Arknights: The Cycle of Light and Darkness

"I, for one, have never liked being threatened, and even less do I like my friends' lives being casually decided by others." Revy looked coldly at Ao Jue, who in turn, watched him with a full smile.

"We have nothing more to discuss. If you cannot return my friends unharmed, then I can only choose another method."

Ao Jue didn't ask what "another method" was, merely tilting his head in surprise. "How interesting—what delusion has Mr. Revy fallen under?"

"...Delusion?"

"The one where you believe—I would spare your life after negotiations conclude?"

The moment Ao Jue's words fell, two people, two blades, one in front and one behind, with almost no delay, plunged into Revy's body—

—right up to the hilt!

"...Search his body. He hasn't been anywhere else since he came out."

Ao Jue closed his eyes. He wasn't that he couldn't bear to see others die, but he felt that the blood of ordinary people was not worthy of his sight. He was a noble son of the Emperor, the future Emperor! How could mere mortals' blood defile his eyes? And while Reguluss Harvey was a bold and interesting person, he was merely that.

"...When did you get the illusion that this could kill me?"

A faint voice, accompanied by a hint of mockery, made Ao Jue's eyes snap open again. Revy was still standing there.

(No, the Twin Fiends' blades shouldn't have already...)

The next second, Ao Jue's eyes widened.

Revy wasn't just standing still; he held two glowing objects in his hands.

—They were the blade tips!

At the very instant he was about to be stabbed, Revy, in a flash of lightning-fast reflexes, used the index and middle fingers of both hands to snap both short blades at the hilt, then calmly accepted the two blameless hilts into his body.

"The First Prince's subordinates have good skills; their blades are fast, and being jabbed by a hilt can also be quite painful." Revy's expression remained unchanged, but with a flick of the hands holding the blade tips, and without him seeming to make any grand movement, the two attackers who had assailed him from front and back fell, blood spurting from their throats.

"But, your combined attack technique needs more practice—if you get the chance in your next life."

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Ao Jue clearly hadn't anticipated Revy's move, and he stood stunned for tens of seconds before finally laughing and applauding.

"Excellent, an excellent fight, Mr. Reguluss—now, you are qualified to have a proper discussion with me."

Revy's face was as calm as still water.

"My friends, my two friends, where are they?"

Ao Jue slowly shook his head.

"...This won't do, they know too much, it's impossible to let them live. Mr. Reguluss can suggest another condition, for example—your life."

"My life is not for you to decide." Revy said faintly: "Since you're unwilling to cooperate, then I'll have to take another approach."

"Oh? Is that so?" Ao Jue's smile remained unchanged: "Do tell."

"...I genuinely can't find them right now, and even if I did, I couldn't be sure if I'd make it in time to save them." Revy's words seemed to earn Ao Jue's approval; the Great Yan First Prince was about to nod when Revy's next words froze his smile: "I can't find them, but it doesn't mean I can't torment

you."

The Sarkaz man spoke slowly and deliberately: "You cut them once, I'll cut you ten times. If they lose an arm, I'll break all five of your limbs. If they die, then I'll carve you slice by slice until you beg for death and cannot find it—you Yan people call this 'Lingchi', right?"

Ao Jue's smile gradually faded from his face. Despite his excellent composure, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. No one had ever dared to be so disrespectful to him!

"Don't think your status will make me hesitate." Seeing that the Great Yan First Prince was about to speak, Revy continued: "You can certainly try to see if I dare."

"Good, good, good, Mr. Reguluss, you are the first person who dared to speak to me like that." Completely enraged, Ao Jue laughed instead of showing anger: "Now, Mr. can try and see how you can get past my layers of personal guards to torment me!"

As his words fell, dozens of figures, shadowy and indistinct, instantly separated Revy and the First Prince. Their fighting skills suggested that none of them were inferior to the Twin Fiends who had attacked Revy!

Reguluss Harvey, in an instant, was utterly surrounded.

— — — — Divider — — — —

Platinum and Qingjin stood back-to-back, covering each other. At this moment, both of them, like Revy, were caught in a heavy encirclement.

From the moment they were attacked, they immediately followed their pre-determined route to quickly disengage from the battle and rendezvous with Revy. However, the group of attackers seemed to have anticipated their planned route, constantly harassing them at crucial moments and forcing them to change direction. And now, the two of them had moved further and further away from their original meeting point.

"...What do we do?" Platinum was somewhat out of breath. As an assassin of the Untitled Union, she had undergone rigorous training, and combined with her Kuranta talent, she could even move at high speed for over an hour without stopping. However, this couldn't withstand layers upon layers of pursuit and interception.

Despite killing a few pursuers in the early stages of the fight thanks to her and Qingjin's excellent skills, the intensity and number of pursuers kept increasing, and their combat prowess improved with each new wave. By now, both of them were wounded, and their steps grew slower and slower.

"No use... our situation is already dire; Revy's situation is only more dangerous." Qingjin looked worriedly into the distance—there was the agreed meeting point for her and Revy.

"There's no other way—one of us has to stay and create a diversion."