33. Tide of Blood (Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month~)

"Wait." Marn raised a hand and said, "I just want to go down."

The General and the leader of the Ascetics were walking toward him, but to them, Marn's words at this moment merely exposed his panic.

"The truth cannot get out," the General said with a sigh. "And as it happens, we are in need of a scapegoat strong enough to take the blame. So, do not blame yourself; this is not your fault."

Only a reasonable lie could calm the madmen under the Tiger King's command, whose lives were driven solely by blood and honor.

The Tiger King took a few steps forward, blocking Marn and Ning Changkong with her body:

"I apologize. I did not expect them to join forces."

"But I will hold them off. Once you leave this place, they will have no reason to continue their pursuit."

All four rulers were steadily advancing. Although the Tiger King bore no injuries, the bestial transformation on her forearms and lower legs began to spread across her body, and her aura climbed steadily.

Marn looked at Ning Changkong and said:

"Stay where you are."

He then turned around and stepped in front of the Tiger King.

"You want to test me, so I accept—not because I have any respect for your rules," Marn said casually. "But because it is more convenient this way."

"It seems the simplest method has changed."

He had not wanted to risk injury by fighting.

The Tiger King said in astonishment:

"You don't have to..."

"No, I just want to go down," Marn replied.

If he wanted to escape, he could have easily left using the flight ability he had just tested—this was certainly one of the skills he had mastered in the past.

But that was not a good idea.

His telekinesis swept out like a tsunami, crashing toward the four rulers. They merely faltered in their steps, while the attendants behind them ground to a halt. Yet, within seconds, the restraints upon them faded away.

Just as they felt that Marn's attacks could not stop their advance, the speed of three of the rulers slowed down before Marn's concentrated telekinetic pressure.

However, none of them stopped as Tier II ability users would have. The leader of the Ascetics, who had been the slowest among them, maintained his original pace and, in the blink of an eye, reached the front of the pack.

"A nice trick, but you have no chance of winning two against four," the Wanderer King said confidently, forcing his way forward against the telekinesis. "Our bodies are not as weak as your previous opponents."

No, he could not keep them all pinned in place.

As Marn tried to increase the intensity of his telekinesis, he felt a vague, stinging sensation beginning to climb up his spine toward his brain, as if...

A terrible memory he had long forgotten was resurfacing.

"Can you hold off the Ascetic and the Wanderer King?"

The Tiger King did not speak. By now, she looked half-human and half-tiger, her level of beast-transformation nearly catching up to the other rulers.

"Roar." With a growl, she lunged at the leader of the Ascetics in the lead. Her limbs crossed rapidly against the ground, her figure darting through the air like a blur before she tackled the black-robed figure, rolling on the ground as they tore at each other.

The Wanderer in the lead was about to reach them.

Marn withdrew the telekinesis from him and the Wanderer. The Wanderer King instantly appeared in front of the Tiger King and the Ascetic. The situation, where the Tiger King had held the upper hand, was instantly reversed; she began to struggle against the pair.

Blood stained the vision of all three, especially the Tiger King.

She could lose her life in this struggle at any moment.

But they did not notice that the General and the Cannibal King had stopped.

Marn looked at the Cannibal King.

He moved forward violently once more, but stopped immediately. The price was that the restraints on the General returned to their original intensity, and this ruler charged toward Marn once again.

There was about twenty meters between them.

The General's goal was to get close to Marn; fighting such an ability user at range was not a wise choice, especially since these beast-men were all particularly adept at close-quarters combat.

Seventeen meters.

Marn maintained his gaze on the Cannibal King.

Fourteen meters.

The Ascetic's black robe was torn to shreds by claws, revealing his scarred body underneath. The Wanderer King and the Tiger King both had several claw marks on them.

Eleven meters.

The Cannibal King watched Marn with an unchanging expression—the muscles in his face could not push away the powerful force surrounding him.

Eight meters.

The Tiger King had her left palm torn off by the Wanderer King's claws, her wrist dripping blood, while her mouth clamped down on the withered arm of the Ascetic. Three pairs of bloodthirsty eyes stared at one another.

Five meters.

The General raised his silver-white palm, accumulating a terrifying explosive force capable of tearing through metal, aimed at Marn's head.

Three meters.

The signs of beast-transformation on everyone in the fight inevitably intensified, their expressions long since replaced by madness and bloodlust, all forced to fight on instinct like wild beasts.

Two meters.

The General stepped toward Marn with a solemn expression, the tip of his hand, looking like sharpened metal, thrusting toward his head, about to pierce his skull.

One meter.

Marn withdrew his gaze and looked at the General.

He stopped, maintaining the posture of his right arm raised high.

"Are you next?" Marn asked.

Before he could understand the meaning of Marn's words, he heard a cry of alarm from the messenger.

Confused gazes swept across the plaza in disarray, but they saw nothing...

They also did not see the Cannibal King.

"Now it is two against three," he said, turning to look at the Wanderer King. "Do you think there is any chance of winning this way?"

The Wanderer and the Ascetic exchanged a glance, but before they could speak, the immobilized General shouted in terror:

"I surrender! I surrender! This was the Cannibal King's idea, and now that he is dead, we have no reason to continue fighting!"

He stared at Marn with a look of horror, fearing that he would repeat what he had done to the Cannibal King upon him.

Hearing the General's words, the Wanderer King and the Ascetic, who still possessed a hint of fighting spirit, pulled away with their scarlet eyes glowing;

"Very well, let's end it here."

Marn looked at the Tiger King and repeated the question he had just asked:

"Can you hold them off?"

She was stunned for a moment, then revealed a bloody grin.

Hearing this, the Wanderer King turned and headed directly toward Ning Changkong in the distance. Clearly, while Marn was still displaying his threat, he had already noticed the girl was following him.

But before he could take a few steps, he felt as if his feet had been shackled, making it difficult to walk. Then, the sound of a tiger's pounce came from behind him.

Marn looked at the General and shrugged:

"This is a fight you started, so it should be up to me to decide when it stops. You see, it seems I have no reason not to finish you all off, because that is a lower-risk plan for me."

"Is that not so?"

He looked curiously at the terrified General.

Then, the man learned exactly how the Cannibal King had felt.

The General could no longer feel his feet.

Then his legs, his hips, his waist, his chest, his hands, his neck...

Until his head.