Chapter 239: The Value of a Hostage

The witch, of course, could not stand against the Manjushaka.

Around Zhao Ruoxi, the remaining flowers of the Nether River withered one by one, and the light flow seemed to be gnawed by an invisible behemoth, with sudden voids appearing. The once-rushing light flow, as vast as a surging river, had dwindled to a mere trickle when it reached Zhao Ruoxi.

With a gentle breath from Zhao Ruoxi, the last of the light flow completely vanished.

This outcome was beyond everyone’s expectations. They had all seen the terror of the witch’s full-force attack, but no one had anticipated that Zhao Ruoxi would deflect it so effortlessly, as if she hadn’t exerted any significant effort. Though most of the Nether River flowers around her had withered, a sea of flowers still bloomed on the ground. The innumerable flowers of the Nether River kept Edward and the others from daring to move.

Anwen’s face turned solemn, and he whispered, “This is wrong, completely wrong! The power of the Manjushaka has reached this extent, which doesn’t match the records of the council. Otherwise, Guoshitu wouldn’t have returned. How did she bring such a legendary gun into the Great Vortex?”

Aiden anxiously said, “Regardless of the reason, she’s here now. What do we do?”

Anwen sighed and pointed at the flower sea before him, saying, “What else can we do? Everything we see is probably real.”

Aiden looked at the Nether River flower sea, silent.

In the air, the figure of the witch slowly emerged. Her cold voice carried a hint of gravity, “Have you awakened the ultimate form of the Manjushaka?”

Zhao Ruoxi smiled gently, “I don’t have the Force, so I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

The dark energy around the witch fluctuated for a moment, and then she said, “Fine, we admit defeat. The Well of Stars is yours.”

Zhao Ruoxi flashed her trademark devilish smile, “Want to admit defeat? It’s not that easy.”

“What else do you want?”

Zhao Ruoxi pointed at the witch and lightly curled her finger, “I’m actually quite interested in you. They say the stronger a Demon Clan member is, the more beautiful they become. I wonder if that’s true. Why don’t you disperse your dark energy and take off your clothes? Let me have a good look and feel. If I’m satisfied, I’ll let you go. How about that?”

“And if I refuse?” The witch’s voice was calm, but the icy killing intent filled the air.

“If you refuse, that’s fine too. At most, only half of the people below will survive. As for you, even if you don’t die, you’ll be skinned alive. Unless you escape the Great Vortex immediately, as long as I’m here, you’ll always be at risk of being caught. The more times you get caught, the sooner you’ll be stripped bare.”

No one had expected such a bizarre turn in a life-or-death situation. Anwen and the young Evernight elites’ faces twisted into strange expressions. Most of them had grown up under the shadow of the witch, and their hearts were filled with awe and respect for this legendary witch, so they didn’t dare to have any improper thoughts.

Even Anwen, who many considered to be the witch’s future partner, vehemently denied these rumors. He knew how much trouble these rumors could bring, and the witch herself had warned him of the consequences. The witch’s methods were nothing more than provocation in various situations, followed by requests for sparring. Sparring, however, was merely one-sided abuse, the severity of which depended on her mood at the time.

Now, the witch had finally met the stronger and more dangerous Zhao Ruoxi, and the emotions of the young Evernight elites became extremely complex. Some even secretly hoped to see if the witch would indeed strip.

Those with high status and power, like Edward and Basil, had at least seen the witch’s true face. For those at the Twilight level, they had never even seen what the witch looked like. Many of the noble bloodline counts and marquises had never even seen the witch’s figure.

Anwen was at a loss. In the face of absolute power, there were no shortcuts. The others, however, had a touch of schadenfreude, curious to see how the witch would extricate herself from this predicament. Offering assistance or fleeing were not options. Basil’s broken leg was a testament to that. Facing the sea of Nether River flowers, no one dared to make the first move.

The logic was simple: whoever ran first would be targeted by Zhao Ruoxi. The young Evernight elites had already clearly seen the power gap; being targeted by her meant certain death. Zhao Ruoxi herself had said that at least half of them could survive, meaning they still had a chance to escape.

After a long silence, the witch said, “Are you so confident?”

Zhao Ruoxi chuckled, “I have no real power; I’m just relying on the Manjushaka. So, I can’t really say I’m confident. I just think this gun is strong enough to crush you. If you don’t want to be bullied by me, then just die.”

The witch said coolly, “You can bully them, but it won’t be that easy to bully me.”

Zhao Ruoxi smiled, “To them, it’s not bullying, it’s killing. If I’m not mistaken, most of your top young generation are here. Even if I don’t kill all of you, just half of you will leave you severely weakened.”

