Chapter 356: Your Talent Was Trash

Darius tightened both hands around his dark-gold halberd as its King Grade aura surged across the battlefield.

He had already watched Varos die, and he still didn’t know the condition of the other elders.

Because of that, retreat was no longer an option. If he backed down now, their losses would be far too great.

Darius pointed his halberd at Cassandra and growled, "Don’t get too arrogant just because you defeated Varos. I’m not him."

Cassandra casually rolled one shoulder, her eyes drifting toward the halberd. "So what? In my eyes, you’re all the same. Still, for you, I’ll go a little easy."

She grinned and pointed toward the weapon. "I don’t want my Master to be disappointed if his gift gets broken."

Darius’s face twitched in anger. "Die, you bitch!"

He shot forward and swept his halberd sideways with enough force to tear apart the ground, but Cassandra only smiled and leaned back, letting the blade pass just above her.

Darius immediately twisted his shoulder and wrist, driving the halberd downward, but Cassandra simply struck the shaft aside with her right hand.

Using the momentum, she spun around and slammed a kick into his neck, sending Darius flying sideways.

Darius managed to twist his body in midair and landed not far away, while Cassandra only grinned. "Wow, you’re pretty good. Still... it’s not good enough."

His expression darkened as he roared, "You damn bitch... let me show you the true power of a King Grade weapon!"

[Nine Dragon Breaker]!

Darius slammed the halberd down, and nine golden halberd phantoms erupted around him before rushing toward Cassandra from different angles.

Cassandra only smiled as she walked forward, casually twisting her waist to avoid some of them.

She even slapped several phantoms aside with her bare hands, sending them crashing into the ground and shocking Darius.

In just a few moments, Cassandra was already standing directly in front of him.

She stared at Darius for a moment before a grin slowly spread across her face. "That’s it? How disappointing. You’re holding a King Grade weapon, yet you still swing it like some frightened little dog."

Her finger tapped lightly against the halberd as her smile widened. "Come on. Struggle a little harder for me. I’d hate to kill you before you manage to entertain me."

Her mockery only made Darius even angrier. He tightened his grip on the halberd and swung it viciously toward Cassandra.

Cassandra merely raised one hand as Blood Demon Qi gathered around her palm, condensing into a long crimson-black sword. "Now this... is what a beautiful technique looks like."

She casually parried the halberd aside before twisting her wrist and driving the pommel of her sword straight into Darius’s stomach, forcing him backward.

Darius’s face twisted with rage as golden Qi erupted violently around his body and poured into the halberd.

Veins bulged across his forehead as he glared at Cassandra like he wanted to tear her apart. "You bitch... I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

With a roar, he leaped high into the air and raised the halberd above his head as the golden Qi around it compressed into a terrifying mass of power.

[Heaven-Crushing Descent]

The enormous golden projection crashed downward, but Cassandra simply stepped diagonally to the side.

Her sword slid along the halberd’s shaft, guiding the attack past her shoulder before she twisted her wrist and unleashed a clean upward slash.

The golden technique split apart instantly, and a deep wound tore across Darius’s chest, forcing him to stagger backward.

He stared down at the injury in disbelief, his face going pale. "How... how the hell did you cut through it? I already used the full power of a King Grade weapon!"

Cassandra glanced at the blood coating her blade, then slowly dragged her tongue across the edge.

Her crimson eyes narrowed with amusement. "Mm... not bad. A little disappointing, though. I expected someone so arrogant to taste better."

Darius’s face stiffened.

Cassandra’s grin turned vicious as she casually raised the sword. "You kept blaming everything on cultivation and weapons, but you never understood the real problem."

She gave one effortless slash.

[Blood Execution]

A crimson line flashed through the air, and a moment later, a thin cut appeared across Darius’s neck.

Before he could even understand what had happened, his head slipped from his shoulders and fell to the ground.

His expression was still frozen in confusion, never realizing how he had died.

Cassandra watched the corpse collapse and chuckled. "The problem was simple... your fucking talent was just too trashy."

She casually walked over to Darius’s corpse and picked up the dark-gold halberd.

The moment her fingers wrapped around its shaft, the King Grade weapon violently trembled, golden Qi erupting as it resisted its new owner.

Cassandra’s expression immediately flattened. "Oh? Feeling sad because your master died?"

Her Blood Demon Qi surged around her hand and crushed down on the weapon’s aura. "Calm the fuck down."

The halberd struggled even harder.

This time, Cassandra’s eyes narrowed and the smile disappeared from her face. "Calm down... or I’ll destroy you."

Her Blood Demon Qi erupted even more violently, suppressing the weapon so completely that even the King Grade halberd seemed to tremble in fear.

A second later, its golden aura rapidly weakened until it finally became still.

Cassandra’s smile returned as she rested the halberd against her shoulder. "Good... [Golden Tyrant Halberd], huh? Master should like you as a gift."

With that, Cassandra returned to the base, where the five servants were already waiting nearby.

She pointed toward the battlefield. "You five, start cleaning up. You know what I mean, right?"

Their expressions immediately turned serious.

Cassandra glanced toward the unconscious Golden Core cultivators scattered across the ground.

A smile slowly returned to her face as she dragged a finger across her neck. "Just kill them all."

The servants stiffened slightly.

Cassandra shrugged. "They came here planning to rob and kill us. Leaving loose ends would be fucking stupid."

The five servants exchanged tense looks before finally nodding.

Cassandra then looked toward Cynthia and Evelyn. "Poison Dragon, Frost Dragon... protect the servants while they loot everything. And also..."

Her gaze shifted toward the surrounding forest, where countless hidden cultivators were still lurking.

"If anyone hiding out there gets greedy..." Her smile turned cold. "You know what I mean, right?"

Evelyn nodded calmly. "Understood."

Cynthia sighed and adjusted her sleeve. "Naturally."

Cassandra walked back toward the room with the halberd over her shoulder, already looking forward to Damian’s reaction.