Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 684 The Bottle Doesn't Contain Wine (Part 1)

At this moment, Rolf seemed to return to that unforgettable night:
With his throat ripped open, he lay dying amidst the blood and ruins.

Blood and fluid, filling his mouth and throat, flowed back into his trachea, causing him to cough repeatedly and making it impossible for him to breathe smoothly on his own.

He could only use his supernatural ability to slowly send air through the blood, through the trachea, and into the lungs.

Like breaking free from blood-red shackles.

Like now.

"Calm down, you mute."

Inside the warehouse, Golov gripped Rolf's shoulders tightly, snapping the latter out of his daze.

The zombie looked around nervously, lowering its voice, afraid of being discovered:
"Listen, after you complete the mission, you'll have plenty of opportunities to settle scores with that female boss! But for now, calm down..."

Settle accounts?

What accounts are we keeping?

Is it the debt owed to his legs, the debt owed to his throat, or—the debt owed to his life?

calm?

Why should we stay calm?

Is anyone here who's not calm?
Rolf took a deep breath, and with a jerk of his shoulder, he shook off Golov.

He gave Golov a cold look and wrote a small line of words on the dusty wall:
I am very calm.

Golov was taken aback, then realized:

Oh right, it seems Lord Marius once said that this mute could read?
But Rolf coldly finished writing the next sentence:

[Wait, until, finally]

"Finally? What's the last thing?"

"Growl frowned," Rolf said, but Rolf ignored him.

"Have you finished spewing your filth, Red Viper?" Catherine spoke coldly from the center of the arena. "Have you prepared the coffin?"

As she spoke, the thugs around Phantom Blade's faces turned fierce, and they slowly pressed forward, each finding their target.

Meanwhile, the few men in Nekra huddled together back to back, forming an even tighter circle.

"'The Ghost of the Wind' Rolf, I remember that guy!"

Just then, Gamandia, who was standing next to the Red Viper, picked at his ear:

"The superhuman subordinate that the boss took back from Commas mainly works in the capital, right? I met her once, and she's fine except for that foul mouth that never shuts up."

“Now he’s shut up forever,” Red Viper said sinisterly, “thanks to his boss.”

Golov looked at Rolf with concern, but the latter simply shook his head slowly and gave a silent, cold laugh.

"But is what he said true?"

Gutierrez glared at Catherine with a grim expression:
"Boss, a night of fighting, and you?"

Phantom Blade glanced at the local leaders who were still standing beside Red Viper, who were also her former subordinates—Gamandia, Gutierrez, and Sangare—and her eyes flickered.

A few seconds later, Catherine took a deep breath and resisted the urge to act immediately.

“Well, this should have been a secret—that night, the operation was arranged by the Magus Master, who was also present, to ambush Black Sword.”

These words caused a small commotion.

Gutierrez frowned and said:
"A magic user?"

“Yes, it’s that lord you met once,” Catherine said, growing increasingly impatient. “Gutierrez, do you think I could even outmaneuver him?”

Gutierrez hesitated for a moment.

"Stop using magic power as an excuse."

The red viper spoke coldly.

"What 'behind-the-scenes boss,' what 'invincible in the mortal world,' what 'founder,' what 'legend that even the Black Sword can't defeat'? Damn it, I've had enough of that for decades, and I'm even more fed up with you using them as a banner."

He gritted his teeth:
"Even when Turnbull was still alive, they were no different from dragons in legends. Turnbull was cut down by the Black Sword, and they didn't even utter a sound! For decades, they haven't cared about our lives at all. If we're talking about ghost stories, even a water ghost is more powerful than them!"
"What a load of rubbish, 'arranged by the Mage Master,' ha, I can picture it all: a night of war, him sitting calmly picking his nails, calmly whistling, calmly watching our people get slaughtered one by one. As long as the Black Sword doesn't appear, he won't even blink an eye even if all our people are wiped out!"

Nekra spat angrily:
"Besides, what you're up to is just a 'small' conspiracy by gang members to seize power?"

Catherine sneered:
"Would you dare say that to them in person? Not that one, but another one—the one in red."

Phantom Blade's gaze tightened:

"That's real red, not the red you've dyed on."

Nekra's expression froze for a moment, and he wisely refrained from responding.

“However, they’re probably used to it by now,” he changed the subject. “Knife bitch, this isn’t the first time you’ve tried to scheme against them, is it? Remember Bot?”

