The grey-clad man was completely unfazed by Connor Tong's furious outburst. He even let out a mocking laugh, thick with sarcasm.
"Looks like the Empress Dowager underestimated you. She always thought you were brainless, but now you’re suddenly getting suspicious? Fine, you guessed it—this was all planned by the Empress Dowager. Since she gave you a way out and you refused, let’s send you to your grave together!" the leader shouted.
Connor Tong sneered, tore off his outer robe, revealing a body covered in battle scars. "I, Connor Tong, am not afraid of death. After nearly killing the Empress today, the Tong family has already committed a grave sin. From now on, I swear by my life to protect Her Majesty and defend the Soaring Phoenix Realm!" he declared, dual-wielding swords and charging into battle.
Seeing this, Ethan Chu smiled faintly. Not bad—this guy finally snapped out of it. Ethan knew these enemies were no joke, so instead of just standing around like a sitting duck, he jumped in to help Connor fight. Plus, there was one more crucial reason: he wanted to keep Connor safe. As a central figure in the Soaring Phoenix Realm, if Connor could speak the truth in the main square, he could rally thousands and save countless innocent lives.
The black-clad men with dragon-claw emblems fought viciously. There were only about thirty of them, but every move was cold, ruthless, and precise. Together with the hundred black-clad fighters from before, they formed a formidable force.
Connor Tong’s subordinates were elite fighters too. There weren’t many of them, but each was well-trained. They couldn’t match the grey-clad dragon-claw men, but they were more than enough to handle the hundred-plus black-clad attackers.
Only now did the grey-clad leader realize they had underestimated Connor Tong’s explosive strength—and Ethan Chu’s, too. Still, with superior numbers, they figured victory was assured. After all, they were the Dark Force personally cultivated by Empress Dowager Cao over thirty years.
The Dark Force was a secret underground sect that had always operated in the shadows.
Their training was brutal. It started with over a thousand healthy boys with martial talent, all gathered together.
Then, fifty boys would be locked in a cage together. Only ten could survive—the other forty had to be killed. If you didn’t kill your companions, they’d kill you instead.
Only the winners got to eat. Day after day, they did nothing but kill—and sometimes, eat—their fellow trainees. These boys had no emotions, only absolute obedience to orders.
Any word from Empress Dowager Cao was treated as an imperial edict—more precious than life itself. Even if she ordered them to charge into certain death, they’d obey without hesitation.
Out of more than a thousand, only about five hundred survived to the present day.
Their martial arts were taught by the most formidable masters—sometimes even by Cao Wan’er herself. Ruthlessness and decisiveness were the Dark Force’s signature methods.
No trick was too dirty for them. As long as it served their mission, they’d do anything—even kill their own parents!
This time, their mission was to wipe out all obstacles. Of the five hundred, thirty were left to deal with the Chu Emperor—the remaining four hundred and seventy were all sent after Eli Crane.
Rumor had it, that guy had a photographic memory.
And today, it was exactly that talent that was going to get him killed.
Eidetic memory, seeing through everything... No, that’s not something a serpent person should be able to do. A serpent like that shouldn’t exist. His very existence is a disaster waiting to happen. The White clan was wiped out long ago—he should have been wiped out with them.
So this time, the entire Dark Force was mobilized with a single goal: take down Eli Crane.
He was marked as the first to die—and absolutely had to be killed.
Ethan Chu kept fighting the grey-clad men, but gradually realized their skills were way beyond his expectations—almost on par with Silver Consort herself. With only around thirty of them, their strength was terrifying. He couldn’t help but worry: if a hundred of these guys ganged up on one person…
No way, definitely not. Ethan shook his head, but the unease only grew stronger.
"Careful, Your Majesty!" Connor Tong rushed over and took a heavy blow meant for Ethan Chu.
"General Tong!" Ethan snapped back to reality and shouted.
