Eugene looked at the man in shock, his heartbeat accelerating and pounding strongly like drums.
The man descended from the top of the building to the ground. His feet touched the tiles without a sound, the moonlight reflecting his facial features and their wrinkles.
"Hahaha, thank you. You have spared me the trouble and effort of sneaking into that palace."
His voice was rough and heavy, and with every word he spoke, the astonishment on their faces increased.
Eugene looked at the hand holding the bag, then at the man who was holding the box.
"Ha… are you from that gang that attacked Canvy?"
Ren, Rim, and Fred looked at Eugene, not understanding what he meant, except for the old man.
The man looked at Eugene for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Ha… hahaha, it seems you know what's inside the bag."
"I thought about leaving you alive, but since you know what's inside the bag…"
—his facial expression changed into sharp features carrying clear killing intent—
"I must get rid of you."
Ren tensed, his heartbeat speeding up, then turned toward Eugene.
"Eugene, what is this man talking about?!"
Booof.
An iron chain struck, causing a small wound on Ren's nose.
Ren's eyes widened, shocked.
The old man rushed toward Eugene at high speed, the chain spinning rapidly.
Before he could throw the chain again—
Booom.
The man was sent flying to the left at high speed. He stabilized his feet on the ground, then looked at his right hand, where he found part of it burned.
He raised his gaze toward the source of the attack, and so did Eugene, Ren, and Rim.
They saw Fred, with some steam coming out of his hand.
"Hehehe, it seems you're a cultivator. Hmm, I didn't notice that."
—It's unfortunate. He is a third-stage cultivator, and I am second-stage, but the difference in experience between us is large, as well as the type of abilities.—
Fred cast a quick glance at Ren, Eugene, and Rim.
—They are still first-stage cultivators. They haven't even refined or gotten used to these abilities yet.—
The old man moved quickly toward Fred, face to face.
"Among them, you are the most dangerous."
But once again, his path was blocked.
A grayish-white mist suddenly appeared, partially concealing everything around him.
"Heh, it seems they are all cultivators!"
The man swung the chain rapidly, causing the mist to disperse.
He looked forward but didn't find Fred, so he looked behind him and found them with the others.
At the moment Eugene released the mist, Ren used his shadow ability, causing him to move from in front of the old man.
"Shhhh—"
Fred felt a slight chill.
"What is this strange ability?"
Ren looked at his trembling hands.
"Forget the feeling… how are we going to deal with this person?"
Eugene smiled for a moment and said,
"There's nothing to do. We try to stay alive until he kills us, hahaha."
Slap.
Rim slapped Eugene on the back of his neck.
"I know you're trying to reduce the tension, but not like this."
The old man looked at them with a mixture of amazement and disappointment.
Fred raised his voice with some irritation:
"Enough of this now."
—He lowered his voice for a moment—
"We need to find a way either to escape or to make him lose consciousness."
The old man stood straight, then raised the staff he was holding. As soon as he struck the ground—
A group of blue openings appeared in the air, and in the next moment, five iron chains burst out at high speed.
"Hey, watch out!" Ren shouted, terror in his voice.
Eugene ran quickly away from the chains, and so did the others.
Boom boom boom.
They managed to avoid the chains as they struck the ground.
Fred extended his hand forward, launching a fireball at high speed.
At the same moment, Ren used his shadow ability and opened a black portal radiating purple energy.
But due to his lack of experience in using shadows, the portal appeared directly in the path of Fred's attack,
causing the fireball to disappear.
Fred looked at Ren in shock, irritation in his voice.
"Ren, fire and shadow are complete opposites!"
Ren tensed and said in a low, frightened voice,
"Sorry… I didn't mean to."
"Hehehe, it seems killing you will be easier than I expected."
The old man moved toward them, the iron chains moving at extreme speed.
Fred and Ren ran in opposite directions,
while the old man swung the chains in all directions.
Eugene ran quickly, evading the chains that destroyed the walls of houses, causing dirt and rocks to scatter.
Eugene jumped onto an iron pole placed above a barbershop, then jumped across windows until he rose four meters above the ground.
He pulled his hand back as the mist wrapped around it, spiraling until it reached his palm, then shot out like a bullet.
