Book 10: Chapter 57: The Final Battle with Gan Luo (3)

Qin Lun looked calmly at his opponent in front of him. He felt deeply moved inside, and for some unknown reason, felt a slight pity for his opponent.

The Death Duel Shackles might not be a particularly powerful martial skill, but a forbidden ability that could force an opponent into close combat was undeniably important to a Martial Artist. It was like how Qin Lun’s Clock Eye assisted him in the Hunter profession.

If he were in Gan Luo’s position, Qin Lun did not think he would give up such an important ability just to win a single duel.

“You are a good opponent. As a reward for your honesty all along, I should give you equal information… You probably only have about ten minutes left. If you miss this time window, your chance of winning this battle will drop to less than ten percent!” Qin Lun lowered his eyes and spoke softly, almost in a whisper.

“Ten minutes? But the countdown still has over two hours left!” Gan Luo keenly sensed that Qin Lun was not bluffing. The translucent eyelids of his Mantis form lifted slightly, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face covered in dark green scales. “You… still have another card to play?”

“Isn’t that normal for someone like me?” Qin Lun put away his fake smile and said with a calm expression.

“Good, very good. Let me see it then!” A glint of excitement appeared in Gan Luo’s eyes.

Although his Mantis body was nearly broken and his stamina was almost exhausted, for some reason, when he personally severed the Duel Shackles, Gan Luo felt extremely comfortable all over. It was as if that strike had cracked open a slit in the door of his Martial Arts which had been stuck at a bottleneck, allowing a sliver of brilliant Divine Light to shine through from behind.

“Legendary Light! I never expected to achieve a breakthrough facing an opponent even a rank lower than myself!” Gan Luo looked at his opponent with quite complex feelings. However, he did not waste any more time. Slightly crouching down, an air wave exploded under his feet as he flashed through the gap between the two giant birds, charging toward Qin Lun.

Legendary Light! A rumor only circulated among High-Rank Apostles. It was said that each High-Rank Apostle only had a chance to advance to the next realm and become a Legendary existence capable of slaying gods in other worlds if they could “see” the Legendary Light of their own Martial Arts.

Devil’s Horn had tens of thousands of Apostles. Among them, nearly seven thousand were Professional Apostles, High-Rank Apostles numbered less than a hundred, and titled Legendary Apostles could be counted on one hand, every one of them a leader of a major team.

The number of Apostles in the Star Void was vast, but the power disparity between different ranks was enormous. Those without brains relying solely on brute force wouldn’t live long. Only by possessing both courage and wisdom, plus a bit of luck, could one pass ten Quest Worlds to become a First-Rank Apostle, taking the first step on the professional path.

But to advance further to the Second Order, some talent was needed. At the very least, one had to comprehend the Heart of the Strong of their own profession and understand the essence of that combat profession; otherwise, they would remain stuck at the First-Rank forever.

As for becoming a High-Rank Apostle like Gan Luo, talent alone wasn’t enough. One also needed to obtain certain opportunities in other dimensions, acquiring at least one type of forbidden ability related to their profession.

As for the Legendary Domain, that was even more elusive. Every High-Rank Apostle’s situation was different. Only by surpassing the profession framework set by the Star Void and walking their own unique path could they possibly push open the Martial Arts door to the Legendary Domain.

Therefore, in the Shattered Starry Sky, above the stable professional path of the Second Order level, very few could challenge opponents of higher ranks relying solely on their own combat power.

Take Qin Lun as an example. When he managed to repel a strong foe like Wolf, he also relied on various external factors. Otherwise, even if his Demon Hunter profession belonged to the peak combat power of the Second Order, he would have had no chance against a High-Rank Apostle.

“Clang!” Gan Luo’s blade arm chopped fiercely onto Qin Lun’s wing, producing a sound similar to metal clashing.

The two separated immediately after contact, passing by each other. Qin Lun’s whole body trembled slightly. A stream of golden blood spurted from the root of his wing behind him, dyeing the pitch-black Angel wing a brilliant gold. Every beat of his wing brought him intense pain.

His back had been struck by Gan Luo earlier, and later grabbed by the claw of one of the giant birds. Although he couldn’t see the wound, Qin Lun knew clearly that the cartilage at the wing root was severely injured. Compared to other injuries on his body, this one affected him the most.

However, Qin Lun still felt fortunate. If not for the incredibly robust quality of the Angel Body, which even far surpassed Gan Luo’s Mantis King Body, he would have been torn apart by his opponent long ago.

If not for the backup plan supporting his belief, he estimated he would have given up the fight already. Now that Gan Luo had earned his recognition, joining this Martial Artist’s team didn’t seem so hard to accept.

Gan Luo’s face was calm, but compared to Qin Lun, his actual condition was even worse. Thin traces of blood seeped out from under the scales covering his entire body. Gan Luo had no serious external injuries; the harm he suffered wasn’t in the physical realm. Due to overusing law power, his Mantis body was collapsing from the genetic level.

More than ten minutes had passed since they resumed fighting after Gan Luo severed the Duel Shackles. The giant birds that were initially attacking both of them had now disappeared. Perhaps intimidated by the fierce aura emanating from the two, or maybe they realized these two seemingly small creatures were actually stronger than them, the two giant birds wisely chose to retreat.

“It seems you’ve won this time!” Gan Luo suddenly looked up, gazing toward the horizon on the right, where two groups of small black dots were flying toward them one after another. “This world has no Apostle communication channel. Can you tell me how your people found this place?”

