Striking to Buy Time for the Black Riders

Prince Damien of Southlyn’s words cut off everyone’s escape route. He intended to drive these martial artists to despair, making them either submit to him or lose the will to fight for survival.

But unexpectedly, his words didn’t make them give up. Instead, they forced everyone to unite, igniting their fighting spirit.

At this moment, everyone understood: even if there were reinforcements, they couldn’t reach them. Their only choice was to kill the enemy.

With no other path to take, the crowd grew even fiercer. So what if they had no inner force? Years of martial training weren’t just for show—their moves alone could make the enemy suffer.

"All together! Kill these sons of bitches!" A burly man wielding a meteor hammer suddenly erupted with power. His massive hammer smashed down on a round-backed hunchback, bursting the hump and spraying black blood everywhere.

"Brother Zhao is right! Everyone, attack together! If we don’t kill these bastards, we have no way out!"

No one hesitated. Whether it was the Moonvault Palace Lord or the Fortress Lord Ling, at this moment, they all put aside their private schemes and focused on the enemy before them.

If they couldn’t leave the mountain alive, any further plotting was pointless.

When people are driven to the brink, the potential they unleash is terrifying. With top experts like Sean Xuan, Storm Cloud Bu, and Lance Quinn present, they actually managed to scatter Prince Damien’s forces for a moment.

Prince Damien’s face grew even uglier. If he’d had more men on the mountain, he would’ve stationed archers nearby and turned these people into pincushions.

"A bunch of fools looking for death." Prince Damien gritted his teeth. But he never cared about these people—without inner force, their sudden bravery was just the last struggle before death. What he really cared about was Prince Nolan, who hadn’t made a move yet, and Serena, who had vanished without anyone noticing.

"Not good! Serena’s missing! Hurry and find her—stop her! Don’t let her concoct an antidote!" Prince Damien had seen Serena’s medical skills firsthand and was genuinely afraid she’d ruin his plans.

Even though he didn’t believe Serena could make an antidote without any herbs, he still feared the worst.

"Got it." A dwarf popped up from nowhere and darted out of the battle circle, heading for Serena’s tent. But Prince Nolan wasn’t about to let him succeed. The moment the dwarf stepped out, Nolan aimed a hidden weapon at him.

Crack! Beads shot from Nolan’s wrist, flying toward the dwarf’s head and limbs.

The dwarf was short but incredibly agile, dodging early and letting the beads strike the ground, leaving small pits behind.

"Impressive hidden weapon," the dwarf patted his chest, secretly glad he dodged in time. But the next second, he froze, pain twisting his face as he stared down at the sword that had pierced him from behind. "How is this possible?"

The dwarf spat out blood. As the sword was pulled free, his whole body flew out and crashed to the ground. His head lolled to the side, lifeless—he died without ever knowing who struck him down.

"How is this possible? How can you still use inner force?" Prince Damien saw it all clearly. When Prince Nolan gathered his energy and used lightness skill, Damien’s eyes went wide.

"I’m allergic to floral scents," Prince Nolan turned and gave Prince Damien a perfectly reasonable explanation. "You’ve known that for ages, haven’t you?"

"You’re not affected by Inner-Force Dissolving Powder?" Prince Damien pressed for confirmation. Once he got a definite answer, he went wild: "Clear a path for me! I want to kill Eastlyn’s Ninth Prince with my own hands!"

"Ninth Prince? Which kingdom are you from?" A gray-robed man immediately caught the flaw in Damien’s words and asked on the spot.

"None of your business." Damien glared fiercely at him. Before the man could react, Damien swung his sword and sliced his head off.

Even so, part of Damien’s identity was exposed. Storm Cloud Bu shouted just in time: "You’re a Lyndaria prince? No, Lyndaria only has a crown prince, not any other princes. The princess and crown prince are mortal enemies—you can’t be a Lyndaria prince."

"Then you must be a Northlyn prince? Northlyn has several princes, but your build doesn’t match." Storm Cloud Bu fought as he led everyone to guess at Damien’s true identity.

"Look at how he’s dead set on killing the Ninth Prince—maybe he’s an Eastlyn prince. Isn’t the Ninth Prince Eastlyn’s regent? Maybe an Eastlyn prince is jealous and wants to use us to ambush him." Someone suggested this, and soon everyone accepted it. Storm Cloud Bu and Lance Quinn didn’t correct them—the deeper the misunderstanding now, the angrier people would be when the truth came out later.

"Eastlyn’s gone too far! So many of us are just pawns in their power struggle." Linden Ling signaled to someone nearby, who immediately shouted out.

"We’re only involved because of the Ninth Prince. He’s not affected by Inner-Force Dissolving Powder—he must have known all along and kept it secret. Is he planning to sacrifice us?"

Just as Linden Ling wanted, everyone vented their anger on the Ninth Prince. But at this moment, all they could do was complain—there was nothing else they could do.

Prince Nolan didn’t care at all, and Damien had no intention of explaining. In fact, he loved seeing people hate the Ninth Prince.

Soon, Damien’s men carved a bloody path through the crowd, and his sword was raised right in front of Prince Nolan.

"Ninth Prince of Eastlyn, let’s have a fair duel between men. Life and death will depend on whose skills are superior." Damien licked his lips, eyes shining with excitement.

He’d always wanted to defeat Nolan himself, and now he finally had the chance.

"A duel? Fine..." Prince Nolan glanced at the freaks behind Damien, then stepped forward, signaling Damien to make his move.

Damien didn’t hesitate. He attacked first, but Prince Nolan stood firm, taking the blow and forcing Damien back half a step.

"Your inner force is that strong?" A flash of fear crossed Damien’s eyes, quickly replaced by excitement.

The stronger the opponent, the more satisfying the victory.

Hmph... Prince Nolan didn’t attack, still waiting for Damien to make the next move. Damien knew perfectly well Nolan was stalling, trying to buy time for Serena—but he had no intention of letting Nolan have his way.

He signaled someone behind him to go deal with Serena. The man hesitated, but realizing how serious things were, he left Damien to hunt for Serena.

Trying to send a mere second-rate fighter to kill Serena—Damien was seriously underestimating her.

Prince Nolan glanced over, lowered his eyes, and stayed silent. He kept defending without attacking, until Damien grew frustrated: "Ninth Prince, are you looking down on me?"

Only defending, never attacking—what kind of duel was this?

"And if I am?" Prince Nolan replied, his pride unmistakable. Even in a duel with Damien, he never lost his poise.

He was indeed stalling Damien—but not to buy time for Serena. He was buying time for the Black Riders.