Chapter Fifty-Three: Looking Down…

The battle had clearly entered its final phase.

The thunder of gunfire from the other side had ceased over twenty minutes ago. The people of Celestial Palace had fired their last bullets long since, and now the fight had devolved into hand-to-hand combat.

In terms of numbers, Celestial Palace held an absolute advantage. Yet when it came to evolutionary rank and preparation, the Wolf of Greed’s forces were overwhelmingly superior.

Moreover, the Wolf of Greed’s men were savagely ruthless, striking with lethal precision and almost never sparing a life. Most of Celestial Palace’s people were already wounded from their last battle against the Golden Direbird. Under such a ferocious assault, their casualties were disastrous.

Though Celestial Palace fielded a few elite squads composed of Silver-rank evolvers, their numbers paled compared to those of the Wolf of Greed.

By the time the onslaught subsided, the Wolf of Greed had certainly suffered losses, but compared to the carnage they had inflicted, their casualties were negligible.

The snow had long since been stained crimson, corpses strewn about in grotesque disarray. The Wolf of Greed’s men wore snow ghillie suits, but now those suits were drenched in blood, radiating an aura of death so chilling that the already frigid air seemed to drop another degree.

At this point, Celestial Palace’s defeat was all but certain.

It wasn’t just the ordinary evolvers—Lin Chuyin and the other two Gold-rank evolvers had been driven back again and again, until at last they were encircled by four Gold-rank members of the Wolf of Greed.

Their current state was one of utter desperation, faces streaked with blood—whose, they could no longer tell.

They panted, spent, their stamina exhausted to the limit. After all, they had clashed with the Golden Direbird for nearly two hours before this!

To be frank, that they had held out this long against the Wolf of Greed’s sudden ambush was already beyond the bounds of human endurance.

On Lin Chuyin’s exquisite face, there was now only stubborn resolve. Pale, she gritted her teeth, still refusing to yield, though her entire body trembled involuntarily. The gene energy at the surface of her skin had grown dim; she was spent.

Beside her, Luo Yu gasped for breath, her once pure and lovely features now deathly white. Yet she too gritted her teeth, desperately squeezing out the last traces of gene energy to meet the enemy’s advance.

As for Fu Hui, the man among them, he was staggering, his steps faltering. As the Mad Blade, he was the fastest and most agile of the three, but now even he could barely remain on his feet.

Yet even so, he did not retreat. Pale-faced, he inhaled deeply through his nose, striving with all his might to regain his composure.

Even in such straits, all three glared fiercely at their four golden-ranked assailants, so menacingly that their foes dared not grow careless.

A thunderous clash erupted once more. This time, the enemy’s Mad Blade, ever circling at the periphery to divide their attention, seized the opportunity, his blade flashing toward Lin Chuyin like lightning.

She reacted, but exhaustion had sapped her strength, leaving her unable to defend.

The blade struck her shoulder.

Blood spurted instantly.

Lin Chuyin’s face turned even paler, but she suddenly summoned a surge of power, swinging her massive blade in a mighty arc.

The Mad Blade, having landed his blow, leapt back out of reach; her counterstrike struck only air.

Lin Chuyin staggered back, blood streaming from her shoulder.

A thread of gene energy rushed to the wound, staunching the blood flow somewhat.

But dizziness washed over her.

She was at her limit.

Wielding a heavy blade, she had been forced into head-on clashes again and again, depleting her reserves the most.

“There’s no way out now. Chuyin, you and Luo Yu find a chance to escape—I’ll cover you.” Fu Hui’s voice came softly through the earpiece.

“Fu Hui, what are you saying? If we go, we go together; if we stay, we stay together!” Luo Yu, gasping for breath, rejected him without hesitation.

“Don’t be stubborn!” Fu Hui barked, then took two deep breaths and spoke rapidly: “It’s clear there’s no room for mercy—they’ve come to kill. I know you and Chuyin are special and both have escape gene seeds. I may be fast, but I don’t have an escape seed. In this situation, I can’t get away. But you can. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment now.”

“But—!” Luo Yu’s eyes filled with panic, words caught in her throat.

“Listen to me! Even though these people wear masks, I’ve mostly figured out who they are… If I’m right, they’re from the Wolf of Greed. That heavy blade over there—that’s their deputy commander, Zhou Potian. If you escape, you’ll have a chance to avenge me. Do you understand?!”

Fu Hui’s low growl cut through the chaos.

“I…” Luo Yu, who had endured wounds and despair, never wavering until now, could not hold back her tears.

