A man and a woman emerged from the Obsidian Gate.

The one in the lead was a woman. She was tall, nearing five feet, seven inches, with a slender build. A long, black braid hung down past her waist. Her wheat-colored skin gave her a healthy, feral look.

She wore an outfit of tanned leather, dyed black with special pigments, that hugged her entire body. It accentuated her shapely figure while also serving as a suit of leather armor, providing camouflage in the dark.

What drew the eye were the numerous sheaths strapped to her armor. There were twenty or thirty in total, all filled with throwing knives.

The braided, wheat-skinned woman's weapon was a leather whip inlaid with Crystal Bones. A sharp, poisoned-looking throwing knife was affixed to its tip.

Just by standing there, she radiated an untamable wildness, like a fierce young leopard.

Following behind her was a man with his head shaved on one side and his hair long on the other. Black tattoos resembling a dragon or snake snaked across his forehead and left cheek.

The man was exceptionally tall. His frame was broad, though he wasn't particularly muscular. He was silent, holding a long-handled battle-axe and seemingly following the whip-wielding woman's every lead.

Fang Zhen looked at the pair and instantly recalled the one faction on the Isle of Rest that had yet to show itself.

"You lapdogs of the northern barbarians! You're Batuma, the Black Garden assassin!" Avera, who was collapsed on the ground, couldn't help but cry out when she saw the woman with the whip.

Hearing this, Fang Zhen's suspicions were instantly confirmed.

The various factions on the Isle of Rest had all gathered, with only the Black Garden Assassins, who served the barbarians, being absent.

It seemed this whip-wielding woman named Batuma was from the Black Garden—a member of the northern tribes. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I don't like the sound of that at all. The North is just the North. What's all this 'barbarian' and 'lapdog' talk?" Batuma was blunt, looking with disdain at Avera and the members of the Night Shadow, Lei Ming, and Sea Tide families. "You people from the Thirteen Families play games far more despicable and savage than we ever could. How dare you call *us* barbarians?"

"If we're barbarians, then you're nothing more than beasts in fine clothing."

"And another thing—'lapdogs'? So anyone who doesn't stand with you is a lapdog, but anyone who does is loyal and true?"

"We were never from the same tribe to begin with. Think about it. Does what you just said make any sense at all? You have a brain, yet you can't figure out something so simple? And you have the gall to call yourselves the Crystal Bone Nobility?"

Batuma's mind was clearly as sharp as her tongue, leaving Avera speechless.

Both Connor's and Aiden's eyes flickered, as if her words had struck a guilty chord.

Batuma's gaze quickly shifted to Fang Zhen.

"Hey, you, the good-looking guy over there. You don't look like you're from the Thirteen Families, do you?"

"Looks like you're the one who crippled that scheming woman from the Fei Niao Family. I just want to say: nice work."

"I like your style. How about a temporary alliance to deal with the Thirteen Families together?" Batuma offered.

Fang Zhen shook his head slightly. "An alliance right now would lack sincerity and a proper foundation. For now, let's see what everyone is capable of. We can talk again after we've secured Anlon Lie Feng's treasure."

The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere on the field shifted abruptly.

Fang Zhen observed with a cool gaze.

These people before the Netherworld's entrance might be trading barbs and poking at each other's weaknesses, but in reality, they were all perfectly rational. Each was calculating how to seize the greatest advantage, how to eliminate the other families and claim the treasure for themselves.

That was the only thing that mattered. Everything else was just for show.

His single sentence about Anlon Lie Feng's treasure had torn away their thin veneer of civility, speaking directly to the greed in everyone's hearts.

In the face of profit, there was no longer any need for empty posturing.

Allied or not, until the matter of the treasure was settled, every faction present was a rival.

Even Avera, whose arms had been crippled, had a gleam in her eyes.

It was the gleam of greed.

In the tense, deadlocked atmosphere, Mela Night Shadow was the first to move.

Mela wasn't the closest to the Netherworld's entrance, where the Legendary King's treasure was kept. But she was confident in her speed, believing she could overtake everyone, and so she was the first to dash out.

Mela wouldn't have dared to make the first move if she didn't have a few tricks up her sleeve.

Her figure dissolved into a mass of shadow and shot toward the entrance of the Netherworld.

She was twice as fast as most people's full sprint. By Fang Zhen's estimation, she was moving at the absurdly exaggerated speed of one hundred meters in five seconds.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning shot from the distance, striking Mela's rapidly moving shadow form.

As fast as Mela was, she couldn't outrun lightning.

A flash of electricity filled the air, scattering sparks. Mela couldn't maintain her form and was blasted out of the shadows by the lightning.

Aiden stood with his fists held together, a ball of lightning crackling between them. The bolt had just been unleashed from there.

Mela, already dressed in black, was now slightly charred. She said nothing, but her eyes, filled with viciousness, were fixed on Aiden Leimeng.

Seeing Mela's glare, a chill ran through Aiden Leimeng. He actually shivered, even while using his Crystal Bone Thunder Summoning.

But immediately after, a look of grim resolve and killing intent appeared in Aiden's eyes.

It seemed Aiden had decided to kill her.

He would make sure Mela and the rest of the Night Shadow Family died here, leaving no loose ends.

At that very moment, Fang Zhen suddenly moved as well.

He was incredibly fast, his short-distance speed no less than Mela's, as he raced toward the stone gate at the Netherworld's entrance.