Ferguson frowned: "What?"

The name also surprised many people.

Only Catherine's eyes flickered.

Nekra chuckled.
"Those present are all old hands in Emerald City. That's right, 'Dogtooth' Bot, the former head of the Emerald City drug dealers, Turnbull's right-hand man, and... Catherine's former boss."

Facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, the Red Viper said with ill intent:

"He went on a drug spree at his birthday party and started killing his own men. Catherine ruthlessly hacked him to death, 'to save the other innocent gang members,' you said. And after that day, Catherine, you naturally became the new Emerald City boss—after all, Bot was such a detestable, crazy bastard, right?"

Catherine remained calm and composed.
“Everyone knows about this! Gutierrez, Gamandia, you were there at the time, remember?”

Gamandia hesitated for a moment, but Gutierrez answered very quickly:
"Of course, boss. The day Bot went crazy, you saved Gamandia's life. And when I was about to grit my teeth and fight back, you stopped me, took the knife from my hand, and said that such a heavy responsibility should not be pushed onto your subordinates."

"Exactly!"

Catherine stated firmly:
“Everyone knows that I, Catherine, killed Bot with my own hands! I have no regrets and will not make excuses for it. Whatever the consequences, I will bear them all!”

These words carried weight, and the gang members in the warehouse looked at Catherine with increasingly different eyes.

Many of the younger members, especially those on Red Viper's side, began to hesitate.

“I know why you followed her,” Golov whispered to Rolf. “In that respect, she certainly has guts.”

Rolf gripped his hem tightly and remained motionless.

But the red viper's cold laugh rang out at just the right moment:

"Consequences? Yes, the consequence of doing this is that in just a few years after Bot's death, you started a 'business transformation,' turning the previously unknown 'alpha wolf' of the Black Street Brotherhood, Lazanchi Fisseau, into the biggest underground drug dealer in Emerald City, snatching all the market share and profits from us! Bot died, and Lazanchi took over. Isn't it too much of a coincidence that they came one after the other?"

When the name that everyone was familiar with was mentioned, the local gang members all frowned.

“When Kongming Palace got a new duke, there were naturally new rules,” Catherine answered calmly and logically. “If we want to stay on the Emerald City ship, we can no longer openly smuggle drugs—unless you want to end up like the Black Silks, stuck in the new suburbs full of immigrants, in the lucrative North Gate Bridge.”

Knowing he couldn't win the argument, Nekra changed the subject again:

"Putting all that aside, Catherine, tell me: what kind of incredible drug did Bot use on his birthday that made him so high he went crazy?"

He narrowed his eyes, each word piercing to the heart:

"Also, that amazing medicine, did your resourceful old friend Lazanchi manage to get his hands on it back then?"

The red viper's ill-intentioned suggestion sparked a murmur among the whispers.

Catherine chuckled softly:
"All these suspicious points you mentioned, Boss Turnbull investigated them all back then, thoroughly and clearly! And you, Little Red, do you think you're smarter than Boss Turnbull?"

But unexpectedly, Nekra roared and clapped his hands forcefully:

"Turnbull! Thank goodness you finally mentioned him!"

The red viper pointed at the phantom blade:

"Yes, the gang leader has always disliked Bot, but he believed your story and made you take Bot's place..."

"Until later, Turnbull himself, along with his toughest henchmen, two top-tier experts, died in the operation to kill Black Sword, only to be miraculously killed by him in a counterattack!"

Nekra's roar drew everyone's attention:

"You were there that day, you bitch, weren't you? What were you in charge of? Intelligence? Equipment? Or pre-arrangement?"

Catherine's expression hardened:
"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything! I'm just saying that ever since the day the head of the Turnbull gang, who could command a huge following, was choked off, the Blood Bottle Gang has been in chaos, broken, and fractured! His superhuman warriors are fighting amongst themselves, and the leaders are scrambling for territory and fighting amongst themselves. We are no longer a united group."

The red viper took a deep breath:

"And from that time on, the Blood Bottle Gang started having bad luck! Their territory shrank, their business got worse and worse, and they were beaten into a rout by the Brotherhood! But you, Catherine, the former Emerald City 'Little Knife', started having great luck. Your reputation grew, your status rose, and the mighty 'Phantom Blade' is now practically the number one person in the Blood Bottle Gang. The only thing missing is people calling you 'Gang Leader Catherine'!"

