In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

"Yes."

Xia Wuyou nodded quickly; she wouldn't interfere.

这和爱不爱许时关系不大，再爱许时也无法否认那家伙很欠揍的事实。

She, along with the other girls, had little chance to deal with him, and over time, they all tacitly reached an understanding.

It's rare to see Xu Shi get his comeuppance; this kind of scene is quite uncommon.

However, now is not the time to talk about this. She knew that what happened next was beyond her control. All she could do was protect Dongfang Xiao.

"Thank you, Madam Xia."

The little empress thanked her.

"You're welcome, but it would be troublesome if you died."

Xia Wuyou spoke her mind, "Xu Shi has trained you for so long, if we replace you with a new person, wouldn't we be doing the same work overtime?"

"..."

Dongfang Xiao was speechless.

Although she knew that this was indeed the case, if Xu Shi won a great victory today, he could unilaterally break the contract, remove her from power, replace her with a more reliable person of his own, or even take the throne himself.

If that's the case, her fate will either be to lose her usefulness and die suddenly, or she will be kept by Xu Shi as a Xingnu powerhouse...

But don't say it outright! Leave some hope, okay? Xu Shi should keep his promise... right?

In short, this Mrs. Xia is really annoying!

Waaaaah, I miss Teacher Xie, oh no, Sister Xie, on my first day here.

While she was secretly shedding tears, Wen Shengkui finally began to take his opponent seriously.

"SS-rank? No wonder that kid Xu Shi insisted on calling me here."

His eyes regained their coldness. "Your name is Cheng Gujian? It's a good thing to be able to fight you."

"Come on, let me see how strong you are."

"...Then let's see who's the best!"

Cheng Gujian didn't waste any words. His spear reignited with gray flames, and he unleashed a killing move right away!

He certainly sensed the danger as well. His skirmishes with Xia Wuyou were minor, but this old man in front of him was no ordinary person!

Although he doesn't consider his opponent to be in the "God Realm," which is SSS, he still has to go all out against opponents of similar strength!

The spear shot out like a dragon, its offensive power far surpassing that against Xia Wuyou, even causing black spots to appear in the surrounding space, as if it had been completely destroyed.

Faced with the opponent's offensive, Wen Shengkui also became serious.

"defense."

The old man remained still and recited softly.

The next second, Cheng Gujian felt immense resistance around him, making it extremely difficult to move forward even an inch.

He frowned subconsciously.

He knew that Wen Shengkui was quite strong, but he had no idea what the other party's abilities were. This shot also carried a strong sense of probing.

So his ability... is protection?

Before he could confirm, Wen Shengkui's voice came again.

"die."

In an instant, Cheng Gujian felt the surrounding air turn icy cold, as if a demon were clinging to his body, constantly devouring his life force.

Not good!

Grand Duke Gu Jian felt a chill run down his spine, clearly not expecting the opponent's abilities to be so domineering.

However, his response was quick enough; he paused with his spear, and wisps of gray mist rose around him.

His complexion improved slightly as the ashes burned like flames.

"...Mistress Xia, what's going on with them?"

Dongfang Xiao blinked and asked, looking puzzled.

If she could at least watch the show of Xia Wuyou and Cheng Gujian's duel earlier, she really couldn't understand it at all now.

Although I didn't feel that the confrontation between the two was anything earth-shattering, there was something strange about it.

Xia Wuyou pursed his lips, but didn't hesitate to explain it to her.

She was well aware of Old Master Wen's ability that "knowledge is power." The scene of him annihilating the S-rank Dragon Cauldron with a single wave of his hand during the riot in Sin City a year ago was still vivid in her mind.

It seems that the old man's abilities have improved during this year at sea.

It's not difficult for him to improve his abilities; as long as he maintains a normal intake of knowledge, he will definitely see improvement.

Although his chances of reaching SSS rank are slim due to his physical condition, there is no doubt that he is among the top SS-rank individuals.

At least for now, he has reached the level of "his words becoming law".

When he says he wants to defend, he can establish an invisible, absolute defense; when he says he wants to die, death can come upon Cheng Gujian without him even realizing it.