At the same moment, an iron chain shot toward Ren, almost hitting his foot. He reacted in time, jumping upward while twisting his body in the air.
His head faced downward, his feet upward in the air.
His eyes glowed blue for a moment as he gestured with his hand, releasing a dark blue light.
He opened a small shadow gate, attempting to transfer the chain away.
Ren cast a quick glance at Eugene, who released the mist sphere at that moment.
"Eugene, wait!"
The shadow gate appeared in front of the mist sphere, causing it to shift from its original direction.
It appeared beneath Rim's feet.
Booof.
"Ahhh, my eyes!"
Fred's attention was scattered for a moment upon hearing Rim's voice, allowing the iron chain to lightly strike him.
Boom.
Fred was sent flying toward Ren, who was about to hit the ground, but the collision pushed them both into the wall.
Eugene landed on the ground, his eyes wide open.
Ren and Fred had crashed into the wall, and Rim had been hit by the mist in the face.
Eugene clenched his teeth.
"Ah… what a mess."
"Hahahaha," the old man laughed again.
"Do you work in a circus? You're extremely amusing."
The man activated his ability once more, causing the chains to rise above the ground.
He pointed his staff at Eugene, smiling calmly with something devilish on his face.
"You are the only one who hasn't been injured. And since you are alone and still can't fight properly… killing you will be easy and quick."
"Siu siu siu."
The chains shot toward him again at high speed.
"Five chains at once… it seems my death is very near."
Eugene swallowed his saliva and began running, trying to avoid the chains.
But they were fast and numerous, causing light injuries to his leg and abdomen.
Boom boom siu siu.
Walls continued to be destroyed as Eugene was scratched in various parts of his body.
While running at full speed, Eugene planted his right foot firmly on the ground and sharply tilted his body in the opposite direction,
allowing him to avoid all the chains.
"Siu."
He launched another mist sphere, and this time, due to the old man's momentary distraction, the attack landed just centimeters from his face.
Eugene smiled—but his smile vanished.
The old man smiled briefly, opening a blue portal exactly like the one that released the chains.
He transferred the mist sphere and threw it elsewhere.
"So… he moved the sphere just like Ren does with shadow gates… damn it, how did I forget he's a third-stage cultivator? Of course he has more than one ability."
As Eugene's focus scattered, in the very same second, chains appeared from his left, rushing toward him.
He turned his head quickly, his heartbeat rising, sweat pouring down.
"He just crashed into a wall a moment ago. How did he change direction this fast?!"
Booof.
All the chains struck Eugene, causing fractures in his left side.
"Aaaargh!"
Eugene coughed up a bit of blood before being sent flying, crashing into an iron pillar.
"Didn't I tell you killing you would be easy?"
The chains moved again toward Eugene, and before they could attack—
"Siuu siuu."
The old man turned his head toward the source of the sound to find two fireballs in front of his face.
His eyes widened, his eyebrow rising.
"He's still able to stand?!"
This did not worry him at all, as he redirected the chains to block the fireballs.
Fred emerged from the partially destroyed building.
Spit.
He spat blood from his mouth.
His clothes were almost torn apart, and his head was bleeding.
"What a strong young man, hahaha."
Boooom.
"Aaagh!"
Something struck the old man's back. It wasn't a powerful attack, but due to his old age and the force, he stumbled forward a few steps.
The old man looked toward the source of the attack, his eyes glowing with rage.
Fred also looked, his eyes widening with joy.
"Eugene! I thought you died or passed out!"
"You annoying brat…"
The old man felt anger. How could a small, injured child—not even second stage—manage to hit him, even lightly?
Eugene stood on his feet, blood flowing from his head and the injured area.
Fred was surprised. Eugene was standing still, his gaze unfocused, as if his mind were elsewhere.
Eugene spoke to himself inside his head:
"Fred and Ren attacked him, yet the iron chains always blocked them. They always chased whoever moved… so why… why did my attack hit him just now, unlike before?"
Chkshk.
A sound came from behind Eugene, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned around quickly in fear.
All the metal pieces behind him were floating in the air.
Fred stared at the old man.
The old man clenched his teeth, silver light emanating from his hand—the same light and aura surrounding the metal pieces.
To be continued
End of Chapter