Chapter 748: Margo’s sinister move
Seeing Max and Alice engrossed in their deadly dance, their blades and flames weaving through the monstrous tide like threads of lethal light, Margo’s eyes flickered with dark resolve, the bitterness in his chest crystallizing into something sharp and cold. He clenched his iron sword tighter, feeling the weight of his hatred for Max dragging at his every breath.
Slowly, he began to maneuver himself away from his team, his movements measured and deliberate, yet cloaked beneath the chaotic rhythm of battle. Each step backward or sideways was masked by a slash of his sword, a pivot to deflect a Null’s claw, or a sudden dash to avoid snapping jaws.
He fought with just enough vigor that no one watching could accuse him of cowardice or of deliberately pulling away. To any observer, it would appear as though he was being forced to retreat under the relentless press of monstrous bodies, driven apart from his comrades by sheer battlefield chaos.
Yet beneath that practiced illusion, his sharp eyes were constantly scanning the battlefield, calculating, plotting. He edged toward a place where the Nulls were thicker, clustering like a black tide gathering strength for a fresh surge.
These were not the weaker Level 1 or Level 2 creatures but Level 5s and 6s, hulking beasts whose bodies rippled with coiled muscle, whose many glowing eyes swivelled in all directions as they sought new prey.
Margo’s lips curled into a thin, sinister smile as he deliberately slashed only shallow wounds into the Nulls before him rather than finishing them off. He let them live just long enough to become enraged.
When one lunged at him, he parried its claws but didn’t counterattack, instead stepping aside and allowing it to keep pursuing him. Another tried to grapple him, and he slammed the flat of his sword into its side rather than slicing it down, turning its fury onto himself but never striking to kill.
Slowly, he gathered a dozen enraged Nulls around him, all howling, bleeding, their eyes blazing as they focused on his retreating form.
Then, with a quick, subtle flicker of energy, Margo released a small burst of his own aura—not powerful enough to draw attention from distant elders, but just enough to stir up the Nulls even further, making himself the epicenter of their wrath. He feigned a look of desperation, his breaths ragged, sweat streaking down his brow as he performed his act for any potential onlookers.
Finally, when he had the Nulls swirling around him like sharks scenting blood, he executed his plan with ruthless precision. Pretending to stumble backward, he twisted his body sharply and hurled himself sideways in a sudden burst of speed, leaving a gap where he had been standing moments before.
The enraged Nulls, momentarily thrown off balance, surged forward blindly into the space he’d vacated—and Margo, with a quick spin, sent a powerful gust of energy sweeping out toward Max and Alice’s direction.
The gust carried not only dust and blood-mist but also the thick, metallic scent of Margo’s own energy signature—a deliberate lure designed to trick the Nulls’ keen senses. The monsters, already crazed and looking for a target, caught the scent and instantly pivoted, their many eyes flashing as they fixed on the new prey.