As for how Cheng Gujian defended himself, he used his destructive power to forcibly destroy "Words Become Law"—Wen Shengkui was using his own power field to initiate all of this, so it was essentially possible to resist.

Of course, this is only because Cheng Gujian is an SS-level rank on par with Wen Shengkui; anyone else would have been killed long ago.

The clash of auras is relatively mysterious and not within her area of ​​expertise, but Xia Xiaomao could still sense just how terrifying the silent clash between top combatants could be.

It doesn't have to be earth-shattering, but it must be meticulous, leaving no flaw or detail unchecked. The fact that they are so close yet completely unaffected, and don't even feel any pressure, is the best proof of that.

Even if it were her, or someone like Xie Qingyan, who is an S-level or even S+, it would be difficult to achieve such precision.

"...That's incredible!"

The little empress exclaimed that she couldn't understand, but she was greatly shocked. In her mind, Cheng Gujian's strength was already at its peak, but she never expected that there was something even more terrifying.

Xia Wuyou remained noncommittal, but she was more concerned about whether Wen Shengkui himself could handle it.

On the surface, the old man definitely has the upper hand, but she also knows that, given his physical condition, activating his ability is a difficult task.

If Cheng Gujian cannot be completely defeated before reaching the limit, no matter how hard you suppress him, it will be useless.

Fortunately, this worry seems to be somewhat unnecessary. Although Wen Shengkui's condition is visibly declining, he is still the better player in the end.

As the third pronouncement of "death" fell, Cheng Gujian's aura of destruction finally gave way.

His arrogance gradually dissipated, and he was uncontrollably thrown away, landing not far from Xia Wuyou and Dongfang Xiao.

The spear was already shattered, and the body of the Ancient Sword Duke was cracked, like a porcelain doll.

The little queen swore she had never seen him in such a disheveled state.

She never imagined that the other person's obsession would run so deep, that even in this state, they would still try to kill her.

"you……"

He sobbed hoarsely and unwillingly, trying to throw the broken blade in his hand, "Just one step away... just one step away!"

"...a traitorous minister, beyond redemption!"

Seeing the broken blade lying at his feet, Dongfang Xiao trembled with anger, raised his longsword, and prepared to deliver the final blow.

Cheng Gujian is now at his last gasp; let alone anyone else, even a child could easily take his life.

however.

Just as the little empress's sword was about to fall.

A voice drifted over.

"I advise you not to do that."

Xu Shi arrived late with the others. "Or perhaps, at least let me finish speaking before you kill him?"

"Brother Cheng, you want to use me to finish this game? I'll make sure you don't get your way."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 301 Die with Regret, Brother Cheng

2023-10-25

Perhaps because he had been disciplined so much, Dongfang Xiao stopped his actions almost reflexively when he heard Xu Shi's reprimand.

But she did have some doubts.

"What do you mean?"

What does it mean to use his hands to finish this game of chess? What game is Cheng Gujian going to play?

Hasn't he already lost? Why is Xu Shi still trying to stop him from killing him?

"Can't you tell?"

Xu Shi's expression was not good. "He is paving the way for you with his own life, Your Majesty."

"What did you say?!"

The little queen thought there was something wrong with her ears, and after checking, she still couldn't believe it.

Cheng Gujian, did he use his life to pave the way for himself?

Who would believe this?

Anyway, she didn't believe it. In her mind, the other party was already a deeply ingrained image of a powerful and treacherous official. How could he possibly do such a thing?

“I know you don’t believe me, and I didn’t believe it at first either.”

Xu Shi explained, "But if he really wanted to rebel, the timing was just too bad."

Yes.

He had sensed something was amiss during the battle with the Vatican, but his focus was entirely on the Holy Maiden, so he didn't have time to think too much about it.

After calming down, he realized that Cheng Gujian's timing in raising an army was problematic!

It should be understood that the most powerful forces in the Hualan Empire today are nothing more than three parties: the Papacy, the royal family led by Cheng Gujian, and himself, an outsider.