“Then what does it matter to me? As long as I’m here, whether they live or die makes no difference.”

Zhao Ruoxi made a sound of realization and pointed at Anwen and Aiden, “Does it make no difference if these two are more or less?”

Basil immediately let out a sigh of relief, while Aiden’s face turned pale, glaring at him angrily.

“It makes no difference,” the witch’s voice was calm.

“Good,” Zhao Ruoxi’s smile was as bright as a flower, “Since you say so, I won’t be polite. But I wonder what the old guys in the council would think if they knew that stripping could save two geniuses, yet you refuse to do it.”

The witch said coldly, “Do you think I care about those old men?”

Zhao Ruoxi’s smile remained unchanged, “Do you think I care about you right now? Since you won’t strip, then you and your clan will die.”

Suddenly, hundreds of flowers of the Other Shore appeared around her, and the flower sea on the ground surged. Ripples formed, and perhaps in the next moment, all the Nether River flowers would wither.

Edward and Basil were tense, waiting for the next move. Anwen and Aiden’s faces were grim, unsure if they should strike preemptively. But they couldn’t lock onto Zhao Ruoxi, and didn’t know if the girl in the air was real or just an illusion. How could they attack?

Even Anwen, after witnessing Zhao Ruoxi and the witch’s confrontation, was still at a loss as to how the Manjushaka devoured the dark energy. Not knowing the principle, there was no way to defend.

Unable to attack and unable to defend, they were almost in a losing position.

The witch was silent for a long time before she said, “How do you know I don’t have a way to deal with you?”

Zhao Ruoxi laughed, “The only way you can deal with me is to strip and let me do as I please.”

The dark energy around the witch suddenly surged again, and she said coldly, “First, take a look at who this person is.”

As she spoke, a person appeared between the witch and Zhao Ruoxi.

Zhao Ruoxi was taken aback.

The man waved his fan and said bitterly, “Ruoxi, I’m really sorry.”

Only Song Zining could remain so suave in such a situation. He seemed relaxed, showing no signs of injury, but over a dozen tendrils of dark energy were visible on his body, ready to cut him into pieces at any moment.

Zhao Ruoxi looked at Song Zining and waved her hand in front of him, “Do you recognize me?”

Song Zining smiled bitterly, “I not only recognize you, but also Qian Ye.”

Zhao Ruoxi nodded and said to the witch, “This guy is pretty shameless. Who do you want to exchange?”

The witch said word by word, “I want to exchange for everyone, and I want half the usage rights of the Well of Stars.”

Zhao Ruoxi couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes curved, and her lips seemed to be tinged with a bright color, “I don’t think he’s worth that much.” She glanced at the ground, “Fine, let’s just grab someone to exchange.”

The Evernight elites felt a chill run from their heads to their feet. If they still had a chance to struggle for half their lives under the full attack of the Manjushaka, being caught between these two women ready to ignite would mean becoming cannon fodder.

A crimson flower suddenly appeared among the crowd, floating a meter above the ground. Its petals unfurled, ignoring everyone. Edward and the others immediately felt like they were facing a major enemy, but they were stiff, not daring to make a move, afraid that any wrong move would trigger a crisis.

The witch didn’t care about the lives of the weak, but she couldn’t let Zhao Ruoxi truly take a hostage. She snorted, and the dark energy around Song Zining suddenly became clear, contracting inward as if it had substance.

Song Zining still looked suave, but his folding fan was stuck in mid-air, unable to move. Amidst the soft cracking sounds, countless fine cracks appeared on the fan bones, and blood oozed from his fingers, crawling up his wrist.

Zhao Ruoxi looked at Song Zining, her mouth pursed in a show of frustration. Song Zining gave her a bitter smile, not saying another word. This master of the Manjushaka, though seemingly pure and delicate, had eyes that were as steady as a rock, without the slightest ripple.

The witch was also silent, and the two sides were at an impasse.

“Stop!”

A deep shout came from afar. The first word was still hundreds of meters away, but the echo had already reached them. Qian Ye’s figure, like a phantom, flashed a few times from far to near, appearing beside Zhao Ruoxi.

The dark energy around the witch rippled, and she whispered, “You dare to come out? Do you think I can’t kill you?”

Qian Ye said coldly, “If you could, you wouldn’t have waited until now.”

“Then we…”

Zhao Ruoxi interrupted the witch, “Who’s ‘we’? You, try killing him!”

The witch’s icy aura suddenly surged towards Song Zining, “Can I kill him, then?”

Before she finished speaking, the first to act was not the dark energy coiling around Song Zining.