Man on the ark, forced to become king

If we win, we won't get anything and will instead attract the Lucchese family's pursuit, especially on their territory. At that point, we won't have time to go find Lappland.

Let alone finding Lappland, she herself wasn't even sure she could escape the city alive.

If you lose, needless to say, everything ends there.

So, if possible, she really doesn't want to fight this guy here.

Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking on her part.

Compared to her, Norman obviously didn't have as many concerns. Upon hearing this, he shook his head slightly, his chest and abdomen contracted and expanded, and large swathes of blood-red smoke billowed out from both sides of his mask, spreading rapidly.

Swish!

Blood suddenly appeared!

Norman, whose hands were completely enveloped in crimson energy and shaped like claws, was on all fours. His body became indistinct in the blood mist. Suddenly, he disappeared into thin air as if by teleportation and appeared behind Texas, his claws slicing through the air and whistling down.

snort~

The cloth tore, and relying on her still-intact fighting instincts and keen intuition, Texas turned around in time to block, but her sleeve was still torn, and a shallow bloodstain appeared on her forearm.

Norman has two claws and is very fast; she should have used dual swords against such an enemy.

But now she only has one sword left; the other one is with Lin Lu, who gave it away as payment, so she has no use for it.

Two against one, and they were immediately at a disadvantage.

However, there is a solution.

Texas retreated, raising her sword, her eyes reflecting an orange-red hue.

"Sword Rain!"

Buzz!

Ripples spread through the air, and dozens of phantom sword blades materialized out of thin air and fell instantly. An invisible restraint pressed down from above, unleashing a mind-shaking power that swept in all directions.

As the rain of swords fell, Norman's figure suddenly stopped, the floating blood mist trembled slightly, and he stood frozen in place.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Texas lunged forward and slashed at Norman's throat with her sword.

This move is considered her unique skill, summoning a materialized sword blade formed by magic. Combined with a synchronized burst of mental energy, it is enough to stun the enemy briefly. So far, it has never failed.

However, people's mental strength is different. It is unknown how long the effect of the sword rain can last against an enemy like Norman. Therefore, she did not have time to use other moves and could only slash at the fastest speed.

Even so, we were still a step too late.

The floating blood mist suddenly erupted, blasting away all the descending swords. Just as Texas's lightsaber reached him, Norman snapped out of his daze and raised his arm to block it.

Stab it!

The orange-red blade tore through clothing and sliced ​​through flesh, but could not go any further.

"That's not enough."

Norman casually flicked away the blood that had flowed down to his elbow, and the long, narrow wound on his forearm quickly closed up under Texas's gaze, completely healing in just a few breaths.

He moved his paws, and his face, hidden by the mask, was expressionless, but you could tell from his tone that he was probably laughing.

'Trouble. '

Texas was startled and was about to use Rain of Swords again.

Assassins' usual combat style dictates that they cannot allow themselves to get bogged down in a long tug-of-war. Naturally, Originium Arts developed for the purpose of rapid combat cannot be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and unusable in a short period of time.

If necessary, she can even use her sword rain more than ten times in a few minutes. In addition, the stun attribute that comes with sword rain might give her a chance to create distance.

Continuing to fight is clearly not a wise move.

It was impossible to end a fight in a short time against an evenly matched opponent like Norman, let alone one who had displayed superhuman healing abilities. Texas didn't think she could compete with such a monster in terms of attrition, and if she tried to drag it out, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Therefore, the best option is to use Originium Arts to delay Norman's advance, allowing her to escape. She is currently not very tired and has more opportunities.

If we delay any longer, it will be impossible to escape once we are too exhausted.

However, just as she raised her sword hilt, Norman seemed to have read her mind. His muscular body moved with incredible speed, transforming into a blur as he instantly covered several meters and closed in on her. Countless streams of blood-red light surrounded him, and the howling wind seemed to want to engulf and shred everything.

His moves were not complicated, in fact, they were quite rudimentary, and his attack routes were straightforward, somewhat reckless.

However, this is precisely the kind of attack that Texas is least adept at dealing with.

Not everyone excels in strength; her innate abilities dictate that her style leans towards agility, leaving her with no choice but to evade Norman's attacks.

However, one step back leads to another.

Norman was incredibly strong and even faster. His blood-red claws, combined with the magical blades surrounding him, created a storm that swept Texas into the fray, leaving her only able to defend herself and utterly powerless to retaliate.

In this situation, Texas could barely hold on and had no chance to use Originium Arts, let alone take the opportunity to escape.

As her strength gradually waned, the girl's eyes grew somewhat dim.