His words were malicious, leaving many of the gang members looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Today, you even managed to get a 'big shot' to come up with a way to force the Black Silk Gang to sit down and negotiate with you, and give up the territory they conquered... And you went into their territory all by yourself and came back unscathed—tsk tsk, that's really impressive."

“I just find it strange, Bot, Boss Turnbull, and that wind-wielding ability user… Catherine, why is it that whenever someone close to you dies,” Nekra said in a strange tone, “you are always the one who benefits the most?”

Catherine listened to this in silence, then gave a cold laugh.

"Is that so? Then maybe after I kill you," her sleeve claws snapped out, "I could go even further?"

The red viper smiled slightly upon hearing this.

As an observer, Golov, sitting in the corner, frowned and instinctively sensed something was wrong.

The next second, before anyone could react, Nekra darted forward, drew a short blade from the table, and stabbed at Catherine!
clang!
With a crisp metallic clang, Catherine's sleeve claws appeared, perfectly blocking the blade that Nekra was thrusting at her.

"Big sister!"

"Boss Nekra!"

The two leaders attacked without warning. Several seconds later, both sides reacted hastily, drew their weapons, and shouted battle cries!

"Protect the boss!"

"Fuck them!"

"How did they start fighting?"

"Who the hell should I hit?"

"Just do it!"

"Get out of my way!"

Catherine and Nekra, along with their respective groups, rushed forward in a chaotic frenzy, seizing the first enemy they encountered and engaging in a fierce battle, causing utter chaos in the hall!
One of Catherine's henchmen tried to rush to help Illusion Blade, but Dumuna from the grasslands roared at him and slashed at him with his sword; the puppeteer Ping was standing next to Nekra and had just drawn two strange weapons when he was kicked down by Roger from Catherine's side.
Gutierrez, wielding a pair of iron gauntlets, charged wildly, smashing down several of Catherine's men in succession, until a thug wielding a hammer stopped him; Taremi brandished a scimitar, directing his cronies to charge, while the bad shoemaker Jaga screamed as he retreated, urging the men around him to hurry up and join the fray.

The most conspicuous was Dalton from the Red Viper's side, who had almost lost his mind. He picked up a chair and charged into the crowd, wildly swinging it left and right. People in the path all turned pale and scrambled to get out of his way. However, Duro roared and swung his obviously swollen right arm forward, colliding hard with him!
"Damn it!"

Cursing, Golov first tackled a gang member charging at them, then dragged Rolf backward.

"Why didn't you leave earlier? Now look what's happened!"

On the other side, looking at the chaos in the warehouse, the wandering landlord, Fogg, sighed:
"Ok."

The next second, he rolled up his sleeves, took a long knife handed to him by his confidant, roared and slashed down a gang member who was passing by him, joining the fight.

In the center of the arena, Red Viper and Catherine exchanged blows three times, completely unaffected by the shouts and the people rushing around them; they simply stared intently at each other.

"I was just wondering, Little Red, when are you going to dare to make the first move?" As soon as she finished speaking, Catherine shouted angrily, and her two arms turned at an incredible angle with a "crack" sound, causing her sleeve claws to create a phantom!

clang!clang!clang!
The red viper retreated swiftly, severing an arm that had tried to ambush it, and awkwardly parried the bizarre combo.

"That way you'll have a reason to kill me, right?"

The red viper's expression changed as soon as he finished speaking. He suddenly ducked and rolled on the spot!

call out! Phew!

Three darts shot out from Catherine's sleeve, the closest one just grazing Nekra's nose!
"Ah!"

Someone behind the red viper was hit by a dart and screamed in agony.

“Of course not. Even if you don’t make the first move today,” Catherine said coldly. Without turning her head, she flicked her left hand behind her, and her sleeve claw ripped a pool of blood from a gang member who was about to pounce on her. “You’re still destined not to leave here!”

"Fuck your mother, you bitch!"

Nekra spat out a few words through his teeth. He immediately activated his superpower, stimulating the rapid secretion of hormones in his body and adjusting his nerves and muscles. This allowed him to gradually keep up with the "Phantom Blade's" bizarre movements and step forward to meet the enemy without showing any weakness.

