“Who are you? Why do you side with the traitor Cao against me?”

The Prince still spoke in his operatic cadence, but his words now had nothing to do with the play Changbanpo.

After all, in this version, the infant lord Ah Dou could suddenly jump up and trade blows with Zhao Zilong.

Even for an unofficial history, that was just too wild.

“My strength plucks up the hills, my might shadows the world… The times are against me, and Dapple runs no more… When Dapple runs no more, what can I do… Ah, Yu, my Yu, what is to become of you…”

Wu Wang had been about to say something cheeky.

Instead, a passage from Farewell My Concubine tumbled from his lips.

The words stunned everyone present.

They even made his own blood run cold.

Among the players, Xiaoxiao wore the strangest expression.

Just last night, she had heard this very passage in Wu Wang’s company.

It had been sung by the other troupe leader in the Dilapidated Opera Building.

Why was 【Pending Death】 singing it now?

Does he know something?

Hearing the passage, however, the Prince’s expression twisted in pain.

A flash of fury crossed his eyes. He raised the giant broadsword in his hand and swung.

“Mountain Breaker!”

Swift as lightning and roaring like a wildfire, the blade chopped down on Wu Wang from above.

Wu Wang was about to use 【Shadow Swap Technique】 to dodge.

But instead, the black-tasseled Overlord’s Spear in his hand thrust upward to block the blow.

His legs spread slightly, settling into a firm horse stance.

He was actually preparing to meet the Mountain Breaker head-on.

The other players instinctively glanced at the gully scarring the ground nearby, dozens of meters long.

That was the result of the Prince’s last Mountain Breaker.

And this level-ten guy was planning to tank it?

Is he insane?

Won’t he be hacked to pieces?

Clang!

The two weapons met with a sharp, explosive sound.

To everyone’s shock, Wu Wang didn’t budge. His body, which seemed almost petite compared to the Prince, barely even buckled.

He just bent his knees slightly, the shaft of the Overlord’s Spear pressed down against his shoulder.

His clothes were a little dirty, but he had taken the hit with ease!

“Is this kid playing the pig to eat the tiger?” Zi Jin muttered in confusion.

Even high-level players like them didn’t dare to take the Prince’s attacks head-on.

Qiao Biluo, boosted by a physical enhancement, had only been grazed before she fled in disgrace with a severed arm.

Yet there was no sign of any items or skill effects active on Wu Wang.

He’s this fierce on his own?

“Holy shit! I’m this fierce?”

Wu Wang was wondering the same thing.

The sensation was strange.

The black-and-white patterns covering his body felt like an exoskeleton, continuously feeding him power.

His every move was guided by those patterns.

The Big Painted Face on his own visage seemed to come alive, twisting ferociously as a heaven-shaking roar erupted from his throat.

“Waaah! Yah! Ah!”

The sheer force of his presence knocked the Prince back two steps.

Seeing his opening, Wu Wang flourished the Overlord’s Spear.

He surged forward, thrusting the spearpoint at the Prince’s throat.

The Prince immediately raised his broadsword horizontally to block, like a shield.

The moment the spear slammed into the blade, its power sent the Prince’s tall, burly body sliding back several meters.

His boots dug two deep grooves in the dirt, as if a plow had torn through it.

Instead of growing angry, the Prince laughed.

“Excellent! Excellent! Now try this!”

The giant broadsword, heavy as a boulder, moved with incredible dexterity in his hands.

In an instant, seven or eight afterimages of the blade appeared in the air, all chopping down at once.

The other players frantically tried to figure out how they would counter such a move, even as they stared at Wu Wang to see how he would dodge.

But Wu Wang didn’t dodge. He simply gripped the butt of the Overlord’s Spear with one hand and swung the shaft violently from left to right.

“Waterfall Severance!” he roared.

A gust of immense power radiated from the spear tip, blasting everything in its path.

The blade afterimages were instantly swept away.

Only the real broadsword and the Overlord’s Spear were left to clash once more.

This time, the Prince stopped shouting opera lines and poured all his energy into the deadly struggle.

His giant broadsword swung faster and faster.

Wu Wang’s Overlord’s Spear danced in his hands like a roaming dragon.

In a flash, the players could no longer track their weapons.

Only the piercing sound of clashing metal echoed across the battlefield.

Amid flying sand and stones, the battle between the two figures tore the field apart, leaving it even more shattered than before.

Even Cao’s Army, watching from a distance, began to rout as men and horses were thrown into chaos.

The players were numb. Completely numb.

They squatted in silence even farther away, discussing the battle in hushed tones.

“I’m no longer doubting if he’s level ten,” the book-boy said with a sigh.

“I’m doubting if he’s even human.”

The Power King’s gaze remained fixed on the battlefield, a space they could no longer hope to enter. He spoke with awe.

“For someone to confront a BOSS of the Prince’s caliber head-on… it’s just unheard of!”

Zi Jin frowned.

“Who in the world is this 【Pending Death】? Why have I never heard of him?”

As far as she knew, only one person in the Spirit Calamity Game had ever been confirmed to clear an Instance through sheer combat power alone.

That person was Qing Long, the director of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.

Was a second Qing Long about to appear in Huaxia?

Or was he a secret weapon, hidden by an organization preparing to challenge the Abnormal Affairs Bureau?

The only organizations she could think of with that kind of guts and capability were the Tarot Society and the Tower of Order.

Which side did 【Pending Death】 belong to?

She never even considered the possibility that he was a Rogue Player, a complete nobody.

Without massive resources, achieving this level of strength was impossible.

Little did they know, Wu Wang was in a perilous situation he couldn’t escape.

If he didn’t snatch back control of his body, who knew what this remnant soul would do with it?

But if he took back control now, the Prince would hack him into eight pieces in the next second.

He had managed to survive a spear through the head earlier, which he could pass off as some kind of skill effect, a clever illusion.

But being sliced into eight pieces and then regenerating in front of everyone? That would be too bizarre to explain away.

If someone here had connections to the group hunting the 【Undying】, he would be in serious trouble.

For now, all he could do was brace himself and keep fighting.

“Rouse your spirits and show your might! A long spear performs great deeds! Today you save the young lord on this very spot! Who has not heard the name of Zhao Zilong!”

Just then, another operatic passage drifted in from the horizon.

It echoed across the sandy battlefield, stunning everyone.

The two combatants froze, their weapons stilled.

The Prince narrowed his eyes. He shook the swaddling clothes in his arms, and a new Marionette, appearing from nowhere, took the place of Ah Dou.

The warhorse the book-boy had split in two miraculously got back up.

The Prince leaped onto its back.

He pulled the reins, and with a frantic neigh, the horse galloped toward the distant Dangyang Bridge.

It seemed the play’s plot had progressed to its final stage, where Zhao Zilong makes his escape.

With Cao’s Army already in chaos, it was the perfect time.

Not escaping now would be inconsistent with the script.

Panting, Wu Wang raised his head and looked toward the distant audience seats.

An operatic cadence sounds completely different from a normal speaking voice.

But Wu Wang had heard the troupe leader sing at the Dilapidated Opera Building just last night.

He recognized the voice immediately.

The passage had been sung by the troupe leader.

Was he speeding up the play to stop me from fighting the Prince?

Crack!

Suddenly, Wu Wang heard a horrifying sound coming from his own face.

It sounded like glass just before it shatters.

An excruciating pain immediately followed, searing every inch of his bones and skin as if he were being roasted alive.

A sigh echoed ethereally by his ear.

“This power… does not belong to you…”