Chapter 92: Who's More Ruthless?

Splurt!

A sudden spray of blood filled the air.

The ice elementalist's throat was torn open, her life extinguished in an instant. The brutal sight cast a pall of dread over everyone present, an icy silence settling in as her body crumpled to the ground.

"Sister!!..." The remaining girl let out a heart-wrenching scream, her voice quivering with despair. She took a step forward, desperate to reach her sister's lifeless form, but froze mid-step, terror rooting her in place.

Though identical in appearance, she was her sister's opposite. Where her sibling had been cold and unapproachable, she exuded a delicate, fragile charm—a face that invited sympathy.

Hesitation.

Her body trembled uncontrollably as she raised her eyes, locking onto Chen Feng's cold, merciless face. His body was marked with fiery symbols, and atop his head, two sharp horns gleamed menacingly. His left eye glowed with a sickly green light, casting an eerie pallor over his expression.

It was only now that she understood the true horror of the enemy they had provoked.

She wanted to help Yang Zheng. She wanted to avenge her sister. But the malevolent force radiating from Chen Feng was so suffocating that she couldn't even hold his gaze, let alone stand her ground.

The only thought that consumed her was escape.

Every moment she remained in his presence felt like a weight pressing down on her chest, suffocating her. With a broken sob, she took a step back. Her courage shattered completely, and without another glance, she turned to flee.

Love, guilt, resentment, helplessness—all flickered across her face as she ran. She knew it was wrong to leave them behind. Yang Zheng had always been there to protect her, and her sister had always been her shield. But now, with both gone, the crushing realization of how hopeless the world had become twisted her heart with terror.

Her face contorted with fear and desperation as her will to survive overpowered her guilt. Spinning around, she sprinted away.

Thud!

But just as she turned, her foot slipped, and she fell hard into a cold pool of water.

"Water? How is there water here?" she thought, panic creeping in. She remembered the factory clearly. Concrete floors, rusting machinery—there was no water. Yet here she was, soaked to the bone.

"No, it doesn't matter. I have to get out of here!"

Though confused, there was no time to think. She had to escape. She had to live.

She had always been a good swimmer, her years spent training to perfect her graceful figure. Her muscles ached from the cold, but she pushed forward, her eyes fixed on the shore. Two meters. One meter. Almost there.

But just as her hand broke the surface, something clamped around her ankle, yanking her back into the freezing depths.

Her sister!

Gasping in disbelief, she looked down. Her heart stopped as she recognized the familiar face—her sister, beautiful as ever, her skin eerily flushed. Except for the gaping wound that ran across her neck, where her throat had been slashed open. The wound was so deep she could see the gleaming white of bone beneath her sister's skin.

No!

This couldn't be real.

"There's no water here. My sister is dead. This isn't possible... This is impossible..."

She thrashed wildly, trying to kick free, to swim away, but her sister's grip tightened. Her fingers dug into her flesh like iron talons, inescapable, dragging her deeper into the icy blackness.

"Wh...y d-didn't... y-you... a-a-avenge... meee?" The corpse's voice broke the silence, jagged and cold, like the screech of glass being scraped. It was filled with sorrow, bitterness, and a rage that gnawed at the air around them.

"It's not real..." The girl sobbed, clutching at the shreds of her sanity, trying to convince herself that none of this was happening.

"W-We... grew up... t-together... I... always... g-gave you... everything... even... shared... my... m-men with you... S-So why... when I... was killed... d-did you... stand by... and... d-do nothing?!" The corpse floated closer, its blood-streaked face now inches from the girl's own.

"This isn't real..." She tried to close her eyes, to shut out the nightmare in front of her, but her eyelids wouldn't obey. They remained frozen open, forcing her to stare at the horror. Her sister's head hung at an unnatural angle, blood dripping in slow, deliberate rivulets. The once familiar eyes, now dull and lifeless, were brimming with relentless resentment, drilling into her soul.

"I... Sister... I'm scared. Please, don't kill me. I beg you, don't kill me," the girl whimpered. Her fragile mind cracked under the weight of terror, the sense of suffocation all too real. She pleaded with the phantom, clinging to the thin hope that her sister's ghost might show mercy.

"W-We... grew up... t-together... N-Now that... I'm d-dead... w-won't you... s-stay with... me? D-Don't leave… S-Stay here... with me... FOREVER!" The dead sister's mouth stretched wide, teeth sinking into the girl's shoulder. With that bite, they began to sink deeper into the cold, dark water, descending into the abyss.

"mhmhjjk!"