She was completely at a loss.

Reason told her Fu Hui was right.

But emotionally, she could not accept such an ending!

“Enough. I won’t allow it.” Luo Yu hadn’t spoken, but Lin Chuyin’s hoarse voice rose up.

She looked in pain toward the nearby Silver-rank battlefield—Gold-ranked evolvers fought their own battles, Silver-ranked could not intervene. The battlefield had split into two camps: gold against gold, silver against silver.

Now, on the silver side, Celestial Palace’s people were nearly wiped out, only a few dozen clinging to life, each wounded. Their reserves were nearly exhausted; it was clear they could not last much longer.

“This is my fault—I brought you here, and now you’re in this predicament because of me… If I run to save myself, would I still be human?” Lin Chuyin’s teeth nearly cracked from the force of her jaw. She drew a deep breath and said, “If someone stays behind, it should be me.”

With that, she suddenly raised her voice: “All Celestial Palace groups, listen up! If you’re still alive, retreat immediately! The murderers are from the Wolf of Greed! Anyone who can, contact the commander at once—report everything that’s happened here!!”

In the end, she issued the order to retreat…

It was bitterly hard to accept.

She even regretted not giving the order sooner, costing so many lives.

But there was no alternative—she could not have ordered a retreat while Celestial Palace still had the strength to fight. Otherwise, those who died at the start would have perished for nothing.

After all, their strength had simply been overmatched, and there was nothing to be done. Their enemies had planned every move, lying in wait and striking when least expected.

“What? The Wolf of Greed?!”

“Those filthy wolves!!”

“I’ll never forgive you!”

Upon hearing Lin Chuyin’s words, the Celestial Palace survivors erupted in fury. At last they knew their enemy’s identity, and their eyes brimmed with bloodlust.

Their losses had been catastrophic; many of their dearest friends had died at the hands of these foes.

“So, you’ve discovered us… I told them we couldn’t stay hidden, but they refused to believe me.” The heavy-blade wielder suddenly laughed. As he spoke, he tore off his mask, revealing a face that radiated a natural, intimidating authority.

His gaze was fierce, domineering.

He looked over the three gold-ranked evolvers who glared at him with gritted teeth, and smirked. “There’s a saying… ‘See through but don’t expose.’ The wisdom of the ancients. If you’d kept quiet about our identities, we might have hesitated, unable to use our signature gene combat techniques, and you could have lasted longer… But since you revealed us, you’re just asking to die faster. Isn’t that foolish?”

His tone was mocking, his smile tinged with contempt, utterly assured of victory.

Lin Chuyin stared at him, her face pale. She was petite, and facing Zhou Potian—over two meters tall, his body packed with muscle—the difference in stature was comical.

Yet there was no fear on her face. Instead, she replied coolly, “Zhou Potian, you took advantage of our unpreparedness and struck while we were vulnerable, so naturally you have the upper hand. That’s not anyone else’s fault—I was careless. In a fight to the death, anything goes. But your words are truly disgusting… If we met in open battle, both at our peak, would you dare boast in front of me?”

Her tone was icy, but her words dripped with unyielding pride.

Zhou Potian paused, then a cold sneer flickered in his eyes. “The most renowned female heavy-blade on the battlefield—your reputation is deserved. But so what? Today, you die. Don’t tell me you think such a crude provocation would work on me?”

“Provocation? You’re not worthy.”

Lin Chuyin’s retort was sharp as a viper’s bite, leaving Zhou Potian’s face twitching with anger, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.

She continued, calm as ever: “In a fight to the death, any means are fair. But let’s not kid ourselves—you know exactly what advantage you’ve taken. Don’t say things that disgust others and yourself. Looking down at your own crotch, the more you look, the bigger it seems? Take a little advantage and you think you’re invincible? How pathetic.”

Her words left Zhou Potian dumbfounded.

Even Luo Yu and Fu Hui beside her were stunned.

They looked at Lin Chuyin as if she were some celestial being come to earth.

“Sis, ahem, maybe… rein it in a bit…” Luo Yu, blushing, cleared her throat, trying to remind Lin Chuyin.

Lin Chuyin sniffed, then glanced at Zhou Potian’s now liver-red face. “That fool disgusted me, that’s all. Sorry, a bit out of line—won’t happen again.”

Utterly defeated in war of words, Zhou Potian felt his very manhood trampled. Enraged beyond all measure, his eyes went bloodshot. “Kill them all! Leave no one alive!!”

With a roar, his heavy blade swung, cleaving toward Lin Chuyin…