Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 257 Reasons, Abilities, and Combat
Didn't they catch up?
At her wit's end, she ran to the other side of town, turned around and looked back, only to find that no one was chasing her.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief and muttered a few words to herself.

"It seems their target is the commander-in-chief, and they don't care about someone as insignificant as me... I need to get out of here as soon as possible. Once they capture the commander-in-chief, they certainly won't let me go."

"...I can't go to big cities, my identity will definitely be exposed, and I'll be identified by facial recognition. Damn it, if I could get that guarantee, I wouldn't have to worry about this problem."

As soon as she finished speaking, a young voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

"They don't care, but I'm very curious."

The sudden sound startled her, and she quickly assumed a fighting stance and turned around. There she saw a person completely covered in black armor standing there.

"who?!"

"The person you're asking for a guarantor. You're just at your wit's end."

The woman was shocked to hear this: "You're the shadow?!"

When Guan Tong manipulated the shadow and discovered that this woman had betrayed Jiang Lanying and run away, he guessed that she might be the one who had "reached the end of her rope." Because only this traitor could have done such a thing.

I overheard what she was saying to herself, and it was indeed true.

After her initial surprise, the woman noticed the black armor on the other person and realized it was indeed Shadow. Information about this "Shadow Armor" was recorded in the Shadow's database.

"How...how did you find this place? I didn't give you any location information!"

"If you don't give it to me, will I not be able to find it?"

"...What do you want?"

The woman didn't try to escape; she didn't believe she could outrun the "shadow." No matter how fast she was, could she possibly outrun a shadow? Besides, she'd already used her speed-up item to escape the enemy's encirclement.

She felt like she had truly reached the end of her rope.

"I'm just a little curious," Guan Tong asked, "Why did you betray Jiang Lanying?"

Guan Tong had just seen through the shadows that those "Han Ling's" were all willing to die for their commander Jiang Lanying, even to the point of being so crazy as to perish together with the enemy.

Why is this kind of fervor absent in the woman before me? Why is she so special?
Upon hearing Guan Tong's question, the woman paused for a moment before replying, "If I tell you, will you let me leave?"

"No."

Even without rules to bind her, Guan Tong wouldn't lie right now.

"Do you really think that after you've done so many bad things for Jiang Lanying, I'd let you live?"

The woman's expression changed: "Then why should I tell you, just to satisfy your curiosity!"

Guan Tong shrugged: "It's fine if you don't say it. But I think you might say it, because the desire to confide is also a human desire... especially before death, people seem to have a lot to say."

The woman paused for a few seconds after hearing this before speaking: "There's nothing special about it. I'm just simply afraid of dying. So even though the commander adopted me, an orphan, I never had the thought of sacrificing myself for her. Don't you find that ridiculous?"

"No, I think that's what a normal person would think."

The rules are in place, and the woman knows that Guan Tong doesn't lie; what he says is his true thought.

She said with some surprise, "I didn't expect you to understand. Many people would think I'm an ungrateful and selfish person."

"If the purpose of adopting orphans is to make them die for you one day, that is true selfishness."

"Thank you... Please do it."

Guan Tong raised his hand, paused, and said, "I know that you all have poison hidden in your teeth. You will die immediately after taking it, without much pain."

Han Ling and the short-haired woman who led the attack on him both died from poisoning, and in the same manner. This indicates that they both carried this poison.

The woman gave Guan Tong a strange look, then suddenly flung a mind bomb at him.

"boom!!!"

After the bomb exploded, the woman stared intently ahead, her gaze trying to pierce through the blast dust.

But the next moment she felt a pain in her chest as a shadow thorn pierced through it and was quickly pulled out.

She collapsed, clutching her chest weakly, and said with difficulty, "You were prepared all along..."

"I just think it's a bit strange that someone with a strong will to survive would say something like 'Go ahead and do it'."

Guan Tong's voice came through the smoke.

"However, I admire your sneak attack; it's a case of putting knowledge into practice."

"..."

The woman became speechless, and her life quickly faded away.

Guan Tong stared at her corpse, then suddenly turned to look in the direction of the bank vault, his expression changing drastically.

The shadow he left behind at the scene, shared with him in the visual imagery, allowed him to see the unexpected unfolding.

"Lucifer? It's him..."

Guan Tong stopped "Desperate" because he felt Jiang Lanying couldn't escape.

Her subordinates were all dead, so it was impossible for her to defeat the remaining members of the official team on her own.

But to his surprise, the mysterious "relay man" suddenly entered the battlefield, killing several people and turning the tide of the battle.

Moreover, this person was none other than Lucifer, the renowned Ascensionist of the former Solomon Empire.

This person was later wanted and fled after organizing a killing contest. He went to the Tulip Federation region to participate in the warlord wars and is said to have become the leader of one of the forces.

It's unclear how he got in touch with Jiang Lanying and became her contact, intending to help her leave the country safely.

Seeing the astonishing scene transmitted by the shadow, Guan Tong thought to herself, "I have to go there immediately."

...Dragon Soul stared at Lucifer standing next to Jiang Lanying, gripping the triangular military dagger in his hand tightly.

He asked his teammates through his headset, "Is anyone still alive?"

"Captain, Chen Na and I are still alive." Silver Fox's weak voice rang out. "My right arm was severed. Chen Na is beside me. Her earphones fell out and were crushed when she fell."

"Team Leader Long, I'm still alive..." The young voice belonged to You Hao, a team member with the compass-sealing device. His voice was weak and feeble. "I have to hold on. If I can't hold on... the enemy will use the teleportation... device to escape..."

Hearing those two voices brought the dragon soul a slight sense of comfort. But apart from the two voices, no one else spoke, the meaning of which was self-evident.

