Chapter Fifty-Nine: Undercover War (Part One)
Shadow was no fool. He had already sensed that something was wrong. Just then, someone nearby said, "I'd say there must be a Ninth Rank expert guarding this planet!" The words sent a shiver through Shadow. He turned his head and saw that he wasn't the only one afraid: everyone's eyes were wide with terror. A Ninth Rank expert was beyond anything a mere one-rank gap could describe. They were all experts themselves, and a moment's thought made it clear: only someone of the Ninth Rank could withstand so many bombardments in succession without a scratch.
"Let's withdraw. This expert clearly only wants to scare us off. If we don't take the hint, I'm afraid none of us will escape once he makes a move!" someone said. Everyone immediately agreed, but Shadow was torn. He knew Bai Ru's temperament. If he went back with his tail between his legs, Bai Ru wouldn't spare him. Yet ahead lay a Ninth Rank expert, someone even more terrifying than Bai Ru! Advance and die, retreat and die. Shadow wavered.
"If you won't leave, we will. Don't blame us for lacking professional ethics—the one over there is a Ninth Rank monster. I'm out. Here's your commission back. Bye!" With that, the man tossed Shadow a Saint Stone Card and left without looking back. The others promptly followed his lead. Saint Stones were all well and good, but their lives were at stake. Given the choice, fleeing came first.
They had left, but the experts from the main branch of the Lineage couldn't. They all looked at Shadow. He was just as conflicted as they were, and for a while, the dozen or so of them hung in the starry void in silence.
At last, someone could no longer