Lin Lei, Fain, and the Purple Gold Mouse King 'Hari' flew side by side, the three powerhouses all moving at tremendous speed. Before long, they had left the Dark Forest behind and crossed into Baruch Empire territory.
Lin Lei was clearly anxious. He urged, "Hari, could you fly a little faster? I'm worried those two silver-robed men you mentioned might start massacring the city before we arrive." His heart was heavy with dread.
An entire city's population slaughtered.
The deaths themselves were bad enough, but what was truly terrifying was the civil unrest such an event would trigger.
In wartime, a million could die and the citizens of an empire would still be relatively composed. But an entire city of a hundred thousand people wiped out without any cause or warning — that was genuinely horrifying.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Hari, however, wasn't the slightest bit anxious.
"Hari, just hurry up. I know how fast you can go," Bei Bei chimed in on Lin Lei's behalf.
Hari shot Bei Bei an exasperated glance. "Fine, fine." The Purple Gold Mouse King's speed abruptly surged, and Lin Lei and Fain immediately matched him. The three powerhouses streaked across the night sky like bolts of light, passing over city after city, town after town.
"Lin Lei, don't worry. Those two silver-robed men typically wait until late at night, when the streets are nearly empty and everyone has gone to sleep, before they make their move," Hari said with confident ease. "It's only just past nine in the evening. There are still plenty of people out drinking and dining right now."
Lin Lei had been so consumed with worry that he hadn't thought this through.
Now, hearing Hari's explanation, he recalled what Wotton had told him about the dead-city incidents. The people who had perished in Blue Lion City had almost all been killed inside their homes. The number who died on the streets could be counted on one hand. And when were the streets of a city ever truly empty?
It wasn't until well after midnight that most taverns closed their doors.
Lin Lei felt an immediate wave of relief.
Fain, however, looked puzzled. "Hari, you said they start their work late at night? But didn't you mention that silver-robed men had already struck in the Eighteen Northern Duchies? Why would the ones in the Eighteen Northern Duchies act so early?"
"You fool!" Hari laughed triumphantly. "The Eighteen Northern Duchies are the coldest place on the Yulan Continent, and right now it's winter — the temperature difference between day and night is even more extreme. It's freezing to death at night! In the Eighteen Northern Duchies, if you spit at night, the spit freezes into an ice chunk before it even hits the ground!"
Lin Lei nodded to himself. He had heard just how bitterly cold the Eighteen Northern Duchies could be.
"In weather like that, most people in the Eighteen Northern Duchies stay home at night huddled around the fireplace. Especially in the smaller towns — hardly anyone ventures out into the freezing darkness. You can't see a soul on the streets," Hari sighed. "Would you say that silver-robed man needs to wait until after midnight to start?"
Fain understood at once.
"Oh, we're almost there — about a hundred li to go," Hari said excitedly.
The killing intent in Lin Lei and Fain's hearts began to rise.
The dead-city incidents in the O'Brien Empire and the Baruch Empire had truly enraged both Fain and Lin Lei. Such brazen, open acts of slaughter showed utter contempt for both empires — and for the Saint Realm powerhouses standing behind them.
"Stop here," Hari said.
Lin Lei and Fain immediately halted. A few li ahead, a small city lay below them. From their high vantage, they could see lights glowing throughout the town, and several figures strolling the streets. The city looked peaceful.
"Hari, where are those two silver-robed men?" Lin Lei asked directly.
He didn't dare send out his own mental force to search. If he swept his spiritual sense across the enemy, they would detect him in turn — and might flee before he could reach them.
"You still can't see them?" Hari chuckled, his whiskers curling upward with amusement. "They're in the wilderness about six li to your south. The two silver-robed men are sitting cross-legged right there. They'll probably wait until deep in the night or the small hours before they act."
Lin Lei and Fain immediately looked south.
It was a stretch of wild wasteland overgrown with tangled weeds.
The two exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they read the same resolve. Without a moment's hesitation —
*Whoosh!*
The two Saint Realm peak powerhouses transformed into twin afterimages, silently closing the distance. Bei Bei hopped down from Lin Lei's shoulder and followed along behind with Hari. He didn't want to interfere with Lin Lei's confrontation with the silver-robed man — and besides, Bei Bei had absolute confidence in Lin Lei's abilities.
They had fought through a million Abyss Blade Demons. What were a couple of silver-robed men to fear?
*Whoooosh~~*
The night wind blew, setting the wild grass undulating. Amid the weeds of that desolate wasteland, two silver-robed men sat cross-legged side by side, motionless. Even from close range, if one wasn't paying attention, they could easily be mistaken for two pale rocks.
In the very next instant, both silver-robed men opened their eyes simultaneously and turned their heads to look sideways. Their cold, sharp gazes cut toward the nearby approach like knives.
Lin Lei and Fain, having been discovered, didn't hesitate.
"Kill!" Both of their speeds instantly rocketed to their maximum. Now the difference between them became apparent: Fain at full speed was reduced to a streak of lightning tearing across the sky, but Lin Lei at full speed was…
Nothing more than an invisible gust of wind — especially in the darkness of night, Lin Lei's form was utterly impossible to track.
Yet the two silver-robed men, the instant they encountered enemies, released their mental force to blanket their surroundings and detect every movement.
"So fast." Both silver-robed men were stunned by Lin Lei's speed. Fain was already frighteningly quick, but Lin Lei was nearly three times faster. In almost no time at all, Lin Lei had arrived directly in front of one of the silver-robed men.
*Retreat!*
Without a heartbeat's hesitation, the silver-robed man transformed into a streak of silver light and shot backward, his speed rivaling Fain's.
"Die." Lin Lei's gaze upon the silver-robed man was ice-cold — the eyes of a god looking down upon mortals. He simply slashed out with his hand in a knife-like motion, and a clearly visible pale-green Dimensional Slash materialized. Where it passed, a hairline crack instantly appeared in the fabric of space.
There was no room for mercy.
The Dimensional Slash cleaved the silver-robed man clean in two.
"Hmph!" Lin Lei swept one hand downward, and countless razor-sharp Wind Blades materialized, grinding the silver-robed man's head into mush. His soul, naturally, dissipated as well.
Instant kill.