Zhang Lei was the first to make his move.
He leaped toward Li Wei and swung his mace at him. Li Wei chose to take the hit head-on, but this time he was pushed back.
Li Na also took off into the air alongside the grumbles lying nearby.
Feng Shan smirked at Li Na, leaving only one man.
Claws emerged from his fingers as he pointed them at Li Ming, who clearly wasn't going to involve himself in the battle anytime soon.
At that moment, it all came rushing back.
As I looked at his claws, I could visualize that same hand passing through my father's chest.
"Yes... it's him. Mo Lang," I said.
As he rushed forward to attack Master Li Ming, I intercepted him with my Vantablack blade.
"It is time you paid for everything you took from me," I said as I pressed my blade against his claws.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied.
We separated.
He smirked, revealing sharpened teeth filed to deadly points.
I could feel tears rolling down my face as I attacked again.
"You'll pay for taking my father!"
He blocked my attack with his claws.
"You took my life!"
I swear I had cut through him, but the wound closed immediately after my blade passed through.
"I remember you now... Daddy's boy."
Both of us paused and stared at each other.
Meanwhile, Feng Shan continued dodging Li Na's attacks while Li Na did her best to restrict Feng Shan's movements. The woman was simply too fast.
Zhang Lei had begun fighting seriously. His mace strikes were now accompanied by sparks of lightning. Each hit made Li Wei groan in pain.
May served as the distraction Zhang Lei needed to land his attacks.
Meanwhile, Master Li Ming stood with his eyes closed, meditating and chanting mysterious words while calmly avoiding debris from the battle without ever opening his eyes.
"Killing your father was one of my most satisfying kills," Mo Lang said.
Immediately, my knee struck his abdomen before he could react.
"I loved watching the once fearless man tremble in fear," Mo Lang added.
My blade plunged into his chest.
"The unbroken man cried in pain until his lungs burst. He kept crying, 'My... Na...'"
Before he could finish, my second blade pierced through the bottom of his jaw and exited through the top of his head.
I pulled out a kunai, preparing to drive it into his skull.
Suddenly, something grabbed my arm and hurled me into the air.
Before I could even process what was happening, she appeared in front of me.
Her speed shocked even me.
Feng Shan.
The Claw who had killed my mother.
Her fists repeatedly slammed into my abdomen before my feet even touched the ground.
It felt as though time itself had frozen while she attacked relentlessly.
Her foot struck my face with tremendous force before I crashed onto the ground.
Immediately, we both assumed fighting stances.
For a moment, gasoline-smelling rain fell from above before suddenly stopping.
Feng Shan rushed at me again, revealing two razor-sharp hand fans.
I dodged as she passed by.
Attempting to grab her from behind and slam her into the ground, I lunged forward, but I managed to catch only a piece of her clothing.
She was simply too fast.
She flipped through the air and landed on my shoulders.
Her legs wrapped around my neck while both fans rose high above her head.
"Now, May!" Li Na shouted.
Using my superior strength, I leaped upward and escaped her grip.
Grabbing both her legs, I slammed her violently into the ground.
Immediately, flames erupted everywhere.
I escaped the fire, leaving Feng Shan and Mo Lang trapped within the inferno.
May, Li Na, Zhang Lei, and I stood watching the flames while trying to catch our breath.
"Would that kill them?" May asked.
Before the words fully left her mouth, Feng Shan appeared directly behind her.
Her fan was already descending.
Seeing how close she was, I emerged from May's shadow and blocked the strike.
I still didn't understand how I had done it.
I struck Feng Shan, knocking one of her fans from her hand.
At the same moment, Li Wei burst through the flames and charged at Zhang Lei.
Zhang Lei swung his mace.
The weapon connected with Li Wei's head so hard that it sent him staggering several meters away.
I rushed to assist, but Feng Shan intercepted me.
We began exchanging blows.
She had the advantage in speed, but I wasn't slow either.
Feng Shan swept my legs out from under me.
Before I could hit the ground, her blade was already pointed at my face.
Then suddenly—
I was behind her.
I had emerged from her shadow.
It felt as though I was becoming darkness itself... or perhaps darkness was becoming me.
She spun around and attacked again.
I ducked and instinctively pulled my shadow out of the ground.
Even I was shocked that I could do such a thing.
Now Feng Shan had to face both me and my shadow.
Unfortunately, controlling two bodies wasn't as easy as it seemed.
Feng Shan's fist connected with my jaw, causing me to lose control of my shadow.
Li Na immediately jumped in to attack.
Too slow.
Feng Shan grabbed a small knife and drove it into Li Na's abdomen.
Li Na collapsed to the ground with a groan.
Rage surged through me.
I charged at Feng Shan.
After exchanging blows for several moments, she swept me off my feet again.
I landed hard on the ground.
"I'd love to kill you slowly," Feng Shan said.
A kunai suddenly flew past my head and embedded itself into the ground.
"That was a warning shot. Now for the real one."
Feng Shan raised another kunai.
Instead of throwing it, however, it suddenly dropped from her hand.
Then Feng Shan began to rise into the air.
"Now, Vanta!" Li Na screamed, her voice already fading.
I picked up both kunai and leaped toward the suspended Feng Shan.
The first kunai plunged into her chest so deeply that my hand nearly followed it inside.
The second pierced straight through her skull.
Immediately, she fell lifelessly to the ground.
Li Na collapsed as well, though she was still breathing.
"He always guards his chest," May said to Zhang Lei.
"Then expose it," Zhang Lei replied.
He swung his mace once more at Li Wei.
My fist connected with Li Wei's forehead.
As he instinctively raised his hands to protect himself, May grabbed one arm with all her strength while I restrained the other.
Above us, Zhang Lei descended with his mace.
BOOM!
The shockwave sent all of us flying several meters away.
Everyone except Li Wei.
May tried to get up but couldn't.
Zhang Lei didn't even bother trying. He was already panting from exhaustion.
Li Wei remained motionless.
Zhang Lei's mace had landed several meters away from him.
For a moment, it seemed as though Li Wei was finally dead.
"I was waiting for you to finish dealing with them."
Mo Lang's voice echoed through the battlefield.
We all turned.
Slowly, he pulled the blades I had embedded in his body out of his flesh.