Chapter 523: Chapter 523. Despicable Mastermind
Amon was about to perform a second slash to finish Gan Xi, but Gan Zhang burst out of the sand to save his cousin. Amon expected this. He swiveled back once he felt the danger. He again used his indestructible left arm to block. His arm clanged with a dagger held by Gan Zhang’s one remaining hand.
Different than the previous clash, Amon’s strength and speed were way off the chart. He easily brushed off the dagger and caught Gan Zhang’s arm before he moved away. With a quick slash, Amon decapitated Gan Zhang before the guy even knew what was going on.
"No, cousin...!!" Gan Xi exclaimed.
Amon targeted Gan Zhang first because his burrowing ability was more troublesome. After he slayed the burrower, he turned his attention to Gan Xi.
Gan Xi was moving away from him while shutting his ears with his two hands. This raised Amon’s forehead. Amon sensed it then.
*ROARRR...!!!*
Loud roars reverberated in the air. The new enemies Amon sensed were still far away, but their roars reached him before he could turn in their direction. His ears rang in pain from those roars.
He saw them then. Prince Huang Zhan riding the large Qing Lion rushing toward him. Amon didn’t flee. He stayed and waited for the prince. The prince was at the Intermediate Spirit Stage. Even with his boosted power, the prince should still be faster than him.
Gan Xi took the chance to retrieve the heavy mace he dropped. He saw a deep gash on the mace’s head where it clashed with the ceremonial dagger.
Huang Zhan arrived before Amon. He glanced at Gan Zhang’s body before saying, "Colonel Amon, I’m glad we meet again. Remember when I told you I would dispense the rest of the punishment for your sins? It seemed you had added another sin again. Such a bad boy. If you keep behaving this way, your punishment will never end."
"Prince Huang Zhan, I suggest our teams leave each other and compete on solving this stage without violence," Amon said. "In terms of fighting power, our team is not your match, but clashing with us will reduce your number, as I have proven."
Amon gestured at Gan Zhang’s body before resuming. "You should be aware that the real threats are Prince Huang Zi and Princess Huang Er. If you encounter their teams with reduced numbers, you will be at a disadvantage."
"Hehe, I thank you for your concern, but that is unnecessary. I have already disposed of my fourth brother," Huang Zhan said.
Amon frowned after hearing that.
Huang Zhan continued, "After I take care of your team, my second sister will be next."
"What do you mean?" Amon asked. "The chance of any team encountering another team in this pocket world is very small. Do you have a method to target a trial stage with another team in it?"
"Hehe. Let’s say I do, but this information is useless to you since you won’t be leaving unless, of course, you take up my offer and swear your fealty to me."
Instead of responding to Huang Zhan’s offer, Amon asked, "You have defeated Huang Zi...? How many men did you lose?"
"Hehe. That is not your concern," Huang Zhan answered.
"From your tone, you didn’t lose many. But even with the ambush factor, I don’t see how you defeat Huang Zi’s team without heavy casualties. His team is stronger than yours unless... I understand now. That was why you invited me to Fort Lion’s Den."
"Oh...?" Huang Zhan never intended to speak too long with Amon. He was preparing to attack soon, but Amon’s words made him cancel that attempt. "I’m interested in your speculation. Please elaborate."
"You had your people attack me when I arrived at Fort Lion’s Den. I believed now that you never meant to kill me, but you were for sure didn’t mind me getting wounded. Either way, the true purpose of your invite was not when I was at the fort but when I left."
Huang Zhan’s brows rose slightly.
"You informed me that either Prince Huang Zi or Princess Huang Er had caught the news about my visit. I’m pretty sure it’s your men who leaked the news, and only to Prince Huang Zi, because he is your real target," Amon continued, which caused Huang Zhan’s brows to rise further. "You knew Prince Huang Zi would send assassins. It didn’t matter if the assassination failed or not. If it succeeded, you killed two birds with one stone. If not, you already had your context. All you needed was a reason to make it seem as if my camp retaliated for that assassination attempt.
