Chapter 62 - Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 62: Achilles' Heel With his words, a golden halo rose like a pillar of light from the main hall's apex and quickly expanded in all directions beneath the reddened sky. The ground trembled, scattering debris and dust, as golden and red hues filled the space. Outside the window, the range of two abilities was expanding, seemingly boundless. These were the powers of S-rank abilities—just one was enough to obliterate a small city like Four-Way City. Yet now, in the center of the event, there were two. Two S-rank individuals. They were like colossal beasts, and anyone standing before them seemed laughably futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Yi Ming looked up, seeing the ceiling crawling with cracks amidst the raging red lines. He was right, Yi Ming thought. This time, once again, he could do nothing. He had said he would take Li away, protect Li, but in the end, all he managed was to protect himself. His own weak self. The feeling of powerlessness burrowed deep into his bones, suffocating him. “Boom—!” The ceiling of both the upper and the current floors collapsed, debris falling between him and the young man ahead. The fallen rocks compressed the corridor’s space, filling the void in his sight, obscuring the solitary figure of the black-haired youth walking intently and the unpausing silhouette ahead. Until it was completely out of sight. In front of the heap of stone slabs, a blue pendant earring swayed, its glow flickering amidst dark hair. Then it was tightly clutched in a gloved hand. The azure glow vanished, suppressed firmly in the palm, caught in its strong grasp. The dark-haired youth raised his hand, crimson eyes slightly lowered, gazing at his clenched fist as if watching the trapped light within. That face, cold as ice, suddenly revealed a slight smile. His lips curled upwards, the smile deepening, dispelling the coldness between his brows. His countenance changed, ice melted, boldness emerged, careless and unhesitant. And then he lowered his hand. The dark-haired youth walked on, as if passing through an unseen, intangible door, leaving behind that tightly sealed solitude. His black hair fluttered in the stirred breeze, and on his face, the shimmering light points formed a silvery-white mask, covering his left crimson eye. "Getting involved too early can be fatal." A low, magnetic voice echoed in the trembling corridor, spoken softly, as if careful not to disturb anything. The youth released his hand, then, smiling, spoke to no one in particular, "Isn't that right?" The blue pendant disappeared. ... A few minutes earlier, in the Yue family's main hall. The absence of the banquet's host, Yue Qing, didn’t hinder Qu Yan’s actions. He ascended the staircase to the second-floor platform, facing the nobles gathered under the chandelier on the first floor, and cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, everyone." He stood behind the platform’s railing, one hand emerging from beneath his cloak to perform a noble’s greeting, "I've invited you here to show you my collection." He produced a nutrient jar from beneath his cloak, identical in size to the one he displayed in the square that morning. But the head inside was of a different shape. "Former Ability Guild, the Sharpshooter." He set down this nutrient jar, placing it on the table which gleamed with an orangish-red glow under the lights, then produced another. "Former Ability Guild, the Hypnotist." And another. "Former Ability Guild, the Iron Warrior." His actions continued without pause. "Former Ability Guild, the Beast Tamer." ... Until nine heads were lined up consecutively on the table, he finally took out the last one, shaking it briefly in the air as if to make those below clearly see it, then placed it in the center. "Former Ability Guild's spiritual leader, the Prophet." To this point, he hadn’t mentioned a single real name, referring to them with ethereal titles instead. Because, to him, it wasn’t important. The nobles below whispered among themselves. Those who had seen the former Ability Guild six years ago understood what these heads represented. They symbolized an era that could have overturned the empire. An Heyu looked up at the array of skulls, seemingly relieved that Hei Ge wasn’t among them. But then, he noticed Qu Yan on the stage casting a glance at him. An Heyu’s lowered left hand tensed slightly. "But it’s not just to show you these beautiful heads." Having done all this, Qu Yan spoke. He mentioned the confrontation at noon: "You've all heard about what happened at noon. You think I came for Hei Ge? No, a mere commoner like Hei Ge isn’t worth my time in this provincial place, though he did surprise me." On the stage, Qu Yan said, then looked at the youth with a straight spine below, as if pride was still etched in his bones. Simultaneously, An Heyu’s pupils slightly quivered. He realized something was about to happen, something outside his predictions. And Qu Yan looked at him, with a high and mighty, pitying expression: "The only one worth my trip from the Floating City is you, Scavenger." As his words concluded, red erupted beneath his cloak! He had acted right there! Countless red lines extended upwards, then in an instant, pierced the bodies of almost everyone present! The only one who dodged was An Heyu, also an S-rank, but as he turned his head to look around, his golden pupils suddenly widened. Before his eyes, the bodies of those nobles pierced burst open. Like blooming fireworks. Blood splattered through the air, forming a thin mist that quickly merged into Qu Yan's ability-red lines, strengthening them. Like writhing bloodsuckers. And then, An Heyu spoke. He looked up at Qu Yan, who was amusingly gazing at him from the stage. His expression remained as proud and composed as ever, but his tone grew cold: "You admitted to what you did at the An family four years ago." An Heyu had considered whether Qu Yan might act against him, but he overestimated the man’s limits. He should have paid more attention to why the always