Gubuta's arrival deepened Cao Linxuan's frown. The scorching aura that rolled off him left no doubt — this was the India Camp leader. The India forces had been lying in wait; now they struck, and one of Huaxia's finest lay dead from a single, brutal blow.
Gubuta chuckled as heat radiated from his body. He looked down on everyone, overflowing with oppressive confidence.
"Captain Cao, let me open the path," Duan Nanyang said, his expression resigned yet resolute, as if accepting the possibility of death. "We're surrounded. Stalling only hastens doom. Huaxia mustn't fall here. You have the strength — you can lead us out."
Cao Linxuan's face darkened. Duan had followed him since the apocalypse; their bond ran deep. Cao clapped a hand on his shoulder. "When we get out, I'll petition for the highest military merit for you. Your name will echo across Huaxia."
He produced a small black box and revealed an "opportunity" inside: a plain hourglass. Duan Nanyang accepted it carefully, a faint, bitter smile touching his face. "Gubuta, test your Fire God inheritance against mine," he said.
Fighting intent surged. Thunder condensed in Duan's hand and streaked toward Gubuta like a blade of light.
"Hmph. You call yourself the Thunderclap Divine General?" Gubuta sneered. "You dare claim godhood?" He raised a hand. "Fire Beam!"
Whoosh — boom. A pillar of flame, a roaring dragon of fire, surged forward.
"Five Thunderbolts!" Duan roared. "Explode!"
Lightning met fire in a blinding clash. The sky lit up; the battlefield trembled. But the flames spread faster, licking outward with ravenous speed. Cao Linxuan staggered back, shocked at Gubuta's ferocity. India had only 2,500 points — how could they hide such might? Had they been holding back? It made no sense. Cao's thoughts scrambled. "Nanyang, depend on—"
His words cut off as Gubuta spoke calmly: "Duan Nanyang, you have the opportunity — now's your time."
"What did you say?" Cao demanded.
Pfft — a purple blast erupted from behind Cao like a crouched beast and pierced his chest. "Nanyang?! How — ?!" Cao bellowed.
Duan Nanyang sighed. "I had no choice, Captain. I was captured in India long ago. I've sold Huaxia's secrets. My family expects me to become a Divine General — I couldn't let that ruin me. I'm sorry. You'll have to die." He delivered the killing blow.
Blood poured from Cao's wound. He fled with [Thunder Charge], but the injury was grievous; death loomed. Cao never imagined Duan would betray him now.
Duan hadn't foreseen Cao's lightning paralyzing him briefly, affording Cao a sliver of time. Cao tore open a wooden box — one of the two "opportunities" Pei Tianyuan had entrusted him with — and found inside a lotus root. Desperate, he jammed it into his gaping chest wound. Miraculously, flesh knitted, blood stilled, and Cao surged back to life. Without hesitation he turned and sprinted away, abandoning his comrades.
Gubuta snarled: "Finish them. He can't trouble us alone."
Duan hesitated but dared not disobey. He handed the hourglass to Gubuta and melted back into the India formation.
"Captain Cao! Why are you running?!" someone shouted. "He ran! He ran so fast!" The captain had broken morale: Huaxia's leadership was undone — the vice-captain dead, the captain fled, and the betrayer at large. Their earlier bravado was utterly exposed.
Chen Xiao watched, quietly assessing. The thunderclap captain's flight, Yan Zhiyuan's death, Duan Nanyang's treachery — Huaxia's strongest had met ruinous fates. The collapse of their command sealed Huaxia's defeat in that engagement.
"A Yao… I'll take you with me later. Stay close." Her face pale with fear, A Yao tried to find a way out. She couldn't believe the Thunderclap Divine General had fled. His early-game arrogance had blinded them; now they paid the price.
Am I to blame? Chen Xiao inhaled and made a decision. He produced a dagger and cut the hemp rope that bound his arm to A Yao's. "What do you mean?" she asked, anxious.
"They're coming," Chen Xiao said calmly — a warning.
A dozen enemy figures surged forward.
Gubuta folded his hands behind his back and addressed them coldly: "Huaxia people, I know you're from the military region. Surrender and tell me what you know. I'll give you a quick death — no torture. Otherwise… I can make you wish you were already dead."
The remaining Huaxia members exchanged looks. No one surrendered. Death either way — why bow and die in humiliation?
Gubuta's face hardened. "You still underestimate me." He extended a palm and materialized a blazing seed of fire that landed on the man beside Gu Liao. Fiery threads braided around the victim's body, searing, binding. He couldn't move. He couldn't even take his own life — only endure the seed's unbearable torture.
"What is this?! No — my skin… my body…" The man screamed. "It hurts! Kill me! Please! Kill me, Gu Liao! Please, I beg you!"
Gu Liao's jaw clenched. Torn, he raised a hand to end his comrade's suffering — but Gubuta sneered, "You want a taste too?"