His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, his vision blurring further. He tried to force himself to stay alert, but ultimately could not resist the fatigue and darkness brought by the fading of his life.
Finally, after a few breaths, he closed his eyes. All his humiliation, anger, resentment, and every other emotion vanished like bubbles at this moment.
The Third Brother was dead... 'Th-Third Brother!'
Seeing his Third Brother struck down in a single blow, the Second Brother, who had the worst temper, was the first to lose control of his rage.
He picked up the iron hammer beside him and strode toward White Night.
'Second Brother, wait!'
Watching his Second Brother's back, Cainee tried to call him back. He knew that his Second Brother stood absolutely no chance against this cold-blooded Silver-haired Girl.
The gap in strength was simply too vast; even testing her was pointless. His Second Brother would only be throwing his life away!
'Say no more, Big Brother!'
Hearing Cainee's voice, the Second Brother's figure paused for a moment as he spoke slowly.
'I know I have no chance, but I'd rather die a satisfying death than grovel and beg for forgiveness!'
There was a hint of anger, a hint of resentment, and even a hint of bitterness in his tone.
The Second Brother didn't understand why his Big Brother would choose to grovel so decisively before this girl instead of leading the brothers to fight her.
Was it simply out of fear of death? He didn't understand, nor did he want to.
The girl before him had already killed his brother right in front of him. No matter what, as the Second Brother, he could not continue to choose a life of ignominy!
If there must be a fight, then let it be. It's nothing more than death.
'Are you next...?'
White Night faced the Second Brother and, right before his eyes, kicked the corpse of the Third Brother to the side.
'He died quite easily, didn't he? I hope you're a bit stronger than him.'
Seeing White Night acting so casually while insulting his brother's corpse, the Second Brother suppressed the rage in his heart.
Perhaps realizing that he was about to follow his Third Brother into the Mortal World, he now wanted to ask one question.
'Why did you come to provoke us? How exactly have we offended you!'
Hearing his question, White Night didn't give a direct answer, only offering a disdainful smile.
'What a stupid question. When you do too many bad things, retribution is inevitable. I am your retribution.'
Hearing this, the Second Brother knew she had no intention of answering seriously. He said nothing more, instead raising his iron hammer and charging at White Night.
His heavy footsteps thudded on the ground like drumbeats. He raised the long-handled war hammer, pouring all his strength into this single strike!
The Second Brother knew he was absolutely no match for her, but because of that, he held nothing back. This was nearly the most powerful strike of his life.
He believed that even if the Silver-haired Girl before him was incredibly strong, she would have no choice but to dodge his heavy hammer!
Even if he was far from being her match, he would at least use this strike to prove that he wasn't just a fish on a chopping block!
'Hmph~'
Facing such a powerful blow, White Night merely sneered. Then, she made a move that no one could believe: she blocked it with her arm!
*Bang!*
The war hammer, forged from refined iron, slammed into White Night's seemingly soft and fair arm, yet it produced a sound like clashing metal!
'What?!'
Before he could react, White Night grabbed the long handle of the war hammer. Then, using one hand like a blade, she chopped down with force, snapping the refined iron handle in a single blow!
'Goodbye...'
White Night's face was cold as frost. Holding the broken half of the war hammer, she swung it with extreme speed, slamming it into her opponent's head.
Along with the sound of cracking bones and splashing viscous fluid, he fell to the ground just like his Third Brother.
'It seems I used too much force...'
White Night took out a handkerchief and wiped the bloodstains from her face and hands. When she went back later, she couldn't let Iris smell this stench of blood.
'Second Brother...'
Cainee looked at his fallen brother, a complex mixture of emotions swirling within him.
Sorrow, anger, fear, and helplessness surged into his heart all at once. The brothers who had just been drinking and bragging together had turned into two corpses in the blink of an eye, and he didn't even dare to say a single harsh word to the killer.
'I'm next...'
Cainee picked up his sword and slowly walked over to White Night.
'You're the last one. Let's finish this quickly; I'm getting a bit sleepy.'
White Night's expression was so indifferent, as if she didn't care about Cainee or the two men who had died by her hand at all.
Seeing her like this, even Cainee couldn't help but mock himself. Were the lives of his brothers really so worthless?
'My lady...'
Even though two of his brothers had died at White Night's hands, Cainee still addressed her respectfully as 'My lady.'
'You said you wouldn't use magic. In that case, I wonder if I may use magic?'
'Hmm? You can use magic?'
'Yes, though it's only a few simple Enhancement Magic spells.'
White Night narrowed her eyes, then nodded.
'You may.'
'Thank you, my lady.'
Cainee sheathed his sword at his waist and took a drawing stance.
'Muscle Enhancement, Sensory Enhancement, Rapid Slash!'
Cainee could indeed manipulate magic power, but he had little talent. To this day, he only knew these few simple Enhancement Magic spells; he didn't even qualify as an entry-level Holy Cultivator.
But even so, he was the one with the best hope of winning White Night's game!
After casting the spells, Cainee's entire aura seemed enhanced. With a sharp gaze, he gripped his longsword and lunged forward!
Seeing this, White Night couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Unlike before, she actually took the initiative to strike!
She thrust her right hand forward like a blade, charging at him. Her soft palm and the metal longsword collided in mid-air, producing a clear metallic ring!
