173: A woman's revenge

"Artemis, hurry! While that bastard is incapacitated by my poison, lock onto him!" Bekara shouted.

It was a clear demonstration of why one should rather offend a villain than a woman.

Seeing Bekara act so swiftly, Artemis couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

However, right now, Jonnison, that fence-sitter, was indeed the priority to deal with.

Repeating the same trick, the threads appeared once again.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the Blood Flame extended like threads, winding toward a spot in the Void Realm.

That was where Jonnison's true self was hiding.

Far away, countless miles off, Jonnison's true self lay limp on the ground, limbs convulsing, with eerie green foam bubbling at the corners of his mouth.

"Dam... damn it... Bekara..." Jonnison cursed intermittently, his voice so weak it was barely audible.

He knew this woman was ruthless, but he hadn't expected the retaliation to come so quickly.

The familiar sensation struck again; Jonnison knew that guy Artemis was locking onto him once more, and the key issue was that he had no way to resist at the moment.

His energy was basically all being used to purge the poison.

Above the royal capital, Artemis's gaze was like a torch, fixed on the direction in which the Blood Flame extended.

"Jonnison, I don't believe you can run this time." Artemis whispered.

He could feel that the Blood Flame was about to touch Jonnison's true self; just one final step, and he would be able to force this fence-sitter out of the game.

Just then, Bekara moved.

Her giant snake body twisted violently and sped off into the distance.

"Want to run? Do you think you're Kleid?" Artemis sneered; he had long expected Bekara to pull this move.

He controlled the Blood Flame with his left hand, continuing to pursue Jonnison, while he swung his right hand out violently.

Scorching flames turned into a cage, instantly sealing off Bekara's path.

Bekara's figure halted, a flash of unwillingness in her eyes.

"Artemis, must you drive us to the brink?" Bekara's voice was sharp, tinged with a hint of hysteria.

"Drive you to the brink?" Artemis scoffed. "From the moment you ambushed me, did you think this could end well?"

Before the words faded, monstrous poisonous gas surged forth.

Bekara had launched a sneak attack, showing no martial virtue.

But the effect could only be described as negligible, and she quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

As for that group of ordinary divine envoys, well, who doesn't have a dream?

What if, just maybe, they succeeded in profiting as the third party? That would be delightful.

On the other side, Jonnison was still struggling to save himself, but with the increasingly amplified sense of crisis, Jonnison felt that he was truly done for this time.

But he was unwilling to give up; he decided to struggle a bit more.

In the royal capital battlefield, one of the trapped Clones suddenly shouted: "Bekara, lift the poison from me, and my true self will come out to fight Artemis with you. I swear it to our Lord!"

Over there, Bekara, who was being beaten so badly she could barely tell north from south, replied upon hearing this: "You swear first, otherwise I'd rather die with you."

The Clone did not hesitate upon seeing this.

"I, Jonnison, swear in the name of my Lord, the nightmare immortal, that if Bekara lifts the poison I am afflicted with, I will personally come this time to fight Artemis alongside her. There is no falsehood in this; if I violate this oath, I am willing to accept my Lord's divine punishment!"

Jonnison's Clone had a booming voice that echoed over the royal capital; every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with gnashing hatred and unwillingness.

That voice had no hint of the usual cordiality of "my friend"; it was entirely the ruthlessness of someone who had torn off their mask.

Upon hearing this, Bekara finally felt relieved.

She had been dealing with Jonnison for more than a day or two; naturally, she knew this guy's true nature.

If he hadn't truly reached the end of his rope, how could he have made such a heavy oath so cleanly and decisively?

Furthermore, it was in the name of the nightmare immortal.

One had to know that for Believers like them, breaking an oath made in the Lord's name was worse than death.

"Good!" Bekara shouted sharply, her giant snake body vibrating violently.

Far away, countless miles off, the eerie green that had been spreading over Jonnison's true self receded like a tide.

He sat up abruptly, gasping for air; his face remained pale, but his eyes reignited with a calculating gleam.

"Bekara, you just wait!" Jonnison gritted his teeth.

He was not the type to return evil with good.

Today's humiliation, he would surely return it a hundredfold another day!

However, for now, he had to go to the royal capital first and fulfill the oath.

Jonnison's figure flickered, turning into a black shadow, and he sped toward the royal capital.

Above the royal capital.

Artemis turned a blind eye to the two's conversation.

He even harbored the intention of capturing both of them in one fell swoop.

Being at the half-step "Making the False Real" Realm, he was just that confident.

Therefore, he slightly slowed his offensive.

Before long, a black shadow flashed by, and Jonnison's true self descended, gasping with the relief of having survived a disaster.

He swept his gaze over the battlefield, quickly assessing the situation.

Bekara was suppressed by Artemis and was in imminent danger.

His own Clones were also like candles in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

"Bekara, I'm here to help you!" Jonnison shouted, his voice tinged with a hint of hypocritical concern.

Before his words finished, he had already struck.

Energy gathered in his hands and surged straight toward Artemis.

"Hmph, petty tricks." Artemis snorted, not taking Jonnison's attack seriously at all.

He couldn't even be bothered to dodge, allowing those energies to strike him.

The energy slammed into Artemis, yet it couldn't even penetrate the Blood Flame burning on his body.

"Jonnison, is that all you've got?" Artemis mocked.

Jonnison naturally knew that his meager attacks were no different from a scratch to Artemis, after all, he was still slacking off.

But what he wanted was not to defeat Artemis.

It was... to buy time!

According to the information transmitted by his Clones earlier, Bekara had already tried to run away before but failed, so she would definitely take advantage of this cooperation to run away again.

Therefore, as long as he held Artemis back, once Bekara ran, he could also successfully escape by utilizing the characteristics of his own Visualization Diagram, thus fulfilling this oath.

At this moment, while Artemis and Jonnison were engaged in battle, the giant snake body vibrated violently, spewing out monstrous poisonous mist.

The poisonous mist rolled and swept toward Artemis.

"Hmph, futile resistance." Artemis said with disdain.

The Blood Flame around his body surged, forming a wall of fire that blocked the poisonous mist outside.

"Jonnison, what are you waiting for?" Bekara urged upon seeing this.

"Coming!" Jonnison responded.

His figure flickered and merged into the Void Realm.

The next moment, countless Clones emerged from all directions, surrounding Artemis.

"Artemis, aren't you very arrogant?" Jonnison's voice came from all directions.

"Today, I'll let you see what it means to be outnumbered!"

Before the words faded, all the Clones struck simultaneously.

Countless energies poured down upon Artemis like a rainstorm.

"Useless." Artemis shook his head. "Attacks of this level, to me..."

"Are not worth mentioning!"

Artemis clasped his hands together and clapped violently.

"Boom!"

The Blood Flame erupted in all directions like a volcanic eruption.

"Ah—!"

Screams rose and fell.

Under the burning of the Blood Flame, Jonnisons Clones turned into ashes one after another.

"Jonnison, what other tricks do you have?" Artemis stood proudly, like a god of war.

"Artemis, don't get cocky too soon!" Jonnison said. "I admit, you are very strong, but you are not just facing me!"