Love, Gun, Cupid

Therefore, she prioritized destroying Korobochka's physical body, even though the lich lady who had already transferred her power to Lingard was a secondary target among secondary targets.

She saw Lin Jiade watch the lich's body dissipate. He already possessed half of Pallas Athena's authority, "Victory." Now, the ice cave was also pouring its power into Lin Jiade's body, and the ice and moonlight were also his power.

Lin Jiade turned to Du Juan, who felt a real threat and irony from him for the first time... Two thousand years ago, she defeated Ares as the agent of the heavens. Now, she holds Ares's power and is fighting against Lin Jiade, who holds her power. It is as if time has repeated itself and the positions have been reversed.

“Lin Jiade, stealing other people’s things is wrong.” Du Juan held out her hand. “Hand over my things, and I’ll offer you a price you can’t refuse.”

"I refuse!"

"When you still have bargaining power, calmly thinking and maximizing your personal interests is the choice a mature person should make."

“Miss Du Juan, I’m only twenty years old, the age when I’m most prone to emotional outbursts. Right now, all I want to do is knock you down, give you two hard punches, and make you pay for what you’ve done.”

"It seems their sacrifice inspired your courage and fighting spirit. Being entrusted with your strength and life by your comrades makes you feel like you're fighting a battle you can't afford to lose. A sense of responsibility is a plus, but not every battle can be won with a sense of responsibility!"

The moment Du Juan finished speaking, the path of moonlight connected her with Lin Jiade. Unlike ordinary people, Du Juan could see every path extending from Lin Jiade's feet.

She struck first, attacking the dying Kapok; she hadn't finished her off earlier precisely for this moment.

Lin Jiade was certain he would save Mu Mian, so he moved at high speed along the path to Mu Mian's side. When he grabbed her, he had a sword with a cracked blade in his hand.

The kapok trees were gone, but Lin Jiade's bond remained. Du Juan waved her hand, and those snake-like, lock-like strands of hair pierced towards the ice cave. Lin Jiade turned around to save her, but the celestial weapon repelled Du Juan's attack.

Taking this opportunity, Du Juan retrieved the remaining half of her authority. With Lin Jiade's abilities, fusing half of her authority was already the limit, and when Du Juan put the other half into her body, she felt resistance.

"You've integrated half of yourself into Lin Jiade's body to strengthen him, while you've placed all sorts of restrictions on the other half to prevent me from absorbing the authority? You've already done your best within your capabilities," Du Juan muttered to herself.

While she was summarizing for Jianlan, Lin Jiade, who had stepped onto the path, was already close at hand. The sword that gathered moonlight tore through Dujuan's vision, and Dujuan blocked it with her sword.

The two were locked in a struggle. Lin Jiade gripped the sword hilt with both hands, his cheeks flushed red, veins bulging at his temples, his neck and wrists throbbing, his eyes wide like copper bells, and his teeth grinding together.

Du Juan gripped her weapon with one hand to parry his sword, but he suppressed her with brute force. The blade kept pushing horizontally towards her, and it seemed that in a few more seconds, her own weapon would cut her neck and kill her.

“Lin Jiade, right now you look at me with love in your eyes, and twice as much hatred... Even though I'm like this, you still love me. You're such a strange person.”

And you, can you see the joy in my eyes? Whether you love me or hate me, I savor the energy that satisfies me... I've always liked strong flavors because I love the intense emotions of mortals.

The last time we were so honest was when you were facing your first love and your first crush and didn't know what to do. Back then, I didn't have any bad intentions towards you. And you were deeply grateful to me, seeing me as a goddess. At that time, we could talk about almost anything and knew each other's thoughts.

However, when I discovered traces of Diana's presence on you, our trust ended, and perhaps our relationship ended at that time, barely surviving until now.

Let me end this quickly; it will be merciful for you.

Chapter 122 Teamwork (3)

As Du Juan delved deeper into the power of Ares' authority, she began to turn to the dark side—on a physical level, air currents rose from beneath her feet, her eyes and hair were corrupted by black, and when she spread her black wings, her power increased to its limit.

The immense force emanating from the point where the weapons were joined sent Lin Jiade flying. Before he could regain his balance, Du Juan's hair grew wildly, transforming into chains that appeared before his eyes.

Lin Jiade cut his finger, and drops of blood fell onto the chains. Because he held the authority of the cuckoo, the blood spear spell, which was originally impossible, was successfully activated.

