No Mercy Needed

Yun Huang also frowned slightly.

She could sense that beneath Su Qi's calm demeanor, there seemed to be a trace of... awkwardness?

Beads of sweat had already formed on Su Qi's temples.

Not from exhaustion, but mostly from urgency, and a bit of discomfort under the collective gaze of the crowd.

Digging through a pile of rubble—no matter how he pictured it, the scene felt undeniably awkward.

"Ahem."

Su Qi cleared his throat and quickened his movements.

Now, he was using sheer brute force, sending large chunks of debris flying.

Dust swirled around him, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled.

But fortunately, brute force yielded miracles.

He detected the unique aura of the Path's End Spear buried beneath the wreckage.

"Found it!"

A surge of joy rose in Su Qi's heart as he exerted force, shoving aside several tons of rock.

"Hum—"

A faint metallic resonance echoed.

A familiar stretch of dark-black spear shaft lay diagonally pinned beneath a massive fragment of bone.

The spearhead had sunk completely into the hardened ground, leaving only a small portion of the shaft exposed.

He reached out, gripped the shaft, and pulled lightly.

The Path's End Spear didn’t budge.

It was stuck.

Su Qi's eye twitched.

With a sudden yank—

"Clang!"

A sharp metallic screech rang out as the spear was finally freed from between the boulder and the ground.

Dust coated the spear’s surface, and a few scorch marks from the explosion of the beast’s core marred its length.

But it was no big deal.

A spear only grew more formidable the darker it looked.

He stowed the Path's End Spear away, then spent a few symbolic seconds tapping through the rubble, as if confirming no other "important materials" had been left behind.

"Done."

He turned and calmly announced to the group.

A barely audible collective sigh of relief rippled through the crowd.

This lord of theirs had finally finished his business.

"Let’s go."

Without further explanation, Su Qi’s voice regained its earlier steadiness.

He took the lead, striding back the way they had come.

Liu Yuan hurried after her brother, a relieved smile on her face.

The others exchanged glances before quickly following suit.

Regardless, this powerhouse’s strength was undeniable—sticking with him was far safer than wandering blindly on their own.

Su Qi moved forward without hesitation.

The path remained the one previously cleared by the Black Knight, not yet fully reclaimed by the encroaching ash.

Liu Yuan followed closely behind, her small face brimming with trust in her elder brother.

The survivors, having narrowly escaped death, naturally saw Su Qi as their new pillar of support.

Previously, every swing of the Black Knight’s sword had carved a safe passage through the thick ash.

They instinctively assumed this man—who had effortlessly slain a tenth-tier Source Realm creature—would do the same.

Perhaps even better.

Yet, Su Qi simply walked on, calm and unhurried.

No beams to clear the way.

No wide-ranging protection.

At first, the group was merely puzzled, assuming a powerhouse must have his reasons.

Maybe he was conserving energy for a greater threat?

Or perhaps he had a subtler method to guide them all to safety?

But as time passed, the group’s pace remained slow, while the ash pressed in relentlessly.

The safe zones the Black Knight had carved were being swallowed once more.

The scorching heat, the suffocating air, and the unknown dread lurking within the ash began gnawing at their nerves again.

Meanwhile, a faint ripple of energy shimmered over Su Qi’s body, forming a barely perceptible barrier that enveloped him and Liu Yuan.

Beyond that ripple, the ash remained thick and searing.

"He... why isn’t he clearing the way?"

Finally, someone couldn’t hold back, muttering under their breath.

It was like lighting a fuse.

"Yeah, the Black Knight would always carve out a path with his beams..."

"Does this lord... disdain such trivial tasks?"

"But we’re about to be swallowed by the ash!"

Whispers spread like wildfire.

Once fear found an outlet, resentment and discontent quickly took root.

"He’s so strong, yet he only cares about himself and his sister?"

A candidate, his arm scorched by the ash, grimaced in pain as he grumbled.

"Exactly. With great power comes great responsibility, right? This is just..."

"Shh! Keep it down!" someone hastily interjected, though their eyes mirrored the same confusion.

The Black Knight had fought to the death to buy them time.

This man before them, far stronger than the Black Knight, couldn’t even spare a helping hand.

The stark contrast twisted some of their hearts.

Liu Yuan seemed to sense the shift in the group’s mood.

She glanced up at her brother’s impassive profile, then back at the struggling candidates behind them, their expressions a mix of emotions.

A few surviving shelter staff were doing their best to tend to the injured, preventing casualties for now.

Her young mind couldn’t fully grasp the complexity of these emotions.

To her, her brother had come to rescue her—and by extension, these people—which seemed perfectly reasonable.

Su Qi wasn’t obligated to ensure their safety.

Yet, the looks in their eyes unsettled her.

Yun Huang walked silently at the edge of the group.

An absurd thought crossed her mind: Perhaps he never intended to bring everyone along.

From the start, his only goal had been Liu Yuan.

The others were merely... hitching a ride by coincidence.

Herself included.

Su Qi remained deaf to the murmurs behind him.

His pace was swift, never faltering.

Navigating the path, discerning directions, his focus seemed entirely consumed by the ash-choked unknown ahead.

Without the Black Knight’s beams to carve a way, the group’s progress slowed drastically.

Some of the weaker members were already panting heavily, their steps unsteady.

The searing ash invaded every breath, burning their lungs.

Exposed skin stung relentlessly.

"Cough... cough..."

"I can’t... I can’t take it anymore..."

Stragglers began to fall behind.

Su Qi didn’t look back.

His indifference—or perhaps his single-mindedness—shattered whatever hope still lingered in their hearts.

Despair, thick as the ash itself, began to seep in.

"Is he really... just leaving us?"

A young girl’s voice trembled with helpless tears.

"Relying on others is pointless! If you want to live, figure it out yourselves!" A man gritted his teeth and pulled out a faintly glowing card. "If any of you have defensive abilities, stop holding back!"

His words jolted the group awake.

They’d been hiding in the rear, their energy reserves untouched.

The only reason they hadn’t activated their defenses earlier was the belief that nothing could withstand the ash.

It would have been easier to play the victim and wait for Su Qi's conscience to stir, or to rely on the barriers erected by the authorities.

But now, trapped in this desperate situation, the instinct to survive surged forth.

Flickering lights of various hues barely managed to construct small defensive barriers around them.

Though these barriers were far from as effortless and serene as Su Qi's rippling shield—wavering precariously under the relentless erosion of the ashes—they still alleviated some of the agony, offering meager relief.