“The target’s reinforcements are Lucifer,” Dragon Soul said. “Silver Fox, you immediately take Chen Na away from the battlefield and report the situation to your superiors. You Hao, you continue to lie on the ground and pretend to be dead. I’ll deal with Lucifer.”

"...Yes, Captain. Please take care."

Jiang Lanying glanced at the corpse on the ground and said to Lucifer, "Let's go."

"Leave?" Lucifer's gaze was fixed on the dragon soul. "Didn't you notice? This person has no intention of letting me leave."

Jiang Lanying frowned: "Don't dwell on this any longer. Based on my understanding of the Beixing government, their follow-up support will arrive soon."

Lucifer said coldly, "You have no right to order me around. Remember that."

Jiang Lanying's face darkened, but she didn't say anything and walked to the side to watch coldly.

At this moment, Long Hun had removed his combat uniform, leaving him only in long trousers, military boots, a brown tactical vest, and a triangular military dagger in his hand.

"He is Long Hun, the captain of the North Star official team. His ability is 'Muscle Enhancement,' which allows him to instantly strengthen certain muscles in his body, enabling him to perform various physical feats that seem impossible to ordinary people. The weapon in his hand is a mental power item, and its effect is—"

Jiang Lanying leaked information about the Dragon Soul to Lucifer, hoping he would finish the battle quickly.

However, Lucifer rudely interrupted him: "Shut up, old woman. Don't spoil my fun!"

Jiang Lanying's face turned ashen, and she remained silent.

Dragon Soul wasn't angry that Jiang Lanying had revealed his abilities. He simply adjusted his muscles, focusing his energy entirely on Lucifer.
“I can see that you really want to avenge your teammates,” Lucifer said coldly. “You’re the captain of the official North Star team, which is quite a title, but I don’t think you have the ability.”

Whoosh!
With a flick of his wrist, Dragon Soul sent the military dagger flying toward Lucifer.

Lucifer flapped his wings and instantly soared high into the air.

The missed bayonet suddenly turned on its own and chased after the fleeing Lucifer.

Lucifer glanced at it, flapped his left wing, and several black feathers shot out, sending the general's dagger flying to the ground.

He looked down at the dragon soul standing on the ground: "What can a creature that can only stay on the ground do besides playing these boring tricks? Does it think it can hurt me with a toy with tracking capabilities?"

The dragon soul didn't speak. It bent its right knee downwards, its leg muscles rapidly expanding, and the ground beneath its feet cracked open.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, recalling what Jiang Lanying had just mentioned about the Dragon Soul ability.

"Body strengthening..."

boom!
The next moment, Longhun's body shot up from the ground like a cannonball! The ground beneath his right foot was deeply dented, showing just how astonishing the explosive power was in that instant.

Lucifer, watching the dragon soul "bouncing" up from the ground, finally became interested: "Interesting!"

He flapped his wings and charged straight at them!

Dragon Soul had previously enhanced his right leg muscles to gain the ability to burst into the sky and fly, but at the moment of takeoff, the enhanced part was switched.

The current focus is on strengthening the arms.

Dragon Soul's entire right arm transformed rapidly, with bulging veins and knotted muscles, swelling several times its original size in an instant, becoming as thick and powerful as a Qilin arm, tinged with a blood-reddish-brown hue.

"boom!!!"

The two collided in mid-air, fist to fist. Lucifer felt as if his fist had hit a steel plate, and the pain of his bones cracking instantly spread throughout his body.

At the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his back. It was the military dagger. When Dragon Soul threw a punch, he used it to attack from behind, so as to achieve a double attack effect.

With the punch over, Dragon Soul lost power and could no longer stay in the air, his body quickly landing. He looked up at Lucifer in the air, who had punched him head-on, his entire right arm hanging limply, broken.

Unfortunately, the bayonet failed to penetrate Lucifer's back.

Dragon Soul thought to himself, "His wings seem to have the ability to automatically defend vital organs; otherwise, he would be seriously injured even if he doesn't die."

"Not bad, not bad!" Lucifer was actually quite pleased despite losing his right arm. "The captain of the North Star official team isn't a useless piece of trash."

Jiang Lanying frowned deeply as she looked at Lucifer's severed arm. She was genuinely worried that this madman might go too far. Her own death was nothing; it would be terrible if he caused her to fail in her escape.

"It's my turn!"

Lucifer flapped his wings, and dozens of feathers swept out with incredible speed!

Dragon Soul's leg muscles bulged as he sprinted across the ground to dodge the feathers. None of them landed on the ground behind him.

"You're good at dodging, how about this!"

Lucifer gave a low shout and flapped his wings violently.

The next moment, hundreds or even thousands of feathers fell like steel needles, piercing the dragon soul's entire body from all directions!
Numerous feathers covered all the dodging areas, leaving the dragon soul nowhere to hide. He didn't even have time to use any items, but he figured he shouldn't waste his mental energy using items at a time like this.

Dragon Soul lowered his head, arched his body, activated his power, and his back muscles suddenly expanded, with his shoulder and back muscles connecting together like a large disc.

The black, needle-like feathers that fell upon it produced a "thump-thump-thump" sound, like striking a hard drumhead. They couldn't completely pierce the tough muscle, leaving only bloody marks all over the dragon soul's back.

Lucifer's eyes lit up when he saw this: "You've developed your abilities very well."

Dragon Soul straightened up and looked up at Lucifer in the sky.

He knew that Lucifer was constantly depleting his mental energy while flying in the sky. What he needed to do was stall until Lucifer's mental energy was exhausted, and once the guy landed on the ground, he would be much easier to deal with.

(End of this chapter)