208: Chapter 208 Why are you so fickle?

However.

Just as the tip of Noel's spear was about to pierce Gu Changming, his wrist suddenly flipped.

The spearhead abruptly changed direction in mid-air, abandoning the close-at-hand Gu Changming and thrusting straight down toward the charging Horn.

Horn's pupils suddenly constricted.

Without time for thought, he immediately twisted his waist, forcing the giant blade that was originally slashing at Gu Changming to change its trajectory in mid-air, sweeping to the side to meet Noel's energy spear.

"Boom!"

The two forces collided violently in mid-air, and a wave of violent energy shockwaves erupted from the center of the impact, kicking up a visible ring of air.

The clash ended.

The three were blown back by the airwave and fell toward the ground.

Horn's figure fell from the air, stumbling a few steps upon landing, his left hand clutching his right shoulder blade.

He was the one who had to react and change his move, so he couldn't completely dodge in time.

As a result, Noel's spear tip had pierced a bloody hole in his shoulder, and blood was gushing out.

However, the injury wasn't too severe; only the shoulder blade was pierced, which didn't hinder the movement of those with such high combat power.

The three of them landed back on the ground almost simultaneously.

After Horn steadied himself, he immediately pulled a potion from his space ring, bit off the stopper, and poured it into his mouth.

As the liquid went down his throat, the wound on his shoulder blade began to heal at a visible rate.

Holding the giant blade with one hand, he held it across his body, his gaze scanning back and forth between Gu Changming and Noel, his eyes filled with increased wariness.

Noel was no longer in a hurry to strike either.

He held his energy spear horizontally, its tip no longer aimed at Gu Changming but pointed toward Horn.

In an instant, the situation had completely reversed.

Noel knew very well.

After that round of fighting, he understood that Gu Changming was no match for the two of them working together.

If that spear thrust had really landed and eliminated Gu Changming, then only he and Horn would be left.

Then, it would be one-on-one.

Just as Gu Changming had said, the other was the strongest among them; he couldn't beat that guy from the Beast-Eared Clan.

Therefore, the strongest person on the field had to be dealt with first.

But at the same time...

His peripheral vision swept over Gu Changming, who was not far away.

He also had to watch out for this human.

After all, this race was far too insidious, capable of turning back and launching a sneak attack at any moment.

...

"I told you we should team up and take down the strongest one," Gu Changming said to Noel.

Noel glanced at him and said nothing, looking like he couldn't be bothered to respond.

Gu Changming didn't mind and shrugged.

He reached out and clenched his hand toward the distance.

On the ground in the distance, the broken hilt of the night erosion he had discarded flew into his palm with a whoosh.

At the same time, the metal fragments scattered across the ground also rose up, tracing arcs through the air as they converged toward him.

With a thought from Gu Changming, the fragments seemed to be held by invisible hands, each piece precisely piecing together seamlessly, as if it had never been broken.

It was, after all, a weapon obtained during the early stages of the Assessment; it was gradually falling behind the current level.

The moment the blade was fully restored, Gu Changming extended his left hand.

The Thousand Silk Shuttle immediately began to move, transforming into countless fine silver threads that wound around the night erosion from all directions.

These silver threads drilled into the cracks, traveling through the inside of the blade and stitching the cracks together like needle and thread.

After a short while, a brand-new tang sword appeared in Gu Changming's hand.

The blade was still as black as the middle of the night, but fine white patterns had emerged on the surface like meridians, with silver light faintly flowing within them.

Black with white patterns, it emitted a faint, cold light.

Gu Changming's wrist holding the sword turned slightly, and the blade drew an arc in the air.

Feeling the touch, Gu Changming nodded in satisfaction.

Then he looked up at the two people not far away.

"Alright, let's continue."

...

Noel's gaze lingered for an extra second on the reshaped black sword.

Then he jerked his chin at Gu Changming, signaling him to go first.

This guy was so insidious; there was no way he would leave his back exposed to him.

Gu Changming sighed.

"Is that really necessary? You trust me that little?"

Despite saying that, he didn't hesitate.

He gripped the black-and-white interwoven tang sword tightly, pushed off hard with his feet, and charged toward Horn first.

Noel's figure turned into a stream of light, following closely behind.

This time, it didn't end up like before, where Gu Changming moved first but Noel ended up ahead.

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, reached Horn within less than 0.1 seconds of each other.

A new battle began.

Noel's body shook, and nearly ten arms suddenly materialized around him, each holding a spear condensed from energy.

These arms swung simultaneously, and more than ten spears thrust at Horn from various angles, the spear shadows forming a dense net that sealed off all space for evasion.

Horn swept his giant blade, blocking all the attacks.

Meanwhile, Gu Changming wasn't idle either.

He wasn't as reckless as before, instead staying on the sidelines to provide support, waiting for whenever Horn showed a flaw or an opening while dodging.

He would suddenly cut in and follow up with a strike.

His timing was extremely precise, and not a single strike missed.

Every attack inevitably left a distinct wound on Horn.

Horn gritted his teeth, finding it increasingly difficult to cope.

He panted heavily, his gaze moving rapidly between the two, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He also hadn't expected the situation to turn out like this at all.

Indeed, his combat power was stronger, but he couldn't withstand a joint siege by two others with equivalent A-rank combat power.

...

The battle proceeded smoothly.

Noel and Gu Changming teamed up, pressing Horn so hard he could barely breathe.

At this pace, Noel estimated that in two minutes at most, they would be able to eliminate this Beast-Eared Clan member.

Of course.

At that time.

The moment Horn was eliminated, he would have to watch out for this human.

This guy was very calculating; he had to be guarded against.

Thinking this, Noel took a quick glance toward Gu Changming to check his position and status.

Seeing him look over, Gu Changming immediately responded with a smile, looking perfectly friendly as if saying: Don't worry, we're allies.

In that instant.

Noel's mind suddenly blurred for a moment.

Memory fragments of a certain individual surfaced from the depths of his consciousness.

These memories flashed by as fast as a streak of light.

Then, as if it were some instinctive reaction from deep within his body, before he could think or suppress it.

The hand Noel used to hold the spear suddenly jerked.

The spearhead abruptly changed direction, abandoning the close-at-hand Horn, and with fierce energy, thrust straight toward Gu Changming's head.

To the side.

Horn, who was still struggling to hold on, was also stunned by the sight.

He looked along the spear's shadow in bewilderment.

What's going on?

The spear tip didn't pause for a second.

With a "pfft" sound.

It pierced straight through Gu Changming's head.

However.

The expected scene of blood splattering and brains flying didn't happen.

The spearhead seemed to have plunged into a mass of thick black mire, sinking entirely into it.

Gu Changming's head became blurred in that instant, his features twisting and his silhouette melting like a mass of flowing black liquid.

Although his head was gone, Gu Changming's voice still came through.

"Tsk, why are you so fickle?"