"You were the one who assassinated Prince Huang Zi’s original team member. Because Prince Huang Zi had sent assassins to kill me, he naturally assumed I was the one responsible for the death of his original team member, while you are the real culprit. My guess is you did that, so the one replacing the dead team member was someone you preferred? Is Xian Fei your follower?"
Huang Zhan clapped his hands. "Bravo, Colonel Amon. Bravo. Aside from your wimpiness in killing innocents, I always admire your wit. I never thought someone would ever see through my plan. You are right. Xian Fei was my follower."
"Was?" Amon asked.
Huang Zhan shrugged. "She was loyal, but I can’t trust her enough to remain steadfast under torture. It is safer to have her gone together with the rest of my brother’s team."
"I see," Amon said. "You always paint yourself as a straightforward person. I guess that is also a façade you intentionally imprint on others. With that kind of character, no one will ever think you are actually a despicable mastermind. I won’t find it surprising if you are the one who murdered the first and third princes."
Huang Zhan’s expression turned more serious after hearing Amon’s last sentence. He said, "Have you ever heard the saying, you are too smart for your own damn good? I was sincere when I said I wanted you on my side. I truly wished to recruit you."
"It is not the case now?" Amon asked.
"You know too damn much," Huang Zhan replied with a wicked grin. "For that, you must die!"
The Qing Lion lunged forward, but Amon was prepared. He zoomed away using the Invisible Sky Steps. Gan Xi was ready. He rushed to where Amon was dodging and swung his golden mace.
Amon was well aware of Gan Xi’s approach. He performed a spin kick that smacked the heavy mace aside before swinging his ceremonial dagger at Gan Xi’s neck. However, he canceled the swing to dodge an incoming rope dart.
"You won’t lay a finger on my follower anymore," Huang Zhan said. The rope dart was his. The blade of the rope dart was his spearhead. The chain connecting the spearhead was broken by Huang Zi. Huang Zhan replaced the chain with an engraved rope. His weapon could no longer transform into a spear but could still be used as a rope dart.
Huang Zhan left the Qing Lion and assaulted Amon by repeatedly throwing his rope dart. Amon blocked the repeated attacks using his ceremonial dagger. Each clash forced Amon to step back. His dagger failed to damage the rope dart because Huang Zhan already knew Amon’s dagger was special. He channeled energy into his rope dart to protect it.
The Qing Lion crept to Amon’s back to sneak an attack. Amon threw his needles and forced the lion to remain at a safe distance.
"Are you so foolish to think there is any way for you to get out of this?" Huang Zhan taunted.
Huang Zhan let out another thundering roar, which caused Amon to wince from the pain assailing his ears. Amon retaliated by throwing the needles that had just returned to his box at Huang Zhan.
"What a pointless struggle!" Huang Zhan exclaimed. His rope dart swung at high speed around him, creating a shielding orb. All the needles striking the orb were broken to pieces.
Amon moved away after throwing his needles, but the Qing Lion blocked his path. He threw the needle box, now useless since all the needles were broken, at the lion. The lion smacked the box with his paw, but that action left it open to Amon’s follow-up attack. The ceremonial dagger aimed for the lion’s head, but Huang Zhan’s rope dart came to the rescue.
When Huang Zhan’s rope dart deflected Amon’s ceremonial dagger, Gan Xi swung his golden hammer from above, which Amon dodged by rolling away.
Amon used the Corporeal Shifting Branches. Ten long vines helped him block or deflect incoming attacks. All the while, he continued to dodge and moved without pause. Each action required extreme timing. A slight wrong move, and he was a goner.
"I applaud you for lasting this long. I’m truly amazed," Huang Zhan said. He never stopped throwing his rope dart. "But how long do you think you can keep this up?"
"Long enough until reinforcement arrives," Amon replied.
Huang Zhan sensed something coming from behind him. "Back!" He exclaimed while pulling Gan Xi away. As they moved aside, a large iron blade stabbed into where they were a second ago.
The iron blade turned to dust. It was the product of an arcane art. Huang Zhan turned to where the blade came from. He saw An Guan approaching.