Chapter 1 The Impasse

The Oliver and Clark families had both sent their elites, and with their superior equipment, they quickly overwhelmed the prison guard NPCs on the first floor.

Once the main force gathered, they searched everywhere for a way to break the cursed space.

The first floor of the prison had a circular layout, and the two families combined numbered nearly a thousand people.

Even if they tried to avoid it, they would easily run into each other.

Suren had originally planned to take his people to the next floor to settle down before dealing with these guys.

Now, it seemed they were about to be intercepted ahead of time.

Before he even saw anyone, the old butler Anthony noticed the movement. He flashed in front of the group, his tone grave as he said, "Mr. Zorro, I'll hold them off. Please take the young lady and leave first!"

Suren shook his head. "There's a very powerful guy hidden among them. Even you, Mr. Anthony, wouldn't be able to defeat him."

Anthony looked puzzled. "Are you talking about Nero Redgrave, the 'Wind and Thunder Sword King'? If it's him, even if I can't win, I'm confident I can hold him off for a while."

"No. This one... is far more powerful than Nero."

Suren didn't explain further, instead outlining his plan. "The entrance is where I mentioned earlier. You'll find a chance to rush out. There are monsters below, so don't wander around. With the 'Bail Bonds' I gave you, the guards on the second floor should arrest you. Don't resist, just wait for me in the cells."

When Reina heard this, she realized Suren was planning to stay behind alone to cover their retreat.

She shook her head, her face resolute. "Mr. Zorro, we can help you!"

The young lady had completely shed her naivety. She no longer felt entitled to have others sacrifice themselves for her.

She understood clearly that at this moment, only by working together could they have any hope of survival.

Suren glanced at her. "You'll die if you stay here."

Reina's tone remained unwavering. "Mr. Zorro, I've been prepared to die for a long time..."

Before she could finish, Suren interrupted, "No, what I mean is... if you stay here, you might be killed by me."

The atmosphere suddenly shifted from serious to strange.

All three of them stiffened.

What did he mean by that?

Suren didn't explain, simply turning to Kai and saying, "Kai, remember, if you see my eyes turn red, no matter what, you have to take everyone and leave."

He knew that only his old friend would believe him unconditionally.

As he spoke, Suren removed the mask from his face, revealing his handsome features.

But the faint, sinister smile in his eyes gave him an air of wickedness.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

Kai frowned.

After a pause, he added, "I think something's wrong with your condition."

He hadn't noticed it while Suren was wearing the mask, but now that they had walked a bit, he realized that Suren's aura was very strange.

It was as if a murderous intent was being suppressed, releasing indiscriminately, creating a subtle, unsettling feeling just being near him.

"Yeah."

As he said this, Suren's throat emitted a low, bestial growl, as if he couldn't contain his excitement. "Heh heh heh... my body has never been this excited. Just the thought of killing them all makes my blood boil..."

It felt like a monster beneath human skin was about to break free.

"You..."

In that instant, Anthony clearly sensed the change in Suren's emotions.

Even as a Tier 3, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He frowned and asked, "Mr. Zorro, are you sure you're alright? Your mental state is very strange..."

He sensed it carefully, discovering that the strange aura around Suren wasn't just mental energy; the dark spiritual power was overflowing and surging like waves.

This was completely different from the calm and composed "Zorro" from before!

Hearing this, Suren reined in his emotions, his expression suddenly returning to normal, as gentle as before.

He said, "No, I'm very clear-headed right now, just physically excited. I'm preparing a very dangerous secret technique, so I can't quite control my aura... Sorry, I scared you."

Hearing this, Kai didn't say anything more.

He trusted Suren.

If this guy said he could handle it, then he definitely could.

Although Anthony and Reina had doubts, they couldn't say anything.

Because at this moment, the people from the two families had surrounded them.

.......

Danzel and Eli, the two young masters, were in a panic after being inexplicably dragged into the cursed space.

They had only come to see the Leith family's main branch make a fool of themselves, hoping to profit from their misfortune.

Even when hunting in the wilderness, they sent subordinates, not doing it themselves.

But they never expected...

Things would suddenly turn out like this.

Before coming, they had heard that this was a suspected "T-level" cursed space, extremely dangerous.

Now that they were trapped inside, how could they not be afraid?

Moreover, after a brief investigation, they discovered that while the prison guard NPCs on the first floor were easy to deal with, the second floor was very strange.

None of the people sent to investigate had returned!

An elite squad led by Tier 2 professionals had been wiped out without a trace.

This meant that even if this space wasn't "T-level," it was at least "S+."

