Chapter 159 Crisis

"What?" Xieliu suddenly spun around and saw A2 abandoning her opponent and sprinting directly toward him. With a look of bewildered surprise on his face, his gaze slowly shifted to the side. The ground beside him inexplicably heaved and flipped over, and a dark shadow spanning half the combat zone swept horizontally toward Xieliu and Han Xun.

"Get down!" A2's figure flashed in front of Xieliu, tackling the still-dazed man to the ground. A split second later, a violent gust of wind howled right over their heads.

No one was there to protect Han Xun, but his reaction time was remarkably swift. Before the roaring gale could reach him, he raised his hand in front of his face and unleashed his superpower, instantly materializing an invisible wall right before him.

"Boom!" With a deafening blast, Han Xun was sent flying by the sudden onslaught. Although the barrier absorbed the vast majority of the impact force, his body was still blasted backward, slamming hard into a guardrail that was already twisted completely out of shape.

"Ah!" Han Xun let out a cry of agony, a look of profound pain contorting his features as he crashed onto the ground.

"Hahahaha..." Boisterous laughter echoed through the air right after the sudden strike. A2 scrambled back up from on top of Xieliu, turned to glare at the sky behind them, and knitted her brows tightly. "Why is this lunatic here?"

"Who is that?" Xieliu winced, rubbing the back of his head where he had smacked it hard against the ground when A2 tackled him. He asked through gritted teeth, following the source of the laughter with his eyes. He watched as a long black steel whip, retracting as swiftly as a whale drinking water, snapped back and landed in the hands of a tall, imposing man in the distance.

"A1, one of the three legendary special operatives. He possesses formidable strength, and even I am slightly inferior compared to him." A2 pulled Xieliu behind her to shield him. "This guy's goal is to surpass Ace, so he's definitely going to come looking for trouble with you."

"What does surpassing Ace have to do with me looking for trouble?" Xieliu muttered in bafflement. Wasn't this a completely unprovoked stray bullet to the chest?

"Because you've defeated Ace twice. A rumor is currently circulating within the Alliance that as long as one defeats you, they can surpass Ace." A2 didn't look like she was joking. Her gaze remained grave as she stared fixedly at the tall figure rapidly approaching from afar.

"Be careful, he's definitely coming straight for you. Besides, this fellow is an absolute lunatic who is completely unreasonable," A2 warned. By this time, the man in the distance had already closed in behind the thirty-odd members of the Havoc Legion.

"Everyone, join forces and kill him!" Han Xun clutched his chest, a furious expression twisting his face. This person's actions just now had trampled upon the dignity of the Havoc Legion; this man had to die.

At Han Xun's command, the thirty-odd members of the Havoc Legion whirled around simultaneously to face the approaching man from behind.

"Scum of the Coalition Squads, don't wave a bunch of toys at me!" The tall man sneered, moving at a speed comparable to a speeding car. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of the thirty people.

"Get out of the way!"

As he barreled straight into the crowd, a flash of dark golden sword light erupted. A streak of dazzling light cut across the formation, and two members of the thirty-man defensive line instantly collapsed. Their seemingly formidable defense was torn apart in an instant. Without the slightest pause, this man—resembling a god or a demon—charged straight toward Xieliu's position.

"A2, catch my sword!" the tall man bellowed, drawing his dark golden blade-radiance into a dazzling curtain of light that slashed toward A2's snow-white, flawless neck.

A2 let out a cold snort, grabbed Xieliu by the collar with a backhand motion, and hurled him away. Following that, her lithe body spun gracefully up from the ground. Her white blade, Oath, and black blade, Pact, unfurled as she rotated into the air, executing two successive sword sweeps that deflected the man's dark golden radiance.

Even though his sword glare was batted away, the man showed no sign of panic. With a flick of his wrist, he whipped out the iron chain at his waist, lashing horizontally toward A2's waist and abdomen. A2 responded with two consecutive backflips to evade the strike, then whirled the massive white Pact, spinning as she unleashed a flurry of consecutive attacks against the sword light in front of the man.

