[V6C2 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
Zhao Jundu’s finger on the Blue Firmament was rubbing lightly against the trigger. “You’re powerful, but you can’t stop me.”
Twilight smiled and said, “You came so deep behind enemy lines. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll lay an ambush to surround and kill you?”
Zhao Jundu sneered, “No ambush can surround me under the Iron Curtain. You’re welcome to try if you’re not afraid of your race members dying.”
“Under the Iron Curtain…” A wisp of helplessness flashed through Twilight’s eyes—eyes almost capable of drawing out a person’s soul. Her voice turned softer and deeper as she spoke, “You also know that this is only because we’re under the Iron Curtain. Without it, you might not be my match.”
“Is that so?” Zhao Jundu didn’t express his opinion.
Twilight frowned slightly and said, “Go back then. You’ve done enough. Too many people from every race have died in your hands. If you continue forward, some people will stop you even if they have to pay the price. Don’t think Sky Demon’s will is matchless. Our sacred blooded descendants aren’t lacking at all in experts capable of blocking Sky Demon’s avatar.”
“Move,” Zhao Jundu’s answer was fairly simple.
“Impossible.” Twilight was abnormally resolute.
The wind in the vicinity suddenly stopped as the two stood in confrontation. A falling leaf froze in the air as though time itself had stopped flowing.
Zhao Jundu was known as the number one expert among the Qin Empire’s younger generation. He had erupted in one day after many years of accumulation and was unbeaten since he had returned to the Iron Curtain. Countless souls had been reaped under his Blue Firmament.
Twilight wasn’t just a well-known figure among the younger generation of the vampire race, but a celebrated genius in the entirety of the Dark Nation. Her strength had long since reached an outstanding realm, and she had the right to oversee an area under the Iron Curtain. She had fought repeatedly with Zhao Jundu for many days, but neither could deal with the other.
But previously, they were both sounding each other out and had never exerted their full strength.
Zhao Jundu had pushed deep into the Dark Nation on his own and was already thousands of kilometers in. His main objective was to kill the experts of the dark race. Meanwhile, Twilight had just reached the count rank and had no choice but to be careful about her movements under the Iron Curtain. Her previous actions had all been fairly restricted. She wouldn’t intervene at all when Zhao Jundu was dealing with the werewolves or arachne, but would always appear when he encountered vampires.
At this moment, however, Twilight had clearly stated that this was her bottom line and that she would fight him to the death should he cross it.
This was the first time the two top geniuses from each faction were meeting head-on under the Iron Curtain.
Having come so far, Zhao Jundu apparently wouldn’t turn back just because of a threat. His finger tapping lightly and repeatedly on the Blue Firmament moved faster and faster.
It was at this time that Twilight spoke, “Don’t you think there will be people looking to take advantage of us if we die fighting here?”
Zhao Jundu snorted but didn’t reply.
Twilight wasn’t angered as she knew his temperament. She only pursed her plump lips before saying, “As I see it, your Zhao clan’s main enemies are on the empire’s side. Why are you pursuing us relentlessly without seeking them out to settle the scores? When will your human race learn to see the bigger picture?”
“One must first sweep away external enemies before cleaning up the inside dangers,” Zhao Jundu finally spoke.
Twilight had long since expected Zhao Jundu’s reply. “That’s easy to do. I can’t speak for the other races, but I’ll withdraw all my people and move to another war zone. What do you say?”
Zhao Jundu raised his eyebrows. He then pointed at an eye-catching mountain peak diagonally behind him and said, “East of that mountain peak is my Zhao clan war zone. Your men must not step into it. I won’t go farther if you can do that.”
Twilight frowned. “That’s not possible. Your war zone is too broad. I won’t be able to explain things if I pull back that far. We will draw the border 250 kilometers east of this mountain, or else there’s nothing more to discuss.”
Zhao Jundu’s expression remained unchanged. “250 kilometers is fine too, but I’ll add another condition. Tell me the names of the people who contacted your side in secret to hunt down my Zhao clan warriors.”
Twilight chuckled, “This must be the real reason Fourth Young Noble came so far in, right?”
“Correct,” Zhao Jundu admitted it openly.
“Those names are worth a lot of money. Your conditions aren’t enough.”
Zhao Jundu said indifferently, “I helped you kill no small number of opponents along the way.”
“Oh, that’s right! Then it’s a deal.” Twilight flicked her fingers with a smile, shooting out a stream of blood which turned into several names in the air.
Zhao Jundu scanned the names, committed them to memory, and then left without another word.
“Wait a minute,” Twilight called out to him with a flowing gaze. “Is the Fourth Young Noble leaving just like that? I feel that we might be able to cooperate even more.”
Zhao Jundu said coldly, “I never make deals with the dark races.”
“This isn’t a deal. It’s just each side taking what they need. I can shift my men to specific war zones after I pull them back. I’ll also send you information on certain people. In return, if the Fourth Young Master encounters them—whether they be demonkin, arachne, werewolf, or even vampires—I’m sure you won’t let them leave alive, right?”
“Not interested,” Zhao Jundu said indifferently.
Twilight smiled spuriously. “Then, how about Qianye? Don’t you care about him? I’ve heard no small number of things about him!”
Zhao Jundu finally turned back. There was a sharp killing intent on his beautiful but frosty countenance. “You sure know a lot.”
