Chapter 120: The Arrival of Shadows

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It was a pity that the screams and roars of his comrades could not alter the fate of the purple-clad man. Even for a professional on the path of the Undying, a direct hit to the head at point-blank range from the Wheel of Light was fatal—let alone someone of relatively low rank like the purple man.

At the very moment fragments of the purple man’s skull exploded in a spray of crimson light from the muzzle flash, Mulan delivered a fierce kick to the corpse’s abdomen.

Whoosh—

The body flew like a cannonball, trailing blood foam as it hurtled toward several members of the Dusk Brigade rushing forward. Mulan, using the recoil from her kick, swiftly leapt away.

Bang—

A crimson-clad man caught the corpse, the impact sending him crashing onto a nearby rooftop. Several others quickly gathered around him.

“Purple!” The crimson man’s eyes reddened as he shouted furiously in the direction Mulan had leapt.

“He’s badly wounded. Kill him!”

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

A wave of bullets swept in, forcing the crimson man to dodge rapidly while clutching the corpse, though numerous bullets still struck him. To protect the body, he looked somewhat disheveled.

Machine guns from several firepoints opened up, sweeping the area. Rifle squads from various units also fired in the same direction, forcing the Dusk Brigade members to scatter and leap away.

“These guys are too annoying!”

“Take out those machine guns first!”

The Dusk Brigade finally recognized the threat posed by the Solens Guard. They immediately dispatched forces to neutralize those firepoints while several others sought ways to pursue Mulan.

One member of the Dusk Brigade approached a firepoint like a ghost. The soldiers there had just finished reloading their belts and quickly turned their guns toward the intruder.

Rat-a-tat-tat—

Suddenly, a plume of smoke drifted over, followed by the soldiers’ agonized screams.

“Ah, my hand! My face!”

“Ah!”

Their skin rapidly corroded and began to ulcerate. Several soldiers on the firepoint screamed in pain, some tumbling off the rooftop. The once-silent machine gun showed rapid corrosion marks on its surface.

Emerging from the mist, the figure glanced back at the soldiers, frowning. These men should have corroded to death immediately, yet they still had the strength to scream. The faint, shimmering glow on their bodies seemed to explain this anomaly.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A hail of bullets came at the figure, who snorted coldly and dodged, aiming for the next firepoint.

“Not a chance!”

Chris, also leaping on the rooftop, drew a long whip mid-air and lashed it fiercely at the figure.

Crack!

The whip cracked explosively in the air, whistling with the wind as it swept toward the target. The whip’s shadow seemed to extend beyond normal limits, as if endlessly elongating.

Swish swish swish swish—

The sky above a wide stretch of rooftops was filled with Chris’s whip shadows, simultaneously suppressing two enemies. Many soldiers on the periphery turned their fire to the areas under the whip’s control and swept their guns there.

At this moment, Mulan had no time to spare. Four people doggedly pursued him, including the crimson man who had just released the corpse.

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Although the Dusk Brigade members had shown little emotion over the deaths of their comrades during the airship crash, the death of the purple man seemed to ignite a collective fury. They relentlessly chased Mulan.

He pushed his Radiant Knight abilities to the limit, constantly maneuvering across rooftops, his figure trailing a streak of afterimages. Gritting his teeth, he forced his body and soul to generate more mana.

Gunshots and explosions echoed around him, mingling with the agonized cries of the Solens Guard. But Mulan had no time to react—he knew his limits. He was not a true high-ranking Radiant Knight; injured as he was, he could not face off against more than two Dusk Brigade members at once. So he kept moving, trying to make himself an easy target for concentrated fire.

Those with power on the outskirts rarely intervened. All had withdrawn to avoid friendly fire, watching the unfolding battle.

Mulan’s face twisted grimly, his eyes flicking back. The Solens Guard soldiers were rapidly thinning, and Chris alone could not make much of a difference. Her strength was actually lower than the Dusk Brigade’s, and they didn’t bother engaging her, instead focusing on wiping out the guards.

These soldiers were well-trained, and with the aid of Radiant Knight powers, their combined fire could pressure ordinary supernaturals, steadily compressing their movement space. They were far more threatening than a lone Chris.

This situation could not continue. Mulan was confident he could escape—after all, he still had a few tricks he could not yet reveal.

Suddenly, Mulan spotted the Avengers carrying Matt and Faroling on the outskirts. The Avengers wanted to rush in but had to protect Matt.