Every single clash struck dazzling sparks into the air. A2's offensive was fierce and uninhibited, the white Oath spinning into a continuous, unbroken circular storm that battered the blade-light in front of the man time and time again.

After his initial opening strike against A2, the man had been forced into a state of passive defense. Under A2's ferocious and sweeping onslaught, he was forced back three consecutive steps, each step smashing the asphalt beneath his feet into pulverized fragments.

"Get down!" A2 roared angrily. Her black Pact batted the man's long whip aside, and the white Oath followed closely in its wake, slashing straight down toward the top of the man's head.

"Eru, your strength hasn't improved at all!" The man let out a hearty laugh even at this moment. The dark golden light intercepted the descending white Oath just in time, blocking the blow right in front of him. The white brilliance crashed against the dark golden blade edge, and the ground let out a thunderous roar as it caved inward. The asphalt road could not withstand such terrifying force, shattering into pieces with the man at the center and sending cracks spiderwebbing far into the distance.

Yet, ultimately, A2's blade could not push down even a fraction of an inch further.

"A1..." Her jade-green right pupils locked onto the man before her, A2's tone dripping with bone-chilling frost.

"Eru, long time no see. There's no need to be so hostile, is there?" The man wielding the dark golden sword smiled, clearly showing that A2's attack had not strained him in the slightest.

Xieliu, who had been tossed aside earlier, clambered to his feet while clutching his shoulder. Hearing the man's words, Xieliu frowned and let out a puzzled sound. "Eru?" Clearly, this was A2's real name.

"Oh?" The man turned his head to look at Xieliu, a surprised expression on his face. "You haven't told him your real name yet? Could it be that he isn't the pretty boy you've taken a fancy to?"

"Shut up, Hedeweil!" A2—or rather, Eru—snapped furiously. Her long silver hair billowed without any wind, clearly indicating that she had reached the zenith of rage.

"Look at you getting all angry. It seems this pretty boy is very important to you. That won't do, Eru. You're my designated wife, after all—how can you be flirting with other men? How about this, let's just kill him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man's figure vanished. Eru was startled; whirling around, she saw that Xieliu was still standing foolishly in the exact same spot.

"Get out of the way!" Moving with blinding speed, Eru materialized beside Xieliu in an instant and shoved the dazed man hard, sending him stumbling backward out of the danger zone. The very millisecond she pushed Xieliu away, Eru whipped the white Oath back to block in front of her. The next instant, the man wielding the quiet sword materialized right before her eyes, thrusting his blade straight toward the white Pact in Eru's hands.

"Boom!" A colossal shockwave erupted, and a gale burst forth from the point where their swords intersected, blowing Xieliu back several paces. Eru's petite frame shuddered slightly upon taking the blow, and the ground beneath her feet instantly shattered into millions of fragments. She was driven backward like a snowplow, tearing up the pavement in her wake as if a plow had tilled the earth.

It wasn't until she was over a hundred meters away that Eru finally managed to halt her retreat. She maintained her defensive posture, but her hands were already trembling slightly. She shouldn't have taken such a ferocious, full-power blow head-on, but to protect Xieliu, she had been left with no other choice.

"Eru, are you really dead set on protecting this pretty boy?" The man withdrew his dark golden sword, looking completely relaxed as he gazed at Eru, who was still maintaining her guard.

"Hedeweil..." Eru squeezed the man's name out through clenched teeth. "Are you really determined to pick a fight with me?"

"I'm not nearly that bored. It's just that I heard you went rogue over some kid with superpowers, and those old fogies in the higher-ups were quite anxious, hurriedly sending us A-rank coolies out to track you down. If that idiot Ace hadn't gone into closed-door seclusion to train, he probably would have arrived here already as well." Hedeweil shook his arms and shrugged. "Eru, come back with me. This time, both A3 and I came out to find you specifically to bring you back. Even though the higher-ups are angry, if you come back with me now, the worst you'll get is a scolding."

"So Eru, come back with me." With that, Hedeweil extended his hand toward Eru.

