His voice drew the attention of the crowd, and he finally felt somewhat satisfied. The tall, lean figure straightened up slowly. "Not being able to fight already put me in a foul mood. I hope you lot can at least put up a decent show."
From behind him emerged many residents of the Lower City who had slipped in during the chaos. Their attire was a motley assortment, and some of them trembled slightly.
"W-what do you want? We can negotiate anything," a councilor stammered.
Guan Xiong's expression stiffened. After a moment of thought, he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket—the one Mia had given him before they set out.
"What we want doesn’t matter. What matters is that we don’t need you," he recited before tucking the paper back into his pocket, his lips curling into an ugly smirk.
Ye Xiao couldn’t comprehend how things had come to this. How dare these lowborn scum rebel against him, their king? And what was the deal with that nearly full-strength unit from the Upper City?
Everything was falling apart. His men, exhausted from the relentless battles and terrified of the enemy’s bizarre fighters—a girl who wielded poison gas, a hulking brute leading the charge, and... some mad scientist hurling explosives everywhere—were now fleeing in panic.
But what terrified them most were the furious cries of the Lower City’s oppressed masses. They charged forward like madmen, utterly unafraid of death. The jackals who had once tormented them without consequence now cowered in fear at their bloodthirsty advance.
The Upper City’s forces and the Lower City’s rebels finally met on the main street, tension thick in the air. Ye Xiao saw a glimmer of hope—if they turned on each other, he might still have a chance.
From the rebel ranks emerged a bespectacled, scholarly-looking young man. The Upper City’s troops parted to reveal a middle-aged officer in crisp combat gear. The two stood facing each other for a moment—then, unexpectedly, they reached out and shook hands.
"How’s your daughter recovering?"
"Thanks to you, she’s doing well."
Ye Xiao’s heart sank. But it didn’t matter—he could still escape. If he abandoned Marilyn, he could make it out alive. Yet, as he looked at her frightened face, he hesitated.
"Make way! Make way!" someone shouted. The crowd parted, and a figure stepped forward.
He stopped before Ye Xiao, tilting his head up to meet the king’s gaze from atop the vehicle.
"Finally, we meet."
That voice—Ye Xiao instantly recognized it as the one from the communicator.
"It’s you."
"Me. And I’m here for your life." Fang Zhiyi strode forward, then leaped onto the roof of the vehicle.
"Host, even if you do everything right, you can’t kill him. He’s the protagonist. You haven’t weakened his plot armor... Normally, you’d need to humiliate him, steal the heroine’s affection, things like that..." The system prattled on, making one last desperate attempt.
The next moment, a sharp slap echoed through the air, leaving everyone wide-eyed.
"Sorry, my mind’s a bit scrambled."
Ye Xiao erupted in fury, clashing with Fang Zhiyi as the darkened sky rumbled ominously.
The system gloated, "You’re gonna get struck by lightning! Host, just back off already! I’ve got a shop—you can start over!"
"Shut up."
A fist slammed into Ye Xiao’s face. Marilyn gasped—but that was all she did.
The thunder grew louder overhead.
Another punch.
Ye Xiao couldn’t understand—how was this young man overpowering him?
Another strike, and a tooth went flying.
The system was baffled. "How? How are you doing this?"
It had watched Fang Zhiyi every day. Sure, he had skills, but he should’ve been no match for the protagonist. Yet here he was, dominating Ye Xiao!
One more punch, and Ye Xiao spat blood, collapsing onto his back.
Fang Zhiyi glanced at Marilyn, who stood anxiously nearby. When their eyes met, she quickly stepped aside, even lifting her skirt slightly to avoid staining it with Ye Xiao’s blood.
His heart turned to ice. Why... why was there disdain in her eyes?
He didn’t realize—for a shallow heroine like Marilyn, whoever was strongest had her loyalty. That was the rule.
"Drugs. Arms. Illegal potions."
"Black-market mines. Organ trafficking. Human trade."
"How many families suffered because of your whims? You don’t deserve to live."
Fang Zhiyi drew a blade from his waist and pressed it to Ye Xiao’s throat.
"Host! You’ll really get struck by lightning! You can’t kill him directly!" The system panicked—if Fang Zhiyi got hit, it would suffer too.
Fang Zhiyi didn’t flinch.
Ye Xiao’s eyes bulged. His instincts screamed that death was imminent, twisting his composed face into a mask of terror. "Spare me! I’ll give you anything! Just let me live!"
The moment he begged, he saw Marilyn’s expression shift from shock to contempt. Emotions churned violently within him.
"What are you staring at, you worthless bitch?" he snarled.
Fang Zhiyi’s blade hesitated. The system sighed in relief, even feeling a flicker of admiration. Was this his plan to break the protagonist’s plot armor? But it was too soon—Ye Xiao was only temporarily beaten. The system still had a role to play.
Then, in the next instant, the blade slashed down.
"I sentence you to death!"
Thunder growled overhead like a warning. He ignored it, driving the blade deep.
"It’s over!" the system wailed.
But as the knife plunged in fully, the thunder ceased. Even more—
"The sun! The sun’s out!" someone cried.
Everyone looked up. The heavy clouds were parting. Even Guan Xiong, holding a rope tied to dozens of Upper City elites, squinted at the sky and smirked. Damn it, why wouldn’t Boss Fang let him kill anyone?
But this sunlight... a good omen.
"Impossible!" The system was in disarray. "How could this happen?"
Fang Zhiyi didn’t answer. Instead, he rose slowly, surveying the soot-streaked faces around him, all squinting in the sudden light. His gaze swept over Mia, Mei Ming, Guan Xiong, Dace, Wang Meng, and many others he’d crossed paths with. They met his eyes, their own filled with hope.
Then, unexpectedly, Fang Zhiyi laughed. He raised his fists and declared, "I am guilty. I’ve killed—many."
Those who knew him wanted to ignore it, but he stood there, in plain sight, forcing them to confront his words. Confusion and shock painted their faces.
He repeated, "I’ve killed countless people—before this war, during it." He glanced at Ye Xiao’s lifeless, wide-eyed corpse. "And now, he’s the last."
Whispers spread through the crowd.