The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 139: Demonic Talismans

Adrian was running madly through the city. As soon as he confirmed that Wraith No. 4 was dead, he felt multiple pairs of eyes falling on him. It was to he point where they even stopped their fights to stare at him.

It wasn’t just their gazes he felt thought. He could feel the killing intent radiating from among a few of them. Of course, it didn’t take a genius for him to know where this killing intent came from.

It came from the rest of the Wraiths. If looks could kill, Adrian was sure that he would have been dead multiple times over. That was why he quickly bolted out of there.

Since his disguise was undone, he didn’t want to give them the chance to get a good look at his face. Since they were relatively far away, he felt that they would have a hard time getting a good look at his face.

The only person he was worried about was Bella. She was very close and was the only person who might have had a good look at his face. However, there was nothing he could do, so he simply left it up to fate.

As he dashed through the streets, he turned his head back to check on the situation behind him. Seeing that no one was chasing him and he was out of their sight, he immediately activated Astral Steps.

He vanished from the street and appeared dozens of meters away. He continued using it until he was a sufficient distance away from the scene. Then, without hesitation, he turned a corner before appearing in another alley.

After checking that he was alone, he vanished inside the Blood Star. The pendant fell on the ground, appearing like a piece of discarded surgery.

Adrian didn’t waste time admiring the scenery inside the Blood Star. He didn’t want to leave it in such an exposed location, but he had no choice.

He quickly changed out of his ribes and donned new ones. These ones were just simple light blue ones, different from the black ones he had been wearing for he past few days.

However, they were made from the same simple and unassuming fabric, with no hint of luxury whatsoever. Then he immediately placed the Veil of a Hundred Shadows back on his head.

A faint shimmer appeared, and his body began changing into that of another. However, this time, it wasn’t the middle-aged man that he was used to using.

This time, he took on the appearance of an ordinary-looking young man. His appearance was taller and slightly lanky. There was nothing remarkable about his face at all. He wasn’t exactly ugly, but couldn’t be called handsome either.

He was just very unassuming. Adrian stared at his reflection in a mirror before nodding slightly to himself. Then with a whoosh, he disappeared from the Blood Star and was back in the city.

It only took him a few minutes to change his disguise, leaving little time for anyone who wanted to find him. When he appeared back in the alleyway, nothing had changed. He quickly stepped out after cleaning up any traces of himself being there.

As soon as he stepped out from the alleyway, someone bumped into him. His heart leaped to his throat, thinking it was the guards here to capture him. He had almost drawn the Skyveil Sword and was prepared to fight it out with them.

However, he quickly calmed down when he noticed that it wasn’t them. Instead of a guard, the person who bumped into him was a drunkard. Yes, a drunkard in the middle of the day.

While not uncommon, the fact that someone could still drink during the day when the whole city was going through a crisis. Where did he even find a pub that was open at this time of day? Most businesses had closed or were only open at specific times now.

Furthermore, while the few people who were left on the streets were running away from the commotion, this man seemed like he was going towards it.

Adrian didn’t pay much attention to him. He simply brushed him off, while the drunkard could only mumble what Adrain could only guess was an apology.

Without paying any more attention to the man, he went on his way, joining the scarce crowd that was running away from the battle. Since his current disguise only showed the strength of a peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, no one paid him any attention.

The guards that were moving towards the commotion didn’t even spare him a glance as he passed by them. Not that he was complaining. Far from it.

That was exactly what he wanted.

******

Back on the street, the battle had entered a tense stalemate. Neither party could overpower the other. Both sides just exchanged multiple clashes with one another, with no significant damage done.

The Wraiths couldn’t kill the guards, and the guards were unable to subdue the Wraiths. However, this stalemate didn’t last for long.

"Aaaaggghhh!" A loud scream that resounded in the surroundings could be heard. Bella, who was still catching her breath, turned in the direction to see what was going on.

In her field of view, she could see an arm flying through the air. Far behind where the three guards were fighting, Bella could see that one of her guards that was facing the inn manager.

The inn manager, even though he was in the same realm as his opponent, was very weak. He was nothing like the Wraiths, who, aside from Wraith no 4, who was dead, didn’t seem to be in any major danger.

Since the beginning of the fight, he had always been on the receiving end of the guards’ relentless attacks. He had very little chance to counterattack and could only spend most of his time defending.

However, he couldn’t keep that up for long. Under the persistent attacks of the guard, he finally made a crucial mistake. With one swift motion, the guard severed his right arm, causing him to scream in pain.

With one arm gone, his movements became sloppier and sloopier. It was clear to everyone present that it wouldn’t take long for him to be killed.

This wasn’t good news for the Wraiths. If the inn manager fell, then that guard would be free to target one of them. They were able to hold their own in a one-on-one battle, but if it turned into a two-on-one?

It would only be a matter of time before they started picking them off one by one. And their guesses were right. Only a few minutes after losing his arm, the inn manager fell.

When the Wraiths saw this, they immediately exchange a look. With a simultaneous nod, the three of them quickly disengaged from the fight. Then without hesitation, the three of them brought out a talisman.

However, different from the one that Adrian had been using, these ones were made with Black paper, and the writing in them was red in color, as if they were written with blood.

The guards who were taken aback by their sudden actions couldn’t react in time. They were unable to stop them from activating those talismans.

Whoosh!

With a surge of demonic Qi, the three Wariths infused the talismans with their Qi, activating them. The blood red writings began glowing before the three talismans exploded, leaving a large amount of demonic Qi that surrounded the area.

The four guards immediately rushed towards Bella and surrounded her. They didn’t know what those talismans were for, but they were sure they weren’t anything good.

Seeing the large amount of demonic Qi now, perhaps they wanted to use it to hide and assassinate Bella. Or perhaps they wanted to use the cover to run away.

In any case, since the guards couldn’t see them anymore, they assumed the worst and immediately rushed to protect Bella. She was the most important person here after all.

However, even after a minute had passed, no attack came. The guards, though, didn’t relax and instead heightened their senses. Their spirit senses were scouring the area, trying to find out if someone was there.

A couple more minutes passed, and by now, the demonic Qi in the area was already dispersing. Everyone could see, though sparsely, but they weren’t in darkness anymore.

It was clear that the Wraiths had escaped. Or rather fled. They used the talismans to create a distraction and used to demonic Qi as a cover to escape.

"We’ve failed to complete your orders. Please punish us, Young Mistress." The guards bowed to her. All of them knew the hatred she had for demonic cultivators. The fact that they let them escape would surely anger her.

However, contrary to what they were expecting, Bella simply waved them off.

"Get up, it wasn’t your fault. No one could have predicted their means." She said almost absentmindedly. The guards were surprised at her attitude. While she was not a harsh individual, offering words of consolation was not Bella’s style.

At least that is what they thought it was.