Chapter 170: Mutual Destruction

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Mutual Destruction

Jeremy acknowledged that he wasn’t so absent-minded as to let someone approach him closely without noticing.

Through two years of being hunted by the family on Earth, followed by nearly a year of Griffin throwing him into various death traps, vigilance had become an instinct. Even while sleeping, the mere sound of unfamiliar footsteps within ten meters would cause him to open his eyes.

But Phoenix’s sentence made him start doubting whether he had missed something. His spiritual consciousness had been entirely focused on Phoenix just now. Perhaps...

At this moment, he could only be glad it wasn’t a stranger, but Lucius.

But why was he here?

Could it be that the hunting task was finished ahead of schedule?

Not going to Spirit Water City as agreed but heading straight to the Ice Dragon harem, slipping past all those layers of guards. Could there be some emergency that needed reporting immediately?

The train of thought only flashed by for an instant. Jeremy was just about to turn around and ask about the situation.

But before he could turn, an ice-blue longsword pierced through his body from behind.

There was no sound of wind. No warning killing intent. Only a freezing cold sensation stabbing into the middle of his back, then the sword tip protruding from his abdomen.

The pain exploded immediately after.

Jeremy looked down. The ice-blue sword tip protruded from his abdomen by the length of a hand; blood spilled out along the blade, dripping onto the stone floor. The red color filled his entire vision.

The magic power within his body rioted. It no longer flowed but surged, like countless tiny blades severing muscles and tendons from within. Jeremy coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

Fresh blood oozed incessantly from the corner of his lips, dripping down his chin.

Yet the sword still hadn’t stopped.

After piercing through the abdomen, it began to vibrate. A stream of ice magic power poured into his body from the blade, intending to shatter his internal organs from the inside.

Jeremy’s pupils constricted.

Astonishment. Confusion. Fury.

Countless things surged up simultaneously, colliding with each other, causing his mind to become a tangled mess for a moment.

But the threat of death right now was too clear, clearer than anything else.

Almost without needing to think, his body acted on its own.

He reached out with his left hand and grabbed the portion of the blade protruding from his abdomen. His palm was cut immediately. He ignored it, channeling all his magic power into his arm, pushing forcefully backward.

The sound of metal scraping against flesh was spine-chilling. Inch by inch, the sword was pushed back out of his body.

Jeremy acted as if he felt no pain. His expression was freezing cold, pale but not showing a single wrinkle. His eyes inadvertently tinged with a bit of killing intent.

The moment the sword tip left his flesh, the water-patterned bone blade appeared in his right hand. He spun around, not looking, stabbing forcefully backward based on intuition.

But that person dodged very nimbly. The bone blade only tore a piece of clothing.

Wind whistled in gusts within the cramped room. The ear-piercing clash of weapons echoed, bouncing off the four walls.

The illuminating light magic orb had extinguished at some unknown point - perhaps slashed apart during the first collision. The room sank back into darkness, with only dim moonlight filtering through the broken window gaps.

Jeremy coldly looked at the silhouette half-swallowed by darkness in front of him.

Long silver hair. A face faintly visible under the moonlight - the bridge of the nose, the jawline, the tear mole. Everything was Lucius. Even the cold scent like the first snow radiating from him matched.

But... so what.

The real Lucius had once shielded him in the glacier storm. The real Lucius had taken the brunt of five shattered shields for him.

The one who had just pierced through his body from behind was not him.

Jeremy didn’t stop. He knocked the longsword aside, the bone blade thrusting straight at the opponent’s heart.

As he tilted his body to dodge, Jeremy used the opponent’s sword blade as a pivot, stepping on it to vault into the air, then raised his leg to deliver a powerful kick to the abdomen.

Lucius couldn’t dodge in time. The kick, reinforced by full tier-five magic power, sent him flying backward, smashing straight into the far wall.

With a "crash". The wall cracked into a spiderweb pattern. Stone dust fell in showers.

