Chapter 408 - 407: Breaking with the Duke! (Part 1)

Wild Dog refused to back down. Even if Ms. Zhi Zhi had "ordered" him to, he could not stand by and let the Duke of the Valoran Empire take her.

He would never forget the light in the Rabbit Clan Lady’s eyes when she spoke of her territory.

’I must see her to her destination...!’

A thick fog rolled in over the sea, grinding the ship’s progress to a halt. The three ships trailing behind had no idea what was happening up ahead; even their nautical compasses had gone haywire, spinning endlessly counter-clockwise.

Wild Dog raised his sword. He chose to keep fighting.

His attacks tore through the Cloud Mist without a shred of hesitation, each move brimming with killing intent. The Duke’s intentions were crystal clear: he would kill this wild dog blocking his path before the fog dissipated.

Time had never dragged on for so long for Yu Zhizhi...

She stared blankly as Wild Dog struggled to defend himself, murmuring, "Stop fighting... It’s okay..."

’Even if the Duke takes me back, I should still have a chance to escape, right?’

’What if something really happens to Wild Dog...?’

The rims of Yu Zhizhi’s eyes turned red. She wanted to go to a territory that was completely her own, but she didn’t want Wild Dog to lose his life for it.

From within the Cloud Mist, a jet of inky-blue gas suddenly shot out, piercing straight through the knight’s breastplate—

Wild Dog took the heavy blow, abruptly spitting out a mouthful of blood. He raised his hand and unleashed a slash of red sword qi toward the clouds, only for it to be instantly swallowed.

Seeing him swaying, barely able to stand, Yu Zhizhi’s pupils dilated. She rushed forward without a second thought, catching him from the side as they both sank to their knees on the deck.

Her heart quaked and her hands trembled. The sea breeze stung her throat, and a sharp pain spread from her windpipe down to her heart.

Wild Dog raised a hand, trying to push her to safety.

Yu Zhizhi clutched his arm, tears splashing down one after another.

"...Soon. It will be over soon," Wild Dog said, his face pale.

’Just a little more time...’

Wild Dog was still determined to fight.

He would not stop here.

’He had to get this Rabbit Clan lady to her destination.’

Yu Zhizhi’s vision blurred completely.

She could feel an overwhelming killing intent emanating from deep within the Cloud Mist.

Everything seemed to indicate the battle was unstoppable.

She looked at the blood soaking the young knight’s armor and her voice trembled as she called out, "Duke, I won’t go with you..."

The eerie blue gas coalescing in the air halted its formation.

It was as if the Duke’s gaze was fixed on her.

"If you insist on continuing this fight, then... kill me too..." Heartbreak and terror warred within Yu Zhizhi. She clung to Wild Dog, refusing to budge an inch.

At her words, the Duke’s eyes grew dangerously cold.

’The little rabbit he was so determined to take back was now clinging to another male, telling him to... kill her too?’

’Was she trying to die with him?’

Once the words were out, the fear didn’t seem quite so overwhelming.

Yu Zhizhi thought of her territory, so close and yet so far. She thought of how she might never escape the Duke Mansion, of Tang Luo Ke’s disappearance, and of the unknown trials that awaited her. The tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Her scalding tears streamed over the armor and onto Wild Dog’s neck. A flicker of panic crossed his face—an emotion he’d never shown, not even in the face of death. He could only lower his head and stare, mesmerized, at the Rabbit Clan lady’s trembling shoulders.

"I want to go home..."

All of Yu Zhizhi’s sorrow crested in that one moment. She sobbed until she was breathless, as if speaking not just to the Duke, but to the world itself. "I want to go home... Let me go home...!"

’Can I really go home if I reach Level 10?’

’Why is Level 10 so far away?’

’I’ve been here for so, so long.’

’So long I’m starting to forget what home even looks like...’

The Duke’s gaze never left his little rabbit.

She had always been prone to tears, but this time felt different.

’...Home?’

The Duke lowered his gaze slightly. He had a feeling he knew what the young female meant by "home."

’It wasn’t the Valoran Imperial City, nor was it Greenfield City.’

’But a place... that no one knew.’

"Get up," the Duke finally said. "Come back with me. We can discuss... everything else later."

Yu Zhizhi trembled and clutched Wild Dog even tighter.

Seeing her defiance, the Duke’s tone turned sinister. "Do you think you can save him just by standing in the way?"

"How utterly naive."

As the Duke spoke, Fog Blades materialized on all sides, hovering in the air and aimed directly at Wild Dog.

Yu Zhizhi had never felt such despair...

She was on the verge of a complete breakdown...

She turned her head, sobbing, and looked toward the long, deep purple figure barely visible in the Cloud Mist. "...I hate you!"

"I won’t go with you!"

"I’ll die before I go with you!"

Yu Zhizhi suddenly grabbed the hilt of the sword in Wild Dog’s hand. The young knight struggled. "...Don’t touch it. You’ll get hurt."

She struggled to lift the sword.

But she couldn’t even budge it.

The Duke sneered. "What? Are you planning to strike me with that sword?"

Yu Zhizhi’s eyes were swimming with tears. They rolled down her cheeks in steady streams, even when she didn’t blink.

She couldn’t lift the sword...

Her hands slid slowly down and gripped the blade.

A piercing pain shot through her palms. Blood welled up, coating her hands before slowly trickling down the blade.

The Duke’s golden, slitted pupils contracted sharply!

He seemed to realize what his little rabbit was about to do!

’—Was she going to kill herself right in front of him?!’

Yu Zhizhi’s frail body looked as though a gust of wind could blow it away. Her long hair whipped wildly about her face. When she looked at the Duke again, her voice, though still trembling, carried an unshakable finality. "I will never, ever go with you..."

Wild Dog watched, his heart pounding with terror, horrified that she would throw herself onto the blade and slit her own throat at any moment!

A piercing pain twisted in the Duke’s chest. He had never imagined his little rabbit would take such a drastic step to sever ties with him!

"Why?" It felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his heart. The Duke’s voice grew unsteady. "You weren’t like this with the others."

’She had been so reluctant to leave the Spider, and that Mermaid.’

’If she hadn’t acquired her own territory, she might have already returned to Paradise with the Spider, or plunged into the Deep Sea with the Mermaid.’

"I told you, I hate you!" Yu Zhizhi repeated. "Of everyone in the entire world, I hate you the most!"

The thought of Wild Dog nearly dying right before her eyes filled her with terror.

The words tumbled out, unfiltered.

’If Wild Dog died, she would never, ever forgive the Duke!’

The Duke’s heart nearly stopped. He frowned, as if it took all his strength to suppress the thousand pinpricks of pain spreading through his chest.

’...She hates him?’

The Cloud Mist lingering over the sea wavered for a moment.