Chapter 98: A Fight to the Death

“Move!” Realizing that Lyka was likely to become Arthur’s target, Hector, the blond leader, shouted coldly to his companions without hesitation.

Immediately afterward, Hector’s broadsword swiftly reverted to its form as a piece of nian steel. Willy quickly slung his severely injured older brother, Willy Senior, onto his back. The silver-haired man, Olyphis, along with Murphy and Saya, quickly sheathed their weapons and followed Hector out of the room. In the blink of an eye, the six Saint-tier强者 who had ambushed Zhang Wen were all gone, vanishing at the end of the corridor.

“Phew!” Zhang Wen finally exhaled deeply and sat heavily on a bench behind him. In order to deal with Hector’s final strike, Zhang Wen had already used up every last bit of his strength. Now his entire body was completely drained, unable to muster even a shred of energy. If Hector and the others had insisted on finishing him off just then, Zhang Wen probably would have had no choice but to close his eyes and wait for death.

“Next time, I absolutely must stop doing such life-threatening good deeds. Even if I don’t get killed by someone else, I’ll still lose years off my life!” After catching his breath for a few moments and regaining a bit of strength, Zhang Wen stood up with a bitter smile.

He walked into the room whose door had just been smashed by Olyphis and immediately spotted the unconscious Xie Luo and his men, lying haphazardly in a corner of the room. On the only small bed, Countess Melissa was tied up and thrown there.

“Ugh!” Seeing Zhang Wen enter the room, Melissa immediately struggled to sit up.

Zhang Wen walked over and removed the towel stuffed into Melissa’s mouth. The beautiful countess immediately lowered her head and began breathing heavily. Then, Zhang Wen briefly checked on Xie Luo and the others and found that they were alive, but appeared to have been drugged and were all unconscious.

“What was that about Arthur and the Empire’s Eagle Guards’ captain those men were talking about?” Melissa, just having caught her breath, eagerly asked Zhang Wen.

“Just a misunderstanding. I don’t even know any Eagle Guards captain.” Zhang Wen smiled as he sat back down on the bed, helping Melissa untie the ropes around her beautiful legs.

“A misunderstanding?” Melissa giggled. “So you’re saying six Saint-tier experts were scared off by a simple misunderstanding?” Her beautiful eyes blinked at Zhang Wen, filled with amusement.

“Oh! You don’t believe me?” Zhang Wen paused mid-motion, lifting his lips into a smirk as he suddenly pushed Melissa back onto the bed.

“Ahh!” Melissa cried out in surprise, only to realize that Zhang Wen made no further move.

Zhang Wen supported himself with his hands, his smiling face hovering just inches from Melissa’s. At this distance, they could almost hear each other’s breathing.

Then, neither Zhang Wen nor Melissa spoke. They silently gazed into each other’s eyes for over ten seconds, before Zhang Wen sat up again and continued untying Melissa’s leg ropes.

Melissa quietly sat up as well, allowing Zhang Wen to handle her attractive legs. And as Zhang Wen cut the final knot binding her delicate feet, Melissa suddenly leaned forward slightly, her soft lips gently brushing against the corner of Zhang Wen’s mouth.

“Hmm?” Zhang Wen raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“This is my apology. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Now that I have no value for you to exploit, no strength to threaten you, and my very life is in your hands, why would you have any reason to deceive me?” Melissa pouted prettily and whispered softly into Zhang Wen’s ear.

“Madam Diplomat, don’t sound so pitiful! It’s like I’m an unforgivable demon king and you’re an innocent little girl who’s fallen into my clutches.” Zhang Wen chuckled as he stood up. “Wait here for a while. Xie Luo and the others will wake up soon. Then, please explain the situation to them. They’ll take you out of the arena together.”

“What about you?”

“Nonsense! Don’t I still have a little unfinished business with you?” Zhang Wen gave Melissa’s beautiful bottom another hearty slap.

Before Melissa could recover and let out her melodious protest, Zhang Wen had already vanished like a ghost.

With the pressure from the six Saint-tier experts gone, Zhang Wen’s movements became much freer. He no longer carefully avoided the territory of the TK group. With his Spring Water Technique fully activated, he charged like a whirlwind toward the VIP room on the top floor of the arena, which belonged to the Black Viscount!

With his Saint-tier strength revealed, naturally no foolish soul on Fira Planet dared block Zhang Wen’s path in the arena. Thus, Zhang Wen sped forward without hindrance, rushing straight to the Black Viscount’s VIP room and kicking the closed door aside with one powerful kick.