He grabbed the blood spear, steadied himself, and used it to pry open another chain. The ice spear spiraled around his back and shot towards Du Juan at high speed.

Du Juan shattered the ice spear, and Lin Jiade flew over with his sword. Pure white wings bloomed behind him, their shape clearly imitating Cupid's wings, which made Du Juan feel amused.

“We are enemies, how dare you imitate me?” Du Juan asked.

"I don't care what method I use to fight, as long as I can win!"

Lin Jiade swung his sword down, using the same technique as Wei Ying. The surging power was concentrated on the blade, causing space to distort the moment it struck.

"Interesting, but not enough!"

Having just defeated the Reed Warbler, the Cuckoo held her sword in both hands. The distortion caused by the shockwave of her power caused halos of light to spread outward in the sky, like ripples spreading across the surface of water.

After a five-second standoff, Du Juan changed form, and Lin Jiade suddenly lost his balance and fell forward. More chains chased after Lin Jiade's back, gathered in the air, and landed, stopping just before binding him.

At each point where the chains coiled, an ice spear halted the tightening of the intricate web. Thus, within the still web, the hunter at its center, poised to capture his prey, was exposed.

Moonlight shone on the chains. Lin Jiade stepped onto the chains. Du Juan would not sit idly by and wait for death. Ares' power turned into black rain and fell, but was then imprisoned by the power of ice. The power that Korobochka entrusted to him was thus exhausted.

He continued upwards, and Du Juan raised her hand. The revolver she had lent him flew out of her pocket, aimed at his forehead, and fired. The bullet only hit Lin Jiade's phantom image, and he transformed into a sword and flew upwards.

In the struggle between the chains and the ice spears, one of the ice spears finally succumbed to the pressure and shattered. A small part of the cuckoo's spider web finally came to life again, and several chains immediately swung down, knocking the flying sword down.

Lin Jiade crashed heavily into the spider web made of chains, coughing up blood. Exercising divine power with a mortal body was putting an immense strain on his body.

"This reminds me of Icarus, a dreamer who was captivated by the sun's rays and thought he could fly to the sun, but whose wings were melted and he fell into the sea as he approached the sun."

"Ling Jiade, are you also Icarus?"

"No, I am not an angel, and you are not the sun!"

Lin Jiade's sword was now fully coated with moonlight. He threw the sword, then transformed into it and followed behind. The celestial weapon continuously broke through the chains, clearing a path for him behind it, while simultaneously slowing down. When its speed reached zero, Lin Jiade caught up with it, transformed back into human form, and was now only a sword's length away from Du Juan.

"Go, Lin Jiade!" cried the warbler struggling desperately. "Give it your all and give that arrogant cuckoo a good beating!"

The reed warbler's recovery was faster than expected, forcing the cuckoo to expend more energy to suppress her sister, which in turn reduced the energy she could use to deal with Lin Jiade.

Fortunately, Lin Jiade's mortal body could only exert limited power, and he had no regenerative abilities. With each collision and each movement, he was one step closer to being torn apart by the power within his body.

She may not be the sun, but he is certainly Icarus who will die without a burial place.

Perhaps Lin Jiade also realized this, the moonlight on his sword shone brightly, and the amazing energy turned into a torrent rushing towards Du Juan. The silvery light collided, filled the spider web cage that Du Juan had built, and then destroyed it. This collision even shook the existence of the Holy Land, causing a corner of its fictional sky to collapse and reveal the real Fuxing City.

After the light faded, two overlapping figures were revealed. Lin Jiade was pushing the hilt of his sword, which had lost its moonlight and was now replaced by the gold of the cuckoo.

Lin Jiade pushed "Victory" toward Du Juan. With a little more effort, he could plunge the deadly blade into Du Juan's neck. But Du Juan's weapon had vanished. Her hands were pressed against Lin Jiade's blade, and black chains bound her hands to the blade.

“Lin Jiade, you actually dare to try to use my power against me?” she said.

"Thank you, your help is very useful!"

In the stalemate, Lin Jiade's sword advanced little by little, until finally, the tip of his sword was touching Du Juan's neck. Just before the blade pierced her, Du Juan transformed into Jasmine, looking at him pitifully.

He was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. The celestial weapon carried his anger forward. At this moment, Du Juan seized the opportunity and exerted force with her palm and chains. Lin Jiade's hand shot forward and saw the divine artifact he relied on being crushed by Du Juan.

