Chapter 1351 Troublesome Ability

Lon immediately condensed more of the gray energy around his hands. The aura surged forward, gathering into a thick layer of protection just as Lily's sword reached him.

Clang!

The collision sent a powerful shock through Lon's arms. His feet scraped across the ground, leaving two long marks behind him.

What?!

Lon was shocked. Although he had already expected the girl to possess extraordinary abilities after witnessing the light surrounding her, he hadn't imagined that her physical strength would be so impressive.

However, before Lon could regain his balance, he suddenly sensed another attack approaching.

A dagger!

The weapon approached from an unexpected angle, targeting the opening Lily's attack had created in Lon's defense.

Naturally, the attacker was Timi. Having already witnessed the strange nature of Lon's defensive ability, Timi had no intention of giving him an opportunity to recover.

The timing of his attack was nearly perfect. Lon had only just defended against Lily's sword, and his body was still being pushed backward.

There was no time to dodge.

Damn it!

Lon immediately increased the output of his White Lotus Empowerment. The gray aura surrounding him grew considerably denser as an even greater amount of life essence was extracted from his followers.

At almost the same moment, two of the people standing nearby suddenly collapsed. Their bodies aged even further, and within seconds, the last traces of vitality disappeared from them.

They were dead.

However, Lon paid them no attention. The gray energy gathered around his body just as Timi's dagger reached him.

Bang!

A powerful force erupted from the point of impact. Timi felt his dagger strike an unusually solid barrier, and before he could force his way through it, a violent surge of energy pushed him backward.

He twisted his body in midair and landed several meters away. His expression darkened.

He's gotten stronger again.

Compared to the protection Lon had displayed earlier, the gray aura surrounding him was now considerably more powerful.

Timi glanced toward the two followers who had just collapsed. Even without examining their bodies, he could tell that they were dead.

His eyes narrowed.

So that's how it works.

Lon's strength wasn't fixed. As long as he had followers around him, he could continue sacrificing their life essence to increase his power.

Judging from how quickly his defense had strengthened, the amount of energy he could obtain from them was considerable.

This made the situation rather troublesome.

Although Timi was confident that he and Lily could defeat Lon through their combined strength, there was no telling how powerful the man could become if he continued consuming the lives of those around him.

Timi made his decision almost immediately.

"We need to kill the followers."

His voice was cold.

"…"

Lily turned toward him.

"But aren't they also victims?" she asked.

Timi glanced at her.

"Doesn't matter."

His answer was immediate.

"As long as they're alive, he can continue drawing power from them."

Lily frowned slightly. She understood his reasoning but was reluctant to kill them.

Surely, there had to be another way to deal with Lon without harming his followers, especially when they weren't actively attacking anyone.

Of course, if they attempted to interfere with the fight themselves, that would be another matter entirely.

"Can't we look for another alternative?" she began.

However, before she could finish speaking, Timi had already moved.

"Hold that guy off."

"…!"

Lily's expression changed slightly.

"Timi!"

Unfortunately, Timi had no intention of waiting for her agreement.

With a burst of speed, Timi disappeared from his original position and rushed toward one of Lon's followers.

There wasn't the slightest hesitation in his movements.

The dagger in his hand was already raised, its blade reflecting a cold light as he closed the distance.

Slash!

The dagger cut through the follower's throat.

Blood splattered onto the ground.

The follower's body trembled briefly before collapsing.

Timi didn't spare him another glance. Instead, he immediately turned his attention toward the next follower.

However, just as he was about to move, the gray aura surrounding Lon suddenly fluctuated.

Then, instead of weakening as Timi had expected, it grew considerably stronger.

"…!"

Timi stopped, his expression turning ugly.

How is that possible?

Why was the man becoming stronger instead?

Not far away, Lily also noticed the sudden change.

Thanks to her sensitivity toward life energy, she could clearly perceive what had happened.

The moment the follower died, the remaining life energy within his body had been drawn toward Lon.

Unlike the gradual extraction that had occurred earlier, this process had happened almost instantaneously.

Lily's expression darkened as well.

It seemed their opponent's ability was even more complicated than they had imagined.

Meanwhile, Lon suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

His laughter echoed through the surroundings.

"You foolish children!"

Lon looked toward the fallen follower before turning his attention back to Timi.

"Did you really think killing my followers would weaken me?"

His expression was filled with disdain.

"How ignorant!"

The gray aura surrounding his body continued fluctuating as he enjoyed the sudden increase in strength.

"These people have already dedicated themselves to the Great Truth. Their lives, their strength, and even their deaths belong to my master!"

He spread his arms slightly.

"Ordinarily, I would only draw a portion of their essence to strengthen myself. After all, keeping them alive allows them to continue serving our great cause."

Lon shook his head.

"Even I would be reluctant to waste such valuable resources unnecessarily."

He glanced at the dead follower again.

"But you…"

His smile widened.

"You're forcing me to extract every last bit of value from them!"

"…"

Timi remained silent.

Lon laughed again.

"Do you understand now? By killing them, you're merely helping me obtain everything they have left to offer!"

The man's expression grew increasingly fanatical.

"Such devotion! Such magnificent sacrifices! Even in death, they continue contributing to the salvation of this world!"

Timi's grip tightened around his dagger.

Damn it.

He had miscalculated.

Not only could Lon extract life essence from his followers while they were alive, but their deaths appeared to provide him with an even greater amount of power.

In other words, killing the followers wasn't a solution. It was practically the same as personally delivering more strength to their enemy.

Judging from Lon's reaction, he had only been reluctant to sacrifice them completely because he wanted to keep using them as batteries.

Unfortunately, Timi had just done the work for him.

What a troublesome ability.

What the three of them didn't know, however, was that on a nearby rooftop, a youth with green eyes was staring at them with interest.