A battle's course was never driven by the defending side.
How this surprise attack would unfold wasn't for Da Yi or Poison to decide. The one truly steering the situation was the ambusher.
In other words...
Cheng Shi!
Yes — the mastermind behind this ambush was indeed Cheng Shi!
And he wasn't hiding behind the scenes. Shortly after the Chaleon drove the three back, he appeared on the rooftop of a civilian house flanking the alleyway.
Under [Silence]'s cover, none of the three had detected the Fate Weaver lurking at their side — barely a hundred ters above their heads!
The mont Cheng Shi revealed himself, he pulled out three colorful spheres with an amused expression and lobbed them behind the trio in the alley. Simultaneously, his left hand flicked open five scalpels, launching them one after another at Da Yi in the vanguard.
The spheres burst on impact, billowing clouds of smoke. The blades flew true, aid straight at Da Yi's face.
It appeared the smoke was a diversion, while his real target was the most combat-capable of the three — Da Yi, the [War] assassin!
Da Yi frowned but stayed calm. Rather than charging forward, he spun his Iron Thorns in a dazzling blur, effortlessly deflecting the incoming scalpels while keeping an eye on the Chaleon ahead to guard against a follow-up ambush.
But the two behind him didn't have it so easy.
Poison knew Cheng Shi's tactics. She didn't believe the smoke detonating behind them was harmless. So she leapt onto the rooftop, facing Cheng Shi across the gap of the alley.
Jiang Chi's expression darkened further. He swept his sword in whirling arcs, blasting the spreading smoke backward.
Any keen observer could see that while the knives thrown at Da Yi were fast and accurate, they were almost too accurate — all five aid at dead center, unvarying trajectories, textbook-rigid. It was hard not to wonder whether Cheng Shi was using this to send Da Yi a ssage.
Jiang Chi's heart lurched. Better safe than sorry — he retreated.
He feared Cheng Shi was about to team up with Da Yi to eliminate him first. So the second Poison darted away, he too leapt onto the rooftop at the alley's far end, putting distance between himself and his "teammates."
And then ca the most absurd outco.
The ambusher had fired a single feint — and the three-person team instantly shattered.
Cheng Shi seed to have anticipated exactly this. He smirked, drinking in their stricken faces.
As for why it was a feint — the three colored spheres contained absolutely nothing special. They were ordinary smoke grenades Cheng Shi had collected ages ago.
Their only purpose: creating chaos in low-level matches for fishing in troubled waters. Since he'd started matching into high-level gas, these bottom-tier tools hadn't seen use in a long ti.
But "no special effects" didn't an nothing was hiding inside the smoke.
When the cloud Jiang Chi had blown away drifted to the alley's end, a blood-curdling scream erupted from within. A blindingly fast figure burst from the smoke and lunged straight at Jiang Chi — razor claws extended, face contorted in savagery.
The hidden killer in the smoke was none other than Gongyang Jiao!
"Gongyang Jiao!! You're alive!?"
Jiang Chi's pupils contracted violently. His face twisted in shock. The Hour Hand Sword couldn't swing in ti. He pitched backward in a clumsy dodge — the crudest possible evasion of this utterly unexpected strike.
But the distance was too short. A warrior's burst closed the gap before Jiang Chi could escape. The Pointer Knight watched, mid-fall, as Gongyang Jiao's savage grin filled his vision — cheeks perfectly intact. The man was clearly at peak physical and spiritual condition!
"I taste your fear, Knight. You're afraid!"
'He'd been resurrected!?'
'And the Fate Weaver had healed him!?'
'But wasn't Gongyang Jiao sent to kill Cheng Shi? Why had Cheng Shi brought him back!?'
'Seriously? Was this so kind of illness?'
'The prey killed the hunter, then resurrected the hunter, and now they were hunting new prey together?'
'What kind of absurd behavior was this!?'
Jiang Chi couldn't make sense of it. But there was no ti left to think. Gongyang Jiao's claws were already buried in his shoulder, slamming him down.
To the onlookers, the backward-toppling Jiang Chi looked as though the maniacal Gongyang Jiao had tackled him off the wall. The two bodies overlapped and vanished from sight.
But in the instant Jiang Chi was knocked off the wall, the savage grin on Gongyang Jiao's face suddenly froze.
Not just him — the entire space behind the wall froze.
[Ti]'s power seeped silently from Jiang Chi's left hand, freezing everything before him solid.
But Jiang Chi didn't counter-attack. Instead, he drove his sword into Gongyang Jiao's shoulder, used the leverage to fling himself away, and retreated to what he deed a safe distance.
When he judged Gongyang Jiao couldn't launch another such ambush, he snapped his fingers, releasing the [Ti]-frozen Screaming Earl back to "life."
THUD.
Montum carried Gongyang Jiao to the ground. Feeling the hard crowd-control that [Ti] had slapped on him, he shot a stunned look at Jiang Chi ahead — then broke into an eerie smile.
"So that's how it is!"
And then, instead of pursuing, he wheeled around without hesitation and charged in the opposite direction — toward Poison.
Gongyang Jiao's true target had always been Poison. That had never changed!
But this ti, Poison wasn't his own pick. The choice had been made by the ambush team's core — Cheng Shi.
That's right. Cheng Shi had decided to eliminate Poison first!
The mont Gongyang Jiao reversed course, everyone on both sides moved.
Poison sensed danger instantly. The smile froze on her face. She threw one disbelieving glance at Cheng Shi, then turned and ran.
The Chaleon drew his bow and loosed arrow after arrow, sealing Poison's escape routes while sprinting in pursuit.
Cheng Shi chuckled softly and strolled along the rooftop to where Poison had been standing. En route, he made no move against the tense, motionless Da Yi. Instead, he delivered one cold, detached line — "The First Prince is inside" — before heading after Poison without looking back.
Watching the three hunters suddenly lock onto Poison, a battered Jiang Chi clutched his shoulder and limped back. He and the stunned Da Yi exchanged a look. Both saw the bewildernt mirrored in the other's eyes.
"There could be traps inside!" Jiang Chi frowned, offering a warning.
Da Yi had been thinking the sa. But rembering how Cheng Shi had killed Gongyang Jiao, and recalling the condescending tone just now, he frowned, spat, and fired back:
"Hot damn, Jiang Chi — can I still trust you? Whose side are you even on?"
Jiang Chi's gaze sharpened. He took half a step back: "You want to break the deal?"
"Break the deal?" Da Yi drew six Iron Thorns — three in each hand — his face darkening: "Your previous partner is being chased by three people, and you're standing here without lifting a finger.
"Hot damn, with a cold-blooded partner like you, shouldn't I be afraid?"
The accusation left Jiang Chi stunned. Internally, he wanted to curse.
'Wasn't it precisely because of his deal with Da Yi that he'd abandoned the partnership with Poison? And now Da Yi was turning it around on him!?'
But he quickly realized this was just Da Yi's pretext. The seemingly impulsive [War] follower was actually quite shrewd. He'd simply beco wary and didn't want any more surprises.
"Hot damn, stand guard here. If they double back, warn
imdiately. I'm going in to check!"
Without a backward glance, Da Yi charged into the First Prince's hideout.
Jiang Chi watched Da Yi's retreating back with a dark expression, then looked toward where Poison had fled. A nagging feeling crept over him...
His situation was getting worse.
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