mysterious Qu Yan would expose his ability in broad daylight. But he thought Hei Ge had provoked him—a taunted Qu Yan impulsively using his trump card to save face. But no, Qu Yan had set everyone’s fate from the beginning. Everyone had to die—the onlooking nobles and all the commoners of Four-Way City. “Admit it? So what if I admit it?” Qu Yan taunted. “The Requiem of the Undead can only control relatively intact corpses.” Qu Yan raised his chin, looking down at An Heyu below, “Without bodies to manipulate, you can do nothing.” Before the words had faded, S-rank ability leapt, red lines shot through the ceiling, their range starting to expand as if to envelop the entire Four-Way City. The azure skyline was stained red. Then the red lines fell from this ominously colored sky, descending swiftly like lightning. In an instant, the entire city saw the anomaly descending from the heavens! In the Ability Guild’s bounty hall, the somewhat chubby Le Caile peeked out from inside. Outside the Ability Guild, walking on the streets, Yi Xiangnan looked up. In the Tides’ Four-Way City base, Mo Mo and You You were still in the city, holding hands, watching from under a roof at the dark crimson sky. In the residential area, He Shasha, taking leave to stay with her parents, opened a window, seeing the red expanding rapidly from afar. In the outskirts, a hobo lying on the ground looked at the rapidly covering crimson sky, unmoving. The entire city's sky was painted red. And by then, the Yue residence, nearest to the epicenter of the ability's emergence, had been destroyed by the red lines! The building collapsed, the main hall ceiling nearly gone. Sunlight filtered indoors but was a wash of red light. And behind Qu Yan, it was as if red blood congealed into a pair of wings for him. The red lines descended like lightning, bound for the red-haired youth standing amidst the rubble. “You should have died four years ago, but now isn't too late." Qu Yan looked down at him, saying, “Scavenger." In that instant, a golden halo similarly expanded, a domain-type ability claiming all spatial authority within its domain. In a flash, a figure placed itself in front of the red-haired youth, transforming its body to shield him from the bloodline attack! Simultaneously, the undead Minions An Heyu had amassed over the years emerged within his domain, controlled by him. This was his ability, his asset, and likewise his accumulated foundation. But in that crisis moment, the red-haired youth instinctively turned his head, looking elsewhere. As if searching for the position of his brother. The corpse shielding him from the attack was struck by the red line, its body pierced and bursting apart like a guest. The blood of the dead no longer flowed, but Qu Yan’s abilities could attack the ability’s master directly. Due to the unique nature of the Requiem of the Undead, he couldn’t attack An Heyu directly, but—as soon as the undead were hit, they became useless! And Qu Yan would no longer leave him any undead to command; these undead were finite resources. After that moment of distraction, An Heyu suppressed his impulse, tightly staring at Qu Yan. "I am also an S-rank," An Heyu declared, with the pride belonging to an aristocrat, seemingly rebutting Qu Yan's disparagement, "At the same level, can you truly kill me?" His undead were under his control, fighting on his behalf! As soon as his voice faded, twenty varied-faced undead emerged within the ruins. In an instant, a kaleidoscope of powers erupted in this space, An Heyu's undead shifting positions freely within this privileged zone, appearing around Qu Yan. Bloodlines danced, swiftly lashing at the surrounding flickering undead. "Slash!" A bloodline grazed an undead's ability, and yet another undead burst apart. An ability's spike embedded in Qu Yan's body, severing his arm. Yet the next moment, the bloodlines writhed at the wound, reattaching the arm to the torso. The number of undead dwindled. Just then, Qu Yan suddenly turned as if looking at something. Then he said, "Your powerless brother." In an instant, An Heyu instinctively glanced in that direction, seeing a flash of red disappear behind the rockery. Huyu?! Bloodlines pierced densely toward the rockery, almost too quickly to think. A few undead vanished from the encirclement, appearing before the rockery to block the advancing bloodlines with their bodies. The undead exploded, and simultaneously, An Heyu realized— Hei Ge wasn’t there! But it was too late— The bloodlines beside Qu Yan extended like the spines of a sea urchin, piercing the nearby undead in An Heyu's moment of distraction. And Qu Yan did not give An Heyu time. Bloodlines surged forward like an impenetrable net, instantly reaching him! In that instant, An Heyu's golden eyes seemed to forget to focus on the blood net about to claim his life, recalling instead a morning from a few days ago. A black-haired youth wearing a silvery-white mask stood slowly, his crimson eyes looking at him, saying, "This path is only for those without weaknesses." Hei Ge had been right, An Heyu realized. An Huyu was his Achilles' heel, his only brother, the sole blood relative he had left in this world. He hoped more than anything for his brother to grow up healthy and happy, not steeped in sorrow like he was. But what had he done? Protection? No, that wasn’t protection! It had brought disaster onto Huyu! Just like now, with Qu Yan in Four-Way City, here to destroy the city because of Requiem of the Undead. He would only harm his brother. "Farewell, Scavenger," Qu Yan sneered. In that moment, the blood net descended, red engulfing the golden eyes. Blood splattered. But it was above. Purple-red hair was lifted gently by a gloved hand with exposed fingers. The black-haired youth wearing a silvery-white mask squinted his crimson eyes, a smile curling his lips as he carried Qu Yan's severed head, walking slowly from behind him. Boots tapped the ground, unhurried. That person turned, red eyes meeting An Heyu's stunned gaze below. "Oh dear, looks like I arrived just in time?" Li Li chuckled softly.