Then the two stood past each other, neither making another move.
*Snap!*
With the sound of metal snapping, Cainee's longsword broke in two and fell to the ground.
Drifting to the ground along with it was a small piece of fabric. This was a corner of White Night's clothes... Cainee had won!
'I—I won!'
Cainee collapsed to his knees. The impact just now had torn the webbing between his thumbs and index fingers, but at this moment, he felt no pain at all!
He had actually cut off a piece of White Night's clothing. He won; he had won this ridiculous game!
As long as she kept her promise, Cainee and his remaining brothers would be safe!
'Big—Big Brother won! We're safe!'
'Big Brother, way to go!'
The others also saw the scrap of clothing on the ground and began to cheer. Their Big Brother hadn't let them down. He won, and they no longer had to worry about being turned to ash by the Silver-haired Girl!
'My lady, I won! You said that if we won the game, you would let us go!'
Cainee knelt before White Night without a shred of dignity. He didn't even have the slightest thought of avenging his two dead brothers. All he could think about now was surviving and keeping his remaining brothers alive!
'I suppose I did say that.'
White Night looked at the small piece cut from her clothes and smiled inexplicably.
'However, you ruined my clothes, so I've suddenly decided I don't want to let you go anymore.'
'Eh! My—My lady, what do you mean by that?'
White Night didn't answer Cainee's question. Instead, she raised her palm and slowly uttered four words.
'Hellfire Cage!'
Unlike the Hellfire Cage used earlier for intimidation, this one erupted directly within the crowd. Boundless, soaring flames swept over everyone!
The people who had just thought they had escaped death were swallowed by the surging flames in the next instant.
They ran, struggled, and screamed, rolling and twisting frantically on the ground, but they couldn't weaken the flames even slightly.
'No!'
Cainee wanted to stop it, but he was powerless.
He watched his subordinates wailing in the fire, unable to do anything after all. At this moment, he finally understood that the Silver-haired Girl before him had never intended to let them go from the very beginning. All his efforts had been in vain!
'You never had any intention of letting us go!'
Cainee picked up the half of his broken sword, ignoring the blood dripping from his hands. His heart was already like dead ashes; how could he care about pain?
'I'll kill you!'
He brandished the broken sword and charged at White Night. However, White Night simply waved her hand, and black magic power from nowhere transformed into black chains, binding him tightly.
There was no longer any smile or playfulness on White Night's face. She just looked at Cainee coldly and spoke in an extremely icy voice.
'Are you angry? Are you in despair? At this moment, you should be able to understand how those people you sold as slaves felt.'
Whether it was toyed with or deceived, White Night actually had no intention of taking pleasure in these scumbags.
But simply killing them would be too quick. White Night wanted them to know exactly what kind of despair those they sold as slaves had experienced. She wanted these scumbags to know the feeling of a heart turning to dead ashes while locked in a cage!
'So—So that's it. You—You're here to avenge those people!'
Cainee looked at White Night in terror. He never could have imagined that those lowly people sold as merchandise would have someone so powerful come to avenge them!
'Can you feel it? The despair of being locked in a cage?'
White Night controlled her magic power, slowly consuming Cainee.
'That crushing pressure, as if sinking into a pitch-black mire. That feeling of terror, as if falling into an endless abyss. Can you understand it a little better now?'
The black magic power tightened more and more. Cainee could no longer even breathe, let alone speak.
In truth, White Night was also wondering if such methods were too cruel, but seeing him like this, she remembered her former weak self and Iris, who had been locked in a cage when they first met.
If they hadn't met that important person in their lives, perhaps their end would not have been much better than Cainee's.
At least he could die quickly. As slaves, White Night and Iris would likely have been broken and then tossed into some garbage dump.
At that thought, White Night's last shred of compassion vanished. She let the magic power enveloping Cainee continue to tighten, crushing every inch of bone in his body.
Cainee's entire body was like a twisted bamboo strip, emitting terrifying crack and snap sounds.
'No, please...'
Cainee looked at White Night in terror, struggling with all his might, but it was all in vain.
Finally, as a shard of broken bone pierced his heart, Cainee spat out a large mouthful of blood and closed his eyes in resentment.
White Night withdrew her magic power. Cainee's corpse, twisted like a piece of hemp rope, slumped to the ground.
Without the maintenance of magic power, the soaring fires of the Hellfire Cage gradually died out. Now, only White Night remained standing... She looked at the corpses scattered across the ground, feeling no satisfaction of punishing evil and promoting good, only indifference and a small amount of hindsight-driven surprise.
'I... actually did something like this...'
Smelling the stench of charred corpses and looking at the twisted Cainee, even White Night felt a bit surprised. She had actually killed so many people in a single night.
She wasn't on a battlefield right now, nor was she some law enforcer. No matter how heinous these scumbags were, they should have been punished by the laws of the Empire. But... perhaps it was because she was too angry. White Night hated these slave traders so much that she hadn't given a single thought to whether her actions were appropriate. White Night was not a law enforcer; facing those scumbags, she could have simply knocked them out as she had done before and then found a way to notify the Empire's army to handle them.
Yet even White Night herself hadn't expected that she would be so enraged upon seeing these scumbags and villains—so enraged that she almost never considered letting them go!