Jin An stood before Blackbeard, blood still dripping from his blade.
Although his breathing was somewhat rapid, the battle intent in his eyes remained cold and unwavering.
He glanced down at Blackbeard, who was lying on the ground, barely alive, but he didn't relax his guard in the slightest.
Although this guy had already lost his ability to fight, Jin An knew that people like Blackbeard were like venomous snakes, capable of biting at any moment, even on their last breath.
However, in this brief moment of calm, the air suddenly turned heavy and cold.
Jin An's pupils constricted slightly as he immediately sensed a familiar and terrifying aura rapidly approaching. The intensity of that pressure was so great that even the surrounding battlefield seemed to freeze, and an indescribable sense of suffocation filled the air.
"Here it comes again..."
Jin An murmured inwardly, the hand gripping the hilt of his blade tightening slightly, and a drop of cold sweat slid down his cheek.
He didn't need to turn around to know that Imu—that powerful existence he couldn't ignore—had returned to the battlefield.
"Hahahahaha... You thought... I was lying...?"
Blackbeard laughed weakly from the ground, his voice low and hoarse, but with a hint of mockery and a twisted sense of pleasure.
He coughed, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze burned with an almost morbid fanaticism.
"Jin An... You thought this battle was over?
No, it's just beginning... She's back."
Jin An ignored Blackbeard's provocation, he raised his head, his eyes fixed on the figure slowly emerging from the shadows.
Imu.
Her figure was like a ghost in the darkness, slowly stepping out from a spatial rift.
Her face no longer held the aloof composure she had before, but was shrouded in a clear layer of anger.
Her aura was still suffocatingly powerful, but her condition had changed—her shoulders and arms were covered in battle scars, and her once pristine robe was stained with blood.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her once noble and inviolable appearance now seemed somewhat disheveled.
"You... have truly disappointed me."
Imu's voice was low, filled with an intrinsic rage.
Her gaze swept over Blackbeard on the ground, then turned to Jin An standing not far away, her eyes filled with icy killing intent.
"Did you really think that you, mere ants, could change this world?"
Her aura spread out like a hurricane, pressing down on the air of the entire battlefield as if it had stopped flowing.
Even the soldiers and rebels fighting in the distance felt this enormous pressure and involuntarily stopped their movements.
Jin An took a deep breath, his body tensing slightly, all his senses heightened to the limit.
His eyes stared intently at Imu, without a trace of wavering.
"I thought we had already dealt with you; it seems I underestimated your tenacity."
Jin An's voice was low and calm, with a hint of irony, but more so, composure.
Imu slowly approached, each step seeming to tread on the battlefield's nerves, bringing an invisible sense of oppression.
She stopped not far away, gently raising a hand, her fingers slightly bent, a ball of dark energy gathering in her palm, the power more intense than before, seemingly mixed with some kind of frightening anger.
"Jin An, do you really think you can defeat me?"
Her tone was extremely cold, her voice carrying a godlike majesty.
Jin An did not answer, but slowly raised the long blade in his hand, the blade flashing a cold light in the sunlight.
His eyes became more focused, his body slowly lowered, assuming a battle-ready stance.
"Her aura has become stronger."
Jin An analyzed calmly in his mind, the hand holding the hilt of the blade tightening slightly.
"But her injuries are also not light; the previous battle clearly took a toll on her.
This is an opportunity... and a dangerous situation."
Imu saw his intention, sneered, her voice filled with disdain:
"Opportunity? Do you think there will be an opportunity left for you in this world?
Jin An, the fate of you rebels has long been sealed."
As soon as she finished speaking, suddenly, dark energy erupted from her palm, transforming into a huge and violent beam, heading straight for Jin An.
The power of this attack was so strong that even the surrounding air was distorted, and the ground was instantly blasted away, dust and gravel scattering like a storm.
Jin An's pupils constricted, his body suddenly rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding this deadly blow.
His movements were quick and agile, and although he successfully dodged the attack, the aftermath of the beam still shook him back repeatedly, plowing a deep mark in the ground beneath his feet.
"As expected, still a monster."
Jin An gasped for breath, gritting his teeth inwardly.
And Imu stood in place, a hint of contempt in her eyes:
"Struggle, Jin An.
Let me see how much strength you have left."
Jin An did not respond, but steadied himself and gripped the long blade in his hand again.
There was no fear in his eyes, but instead a more intense fighting spirit ignited.
"Since you dare to come back, then let me see if you can still be as strong as before this time."
Jin An said in a low voice, his voice filled with cold killing intent.
Blackbeard lay on the ground, his limbs scattered, his face contorted, the fanaticism in his eyes gradually replaced by pain.
Each of his breaths felt like he was forcing himself to skirt death.
The surrounding battlefield was almost enveloped in a blood- and mud-stained chaos, and as Jin An and Imu fought, the entire environment was like a torn cloth, fractured, fragmented, and filled with a sense of urgency that allowed no respite.
At this moment, Jin An's figure was like a long sword cutting through the darkness, sharp and swift.
He stood in front of Blackbeard, breathing rapidly, but his eyes were unusually calm.
The blade in his hand emitted a cold light, the smell of blood permeated the surrounding air, yet he seemed completely unconcerned.
Each swing of the blade was a fatal blow—the blade sliced through the air, creating a piercing whistling sound, directly aimed at Blackbeard's shattered body.
"Bang!"
With a sweeping slash, Blackbeard's left arm was severed again, blood gushing out like a spring, splattering on Jin An's face.
Blackbeard howled in pain, his body twisting violently, but then, his severed limb began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, the flesh reforming.
Jin An did not hesitate and continued to swing the second blade.
The blade light was as cold as snow, piercing through Blackbeard's chest, a precise and accurate blow.
Blackbeard opened his mouth, as if wanting to shout, but only let out a low groan.
The heart, which should have been incomparably hard, was now pierced by the blade, and blood gushed out of the wound, staining a corner of the battlefield red.
But what chilled Jin An the most was that he saw Blackbeard's wounds had already begun to heal, the recovery rate several times faster than before.
Although scarred and almost dying, this guy was still alive, still stubbornly recovering.
...
