Chapter 156: The Cataclysm Descends

The sudden turn of events caught Xie Liu and the others completely off guard. Just a moment ago, they were locked in a life-and-death struggle, yet in the blink of an eye, their opponent had turned to dust.

Xie Liu and Wendy exchanged bewildered glances, both temporarily at a loss for words.

"What on earth is going on here?"

The four individuals who had come to ambush them gathered around the ashes left behind by George, keeping their heads lowered as if lost in thought. The only certainty was that these people were harboring unknown secrets.

While Wendy remained in shock, utterly unsure of what to do next, Xie Liu looked toward A2. The silver-haired, green-eyed beauty gave a slight shake of her head, appearing equally clueless about what had just transpired.

"It seems they have no desire to fight anymore either. Let's go," Xie Liu finally concluded, signaling Wendy and A2 to withdraw.

The two women gave slight nods, maintaining their guard against a potential sudden attack from the four strangers as they moved toward Xie Liu.

The female member among the four noticed Xie Liu and his companions making a move and opened her mouth as if to say something, but John stopped her. He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Abandon this mission."

"Why? If it weren't for them, George wouldn't have died!" Cherry's eyes welled with tears. "Are we just supposed to let this go?"

"Cherry, that's enough!" A young man standing near John, who possessed energy-based superhuman abilities, blocked the emotional Cherry.

"It's not their fault," the handsome man reasoned. "They did injure George, but the real reason he died was the Fate Mark. You know that as well as we do."

"But, but, I can't accept this," Cherry said, tears streaming down her face. "Why is it always us? It's not fair. We just want to survive."

"Brother Zhao Feng, I don't understand. Why have I done so much? Is just trying to stay alive a crime?"

"Enough, Cherry." Before Zhao Feng could respond, a burly man carrying a massive iron sword interrupted Cherry's cries.

"Some people are simply born destined to be in the wrong. We are like that, and so was that infant." John knelt down, cupping up the ashes left after his comrade's cremation, and wrapped them securely in his own jacket.

"Let's go, Cherry. We're abandoning this mission." John finished wrapping George's ashes. Seeing Xie Liu and the others blocking their path, he asked coldly, "Do you intend to stop us?"

Xie Liu let out a cold snort. "I have no interest in wasting time with you, but I do have a question to ask."

When John offered no reply, Xie Liu took it as tacit permission and asked, "Who on earth are you?"

"We are a group of people who have no right to exist in this world," John said, holding the remains of his fallen comrade.

"We bear no ill will toward you. We only want to take the last remains of our comrade back home." John's words were filled with profound piety.

A2 said coldly, "Do you really think things can be resolved this simply? You are far too naive."

As her voice trailed off, her black contract blade materialized in her hand.

Xie Liu raised a hand to stop her, lowering his voice. "This is not the time for a fight. Don't waste time on this; they aren't our only enemies."

A2 drew a deep breath and lowered her blade. "Be on your way."

"Thank you." John gave Xie Liu a slight bow. Cradling his comrade's remains, he turned to leave, while the others behind him glared malevolently at Xie Liu and his group before following John away. Though deeply aggrieved, as John had stated, their priority was escorting their comrade's remains home.

Xie Liu let out a sigh of relief. Since their opponents were unwilling to fight, he no longer had to worry about them; fewer enemies were always better.

As he watched the four turn to leave, Xie Liu's gaze drifted into the distance, and his expression instantly shifted. Subconsciously, he shouted, "You people, come back!"

"What else do you want?!" Cherry turned back in anger. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

"Get out of the way!" Xie Liu bellowed. The four of them, including Cherry, were momentarily stunned before everyone heard a unified roar echoing from afar.

"Calamity!"

At that instant, the expressions of both Xie Liu's group and John's squad changed drastically.

Following the synchronized shout, a deafening roar came sweeping in from the distance. The earth churned and rolled forward from behind, crushing everything in its path—forests and roadways alike—reducing them to mere dust.

"Quick, dodge!" Xie Liu yelled. Wendy took the lead, grabbing the returning Ye Leng and fleeing at top speed. Wang Qi and Qili had already left the highway earlier, making them ironically the safest at the moment.

Just as Xie Liu finished warning John's group, he turned around only to realize he had been left exposed within the enemy's attack range, with nowhere left to retreat.

"You still have the leisure to worry about others!" A2 grabbed Xie Liu where he stood and hoisted him onto her shoulder. "Hold on tight!"

"Understood!" Xie Liu nodded, showing no panic whatsoever. A2 leaped upward with Xie Liu on her shoulder, launching herself a dozen meters into the air. As their bodies flipped in mid-air, Xie Liu looked down at the billowing dust roaring past below, a look of astonishment crossing his face.

"As expected of the Calamity Legion. This kind of destructive power is almost catching up to a tier-ten powerhouse." Though amazed, Xie Liu knew that a tier-ten powerhouse possessed strength far beyond this display.