Nekra's side was not numerically superior at first, but his men were all elites from the capital, accustomed to bloodshed, and their ferocity was ignited by the fact that they were outnumbered. On the other hand, Catherine's side was mixed with many local Emerald City soldiers, who were used to a life of ease and had long been out of practice. Now, their morale was low, and some were hot-blooded and bravely rushed forward when the battle started, while others were hesitant and hindered each other. Thus, the two forces, clearly of different strengths, clashed in the warehouse. In the midst of the melee, they were evenly matched, and it was impossible to determine who was superior.

"Ahhh!"

"My hand! That's my hand! Give it back!"

"No, please don't kill me—"

"Damn it! Kill him!"

"Why don't you guys go for it!"

"Hold on a bit, push your intestines back in!"

"withstand!"

"You bastard, don't run!"

"Damn it, the blade's dulled! Give me another knife!"

"Go help the boss!"

"kill!"

In a short while, the warehouse was filled with dismembered limbs and blood, and screams and shouts of killing echoed in the air.

Damn it, these thugs don't know how to fight. It's no different from a village brawl. They're just charging around aimlessly without any strategy. It's a miracle they can win—no matter which side it is!
Grover—the chubby Wyatt was caught in the middle, cursing inwardly.

If he were to take command, we would first divide the team into three groups and a reserve group based on combat strength and combat style, and train them for a week. As for the formation, we would choose—no, no, no, why think about that?

He didn't want to risk his life for Catherine, nor did he want to be loyal to Duro or Fogg. Unfortunately, the two groups were mixed together, and the road to the exit was crowded with people killing and hacking at each other. Most of them were covered in blood and looked like madmen, and they didn't know when a blade would come at them.

Unable to escape easily, Golov could only grab an iron rod from the pool of blood and swing it left and right, parrying and blocking, while constantly complaining of his suffering.

but……

clang!
Golov held firmly to a large club studded with nails. His bloodlust was ignited, and he roared as he knocked the nailed club away, then headbutted his opponent, knocking him unconscious.

Those bastards really went all out with their attacks!

Golov frowned as a severed hand, still holding a dagger, flew past him, splattering blood.

This is truly deadly!

He parried a knife that came from the side, the blade slicing through the bandages on his hand. The zombie roared and turned around, kicking the other man's ankle, breaking it—he seemed to be on their side? Oh well, who knows?—and the man fell to the ground in pain. But before Golov could react, two other thugs rushed forward, howling as they hacked the man to death.

Golov was stunned for a moment, but his body reacted instinctively. He swept his iron rod across and knocked the two thugs unconscious.

It's likely that the skull was broken...

Damn it, what kind of bastard fight is this?!

As for that mute guy... right, where is the mute guy?
Golov turned around and caught a glimpse of Rolf, covered in blood, lying motionless in the corner.

At that moment, the zombie felt a chill run down its spine.

No way?
Now, how is he going to explain this to the prince and Marius?

Two of Xinghubao's top lieutenants went out to gather intelligence and died, died...

Are thugs getting into a brawl in the warehouse?
The next second, Rolf on the ground suddenly opened his eyes and blinked at Golov.

what?
For a moment, Golov was stunned, and another opponent pounced on him.

The opponent was clearly skilled; a short sword connected by a chain twirled back and forth in his hand without stopping for a moment, almost dancing with dazzling skill, making it impossible to predict the trajectory of his attacks.

Glov just found him annoying.

The zombie neither dodged nor evaded, taking the blow in a knight's defensive stance, avoiding vital points, and letting the short sword slice through his upper arm. Then, Golov delivered a front knee strike followed by an elbow strike, leaving the enemy with only half a scream—the other half was muffled by the sound of his jaw shattering.

The flashy short sword lay on the ground, spinning on its own.

Golov turned around and looked at Rolf, who was lying in the corner.

By the way, if he can fake his death, can I do it too?

"This is a tough one, let's all go! Aaaaaah!"

Before he could finish his thoughts, two thugs roared and pounced on him!

Golov sighed in anguish and took up his stick to fight back.

Playing dead!

It's too late!

In the center of the arena, the battle between Catherine and Nekra intensified.
The phantom blade's offensive was fierce, its sleeve claws and blades dancing faster and faster, at increasingly tricky angles, while the red viper's movements appeared restrained and conservative, focused on defense and self-preservation, only launching a counterattack when it was highly certain of success. However, each counterattack was extremely dangerous, making people's hearts tremble.

