Chapter 1067: Devour
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“Qingcheng, I’m here now.”
Ignoring all the confusion, hope and fear coming his way, Zhuo Fan only felt pain for the delicate woman next to him as she s.h.i.+vered. He held her shoulder lightly, drawing her into a hug and consoling her softly.
Chu Qingcheng leaned on him and slowly calmed down, to the others’ amazement, at peace.
Zhuo Fan was her rock. Even as her mind was dulled, her heart knew no fear, no worry, by Zhuo Fan’s side.
Baili Jingtian’s face twitched, enraged at Zhuo Fan’s cra.s.s lack of respect.
To him, Zhuo Fan’s att.i.tude was insufferable, a blatant insult to his station.
With the Crown Prince’s extensive education, he could endure some pompous fool’s c.o.c.ky att.i.tude and disregard it. That much, he could do.
But Zhuo Fan gave him no regard at all, writing them off as being dead already. It was absurd and outrageous!
Zhuo Fan’s casual taunt of not remembering his name was insufferable enough, but now he was enraged by that guy’s complete disinterest.
Sure, a taunt ruffled feathers, but at least the guy was looking at you. While now, why would he even taunt when he didn’t even spare you a glance?
But through Zhuo Fan’s caring and thoughtful att.i.tude, Baili Jingtian came to realize he was only looking at his lover.
[He didn’t just taunt me, but never took me for anything of worth either!]
He was the best crown prince in the lands, Baili Jingtian.
[How dare you not even face me?]
The crown prince was not just a prince, but the pride of the Sword Star Empire, and also had the same fault, unable to stand rejection.
He also knew better than letting anger cloud his judgment, especially with Zhuo Fan’s vanis.h.i.+ng act and instant disposal of Baili Jinggang at the same time. He first needed to understand the intricacies of it all before he took any rash actions.
Zhuo Fan’s power made him feel threatened, so caution was a must. Killing the strongest prince under him in a jiffy ought to warrant at least that much, no?
[Frigid Rain Sword King reported to Patriarch that the punk has Soul Harmony Stage level strength. What a deadly lie!]
Then again, it was deadly for his second brother, though not without merit, having found meaning in his death by exposing the enemy’s eerie skill.
[If it were me having to face that, the loss would be tragic!]
Baili Jingtian whined in his head, giving the other princes a look.
They nodded, turned to Zhuo Fan and charged him all at the same time from all directions. Their hands flashed with thunder sword waves, aiming for Zhuo Fan and the girl.
Zhuo Fan could not dodge them, not in this situation. But blocking wouldn’t prove to be any easier, as there were just too many of them and some would be able to strike true as he defended against another.
The best case in this scenario was escape, fleeing, but not just running away, blinking out of sight like he did before.
And with Baili Jingtian watching him like a hawk, the instant he figured out the ins of the skill, Zhuo Fan would be done for.
Either way, it was Baili Jingtian’s win for sure!
Smirking at his cunning plan, Baili Jingtian lifted his finger, flas.h.i.+ng with a sword wave, wanting to capitalize on Zhuo Fan’s weakness as he made his move to end him then and there.
Zhuo Fan, though, had better things to do than mind Baili Jingtian’s petty tricks and the onslaught of prince coming his way, like being thoughtful to Chu Qingcheng.
[Still the same blatant disregard!]
Ouyang Changqing, however, was only sweating harder the closer the enemy got. Zhuo Fan was his lifeline, his savior!
“Elder brother, brother Zhuo, master Zhuo! The Baili fiends are coming for you, dodge!”
Zhuo Fan held Chu Qingcheng’s delicate waist, humming a song as if to a child.
Whoosh~
The eight experts were within five meters of him in seconds.
“Master Zhou, don’t do anything reckless! This isn’t the time for romance! You should leave dates for after you’re safe! Please?”
Ouyang Changqing cried out and panicked.
Zhuo Fan still held Chu Qingcheng close, showing a fond smile as he hummed into her ears.
The others weren’t that worried though, sighing, “Brother Zhuo, a man with a block of ice for heart is now thawed whenever around junior sister Qingcheng. I just can’t believe he’d go as far as to hum for junior sister Qingcheng just to settle her startled heart.”
“Screw believing! This is no time for flirting!”
Ouyang Changqing cursed, his face falling as tears welled up, “I know why you complain about his sloppy att.i.tude. In times like these, he just looks after his wife. Shouldn’t he at least do that after he settles the problem? Doesn’t he realize that if he dies, there’d be no hope for us all? Especially myself, I want to romance my wife too, I just need a chance. Could he please not rob this from me?”
Ouyang Changqing whined to Murong Xue.
Murong Xue blushed and looked away, “I’d much rather die here and now!”
Ouyang Changqing sighed.
[Sister Xue, you wouldn’t agree with me even in death? Just why…]
Whoosh~
The princes were just a short meter from Zhuo Fan, yet he still didn’t care, holding on to Chu Qingcheng.
Baili Jingtian found it odd.
[Why isn’t he moving? Does he really want them to attack him? Doesn’t he care for his dumb wife? Anyone would be handicapped when protecting something.]
[Does he really believe that he can take on the eight of them even with such a handicap? Not even I can do it, so how can he…]
Baili Jingtian’s eyes shook in disbelief, but he still watched on, not wanting to miss anything. As for the wounded, they were also watching, in worry.
Zhuo Fan’s death meant theirs. Zhuo Fan’s survival meant they’d see another day.
Whoosh~
One figure flashed in front as he extended his finger to shoot a sword wave for Zhuo Fan.
“It’s the third prince!” Murong Xue shouted, “He’s below crown prince and second prince but still very strong!”
“He’s the one that blocked me before!” Ouyang Changqing joined, “Brother Zhuo can’t fight back now, not with…”
Whoos.h.!.+
Seven more sword waves launched for Zhuo Fan, an attack that would definitely cripple Zhuo Fan once they landed.
Everyone tensed, clenching their sweaty palms.
It was now or never. Any later and Zhuo Fan would become b.l.o.o.d.y pieces on the ground.
Sensing the danger at long last, Zhuo Fan paused and his features hardened.
[Too little, too late!]
Third prince smirked, needing only an inch for his attack to reach Zhuo Fan’s waist and run him through.
Third prince grinned in supreme confidence at the imminent victory.
[His head is mine! Patriarch will reward me handsomely, ha-ha-ha…]
Whoosh~
A cold wind blew just then, baffling the third prince to no end.
[Where did that bloodthirst come from?]
He found Zhuo Fan’s icy eyes staring at him like a dead man, a gaze that made him s.h.i.+ver.
The third prince was so close to victory, yet felt like prey instead. Zhuo Fan’s piercing stare felt so oppressive, like death’s scythe on his soft neck.
Zhuo Fan only stared at him, ignoring the other seven attackers, “Sc.u.m, how dare you come close to Qincheng? Die!”
The boom that followed made the air warp in a thousand meters around Zhuo Fan as a black thunderflame inferno exploded in all directions, enveloping the eight and swallowing them whole.
“Divine Eye of the Void’s 4th stage, Thunderflame s.p.a.ce Crusher!”
His right eye flashed with four golden halos while the left held a berserk black thunderflame. Zhuo Fan was in the center of the roaring flames yet held Chu Qingcheng with utmost care as he hummed.
He might be soft around Chu Qingcheng, but cruel to any other, a true devil. Any that approached would be devoured…