Inside the Black Viscount’s room, Zhang Wen did not find the Viscount himself. All he saw was the open window and the curtains fluttering in the breeze.

“Hello, Mr. Zhang Wen. If you can hear this message, it means you’ve defeated Miss Lyka’s six subordinates and rescued your friends.” As soon as Zhang Wen entered the room, the central screen suddenly lit up, and the Black Viscount’s voice followed, “Underestimating an opponent is a sin. Next time we meet, I’ll make sure not to repeat the same mistake. Yours sincerely.”

Before the last syllable of the Black Viscount’s “salute” had even faded, Zhang Wen already felt a chilling sense of danger suddenly descend upon him.

Although Zhang Wen didn’t yet know where this sense of danger came from, he immediately rushed toward the open window and leapt outside without hesitation.

Boom! At the exact moment Zhang Wen jumped out the window, an overwhelming surge of battle energy erupted in an instant! In the blink of an eye, the walls of the VIP room on the top floor of the Kemmel Arena, made of steel mixed with the strongest sea urchin stone, twisted and deformed, instantly crushed into a mangled mess by the terrifying force!

The violent battle energy, after destroying the room where the Black Viscount had been, continued to spread outward in all directions. In a flash, the very top of the Kemmel Arena tower had been completely engulfed in multicolored battle energy!

The surging flames of power rose into the sky like dazzling fireworks, drawing the attention of passersby on nearby streets who looked up in curiosity. Zhang Wen, barely escaping the blast wave, had just landed when he instinctively looked up, staring in horror at the top of the Kemmel Arena tower.

At that moment, the top three entire floors of the tower, considered a landmark of Fira Planet, had been completely reduced to ruins! The fire caused by the battle energy explosion still raged fiercely, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky, covering most of the nearby streets!

On any planet in the Empire, the Kemmel Arena was a symbol of power. The Empire’s people had never even imagined that someone would dare attack the Kemmel Arena! Therefore, when pedestrians nearby first saw the light erupting from the top of the Kemmel Arena, they all thought it was just another of the Arena’s stunts.

It wasn’t until much later, when the thick black smoke drifting from the top of the arena finally reached them, that the nearby pedestrians realized the explosion at the top of the Kemmel Arena tower was not part of a show, but that someone had actually blown up the Kemmel Arena!

“Ahh!” On several streets near the Kemmel Tower, thousands of people simultaneously screamed in terror and fled aimlessly in all directions.

The few streets near the Kemmel Arena had originally been the most bustling in Babylon City. The surging crowds quickly blocked traffic, and slightly capable nobles activated their battle energy, forcefully carving a path through the masses. Women and children who were knocked over cried loudly, and many men were also knocked down by the surging crowd, cursing and screaming in pain.

Across from the smoke-belching Kemmel Tower, a young man dressed in a black tuxedo and with a refined face stood watching the chaotic streets as if appreciating an opera. He was the very instigator of this great commotion—the Black Viscount.

Beside the Black Viscount stood a rugged, scar-faced man. Naturally, this was Sandro, the planetary warrior specially assigned by the TK group to liaise with the Black Viscount.

However, watching the tragedy unfolding on the streets, the rough-looking Sandro appeared extremely nervous. Standing next to the Black Viscount, the expressions of the two men seemed to have been switched by an invisible hand.

“What? Getting soft-hearted?” The Black Viscount suddenly turned his smiling face toward Sandro.

“No, of course not soft-hearted. Just…” The Black Viscount’s casual attitude made Sandro shiver.

It was this seemingly frail young man in front of him who had, in the blink of an eye, destroyed the top three floors of the Kemmel Arena!

What did that mean?

Among the five major organizations on Fira Planet, excluding the TK group, the leaders of the other four organizations, at least six Saint-tier bounty warriors, more than ten Champion-tier bounty warriors, and at least over a hundred top nobles of great power and influence on Fira Planet and their subordinates, friends… had all been reduced to ashes in a single “boom!”

Having personally orchestrated the deaths of over a hundred important figures and caused at least a thousand injuries on the streets, the Black Viscount still wore a bright smile, as if those who died because of him were not people, but just insignificant ants.

At that moment, Sandro couldn’t help but recall the first time he met this quiet young man at the TK group’s headquarters.

Sandro still clearly remembered how this man, with the same relaxed smile, had introduced himself under the watchful eyes of three Saint-tier warriors from the TK group.

“Hello, I’m Friedrich Hegel. You can call me the Black Viscount. Or, like my other friends, you can call me by my nickname, ‘Mr. Death.'”

