samira would do was definitely to escape.
As for the first thing? That would naturally be to take advantage of someone's misfortune.
Unfortunately, those Black Mages had no intention of leaving any survivors; both of them were to be killed. She had no chance to trip up Chen Ce and could only hurriedly run away—it was fortunate that she managed to escape.
Walking through the deserted military camp, she kept a wary eye on her surroundings while imagining Chen Ce's current miserable situation—maybe he would be killed outright by those Black Mages? Or perhaps he would be tortured first and then killed in the most cruel way? No, no, no...maybe he's currently being choked by those Black Mages, hanging upside down and stuffed into a bucket of water.
Maybe they'll even cut a few pieces of flesh off him... well, that would be even better.
In short, whatever the method, as long as I can kill him, that's fine.
"With him dead, no one can threaten me anymore... Indali's safety will be guaranteed..."
After a period of running, Samira finally leaned against the stone wall, exhausted, but the soreness and numbness in her legs paled in comparison to the joy in her heart.
She was very cautious, even choosing an open space to rest in, so she could spot anyone approaching from a distance immediately, and there was nothing around her to block the sunlight or create shadows.
She turned her head to look in the direction of the safe house, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her face—once the man who threatened her was dead, she would be completely free.
As long as that damn man gets killed... as long as that...
Freedom... freedom...!
A mercenary's freedom is more valuable than any commission!
"Anyone who threatens me deserves to die..."
Samira gently rubbed her left ankle, which had been slightly injured in the battle, her heart filled with anticipation.
But it was precisely because of this anticipation and joy that she failed to notice a subtle change occurring in the shadow she cast behind her...
Her shadow on the stone wall was inexplicably lengthened, then slowly extended to the left and right like a ghostly figure, eventually forming two eerie black shadows resembling heads.
The two "head shadows" gently wriggled on the stone wall, then split into a pair of arms and two...
A hidden blade that is almost a physical object.
Danger was creeping closer, while Samira was still happily rubbing her ankle.
The two "Shadow Blade" were getting closer and closer...
One meter, half a meter, twenty centimeters...
Three centimeters...
Bang--!
After a loud crash, Samira's body collapsed to the ground.
But... she wasn't knocked down; she simply lay down on her own.
The loud noise was not the sound of a blade cutting through flesh, but the sound of gunpowder exploding.
Yes, Samira completed the series of actions—bending over, firing her gun, and lying prone—just before the hidden blade arrived.
She foresaw the impending danger.
It wasn't because of precognition or the blessing of Lady Luck, but because of her caution—she had noticed the unusual movement behind her early on from the reflection of her boots.
The reason I had been pretending not to see it and not reacting at all before was for this moment.
Order of the Shadow's shadow magic is profound and unpredictable; the only way to hurt an opponent is to shoot them at close range.
As it turned out, her gamble was the right thing to do.
After the gunshot, she saw her bullet pierce through the hidden blade that emerged from the shadows and strike the assassin who had also emerged from the shadows.
A clear bullet hole appeared on the Shadow Assassin's forehead.
A perfect shot, hitting the bullseye.
He was utterly dead.
"The Master of Shadows? Is this all he's capable of?"
Samira, lying prone on the ground, didn't rush to get up. Her arrogant laughter dissipated the smoke from the muzzle of her gun. She propped herself up with one hand, her single emerald eye looking at her opponent with a mocking expression.
She was proud of her latest victory and narrow escape, just like she had been on any mission before.
"Live life to the fullest, die young—a happy division of labor, little mouse hiding in the shadows."
Samira smiled as she holstered her revolver at her waist and finally stood up slowly.
But just as her still-sore ankle was about to straighten up, her expression suddenly changed drastically.
The next moment, her hand, which had been reaching for her waist, suddenly changed direction, and in the blink of an eye, she pushed the groove on the back of the knife.
However... the detonated gunpowder did not propel the blade forward as usual.
It wasn't because her high-tech blade malfunctioned.
It was because the back of the blade was blocked by a hidden blade.
A familiar figure appeared beside me without my noticing and easily blocked the attack.
"You are cautious enough, but you are easily impatient..."
The deep voice sounded like the death knell in her ears, Samira immediately rolled forward.
But she couldn't escape the sharp, cold pain—looking down, she saw that her arm had been slashed open by the hidden blade, leaving a gash more than ten centimeters long.
Turning his head again to look at the "corpse" that had been shot in the head with a revolver, he saw it had turned into a black shadow and disappeared back into the darkness.
That wasn't the Master of Shadows's true form at all; it was just an insignificant shadow clone...
Even in a highly successful sneak attack, one must prioritize ensuring their own safety...
This is true caution...
"Even a lion must go all out to hunt a rabbit..." Zed's deep voice came from beneath the mask, the sound of his hidden blade scraping against the ground sending chills down one's spine. "The Noxus must die..."
Ignoring the blood gushing from her arm wound, Samira quickly drew both the blade and the revolver.
But she knew there was still no chance of winning...
That point-blank shot was the rarest opportunity; how could it possibly be repeated...?
With the other party on guard, her weapon couldn't hurt him at all...
Weapons cannot sever shadows...
"Be honest, I guess you don't want to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair—if you even have a rest of your life after your trial by the Resistance Army."
Inside the dilapidated safe house, which was no longer safe, Chen Ce used a thumb-thick iron chain to bind Morse like a dumpling, leaving only his mouth that could still move.
"Now, I want you to admit to something—or rather, I'm going to ask you a question, and you must answer it truthfully."
"..." Morse lowered his head, his expression both lonely and disappointed, looking like a senile, profound and weathered old warrior.
His tone was like that of a troubled, reluctant "forced traitor," his deep expression suggesting he had some untold hardship.
"If you want to know the reason why I betrayed the Resistance Army— "
Slap! He was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a crisp, loud slap.
"Who asked you why?" Chen Ce showed no regard for past feelings and struck without hesitation—for a traitor who had betrayed the Resistance Army and caused the deaths of countless soldiers, any mercy would be disrespectful to the deceased.
This kind of traitor deserves far more than a few slaps; even being torn to pieces wouldn't be enough to atone for the sins he committed.
"..." The slap slapped Morse so hard it swelled up his face, and it also shattered his feigned composure. "Then... what do you want to ask...?"
"I want to ask you whether you are a traitor who betrayed the Resistance Army?" Chen Ce's tone was so certain it sounded like he was stating a fact.
Morse was taken aback—was such an obvious question even worth asking?
He began to suspect that the other person might have asked the wrong question.
Unfortunately, Chen Ce didn't ask the wrong question.
He was slapped again for that moment of stunned silence.
Smack! The slap was even harder, knocking out a piece of a tooth.
"Yes... I am..."
"What is it?" Chen Ce asked again, waving his hand.
Morse's eye twitched, and he answered again, "I am... a traitor who betrayed the Resistance Army..."
"That's right." Chen Ce nodded in satisfaction.
Then came another slap.
Snap!
"Didn't I already answer...!" Morse was instantly filled with rage—even though he was at a severe disadvantage, he still had his dignity!
"I didn't say you didn't answer," Chen Ce shrugged nonchalantly. "I just wanted your face to be more symmetrically swollen—you know, symmetry makes you beautiful."
"You...! Chen Ce! You can forget about past relationships, but you can't insult me!"