49 Apocalypse Rules

"Na, you wait here for reinforcements."

Silver Fox brought Chen Na to a more secluded building at the edge of the small town. After contacting her superiors to report the situation, she spoke to Chen Na.

"Silver Fox, aren’t you coming with me?"

"I have to go back and help the captain."

Silver Fox’s right arm, which had been severed by Lucifer’s sharp wing, was temporarily staunched and bandaged with an item.

Although losing her right arm greatly diminished her combat strength, she wasn’t completely unable to fight yet.

"I’ll go too!" Chen Na said.

"Don’t be ridiculous! Na, you’re not a Combat System Ascender."

"But I want to help too..."

Seeing Chen Na’s dejected expression, Silver Fox’s heart softened. She patted her head. "You’ve already been a huge help. Without you, we never would have found the target’s hiding place as soon as we entered the town."

The town might be in ruins, but it was a large area of ruins.

In hindsight, if Chen Na hadn’t used her Perception Realm to quickly pinpoint Jiang Lanying and the others’ location, by the time the squad found Jiang Lanying, Lucifer would have certainly arrived as well.

Facing Lucifer and a dozen of Jiang Lanying’s trusted subordinates at the same time would have made the situation much worse than it was now.

"Be good, Na."

"Then, Silver Fox... you have to come back alive..."

"I will!"

After hiding Chen Na away, Silver Fox immediately turned and rushed back to the battlefield.

She had agreed to Dragon Soul’s order to retreat only to ensure Chen Na’s safety; she would never abandon her captain herself.

Of the original five members of the Dragon Soul Squad, only she and her captain, Dragon Soul, were still alive. She couldn’t bear to lose another close comrade-in-arms.

Even though she knew her captain was strong, their enemy was the murderous maniac, Lucifer!

He had been notorious even back in the days of the Soloma Empire, and after defecting, he became even more unrestrained. The number of killings he was responsible for after arriving in the Tulip Federation Region was simply uncountable.

’Even if I die... I have to hold out until reinforcements arrive. I absolutely cannot let him rescue Jiang Lanying!’

Silver Fox steeled her resolve and broke into a sprint.

Speed had always been her specialty. If she hadn’t been protecting Chen Na earlier, she would have had a chance to dodge Lucifer’s sneak attack. Even if she couldn’t have dodged it completely, she wouldn’t have lost her entire arm.

But now... losing her dominant hand put her at a disadvantage in combat. With her balance thrown off, controlling her speed would also be an issue.

So, she gave herself one mission: distract Lucifer and create an opening for her captain to attack.

Lost in thought, Silver Fox soon arrived back near the vault.

However, the scene that greeted her was not what she had expected.

...

「A minute and a half earlier.」

Lucifer looked down on Dragon Soul. One in the air, one on the ground, they faced each other from a distance.

"You think my Psychic Power will be depleted soon, and you’re waiting for me to land before you make your move, aren’t you?"

Lucifer seemed to have seen through Dragon Soul’s plan, his cold tone laced with a hint of contempt.

"How naive."

Dragon Soul paid him no mind.

He hadn’t said a single word since the fight began. To him, any battle that required words wasn’t a serious one. In a fight to the death, all words were superfluous.

"Lucifer, stop dragging this out! Don’t forget, my payment is conditional on you getting me out of the country safely! If you don’t deliver, I’ll take back my offer!"

Jiang Lanying shouted at the hovering Lucifer.

She was growing impatient, knowing that the longer they delayed, the greater the chance of unforeseen complications.

Upon hearing this, Lucifer glanced at Jiang Lanying, then said to Dragon Soul, "Time’s about up. With my next strike, I will kill you."

After speaking, he flapped his wings and began to circle rapidly in the air.

’Is he accelerating?’

Dragon Soul knew Lucifer’s wings were extremely sharp, like a pair of scythes. If he built up enough speed, he could create a terrifying impact.

Anyone too slow to react, or whose defenses were insufficient, would be killed instantly by the force.

Dragon Soul silently channeled his Psychic Power, and the muscles of his body began to change.

"Show me what you’ve really got!"

Once he finished accelerating, Lucifer dove down abruptly. He moved as fast as lightning; to the spectating Jiang Lanying, it was just a blur before Lucifer had already shot past the Dragon Soul on the ground!

Lucifer stood seven or eight meters behind Dragon Soul, turning his head in surprise to look back.

"CRACK!"

A sharp crack echoed from his left wing—it had snapped in two.

Looking back at Dragon Soul, he saw that the man’s appearance had completely changed.

His height had shot up to over two meters, his muscles bulging and knotted all over his body. His facial features were contorted by the swollen muscles, giving him an extremely ferocious look.

In his broad hands, which now resembled a pair of large cattail fans, he clutched a handful of black feathers. A long, deep, and gruesome gash ran from his chest to his abdomen, but before any blood could flow, the shifting muscles had already clamped down on the wound, staunching the bleeding.

In the instant they passed each other, Lucifer had nearly sliced Dragon Soul’s torso in half vertically, while Dragon Soul had snapped one of Lucifer’s wings with brute force.

The excruciating pain from his broken wing, however, only made Lucifer more excited.

He hadn’t suffered such a severe injury since leaving the Soloma Empire. Feeling the pain now, he felt an indescribable thrill.

"Excellent..."

Lucifer looked at Dragon Soul, who had practically turned into a muscle-bound monster, his excitement written all over his face. "The depth to which you’ve developed your own abilities is far greater than I imagined. I admit, you actually have some skill."

"..."

"But breaking one of my wings must have been your limit," Lucifer sneered. "Your Psychic Power is almost depleted, isn’t it? As for me..."

As he spoke, he flapped his unbroken right wing and flew into the sky again. Then, in a sudden dive, he charged toward You Hao, who was playing dead on the ground!