Book 10: Chapter 55: Duel to the Death (One)

The ancient civilization of the Earth Federation had gladiator slaves. The middle and upper classes made bankrupt citizens and prisoners of war fight each other to the death in the arena for entertainment. One mode of this was known as the death duel.

The slave owners in the arena would chain two gladiators by the neck or ankle, forcing them to fight face-to-face with no escape. This duel was extremely bloody and had a high death rate because it limited the gladiators’ movement. It was a very popular mode of combat with the audience.

The Death Duel Shackles skill Gan Luo was using now imitated this kind of binding chain.

However, this ability, which forcibly shackled another Apostle through sheer power of attack, belonged to a banned law. It placed enormous restrictions on the user and placed a heavy burden on them. At best, it could permanently lower physical stats; at worst, it could lead to the collapse of the law body.

Most Apostles who reached the High Rank possessed one or two such forbidden skills as a final card. Like when Wolf faced Qin Lun’s berserk Reaper Spear during the battle on the Cosmic Octopus’s surface, he used a similar forbidden move. As a result, he fell into extreme weakness and was defeated by the arriving Gan Luo.

A long, thin silver chain reached out from another dimension, binding Qin Lun’s Apostle Soul Mark.

“A binding skill?” Qin Lun was shocked at the discovery, renewing his understanding of High-Rank Apostle abilities.

Though only minutes separated them in travel time, that still meant hundreds of kilometers. Using a skill to restrain him from such a distance was almost god-like.

“Won’t make it to the next destination!” Feeling the heavy pull from the chain, Qin Lun knew this fight was unavoidable.

He had planned an escape route using his memories of the Paranto map, passing by nests of powerful creatures to buy enough time to return to the Star Void.

But the stronger the creature, the larger its territory. The next prepared destination was at least half-hour away from the Three-Eyed Tribe’s village. Given the current situation, he wouldn’t last that long.

Thinking this, Qin Lun slightly slowed his flight. He strained his eyes to look back.

“He seems strained too?” The initial shock faded, and Qin Lun’s powerful senses detected that Gan Luo’s energy aura felt slightly weaker than before.

Such a powerful skill couldn’t have no restrictions. A sharp glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. He spread his dark wings and actually dragged Gan Luo forward through the air again.

“Still escaping?” Gan Luo stumbled as he was pulled, feeling stunned. “Doesn’t he fear exhausting his stamina and affecting the later fight?”

Whether Gan Luo understood it or not, he had no choice. He repeatedly yanked on the shackles, trying hard to narrow the distance between them.

After doing this over ten times, Gan Luo finally realized his opponent was deliberately using his stamina to drag him forward. Qin Lun had clearly seen through the heavy burden the Death Duel Shackles placed on its user and was dragging out the shackling time.

Understanding this, Gan Luo calmed down, feeling a pang of regret. He had never encountered this situation before when using the Death Duel Shackles.

There were several reasons for that. The biggest reason was that when his main body was still his Law Body, the Death Duel Shackles, while a banned skill, wasn’t nearly as powerful as it was now. It could only bind opponents within a hundred meters.

Within that distance, just a few leaps or one charge skill let him catch up to his enemy. Even including the whole fight, it never took more than a few minutes.

Now, Gan Luo was in the body of the Insectoid Mantis King. Relying on this vastly stronger body, he could shackle an enemy hundreds of kilometers away. Of course, in space, covering hundreds of kilometers was instantaneous.

The problem was they weren’t in space. They were on the Paranto plane with its atmosphere. The shackle’s range hadn’t decreased, but their movement speed couldn’t compare to space travel.

The two slowly moved away, both struggling with the situation, finally leaving the Three-Eyed Tribe’s lands.

Shortly after their departure, a strong wind whipped through the air above the Three-Eyed Tribe village. A strangely willful wisp of smoke coalesced at the village entrance into three human figures: two women and one man. These were Qin Mei and her two subordinates, Junko, and the bald man.

At the heart of the village gate, the dozen or so Three-Eyed Giants who had blocked Gan Luo earlier weren’t dead. They were grievously wounded on the legs, clutching their injuries and groaning in agony.

The Three-Eyed Giants were massive with thick skin and flesh. Gan Luo had only broken their legs to save time; he hadn’t chosen to slaughter them completely. Otherwise, by the time he killed these giants, Qin Lun would have long vanished.

“Hehe, I knew Brother would find a way to shake off that ugly bug!” Qin Mei looked at the wounded giants littering the ground. A trace of delight shone in her eyes as she thought happily, “Looks like there’s no need to rush to meet Brother!”

“Lady Mei, should we keep pursuing?” the bald man asked weakly. “If those two notice someone following, they might join forces against us first. If that happens, we’re better off intercepting a few of the weaker Second Order targets.”

