The snake woman, seeing this, dashed to Ren Yuanhao's side. The moment her skin touched his, it felt as if she had been seared by fire. This sensation instantly plunged her back into the nightmare of heavenly flames.
"Stop fighting. Someone like me should have died in that great fire long ago. Promise me, leave with your friends as soon as possible, alright?"
Ren Yuanhao maintained his calm expression, cupping the snake woman's face with his burning palm.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I said I'd protect you. A man of his word, no, I cannot break my promise."
"But you will die, and I don't want you to!"
The snake woman, unsure of her emotions, hugged Ren Yuanhao tightly, crying like a child, just as she had been the little girl who had run out of tears in the heavenly fire years ago.
Ren Yuanhao shook his head, his smile as bright as the sun after snow. He propped himself up with his saber and slowly rose to his feet.
"As long as you pray devoutly, as long as you tell me you want to live, I can be invincible!"
Ren Yuanhao suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly. The civilian warriors behind him seemed infected by some power within him, striking their sabers against each other as if last night's feast and drinking contest had not ended!
The City Lord wiped the fresh blood from his lips. Not only was there no anger on his face, but he seemed ecstatic.
"Kid, you're strong. If this wasn't Sand City, if this wasn't my territory, perhaps I truly would have lost to you. But," the City Lord’s saber vibrated, his entire being seemingly merging with the gleaming Hundred Refinements Saber, sand coiling around it as if the jackal god himself held the hilt, "your luck has run out. No, I should say, the moment I bled, your death was sealed."
As soon as the words left his mouth, an extremely bizarre whistling sound, like a large passenger jet flying low, erupted, causing everyone to cover their ears!
Ren Yuanhao shoved the snake woman away. His true energy surged like a raging tide, water and fire qi entwining around his blade. He charged towards the City Lord at a speed too fast for the eye to follow!
Clang!
Their sabers met. The air tore, the sound like a thunderclap. Both wielded incredibly fierce saber techniques, engaging in a pure clash of brute force. Saber, saber, slash, parry—their speed, fueled by the wind and sand, increased with every move. But less than thirty exchanges into their fierce assault, Ren Yuanhao was suddenly hit by a low-frequency whistle that shattered his eardrums and struck his skull.
Not only Ren Yuanhao, but even the snake woman, fifty to sixty meters away, was affected. She instantly clutched her head, on the verge of collapsing!
Without a doubt, this power originated from an ultrasonic device!
Ren Yuanhao's waist was again slashed by the sharp Hundred Refinements Saber, and his chest was kicked directly by the City Lord. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.
This action stunned everyone present. While the civilian warriors usually feared the City Lord and knew he engaged in many sordid deeds in private, as warriors, they at least respected his strength. But now, this City Lord, who had always attracted people with his power, had resorted to such a dirty trick in a warrior's duel!
"Despicable and shameless!"
Someone in the crowd shouted these four words first, and the cry of "despicable and shameless" soon drowned out the whistling wind.
"Do you not wish to live?"
The City Lord's voice seemed to come from the heavens. The next second, a bloody blur flashed, and four or five warriors who were still striking their sabers became souls under the Hundred Refinements Saber.
The shouting and the clanging of sabers ceased abruptly, and the shadow of death instantly descended.
The City Lord now bore two to three long, narrow saber wounds. Even his black trench coat was shredded by Ren Yuanhao's Boundless Blade, tattered fragments swirling in the wind. The white-haired City Lord resembled a venerable tiger, but this tiger had still defeated the young dragon.
Through despicable means.
"I admit, you are the strongest warrior I have ever seen. It's a shame you are an esper. Otherwise, perhaps you could have taken my head today. It's a pity, though, that sometimes too many abilities, too many varied abilities, can become a hindrance."
The City Lord spread his arms as if receiving the adoration of the world.
"Now I finally understand why the coach disliked the Mandala gene. Because it's a gene that makes people degenerate, making them believe that injecting it will make them powerful."
The City Lord walked step by step towards the curled-up Ren Yuanhao. Just then, an alarm blared repeatedly in Ren Yuanhao's mind.
"Beep beep, system repairing, alert level 3~"
As soon as the alarm finished, the system's pleasant voice turned into distorted static. This was almost the greatest variable Ren Yuanhao had encountered.
It was because he had trusted too much that a warrior would never resort to trickery in a duel.
However, sometimes, being too certain about something becomes an obsession, leading one into an abyss of eternal damnation.
The City Lord stepped on Ren Yuanhao's blood-soaked face and lit a Cuban cigar. Its rich aroma was said to bring greater pleasure.
"The world judges heroes by their success. You are strong, but you are not cunning enough. The Jackal God is divine not just for its bravery, but more importantly, for its cunning like a fox."
He squatted down and exhaled the fog-like smoke into Ren Yuanhao's face, causing Ren Yuanhao to cough violently. The City Lord picked up his Boundless Blade and said, "A weapon no inferior to the Hundred Refinements Saber. I'll accept this gift. Kid, do you have anything you want to say before you die? Perhaps, seeing as you've given me a bit of excitement, I can grant your last wish."
If Ren Yuanhao hadn't had his abilities suppressed by the ultrasound during the fight, disrupting the true energy flowing within him, he wouldn't have ended up in this state. However, his body was incredibly tough, and even under such an impact, he could still speak.
"Let go, let go of the snake woman..."
Upon hearing this, the City Lord spat on his face. "Hmph, what a pity. Sentimentality makes a hero weak. I didn't expect your last wish to be for that withered flower. Fine, let me tell you another secret."
The City Lord leaned close to Ren Yuanhao's ear. Everyone thought the City Lord was about to whisper a secret, but then his voice suddenly rose, "That woman, I already had my way with her when she was eighteen. For such an unclean woman, you're willing to risk your life! You damn fool!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the snake woman, curled up like a shrimp, felt the entire sky press down on her. All she saw were blazing flames. She was a ghost walking the earth, and now, she only prayed that the Jackal God would take her soul.
But at this moment, Ren Yuanhao, with strength he seemed to find from nowhere, roared, "Stop talking!"