Even with Tier 3 professionals, the chances of survival weren't high.

Now, they looked at Suren's group, not immediately taking action.

Judging from the strange behavior of that blue-skinned monster earlier, even a fool would know that the opening of this space was related to this group of people.

Moreover, if they weren't trying to die together, then the other party most likely knew how to get out.

As soon as they met, Eli questioned Reina with a cold face, "Reina, did you bring us in here? Damn it, do you know what you're doing!"

Reina frowned, because she herself didn't understand what had happened.

She glanced at "Zorro," who was not far away, and saw that the expressionless gentleman didn't make any indication.

There was no time for niceties when facing enemies, so she kept silent with a dark face.

In the distance, Young Master Danzel saw that Reina didn't speak and didn't dare to provoke her further, fearing that she might have a "die together" plan.

Killing these few people was easy, but after killing them, how would they get out?

He could only persuade her kindly, "Miss Reina, I think there's some misunderstanding. We can talk it over, everything is negotiable."

And the heavily made-up girl beside him had long been pale with fright. "Oh, God... Reina, I'm your sister! I just came to take a look, why did you have to drag me into this? Tell me, how do we get out of this damn cursed space..."

It was the same old act, switching between tough and tender tactics, making everyone's head spin.

Suren narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized what these guys were trying to do by blathering on for so long.

Although he hadn't sensed anyone approaching, his threads had discovered a "stealthed" figure heading towards Reina.

Probably afraid of being exposed, the speed wasn't fast.

It looked like they planned to capture the young lady first.

And those guys on the other side were still stalling for time.

.......

Having discovered the enemy, Suren sneered and said, "Mr. Anthony, can you help me hold off that Nero for a while? I'm going to make a move."

"I can."

Anthony agreed, but frowned as he looked at the hundreds of enemies opposite him. "But there are too many enemies, I can't guarantee how long I can hold them back."

"No, you just need to hold him."

Suren's murderous aura grew stronger and stronger. "The rest... I'll kill them!"

Anthony frowned.

He looked at the enemy, a hundred times their number, and immediately felt that it was absurd.

He could understand fighting desperately when surrounded.

But this guy was actually saying he was going to kill people?

He himself, a Tier 3, wouldn't dare say that, so where did he get the confidence?

Looking again at that crazed expression, he suddenly realized why he had felt that something was wrong all along.

No matter how he looked at it, the Zorro in front of him looked like... a madman.

A complete and utter madman!

Anthony couldn't help but feel a flash of worry. Was it really right to trust this guy?

At this moment, before he could think too much, Zorro suddenly reached out with his five fingers, as if grabbing something in the air, and whispered, "Caged Bird!"

A sinister smile hung on his face, and as he pulled,

Suddenly,

Threads of air solidified, and a transparent figure was pulled out.

It was a Tier 2 assassin wearing a special alchemical cloak.

Able to hide from the senses of a Tier 3 professional, one could imagine how superb the assassin's stealth skills were.

Anthony guessed the identity of the person and felt a moment of fear in his heart: "Iben Jaryah, the 'Blade of Night'!"

Fifth on the old Lingdun professional assassin rankings, a top assassin who had once assassinated and seriously injured a Tier 3 professional. The cloak he wore was none other than the famous assassin's divine gear, the [Cloak of Invisibility of the Hashashin].

But this assassin, whom even he hadn't noticed, was discovered by "Zorro"?

At this moment, Anthony finally understood what the strange energy fluctuation he had sensed before was - it was this invisible hair.

But this...

Wasn't this the skill of a puppeteer?

How could Zorro know this skill?

Moreover... it was the highly recognizable "Witch's Hair"!

Could it be...

Thoughts flashed through Anthony's mind in an instant.

Reality didn't give him time to think.

In that blink of an eye, a raging cold flame suddenly appeared on Zorro's body, and the dark golden eight-armed spider spears on his back suddenly spread out.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"..."

A series of sharp sounds.

The black poisoned barbs on the tips of the spider spears shot out. The assassin, trapped securely, didn't have time to react. The eight-armed spider spears directly pierced the assassin's vital points: eyes, neck, abdomen, lower body...

Assassin professionals, in order to be agile, wouldn't wear full-body heavy armor.

But besides the leather armor on vital points, Iben Jaryah also had a layer of biomimetic skin with super-strong defense. Originally, even if the sneak attack failed against a Tier 2 professional, this rune skin would be enough to save his life.

Moreover, his skills were also top-notch!

"This person's reaction is so fast!"

Confined in front of him, Iben looked at the approaching spider spears and thought to himself that things were bad.

Only a top assassin could understand how swift these spider spears were; the required skill attributes must be frighteningly high.

But his reaction was also extremely quick. He took advantage of the situation to twist his body, not fighting the threads head-on, but rapidly dislocating some joints with bizarre, anti-joint movements, "crack," "crack."

Although this would cause him to lose some mobility, the twisted body allowed him to gain some space to maneuver in the threads, avoiding most vital points.

As long as he could hold on for an instant, his teammates would make a move, and he would have a chance to break free from these threads!

However, what Iben never expected was that even though the spider spears wrapped in cold flames didn't hit any vital points, they still pierced through the rune skin very easily.

It was that kind of easy penetration, completely overwhelming by law.

Suren's understanding of Tier 2 laws was something that others simply couldn't comprehend. With the [Musashi] cold flame enhancement, the armor-breaking and penetration ability was something that ordinary Tier 2 professionals couldn't block!

After several spear thrusts, Iben could no longer move, and several more spears finished him off.

His neck was pierced, and blood spurted out.

The assassin didn't even have time to wait for his companions to rescue him before being pierced and killed on the spot by the spider spears.

.......

"This...!!!"

Anthony, who was on the side, watched with a drastic change in expression. He had just wanted to make a move, but he didn't expect the assassin to have already been killed.

Not discovering the assassin was secondary.

What surprised him more was the iconic means of controlling threads and eight-armed spider spears.

In the entire old Lingdun, only one person possessed this means.

That was... the SS-wanted criminal Suren.

This Mr. Zorro was actually Suren!

How was that possible?

Reina's crystal eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

But at this moment, she finally understood where that sense of familiarity came from.

Although Kai knew that Suren was strong now, his pupils still shrank violently as he watched him make his move, and he was greatly shocked: "He has actually become this strong?"

This "Blade of Night" Iben was famous in the industry. This veteran assassin was superior to himself in many ways, but he was actually killed in one exchange?

.......

At the same time that Suren made his move, the reactions of the people on the opposite side were also extremely quick.

The instant the spider spears pierced the assassin, an ice arrow had already appeared cunningly within one meter of Suren.

The blue ice arrow's speed was very strange. It looked as if it wasn't at constant speed, but after being fired, it had three stages of speed, each faster than the last. After three explosive accelerations, it was even faster than a sniper bullet!

If Suren hadn't killed that Iben with one blow, this arrow would have been enough to pose a sufficient threat to him. Even if it wasn't fatal, he would have had to turn around and dodge.

Unfortunately, the kill was too fast, and this arrow didn't make Suren feel much threat at all.

His eyesight had already clearly captured the trajectory of that arrow's shot.

Although the arrow was fast, it was no match for his perception.

Suren also knew very well the means of Iori Landis, the "Frost Disaster Elder" of that mysterious society.

After killing the assassin with the spider spears, he tilted his head slightly and watched the ice arrow brush past his face with a chill, muttering to himself, "Tsk tsk... [Chione's Frost Bow]!"

The ice arrow missed its target and shot into the wall a dozen meters away.

In an instant, a violent chill erupted, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.

With a "boom," the terrifying chill exploded, instantly freezing the entire wall into an ice wall.

It even extinguished the torches in the tunnel instantly.

If this arrow had hit a human body, it would probably have frozen the person into an ice cube instantly.

.......

At the same time as the shot, the old butler Anthony, who had transformed into a demon goat, had already rushed up.

Now that he knew Zorro's identity, he also knew that Suren had the Black Scythe!

With his restraint and the Black Scythe, it might not be impossible to kill Nero, the "Wind and Thunder Sword King."

Once they killed the most troublesome Tier 3 professional among the enemies, the situation would instantly turn around!

"That's Suren!"

"Damn it, watch out for his Black Scythe!"

"Watch out for invisible targets!"

"..."

Recognizing that the person who made the move was Suren, the two families were all horrified.

Especially those high-level professionals, who were all constantly watching Suren's every move, fearing that the Black Scythe would suddenly appear.

"Hmph! I was waiting for you!"

Young Master Danzel naturally knew that he couldn't let Suren use the Black Scythe.

He confidently took out a chessboard, pinched a warlock seal, and a hexagram array appeared.

A huge black-and-white checkerboard suddenly appeared.

A beam of light enveloped Suren in the distance.

Forcibly pulling him into the chessboard.

Suren killed one person, not making a move immediately, because he was waiting for this guy.

He looked at the changing scenery around him, not surprised at all.

"Tsk tsk... It's finally here, huh?"