On the back street of a building, a figure rose from the spot amid a flicker of light, ascending all the way to the rooftop.
An Illusion Technique's pitch-black long coat draped over his shoulders, blending his figure into the night. Shadows covered his face, concealing his features.
Fang Ran stood atop the building, looking down at the vast view below and the now-tiny lights of the city.
In truth, his hands were still trembling faintly beneath the coat. The sight of Si Ai dying and his final words had driven him mad enough to cast aside his restraints and kill those five people in succession, but they could not erase the shock of doing it for the first time.
He had used The Float to fly to the highest point and spot the magical glow of that fleeing mage.
He had used the Sword Card together with Silver Severing Dragon Tooth to double his attack power.
He had used the Shadow Card to pin down those people's shadows, leaving them unable to move.
He had used the Illusion Card to conceal his appearance, conjuring scenes that shook them to their very core.
He had extracted and controlled his own shadow, draping it in Illusion Technique camouflage to create a true phantom double.
He had extracted and controlled both his own shadow and his enemies' shadows, surrounding them from three sides in an instant.
He had used illusions to confuse them, then used their shadows to pierce their hearts.
Fang Ran had used all kinds of unimaginable methods without restraint—deception, provocation, sowing discord, sneak attacks.
With every person he killed, the search area of the pursuit shrank. By now, the system map showed the locations of the remaining two people with absolute clarity.
And those two were the ones who had truly dealt Si Ai his grievous wounds.
"Ha!"
The night wind was especially clamorous at such heights, whipping up the hem of Fang Ran's black long coat. He truly looked like a villainous boss from a movie now, especially considering the five lives already on his hands.
But Fang Ran had struggled, too. He had questioned himself.
Was it worth going mad and coming this far for someone he had only just met?
There was always a fear within him that wanted him to stop and turn back. But whenever he recalled the image of that punkish young man's fist threatening his life being caught by the badly wounded Si Ai, followed by the explosion of a pillar of flames, Fang Ran could never suppress the fury in his heart!
Why could they take lives so easily?
Perhaps some would think it one-sided, perhaps insane, but—
So what!?
All I saw was those people shamelessly joining forces, killing someone stronger than them out of fear!
Since you could so easily take someone else's life—
Why couldn't I take yours!?
Fang Ran stood at the edge of the high-rise, looking down at the nearly hundred-meter drop. He backed away several meters and assumed a running stance.
Then he sprinted forward with all his strength!
The few meters vanished in a blink. Fang Ran stepped on the rooftop's edge and leaped!
His pitch-black long coat flapped loudly in the night wind as his figure fell through countless city lights.
Then The Float activated. As though gliding with a parachute, Fang Ran controlled the card at its lowest magic consumption and drifted rapidly into the distance.
The Float could only rise upward, at most adjusting its angle slightly. Thus, Fang Ran could only rely on his forward momentum, repeatedly floating up to rooftops and gliding through the night.
At that moment, Fang Ran still did not know the price of killing every participant.
Late night, 3:45 a.m.
In an ordinary residential complex far from the city center, in a perfectly ordinary apartment on the fifth floor of the third row among hundreds of ordinary households.
The man in the suit sat in the small living room with a grim expression.
He had deliberately chosen such an ordinary, difficult-to-find location.
Yet his mood was still terrible. The others in this scenario might not have known it, but beneath the appearance of a successful businessman, the suited man was actually one of Midnight's people!
Of course, his rank within Midnight, Asia's largest Night Battle organization, was not particularly high. But within Huaxia, he still had considerable influence.
And he had been the one to propose this alliance. The reason was naturally that he had discovered that water-element mage, whose abilities could counter Si Ai, so he had casually promised to let him join after the job was done.
But he had never expected things to spiral out of control to this extent!
The man in the suit looked at the system prompt before him.
Current Participants: 3/12
"Humph! Don't lump me together with those other fools! I don't know who you are, but I've prepared a fine gift for you!"
The man in the suit snarled viciously. He refused to believe that, after his foolproof strike, that person would have another substitute to die in his place!
Boom!
A powerful blow instantly tore through the two sides of the apartment.
Then, amid the light of the fiery explosion, a mass of black instantly enveloped a figure.
"You'd better—ugh!!!"
Fang Ran did not give him the chance to speak. Nor did he, like some righteous protagonist, listen to the villain's final words before refuting him into silence and judging him with his own justice.
"Even weaker than expected. Was it because his injuries were too severe?"
From beginning to end, the suited man who had been cunning and patient throughout the siege on Si Ai, waiting until the end to launch his sneak attack, had only managed to unleash one devastating strike at the start. The instant he saw the black-haired young man appear behind him, he immediately released that fatal blow!
Unfortunately, that had only been his own shadow.
The cunning man had encountered an even more sinister scheme and even more inconceivable abilities, leaving him utterly powerless.
"One left."
Fang Ran withdrew the Illusion Card and Shadow Card with trembling hands but a calm expression, then gently closed the apartment's security door.
Current Participants: 2/12
There was a saying: the darkest hour was always before dawn.
And that saying applied to this night of Night Battle as well.
Late night, nearly dawn, 4:59 a.m.
Su Qun stood on the helipad atop International Building, the tallest building in the city center. The night wind was fierce, constantly tossing his hooded long coat. A black mask hid his face, while the Tang Blade in his hand was exposed to the air.
He was waiting.
The moment he noticed people being eliminated one after another, Su Qun had realized what was happening.
He did not know how the other party had found every single person so precisely, but he knew he had no way of doing the same.
So he could only choose the battlefield for himself, selecting a place like this rooftop helipad.
Anyone capable of taking out the other six people in succession had to be extremely strong, and that strength had to manifest in many ways. That was why Su Qun had chosen such a place for their battlefield.
The view was open, the space limited, and there were no buildings or strange objects nearby that could threaten him.
For someone like him, whose ability was ancient martial arts and internal energy combat, it could not have been more ideal.
As an official Night Battle operative of Huaxia, Su Qun had received a series of elite training courses after becoming a participant. He possessed military qualifications and was confident that even an opponent of the same level would not be his match.
As for the possibility that his opponent was B-rank?
Impossible. If that person were a hidden B-rank, he would have revealed his strength and acted during the chaotic battle long ago!
So he waited, standing at one side of the helipad with his Tang Blade drawn, maintaining his guard at all times.
Then, after an unknown amount of time, he saw him.
A black-haired young man in a pitch-black long coat flew up from the outside of International Building and slowly descended before him.
Su Qun's gaze shifted. He had not expected it to be neither the man in the suit nor that woman from Against the Current.
"Who are you!? I don't remember anyone like you in this scenario!?"
The unexpected development unsettled Su Qun slightly, and he spoke coldly to the figure opposite him.
The young man in the pitch-black long coat did not answer. A silver-white longsword appeared in his hand.
"Speed, activate."
The Speed Value began to rise, only stopping once it reached twice its original amount!
His Magic Energy Value dropped by two points every second. Fang Ran had already activated the Sword Card, and with his Speed Value doubled, he slowly raised Silver Severing Dragon Tooth.
Magic whose power and technique depended on the heart.
I have always remembered that.
Bang!
He charged from where he stood! His black Illusion Technique coat billowed high behind him!
"So fast!"
Su Qun's pupils contracted. The next second, the black figure had already rushed before him!
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