Novel Full Chapter 592 The Stage All Set - I
At the very moment Boneblade and Redhawk prepared to flee, an enraged roar reverberated from the heights of the stands.
Amidst the thunderous clamor, a woman with dark brown skin and a wild aura leaped from the stands, plummeting like a meteor from the sky. Boneblade and Redhawk, drenched in sweat and fleeing in different directions, didn’t need to look back to know who it was; their meticulous research on the Whistling Legion’s main forces stationed at Dispute Fortress had informed them well.
Inothea Vaka, the woman and deputy of Bryce Palmer Leo, the second-in-command of the Whistling Legion, a seasoned and formidable fourth-stage extraordinary being, represented the greatest obstacle to their mission.
In this scenario, her presence was inevitable. Had it not been for that unprofessional adventurer who thrust the proof of completed commission into their hands, Boneblade and Redhawk, mingling among numerous adventurers, would have had little risk of being discovered.
But, alas, there were no ifs.
The violent wind pressure roared from above, and merely the gusts stirred by her sheer physical might made the duo feel the threat of death.
The shadow of the end descended from the sky, and Inothea, clad in leather armor, with a ferocious expression like a hunting lioness, swooped down. Her hand, clawing like a beast, clutched Redhawk’s head. In that instant, Boneblade’s world seemed to slow down. Find exclusive stories on empire
Time seemed to flow languidly as he first witnessed Redhawk’s neck bending at an absurd near-ninety-degree angle. Then, the savage force continued to transmit through, causing his entire spine to bend and shatter. The fragile body, unable to withstand such brutality, burst into a spray of blood mist.
With the spine fractured, Redhawk’s body twisted like noodles, writhing like waves, followed by a resounding—
“Crack!”
It wasn’t a boom but the sound of flesh crushed against the ground, pulverized by immense force.
Before Inothea lay a crater, filled with a mixture of blood and bone fragments. Outside the crater, Redhawk’s lower half still twitched incessantly.
In that seemingly frozen moment, Boneblade caught a glimpse of Redhawk’s gaze—a look telling him to run.
Perhaps at that moment, he still harbored thoughts of counterattacking to stall Inothea, but such thoughts only had time to rise before his upper body was crushed by a single hand, leaving a mangled corpse.
When Boneblade regained awareness, Inothea was already stepping over Redhawk’s body, each step leaving bloody footprints, slowly approaching him.
With each step, the oppressive murderous intent on Boneblade’s shoulders intensified.
The man felt no fear, fully aware of his fate. Yet, he still slowly assumed a stance, with joints proliferating bone blades, his expression fierce as he prepared for a desperate fight.
Escape was impossible, nor did he intend to flee.
Inothea clearly intended to keep him alive, to interrogate his origins and motives… and this provided Boneblade with a chance to manipulate. He would seize this opportunity to divert Inothea and the Whistling Legion’s attention elsewhere.
This was the worst-case scenario, one Boneblade had long been prepared for.
But as he roared and charged at Inothea, swinging his bone blades, the indifferent face of the black-haired youth flashed in his mind.
Why was he doing this?
Why hadn’t Inothea killed him first… but instead come to kill us?
The brown-skinned woman struck Boneblade with a single punch, leaving him half-dead.
Expressionless, she dragged Boneblade toward the black-haired youth standing in the open, making no move to leave.
“Lock him up, you know what to do without me saying,” Inothea said, tossing Boneblade like a dead pig to the approaching Whistling Legion adventurers. She then faced the madman who dared, in this time and place, before countless adventurers, and even on a broadcast, to kill a key member of the Whistling Legion stationed here.
And that madman was looking right back at her.
The black blade in his hand lightly touched the ground, the weapon seemingly cursed with some horrific spell, emitting a hellish black glow under the sun.
“Care to try?”
The adventurer slightly raised his chin. “Or perhaps…”
He turned his gaze to the phantom at the highest point of the stands. “Are you planning to call for reinforcements?”
Everyone present knew who that phantom was.
The Duke of Azuregold, ruler of a quarter of the Western lands, the Empire’s most outstanding merchant, a natural profiteer, and a pure hedonist… Namo Azuregold.
This adventurer dared to directly challenge the Duke!
“He’s… he’s Faust!”
A voice of incredulous shock rang out from the crowd.
“Faust? The real one?”
“There’s been an active Faust recently… but wasn’t he said to be a fake who only took on commoner commissions and had no real skills?”
“Rubbish! This guy’s strength is inhuman! I saw him kill a third-stage extraordinary being with just a glare!”
“But why would Faust be working for commoners in Dispute Fortress?”
“Who else but Faust would dare challenge the Duke?”
The increasingly loud clamor reached the Duke of Azuregold’s ears, causing a slight change in his expression.
“Faust…”
He murmured, recalling the meaningful intelligence from Lord Hydral.
[He defeated the devil and will return like the blazing sun.]
The blazing sun… returns?
The Duke of Azuregold tugged at the corner of his mouth, suppressing a smile.
The name Faust carried a weight in the Western Lands that outsiders could hardly grasp.
He was the first adventurer, without any backing, who could confront the Duke of Wyvern and retreat unscathed.
Adventurers revered freedom above all, but ultimately, the four powerful Dukes always loomed over them.
The courage and strength to battle a Duke were dreams every adventurer aspired to, making Faust a legend.
Moreover… the Duke of Wyvern was indisputably the strongest in the Western Land in terms of sheer combat power and was a top contender in the entire Empire.
A monster who dared to challenge such a formidable figure three years ago, a legend, an individual whom Lord Hydral had designated as “returning like the blazing sun,” couldn’t possibly be a person hiding in Dispute Fortress, performing tasks for commoners and seeking attention in such a ridiculous manner.
The real Faust… upon returning, should have, as Lord Hydral prophesized, stormed into the Desolate Dragon Valley and incinerated Wyvern and his damned reptiles with the ferocity of the blazing sun!
–>