She knew very well that she couldn't hold on like this for long; if she relaxed even slightly, she would fall into an abyss of no return, and even escape would become a pipe dream.

hum~

Suddenly, a faint warmth came from her chest, and a golden glow seemed to emanate from the gap in her neck. For some reason, Texas felt all the fatigue in her body vanish, and she suddenly increased the speed of her sword swing, blocking the claws that were about to tear her clothes.

That is--

His eyes widened slightly, and a warm sensation flowed through his body. The disheveled black wolf immediately remembered what was on his chest.

Lin Lu said that the leaf could save her life in a critical moment. Is this how it's used?

The power surged, the brilliant gold gradually faded, and in its place came a vigorous vitality flowing into her body. If her body were a rusty machine, then this power would be the lubricant poured into it. An unprecedented sense of fullness arose spontaneously. Not only were the strength and speed of her sword swings significantly improved, but even her mind became much clearer. The blood claws that fell into her eyes at high speed also slowed down.

I feel... it can work!

In that critical moment, Texas didn't have time to think. A golden ray extended from the blood-red blade in her hand, grazing the edge of the blood claw, breaking through the blood mist mixed with magical blades, and plunging straight into Norman's shoulder.

laugh!

Blood splattered, the blade piercing deep into the bone!

Despite the excruciating pain in his shoulder, Norman clenched his fist, glared angrily, and slammed his fist into Texas's left shoulder, sending her flying backward.

This move will result in mutual destruction!

Even with its strong self-healing ability, a broken shoulder bone is still considered a very serious injury, since bones cannot regenerate as quickly as flesh and blood.

Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks, Norman's left arm hung limply, and he stared fiercely at his prey. More blood mist spread with his breath, obscuring a large area around him and his body.

On the other side, Texas landed lightly on the ground, tilting her head to look at the shoulder that had been hit by a fist. Her clothes were torn open, and large bruises covered her fair skin. A small area was torn open, with blood flowing freely.

However, unlike previous injuries, this time the wound on his shoulder is healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, even faster than Norman's self-healing!

As he pondered, the blood mist enveloped them. Texas quickly suppressed his distracting thoughts, raised his sword hilt, and another rain of swords fell from the sky. He pushed off with his feet and turned to flee without hesitation.

In her current state, she might actually be able to beat him, but so what?

This battle was completely pointless!

Since this guy dares to act so brazenly in the street, he must have something to rely on. Perhaps the Lucchese family's support will arrive soon.

Texas always remembered his purpose in returning to Syracuse, and he knew exactly whose territory the city belonged to. Acting rashly was not a wise move.

In short, the best option is to leave now while the situation is favorable.

"Leave her behind!"

As Norman's roar echoed through the blood mist, Texas felt a chill run down her spine, a sense of crisis rising within her. Her running body came to an abrupt halt, she forcibly changed direction, rolled on the spot, and landed behind a trash can by the roadside.

The next second, dozens of crossbow bolts burst forth from all directions, embedding themselves in the ground and sparking a shower of fire.

If you continue like this, you will die!

Thick blood mist pursued relentlessly, while numerous crossbowmen lurked in the shadows, watching intently. Texas's heart sank to the bottom.

Even with her high-speed healing ability, she couldn't possibly fight against Norman and the crossbowmen lurking in the shadows from both sides.

Is this the end of the story?

Before she could think further, a dense barrage of crossbow bolts had already come after her again. The blood mist spread like a tide, reaching her. Texas gritted her teeth and swung her sword horizontally. The rain of swords fell, blocking the incoming crossbow bolts, but she couldn't protect her back. A powerful, bloody claw emerged from the thick mist, instantly tearing open flesh and leaving four deep, bone-revealing wounds.

Pfft!

The disheveled Black Wolf felt a tremendous force surge into her body, sending her flying. She crashed to the ground and rolled several times, her vision blurring. The excruciating pain that penetrated to her very bones almost prevented her from getting up.

“Texas!”

Texas felt a buzzing in her head, panting heavily as she struggled to sit up, her expression somewhat dazed.

Why... does she think she heard Lappland's voice?

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

A white shadow flashed, and all the crossbow bolts fired in this direction were cut down by the silver-white sword blade that created afterimages.

With its hair flying, the translucent wolf shadow roared as it charged toward the roadside building. The solid cement wall shattered with a deafening roar, and severed limbs and rubble rolled all over the ground.

boom!

In an instant, flames shot into the sky, and the powerful shockwave dispersed a large amount of blood mist. More buildings collapsed directly in the explosion. Amidst the flying dust and smoke, a mercenary girl with flames wrapped around her arms collided with a burly one-eyed man and stood frozen in place.

"Quite capable."

W chuckled and kicked Norman in the stomach, then stepped back, a cold glint flashing in her narrowed eyes. As she retreated, two red-glowing bombs were thrown, nimbly changing direction in the air and automatically hitting their targets.

Snapped!