Chapter 6: Turning Point

“Die!”

Mei’s pupils turned completely red, and a fierce killing intent continuously seeped from her petite body.

The next moment, she transformed into a streak of light and, in the blink of an eye, had already rushed to Wus’s side.

Using the momentum of this charge, she viciously stabbed her dagger toward his neck.

But with a crisp clang, the dagger snapped in two.

“So this is your faith in Lord Mann? How utterly insignificant.”

Mei stared at the broken dagger, stunned for a moment. But just as she was about to continue her pursuit, chains materialized out of thin air, tightly binding her.

What is this? The sea of fire, the ice spikes, and now these chains… How is he doing it?

“Are you surprised, Miss Maid?”

“But unfortunately…”

Wus raised his right hand and casually pointed it at Mei’s forehead. In front of his finger, mana was compressed infinitely.

Until it twisted space itself, slowly turning into a pure white sphere.

Both of them floated simultaneously—or rather, this incredibly dense mass of mana caused the ground around it to cave in.

“You won’t get to find out.”

As soon as the words fell, an immense amount of mana was released without reserve.

Mei’s body was mercilessly pierced through, and along with the torrent of mana, she was slammed solidly into the ground.

“So this is the result of your faith? Calling you a believer so casually makes me seem a bit presumptuous.”

Wus slowly turned around, spreading his arms as if he had found salvation.

“But thank you for atoning for my mistake with your death. Ah… I knew it. This too must be a trial bestowed by the Supreme God!”

“Heh, hahaha! Thank You for letting me realize my own immaturity. I, Wus·Critias, swear: today, I will personally present Mann Matthews!”

“St… Stop!”

Mei struggled to get up behind Wus.

“Oh? Your heart and brain should have been pierced by my mana. How are you standing…”

Wus turned around idly, sensing the faint mana reaction from her.

“Though you barely survived, you’ve grown quite weak. This trait…”

“Little girl, you must be a demi-human, right? But wasn’t the demi-human nation destroyed by the Empire over a decade ago…”

“Shut up, shut up!”

Feeling Mei charging at him in rage, Wus let out a helpless smile.

“Going all out? Looks like I’ll have to kill you again and make sure you’re truly dead.”

—

At a distance, where Mann had fallen.

The already weakened man struggled to his feet.

“Dammit! Mei!”

Scenes from the Divine Revelation vision churned endlessly in his mind.

If he didn’t get there quickly, Mei would undoubtedly die at that man’s hands. The prophetic scene would become reality.

He had promised they would face it together…

“Wait for me… I’m coming… right now.”

Mann moved with difficulty, his body exhausted from outputting large amounts of mana twice in a row.

Though he still had some mana left, it was barely enough for one more Retrospection. He also needed to account for unexpected situations…

“If only I were a little stronger… maybe I wouldn’t be so helpless right now.”

“So tired… not an ounce of strength left…”

Mann walked on feebly, completely unaware that several dozen Heretic God Sect followers were trailing behind him.

They stared fixedly at Mann, who could barely stand, as if confirming whether this prey still had the strength to fight back.

Before long, at the leader’s command, the group of Heretic God Sect followers lunged forward.

In an instant, Mann was pinned down by them, and his hands were fastened with strange cuffs.

“Let me go! You lunatics!”

He struggled desperately, but how could a man already so weak break free?

Even when he tried to activate Retrospection, he only felt his mana stagnate.

“These handcuffs sealed my ability?”

Mann was pressed down firmly, unable to move.

A Heretic God Sect follower stepped in front of him. In the dark sleeve of his arm, a faint glint of cold steel was visible.

Is this fate?

Mann let out a long sigh.

“It looks like this is my end. Sorry, Mei. I broke my promise.”

But with a crisp clash of blades, the expected pain never came.

“Yo! Bastard, you look pretty pathetic. Still holding up?”

Mann looked at the speaker—it was Dan Luo from the Griffin Mercenary Corps.

“Charge! Capture these lunatics alive!”

At his command, the members of the Griffin Mercenary Corps surged forward, clashing with the Heretic God Sect followers.

“Th… thank you.”

Dan Luo shattered Mann’s handcuffs with a gunshot and helped him up.

“Let me be clear—I’m not helping you for free. You’ll have to pay at least a thousand Can Coins.”

Supported by Dan Luo, Mann felt weak and powerless. But given the urgency of the situation, he had no mind for jokes.

“Dan… Mr. Dan Luo, I apologize for the rudeness, but please take me to a place ahead…”

Seeing the serious look in Mann’s eyes, Dan Luo said nothing more. He hoisted the young man onto his back and sprinted in the direction he indicated.

“Hey, hang in there. Don’t suddenly fall asleep on me, okay?”

“Don’t worry about me. And Mr. Dan Luo, you need to quickly call Lord Dulufu and the others for backup… The enemy this time is not something we can handle…”

“That enemy, is it him?”

Dan Luo stopped in his tracks and stared at Wus, who was condensing mana ahead. His expression began to falter.

“Ye… yes.”

Mann replied with difficulty.

“I have one more request out of turn. Please throw me next to that fallen maid…”

“Are you crazy? If you intervene now, you’ll definitely die!”

“I… I can pay extra…”

“Then here we go!”

Mann was tossed through the air, flying rapidly toward Mei’s position.

“Mei… hang on just a little longer… just a little longer!”

At the same time, Wus’s attack was also unleashed. Scorching mana roasted everything around it.

Mei struggled to stand up. Her body had already reached its limit.

Faced with the attack hurtling toward her, she no longer had the strength even to move.

“Young Master Mann, please… live a long life.”

“Mei! Grab my hand!”

Mann reached out his hand, flying toward Mei at full speed.

“That voice… Young Master?”

She spun around abruptly. When she saw Mann again, tears filled her eyes.

Though her heart was filled with complaints like ‘Why did you come back?’, she still extended her hand toward him.

But Wus’s attack had already reached their faces.

In an instant, a massive pillar of fire surged upward.

Dan Luo, watching from the side, couldn’t bear to look.

“And here I thought I’d get my reward. There goes that plan. I shouldn’t have listened to him. But calling for backup was a good idea.”

As he grumbled, he fired a signal flare into the sky.

Then, two heavy thuds sounded abruptly behind Dan Luo.

Turning around, he saw Mann and Mei. One was completely unconscious, the other severely injured but barely able to stand.

“So this is the power of a Divine Emissary? Every single one is stranger than the last.”

Mei paid no attention to Dan Luo. She stared blankly at the unconscious Mann, tears streaming uncontrollably. Gently, she held her Young Master, remaining silent for a long time.

“Um…”

Dan Luo turned his back to the two, seeming to ponder whether he should break the atmosphere.

“I know you’re grieving, Miss, but I have to mention this. That guy seems to have turned his attention to us.”

“Maybe we need to… dodge first?”

As he spoke, a massive flame attack was already upon them.

But the expected explosion never came.

“Oh? My attack was shattered?”

Wus sensed the nearby mana. Right in front of him, a wall-like mass of mana stood firm.

“Who might you be?”

“It’s Dulufu!”

Dan Luo, seeing Dulufu blocking in front of them, practically jumped for joy.

But Dulufu didn’t even turn his head. His expression was grim.

“Call me Commander Dulufu! And now, take Lord Mann and that little girl and get out of sight. I don’t have the energy to babysat a bunch of dead weight!”