The night was cool as water, and the cold wind brought a chill to the bones. El, hiding in the forest, shivered involuntarily, glanced at Shu beside him who remained silent, wanting to say something, but opened his mouth without knowing what to say, so he decided against speaking and continued to stealth forward. He could already hear the rumbling sounds not far away and figured that Zhu Bufan should be there already. Thinking of this, El unconsciously quickened his pace. Now was the time where every second counted; there must be no slip-ups.

Shu seemed to have the same thoughts as El. When El quickened his pace, Shu followed suit, keeping step. The two traversed the forest silently, their bodies emitting a green glow that faded, not using any powers, purely relying on their physical strength to hurry along. They didn't want to attract the enemy's attention; otherwise, the surprise attack would be meaningless.

As they moved forward, neither encountered any obstacles. In these lawless places, no one would come out to rob in the middle of the night, especially since this was close to the border area; people would be less inclined to come here to rob. Their bodies were strong, even though they relied solely on physical strength to move forward. Despite the difficult path through the forest, they still managed to reach the forest's edge within a few minutes, getting closer to the source of the sounds.

The rumbling sound continued unabated. As part of the backup team, Shu and El continued their trek without pause.

When the two reached the forest's edge, they found that there was still some distance to the location where the sounds originated and outside the forest, there was no longer any cover. The darkness swallowed their vision; though both were superpower users, seeing far in the dark was still impossible. They could only faintly see figures moving in the distance with the help of moonlight.

Exchanging a glance, they both knew that at this distance, they couldn't help Zhu Bufan. Even at their speed as Wind Element superpower users, it wasn't possible. After surveying the surroundings, they finally decided to leave the forest, using the dim night to continue forward. If Zhu Bufan successfully drew those people's attention, the two could stealthily approach without any difficulty.

Using the occasional bushes, dirt mounds, and piles of rubble, Shu and El crawled almost on the ground as they moved forward. There was no sound; however, they couldn't move too fast to avoid detection.

After stealthily advancing a certain distance, the shadowy figures they initially saw had become clear. This distance was the limit they could reach; going further would be an open area. They suppressed their qi, slowed their breathing, adjusting their somewhat uneven breaths due to the tense and stealthy advancement. They had to be in their best condition to ensure that there would be no mistake during the upcoming assault.

After adjusting their states, Shu quietly stuck his head out to assess the situation. Without any understanding of the current situation, making any move would be very troublesome.

Looking in the direction of the sounds, Shu saw Zhu Bufan engaged with three people, and not far from the fight was Yi Yun, who had been abducted. Yi Yun's condition looked bad; there wasn't a single spot on his body that was intact, nor a part that was clean, covered in blood and mud. Yi Yun just stood there quietly, breathing heavily, and his gaze seemed somewhat dim. If Zhu Bufan wasn't present, Yi Yun would probably collapse at any moment.

Seeing Yi Yun in such a state, Shu couldn't help but guess the ordeal he had gone through, and a surge of anger slowly rose within him. Although he hadn't known Yi Yun for long, Shu had grown fond of the sensible young man.

After assessing Yi Yun's situation, Shu turned his gaze to Zhu Bufan, who was fighting three people. But as soon as his eyes met Zhu Bufan's, a chill ran down his spine, and he felt as if he was being watched by someone. This made the originally well-hidden Shu uneasy. Shu trusted Zhu Bufan's judgment; if Zhu Bufan said only three people were present besides Yi Yun, then there were three. So, where did this feeling of being watched come from?

Shu felt his neck stiffen, a natural muscle contraction after extreme fear. He slowly turned his neck towards the direction he sensed the gaze coming from. The sight almost made him scream in fright.

Not far from where Zhu Bufan was fighting the three, stood a young man. When Shu looked in that direction, the young man seemed to glance unintentionally towards Shu, a glance cold as ice, devoid of emotion, as if he knew Shu was hiding there all along. In the moment their eyes met, Shu felt the corner of the young man's mouth curve into a faint, bloodthirsty smile.

Shu quickly retracted his gaze and hid again, not daring to poke his head out again. El, who was quietly recovering his strength, didn't understand why Shu suddenly became so frantic, even his breathing becoming erratic.

"What's wrong?" El whispered. He clearly felt Shu's body trembling slightly. Having known Shu for so long, he'd never seen him like this, not even during large-scale conflicts with superpower users at the border.

Taking a deep breath, calming his nerves and erratic breathing, Shu forced himself to regain composure. The unintentional glance from that young man gave Shu immense pressure, causing such a lapse. Once he felt he could somewhat control his voice, Shu whispered, "I think we've been discovered. Someone's standing over there in the shadows." His voice trembled slightly, but he managed to control its volume well without letting tension make it louder.

"Someone else is here?" El was astounded. He too trusted Zhu Bufan's judgment completely, but hearing Shu say someone else was here surprised him. "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?" El asked Shu, unwilling to casually dismiss Zhu Bufan's observations.

Shu nodded firmly. Even though he had retreated, despite repeatedly telling himself the young man's glance was a coincidence, he couldn't shake off the chill on his back, and the icy feeling seemed to grow more pronounced. Shu found his hand starting to tremble violently, beyond his control.

"Damn it. What's going on? It was just a glance." Shu muttered, biting down on his trembling hand. He sought to use pain to erase his fear, without success. Even with the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, he couldn't dispel the fear left by that instantaneous gaze.

The transfixed moment lasted less than a second, and while it was a fuzzy image left, somehow it became increasingly vivid and profound in Shu's mind. Those black eyes, cold and crazed with killing intent, and the consuming darkness, an abyss of darkness at its core lay a heart bent on annihilation, a heart of madness.

Shu heard the sounds of slaughter by his ear: conflicts of ancient times to modern warfare, clashing metals, roaring cannons, and human cries of agony, rage, and unwilling submission to death. All these sounds blended, flooding Shu's ears, agitating his eardrums, straining his taut nerves.

Shu's gaze turned unfocused, not lost in thought but from the fear and pressure. His lips, biting into his hand, were colorless—white without blood. Cold sweat seeped from his forehead and dripped onto the soil. The metallic scent from his mouth spread into the air, unnoticed only due to the ongoing fight in the distance or the blood-dirt on Yi Yun. Otherwise, the scent from Shu would have definitely attracted attention.

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