Chapter 146: Good
The flames still hadn’t died down by the time the City Lord’s personal guards arrived at the inn. The alley, already narrow and shrouded in shadow, had become a battleground of crumbled stone, broken wards, and corrupted Qi. Ash and scorched talismans floated in the air like ghostly feathers.
Adrian stood at the center of it all, his robe torn, the Skyveil sword in his hand humming with tension. Blood dripped from a shallow cut on his shoulder, and his breaths came ragged, but his eyes were steady—unflinching as they stared down the three remaining Wraiths.
Wraith No. 4 lay motionless, his body half-buried beneath a fallen beam and a curse formation that had detonated on impact. His dagger was cracked. The void mark on his mask had shattered, leaving a splatter of corrupted Qi behind.
The other three Wraiths, however, were now silent. Their casual arrogance had evaporated. What replaced it was cold, meticulous fury.
"You weren’t supposed to be this much trouble," Wraith No. 1 muttered, voice a rasp through the edge of a broken mask. His robes were singed, the arm hanging loosely at his side clearly dislocated.
Adrian didn’t answer. He couldn’t waste breath. Not yet.
Wraith No. 2 and No. 3 split to flank him, their feet making no sound, their killing intent sharpened to a needle’s edge. They didn’t bother hiding anymore. The Veil of a Hundred Shadows still clung to Adrian’s presence, but it didn’t matter. They’d seen enough to know who he was.
"Target confirmed," No. 3 said with a cold smile.
The Void Spider mark on her arm lit up, and black chains shot from her sleeves like serpents, slithering toward Adrian. Wraith No. 2 mirrored her movement—sealing talismans flying toward the ruined ground beneath Adrian’s feet, trying to trap him in a field of stagnation.
Adrian moved.
Astral Steps blurred the air behind him as his body split into two mirror forms for a heartbeat, avoiding both the chains and the talismans. His sword flashed upward—Skyveil catching the moonlight as it severed one of the void-chains mid-flight.
But it wasn’t clean. His arm stung from backlash as the cursed Qi struck back, numbing the flesh around his wrist.