“You had your chance. Don’t blame me for what happens next,” Dustin said.
With a slight squeeze of his fingers, the steel blades clamped between them shattered with a sharp clang.
Before the two Hall of Gods members could even react, Dustin waved his hand.
The two men were sent flying as if they’d been hit by a truck, hurtling over 30 feet through the air. Blood sprayed from their mouths and noses before they hit the ground. They were critically injured and on the verge of death.
Dustin slowly turned his head and looked at the man who had just tried to ambush him.
The man glanced at the broken sword in his hand, then at Dustin, who looked utterly unfazed. He hesitated for a split second-then bolted.
With a powerful leap, he dove straight for the sea. He knew Dustin’s strength was on a completely different level. There was no chance of outrunning him on land, so the only hope was to disappear into the water.
It might have worked-if not for what happened next.
Just before he hit the water, an invisible force locked him in place. His arms and legs could still move. But no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t drop another inc. It was as if some unseen hand had him in an iron grip. Then, to his horror, he felt himself rising farther from the sea.
“Did you really think you could escape?” Dustin said as he made a grasping motion.
Despite being over 30 feet away, he yanked the man back. As he tightened his grip, the man’s body began to twist unnaturally. Bones cracked, organs shifted, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose.
“P-Please don’t kill me. I surrender.” With his body moments away from being crushed, the man panicked and pleaded frantically.
“It’s too late for that.”
Dustin clenched his fist. With a sickening squelch, his body burst apart like a watermelon struck by a cannonball. Chunks of blood and flesh rained down into the sea, dyeing the waters a deep crimson.
“Huh?” Mulder’s eye twitched, and his expression darkened. He hadn’t expected Dustin to possess such strength and had killed all his subordinates in a single exchange.
If he had to guess, Dustin was undoubtedly a grandmaster martial artist.
But that didn’t make sense. Mulder had intel on every fighter in West Lucozia. He’d already uncovered most of the enforcement team’s and Draken Guardians ‘backgrounds,
Yet, there wasn’t a single mention of the man before him. Since when did West Lucozia have a young grandmaster like this?
“Who the hell are you, punk? Got the guts to say your name?” Mulder tightened his grip on his dagger, lowering his stance while staying on guard.
He had only just broken through to the grandmaster level last year, and only because he had taken the Hall of Gods’ enhanced serum. Until now, he had never faced another grandmaster in combat. He had no idea how he would measure up.
What really troubled him, though, was Dustin’s abilities. Dustin could easily take down martial artists who had achieved divinity from a distance as if it were nothing… It was terrifying.
“You must be Mulder, right?” Dustin brushed off the dust from his clothes and said indifferently, “Someone asked me not to kill you right away. He wants to do it himself. Of course, if you resist, I don’t mind crippling you first.”
“Arrogant bastard!” Mulder frowned and barked, “So what if you’re a grandmaster? That doesn’t mean you can beat me. And besides-I’m not alone.”
While saying that, he turned to the man behind him and said gravely, “Sir Prescott, this brat is tough and not easy to deal with. If we work together, we can take him down and be done with it.”
Warrick didn’t respond, and his eyes were locked on Dustin. His frown deepened, and his expression grew more solemn.
The more he looked, the more familiar Dustin seemed. He was certain he had seen Dustin somewhere before-but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t quite place it.
“Sir Prescott! Sir Prescott!” Seeing that there was no response, Mulder raised his voice.
“Enough with the shouting.” Warrick’s expression darkened. “Do I really need to step in for something this trivial? Just handle it yourself. I’ll be here to cover you.”
“Huh?” Mulder was stunned.
At a time like that, why the hell was Warrick still worried about his status and martial codes? The cleanest solution was simple-kill Dustin, get on the boat, and leave no loose ends.
Leaving Mulder to fight alone-wasn’t that just dragging things out for no reason? And what if West Lucozia’s main forces arrived? By then, escape wouldn’t even be an option.
“What’s wrong? Are you actually afraid of a punk like him?” Warrick asked coldly.
“Of course not. It’s just that taking him down won’t be easy. What if-”
Before Mulder could finish, Warrick interrupted sharply, “I told you to handle it. Stop wasting time with excuses.”
Mulder frowned, and his expression turned sour. He had gone through hell to help Warrick escape. But now, when it mattered most, Warrick planned to sit back and watch the fight unfold without lifting a finger.
The thought disgusted Mulder.
“Come on, Mulder, you still don’t see it?” Dustin sneered. “He’s just scared of dying, so he’s letting you fight first to test my strength. If you win, he’ll step in. Otherwise, he’ll ditch you and run. Let’s be real-you’re just his sacrificial pawn.”
