Silent Raid's whiskers twitched as the talisman dimmed in his palm.
The message had been sent, which meant only one thing now.
They needed to ensure Jin Huang stayed put.
The immortal rat slowly lowered his hand, red eyes gleaming.
Beside him, Judgement hovered motionlessly above the shallow of the river, white immortal aura curling around her armored form like ghostly flames.
The pressure alone made breathing difficult.
Jin Huang tightened his grip around Han Jianyu's waist, struggling to keep him upright. Blood dripped steadily from the sword cultivator's hand and down the cracked blade he was holding.
He had been gripping it far too tightly.
Crack.
Another fracture spread along the sword's edge. Han Jianyu's breathing grew heavier, his aura fading slightly.
"You alright?" Jin Huang muttered through clenched teeth.
Han Jianyu wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "No. My sword will... is damaged."
Despite that, he still raised the broken sword. "If this is to be... the end of this sword... then let it... also be... the end of me."
Silent Raid chuckled. "You mortals are amusing."
The river behind the immortals begun churning violently as immortal energy rolled outward in waves. Even the water seemed unable to endure their presence.
"You should surrender peacefully," Judgement said coldly. "Resistance is meaningless."
"Meaningless my ass!" Hei Shisan snapped, appearing to take on the role of Han Jianyu's support, thus freeing Jin Huang.
Despite his words, there was an unusual lack of confidence in his tone.
The others had crossed the distance as well, standing around them. Wave upon wave of unease filled their side of the river.
Everyone understood the truth. They were trapped, with no internal energy to support them.
No flight, no truly useful formations, and no powerful treasures they could properly activate.
Against immortals, they may as well have been crippled.
Shen Wuyou's spinning dice slowed just above his palm before abruptly stopping altogether, undecided.
His expression sunk. "This is going to be rough," he whispered.
Silent Raid smiled wider. "The other immortals are already on their way. It seems the hunt has come to an early end."
The words slammed into the group like ice water.
Lu Chen immediately stepped forward, placing himself slightly ahead of the others. Cho Yanshi mirrored him silently, eyes darting around, looking for an opening that didn't exist.
There was nowhere to run. The river stretched behind the immortals, and beyond that the forests and jagged cliffs.
The sky above Albion churned with cosmic light. Vast clouds resembling a celestial lake spiraled overhead, illuminating the wilderness below in eerie silver and violet hues.
The Lake of Avalon would normally be breathtaking, but now it only made the scene feel smaller.
More hopeless.
Jin Huang's mind raced desperately.
Should he fight? Was that even possible?
Should he run? If he couldn't fight, he likely couldn't do that either.
Negotiating was entirely impossible.
He glanced at Silent Raid's eyes and immediately discarded the thought.
The immortal rat didn't see him as a person.
He was just a target. A thing to be hunted. The Immortal Rat only saw the 'accursed' Supreme Immortal Body, nothing else.
Judgement slowly unsheathed a curved blade from her waist. The instant the weapon cleared its scabbard, the surrounding air screamed.
White immortal aura exploded outward.
Jin Huang's jaw tightened.
"Hit her, Huang!" Hei Shisan shouted in an attempt to drive away the fear.
"With what!?" Jin Huang shot back.
Hei Shisan guffawed. "You know what!"
Jin Huang roared, summoning every ounce of strength he could. He closed the distance in a blink, but Judgement predicted him precisely.
Her blade was exactly where he ended up, stabbing into his chest. However, the blade had only lightly stabbed him when it stopped and wouldn't go any further.
Immediately, Jin Huang retreated; Judgement did not give chase.
"Remarkable," Judgement's eyes sparkled as she stared at the lightly bloodied sword.
"The Supreme Immortal Body sure is something. Too bad its an abomination in Heaven's eyes."
Han Jianyu staggered slightly, but forced himself upright again with Hei Shisan's help.
His cracked sword trembled violently in his hand under the pressure pouring from the two immortals.
Even so, his sword will refused to break.
Silent Raid noticed it immediately. "Oh?" he mused. "Still resisting?"
The immortal rat took a single step forward.
BOOM.
The riverbank exploded beneath his foot.
Every member of Jin Huang's group stiffened instinctively as immortal pressure crashed into them like a mountain.
Cho Yanshi nearly dropped to one knee. Shen Wuyou coughed blood. Han Jianyu's legs shook violently. Qin Shuyue was no different than a sheet of paper.
Hei Shisan felt Han Jianyu's weight getting heavier against his shoulder as the sword cultivator struggled to remain conscious.
Silent Raid smiled. "Good," he said softly. "Stay afraid."
Jin Huang scoffed, his body clothed in golden energy.
"Stay afraid?" he said, rolling his shoulders as golden light burst from his pores like wildfire. "You picked the wrong people for that."
BOOOOOOM!
The ground beneath him detonated. A crater exploded outward as Jin Huang vanished.
Even Silent Raid's smile faltered slightly.
Jin Huang appeared directly above him, fist descending like a falling star. Golden flames spiraled around his arm, space itself bending beneath the sheer density of force.
The punch landed. Or rather-
It should have.
Silent Raid casually raised one clawed hand.
CLANG!
The impact produced a metallic scream that ripped across the land, cuasing the surrounding river to erupt upward.
Shockwaves blasted through the forest as ancient trees folded in half and jagged cliffs cracked apart.
Yet, Silent Raid didn't move an inch.
Jin Huang's pupils contracted; his fist was caught. Effortlessly.
"Strong," Silent Raid admitted. Then he flicked his wrist.
BANG!
Jin Huang was sent flying like a cannonball. He smashed through trees before finally stopping amidst a collapsing mountain wall.