Sandro remembered that he had secretly mocked this guy for being too arrogant to dare call himself “Mr. Death.” But now, Sandro finally understood why this frail-looking young man had earned such a terrifying nickname!

If necessary, this guy would surely, with the same nonchalant smile he wore now, kill every single person on the entire planet—or even the entire star system! Compared to the Black Viscount, Sandro’s own self-proclaimed ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness were like childish naivety!

“Hehe! If possible, I wouldn’t have wanted it to escalate this much. Unfortunately, I underestimated the strength of that old friend of mine. He alone held off my six Saint-tier fighters, which gave me quite a headache.” The Black Viscount spread his hands in a seemingly helpless gesture, then smiled at Sandro and continued, “If I couldn’t help you deal with the Saint-tier fighters from the other groups as agreed, I suppose it would be difficult for you as well.”

“This… yes, indeed…” Sandro nodded nervously, his body already soaked in cold sweat.

“Fortunately, everything turned out well. Both my old friend and our prearranged targets were taken care of in one fell swoop.” The Black Viscount smiled easily. “Although things did get a bit out of hand, it will actually benefit your operation. At least tonight, the Babylon City garrison won’t have the time to interfere with your little conflicts with the other organizations.”

“That’s right.” Sandro responded with difficulty to the Black Viscount.

“There’s no need to be so tense,” the Black Viscount smiled again at Sandro. At that moment, the distant wail of the Empire’s garrison vehicles could be heard approaching.

“Let’s go.” The Black Viscount gave the smoke-belching Kemmel Tower one last glance before turning and walking with Sandro into the alley beside him.

“Hmph! Black Viscount…” At the exact moment the Black Viscount and Sandro disappeared into the alley, from a spot less than half a street away, Zhang Wen, who had leapt from the top of the Kemmel Arena, also sneered coldly and vanished into the darkness.

Although Zhang Wen was a complete victim in the “Kemmel Arena Explosion Incident,” he certainly didn’t want to deal with Fira Planet’s garrison forces at the moment.

Before the Kemmel Arena explosion, Zhang Wen had been the last person to enter the Black Viscount’s room. Moreover, when Zhang Wen rushed to the top floor, many members of the five major organizations present had seen his face. Combined with Zhang Wen’s status as a bounty hunter from the Cassares organization, there was no doubt that Zhang Wen, the victim, would become the prime suspect in the “Kemmel Arena Top Floor Explosion Case.”

Even if Zhang Wen could explain the entire complicated situation to the garrison forces, he would likely still be detained for at least a full day.

On the other hand, after the Black Viscount was forced to blow up three floors of the Kemmel Tower, Zhang Wen was almost certain that the Black Viscount’s protective forces had dropped to the lowest level since his arrival on Fira Planet!

In several rounds of confrontation with the Black Viscount, despite being objectively at a disadvantage, Zhang Wen had actually managed to score a few points against the Black Viscount. Facing such a dangerous enemy, even if Zhang Wen were in the Black Viscount’s position, he probably wouldn’t dare let the other party live comfortably. In other words, from the moment Zhang Wen and the Black Viscount both arrived on Fira Planet, it was destined that the two would become mortal enemies who could not both survive.

Therefore, even without considering his promise to Melissa, for his own safety alone, Zhang Wen could not miss this best opportunity—perhaps even the only one—to kill the Black Viscount!

In the dark alleys of Babylon City’s central district, which were as tangled as a spider’s web, two figures moved quickly eastward. The Black Viscount and his only remaining bodyguard, Sandro, had been running through the alleys for almost an hour. They had already left behind the areas sealed off by the Babylon City Imperial Garrison. Now, as long as they left the alleys and took a psychokinetic vehicle eastward for about twenty minutes, they could reach the “final survival point” the Black Viscount had previously arranged.

At his “final survival point,” the Black Viscount had left a private spaceship fully charged with念能, ready to take off at any moment. If they could reach there, nothing that happened on Fira Planet would pose any threat to the Black Viscount anymore. He would be able to enjoy watching everything that happened in Babylon City from the orbital space of Fira Planet.

However, just as they were about to leave the alley and turn onto the main road, the Black Viscount suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Sandro, who had been following behind the Black Viscount, ran a few more steps and ended up in front of him. He turned around nervously and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Someone has come calling.” The Black Viscount straightened his body, his gaze passing over Sandro and fixing on the alley’s exit.

“Who? Who has come calling?” Sandro looked around in terror. Immediately after, he heard a soft laugh coming from behind him.

“Zhang Wen?!” Sandro spun around, his face filled with the terror of seeing a ghost.

