Arknights: The Cycle of Light and Darkness

The high and mighty son of the Dragon, and the roaring, proud dragon. This was the truest portrayal of Ao Jue and Revy.

And at this moment, the Great Yan First Prince no longer possessed his past composure; in its place were clenched hands and a forehead beaded with cold sweat. He simply could not comprehend what had just happened.

In just an instant—

In just an instant, his "Dragon Claws" were severed, and his "Xuanjia" were pulverized. There was no breathtakingly powerful attack, no afterimage from high-speed movement, no pervasive poisonous cloud, nor overwhelming energy. None of the ways he could conceive of to instantly defeat his subordinates had appeared.

Yet, his well-trained "soldiers" were simply incapacitated before his eyes, by some method he could not understand. If not for his absolute confidence in the loyalty of these soldiers, Ao Jue might have, for a moment, believed that his "Dragon Claws" and "Xuanjia" had been secretly bought off by the man before him, deliberately staging a performance.

"...What kind of attack is this?" Ao Jue gnashed his teeth, glaring at the Sarkaz man before him. Even though he was a noble First Prince, the loss of his "Claws" and "Fangs" in this battle would pain him for a long time. Not to mention, the deaths of these men might have unpredictable negative effects on his plans!

"I'm not some movie protagonist, why would I explain to you with smug pride?" Revy's words were somewhat baffling : "Your subordinates have already fallen, you know. Before you summon more people, shouldn't you first consider the possibility of me capturing you?"

"—You!!"

Gazing at the incredibly sharp gauntlets and finger blades on Revy's hands, Ao Jue felt a trace of hesitation. He had already fallen out with the opponent, and given his pride, begging for mercy would be more unbearable than death itself. However, putting himself in Revy's position, Ao Jue admitted that he absolutely did not possess Revy's methods, capable of incapacitating so many of his subordinates in an instant.

But, what did that matter!

He was a true dragon, a proud son of heaven, a child of the gods. Facing a barking mad dog that provoked him, he could choose to ignore it, but if the mad dog revealed fangs sharp enough to tear open his throat, he had no choice but to respond!

"In that case, I shall deal with you personally! Insolent wretch!"

Ao Jue, having made up his mind, suddenly changed in demeanor. The aura of a noble scion slowly receded from around his body, replaced by an intensely powerful, domineering presence that looked down on all living beings—this was the aura possessed only by true dragon bloodlines, the unifying dragon power that only the rulers of Great Yan could wield!

Now, the Dragon—glared at Revy.

"—Are you ready to die, ant?!"

— — — — Divider — — — —

The tug-of-war between Platinum and the heavy operator continued. Or rather, it was merely the heavy operator single-handedly depleting Platinum's stamina. After all, Platinum's attacks had no effect on him whatsoever.

"Run, run, little pony~ Don't let me catch you~ Otherwise, I'll turn you into a collectible~~"

Uttering chilling jokes, the man's figure accelerated again, closing in on the fleeing Platinum. The Kuranta girl's back was drenched in sweat, whether from exhaustion or cold dread, she didn't know. She had stopped attacking, for attacks aimed at his body were completely repelled by his armor, and aiming at the only exposed part, the eyes in his mask, would be blocked by his massive shield.

A heavy operator versus a sniper... the sniper was at too great a disadvantage. Besides her anxiety, a hint of despair even arose in Platinum's heart.

Cannot run, cannot dodge, cannot save her, what exactly am I even trying to do?

Qingjin in the distance remained motionless; perhaps she was already dead. Gritting her silver teeth, Platinum continued to ponder how long she could last if she continued to wear down the man before her.

However, in an instant, the man seemed to stop.

"No more games, you only run in circles, it's boring."

In a voice audible to both, the Ursus man suddenly turned and looked behind him.

"...Is it because of that woman? You thought you hid her well, so you were buying time for her?"

Platinum's body suddenly stiffened.

"Then I'll just kill that woman first, and then play with you," the buzzing voice from behind the mask made Platinum's heart pound faster : "After all, if I kill her, you'll seek revenge on me, won't you? —You will, you will, you will!"

(No! He knew all along! He was just toying with me!!)

Platinum immediately wanted to rush towards Qingjin, but the heavy operator was a step faster than her. Already exhausted, how could she compete with the Ursus man who had been planning this all along?

In just an instant, the contest of speed determined the victor. Platinum only managed to fire one arrow, and this arrow, meant to interfere, merely left a mark on the man's dark gleaming Xuanjia, while her figure was forced to change course by a shield bash aimed at her.

And after that instant, the unconscious Qingjin was already seized by the heavy operator, held by the neck and lifted, while Platinum could only watch anxiously from half a step away as all of this unfolded.

The Ursus man smirked triumphantly.

"It seems the victor has been decided—how about it? Want me to stand here and take an arrow? This time, I won't block it with my right-hand shield."

The sneering words pierced Platinum's heart like needles; she knew—she had lost. She could no longer attack this man, otherwise... next time he blocked an arrow, it wouldn't be with his shield, but with Qingjin, who was in his hand.

"Hmph?... If you're so confident... then stand still and take an arrow from me!"

The heavy operator's eyes suddenly widened. Magnified in his pupils was a single, incredibly thin, yet at this moment, utterly fatal—

arrow.