Both fighters were cursing inwardly.

Damn it, Red Viper is becoming increasingly rational in his use of his powers.

Catherine gritted her teeth and thought: Adjusting and stimulating bodily functions to keep them at a level that just keeps up with her movements, without being wasteful or reckless, and without being stingy with what is lacking, is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.

That bitch, those damned arms of hers!
Red Viper was extremely wary: those superpowered arms that could freely dislocate joints, rotate back and forth, extend and tighten, attack from any angle over a wide range, and were covered with all sorts of mechanisms... were really damn annoying.

But at that moment, Nekra suddenly launched a fierce counterattack, forcing Catherine back three steps:

"Now!"

Catherine withdrew her arm, frowned, and suddenly realized that she had come to the table.

Oh no, what is he going to do?

The next second, the puppeteer Ping, who was not far away, waved his left hand lightly. The broken puppet set of Chaos Gods that had been left on the table opened with a "bang", and more than a dozen small and sharp blades shot out from it, flying towards Catherine's back!
"Hold!"

"Big sister!"

"Hide!"

Many people who witnessed this scene gasped in surprise.

Catherine was startled and was about to dodge, but the red viper attacked at just the right moment, blocking her path to escape!

Fuck!
The next second, Catherine roared, turned to the side, and her arms crackled and popped even more intensely than before as she swung them around!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...

In that instant, Golov frowned in the distance: Catherine's arms folded at incredible angles, swinging her sleeve claws or blades from different angles, blocking the countless blades of the Chaotic Divine Weapon on one hand, and blocking the Red Viper's attack from the side on the other, and doing so alternately from left to right, it was simply divine skill.

Well, it seems the Phantom Blade lives up to its name.

"Was it...unexpected?" Catherine deflected all the flying blades, took a step back, and gasped for breath.

Nekra stared at the scene in disbelief, speechless.

"I told you, there was definitely something wrong with this thing."

Ferguson appeared to the side, and with a slash of his longsword, he knocked the Chaotic God Weapon, which was launching projectiles, to the ground.

“Two against one, and after that, his territory is mine,” Fogg looked at Nekra and rubbed his nose. “No objections, right?”

The red viper looked at the two people in front of it, swallowed hard, and tensed up.

“Aside from the fact that the territory is yours,” Catherine gasped for breath, forcing a smile, “I have no objections.”

Ferguson scoffed dismissively.

The next second, the Wanderer flashed forward and attacked Nekra!

Nekra roared, his hormones surging: he knew Fogg's skills, and facing the two of them attacking him, he could no longer hold back!

clang!
Red Viper parried Ferguson's full-force strike with all his might, but Catherine's arm followed closely, attacking from any gap around Ferguson!

Damn!

These adulterers!

He awkwardly pried open his sleeve claws to block the blade, but Catherine and Fogg worked together skillfully, leaving the Red Viper in a precarious situation.

"Just like before?" Catherine smiled slightly.

“Just like before!” Fogg sneered.

The next moment, Catherine's two arms struck each other, blocking the Red Viper's defense and leaving the best opening for Fogg—Nekra's throat.

"Ahhh!"

The red viper was caught off guard and couldn't help but shout, attracting the attention of many people.

The outcome was about to be decided, and in the next second, Fogg thrust his long sword straight up!

laugh!
Blood splattered everywhere, accompanied by agonizing screams.

Everyone who witnessed this scene was stunned.

Because the one screaming was not Nekra.

Catherine held up her sleeve claw with her right hand, firmly gripping Nekra's knife.

But on the other side, her left hand stopped under her armpit, gripping Ferguson's knife tightly—but the tip of the knife had already pierced through flesh, and blood was flowing everywhere.

The scene was so astonishing that many of the gang members who witnessed it stopped in shock.

Golov shoved aside a gang member who had been yelling and charging at him, but was now gaping with his mouth agape.

In the corner, Rolf opened his eyes and stared intently at the scene.

The warehouse gradually quieted down.

"F, Ferguson?"

Amidst the excruciating pain, Catherine raised her head in disbelief.

She stared blankly at the man who had plunged the blade into her—Ferguson, the leader of Emerald City, the "Wanderer."

"You, you, how could you..."

"As I said, Catherine."

Ferguson remained expressionless, seemingly unsurprised:
"This is for the Blood Bottle Gang."