In an instant, the fourteen men in black shot forward after Wang Qiang with speeds like shadows released from their chains. Streaks of dark power tore through the air, while on the other side, Kang Hao's body, pierced through by countless blades and covered in wounds, began to fall rapidly toward the ground.
Boom!!!
The stone ground shattered when his body slammed down with tremendous force. Dust and fragments of rock burst into the air. Kang Hao lay motionless, dark red blood slowly seeping from multiple wounds.
High in the sky,
Liu Long gripped Wang Qiang's throat tightly. Black spiritual energy swirled around his palm as if ready to crush the other man's breath at any moment.
"Stop moving!!! If you take another step… I will kill him right now!!!"
Liu Long's roar echoed across the heavens.
The fourteen men in black halted almost at the same time, their bodies suspended in midair, their eyes filled with pressure and fury.
"Release the Young Master!!!"
One voice shouted.
Liu Long ignored the demand and spoke instead.
"Bring us the antidote first… then I will release your Young Master."
The atmosphere grew so tense it felt as if the air itself had stopped flowing.
One of the men in black stepped slightly forward.
"Liu Long… release the Young Master, or this matter will escalate even further. No matter what, he is still your young lady's fiancé."
Those words caused Liu Long's gaze to turn instantly colder.
"Cloud Commerce Guild… you truly are despicable."
His voice was filled with disgust.
"Wang Qiang, as the son of the Wang family's leader, do you feel no shame… You poisoned the entire city through those toxic rains, and you still dared to sell pills with hidden poison for the people to consume."
The spiritual energy around Liu Long erupted.
"Someone like you is unworthy of the noble bloodline of the Wang family. Your name will stain your clan so deeply that it can never be washed away for the rest of your life."
The eyes of the surrounding crowd filled with countless emotions, confusion and shock spreading everywhere as Liu Long's voice rang out once more.
"The City Lord was willing to sacrifice his own life to expose your vile truth, the truth that turned the rain into poison and forced the entire city to struggle between life and death, while you stood behind the scenes as if watching nothing more than a play."
Sharp breaths sounded from the citizens below.
"Then you handed them pills hiding deadly poison once again, to squeeze out everything they had left in their lives… even the last fragments of their dignity, you did not spare!!"
The atmosphere grew so heavy it was almost impossible to breathe.
"I do not know what your heart is made of to be this vile. Someone like you still dares to call himself the heir of the Wang family? I say even the word human is too noble for someone like you… Someone like you… does not deserve to be called human at all."
Those words struck the hearts of the entire city like a hammer. The crowd below fell into stunned silence.
Whispers began to rise before turning into chaos.
"Impossible…"
"Those pills… really have poison…?"
"They were deceiving us…?"
Wang Qiang remained calm before speaking in a steady voice.
"What would you know? If not for me today, all the citizens would have died! Without me, every one of you would already be dead!! I am saving the entire city, and look at what I get in return. Is this what I deserve!!"
Liu Long's brow twitched before he spoke again, raising his voice with all his strength so the entire city could hear.
"You took their lives… you took their wealth… you took their happiness… you took everything from citizens who had nothing to do with you at all."
His voice was so firm that every word felt like a hammer striking the listeners' chests.
"Children who had not even grown up became orphans. The elderly who should have lived their final years in peace died in agony. Families and friends who once laughed together were torn apart because of your greed and cruelty."
The atmosphere fell silent, broken only by the trembling breaths of the people.
"You destroyed an entire city with your own two hands, yet you still dare to speak lies as if you are some savior, when in truth, the one who ruined all their lives is you!! It is you!!"
The gazes of the citizens began to change, filling with coldness and disgust.
At that moment, a voice rang out from another side of the sky.
"The Silver Star Commerce Guild confirms that this is true!"
Another voice followed immediately.
"The Spirit Wolf Commerce Guild confirms that this is true!"