"N-no, it’s nothing," Connor wiped the blood from his mouth and steadied his breath. "Are you worried about me? Don’t be! Once we finish off the enemy, let’s go help Her Majesty together!"
"Alright!" Ethan forced himself to stop spiraling. All he could do now was hope his five husbands were safe—and focus on speeding things up.
**********
"Pffft—" Eli Crane spat out a mouthful of blood, then calmly wiped it away.
The hundred-plus black-clad killers were already dead. Now, wave after wave of troublesome grey-clad men kept arriving—their martial skills were just as strong as Eli’s core group.
The worst part? There were just way too many of them—and they all fought in perfect sync. It was enough to give Eli a massive headache.
"Stop struggling. The Dark Force’s mission today is to take you out, and we’ve got all your info down. Sure, you’re tough—but even you can’t handle hundreds of enemies as strong as you," one of the grey-clad men said coldly.
"Is that so?" Eli Crane just smiled, totally unfazed.
"What do you think? You’re smart—you know exactly what we’re capable of." The grey-clad man smirked, clearly puzzled by Eli’s nonchalance. This time, the entire Dark Force—four hundred and thirty assassins—had been sent after him.
They thought the Empress Dowager was going a bit overboard, but orders were orders. The first hundred were just appetizers to wear him down; now, they’d attack in waves until he was completely drained. Even with insane skills, he’d be dead meat.
(End-of-chapter system message—skip translation.)
"Some things just can’t be predicted," Eli Crane replied calmly.
The crowd was baffled. They couldn’t believe he didn’t understand the danger—how was he so chill about it?
"If I’m doomed anyway... then I’ll take down as many of you as I can!" Eli finally spoke his mind, answering their confusion. He knew he’d probably die, but he was still determined to drag as many as possible with him.
"The heavens are about to change," Eli murmured, glancing up at the sky. Then, in a blur, he lunged at the grey-clad men—so fast that while everyone was still looking up, his sword was already buried in one man’s chest.
"I said it—if I can kill one more, I will!" Eli flashed a wicked grin that didn’t fit his usual gentle face. He looked like an angel fallen into hell, radiating pure killing intent.
"Interesting!" The grey-clad leader smirked. This guy was definitely no pushover. "Everyone, attack!"
With that, hundreds of grey-clad men charged at Eli Crane. In an instant, his white robes were swallowed up in the crowd. Blood sprayed everywhere—grey-clad bodies kept dropping, and Eli’s clothes were soon soaked in blood.
After just a short, brutal clash, Eli was left leaning on his sword, gulping for air. His white robes were now stained red, and he didn’t even bother wiping the blood from his mouth. The enemy’s numbers had dropped from over four hundred to just over two hundred. Everyone was exhausted, staring at him like he was a demon.
This guy was terrifying. Even while they were trying to kill him, he was watching and memorizing their moves. He’d already figured out most of the grey-clad leader’s techniques—and was using the Dark Force’s own tactics to kill their comrades.
"You really aren’t normal," the grey-clad leader said, now wounded himself. He hadn’t expected Eli to see through his sword arts in the chaos, let alone copy them almost perfectly and use them against him. The White clan was truly terrifying!
Drenched in blood, Eli Crane looked up and smiled. "Two hundred left…"
The grey-clad leader sneered. "You really think you can finish us off? You’ve burned through all your strength killing two hundred already. If I’m right, you can barely stand. We’ve still got two hundred men—how can you possibly hold out?" As a fellow martial artist, he could sense Eli’s depleted energy. Eli probably had just a sliver of strength left.
Eli just laughed, fresh blood spilling from his mouth. "If I can kill one more, I will!" he repeated.
As long as Ivy has one less thing to worry about, that’s good enough for me!
**********
PS: Please send me tips! Tomorrow you’ll get to see Ivy face off against that witch Empress Dowager Cao—so hyped~~~ (What kind of showdown will it be? Honestly, even I can’t wait, lol~)