Chapter 2713: Clever but Foolish

"You?"Julius Reed looked at the Southern-sky man who had left and returned, and said in shocked surprise, "Weren’t you already..."

"Wasn’t I already gone? So why would I come back?" The Southern-sky man smugly cut Julius Reed off, bent down with a grin, and said, "Because I already guessed you’d be wounded!"

"I didn’t really understand the North Palace King’s strength before, but after watching the whole fight, I finally knew that Black Wind hadn’t exaggerated at all. The North Palace King is a top-tier expert!"

The Southern-sky man stuck up his thumb. "Top-tier! Even among these awakened ones, he’s definitely in the top five! Yet a master like that died in your hands—hard for me to believe."

"But however hard it is to believe, since it’s already happened, then it’s real. We all felt the North Palace King vanish."

"I just don’t believe there’s anyone in this world who can kill a peak North Palace King and come out unscathed."

"Maybe you could kill him, but you would definitely pay a price! That’s inevitable!"

The Southern-sky man pointed at Julius Reed. "How could you possibly be completely unharmed! And when you realized we didn’t come straight over, but opened with some talk first, that was clearly just bluffing!"

"Am I right or not?"

His face was full of a triumphant grin.

As if his scheme had landed perfectly.

"Then why did you still have to kill him? Wouldn’t the two of you working together against me be even more certain?"

Julius Reed was gulping for breath.

"Nonsense, of course I had my reasons. I wasn’t sure whether you were actually injured, or how badly. I had no idea."

The Southern-sky man gave a cold laugh. "After all, I never imagined you could kill the North Palace King, so this time I had to be a bit careful!"

"Black Wind’s role was to test whether you were hurt. If you were, I could handle you myself. Why would I compete with him over the crown?"

"He was just bait. I conveniently used your hand to remove him. Otherwise, he had to die anyway. In this world, there’s only room for one of me!"

The Southern-sky man chuckled. "Am I not clever?"

"Sure enough, you used an illusion to fake Black Wind’s death—that I didn’t see coming. But I also learned that you definitely had injuries."

"So you thought I’d left, but I was right out there, quietly watching you. Hahahaha!"

The Southern-sky man threw his head back and laughed. "I really admire my own brilliance. Well? None of you saw it coming, did you? After you tore each other apart, in the end it was the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—everything ended up as a wedding dress for me."

He bent down, walked up to Julius Reed, rubbed his hands together, his face full of slyness. "Let me think, how should I go about taking that crown? Then I’ll stash you away someplace."

"The North Palace King said the crown was on you, Silvio Reed. You even killed him. So as long as you vanish, they’ll keep looking for you, and I’ll be safe."

He nodded, very satisfied with his plan. "Not bad, not bad! Excellent, simply brilliant! Veil the sky, swap out the sun."

As he spoke, he glanced around and asked, "Any last words?"

"No. Only the dead need last words. That line should be mine to ask you."

Julius Reed leaned against the wall, smiling as he spoke.

"Heh, on the brink of death and still so stiff-mouthed! Fine, since you’re so hard-mouthed, let’s have a proper chat." The Southern-sky man thought for a bit. "Forget it, I’ll just kill you and take you away. As for the crown, I’ll take my time."

As he spoke, white light flickered between his hands, and he reached toward Julius Reed’s head.

"I told you, you were being too clever. What are your last words?"

Julius Reed raised his hand and struck with a single sword!

Swish!

One of the Southern-sky man’s hands was cleanly severed!

It fell to the ground!

"How can this be!" The Southern-sky man stared at his severed hand, his face turning ashen in an instant!

He couldn’t believe his hand had been chopped off just like that!

This was impossible!

Wasn’t the other man on the verge of death?

Wasn’t he supposed to be a spent crossbow?

"My apologies."

Julius Reed slowly stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His complexion returned to normal; he looked nothing like a sick man.

"What I meant to say is, your IQ really isn’t online."

Julius Reed tapped his own temple. "I was thinking, how do I get you to come back? Honestly, my footwork isn’t as good as yours. If you ran, I couldn’t catch you."

"So I had a flash of inspiration and just collapsed on the ground to wait for you to bite."

"See? There’s always someone who thinks they’re smart as hell."

Julius Reed’s tone dripped with sarcasm. "But in truth, you’re just a worthless dead bald fuck!"

"You!" The Southern-sky man’s face twisted wildly.

Right now his heart practically stopped on the spot!

"I don’t believe it. You must be a spent crossbow!" he shouted, striking out again.

But Julius Reed’s sword light flashed.

Sure enough.

The Southern-sky man’s other hand also dropped.

"You really... really are fine! How is this possible! You actually killed the North Palace King without a scratch!"

The Southern-sky man just stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"But... why did you fake it with Black Wind! You were clearly fine!"

He just couldn’t wrap his head around it!

"If you can’t figure it out, then don’t bother."

Longsword in hand, Julius Reed walked up to the Southern-sky man. "Killing a sworn enemy without lifting a finger—how is that not a good deal?"

"You’re not even human! You don’t play by the rules!" The Southern-sky man pointed at Julius Reed with his forearms, his face as pale as paper.

"This is pointless. Hurry up and curse me, Silvio Reed."

Julius Reed said impatiently, "Come on, hurry up and curse me!"

"Hahahahaha!" The Southern-sky man froze, then burst out laughing. "I get it, I get it!"

He ground his teeth. "You’re not Silvio Reed! Silvio Reed is your mortal enemy, isn’t he!"

Swish!

Julius Reed swung once, his sword lopping off the Southern-sky man’s head on the spot.

"I won’t die that easily!"

The Southern-sky man’s body slowly faded away.

A short distance away, another intact body appeared, arms and all.

"Now I know your secret. Just wait, I’ll tell everyone the truth!"

With that, he turned and bolted!

They were all top-tier experts; naturally they weren’t so easy to kill.

The Southern-sky man had many tricks, and his skills were superior to Black Wind’s.

"Too late."

Julius Reed stretched out his hand and grabbed at the air!

"What do you think I was pretending to be injured for earlier, chatting with you for so long?"

All of a sudden, an invisible great net appeared in the sky!

"I was setting up a formation, a ten-sided ambush! Now, even with wings you’re not getting away!"

As he spoke, he pressed his palms together!

A net woven of Spiritual Power shot forth in an instant.

It wrapped the Southern-sky man inside.

"You think of yourself as a clever man, but you’re never quite clever enough."

Julius Reed held his sword and walked up to the Southern-sky man.

"What is this net, why can’t I break free!" For the first time, the Southern-sky man felt death so close at hand.

"I know you’re hard to kill, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way."

As Julius Reed spoke, he raised his Longsword and drove it straight in!