As the sun arose in the east, Hailey saw her life flash before her eyes. Luna had descended upon her, bringing two shiny swords, prepared to cut her down!
"No!! Hailey!!" Deodomus screamed while getting impaled by a trident.
"Deo!!" Xiao screamed, disregarding everything and rushing to save him.
Gyoro tried to protect Hailey while Muchen retreated in fear. His crossbow aimed at Luna but he could not pull the trigger. Time was flowing ever so slowly. Peacock swerved on her heel. She hadn't even caught Luna's glimpse as the latter had dodged past her and arrived behind her to attack Hailey.
Luna smiled viciously as she too turned back on her heel and slashed dozens of times within a moment.
Shak-shak-shak-shak-shak!! The two short swords seemed a blur. Peacock's body was chopped into dozens of pieces and splattered everywhere along with bursts of blood which bathed Luna's front completely and splashed onto Hailey's face too.
"Ahhh!!!" Hailey shrieked. Gyoro's large arms wrapped around her as he grabbed her and leapt away, rolling on the ground and getting as far from Luna as possible. Muchen followed close behind.
Before anybody could comprehend what had just transpired, Luna lunged at Dove and turned her into minced meat within moments!
Shak-shak-shak-spurt-spurt! Blood and body parts splattered everywhere!
"Ahahahahaha!" Luna's shrill laughter echoed everywhere, sending chills down the spines. Everyone finally remembered why she was so infamous as the Moonlight Assassin!
Whoosh! Hawk made his move, flying toward Luna, he passed by Xiao who was sprinting toward Deodomus. They side-eyed one another dangerously but didn't fight.
"Fucking traitor!" Hawk shouted at Luna. He was not only incensed but also taken aback and fearful because he knew exactly what Luna was doing.
"Hahahaha!" Luna laughed confidently while taking a stance. All the blood which was on the ground and still flowing out of the minced corpses, flew towards her and covered her in an egg-shaped cocoon that solidified immediately.
Bam! Bam! Thunk-thunk-thunk! Hawk attacked the cocoon furiously, causing cracks to emerge.
The assassins took the hint and attacked the cocoon too, while only half of them moved towards Xiao's group to stop them from escaping.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! Gyoro, Muchen and Hailey landed near Xiao and Deodomus.
"Deo! Deo no…!" Xiao cried, holding him in her arms. Deodomus was bleeding profusely and seemed about to pass out.
"Shit, what the fuck just happened?" Muchen asked anxiously.
"I don't fucking know!" Gyoro exclaimed, equally anxious and astonished.
"Deo! Don't die, please!" Hailey threw herself onto Deodomus. Meanwhile Gyoro and Muchen took defensive stances, staring vigilantly at the assassins who were closing in on them. In the background, sounds of collisions could be heard. Assassin Squad was barraging Luna heavily.
"Handle the defense." Muchen said to Gyoro before diving down and shoving medicinal pills into Deodomus' mouth. He used his energy to help the wounds close up. Deodomus' internal organs were all brutally punctured and might need a proper surgery later but Muchen focused on making-do with whatever best healing he could administer at the moment.
Within a minute, Deodomus had been saved! He sat up as Xiao and Hailey hugged him tightly, wailing like new widows.
"Stop crying, I'm still alive." Deodomus sighed before patting Hailey's head and ruffling her hair.
"Oh, Deo! I was so scared! I thought we were going to die! Uwaa…!" Hailey cried.
Xiao sighed, controlling herself. "I think we should make a run for it." She suggested but Deodomus shook his head.
"We can't. A Sage realm warrior is no joke. Hawk will catch up to us within minutes without even flying." He said, glancing over his shoulder at Luna's cocoon. His eyes glinted as he deduced the truth.
"Our best bet is Luna as we clearly cannot win against Hawk alone." Deodomus suggested. Xiao frowned.
"She could have killed Hailey but she didn't. Instead, she turned on the Assassin Squad. Why do you think she did it? What's going on with her now?" Xiao asked.
"She's leveling up. That's her unorthodox technique." Deodomus explained. "The stronger the sacrificed cultivator's cultivation, the more Luna's cultivation base increases. Hailey has lightning element constitution which makes her better than a Master realm sacrifice, but Luna didn't kill her. This was a gesture of her sincerity to cooperate with us."
"The fuck is that woman's deal anyway? She could have just stayed with us from the beginning!" Muchen scowled.
"Must have been hard to do that, remembering all the terrible things we've done to her." Deodomus pointed out. "But I guess she chose us in the end."
"She can backstab us and kill us all when we're focused on Assassin Squad." Gyoro pointed out.
"Yes, she can. What are our other options?" Deodomus asked.
"We can run. I will stall Hawk." Xiao suggested.
"Like hell I'm sacrificing you." Deodomus frowned.
Their discussion ended as the blood cocoon shattered and Hawk reached Luna, with murder on his mind.
Boom! Bwoosh! A powerful energy blast blew the Assassin backwards while Hawk persisted; his clothes fluttering as though facing a typhoon.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Hawk and Luna then fought speedily & they were equally matched!
"Level 2 Sage realm!" Xiao gasped scrutinizing Luna. "She really leveled up!"
"Let's make quick work of others while Hawk is distracted. Then we're supporting Luna with our lives!" Deodomus commanded.
Swoosh-swoosh! Crow and Parrot arrived near Hawk and attacked Luna. They were not idiots after all. They had barely survived against Xiao while Deodomus had survived against 2 Sage realm warriors. The difference in prowess was crystal clear. Thus they chose to aid Hawk instead, so that they could borrow his strength to deal with Deodomus and Xiao later.
"Let's go!" Deodomus exclaimed and lunged forth. The group split in two. Xiao led the others to plow through the assassins while Deodomus rampaged alone. Spears, swords, bolts, dagger and knives flew everywhere.
"Sword Lotus!" "Blazing Yin Stab!" "Cutting down the mountain!" Xiao was unstoppable as she killed assassins left and right.
"Yeti Power! Troll Smash! Death Spear! 100 Swirls!" Deodomus chopped assassins like vegetables. Arms, legs and heads flew everywhere.
Hawk was acutely aware of what was happening behind his back but he could not get away from Luna, especially when he had the upper hand with Crow and Parrot.
"Trident Thrust!" "Poison Dart Gale!" "Dagger Mirage!" Powerful moves were unleashed at Luna continuously.
"Hundred Moon Slash!" "Moon Cleave!" Luna fought back bravely but her energy was depleting rapidly. Her opponents were more than one and attacking from different directions too. Hawk did not let her kill the other two & Luna's injuries piled up quickly.
"Squawk! Spiraling Kick!" Parrot attacked Luna's legs. She jumped up but Crow's shadow fell upon her before darts rained down on her body. She was forced to use both swords to defend, which left her vulnerable to Hawk.
"Trident Burst!" Hawk roared, stabbing his trident into Luna's chest.
Boom! A wide gash opened up on Luna's back, blowing her internal organs and blood away before hurtling her several meters back.
Bam! Bam! Skrrrrt..! She toppled and skidded before stopping, sprawled on the road. Blood pooled quickly underneath her. Her hand moved slowly as she strained to take the healing pill she had just summoned.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! Hawk, Crow and Parrot arrived, surrounding her.
"Bye-bye traitor!" Hawk aimed his trident and struck at Luna's head.
Blood splattered onto Hawk's mask as Luna's consciousness faded.