Ah, so you've reached your limit too?

Before Lin Jiade could lament the fate of his weapon, the tip of Du Juan's chain had already transformed into a sharp blade, piercing his thigh, binding him, and flinging him into the air. More of Du Juan's hair rushed towards him, closing in on the space around him, then gently embracing him, plunging those cold, deadly weapons into his body.

Blood seeped from the cracks in the cradle. Dujuan fiddled with her hair, and her hair quickly shortened back to its original length, only the ends were stained with blood. Lin Jiade, who had become a blood-soaked figure, fell down, his body riddled with horrific holes.

He struggled to his feet, his blood staining the fragments of the broken sword, which transformed into a spear. He hurled it at Du Juan, who dodged it by tilting her head. Strands of her hair burrowed into Lin Jiade's flesh, causing him to writhe unnaturally.

“I avoided fatal wounds, you know. I won’t let you die. My sister loves you so much, so in the years to come, I’ll let you experience the pleasures of a celestial observer. I promise, after you’ve experienced it, you’ll be begging me to end you. At that time, ending you will be merciful.”

The first thing pulled out was the energy of the reed warbler. The cuckoo opened its mouth and swallowed it, commenting: "This is full of the frustration of a proud girl suffering from unrequited love, wanting to express her thoughts but being stopped by rules and restraint."

She so desperately wanted you to do something for her, but you only saw her as a substitute for me, and felt that was unfair to the reed warbler, so you refused to make a move.

Chapter 123 Teamwork (4)

Du Juan spoke eloquently like a victor. She had been driven to the brink of despair by Lin Jiade, but Lin Jiade's mortal body had been a great help—

Lin Jiade's all-out attack earlier, if it weren't for the fact that his mortal body collapsed and the speed of physical destruction couldn't keep up with the speed of regeneration, resulting in insufficient subsequent power output, would have actually been able to damage her core with the power he had pieced together.

Therefore, her eloquent speech was a way of "catching her breath," based on a lingering affection for Lin Jiade, and a desire not to always appear composed and elegant in front of him... even though she was now his enemy.

At that moment, a weak energy entered her senses. She looked up and saw Jasmine's breath flying towards her. Then, her unharmed face appeared in the flames, mocking Jasmine: "Do you remember the first time we faced each other? You spat at me like this too. How did I respond then?"

Jasmine lashed her tail to the ground, pushing herself toward the cuckoo. Her claws reached for the cuckoo's energy core, but before she could, a gun struck Jasmine on the forehead, knocking her off the ground. The silver muzzle was immediately pressed against her forehead.

"The first time, that bullet was imbued with a spell of pleasure; this time, it's a spell of pain, and an even more painful one. Which do you choose?"

Looking at Jasmine, who was gritting her teeth and remaining silent, Du Juan manipulated her weapon and slid it to her lower abdomen: "Or, I can shoot her here, leave a mark, and make you an infertile woman like Gladiolus."

Alternatively, I could sever the bond between you and Lin Jiade, then use hatred to guide your relationship, implanting modified memories. At that point, Lin Jiade would remember that you killed Jianlan, Mumian, Bingdong, Hehuan, and Yang Xuemeng, while you would remember that Lin Jiade killed your brother and father. You would forever chase each other, fighting until one of you falls, breaking the seal and retrieving your true memories.

Or, let's switch roles. I'll be Lin Jiade's most adorable and obedient girlfriend, Jasmine, and you'll be the calamity-bringing Azalea. Lin Jiade, with love and courage, will defeat the evil demon king Azalea, rescue Princess Jasmine, and live happily ever after with her.

Du Juan smiled and said, "I know that as a member of society, you must want it all, right?"

While she was verbally abusing Jasmine, Lin Jiade had already stood up. Du Juan turned her gaze to him, watching him stagger forward and raise his fist to smash it into her face.

His fist was almost touching her nose, but the black chain piercing his wrist forced him to stop. More chains pierced his joints, but Lin Jiade still tried to move forward. The chains rattled as he worked them, and blood gushed from the wounds, flowing down with his veins.

“You should rest more,” the cuckoo said. “Go to sleep. When you wake up, the reed warbler will have become your mother and raised you anew.”

“Dream on…” Lin Jiade said in a weak voice, “You lost, Miss Dujuan.”

The cuckoo suddenly sensed a threat coming from behind. She turned her head 180 degrees and saw a reed warbler rushing towards her with a spear.