Mulan’s mind snapped to attention. He had no time to hesitate. Harnessing all his strength, he suddenly leapt vertically from a rooftop into the sky.

A golden opportunity!

The Dusk Brigade saw this and surged after him from multiple directions, attacking the airborne Mulan, who was harder to dodge in midair.

Bang! Bang!

Mulan fired two shots from the Wheel of Light, the muzzle flashes illuminating his swift midair direction change. A pair of radiant wings spread out as he quickly fled toward one side.

“Hey, don’t come this way!”

Both Matt and Faroling nearly shouted this in their minds, mouths agape, eyes wide as Mulan drew ever closer. Was this a case of leading trouble eastward?

But Mulan subtly shifted away from Matt, leaving only a whispered command:

“Alchemist, create a dim, overcast sky. Quickly! Big guy, take them away!”

The words were addressed to Matt and the Avengers respectively. As soon as he finished speaking, Mulan vanished from sight, changing course. The Dusk Brigade’s magic followed at the shortest distance.

The Avengers immediately hoisted Matt and Faroling, retreating swiftly toward the distance.

“Matt, do you think you can do it?”

Faroling, carried by an Avenger, anxiously asked about Mulan’s orders. Matt’s expression was serious; also being carried, he began pulling items from his coat.

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Matt looked up at the sky, where a few clouds still drifted.

“Stop on that tall building over there.”

He pointed at a towering noble estate within Solens City. The Avengers changed course, and within a few breaths, they leapt to the highest platform of the building.

From this distance, the gunfire, explosions, and screams were much quieter but still faintly audible. Matt continued pulling various items from his coat, which seemed like a bottomless pocket, a veritable treasure trove of materials.

“Give me a hand, Faroling!”

“Okay, what do you need?”

“This, this, and this—mix all of these in equal parts. Stir carefully and evenly; no large particles allowed.”

“Got it!”

Faroling promptly complied, grabbing test tubes and small containers to begin mixing.

“Be careful, or it’ll explode!”

Matt warned again, then began working on other components.

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Both were tense—Matt even had sweat on his brow—but he had performed such procedures many times before and was confident he wouldn’t err. Faroling’s mixing was mechanical; as long as no mistakes were made, the delicate steps would succeed.

Within minutes, Matt held a test tube filled with a dark, murky liquid. To Faroling and the Avengers, the liquid occasionally flickered, like lightning within a thundercloud.

“Here—throw it hard into the sky, into that cloud!”

Matt handed the test tube to an Avenger, who nodded and flexed his muscular body.

“Hoo!”

With a low shout, the Avenger hurled the test tube high into the sky, where it disappeared into the distant clouds. The sheer strength of the throw sent the vial soaring into the cloud layer in one throw.

After some time, unnoticed by others, the cloud’s color rapidly shifted from white to dark.

Back on the battlefield, gunfire and screams persisted, though the gunshots became sparse while screams grew more frequent. Even with Radiant Knight power, ordinary soldiers were still just soldiers; once engaged up close, they stood no chance against supernaturals. It was remarkable that they had not yet completely collapsed.

Mulan had already reached the limit of his strength in this state.

One Dusk Brigade member wielded a slender sword and finally closed in on Mulan, thrusting lightning-fast.

Clang!

Fangs blocked the blade, but the force reverberated through Mulan’s body, causing his face to flush.

“He’s more wounded than we thought!”

The swordsman shouted excitedly and launched a flurry of strikes at Mulan, whose speed had to slow to parry. Without his sword to defend, he might be severely wounded.

Clang clang clang—

“Die!”

The crimson man approached Mulan and threw a brutal punch.

Bang—

Mulan barely managed to block it with the Wheel of Light, yet the blow still knocked him back violently. His right arm emitted a terrible cracking sound.

Crackling—

In midair, a sharp, piercing pain struck as his right arm twisted grotesquely—it had been broken by the punch.

"Damn it!"

A fire ignited in Mulan’s heart, ready to fight desperately at all costs. But at that moment, the light overhead seemed to dim.

Some looked up and saw that, without anyone noticing, dark clouds were rapidly spreading. In moments, the sky was overcast, plunging Solens City into gloom.

The sudden darkness was so abrupt that many eyes had not yet adjusted, creating a visual effect darker than reality.

Seizing the momentary distraction of all, a crimson glow flashed briefly deep within Mulan’s eyes. A shadow slipped silently from him.

On a nearby rooftop, a pitch-black shadow was slowly coalescing.