“The map. When we obtained the Final Gospel, the Angel Race gave us a topographic map of Paranto.” Qin Lun replied with a smile. “Combined with the exploration projections from our first two days entering Paranto, I marked several guerrilla routes on the map for them. Using the nests of Paranto’s powerful beasts, they could both delay and counterattack.”

“Although this area where we are fighting is a bit off the route I set for myself, it hasn’t left the search range of the Bingren Mecha. Actually, compared to the time limit I set, they are a few minutes late now!”

“It seems we shouldn’t have given you any preparation time back then. We should have attacked directly upon entering Paranto!” Gan Luo sighed, dismissing the thought of continuing the fight. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “The situation with the Order Front this time is very serious. Your victory won’t affect the overall situation. If Lost can no longer hold on, I hope you will prioritize joining my team!”

“I’ll consider it.” Qin Lun nodded. Watching the two groups of small black dots gradually approaching, he suddenly smiled at Gan Luo. “However, things here aren’t finished yet. Are you interested in cooperating first?”

“Oh?! There are still about two hours left anyway. What’s your proposal?” Gan Luo rubbed his chin with interest. Although he couldn’t exert much combat power anymore, among the approaching black dots, he had already spotted several members of his own side.

The two had fought a battle and actually became more familiar with each other. As long as no deadly grudge was formed, Apostles from opposing camps weren’t necessarily unable to cooperate.

…

“Qin Lun, are you alright?” Robin swooped down from high above, hovering beside Qin Lun.

“Sir, we’re here!” As Robin arrived, Alex and the others landed one by one.

Behind them, the Apostles from Chaos also arrived beside Gan Luo. Another part of the pursuers were the Guardians of Hismere. Led by Saintess Ruxin, they watched the two groups in front of them warily. Only the Chaos members originally left at the ruins to block Qin Mei’s team of seven Apostles were not here.

“Whew!” Seeing his companions arrive, Qin Lun let out a long breath. Finally unable to hold on, he spread his arms and hugged Robin, hanging his entire body on the beautiful team Leader.

“Hey, you…” Robin didn’t expect Qin Lun to suddenly “attack.” He hugged her tightly, causing a charming blush to instantly appear on her face. But seeing the young man covered in wounds, she had no choice but to hold him.

“Give him to me!” Frank, who was slightly slower, hurried over from behind. He took Qin Lun from Robin, his face full of worry.

With the arrival of the two groups of black dots, Qin Lun noticed that the three groups originally pursuing from the pyramid ruins had gathered together again.

The Gith Flight Officers, led by Alex, all seven Bingren were present, though their mechas were variously damaged. The mechas of the two girls Vera and Meri were each missing an arm.

As for Robin and the others, Loben and Dean were both there. However, two other First-Rank Apostles, Bobby and Sawa, were missing. Qin Lun scanned the area and finally spotted the two looking dejected in the Chaos team’s ranks.

Qin Lun gave them a helpless smile. He had also given them guerrilla routes, but their strength was somewhat lacking after all, and they were eventually caught by the pursuing Chaos members. Frank, on the other hand, with his thick skin and rough flesh, and his MT fighting style being well-suited to the new Angel Body, not only held off the pursuing Apostles but also helped the Loben brothers along the way during the rendezvous.

Furthermore, among all the assembled companions, Qin Lun also spotted an unexpected person: Balin, who was originally with Bowei and Huobiao, had also returned.

“Balin wasn’t caught by the Chaos people inside the ruins. However, the Gith Flight Officers from their group all sacrificed, and Bowei and Huobiao were captured alive by the Chaos members.” Seeing Qin Lun look toward Balin, Robin said meaningfully in a soft voice.

…

Apart from Gan Luo, there were six Apostles from Chaos who had pursued Robin and the others. The leader was “Spatial Manipulator” Wolf.

Actually, Wolf, who was pursuing Robin, did not actually fight her; they just had a friendly chat. Unlike Gan Luo, Wolf actually achieved his objective. Although Robin couldn’t immediately join the Holy Light Team, she indicated she would seriously consider it.

Wolf only needed this statement from Robin. The Order camp’s method of poaching from other teams was generally quite mild. Before Lost was defeated, it was naturally impossible for Robin to switch teams immediately.

“Black, release them!” Gan Luo glanced at the two captives in the team and couldn’t help but sigh. Their purpose for chasing into the Gospel World had basically failed.

Bobby and Sawa were excellent, but these two weren’t their original targets. Before meeting Qin Lun, their biggest target was actually Dean. Capturing people wasn’t the goal; if they couldn’t shake the Loben brothers’ confidence in the Order Front, they had failed.

Black looked at his team Leader in surprise. He had already realized that Gan Luo failed to defeat Qin Lun. Gan Luo, in his impression, was a very proud person. These words pretty much indicated he admitted defeat.

“Leader…” Black’s face looked somewhat grim.

“Don’t make such a sour face. Although I failed to capture that kid, I still want to thank him!” Gan Luo smiled and patted Black’s shoulder.

“Ah?” Black looked at his Leader, confused. He could feel that Gan Luo was indeed in a good mood, not at all like someone who had failed. “Then… what do we do now?”

“Heh, the mission isn’t over yet. Aren’t there still two hours left?” Gan Luo grinned, his gaze turning cold as he looked toward the Hismere Guardians on the other side. “That kid gave me a proposal. I think it’s not bad, and I estimate Wolf probably won’t object either.”