“Ah Chou?”
The three men sitting together, drinking and eating meat, were surprised to see the young man who had just emerged from the light.
“Bosses, it seems we’ve messed up this time.”
“What happened?”
These three men were the leaders of the Heavenly Stems and Earth Branches: Heaven Jia, Heaven Zi, and Earth Zi.
For this operation against Cloud Peak, the entire assassin organisation had sent their elites.
The three of them sitting here weren’t due to laziness but because they believed that an operation not involving the assassination of top-tier experts like Ye Zhongming, who were on the national rankings, could be handled by sending out Heaven Yi, Heaven Bing, Heaven Chou, and three members from the Earth Branches.
They were waiting dozens of kilometers away from the action site, a habit during large-scale operations.
They didn’t think there was anything wrong with targeting Cloud Peak. They had offended at least a third of the Resistance Zone, Glory Army, and the top twenty factions on the national rankings, and they were still alive and well. Cloud Peak was most famous for its equipment and gene warriors, but its notoriety paled compared to some battle squads.
Earth Zi walked over and examined Heaven Chou’s injuries. They weren’t severe, but injuring a space mage wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.
A faint light appeared in his hand, and Heaven Chou’s wounds healed significantly, leaving only faint scars.
This Earth Zi was clearly a healer.
“The people who injured me were very strong, with strange methods similar to ours. Earth Jia was captured.”
With the pain mostly gone, Heaven Chou relaxed and quickly summarized what he knew.
The three leaders of the Heavenly Stems and Earth Branches exchanged glances, knowing it was time to decide.
Cloud Peak had undoubtedly discovered their presence, and Earth Jia’s capture would likely expose critical information. Attempting a rescue now would be extremely dangerous.
As far as they knew, Cloud Peak currently had more than five eight-star evolved and battle beasts.
This level of strength was beyond what they could handle.
But if they didn’t rescue them, Heaven Bing and Heaven Yi would likely be lost, dealing a massive blow to their organization. Combined with the three from the Earth Branches, almost a third of their strength would vanish.
“Let’s go take a look. If there’s an opportunity, we won’t mind killing Ye Zhongming. But if it’s impossible, we’ll retreat and stay far away from here.”
Heaven Zi paced back and forth before making the decision. The others nodded in agreement.
“Can you still use your abilities?” Heaven Zi asked Heaven Chou. After receiving an affirmative answer, he said gravely, “Let’s go!”
With a flash of light, the group disappeared.
………………………………………………
Heaven Yi hadn’t expected Ye Zhongming to attack so decisively, showing no interest in gold-grade equipment, evolution potions, or even level-eight demon crystals.
Although he knew that killing him would allow Ye Zhongming to take these items, did the King of Cloud Peak really believe he could keep him here? Was he so confident in facing the endless retaliation of the Heavenly Stems and Earth Branches, an assassin organisation that thrived in the shadows?
Ye Zhongming answered him with the gleam of his blade, and Heaven Yi saw a surging will to fight in the man’s eyes.
It was a kind of… desire released after too long without a worthy opponent.
Heaven Yi couldn’t understand this mindset.
Things like the loneliness of being invincible only existed in novels. At least now, he didn’t believe Ye Zhongming was invincible.
This sword strike seemed unremarkable, but when wielded by Ye Zhongming with Wind and Lightning, even without using a skill, it exuded immense pressure.
Heaven Yi’s expression changed drastically. A moment of hesitation had left him unable to escape the attack range.
What kind of speed was this?!
Ye Zhongming had activated Quickness.
Heaven Yi’s body swayed left and right, but he didn’t move. Instead, five identical figures appeared around him, indistinguishable from the original.
The blade light from Wind and Lightning struck one of the figures, which flickered before returning to normal.
All six figures drew pitch-black daggers, shrouded in faint dark mist, and stabbed Ye Zhongming in unison.
Ye Zhongming was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected Heaven Yi to be a Shadow Assassin.
This assassin job was extremely strange. Its initial skill was what Heaven Yi used now: Force Shadow Clones. These six figures had no original body—they were all original bodies, each with 60% of the original’s attack power but full defense, and they shared damage.
In other words, to instantly kill this person, you needed to overcome six times the defence of a single body.
However, since Ye Zhongming had recognized the skill, he also knew its strengths and weaknesses.
Although the blade light from Wind and Lightning did not seem to affect Heaven Yi, the damage had been shared among the six bodies, making it appear that nothing had happened.
Facing the six daggers, Ye Zhongming spun in place, leaping into the air. Instead of dodging, he performed a spinning kick mid-air.
The kick landed.
One of the figures flickered but quickly returned to normal.
The other five daggers struck Ye Zhongming but failed to break through his defense.
Black Halo Shield and Black Earth Armor were activated.
Ye Zhongming landed, and with a wave of his free hand, a sandstorm erupted around him, instantly enveloping the six figures.
Unhindered Dust Sand Pendant’s sandstorm attack activated!
The relentless sand attacked the six figures while Ye Zhongming’s Wind and Lightning slashed repeatedly, each strike hitting a shadow clone.
Then, a sand tower appeared in the air, firing solid sandballs before disappearing, only for another to appear in a random location.
Sand Tower Attack was activated.
The barrage of attacks was almost too fast to follow.
Heaven Yi was equally relentless. The six figures surrounded Ye Zhongming, their daggers stabbing repeatedly at the King of Cloud Peak. However, unless they aimed for the head or neck, Ye Zhongming didn’t bother dodging.
Even the corrosive dark mist on the daggers, which even Heaven Zi and Heaven Jia feared, had no effect.
The two sides clashed, and at a certain moment, Ye Zhongming actively retreated. Then, five sand towers appeared in the sky, exploding into countless sandballs covering Heaven Yi’s six clones.
Heaven Yi cried out, and the clones all vanished. His original body stumbled into view. Without even looking at Ye Zhongming, he stabbed himself four times with his dagger, and his entire body turned bright red as if drenched in dye.
Ye Zhongming initially thought Heaven Yi was using this method to attack him, but instead, after activating his potential, Heaven Yi turned and fled at incredible speed, vanishing like a wisp of smoke.
Ye Zhongming smiled, and Wind and Lightning disappeared, replaced by the Earth Sniper Rifle. He fired without even aiming.
Space Stack, Earth Armor Piercing Shot- Far Sight and Precision, Long flight, and Penetration were activated.
Heaven Yi, who thought he had escaped, had his head instantly blown apart.