"Where are those people?" A2 lowered her gaze to the ground, the howling wind rushing past her ears as she searched for the four individuals. The billowing dust had engulfed them; lacking the strength and agility of Wendy and A2, they had no choice but to face the Calamity Legion's combined assault head-on.

"They're fine," Xie Liu said, wrapping his arms around A2's neck to steady himself. Activating his tier-five superhuman sight, he spotted the four figures amidst the dust. They had clustered together, with one of them standing at the very forefront, taking the brunt of the shockwave.

"We were mistaken earlier. That person's ability isn't defense; it's [Energy Barrier]," Xie Liu shook his head. "That power is extremely rare, yet truly formidable. Strange... based on my earlier observation, none of their ability levels are below tier eight. Gathering such a group together is no ordinary organization's doing. And by the looks of it, this isn't even all of them, yet I have no recollection of people like this."

"Why do you care so much about them? Worry about your own situation first," A2 coldly interrupted his self-absorbed musings.

"The Calamity Legion is here." Xie Liu descended alongside A2. The two twisted in mid-air, and Xie Liu released his grip, dropping down toward the earth until he landed atop a towering tree, gazing far out toward the dust-choked highway.

"Are they alright?" Although his tier-five vision showed him that the group was still managing to fend off the Calamity Legion's secondary wave of attacks, Xie Liu couldn't be certain they would escape completely unscathed.

These people were simply too bizarre. Putting aside the fact that they possessed such formidable supernatural powers yet remained entirely unknown, the mere mention of the [Fate Mark]—something Xie Liu had never heard of before—had already piqued his curiosity.

Upon seeing these people, Xie Liu was reminded of Angel. Perhaps they, too, were victims of hidden experiments conducted within the Fantasy Metropolis. If that truly was the case, Xie Liu could not simply turn a blind eye and leave them to their fate.

"I'll have to ask Vladimir what this is all about when we get back." Xie Liu braced himself against the tree trunk as the dust before him gradually began to clear, finally revealing the four disheveled figures.

"Impressive. To withstand an attack like that means the energy-manipulation esper's power is no joke." In Xie Liu's memory, only Will of the Oracle Team possessed such capability.

At that moment, A2 landed in a neighboring tree, her twin blades floating silently behind her. Standing on a branch with one hand resting against the trunk, her exposed green eyes betrayed a grave and solemn expression.

"The main force of the Calamity Legion has arrived."

Xie Liu turned his head to look at the female elite soldier beside him. "What, are you scared?"

"Not quite. But it'll be a bit troublesome for me to handle all of them alone. If my subordinates were here, we could use a combined attack technique, and these people wouldn't stand a chance."

Xie Liu rubbed his temples in resignation. "Alright, alright, we know you're amazing, happy now? The Calamity folks are here too, so we can't afford to waste any more time. Let's move."

Wendy also materialized beside Xie Liu. Looking at the four heavily injured individuals on the thoroughly devastated highway, she frowned and asked, "Will the Calamity Legion go after them?"

"What? You want to save them?" Xie Liu furrowed his brow. Since he had never even heard of these people, it was highly unlikely the Calamity Legion knew of their existence either. Thus, following the legion's usual modus operandi, their most probable course of action would be to eliminate the four of them.

"Yes. If possible, I'd genuinely like to rescue them. Besides, Wendy, don't you find this thing called the [Fate Mark] rather strange? Aren't you curious about the truth behind it?"

As Xie Liu analyzed the situation, his gaze shifted into the distance, where he spotted over thirty Calamity Legion soldiers marching toward their position. Lowering his voice, Xie Liu asked, "Did Wang Qi and his wife make it away?"

"Yes, they're already far off. Are we supposed to be buying them some time?" Wendy asked softly. A2 shook her head, refuting the notion. "They won't get far. This area must have been locked down by them. The only way out is to break through."

"Besides, I'm quite interested in that [Fate Mark] myself. You people from the Fantasy Metropolis always act like the Alliance is vile for using human subjects in experiments, but from the look of things, you aren't any better."

"Are there really any good people in this world?" Xie Liu shrugged, then motioned ahead. "Look, they're attacking."

Sure enough, having completed their initial strike, the first wave of Calamity Legion soldiers began advancing toward the four individuals who had ambushed Xie Liu.

"Get ready, we're engaging," Xie Liu commanded. All three placed their hands on their weapons, preparing to strike the moment the Calamity Legion made their move.

"A2, I won't interfere with whatever you decide to do. Wendy, you'd better hold back and not deal any fatal blows, but if the opponents truly show no mercy, there's no need to be soft-hearted. Your own safety comes first. Alright, get ready for battle."

"Understood," Wendy nodded, her expression turning severe.

The battle was about to erupt once more.