“Not good! Reinforcements are here! Run!”
The four Lesser Sovereigns panicked and fled in a frenzy. They leaped up the hillside like startled grasshoppers, moving so fast that only faint afterimages remained.
“Kid, leave them to me! Go save the others!”
The voice, loud as thunder, echoed across the mountains. The four fleeing Sovereigns turned their heads instinctively.
Far away on a cliff ten miles distant, a small old man bent his knees and launched into the air like an eagle soaring into the sky. In his hand, the bone-white Sheep Sword shone brilliantly, transforming into a radiant beam of light. The sword energy surged like an endless river of stars spilling from the heavens, majestic and unstoppable, as if divine judgment had descended to crush all before it.
Flynn wasted no time and darted toward the lake, where Molly was slowly sinking beneath the surface.
“Slash!”
Scott Chilton swung his sword horizontally toward the four Sovereigns on the hillside.
The strike carried the force of heaven’s wrath. The air tore apart instantly, forming a terrifying vortex of sword energy. The swirling energy howled across the valley, shattering massive boulders into countless fragments that scattered like rain.
“Boom!”
Thunder rumbled faintly in the clouds above, rolling outward as if a thousand dragons were writhing within.
One strike summoned the fury of heaven itself.
The air in the valley rippled like a vast tide, surging forward with a speed a thousand times greater than that of a flood. The overwhelming force surged up the hillside.
“What?! A Blademaster Greater Sovereign!”
One of the Lesser Sovereigns gasped in terror, his face draining of all color. The other three were equally stunned.
To ignite such a resonance between heaven and earth with a single sword stroke was something only a peak-tier Greater Sovereign could achieve.
What they didn’t know was that Scott Chilton, wary of injuring Rose and Molly near the lake, had only used a third of his strength. If he had unleashed the full force of his strike, not only Indigo Grove Estate but the entire valley-and everything within a hundred-mile radius-would have been obliterated.
But they would never live to learn this truth. The terrifying sword energy engulfed them, reducing their bodies to nothing more than a fine mist of blood.
The stench of blood filled the valley.
“Boom!”
When the sword energy collided with the hillside, the mountain, hundreds of meters tall, was severed in half and exploded into rubble. In an instant, the landscape was leveled.
The deafening roar of the explosion gradually faded, and the sword energy dissipated dozens of miles away. The valley looked as though it had been ravaged by a category-ten hurricane, littered with debris and reeking of scorched earth.
Scott Chilton sheathed the Sheep Sword and approached the lakeside with Olive.
“Molly! Rose!”
Flynn pulled the two bloodied women out onto the shore and immediately began treating them. Threads of spiritual energy flowed from his hands into their bodies.
Molly, her clothes stained crimson, was the first to regain consciousness. Her voice was faint and trembling as she asked, “Master, where’s Rose? Is Rose okay? Please, save her!”
Her voice cracked with emotion, fear and desperation choking her words.
“She’s badly hurt, internal bleeding… but she’ll live. You both will… you’re alive…” Flynn held Molly tightly, murmuring over and over.
Hearing this, Molly burst into tears.
“Master, I’m useless. I couldn’t protect Rose. She got hurt so badly because of me. I’m so sorry… so sorry…”
“Don’t say that,” Flynn whispered, stroking her hair with a forced smile. “You were incredible. You held off four Adept Lesser Sovereigns all by yourself. You were incredible.”
“Ugh…”
Rose, under Olive’s care, coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a face bruised and battered, with over a dozen deep purple contusions.
The residual energy from the battle had wreaked havoc on her body, causing severe injuries. Molly must have fought desperately to protect her, giving everything she had.
Flynn gently passed Molly to Scott Chilton and cradled Rose in his arms. Both women were pale as paper, their breaths faint. His brows furrowed deeply with anguish.
“Flynn…” Rose’s voice was weak and strained. “Flynn, they came under orders from Greengate Overseer Petrin Wilder. He… he wants to kill us all. He said they’d slaughter everyone in Niarak. You… you must go back. Go back to Niarak now!”
Rose tried to push him away, her face twisted in pain and fear.
Flynn didn’t respond. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth. He feared the news would break her spirit. Yet tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.
“You… you’re hiding something. Did something happen to them?”
“Tell me Scarlet and Harriet are okay! Tell me, Flynn!” Rose’s panic grew as she clung to him, pounding his chest with what little strength she had.
Flynn let out a long sigh, tilting his head away to avoid her gaze. Finally, he whispered, “Rose… Scarlet is gravely injured. Harriet… Harriet is dead.”
“What?!”
Rose’s already fragile body seemed to collapse entirely. Her strength drained away as tears streamed down her face.
“Why? Why her?” she sobbed, her voice filled with raw anguish. “She was so kind, so hardworking. She endured so much suffering her whole life. Why did this happen to her?!”
“She was the sweetest girl,” Rose cried out, her voice cracking. “She always smiled so brightly, even over the smallest things. She worked so hard, never complaining, always helping me through the darkest times. She stayed with me when Kevin’s coffin arrived, comforting me all night. She didn’t even sleep, afraid I’d do something foolish…”
Rose’s sobs grew louder, her words breaking into incoherent wails.
“And now she’s gone! Harriet, my dear Harriet…”
Flynn’s heart twisted painfully as Rose’s grief filled the air.
Nearby, Molly’s cries suddenly erupted like a storm.
“Harriet’s dead? No, no! She can’t be! She promised me we’d go shopping together when we got back to Niarak. She can’t be gone! Say something! Tell me she’s not dead!”
Her screams echoed through the valley, her tears falling uncontrollably. Flynn couldn’t bear to look at either of them. He turned away, his eyes blazing with a fury that could rival a hurricane. The murderous intent radiating from him was palpable, a storm of rage ready to be unleashed.
At that moment, the sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air grew louder. A black helicopter descended nearby, landing a short distance from the lake.
“Flynn, you’re going to Niarak, right? Take me with you! I’m going to kill Petrin Wilder myself!” Molly struggled to her feet, her eyes burning with vengeance.
Rose also tried to get up, her determination shining through her broken body.
“Mr. Chilton, Grandmother, please… take care of Rose and Molly,” Flynn said, his voice cold and emotionless. Without turning back, he climbed into the helicopter.
As the aircraft lifted off, Rose and Molly’s cries echoed behind him.
Scott Chilton and Olive brought the two women back to Indigo Grove Estate, soothing them until they finally fell asleep.
Later that night, Lila arrived. After exchanging formalities, Scott Chilton stood in the courtyard, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed toward Slatin’s city center. His expression was icy.
“How many Greengate shops are there in Slatin?”
“Eleven,” Lila replied.
“Give me their addresses.”
“You’re going to destroy them?”
“If Petrin Wilder dares act so brazenly, then Nature’s Path Remedies no longer has a reason to exist.”
Meanwhile, aboard the roaring helicopter, Flynn stared in silence toward Niarak, his expression as cold as frost.
The pilot, a member of Titan Holdings’ elite Dragon Team and a Greater Sovereign himself, glanced at Flynn and sighed inwardly.
“Petrin Wilder,” he thought grimly, “you absolute fool. Of all people, you chose to provoke the King of the Underworld’s benefactor and woman. You’ve signed your own death warrant.”