Chapter 234: John Becomes a Bloodied Man
Jenny never imagined that Kezli could already use the power of a Shadow General! How were they supposed to fight that?
"Ah!" Kezli's arms transformed into tentacles, and his legs fused together, turning into a serpentine lower body.
"Die!" Kezli lashed out with his tentacles, attacking both John and Jenny simultaneously.
Jenny reacted instantly, retreating from the Shadow Kingdom. She didn't look back at John; she had already warned him, and as far as she was concerned, she had done all she could.
John, however, was half a beat too slow. Fortunately, his reflexes were sharp enough that he narrowly dodged Kezli's strike.
"When did you learn to fuse with the Shadow General's form?" John gasped. The flaw in their plan was Kezli himself.
Kezli felt the surging power in his body with an obsessive delight. "Do you know, John? This power feels incredible."
"Don't worry, I haven't fully merged with the General's power yet. It's only temporary. But you won't live long enough to see the end of it." Kezli ignored the fleeing girl; he wanted to keep John here forever.
"Holy—!" John pulled out his weapon and flipped the switch. A laser beam erupted from the muzzle.
Kezli's eyes widened. His body became as fluid as a snake, twisting unnaturally to dodge the beam.
"No wonder you were confident enough to face me here. You were hiding a little toy." Kezli nearly slipped up. If that had hit him, it would have bored a hole straight through him. Since he hadn't fully merged with the power yet, a hole through the chest would still be fatal.
"Now you know." John retreated a few steps, preparing to open a portal to the Shadow Kingdom and flee. This was no place to linger.
"Are you planning to run?" With a twist of a tentacle, Kezli opened a rift in the Shadow Kingdom, revealing the scene outside the boxing arena.
John's eyes went wide with shock. Outside, Mike was being suspended ten meters in the air by a Heteromorphic Ninja's tentacles. If the ninja let go, Mike would certainly die.
"Stay and fight me like a man," Kezli said, sitting back comfortably in his chair. "I promise not to leave this seat."
"Release the Captain, and I won't run." John knew Kezli was using Mike as leverage to keep him there.
Outside
"Phew~ luckily I reacted in time to get you out, Uncle Matthew." Jenny let out a breath of relief.
"What's the situation now?" Matthew asked, his face a mask of confusion as he turned toward Jenny. He and Mike had been fine one moment, then Jenny had burst out of the shadows, grabbed him, and dragged him to the roof of the arena.
"It's bad, Uncle Matthew. Kezli can use General-level power now. That means the strength of his Shadow Corps will also jump to a new level."
The strength of the corps was tied to the General. Now that Kezli could tap into that power, Jenny wasn't sure her Shadow-Eaters could still beat his Heteromorphic Ninjas.
"What do we do? Just watch them die?!" Matthew couldn't accept that.
"Of course not." Jenny knew Matthew's character. If things got too dangerous, she'd just have to knock him out and carry him away.
Matthew thought for a moment. "Jenny, as your uncle, I'm ordering you to go home and go to sleep. Don't get involved in this."
"No, I refuse. You can't even beat a regular ninja alone, let alone Kezli." Jenny wasn't about to listen.
Matthew placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're young. You still have room to grow. I'm different."
"We're the same, Uncle Matthew." Jenny stared at him. Though Matthew couldn't see her eyes, he could feel her resolve.
"Fine. The priority is saving Lieutenant Mike. We'll wait for a moment and take them by surprise." Matthew turned his attention back below.
Jenny looked at Matthew's determined profile and whispered a silent apology: Sorry, Uncle. As long as the green mountains remain, there's always wood to burn. She planned to knock him out the moment he was distracted.
The Boxing Arena
"You have to understand, John: the rules are always set by the strong. The weak have no say; they only follow." Kezli licked one of his tentacles.
"Fine. If you want a fight, you've got one," John growled, gritting his teeth. He had long considered Mike his best friend.
Kezli looked at him provocatively. "Then come at me."
"Ah!" John charged, throwing a punch into Kezli's stomach. Kezli didn't even try to dodge.
"I hit him... wait!" John's fist passed right through Kezli's body as if he had punched a swamp. Kezli had mastered the phasing ability of his ninjas. Without the General's power, John couldn't even touch him.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I gave you a chance, and you're useless." Kezli lashed out with a tentacle.
Pinned and unable to dodge, John was sent flying. He crashed out of the Shadow Kingdom rift and landed hard in the center of the boxing ring.
"Next," Kezli yawned. "This is getting boring."
John shook his head, his vision blurring. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, dripping onto the canvas.
"Can't go on, Lieutenant John? Then I guess I'll have to let our Lieutenant Mike go." Kezli prepared to give the order.
Hearing this, a spark of clarity returned to John's eyes. He pushed himself up and limped back toward the Shadow Kingdom rift. "I... I haven't... fallen yet."
"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me." Kezli gave the ninja a signal. The Heteromorphic Ninja lifted Mike even higher.
"John! Use the Shadow Kingdom and run! Forget about me!" Mike screamed in desperation. He was filled with regret. If he hadn't been so stubborn about coming along, John could have escaped long ago.
"Captain, I'm fine." John turned his blood-covered face toward Mike and forced a smile, telling him not to worry.
"What a tragic scene." Kezli mockingly wiped a fake tear.
John clenched his fist and lunged at Kezli again. "YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND!!!"
CRACK! Kezli's tentacle whipped across John's lower left leg. It was like being hit by a steel bar. The bone snapped instantly, and a jagged shard of white bone pierced through the skin.
"AH!" John screamed in agony, collapsing to his knees.
On the roof, Jenny winced and closed her eyes. Matthew seized the moment, extending his cane to save Mike. But the Heteromorphic Ninja was too fast. With a crack of its whip-like arm, it knocked the cane away and lunged toward Daredevil's position.
"Jenny, we—" Before Matthew could finish, Jenny struck him with a palm, knocking him unconscious.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Matthew." Jenny commanded a Shadow-Eater to swallow Matthew, and then they both vanished, fleeing the scene.
The Arena
"Oh ho? So the little mice were hiding after all." Kezli realized Daredevil hadn't left, but it seemed he had fled now.
John lay on the ground, dragging himself toward Kezli with his hands. He had to keep moving. He couldn't stay down, or Mike would be in danger.
"Truly moving. Hahaha!" Kezli decided to end it. He aimed a tentacle to impale John's abdomen.
"John! Live!" Mike screamed.
BANG!
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