Ernan’s tense mood eased slightly when he suddenly found that he had lost control of his body and fell straight into the ruins.

What’s going on?

Ernan couldn’t figure it out, but soon a piercing pain spread from his ankle. A neat wound had unknowingly severed his tendons, and blood was gushing out uncontrollably.

After a brief moment of stupor, Ernan quickly rolled his body into a corner of the dust, enduring the excruciating pain, checking for any other fatal wounds on his body.

The collapse’s impact masked the whizzing sound of the Flying Knife with its roaring crash, and the bruises from hitting debris had made Ernan overlook the initially weak pain.

Palmer wasn’t dead; he was hiding around, trying to hunt him down.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Ernan kept cursing. Now he was also dragged into the abyss of a slow death.

Staying here meant that the boulders would eventually crush Ernan, but if he tried to break out, with his injured ankle, it would become extremely difficult to move, let alone evade Palmer’s hunt.

Soon, Ernan made up his mind. Clutching the Sharp Nail tightly, he vowed to take Palmer down with him, since death seemed inevitable.

Leaning against the trembling wall, Ernan struggled to get up. He realized that Palmer was skilled in Ethereal Concealment, which was why his attack was so silent.

"Was this all planned?"

Talking to himself, Ernan felt a sudden fear. He had initially thought Bologue’s rampage was just an act of madness, but now it seemed coordinated with his partner’s actions.

Bologue not only divided the battlefield but also placed its advantages at their side.

Ernan struggled to remain calm, his eyes repeatedly scanning the rising dust. Both were deadly assassins, meaning he and Palmer only had one chance for an attack. Whoever struck first would be victorious.

With heightened concentration and rapid blood flow, Ernan, in a trance, noticed the changes around him slow down. He could see the falling debris, the trajectory of the swirling smoke, and from the chaotic shifts, he detected a hint of anomaly.

A spot in the dust suddenly surged up, and a blurred silhouette swiftly emerged.

Almost instinctively, Ernan prepared to shoot the Sharp Nail through the shadow, but he abruptly stopped himself at the last moment of raising his hand.

A myriad of thoughts roared in Ernan’s mind.

No matter how fast and deadly the Sharp Nail was, there was a prerequisite swing required to apply force to it, creating a gap between his attacks, which was Ernan’s dead zone. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

What if the shadow was just Palmer’s feint? What if he judged incorrectly? The smoke covered everything, and Ernan wasn’t sure where he would hit. What if he failed to kill Palmer in one strike?

Ernan’s mind went blank, and then he threw the Sharp Nail.

The Alchemy Metal rubbed violently against the air, producing a series of sonic booms that echoed incessantly, followed by a fireball cloud following its path, pulled into a crimson fiery line by the high-speed airflow.

The fiery line pierced through the smoke, scattering the dust. A flying boulder was instantly penetrated and shattered.

A roaring Ether reaction rose from Ernan’s side, just as he had suspected. It was Palmer’s feint, and at the same time, in his peripheral vision, Ernan could see a figure rapidly approaching through the flying debris.

Ernan’s face was intensely tense, and suddenly, he laughed.

This wasn’t the first time Ernan found himself in such peril, nor was it his first time facing an enemy’s close-range assault. Ernan realized that in high-intensity combat, due to over-concentration, people often overlooked very simple things.

For instance, Ernan had two hands, and he could throw many Sharp Nails at once.

Ernan leaned to one side, twisting his body powerfully. His other hand grabbed the Sharp Nails from his waist, while the hand already holding several nails threw them with all his might toward the direction of the rising Ether.

Palmer was still too impulsive, this round was Ernan’s win.

Ernan was overjoyed inside. Even with Palmer’s body wrapped in dust, and unclear on the precise target, it didn’t matter. The multiple Sharp Nails wove a death net like scattered pellets, leaving Palmer with no escape.

The howling sound of the wind roared as the surging airflow tore through the dust, exposing Palmer. Dense fiery lines advanced toward him at high speed from all directions, yet Palmer showed no intention of evasion.

Palmer remained standing in place, holding his throwing pose.

The next moment, under Ernan’s incredulous gaze, all the red lines passed precisely by Palmer’s body’s contour. They didn’t even manage to graze him.

"How is this possible!"

Ernan was dumbstruck. He knew luck existed but had never thought someone could be so fortunate as if Lady Luck herself had kissed his cheek, turning all flying arrows away from his direction.

As the bloodline blossomed along his neck, Ernan’s fury abruptly ceased. He clutched his throat, blood gushing out, staring wide-eyed at Palmer. Then the falling boulders crushed his figure into the lower layer of ruins.

Palmer stood his ground, his expression calm, yet inside, an enormous wave of fear had arisen, belatedly gripping his heart.