“Ugh!”
Kimberly, who was hit by an arrow, grimaced in pain, but quickly bit her lip to endure it.
With a swift backhand swing, she swiftly slashed down two of the attacking Apex members.
Then, with a fierce shout, she lunged straight towards Nick, her killing intent soaring.
“Swish!”
Nick shivered and quickly pulled the trigger, shooting another arrow. This time, Kimberly didn’t dodge, and the blade struck the arrow with force.
The arrow made a loud sound as it was deflected back towards Nick, who quickly dropped to the ground with a startled expression.
Just as the arrow grazed his scalp, leaving a bloody groove, his face turned pale with fear.
Darnell had yet to make a move, only scanning the surroundings to identify Kimberly’s potential companions.
Seeing that Nick almost lost his life, Gisselle raised her arm and shouted, “Protect Nick, protect Mr. Halford.”
More than ten Apex members brandished their machetes and charged forward, while Kimberly swung her blood-stained blade and swiftly took down one of them.
Then, she kicked another machete into the air and immediately engaged the remaining attackers, advancing fearlessly.
“Clang!”
With a dazzling arc, her swinging machete effortlessly severed several weapons in one strike.
Kimberly remained expressionless. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion among the members of the Apex, she flicked her wrist and once again slashed with her blade.
“Bang!”
The blade struck several individuals directly, causing them to fly backward like kites with broken strings, coughing up blood.
“Thump thump thump!”
Next, Kimberly raised both hands and launched over a dozen black pellets that exploded upon impact with the surrounding Apex members. Although no lives were taken, flames and smoke billowed from their bodies, creating chaos in the room.
Gisselle and the others’ vision became blurred by the smoke but quickly recovered as Gisselle shouted, “Put out the fire.”
Before Gisselle and the others could rush forward to extinguish the flames, the burning Apex members screamed in agony and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
People around them swayed as if intoxicated. In less than ten seconds, most of the dozens of people collapsed, creating an opening.
It was at this moment that Kimberly rushed forward. With her blade in hand, she swiftly cut down four or five Apex members while Gisselle also sustained injuries.
Nick crawled away in an attempt to escape Kimberly’s pursuit while shouting at the Apex members, “Stop her! Stop her!”
Several of them attempted to intercept Kimberly, but before they could reach her, they clutched their mouths and noses before collapsing to the ground.
Nick also felt dizzy, causing his crawling speed to slow down. He panicked and called for help, “Someone! Someone…”
Kimberly’s back was stained with blood, a horrifying sight. However, she remained unmatched. Fixated on Nick, she charged forward with her blade.
Her intentions were twofold-revenge and hostage-taking.
“Swoosh!”
Just as Kimberly charged towards Nick with fierce momentum, a figure fearlessly blocked her path through the fire and smoke.
Darnell stood before her like a godly figure. In an instant, he halted all of Kimberly’s actions.
The air inexplicably grew heavy for a moment.
“I underestimated you,” Darnell said as he waved away the pungent smell before him. With a gentle smile on his face, he looked at Kimberly and said, “Your fighting skills are stronger than I imagined.”
Kimberly’s face slightly change as a glimmer of killing intent flickered in her eyes.
“You’ve ruined my plans multiple times. And today, you dared to stand in my way again. I will kill you today.”
She held an indescribable hatred towards Darnell. “For my fallen brothers.”
Darnell smirked and lightly coughed before replying, “Kill me?”
“At Sunflower Hotel, you couldn’t kill me. And just now with your poisoned tea and pastries… you couldn’t take my life either. How could you possibly harm me now?”
“Rather than saying that I ruined your plans, it’s more accurate to say that you provoked me first.”
“How childish!”
Kimberly gripped her blood-stained blade with an indescribable resentment. “Today, I’ll make sure you can’t get out of here alive.”
Darnell sighed, “I don’t like violence. Why do you insist on provoking me?”
Kimberly didn’t respond to Darnell’s words but slowly raised her blade.
In the chaotic scene, the screech of a fire extinguisher mixed with the sharp sound of a weapon slicing through the air, while smoke occasionally swirled around the red blade, creating an atmosphere of intense gravity.
Darnell approached the woman with a faint smile, ignoring the bloodied machete and not waiting for the Apex’s support. “Come on.”
Something was clearly off. Such calmness could only belong to either a remarkably powerful individual or a complete madman.
Kimberly regarded the advancing Darnell with cold eyes, wondering whether he belonged to the former category or the latter.
Darnell coughed lightly. “Make your move!”
For some reason, as she watched Darnell approach with a chilling demeanor, Kimberly felt an involuntary twitch at the corner of her mouth. Was this guy hiding his true abilities?
This absurd thought took root in her mind, and despite her composed demeanor, the next moment, she drew her knife.
When the blade came out, it must drink blood!
Even though her weapon wasn’t a legendary one, it radiated an aura of lethal sharpness and a strong scent of blood.
Yet, Darnell took a step forward, completely unfazed.
His action clearly provoked Kimberly. She couldn’t find any flaws, nor did she have the chance to strike!
Kimberly’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. The previously stationary Darnell gave her the impression of being perfectly balanced, leaving her unable to make a move.
However, with that step he took, she realized that she had to act, no matter the cost. Even if it meant her own demise, she had to strike!
Otherwise, she might not even get the chance to attack.
“Whoosh!”
A thick cloud of smoke billowed past, and a flash of the blade glimmered.
As Gisselle and the Apex members pressed in, Kimberly had already appeared behind Darnell. But even though she was as fast as a gust of wind, she found herself with no chance to continue her movement.
Darnell held a piece of the bloodied blade, gently blowing away the dripping blood.
Kimberly, clutching the broken half of her knife, collapsed to the ground, sending pastries and blood splattering everywhere, her chest soaked in crimson.
She was shocked by her defeat, and Gisselle and the others were equally dumbfounded.
Witnessing the battle firsthand, they saw Darnell effortlessly execute four actions in a single fluid motion as he brushed past her.
He disarmed her, broke her weapon, countered, and drew his own blade in one seamless flow, leaving Kimberly-who had been so fierce just moments before-lying in a pool of her own blood.
Compared to her earlier rampage, this fall was silent, filled with a sense of unspeakable frustration and humiliation.
Kimberly didn’t die, but she had sustained a severe chest injury that rendered her completely powerless.
Her eyes, filled with despair, met those of everyone present, causing a momentary stillness among them. Even the flames and smoke seemed to soften, as if they needed time to process the lethal encounter.
The Apex members looked at Darnell with absolute respect, while Nick even dropped to his knees.