“Enough chatter,” Jared said, his eyes flaring with cold contempt. “Move, unless you want to die for nothing!”
“Arrogant wretch!” the captain roared, rushing forward with the rest of his men at his heels. Kishor laughed, a deep, rolling boom that shook dust from the eaves. He met the charge head-on, vanishing and reappearing among the guards like a ghost.
His fists fell like meteors. Bone cracked. Armor buckled. Thuds rang out in brutal staccato. Screams rose, then died, as bodies hit the flagstones.
When the last man slumped lifeless, Kishor wiped blood from his knuckles and kicked the crimson-lacquered gate wide open.
“Pathetic,” muttered. Then, louder, “Mr. Chance, Mr. Flaxseed… After you…”
The trio entered shoulder to shoulder. Every disciple who tried to stop them found the gleaming edge of the Dragonslayer Sword instead, Jared’s blade carving a silver path through flesh and scale-bound vipers alike.
Poison tricks and serpent sorcery meant nothing against raw, overwhelming power. By the time they reached the grand hall, blood pooled in the torchlight. and not a single challenger still drew breath.
At the far end, Seraphina reclined upon a throne, lips pressed into a thin, poisonous line. Flanking stood dozens of Earthly immortal Realm cultivators, every one summoned for this very reckoning.
“Jared… Flaxseed,” said, voice icy. “You dare storm my sect? I should have finished you on Serpentcoil Mountain instead of showing mercy.”
“No more excuses,” Flaxseed hissed, fury blazing in his eyes. “You helped butcher my clan. Tonight, blood pays for blood!”
Seraphina laughed, low and scornful. “Look around, old man. I am a fourth-tier Earthly immortal Realm and command an army. None of you are leaving this mountain alive.”
“Is that so?” Kishor stepped forward. A torrent of power ripped from him, heavier than a falling mountain, seventh-tier Earthly immortal Realm at its razor edge.
Air trembled; lantern flames guttered. Seraphina‘s warriors went pale, gasping as the weight of his aura crushed their chests.
“S-Seventh tier?” Seraphina stammered, terror widening eyes. She had never dreamed they would bring a titan of such caliber.
“Move!” Kishor barked, springing toward the throne while the hall still quaked beneath his might, “And let’s finish this!”
Kishor blurred across the courtyard-one heartbeat, stood beside Jared, the next his fist exploded against the chest of a third-tier Earthly Immortal Realm cultivator, hurling the man through shattered pillars and into darkness.
Another circle of experts charged, brandishing blades and talismans.
Kishor’s answer was ruthless and elegant. A single sweeping arc of his arm broke ribs, crushed knuckles, and sent bodies skidding across the blood-slick tiles. Panic rippled through the Crimson Coil Sect as the warlord stalked forward like a living storm.
Jared pivoted toward Seraphina, Dragonslayer Sword flashing gold in his grip.
Realizing disadvantage, the woman in red tried to flee, but the sword’s incandescent edge blocked every retreat, hemming in with lethal light.
“Going somewhere?” Jared’s voice dropped to a chill murmur. Gold-lined sword energy crashed down, carving the smoky air into ribbons while it chased Seraphina‘s scarlet figure.
She parried in desperation, yet each clash drove backward. Cuts blossomed across arms, then ribs, dark blood soaking through silk until crimson robe was almost black.
Within moments, the famed demoness was staggering, breath ragged, eyes wide with dawning fear.
Off to the side, Flaxseed dealt with the remaining disciples. His fluttering talisman scripts sliced the air like a reaper’s scythe, each flick of his wrist snuffed another life.
The Flaxseed clan’s debt, vowed, would be repaid in blood.
The clash ended as swiftly as it began. Kishor alone annihilated every Earthly Immortal Realm defender of the Crimson Coil Sect.
Seraphina collapsed beneath Jared’s final strike, battered beyond recognition, breath whisper, thin as slumped onto broken flagstones.
“Seraphina!” Flaxseed crooned, stepping through corpses until his shadow fell across face. “Surprised the day finally came? When you butchered my clan, did you never consider retribution?!”
She lifted head with painful effort. Terror and bitterness pooled in her gaze. “Flaxseed… You can’t kill me! I serve Venom Valley on level five. Touch me and they will hunt you forever!”
“Venom Valley?” Flaxseed laughed, short, cruel, resolute. “After I finish avenging my people, I’ll settle accounts with them as well. Worry about yourself first, Seraphina…”