…
…
Announcements from several other leading guilds followed one after another.
The entire city fell into chaos at once. Fear and confusion transformed into fury.
Curses were hurled at Wang Qiang like crashing waves.
"You bastard!!!"
"Give my son's life back!!!"
"Go die!!!"
But at that moment,
Wang Qiang, whose throat was still gripped by Liu Long, suddenly let out a soft laugh. The sound was so chilling that even those who had been raging moments ago felt their skin crawl.
"So what… you lowly worms."
The moment those words ended,
Suddenly—
"Aaaaaaaah!!!"
Screams erupted across the entire city at once.
Countless citizens coughed up blood, their bodies collapsing as if their life force were being torn away.
Even many Saints, including Liu Long himself, suddenly froze as intense pain tore through their meridians.
Liu Long's eyes widened. He could not understand… when had he been poisoned?
Wang Qiang sneered before giving a cold command.
"Kill them."
Whoosh!!!
The fourteen men in black shot forward at the same time like shadows released from their chains. Immense pressure spread from their bodies like waves of death pressing down upon the sky.
Liu Long's forces barely had time to react.
Each Saint hurriedly unleashed their spiritual energy to cover their bodies. Lights of various colors flashed brilliantly in the air as they tried to form protective barriers, but in the next instant, everyone's expressions changed.
The internal power that should have flowed with strength suddenly faltered. Their meridians felt as if they were being corroded from within. Pain surged through their bodies like flames burning from the inside.
Their breathing grew labored. Their limbs turned heavy. The power that should have erupted instead dissipated before their eyes.
Before anyone could do anything more, the dark figures were already upon them.
Thud!
The first blade pierced through a Saint's chest. Blood burst into the air like a crimson rain.
Thud!
Another was stabbed through the abdomen. A short groan escaped before his body went limp.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!!!!
The sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out continuously like a song of death. The clash of metal against armor, the splatter of blood, and the final breaths blended together until the battlefield became a hell in the sky.
Bright red blood scattered into mist. All twenty-eight Saints fell almost at the same time, their bodies dropping without strength, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Even the Saint King from the Silver Star Commerce Guild, who had once stood above countless others, could not resist.
Pitch black blades from the four Saint Kings pierced through his heart with perfect precision.
His eyes trembled slightly. His lips moved as if wanting to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.
His life faded in midair as easily as a candle extinguished by the wind. Everything happened within only a few breaths.
The sky that had once been calm turned into a sea of blood. The metallic scent of blood spread through the air as droplets fell slowly like a red rain.
Silence covered the battlefield as if the whole world had stopped turning, leaving only lifeless bodies drifting in the air.
Liu Long stared at the scene with bloodshot eyes. His body trembled from the poison and his fury.
He gritted his teeth, gathering every last bit of strength he had left. His gaze was filled with resolve. If he were to die now, he would take Wang Qiang with him to grant freedom to his young lady.
The hand gripping Wang Qiang's throat tightened as he tried to drag the other man down to death together.
But in the next instant,
Whoosh!
Four streaks of sword light shot in at the same time.
Slash!!!
Liu Long's left arm, the one gripping Wang Qiang's throat, was severed instantly.
Pierce!!!
Two more blades stabbed through his brain and heart in a single instant.
And the final blade…
Pierced through his dantian, destroying all of his power.
Liu Long's eyes widened.
Blood flowed silently from all over his body as his strength slowly faded.
Amid the screams and the metallic scent of blood that now completely covered the city,
Liu Long's consciousness began to fade little by little, like a thick fog slowly swallowing the sky of his soul. His thoughts, his memories, the sounds around him, everything shattered and disappeared piece by piece.
Only one face remained.
Guo Ning's face.
Those eyes that once looked at him with trust. The voice that once softly called his name. The faint smile that always seemed to be asking something from him.
In his mind, only a single word remained.
"I'm sorry…"
His breathing grew faint as his entire being seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss.