Chapter 576 - 467: A Hit! The Fall of the Strongest

And fortunately for him...

Humanity’s foolishness saved his life.

One for six!

The humans would never make that trade.

"Hahaha! You don’t dare to risk your lives in this fight! Even with your numbers, you can’t kill me!" The Blood Marshal’s face was pale, but his voice was as wild and arrogant as ever.

Just then, three powerful auras began to emerge in the distance.

"Is our chance gone?" one of the Tier-9 experts asked, gazing into the distance.

"Whether we have a chance or not, we have to give it one last shot!" Sword Elder gritted his teeth. He knew, in his heart, that they were out of time.

Never mind the fact that the Blood Marshal had now escaped their trap; even if he hadn’t, they would have had a hard time killing him.

The reinforcements from the other races had arrived.

And there were three of them.

Under these circumstances, the two Strongest were no match for them. If human reinforcements didn’t arrive soon, it was questionable whether they could even escape.

The tables seemed to have turned.

But as one of the Strongest, Sword Elder had possessed a never-say-die attitude since childhood. He would never give up until the very last moment. So, even knowing the odds were slim, he refused to quit.

"Elder Jian, let’s go all out!" Li Tiannan likewise gritted his teeth.

An opportunity like this...

It would be a terrible shame to miss it.

"Fight!"

"Charge!"

The two Strongest attacked simultaneously.

Qin Jianfei’s eyes grew cold, and he followed suit.

The other three Tier-9 experts still in the air didn’t hesitate. All three shot toward the Blood Marshal like streaks of light.

"Do you think I’d still fight you? How naive!" The Blood Marshal’s injuries were quite severe. He had no intention of engaging Li Tiannan’s group again.

He turned and fled toward the three approaching auras, his retreat swift and decisive.

"Don’t run!" roared the closest Tier-9 expert.

"Get out of my way!" The Blood Marshal wasted no words. He launched a palm strike from afar, and a blast of blood energy sent the Tier-9 expert staggering back four or five meters.

"We can’t stop him!" another Tier-9 expert yelled.

"I *will* stop him!" Sword Elder’s jaw tightened once more. His body transformed back into a long golden sword, forcibly cutting in from the side to block the Blood Marshal’s path.

"Damn it!" the Blood Marshal cursed, forced to change direction and fly off to the side.

But just then, a cloaked black figure shot up from the ground. It was incredibly fast, as if it had been lying in wait for some time.

’Who’s that? Hmm?! So that’s what this is!’ The Blood Marshal realized what was happening, recognizing the person rushing toward him was Gao Neng.

’Trying to get into close combat?’

’Not a chance!’

The Blood Marshal had absolutely no intention of giving Gao Neng an opportunity for a close-quarters fight.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and dashed in another direction.

But he quickly discovered another figure standing in his new path. Just like the first, it was concealed beneath a black cloak.

’Two Gao Nengs? No, it’s a gene weapon!’ The Blood Marshal’s eyes narrowed. He recalled the words of his son, the Blood Grand Marshal, spoken while soaking in the Blood Pool.

Gao Neng possessed over a hundred gene weapons.

And each one had the power of a Tier-8 or higher.

’So, for two Gao Nengs to appear at once...’

’It must be a gene weapon.’

’Trying to use gene weapons to herd me to a specific location?’ The Blood Marshal had lived for countless years; he was as cunning as they come.

He could see through a simple trick like "beating the grass to startle the snake" in an instant.

’Gao Neng has over a hundred gene weapons. Following the cautious logic of humans, the chance that the first Gao Neng to appear is the real one is the lowest!’ The Blood Marshal made an instant judgment.

What did it mean to "beat the grass and startle the snake?"

It meant deliberately making a commotion to drive the snake into a specific spot for the kill. It was a highly effective strategy in many situations.

Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to tell which was real and which was a decoy.

But the Blood Marshal knew better.

Any ’Gao Neng’ that showed itself was fake.

’Why did he judge it so?’

’There were many reasons for his conclusion.’

’The most important one was that Gao Neng was merely at Tier-7.’

’Would someone with that level of power really dare to approach him so openly?’

’He wouldn’t dare!’

’He must be hiding somewhere in the shadows.’

’Trying to ambush me? How childish!’ With that thought, the Blood Marshal stopped hesitating. He had been turning toward the second Gao Neng, but now he charged back toward the first one.

"I’m going to kill you!" the first Gao Neng shouted.

"Hahaha, then I’ll give you that chance!" The Blood Marshal felt no apprehension and charged head-on at the first Gao Neng.

Closer!

Closer!

The first Gao Neng didn’t retreat or dodge.

The Blood Marshal threw a punch.

It landed squarely on the first Gao Neng’s head.

SMASH!

Gao Neng’s head was knocked out of shape.

That’s right!

It was literally deformed!

The entire head became like water, turning into a mass of liquid with a white light flickering continuously inside it.

"???" The Blood Marshal was stunned.

For a moment, he was completely bewildered.

’How did Gao Neng turn into a puddle of liquid?’

As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He remembered the sensation of his fist connecting with Gao Xiaomeng before.

"It’s that wildcat!!!" The Blood Marshal’s eyes bulged. He absolutely couldn’t believe the first "Gao Neng" was actually Gao Xiaomeng.

’This isn’t right!’

’How could the Cat King look exactly like Gao Neng?’

’Wasn’t it supposed to be a gene weapon?’

The Blood Marshal couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.

But he had no time to ponder it further. The Gao Xiaomeng before him had already transformed again, shifting from a liquid mass into a perfect copy of him.

It was like looking in a mirror.

It even had two sharp, silver horns on its head.

"!!!" The Blood Marshal shuddered. He lashed out with a kick. "What kind of abomination are you?! How can you take my form?!"

THUD!

The Silver Horn King before him was sent flying.

The Blood Marshal stopped trying to escape.

The three Strongest reinforcements had arrived.

"You three have arrived just in time! I, the Blood Marshal—" He was about to speak when his voice caught in his throat. The three reinforcing Strongest... each had a pair of silver horns.

These were three Strongest who looked identical to him.

’Within the Blood Race, I’ve never seen... wait, have I... fallen for an Illusion Technique?!’ The Blood Marshal was suddenly jolted to his senses. But he couldn’t understand when Gao Neng could have possibly gotten close to him.

’It makes no sense!’

’The one I hit was the Cat King!’

’Where is Gao Neng?’

’When did he get in front of me?’

"No! A mere Illusion Technique can’t possibly stop me! Break!" The Blood Marshal’s body flared, Spiritual Power surging from him.

But the instant his Spiritual Power erupted, an intense, soul-searing pain shot up from his rear.

"AHHH!~~~!"

The Blood Marshal let out a soul-rending howl.

A vision appeared before his eyes.

He could have sworn he saw green flames burning on his rear. But when he turned his head to look, all he saw was another version of himself with two silver horns.

"GET LOST!!!"

The Blood Marshal roared again.

But it was useless. The excruciating pain wracking his body was relentless.

...

「Above Ice City」

Tens of thousands of pairs of eyes were watching Gao Neng in mid-air as he plunged a blade into the Blood Marshal’s body.

That’s right.

The Blood Marshal’s guess had been correct.

The first Gao Neng to appear was not the real Gao Neng.

It was Gao Xiaomeng.

A "Gao Neng" that Gao Xiaomeng had transformed into.

But the second Gao Neng to appear was, in fact, the real one.

After the Blood Marshal’s fist struck Gao Xiaomeng’s head, Gao Neng used his Spatial Ability to switch places with her.

And just like that, he had his chance to get in close.

Gao Neng’s strategy was actually quite simple.

It was "beat the grass to startle the snake."

Of course, his version of "beating the grass to startle the snake" was no ordinary ploy. After all, he was no ordinary person.