“Hehe! Mr. Black Viscount, we finally meet.” Zhang Wen smiled faintly as he walked out from the alley’s exit.

“That’s right. Come to think of it, this is indeed our first official meeting.” The Black Viscount also smiled, his face showing little sign of tension.

“Alright! I’m not one for elaborate formalities. Let’s get straight to the point.” Zhang Wen walked to a spot about ten steps away from the Black Viscount and Sandro and stopped, his hand flashing with blue light as he gripped his usual longsword.

“Hehe! Andrei Stein, I never thought that in the end, our confrontation would also come down to brute force, like barbarians. This is what they call the law of extremes, and the whims of fate.” The Black Viscount also smiled, extending his right hand sideways without hesitation.

A red glow flickered, and the Nian Gang strapped to the Black Viscount’s palm instantly transformed into a peculiarly shaped curved dagger.

“A Saint-tier Nen artist?” When the Black Viscount transformed his Nen Steel into his preferred weapon, Zhang Wen lightly furrowed his brow.

The fact that the Black Viscount was a Saint-tier practitioner of mental arts was not strange in itself. The Black Viscount had always given the impression of being someone who preferred to rely on his intellect rather than physical action. Given his exceptional intelligence, it was hardly surprising that he could advance his mental cultivation to the Saint-tier level. What truly puzzled Zhang Wen, however, was the Black Viscount’s attitude.

If one were to judge purely based on surface-level combat strength, then Zhang Wen, possessing the power of a Saint-tier warrior, would clearly be far superior to the Black Viscount, who, although also a Saint-tier expert, was a Psychic Artist, in a direct one-on-one confrontation. As for Sandro standing beside the Black Viscount, whose strength likely did not surpass the ninth tier, he was practically negligible in a battle between Saint-tier experts.

Facing an enemy whose strength far surpassed his own, the Black Viscount still remained composed, without even attempting to persuade Zhang Wen to cooperate! It was as if he had a surefire way to win!

What else was this guy hiding… Zhang Wen stared at the Black Viscount, trying hard to think. Finally, when Zhang Wen noticed the Black Viscount’s left hand, which had always been hidden behind his back, a lightning bolt suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Damn it!” Zhang Wen roared, instantly activating the Spring Water Technique to its maximum, and like lightning, he charged at the Black Viscount ten steps away.

“Hehe! No wonder you’re the Ruby Serpent, your reaction speed is amazing, but unfortunately, it’s still too late!” The Black Viscount laughed loudly, stepping to the left and hiding precisely behind Sandro’s massive body!

Unaware of what was happening, Sandro displayed his most ferocious expression and swung his crystal energy sword, which he had been hiding behind his back, at the charging Zhang Wen with all his might.

“Get out of my way!” Zhang Wen growled furiously, unleashing his full strength in a single sword strike. Sandro, who was blocking Zhang Wen’s path, was hit like a golf ball struck by a club, spinning and flying away.

Zhang Wen had no time to care about what happened to Sandro after being struck with full force. He stomped hard on the ground again, his entire body shooting like lightning toward the Black Viscount, now less than five steps away, propelled by the explosive air currents.

However, just as Zhang Wen’s full-force strike was about to pierce the Black Viscount’s body, a massive force suddenly surged from the Black Viscount’s body. Zhang Wen felt as if he had hit an invisible wall and was forcefully repelled backward!

In the next moment, the faint Saint-tier spiritual energy that had previously surrounded the Black Viscount’s body suddenly erupted into blinding red light. In an instant, the red light pouring from the Black Viscount’s body gathered into a towering pillar of light. Within the range of this pillar, all matter was instantly torn to shreds and vaporized into nothingness.

Sandro, who had just been struck by Zhang Wen and sent flying, was also engulfed by the red pillar of light from the Black Viscount without even having time to utter a sound, vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Wen, at this moment, also exerted his full strength, activating his “Ghost Step” repeatedly, desperately kicking off the steel walls of nearby buildings several times, barely escaping the red pillar of light’s coverage area.

“Hehe, so this is what it feels like to be Super-tier… truly exhilarating!” The Black Viscount raised his hands, gazing around in satisfaction.

Around the Black Viscount, the previously narrow alley had long since vanished. What remained was a circle of steel buildings that looked as if they had been hit by a full-power orbital cannon blast, missing large chunks, and a crater on the ground with a diameter of over a hundred meters and a depth of over ten meters.

“Zero—Ancient Reagent…” Standing at the edge of the crater, Zhang Wen gasped in dismay, uttering those words.