Chapter 433 - 431: Farewell

Chapter 433: Chapter 431: Farewell

His bloodshot eyes were locked on the illusory image of Bai Wanwan with her gentle smile. A colossal sense of loss and the rage of being deceived erupted like a volcano!

He snapped his hand up—not for an embrace, but to gather every ounce of his Dark Power. Fueled by a destructive fury, he viciously thrust it toward the false illusion!

Hua Han let out a muffled grunt, his face instantly turning as pale as a sheet.

A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His body swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.

Casting a High Rank Illusion Technique was already extremely mentally taxing. But Roger’s self-destructive attack from within the Illusion Realm—one fueled by all his resentment and Dark Power—had viciously backlashed against the caster, Hua Han, through their Spiritual Link!

His spiritual power felt as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and an agonizing pain pierced him to the core.

PFFT! Hua Han couldn’t hold on any longer. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the light from the Illusion Technique instantly dimmed and vanished.

Almost at the same instant the illusion disappeared, the brief confusion in Roger’s eyes was replaced by towering rage and savagery!

The scene snapped into focus: a strange male was coughing up blood and staggering, while that Merfolk was helping Bai Wanwan try to retreat!

"You did this?"

His eyes turned grim as he glared at the strange male, his resentment practically boiling over.

"Run!" Jiao Yin shouted, grateful that the other male had saved both him and Bai Wanwan.

Hua Han hadn’t expected his opponent to be so strong, either. ’I have an Orange Rank Talent, and my specialty is Illusion Technique, the best for manipulating minds.’

’I’ve almost never met my match when traveling.’

But the Dark Energy radiating from the male across from him was too sinister; it gave him an unsettling feeling.

"None of you are getting away. Except for Bai Wanwan, you’re all going to die!"

’He wouldn’t leave a single male near Bai Wanwan alive!’

The Dark Energy inside him exploded outward!

A vortex of black energy, thicker and more violent than before, expanded wildly with him at its center, radiating an aura of pure annihilation!

Jiao Yin’s expression grew incredibly grim. He instantly knew that resisting it head-on meant certain death!

"We can’t fight him. Can you cast the Illusion Technique one more time? It’s our only chance to get away."

Hua Han knew he had to risk it. ’Since I chose to reveal myself to save her, I can’t back down now.’

"Alright, I’ll try."

A pink-purple vortex once again swirled in his eyes, and for a moment, Roger’s mind went blank.

Bai Wanwan appeared before him again, gently holding his face, and leaned in to kiss him...

Roger’s attack suddenly halted. The two males didn’t take the opportunity to attack, because they knew if they didn’t escape this time, they probably would never be able to.

He pulled Hua Han, who was still weak from the backlash, and wrapped his other arm around Bai Wanwan’s waist. "Go!"

His powerful tail fin and Water Control Power were unleashed in the same instant!

Lost in the illusion, Roger knew it was fake, but this time he allowed himself to sink into her gentle kiss, not pushing her away.

An unknown amount of time passed before the image of Bai Wanwan before him finally dissipated like smoke.

Roger snapped back to reality. Staring at the empty beach, he unleashed the furious Dark Energy in his hand. A reef exploded with a thunderous BOOM, sending shrapnel flying everywhere!

The obsession and possessiveness in his eyes only intensified.

The cold seawater temporarily cut them off from the madness on the shore.

Jiao Yin led the two in a rapid descent, swimming toward the Crystal Palace.

Though Hua Han was badly injured, he could still manage, his face remaining pale.

Bai Wanwan looked worriedly at the wounds on Jiao Yin’s body. "Are your injuries serious?"

Jiao Yin gave her a faint smile. "It’s nothing. I’m an Orange Rank male; I heal very quickly."

As soon as Jiao Yin finished speaking, Hua Han let out a little groan from the side.

Bai Wanwan turned her head to look at him. "How are you?"

Only then, satisfied, did Hua Han put on a weak expression. "I’m badly hurt. It’s really painful."

Bai Wanwan had just seen him spit blood with her own eyes, so she didn’t doubt him at all. She proactively took his arm to support him. "I’ll heal you later. You’ll recover quickly, so don’t worry. And... thank you!"

Although his head was throbbing, hearing her soft voice say "thank you" felt like a warm spring washing through his heart, and the pain seemed to lessen instantly.

Gradually, they drew closer and closer to the palace.

However, even before they neared the dreamlike Crystal Palace, a heavy sense of foreboding washed over Jiao Yin.

’It’s too quiet!’

The Merfolk guards who usually patrolled the outskirts of the palace were nowhere to be seen.

Faintly, a scent lingered in the water... ’Is that... blood?’

Just as they were about to enter the Coral Forest on the palace’s outskirts, a weak figure shot out from behind a massive cluster of purple coral like an arrow loosed from a bow, blocking Jiao Yin’s path!

"My King! Don’t go back! Run!"

It was a young male Merfolk, his body covered in lacerations so deep you could see the bone. Blue blood seeped from his wounds, staining the surrounding water.

A section of his fishtail had even been severed, clear evidence of a brutal fight.

His eyes were filled with terror and despair as he clutched Jiao Yin’s arm.

"Mo Lin? What happened?!" Jiao Yin’s heart plummeted.

"It’s Jiao Ming! Lord Jiao Ming... he colluded with the Crocodylus porosus Clan!"

Mo Lin’s voice trembled with pain and fear. "They coordinated an attack from the inside and out! A sneak attack! The palace... the guards and the clansmen loyal to you... they’re almost all gone!"

Tears like pearls rolled from his eyes, mixing with the bloody water.

Jiao Yin felt a chill shoot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, as if his very blood had frozen solid.

’So Jiao Ming has been putting on an act all this time.’ They weren’t born from the same Father Beast, but they were still brothers, born from the same Mother.

’And he colluded with the Crocodylus porosus Clan!’

"They... killed all the Merfolk in the palace?" Jiao Yin’s voice trembled slightly.

"Not all of them..." Mo Lin shook his head in agony. "They left Lady Jiao Yue and some of the females and young. They’re imprisoned deep within the palace. Jiao Ming sent word... he said he’s using them to threaten you, to force you to show yourself... My King! You absolutely must not go back! It’s a death trap! The Crocodylus porosus King is in there! They’ve laid a trap for you!"

Mo Lin screamed, using the last of his strength.

Jiao Yin moved forward to support him, watching as his loyal, battered subordinate slowly slumped over, his last breath gone.

His whole body trembled, a rending agony and fury burning in his chest. His long silver hair billowed in the blood-tinged water, stirred by no current...

He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, all the pain and struggle in his deep, ocean-like eyes had been replaced by a grim, almost tragic, resolve.

He slowly turned and looked at Bai Wanwan, who he had been shielding behind him, and who was also rendered speechless by the shocking news.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, his expression a storm of complexity—unspoken affection, deep apology, and, heaviest of all, the weight of a final farewell.

"Bai Wanwan," he said, his voice low and hoarse, laced with a forced calm, "I can’t go with you to find your Beast Husband."