Interruption

Cu Chulainn remained silent, reached out to grab his Gae Bolg, and without hesitation, plunged it into his own heart.

*Pu-chi!*

Gae Bolg pierced through Cu Chulainn's heart completely, crimson mixed with traces of black blood erupted like a blooming flower, instantly covering the spear with a layer of eerie blood-red hue.

However, he did not meet the anticipated death.

His heart had stopped beating, but his body's activity continued to surge, rushing toward the form he least wanted to face.

'Damn this Battle Continuation...'

Cu Chulainn cursed bitterly in his mind as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His gaze, however, grew increasingly confused, the raging and violent voice echoing incessantly in his mind, causing his head to ache and his consciousness to drift away, as if floating in the clouds, gradually distancing himself from this body.

*Pu-chi!*

A slight tingling sensation suddenly came from his chest, as if someone had flipped the switch of time, and everything came to a sudden halt.

As the Battle Continuation ceased to function, the black magical energy stopped spreading, and the raging, violent voice inside his mind gradually faded amid unwilling roars.

Cu Chulainn's consciousness gradually returned to normalcy.

The first thing he felt was the emptiness and coldness enveloping him from within and without, as if his entire body had been sealed within a block of ice, along with his mind, thrust into eternal darkness and solitude.

He struggled to open his eyes, glancing at the black spear lodged in his heart.

Eventually, with great effort, he raised his head to face a pair of emotionless black eyes before him.

A small smile quickly crept across his face.

"Thanks, bud... Though I don't know why you keep calling me brother, but from now on, I, Cu Chulainn, acknowledge you as my brother..."

As radiant light particles soared up to the sky, Black Abyss, lodged in Cu Chulainn's chest, quickly fell to the ground as his body vanished.

Arkhan looked at the bloodstains on the ground, his expression devoid of joy or sorrow. Yet deep within his black eyes, something was gathering like a storm—a memory of the past.

"Heh, kiddo, you're really something. Can't even lift a spear. When I was your age, I killed a wild boar with my bare hands."

"Hey, hey, get up already, kiddo. Your training for today isn't over yet. What? Why is today's training double what it was yesterday? Well, to make you stronger faster, of course, what else? Did you think I was just messing with you out of boredom?"

"Heh, Arkhan, how about we make a deal? You help me sneak a bottle of wine from your mother's cellar, and I'll teach you how to use runes."

"Tsk, you're improving too fast, kiddo... Is it to beat me down sooner? Haha, not bad, that's the spirit of a true warrior! In that case, as your senior brother, I won't hold back! Prepare yourself!"

===

Standing atop the mountain, Tristan watched Cu Chulainn's body disappear, her brow furrowing slightly.

Before long, she clicked her tongue in disdain.

"Tsk! He dares to call himself Ireland's Child of Light, yet he chooses suicide over embracing strength... Absolutely foolish."

Tristan shook her head, then glanced to the side, only to find that the black-haired figure standing there had vanished, along with the black spear on the ground.

In the next moment, as if recalling something, her expression instantly stiffened. Simultaneously, a chilling voice filled with overwhelming murderous intent whispered in her ear.

"Who's the foolish one now?"

Along with the voice, the cold aura of death rushed upon Tristan like a storm from behind, gripping her heart with fear so intense that it felt like the claws of a demon had momentarily seized control of her body.

This suffocating sensation, as if death itself loomed infinitely close, she had only felt it before in the presence of the Lion King!

At this moment, Tristan was filled with overwhelming fear and regret.

She hadn't imagined that this black-haired man was capable of this degree. If she had known, she wouldn't have shown herself.

Suddenly, several crimson feathers floated gently down from the air, like butterflies dancing.

Sense of struggle, despair, and the frantic readiness to gamble everything in Tristan's eyes vanished in an instant, leaving only a hollow emptiness, like a puppet devoid of consciousness, standing still, awaiting the embrace of death.

Behind Tristan appeared a black hole from which Arkhan emerged, wielding the Black Abyss. His eyes, as black as ink, gleamed with a cold gaze.

Initially, he had planned to probe this woman's memories with Fenghuang Down, trying to uncover Merlin's true motives.

But now, he had changed his mind.

Cu Chulainn could die, but what Arkhan couldn't tolerate was this woman's manipulation of Cu Chulainn—the way she took pleasure in Cu Chulainn's suffering, even relishing in it, truly disgusted him.

"You don't even have the right to insult him..."

Arkhan's gaze was cold as he looked at the charming beauty before him, and without any hesitation, Black Abyss in his hand traced a perfect arc in the air.

"Die, you filthy scum."

*WHOOSH!*

However, at this moment, a sharp, piercing whistling suddenly came from a distance, as if something was approaching him at an incredible speed.

Arkhan furrowed his brow slightly, altering the trajectory of the Black Abyss temporarily to collide with the incoming object.

*DING!*

A crisp metal clashing sound resonated, sending out a visible ripple of air.

Black Abyss remained unmoved, while the flying object was instantly deflected, piercing straight into the soil.

It was a simple wooden arrow, with spiral wood grain marks still visible on its shaft. Its primitive craftsmanship gave it a simple beauty, more like a piece of art crafted by a skilled artisan than a weapon.

Yet, it was this ordinary arrow that had just flown at a speed of sound from thousands of meters away, nearly piercing his head.

Arkhan turned his head, looking toward the direction from which the arrow had come.

In the lush greenery of a dense forest, a figure agile like a wild beast stood on a tree branch, holding a longbow, aiming straight at him.

She was none other than the Chaste Huntress from Greece—Atalanta.

After being captured by Camelot, she now stood as a Knight of the Round Table.

When he saw the yellow-green-haired woman, Arkhan furrowed his brow slightly. According to the intelligence the Holy Roman Empire had gathered, Atalanta should have been thirty miles away.

How did she suddenly appear here?

"AAAAAAGHHHHH—!!!"

A wild, beastly roar suddenly echoed through the air, as a towering figure raced up the fractured cliffside, agile like an ape.

In an instant, he reached the mountaintop, stomping on sturdy rocks, his massive body leaping high into the air.

With two massive and heavy axes in hand, he mercilessly swung them down toward Arkhan's head.

Arkhan narrowed his eyes slightly, opting not to confront head-on, but swiftly dodging backward.

*BOOOOM!*

Two massive axes, weighing several hundred pounds, descended with tremendous power, crashing into the earth below, unleashing a deafening roar.

The surrounding trees and rocks were sent flying by the shockwave, creating a crater several meters deep.