Jeremy didn’t give him time to recover his stance. Twisting his wrist, the bone blade left his hand, shooting out like an arrow tearing through the wind.

Around the blade wrapped a layer of golden-red magic power, carrying a frantic killing intent that didn’t bother to hide.

"Do you want to die?"

Lucius’s expression gradually grew cold. He pushed himself up from the pile of rubble, raising his sword to block. The bone blade clashed with the Ice Prism Sword, emitting a piercing clang, bouncing back into Jeremy’s hand.

Seeing that reaction of anger born from embarrassment, the corner of Jeremy’s lips curled into a cold smile.

Mirror Image Prison and Death’s Abyss activated simultaneously.

Three mirror clones appeared around Lucius, lunging in together. From the cracks on the floor, undead thrust up, grabbing his legs.

While the opponent was entangled by the clones, Jeremy summoned his remaining weapon - the Azure Serenity flute - then spun around, closing in at an extremely fast speed.

Taking advantage of him still slashing apart the second clone, the flute in Jeremy’s hand acted like a sword, thrusting straight into his abdomen.

The sound of tearing flesh rang out distinctly, accompanied by a short groan of pain.

But Jeremy didn’t stop his hands. He continued pushing, only yanking it out forcefully when the flute body completely pierced through the opponent’s body and the tip emerged from his back.

A spout of blood spurted out following it.

Lucius looked down, glancing at the bloody, punctured hole in his abdomen. Then he looked up, sneering, blood oozing from the corner of his lips:

"As expected of the Captain. Truly formidable..."

A bizarre intonation, dragged out at the end of the sentence. That frivolous manner resembled the real Lucius up to eighty percent - but lacked exactly twenty percent of the laziness, replaced by naked malice.

It truly infuriated people.

Jeremy retreated to widen the distance, his left hand pressing tightly against the wound on his abdomen, gritting his teeth to suppress the pain. Then he coldly mocked:

"Does an imposter even deserve to open his mouth?"

"Disguising yourself as someone else because you have no shame? Or are you so ugly you have no face left to show anyone?"

It was unclear which sentence touched his limit.

The face of the person in front visibly distorted. His cheek muscles twitched. The frivolous smile vanished, replaced by an expression so gloomy it no longer resembled Lucius at all.

He raised his sword, charging forward again, faster and more ferocious.

This person, whether in appearance or intonation, was exactly identical to the real one. Even the ash-gray wings and the Celestial race mark on the back of his neck were no different from when they reunited in the Aetheris Holy City a few days ago.

It was definitely the same person who had given him the Illusion Dream Pearl.

Jeremy thought while blocking the attacks. He wasn’t sure if he was being controlled like Phoenix earlier, or if he had been a fake from the very beginning. Those few sentences just now were merely to probe.

But judging by that extreme reaction - the real Lucius, when called ugly, would only smile and ignore it - the truth seemed to lean towards the latter.

And if he was indeed a fake, then since when had he been fake?

Midway, after separating on the battlefield?

Or right from the moment they met in the Aetheris Holy City?

Or did real teammates fundamentally not exist in this illusion, and everything he was familiar with was constructed from his own memories?

The pain from the wound grew more intense by the second. Blood still seeped through his fingers. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his complexion gradually turning pale. Jeremy’s mind was currently as tangled as a ball of yarn.

Suddenly remembering something, he glanced at Phoenix.

The person who had been standing by the edge of the bed all this time, not lifting a finger, like an outsider watching a play.

But what appeared on his face wasn’t the astonishment or panic of someone who had just seen two teammates stab each other. But rather... cold killing intent.

The bewildered, confused look from earlier had vanished. As if it had never existed.

Jeremy now didn’t even have the strength left to analyze.

Those two didn’t give him time to breathe either. Phoenix raised his hand, a water blade net forming in front. Lucius raised his sword, ice aura surging up behind. A pincer attack from front and back.

