“Jared!” Skylar’s voice came out cold enough to cut flesh. Endless killing intent and venom rode every word as he said, “Today is the day you die! I’ll end your life with my own hands. I’ll leave you without even a burial place and drive you into utter soul-ruin!”
The moment his words fell, the hellblade in his hand came crashing down. The blade light was black as ink, carrying a force that looked ready to tear heaven and earth apart as it hacked straight down at Jared’s head. Even the void split open under that strike, ripping into pitch-black cracks. If that blow landed cleanly, Jared would die without question.
And right at that razor-edge instant, a roar cracked across the air as Roland’s figure flashed in front of Jared.
“Stop!” Covered in blood, he gripped his broken sword and threw himself at that heaven-splitting blade light with the very last bit of strength he had left.
Boom!
The blast hit with a deafening crash. Golden light and black light smashed into each other in a wild surge, and Roland’s body jerked like he’d been struck head-on before he was blasted away. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he slammed hard into the city walls. The impact punched a massive crater into the stone, and after that, he couldn’t get back up.
“Roland!” Jared’s roar tore out of him, his eyes locked on Roland. But his own body was too badly wrecked. He couldn’t even force himself to stand.
“Jared!” Vivian rushed up too and planted herself in front of Jared. Spiritual power churned around her, and she faced Skylar without moving aside. “I’m here too!”
Luther shot up from below with the wraith-blade in hand, ghostly miasma rolling off him as he moved to cover Jared’s other side. He was already carrying heavy wounds. He knew perfectly well he wasn’t Skylar’s match. Even so, he didn’t give a single step.
“Young Master Jared, we’ll protect you!” Evelyn and Grace rushed forward too. They were already spent. They could barely even stay on their feet. Even so, they still forced out every last bit of strength and stepped in front of Jared.
Four people, all heavily wounded and hanging by a thread, used the last of their strength to shield Jared behind them. With their own bodies, they formed the final line of defense. Skylar watched the scene in front of him. A cruel smile slowly curled at the corner of his mouth.
“A bunch of ants, and you think you can stand in my way?” Skylar spoke with a cold kind of contempt. “You really think a few broken leftovers like you can stop me? What a joke…” He lifted a hand and gave a light wave behind him. “Darian, take the Demon Dragons and keep these fools tied down. I’m going to kill Jared myself. He dies under my blade!”
Darian accepted the order and shouted a command. Thousands of Demon Dragons roared at once. Their massive wings beat through the air as they dove straight down. Roland forced himself up from the rubble with everything he had left and charged in again. Vivian, Luther, Evelyn, Grace—every one of them threw in everything they had and crashed into the Demon Dragon host.
They were no match for it. Every clash pushed them to the edge, and fresh wounds kept opening across their bodies. But not one of them stepped back. Not one of them gave ground. They held their positions with everything they had, using their lives to buy Jared a little more time.
Skylar didn’t even spare them a glance. The only person in his eyes was Jared. He walked toward Jared one step at a time. With each step, the demonic aura around him thickened, and the killing force coming off him burned hotter.
“Jared, do you see it?” Skylar’s voice dripped with triumph. “Your women. Your brothers. They’re all throwing away their lives for you. But what does it change? None of them can save you. Today, you die by my hand!”
Jared looked at him in silence. Blood covered him from head to toe, and his breath had gone thin, but there wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes. He rose slowly to his feet and tightened his grip on the Dragonslayer Sword. Then he leveled the sword’s tip at Skylar.
“You want to kill me?” Jared’s voice came out hoarse and weak, but the pride in it still wouldn’t bend. “Then come try…”
Skylar let out a cold laugh. He wasted no more words. His figure flashed, and in the next instant he was right in front of Jared, the hellblade in his hand crashing down. Jared forced out every last bit of strength he had and swung his sword up to block.
Clang!
Blade and sword smashed together. Sparks burst everywhere, and a terrifying shockwave tore out in all directions. Jared was blasted away like a kite with its string cut. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he flew backward, then slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a massive crater. He braced himself and tried to get back up, but Skylar didn’t give him even a second to breathe.
Another slash came down.
Clang! Jared was sent flying again. The wounds across his body split open even worse, and blood spread across the ground, staining the whole area red. Even so, he still gritted his teeth and forced himself back to his feet again.
“Jared!” Vivian’s cry ripped through the air. She tried to rush over, but several Demon Dragons had her locked down so tightly she couldn’t break free at all.
“Young Master Chance!” Evelyn had broken down too, crying so hard her voice nearly tore apart. But she was tangled up with Demon Dragons as well. She could only watch Jared get blasted away again and again, with no way to reach him.
Skylar watched Jared fall over and over, then drag himself back up each time. The smile at the corner of his mouth turned crueler by the second. “You really are hard to kill…” Skylar’s voice came out cold. “But so what? In the shape you’re in now, you can’t even take one slash from me, and you still think you can fight back? You’re just asking to die!”
The second the words left his mouth, he moved again. This time the blade light came out sharper, crueler, driving straight for Jared’s vital point. Jared forced up the Dragonslayer Sword and tried to block with everything he had left. But his body was too wrecked to hold. The Dragonslayer Sword flew from his hand, and the impact blasted him away again. He crashed hard into the ground and stayed there, unable to get back up.
Skylar walked over one step at a time until he stood in front of Jared. He looked down at him from above, mockery and smug satisfaction laid bare in his eyes. “Jared, look at you now.” He slowly raised the hellblade in his hand and leveled the tip at Jared’s throat. “Back then, you beat me again and again. You had me running in disgrace every time it happened… and you never thought there’d be a day like this? A day you’d die by my hand?”
Jared looked at him. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and then he smiled. That smile carried ridicule. It carried contempt. Even with death right in front of him, it still held the same refusal to bow. “Skylar… you think… you’ve won? You… will always be the one I defeated… always…”
Hearing that, Skylar’s face darkened on the spot, and the killing intent in his eyes surged. “You’re about to die and you still won’t shut your mouth!” He roared and brought the hellblade down with savage force. The blade light was black as ink, carrying the force to wipe everything out as it slashed straight for Jared’s head!
Jared slowly closed his eyes. Josephine’s face rose in his mind, and a soft smile touched the corner of his mouth. Josephine… if there’s another life, I’ll still find you. I’ll still love you…
And right at that razor-thin instant, a brilliant black light suddenly burst open in front of Jared. The light was thick, but it didn’t sting the eyes. It carried a faint Nether aura and in an instant wrapped around Jared.
Clang!
A massive metallic crash exploded through the air, and a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions. Skylar’s hellblade was stopped cold by a longsword black as ink. It held there, steady and unmoving, and the blade couldn’t drop even a fraction farther.
“Who?!” Skylar’s pupils shrank, and he jerked his head up. The light faded away, revealing a figure standing firm in front of Jared. It was a stunningly beautiful woman. She wore a black dress. Her ink-dark hair spilled over her shoulders and lifted lightly in the wind.
Her skin was pale as snow, her brows and eyes seemed painted, and every feature was fine to the last detail. There was a coldness to her presence, and something strange with it too.