Dust exploded skyward.
"Huang!" Qin Shuyue cried out.
A second later, and golden light erupted from the rubble.
Jin Huang shot back into the battlefield again, blood trailing from his mouth.
His aura surged higher as he roared.
The golden energy surrounding him deepened, becoming almost liquid in appearance. Faintly, a singular golden rune appeared on his forehead, barely visible.
The pressure pouring from him now was enough to make even the most talented Dao Integration experts explode on the spot.
Hei Shisan, Shen Wuyou and Qin Shuyue had to steel themselves against it, even though it wasn't directed at them.
The distant Lake of Avalon shook violently above.
"This is even more power than when he fought Lu Chen." Shen Wuyou muttered.
Hei Shisan, Han Jianyu and Lu Chen were all boiling. Nothing was worse than having to watch someone else fight for them.
"There must be something we can do," Cho Yanshi sucked her teeth.
The two looked at her, meanwhile Qin Shuyue and Shen Wuyou were locked on to Jin Huang.
Even injured, even cornered, Jin Huang was displaying power near the absolute limit of mortal existence.
Power that approached the realm beyond.
But against the immortals, it still wasn't enough.
Judgement disappeared, without warning, her movement causing not even the slightest ripple.
One moment she stood beside the river, and the next—
SLASH!
A line of white cut through Jin Huang's clothes and across chest.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Jin Huang's eyes widened as overwhelming force sent him spinning sideways. He had barely stabilized himself before another strike arrived.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
White arcs flooded the sky.
Each slash carried impossible precision. Jin Huang blocked one with his forearm, only for the impact to pulverize the bone beneath the flesh.
Another cut carved through his shoulder, while another split open his side.
The golden aura around him roared furiously, healing him almost as quickly as he was being wounded, but the immortals gave him no room to breathe.
They were too fast. Far too fast.
Han Jianyu's eyes trembled. He could see the sword paths- could understand the principles behind Judgement's attacks.
But his body wouldn't listen.
Even his damaged sword will was screaming at him to get back into the fight, but he didn't know how.
Without access to the vast majority of his power, Han Jianyu could not bridge that gap.
It was while he was convincing himself of this that the whispers returned.
No. One particular whisper came to him and, for the first time...
He understood what it was saying.
Concurrently, Jin Huang roared and slammed both palms together. Golden energy erupted outward in a massive wave.
For the first time, the immortals actually stopped moving.
The energy-based attack swallowed them whole.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A sun seemed to erupt across the riverbank.
The resulting shockwave blasted everyone backward. Lu Chen dug his heels into the ground to stop himself while shielding Qin Shuyue behind him.
Cho Yanshi narrowed her eyes desperately through the blinding light.
Did it work?
The smoke slowly parted. Silent Raid stood exactly where he had been. Untouched.
Not even his robes were damaged.
Judgement calmly lowered her blade, white aura flowing around her like mist. She had sliced the attack apart.
Jin Huang's breathing finally became ragged, his heart sinking. That attack had contained nearly everything he had.
And they had neutralized it without effort.
Silent Raid tilted his head curiously. "You're stronger than the reports suggested."
His grin widened. "Which makes the thought of dissecting you even more exciting."
Jin Huang's stomach twisted. The immortal rat wasn't joking. He genuinely meant it.
"I'm sure, as the ones who found him, we'll get to play with his body after the higher-ups are done with him." The Immortal Cat licked her lips.
Judgement suddenly glanced toward the distant horizon. "They're close."
The moment she spoke, everyone felt it. Additional immortal auras- several of them- approaching rapidly.
The pressure descending from the sky intensified until the very clouds distorted.
Shen Wuyou's face lost color completely. "We're dead."
No one refuted him. Even Hei Shisan had gone silent.
Han Jianyu seemed as though he had passed out on his feet, but he tightened his grip on his cracked sword so hard that his palms bled.
Jin Huang slowly stepped backward toward the group.
Golden energy still surged around him violently, but now everyone could see it clearly.
The instability and exhaustion. He was burning himself out just to remain standing, and it still wasn't enough.
Silent Raid took another step forward.
BOOM.
This time, Lu Chen dropped to one knee as he received the attack.
Cho Yanshi coughed violently. Qin Shuyue nearly collapsed from the pressure alone.
The immortal rat's smile became feral.
"Now do you see? There's no way out." He said softly.
The words settled across the battlefield like a death sentence.
As that fear gripped them, something sharp and cold seemed to cut through it like a hot knife through butter.
Hei Shisan was shocked to see Han Jianyu right himself without his help, standing on his own two feet again.
Jade colored aura danced around the blade of the sword cultivator's weapon, repairing the damage.
Peculiar light flashed in Judgement's eyes as she watched him approach Jin Huang.
Then, the bloodied young man stood in front of Jin Huang, face to face with the Immortal Rat.
"Chosen Jianyu, you disappoint me. Your ilk are meant to be the future leaders of Heaven. To think one of you would-"
Han Jianyu's words cut apart Silent Raid's sentence, his voice accompanied by an eerie whisper that did not come from him, but did at the same.
"... the sword that requires only will... the sword of no energy..."
Han Jianyu's arm moved, jade aura leaking from both his eyes and his sword. Judgement gasped, and Silent Raid's wide red eyes betrayed the fear that instantly overcame him.
Han Jianyu's sword vanished through space, his attack carrying no trace of even its own existence.
An sword arc of nothingness, visible only because of the will that fueled it, cleaved Silent Raid in two while demolishing everything in its wake.
Judgement fled for her life, desperate to escape that sword arc.
When the dust settled, only Han Jianyu's voice could be heard, accompanied by that ghostly whisper.
"Zero."