The offensive was too fierce, almost leaving no gap.

Faced with that damn situation, Jeremy could only reluctantly defend himself.

He summoned the bone blade again, one hand holding the blade, the other holding the flute.

Facing two streams of attacks crashing down simultaneously, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Tapping his toes on the ground, bending his waist, tilting his body, he somersaulted through the only gap in the water blade net from an extremely tight angle. A thread of water blade grazed past his cheek, leaving a bleeding streak.

The moment he landed, Jeremy’s first reaction was to escape quickly.

The palace door was right ahead, less than ten steps away.

But before he could get close, the rapid sound of footsteps echoed from outside. Not one person. It was dozens of people, their steps uniform.

"..."

An ominous premonition surged up.

Jeremy looked ahead. The previously tightly shut door burst open. Dozens of dragonkin entered, lining up in two rows.

The pitch-black hall abruptly lit up with countless magic lamps, lighting up one by one along the walls. Even the desolate courtyard outside was as bright as day.

That courtyard was now entirely surrounded by Ice Dragon soldiers. Not a single gap remained.

They wore uniform dark blue dragon scale military uniforms, wearing silver-black demon masks covering the upper half of their faces. No one said a word. The magic power leaking from them gathered into a mass, pressing down on the room like a block of ice, terrifyingly majestic.

Jeremy had read a bit about them when browsing documents in the Mermaid library.

He was certain this was the Light Guard — the force dedicated to protecting the Ice Dragon royal family.

Also the strongest squad of the entire race. In the Mermaid historical records, every time this name appeared, it meant the death of a Mermaid prince.

There was a total of only one hundred people. Yet the number surrounding the courtyard and standing in the hall alone reached thirty. The lowest realm was also at tier six. The auras of the few standing at the front of the line were even heavier - tier seven.

A few people stepped forward, consecutively dropping to one knee, saluting Phoenix and Lucius:

"Ninth Prince. Seventeenth Prince. You two please rest. Leave this place to us."

Prince?

Phoenix was the seventeenth prince - the person lying on the bed earlier, the person he intended to assassinate. That much was understandable.

But wasn’t Lucius of the Celestial race?

Right as that doubt kindled, in the hand of Lucius - who still bore the ash-gray wings of a Celestial - appeared an opaque white pearl.

Restoration Pearl. The thing used to neutralize the effect of the Illusion Dream Pearl.

He swallowed it, his face expressionless.

The ash-gray wings on his back shrank and then disappeared. The Celestial mark on the back of his neck faded. In their place, patches of dark blue dragon scales appeared on his neck and arms, and two short horns emerged from his silver hair.

All Celestial characteristics vanished, revealing the inherent traits of the Ice Dragon race.

But the appearance was still Lucius.

Jeremy’s temples throbbed incessantly.

...Why hadn’t he thought of it.

If the Illusion Dream Pearl could turn him from a Mermaid into an Ice Dragon, then it could also turn an Ice Dragon into a Celestial. And he had two pearls. And he gave one to him without asking any questions.

The current situation was already too clear. From the very beginning, he had stepped into a trap set by someone else. And he himself had stated his objective, led the way, and walked straight into the enemy’s lair.

But exactly since when?

Since the moment he entered the Aetheris Holy City and saw that silver hair amidst the crowd? Or since separating from him at the outer ring of the Ice Dragon battlefield?

Were Lucius and Phoenix right now ultimately illusions molded by the illusion from his memories - using the faces of the people he trusted to kill him?

Or were they real people, only their bodies and consciousness had been taken over, just like when his speech was blocked, only much more severe?

Countless unanswerable questions left Jeremy bewildered.

Blood from the wound on his abdomen had already soaked his clothes, dripping onto the floor into a small puddle at his feet.

But exactly one thing was as clear as day: facing all these tier-six, even tier-seven powerhouses, in a room with no exit, with a hole pierced straight through his body - the probability of him escaping was zero.