Out of the three, besides Qin Mei and Junko, the bald man didn’t know about Qin Lun and Qin Mei’s sibling bond. And because they feared following too closely and entering the other two’s perception range, they were unaware Gan Luo used the “Death Duel Shackles” to force Qin Lun into battle.

“Hmm, you’re right. This time, I’ll listen to you!” Qin Mei’s eyes curved into crescents as she chuckled and patted the bald man’s shoulder.

“Uh…” Seeing Qin Mei so agreeable made the bald man feel an eerie chill instead. He clamped his mouth shut.

…

As time passed, Gan Luo closed the distance between himself and Qin Lun to within a kilometer. However, his own body felt unusually heavy, itchy and painful all over. He was utterly exhausted. The immense drain of the Duel Shackles had pushed even the powerful Mantis King’s body close to its limit.

Gan Luo was now in deep trouble though. Once unleashed, the Death Duel Shackles were not easily undone. To break the shackle’s binding law required either killing his opponent or making the opponent utterly drop their mental defenses. Doing so, however, would allow Gan Luo to learn the opponent’s Apostle ID.

The other method was for Gan Luo to forcibly sever the chain himself. But the side effects were far worse. Voluntarily breaking the chain would not only cause him to lose this skill forever but also greatly reduce his Soul Life Limit.

“More than ten minutes! Can’t drag it out any longer!” Gan Luo gritted his teeth. He slammed his palms together again and viciously yanked the invisible law chain.

Gan Luo’s pull instantly caused a reaction ahead. Qin Lun’s flight momentum faltered again. This time, however, Qin Lun didn’t get pulled backwards. Instead, Gan Luo himself staggered, barely managing to stay airborne.

“Heh, he must be near his limit too!” Qin Lun chuckled softly, though he wasn’t feeling great either. Sweat soaked him, and he was gasping like a bellows.

Qin Lun closed his eyes, recalling the landscape he’d seen on projections. Seeing the steep cliff ahead appear, a flicker of excitement finally crossed his face.

“Almost time. We must be inside that creature’s territory now!”

Qin Lun took a deep breath. Flapping his dark wings, he turned and hovered in the air, calmly waiting for Gan Luo.

Seeing Qin Lun stop fleeing, Gan Luo also slowed his flight speed. He cautiously halted in the air about three hundred meters away. At this distance, they could reach each other instantly. Both were well within attack range.

“Not running anymore?” Gan Luo’s eyelids twitched violently as he stared intently, his expression complex.

“If I can’t escape, why bother?” Qin Lun replied with a light laugh.

You knew you couldn’t escape, yet you wasted so much effort dragging me along! Hearing this, Gan Luo’s cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably. “I don’t know what promises or rewards Lost offered you. But with your disposition, the Chaos Alliance suits you better. You’ll join eventually. Why lie to yourself?”

Qin Lun fell silent. Gan Luo’s words were bluntly true, leaving him little room for lies.

Seeing Qin Lun speechless, Gan Luo pressed his advantage immediately. “Join my team. I guarantee giving all of you core member status. Once we’ve weathered the integration period, I’ll make you paramount members. How does that sound?”

“All of us?” Qin Lun caught the hint in Gan Luo’s words. “You tried recruiting my companions?”

“Not me personally. Other High-Rank Apostles from Chaos sub-teams made contact with ‘The Disciple’ and ‘Clown Grant’.” Gan Luo gave a serious nod. “But they all deferred the decision to you, their Leader.”

“‘The Disciple’ and ‘Clown Grant’?” Qin Lun realized at once. “The Disciple” referred to Disciple Hansen, and “Clown Grant” was obviously the alias for Clown Grant.

“Those two put the decision on me?” Qin Lun managed a pained smile. He had initially felt he owed his companions like Disciple for making them contribute this time. Now it seemed they were the ones who owed him.

No wonder Gan Luo had been hellbent on pursuing him, resorting to a forbidden skill with such heavy side effects. It wasn’t just for him alone.

“Beat me, and I’ll take your offer. As for the others,” Qin Lun stated with open sincerity, “I can’t give you any guarantees. That depends entirely on their own choice.”

He didn’t outright refuse Gan Luo. In truth, he didn’t dare. He knew he’d toyed with Gan Luo by dragging things out. If Gan Luo felt all his efforts were wasted, he might truly go for the kill.

Though Qin Lun still had a final trump card, his opponent was a High-Rank Apostle. Even weakened by the shackles, exhausted physically and mentally, Qin Lun still saw his chances of winning as under fifty percent.

“Fine!” Gan Luo wasted no more words. His figure blurred, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he surged toward Qin Lun.