"So Lin Jiade's spear was meant to provide you with a tool to break free of your restraints? Too bad you're a little too late."

The cuckoo's hair billowed as it swooped down towards the reed warbler, who instead hurled its blood-red spear toward Jasmine. Jasmine caught it with its tail, but the cuckoo had already fired first, thwarting Jasmine's potential attack.

Jasmine threw the blood spear into the ice cave, giving all her power to Lin Jiade. The ice cave, which had been observing from the edge, was probably in the best condition among those present, but no one expected a deer to do anything.

"Is this pointless, blood-stained spear what you wanted?"

The blood spear posed little threat to Dujuan, but as if to crush their hopes, chains that evolved from Dujuan's hair caught up with the blood spear in mid-air, binding it. With a dull thud, the blood spear was shredded by Dujuan's chains and fell to the ground as a pile of wreckage.

"Alright, your era has come to an end. Although this is only a small step for me to reclaim the few lost powers, it is a giant leap for the reunion of Pallas Athena."

The moment her declaration fell, a subtle sound drew her attention. Lin Jiade, the young man she had assumed had lost his fighting ability, had transformed into a sword and broken free from her grasp.

"Don't even think about it!" she shouted angrily.

The warbler clung tightly to the cuckoo's chain, while Jasmine struggled to run toward the cuckoo. The cuckoo had no choice but to fire continuously, each shot consuming her dwindling energy. Their efforts also drained the cuckoo's strength.

Lin Jiade landed smoothly, transformed back into human form, took out two vials of stimulants and poured them into his mouth at the same time. In the blink of an eye, the boost and the price came together: his pale cheeks were covered with a sickly blush, his depleted energy was restored in a way that exhausted all resources, the pain and stiffness in his limbs were banished, his nerves were dancing, and hallucinations sang loudly to him. He felt that he had to do something to release the power in his body, or he would explode.

His wounds could provide fresh blood at any time, and he could easily pick up any fragment of a celestial weapon to unleash the Blood Spear spell.

So he launched a sudden, powerful thrust at Du Juan. Du Juan's last bit of energy transformed into a final chain that locked Lin Jiade's spear, but she had no extra strength to break it.

“You have only thirty-five seconds to kill me, Lin Jiade,” Du Juan said. “After thirty-five seconds, I will have enough energy to materialize new chains, and I will dig my authority out of your body and dispose of all the fragments of celestial weapons. That way, your Blood Spear spell will revert to the lowest level of magic and will no longer be able to harm me.”

The magic on Lin Jiade's waist lit up, propelling him forward. The blood spear in his hand once again approached Du Juan's energy core, its tip already piercing her chest.

At this moment, Du Juan hesitated for a moment. She could escape by transforming into human form, not giving Lin Jiade a chance to gamble on a low-probability event. After recuperating and fully digesting the one and a half powers she had acquired today, she would come back to take back what was hers and bring divine punishment upon them, starting with Lin Jiade, who had committed the sin of arrogance.

However, the humiliation of a celestial observer fleeing in the presence of humans is the same as that of humans fleeing in the presence of Teddy. If Dujuan chooses the sure-win option, it also means that she will become the laughingstock of the entire celestial realm, as well as the laughingstock of Lin Jiade.

Proud as she was, she refused to accept that, especially after being mocked as a coward by Lin Jiade—a humiliation she would remember for many, many years. So, she chose another plan: wait 35 seconds, then wipe out her opponents in a spectacular fashion.

Chapter 124 The End of the Cuckoo? (Bonus Chapter)

Those who commit the sin of arrogance will be punished by the gods, whether they are humans, white dragons, or celestial agents who are almost equivalent to gods, all of whom are subject to this invisible and intangible, but real, principle.

Du Juan gripped the blood spear that was piercing her energy core tightly. With each passing second, her condition improved, making her convinced that she would achieve an embarrassing victory in another half minute.

But it doesn't matter. Victory can be embellished, not just in appearance, but in history. As long as the memories of everyone present are erased, future records will show that mortals who chased power became pitiful sacrifices, helping the powerless shells to become Pallas Athena again.

Who could stop her? Reed Warbler, Lin Jiade, and Jasmine were all suppressed by her, and Kapok lay dead on the ground, leaving only a powerless ice cave.

Just as Du Juan was thinking that, she felt the tremor of the deer's hooves. She shifted her gaze slightly away from Lin Jiade and saw the powerless ice cave charging towards Lin Jiade.