"And if I say no?" Eru replied, though her gaze drifted toward Wendy, who had already reached Xieliu's side to protect him. Feeling slightly relieved, Eru turned her eyes back to Hedeweil. "Since when do I, Eru, need you people to dictate what I do?"

"Eru, if possible, I don't want to resort to violence with you, because I truly have no desire to mar the perfect face of my future bride." Hedeweil spoke in a tone as if he were simply stating a matter-of-fact truth.

"I have never agreed to such a thing, so stop daydreaming. No one can stop what I, Eru, want to do. Ace couldn't, and you certainly can't!" Eru gripped the black Pact in her left hand and the white Oath in her right, assuming a combat-ready stance.

"Commander, what should we do?"

Han Xun reappeared before his subordinates. Looking at the few members who had already fallen dead, his expression was exceptionally grim. He spoke in a deep voice, "Those two are the strongest special operatives of the Special Alliance. We are no match for them, and there's nothing we can do about that, but our target isn't them anyway."

With that, Han Xun cast his gaze toward Xieliu and Wendy. Xieliu met his eyes and sneered coldly.

"It seems he still hasn't given up. However, that special operative named Hedeweil has indeed disrupted my layout. Wendy, about how long will it take you to wipe out the warriors of the Havoc Legion?" Xieliu asked Wendy, who stood behind him.

Wendy pondered for a brief moment before replying in a low voice, "If I hold back on fatal blows, it will take five minutes. If I attack without holding anything back, thirty seconds is more than enough."

"Go all out. I'll hold off this Han Xun. I can honestly tell you that I won't survive five minutes in his hands," Xieliu said, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Han Xun. "Perhaps I won't even last thirty seconds, so remember to come rescue me."

Wendy rolled her eyes hard, desperately wishing to retort to this guy who somehow never managed to spit out any ivory from a dog's mouth.

"I'll do my best, and you be careful too." After dividing their tasks, Xieliu nodded. "Let's move."

Seeing Xieliu and Wendy separate, Han Xun furrowed his brow. "Are they still planning to fight?"

"Commander, we recognize that woman—she seems to be a formidable character. Should we call for backup?" a soldier stepped forward to ask.

Han Xun shook his head. "No need. No matter how formidable she is, can she surpass those two special operatives? Prepare a coordinated strike; eliminate Dead Eye first."

Xieliu rested his hand on the hilt of his blade and broke into a cold smirk. "It looks like they really do want to dance with us. Wendy, are you ready?"

"At any moment." Wendy flicked her right hand, sending a slash of purple sword-light whistling through the air. Her purple pupils blazed with high-spirited fighting intent, and she licked her lips as if craving the impending bloodshed.

"Attack!" At Xieliu's command, the air around Wendy suddenly detonated. Moving with such incredible velocity that it triggered a sonic boom, Wendy shot forward like a rocket in that single split second. Before anyone could even react, she cut straight past Han Xun, transforming into a streak of purple radiance that slammed directly into the battle formation behind him.

"Boom!" A thunderous roar resounded. Like a meteorite crashing into the earth, Wendy's purple light instantly tore the defensive line of the Havoc Legion warriors into shreds.

Over a dozen men screamed as they were blasted into the air by the impact. All their defenses and resistance proved as fragile as papering under Wendy's fully charged blow.

"This!" Han Xun felt a violent gale rush past his ears, followed immediately by the desperate screams of his subordinates. "This is impossible!" he roared, trying to spin around.

At that very moment, however, Xieliu materialized right in front of Han Xun. Suspended mid-air, he raised his blade high over his shoulder. His crimson eyes were brimming with killing intent as he brought the blade crashing down.

"So fast!" Han Xun never expected Xieliu's speed to be equally terrifying. Raising his hand, he unleashed his superpower. "Go to hell!"

"Pfft!" Without any warning, Xieliu coughed up a mouthful of blood. In the end, he had still underestimated the opponent's superpower!

"Die!" Han Xun's eyes turned bloodshot as he lunged forward, his right hand clawing straight for Xieliu's throat.

"Xieliu!" Wendy cried out in alarm.

It looked as though Xieliu was about to perish beneath Han Xun's hand.