Lu Jie opened his coat, revealing a beating black heart. The pulsating feeling seemed to have a strange rhythm, as if everyone present had their own hearts beating along.
"Quick... faster...!" Lu Jie seemed to be struggling with something. The coat he had just opened was slowly closing again, but he pulled it open again. This stalemate continued, but it seemed that he couldn't hold on much longer.
Speed is crucial!
Everyone realized this and redirected their attacks towards Lu Jie. Those with long-range magic or combat skills used their skills to attack him. Even the melee fighters gathered magical power to launch attacks. Although these attacks were not strong, they still contributed.
Dozens of attacks of varying strength were about to land on Lu Jie. However, the black monster in mid-air sensed the danger and split off a portion of the black aura, forming a shield in front of Lu Jie. After the collision, the shield successfully resisted the combined attacks.
At this moment, the black monster in mid-air was about to open its eyes. A few people with weaker abilities turned into pools of black blood. Although Bexia could sense a strange power entering his body, he was exhausted from the previous battle. He was ready to escape using the Eight Extreme Cloud Umbrella at any moment, as the situation had become extremely critical.
Just when everyone thought there was no hope, a cold light suddenly appeared. Pang Bo's imposing presence made everyone's heart race. A black blade of light forcefully shattered the shield formed by the black aura and accurately struck the beating heart. It instantly exploded, turning into a black mist.
"Wu wu wu ah ah ah—!" The black monster in mid-air let out an unwilling roar. Its forming body twisted and dissipated, finally disappearing without a trace. The black aura that enveloped the entire ghost ship also vanished.
The scene fell into an eerie silence. People felt the salty sea breeze and the brightness after their vision was restored. Suddenly, there was a dreamlike feeling.
However, some people's attention was not focused on this. Especially for Bude, the power of that last strike shocked him. As an Extreme-level strongman, although he couldn't claim to be extremely powerful among the Extremes, he was still considered capable. But the feeling he got from that strike was that he was powerless to resist. The consequence of a head-on collision would be the same as having his heart burst like the black monster's.
He had only experienced this feeling once in his life when he deserted the army, escaping from the pursuit of a King-ranked warrior. Even now, he still broke out in a cold sweat at the memory. If it weren't for luck and falling down a waterfall, he would probably be a dead body by now.
"Thank you for your help!" Bude respectfully bowed in the direction where the blade of light came from.
"You're called Bude, right? Are you interested in following me?" A figure appeared out of thin air in front of everyone. Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Bexia's eyes widened as he looked at the black-clothed figure. It was the King-ranked warrior Black Blade who he had seen that one night.
After listening to Black Blade's words, Bude was taken aback. He recognized the background of every King-ranked warrior on the continent, and naturally knew Black Blade's origins. But once he reacted, he didn't hesitate at all and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Black Blade. From now on, I will follow you!" Bude ecstatically replied. According to reason, as an Extreme-level professional, he had a top combat power even without a King-ranked escort. He wouldn't be treated as a mere guest, and his status would be no less than that of a Viscount or even a Baron in a kingdom. But why did he end up like this? In the end, it was because he was being hunted by King-ranked warriors, and others didn't want to accept him to avoid trouble.
However, now Black Blade was willing to take him in, which meant he would have the support of a King-ranked warrior behind him, and not just any King-ranked warrior, but the most powerful one on the continent. This force was something even the Empire needed to consider.
In other words, from now on, Bude could live openly and not like before, living like a rat in the dark.
"Then, Black Blade, what should we do with the others?!" Bude referred to the remaining few brothers he had. Almost everyone who was still alive was at an upper-level profession. Bexia, a lower-level professional, stood out in the crowd.
"That's your own business!" Black Blade completely ignored the others. As powerful beings at their level, they no longer cared about many things.
Black Blade ignored Bude and walked straight towards Lujie. After destroying the black heart within him, Lujie's body completely dissipated the black aura, leaving only a transparent soul sitting on the ground.
"So, you're the Manipulator Lujie. I've heard your name for a long time, but I never thought I would actually see you!" Black Blade, as a former pirate active hundreds of years ago and the boss of the underworld, had naturally heard of Lujie's name. Although Lujie wasn't a king, he was even more famous than kings.
"I don't dare to call myself that. In the end, I became a puppet for others." Lujie self-deprecatingly shook his head. "I controlled puppets all my life, but in the end, I became someone else's puppet. Isn't that a great joke?"
"Things change unpredictably. We can't say what will happen in the future. Perhaps one day, I will be used as a stepping stone by some junior," Black Blade also said with a touch of melancholy.
"However, in order to prevent such things from happening, the only way is to constantly become stronger. That's the way of the king!"
"You're right!" Lujie agreed with a nod. Strength was always the best guarantee, no matter what!
"So, what happened to you guys back then? How did you suddenly fall overnight?" Black Blade curiously asked, this had always been a mystery for hundreds of years.
"Do you know about sirens?" Lujie said lightly.
"Sirens?!" Black Blade was slightly stunned upon hearing Lujie's words, flipping through relevant information in his mind. "Isn't that an ancient race that disappeared along with the elves?"
"Are you saying that you encountered..." Sirens were an ancient race that coexisted with the elves. They excelled in soul and water magic, especially soul magic, which was difficult to defend against. If Lujie's Manipulator's mental power was being controlled, then it was very possible that they encountered this race. Otherwise, even elementalists at the king level might not have such powerful mental strength as Lujie.
