Arknights: The Cycle of Light and Darkness

Appearing before Revy and Ao Jue was a man. An ordinary appearance, but an extraordinary demeanor. His eyes seemed to reflect the sun, moon, and stars. His body seemed to command mountains, rivers, and seas. He stood between heaven and earth, and heaven and earth revolved around him.

"The Emperor of Great Yan—the True Dragon Son of Heaven, Ao Xing..." Revy's low voice involuntarily carried a hint of solemnity.

This man before him could be said to be one of the most powerful men in the world. In its heyday, not even the northern neighbors of Great Yan dared to challenge its might, and this man was precisely the Emperor, above all others in Great Yan.

Ao Xing's gaze turned to Revy.

"You are good. To have held on for so long under this unfilial son of mine without showing signs of defeat, you are already qualified to contend for the seat of a strong one."

Revy nodded, then shook his head.

"You flatter me. At least in my opinion, even if I used all my trump cards, I probably still couldn't win against you, could I?"

"?!?"

Ao Jue, standing beside them, his eyes widened with surprise and panic. What was this person saying? Did this person even know what he was saying?

Before him was the top expert from the oldest inherited bloodline in this world! He was the ruler of the Great Yan Empire, an uncrowned god, an unparalleled expert with the reality of a deity! Let alone winning, even the qualification to fight to a draw was rare on this continent of Terra.

And then, he actually said, "probably still couldn't win." Did he have the confidence to fight his Father King to a draw now? If this was false, then he was completely mad— But if this was true... then he, who had wanted to fight him just now, was mad!!

As the First Prince of Yan, designated to inherit the great rule, he knew better than anyone how terrifying his Father King truly was!

"Is your first sentence a provocation? Aren't you really afraid... that I'll keep both you and Jue'er here?" The Emperor, unexpectedly, was not angry. Instead, he looked at Revy with interest.

"You wouldn't." Revy shook his head. "If the Emperor of Great Yan were provoked by a nobody's few words, his dignity would be swept away... Besides, isn't this one beside me your target this time?"

The Emperor smiled.

"If one says Rhodes Island operator Edge is a nobody, it might be excusable. If one says 'the Prophet' is a nobody, it would probably invite a lot of curses. And if even 'Duke of Night Reapers' is considered a nobody... then there probably aren't many famous people left in this world."

Revy narrowed his eyes.

"So?"

"Our transaction continues... The other two portions will be sent to Rhodes Island as they are. As for your friends—considering you, as 'the Prophet,' have saved two of my Great Yan's mobile cities twice before, I can tell you their whereabouts." The Emperor paused, seemingly considering, then said: "However, you must tell them that if they don't want to incur the pursuit of the 'Imperial Secret Police,' they'd best keep their mouths shut."

"...I will convey the message."

"Very good! Now turn and leave. The information will be delivered to you by a special agent within three minutes." Without ceremony, the supreme ruler of Yan dismissed Revy, then turned to look at his son, who was already unable to control himself.

"Now—Jue'er, we... need to talk privately."

— — — — Divider — — — —

Platinum's eyes reflected despair. The pursuers came too fast. Now, let alone escaping with Qingjin, even her own escape route was completely sealed.

If, moments ago, she had a one-in-a-thousand chance of escaping alone— then now, not even a one-in-ten-thousand possibility remained.

At this moment, the burly man opposite her, wielding a large spear, also glared furiously at Platinum after checking on the fallen heavy operator.

"You killed my brothers; I demand blood for blood."

Platinum raised her bow, shielding Qingjin. She couldn't run; Qingjin was behind her. At this point, only a fight to the death remained—if she perished here, it wouldn't be in vain.

Pegasus Vision activated.

In Platinum's sight, around the man with the large spear, in places unseen by ordinary vision, countless armored soldiers were constantly moving towards her.

They're dead...

Platinum gave a bitter smile as she drew her bow and nocked an arrow, while the man also raised his great spear.

"Resisting futilely... my 'Wolf's Fang' will tear you all to shreds! Your bodies and heads will be hung on the city gates of East Capital City, proclaiming 'His Highness's' victory!"

"—Victory? I highly doubt it." A familiar voice sounded in Platinum's ear. "'Wolf's Fang' sounds so familiar... probably just like the 'Dragon Claws' that imitate the Dragon Guards, a low-spec version of the 'War Wolves,' right?"

"Originally, I just wanted to take my friends away..." the voice said faintly.

However, the next second, the tone shifted abruptly, filled with coldness and murderous intent—

"—But, my Rhodes Island has 27 lives, and someone has to pay for them, don't they?!"

The man with the great spear abruptly looked to his right. A figure had, at some unknown point, already appeared in the center of the battlefield, separating him from the two Kuranta girls.

A pair of cold eyes had, at some unknown point, locked onto his throat.