Water surged into the girl's mouth, choking her words. Her wide, panicked eyes stared helplessly at the shore—so close, only half a meter away, yet now impossibly far. A void she could never hope to cross.

Her limbs twitched.

Her vision blurred, the surface slipping further and further away. She reached out weakly, but her fingers barely moved. Slowly, the light dimmed, and her consciousness slipped away into the dark...

Thud!

In reality, the girl collapsed to the ground, her once expressive face wiped clean of any emotion. Her bright eyes had dulled, lifeless, as if the light inside her had been snuffed out.

A thin stream of saliva dribbled from the corner of her mouth as she sat there, a husk of her former self. Her body breathed, but her mind was gone. She was a hollow shell, a walking corpse with no will left to live.

It had all been an illusion.

The water, the corpse, even her desperate attempt to escape—it was all a lie. Yet, the fear, the suffocation, the horror of her sister's cold gaze—it had been so real that it crushed her spirit. She had realized it too late, and by then, the terror had shattered her completely, drowning her in hopelessness.

Her mind was lost forever.

Chen Feng stood nearby, his left eye returning to its normal color as the eerie green glow faded. In mere moments, two once-powerful foes had been reduced to nothing. One dead, the other spiritually broken.

"Xue'er!" "Yun'er!"

Yang Zheng's voice suddenly cut through the stillness, raw with grief. His scream echoed across the battlefield as he stared in disbelief at the lifeless form of the ice elementalist and the empty shell of her sister.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him through the heart. Pain and paralysis gripped him, numbing every sense.

He knew their strength. They had been his most trusted allies, one a master of long-range destruction, the other an expert in close combat. Together, they had waded through swarms of Zerg and come out bloodied but victorious.

Their strength surpassed even that of many men! And yet, these two powerful women were wiped out in an instant by Chen Feng, who appeared so unassuming at first glance. The shock that coursed through Yang Zheng's heart could only be compared to a violent storm.

A ruthless flower-crusher.

Chen Feng's methods, his unflinching cruelty, sent a chill down Yang Zheng's spine—not just physically, but deep into his soul. He struggled to shake off the disbelief, his heart heavy with unease.

With a roar, he struck out, forcing Fura back with a powerful blow. For a moment, he stood frozen, his eyes flicking between the lifeless body of one woman lying in a pool of her own blood, and the hollow shell of the other, her mind shattered beyond repair. His throat tightened as he swallowed hard, then slowly lifted his head.

The defiance in Yang Zheng's gaze had vanished, replaced by a thin veil of fear. His face was torn between anger and desperation. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a tone far more subdued than before. "This time… I admit defeat. I still have food, supplies, and people under my command. I'll deliver them all to you. From now on, I will follow your lead. I'll slay monsters for you, fight your battles, and serve you loyally."

What?

Yang Zheng… surrendering?

Who was this man?

In the future, he would rise to become a legend, a name feared across the land. He would create countless miracles, conquer impossible challenges, and hold an unshakable position in J City.

The Hundred Beasts General.

A figure whose name would carry weight not just in J City but far beyond. His presence alone could sway entire battles.

And yet here he stood, surrendering? Offering his loyalty, his men, and his resources to Chen Feng?

Chen Feng's eyes narrowed as he watched Yang Zheng carefully. His mind raced, processing every angle.

It wasn't entirely surprising. Fura had proven herself to be an equal match, and with Chen Feng's terrifying power looming over him, Yang Zheng had been stripped of his advantage. From the beginning, his momentum had been crushed, his confidence slowly eroded.

The deaths of his two closest women had been the final blow.

Chen Feng could see this clearly and allowed a small smile to form on his lips. "Oh? You're ready to surrender? I killed your two women, and you're just going to let that slide?"

Yang Zheng looked up, a brief flicker of pain passing through his eyes. But within seconds, he had steeled himself again, speaking slowly, deliberately. "Women are like clothes. Lose one, and you can always find another. I have plenty more. Two less won't matter."

These weren't ordinary women. In the early days of the apocalypse, they had already distinguished themselves. They weren't just beautiful—they were skilled, ruthless, and capable. And yet Yang Zheng discarded them with barely a pause. There was a tinge of sorrow in his voice, but it was drowned out by cold, unyielding determination. Chen Feng could see it clearly—those women were erased from his heart the moment they died.

This kind of mentality...

It was both terrifying and admirable.

Chen Feng let out a low chuckle, the cold amusement gleaming in his eyes. "A man without venom isn't a true man, as they say! But if you want to follow me, you'll need to show some sincerity. You broke my subordinate's arm. Now, I want you to sever both of your own. Do that, and from this moment on, I'll treat you as a brother. What do you say… deal?"