Apotheosis

Josef took to his heels and Zen chased closely behind, and they were soon running out of the barrack and onto the streets.

Josef was quick on his feet, but facing Zen's hot pursuit, he began to employ every trick that he could think of.

Seeing that the willow leaf darts didn't work on Zen, he fished out a piece of brown sign paper and cursed, "Soldier in armor!"

Josef tossed the paper note in the air. The paper went up in flames at once and a soldier wearing an armor materialized out of thin air. Facing Zen, he wielded a sword and slashed at the opponent.

"Smash to pieces!"

Smack! Zen threw a punch and the soldier vanished as instantly as it had appeared. Without pause, Zen opened his fist and shook it casually, before moving to gain ground on Josef.

Feeling cornered, Josef gnashed his teeth together in frustration. The very next instant he crushed the pendant that hung around his neck with his bare hands.

The pendant was an heirloom passed down by the Zhuge ancestors. It had been bestowed on him when he became the counselor to the imperial army, with claims that the pendant would come to his rescue in times of danger.

As soon as he crushed it, a pale blue nimbus of light surrounded him protectively, making him glow with an otherworldly aura.

"Smash it!"

Zen punched the light with his fist.

The luminous curtain trembled faintly but soon recovered its intensity.

"So strong?"

Zen frowned, his eyes glinting at the blue aura. The light curtain was indeed remarkable to resist the power of his fist. He assumed it was an heirloom from the Zhuge family. It obviously held ancestral power.

Pow! Smack! Smash!

Zen struck the cloak of light a dozen times in a row. It quivered palpably but he failed to make the slightest crack on its surfa

ah! Now die!"

A brilliant sharp dagger popped out of thin air in Josef's hand, and he moved forward to stab Zen in his neck.

Josef knew his strength was not extreme, so he had many hidden weapons on him. Those little things could come handy in times of peril.

Unexpectedly, as the dagger reached Zen's body halfway, Josef felt a sharp pain shoot into his brain. Holding his head in his hands, he dropped unceremoniously on the ground and rolled over.

"Spiritual Thorn!"

Zen glanced at Josef coldly who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. The murderous look in his eyes held no mercy.

As the lightning effect released by the blue symbol ebbed away, Zen moved his unfeeling body and picked up the dagger that Josef had let fall on the ground. He marched over to Josef in a split second.

"Stay where you are! If you dare kill the counselor to the imperial army, you become the enemy of the Burning Sky Empire!" At that moment, Zen noticed a black figure approaching him in the shadows. He heard a brief growl as his dagger moved toward Josef.

"Is it another representative of the empire?" His brows snapped together as he stabbed Josef sharply. "Death calls you!"