CHAPTER 664: CHAPTER 661: FALLING OUT

Ronald and Yanni didn’t even need to make any guesses.

The owner of that shadow could only be one possibility—Airen.

Among the four who were still alive, Ronald and Yanni were traveling together; the mentally collapsed Ai Wei lacked the ability to move.

That left Airen as the only one remaining.

However, his current state was different from when they had parted ways. At this moment, the mercenary hopped back and forth atop the scattered ice, moving so effortlessly in this extreme environment that it seemed as though he was walking on flat ground; his agile movements showed no hindrance from the harsh surroundings.

His speed as he approached Ronald and Yanni...

It was even faster than a normal person jogging on flat ground!

...

Facing such a situation, Ronald and Yanni exchanged glances.

—This guy definitely had a problem.

—Or perhaps make a bolder guess.

The violent tremor that just completely destroyed the entire ice lake, as well as its surrounding environment, could very well have been caused by Airen!

After all, the gemstone said to possess great power was buried beneath the ground.

And it had ended up in the hands of this mercenary.

As eyes met.

Ronald and Yanni had already figured out each other’s thoughts.

Without a doubt, the Airen they were facing now was incredibly dangerous.

So aside from being as careful and cautious as possible when interacting with him, it would be best to also prepare to take action in advance.

Snap—

It was at that moment.

Airen crossed the last piece of floating ice.

The force from the mercenary stepping on the floating ice caused the part above the water to tilt slightly; without waiting for the feeble balance to restore, he stood before Ronald and Yanni with a smile,

"Good to see you two are alright."

"Just now, to suddenly encounter such a..."

"Enough, why put on such an act?"

Airen was just about to continue speaking.

But before he had said much, Yanni had already drawn her Crossbow Arrow and aimed it at his head; the split arrowhead shone under the pale blue ice light, its hostility evident without words.

"Miss Yanni, what do you mean by this?"

...

"What do you think?" Yanni spoke without hesitation, "Having such nimble movements on the ice, undoubtedly, the power you’ve gained from that gemstone is not simple, is it?"

Airen’s expression froze.

But still faced with the evident hostility in Yanni’s tone, he forced another stiff smile and continued,

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand at all..."

"Don’t play dumb," Yanni replied, and this time it was Ronald’s turn to interrupt Airen, "If you don’t understand, then why don’t you tell me where Ai Wei is now? Everyone saw what was on that mural; with such power, you must’ve done quite a few things, haven’t you?"

...

"Wasn’t it you two who abandoned Ai Wei first?"

Finally, the smile vanished completely from the mercenary’s face. He stood still on the ice, looking down disdainfully at Ronald and Yanni, visibly weak as they were.

"Instead of arguing with me here, why didn’t you take Ai Wei with you when you had the chance to leave?"

Facing Airen’s retort.

Yanni held the Crossbow Arrow steadily in her hand, her tone showing no sign of vulnerability:

"No country’s laws require—when fleeing, to perform acts of kindness beyond one’s capabilities."

"Leaving Ai Wei behind was the hope that there was still some good left in you, yet you..."

"I have no intention of discussing any moral bottom lines or legal standards with you."

Airen suddenly waved his hand, interrupting the conversation, and then continued with a ferocious expression, "If you are sensible, you’d better cooperate with me voluntarily for the sacrifice now, so that everyone can have a relatively comfortable ending."

Whoosh—

At that instant.

Yani didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

The sharp crossbow arrow shot towards Airen’s head!

Normally—

Such a close-range crossbow arrow shot would be impossible for someone with normal reflexes to avoid.

However, the current Airen was clearly an exception.

He not only dodged Yani’s shot, but even while sidestepping, he reached out with his right hand and caught the arrowhead just as it reached in front of him.

"..."

"Hehe—"

The man looked at the arrow in his hand and suddenly let out a cold laugh, his tone revealing an artificially satisfied pleasure.

He didn’t revel in his own power for too long.

Airen quickly and carelessly tossed the arrow into the lake nearby, then turned around with a threatening gaze toward Yani, who had just attacked him.

"You actually intended to use the weapon I gave you to attack me?"

"Miss Yani, I originally thought you were a smart scholar, but isn’t this idea a bit too naïve?"

At this moment, Airen’s eyes flashed with a scornful disregard.

"Hmph—"

"Now that you have guessed that I used the Goddess’s Gemstone, do you really think I am the same as a mortal like you?"

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking.

Airen stomped hard on the ice below.

The already small ice block shook violently.

The cracks that had not fully split in the previous tremors now completely expanded, with the unstable structure quickly reaching its limit.

Crack—Crunch—

All they heard were several continuous cracking sounds.

The ice block where Ronald and Yani had just settled burst into pieces that could no longer bear the weight of a person, while Airen, with the strongest physique, had already leapt onto another intact ice block in advance.

Plop—

Falling into the water in this helpless posture.

Ronald plunged headfirst into the water, swimming directly to the closest large ice floe.

Although his body hadn’t exceeded the limits of a normal person, he was much stronger than the weak youth he had been when he first crossed over, and, with the swimming skills he had practiced, Ronald quickly climbed onto the targeted ice floe.

Half propping himself up, Ronald hurriedly looked back.

Just at this juncture, Yani had similarly emerged from the water onto another ice floe in a different direction.

Only Airen, who sat leisurely on an ice floe in yet another direction, was watching Ronald and Yani’s movements with the kind of interest one might have in toying with prey.

At this very moment.

The positions of the three formed an equilateral triangle.

Perhaps because Yani had taken the first action, Airen still focused his initial attack on this girl:

"If you want to start a fight, I don’t mind playing along."

"Come on, try this first!"

"..."

As the words fell, Airen casually broke off a piece of ice the size of a pebble from the ice block beside him and threw it at Yani’s position!