Twilight met his gaze without backing down. Her deep, seductive laughter was almost like the sirens of legends, capable of causing men to lose their way. “Things I know will only increase. Your human race has no lack of smart people hoping to take advantage of us. What say you? If you agree to my conditions, I won’t do anything to Qianye when I meet him in the future.”
“We’ll discuss this later.” Zhao Jundu left only these cold words and left.
It was at this time that the Iron Curtain in the sky rippled violently. The clouds dispersed in the blink of an eye to reveal a deep starry sky.
The two stared blankly at the long-lost sky and only came to after a moment. The Iron Curtain in this area had actually disappeared!
The Iron Curtain was Sky Demon’s domain. Its disappearance meant that his domain no longer covered this area and that his will wouldn’t appear here. This also meant that the restrictions on combat strength had all disappeared.
All types of implicit hints flashed through Zhao Jundu and Twilight's minds. The atmosphere suddenly became extremely mysterious as they glanced at one another.
Twilight spoke slowly, “My rank seems to be one level higher than yours.”
“A difference in level has no meaning to me.”
Twilight broke into a laugh, a very dangerous laugh no less. “But we’re the same type of people. So, ranks do play a role, and a very big one at that!”
“Perhaps.” Zhao Jundu’s expression didn’t fluctuate in the least as he lifted the Blue Firmament slowly. Meanwhile, two beautiful daggers appeared in Twilight’s hands.
The light in the mountain wilderness suddenly grew dim as a deep grey color spread out in every direction, poised to devour everything. At this moment a beam of green light tore apart the ashen hue and shot into the sky!
The grey mist and green radiance dispersed in the blink of an eye as Zhao Jundu and Twilight appeared once again. It was just that the two had exchanged positions with their backs against one another.
Zhao Jundu coughed violently as a fair amount of bloody froth rushed out from his mouth and nose. However, his hand on the Blue Firmament was just as still as before.
Twilight’s voice was as pleasant as ever. “What do you think about my previous proposal?”
“Deal,” Zhao Jundu said coldly, then he hoisted his gun up and left.
He passed Twilight with due calmness, their shoulders almost brushing against one another. Her fingers moved ever so slightly as though she would make a move, however, she still refrained from doing so in the end and only watched as Zhao Jundu left.
Twilight’s beautiful face suddenly turned pale after Zhao Jundu’s departure. A streak of scarlet blood slowly emerged on her smooth, exquisite neck. The bloody line was extremely thin, and the cut surface was so smooth that the sides fit almost perfectly together. However, the wound was extremely deep and had cut through almost a third of Twilight’s neck.
Twilight stood completely still as a bloody mist bubbled up around her. The sanguineous line on the side of her neck gradually turned dim before disappearing. The wound was thoroughly healed by virtue of the vampire race’s powerful regenerative ability. Twilight was able to move only at this point. Otherwise, even a small vibration would’ve caused a torrent of blood to gush out of her severed main artery.
She stood silently for quite a while, her gaze flickering indefinitely as she chuckled to herself, “This outcome isn’t so bad! I wasn’t going to kill Qianye anyway, at least not now. Heh, heh.”
Zhao Jundu, who had already gone quite some distance away, paused his steps to look up at the sky. Leaden clouds were aggregating from every direction to reform the Iron Curtain anew. The gloominess of the sky was reflected on his face.
The change, however, had already occurred. From now on, the Iron Curtain was no longer a constant existence; it could disappear suddenly at any moment. Supreme experts like Twilight would be able to utilize their full powers once the restrictive powers of the Iron Curtain were gone. It would be disastrous for Qianye if he were to encounter her at such a time.
Zhao Jundu hastened his steps and vanished between the mountain ranges.
Less than half of the surviving dark race forces remained after Twilight pulled back her forces from the area they had agreed upon. This allowed Zhao Jundu to turn his attention to internal enemies.
It was actually quite ironic—those who had incited Zhao Jundu’s true desire to kill wasn’t the dark race, but instead the humans. The Zhao clan held the Western Continent and was quite a distance away from the territories of the other imperial clans. Their usual enemies were the dark races and rebel armies. They had never gotten embroiled in the several instances of civil strife that had occurred in the empire.
As such, Zhao Jundu had always felt that the dark races were foolish when he heard about how they were halting the war with them due to civil conflicts. How could they ignore a major enemy like the empire and fight bitterly within their own faction? This would only allow the empire to grow larger and larger.
But today, he had gotten a taste of it. As he watched the Zhao clan warriors fall under the muzzles of their own countrymen, the flames of fury in his heart burned even brighter than when he was facing the dark aces.
Qianye, who had been fighting continuously since childhood, had gone through so much more than Zhao Jundu. He had also experienced much more of such rage, so much so that he was no longer angry when encountering these matters.
He would only retaliate.
The vehicle he had received from the Zhao clan was already drained of fuel and abandoned on the roadside. Qianye was presently running swiftly and silently through the wilderness like a wild beast. He was headed straight into the depths of the Dark Nation.
The Zhao clan’s intelligence regarding the bloody battle was fully granted to Qianye. He had seen the distribution of war zones and gotten a vague idea of every Zhao clan unit’s area of activity or destruction.
Qianye headed south along the intersection of the Zhao clan war zone and the Dark Nation borders. This area was the most chaotic and was a place where anything could happen. Qianye had chosen this route just to try his luck.
His luck could be considered quite good. Before long, he encountered several Bai clan warriors running frantically from two ferocious arachne.