The Mantis, the Cicada, and the Hidden Oriole

Killing Evan was Julian D’Aurelius’s request.

And Lucas was her mortal enemy.

Since he showed up here today, she had to make sure he stayed!

Yana Tyson’s orange eyes burned with killing intent as she sat against the broken wooden pillar beside the arena.

Blood still trickled faintly from the corner of her lips.

Although Amara Ravenswood had temporarily stabilized her injuries with acupuncture needles, every breath still caused a dull ache inside her chest.

Yet compared to the hatred boiling inside her heart—

The pain was nothing.

Her gaze remained locked firmly onto Lucas.

Meanwhile, the entire martial arts hall had already descended into complete chaos.

Broken tables lay overturned everywhere.

The floor of the arena had long since shattered under the terrifying shockwaves from the battle.

Dust drifted slowly through the air beneath the hanging lanterns overhead.

The other Old Martial Arts experts watched the fight on the ring with complex expressions.

Fear.

Shock.

Hatred.

Excitement.

All kinds of emotions mixed together.

The two on the ring were already fighting like madmen, and all they could see were two afterimages constantly clashing.

Bang!

Boom!

Crack!

Every collision sounded like thunder exploding inside the hall.

Several weaker Iron Realm martial artists could not even follow their movements clearly anymore.

They only saw blurred figures flashing through the air before another terrifying impact exploded moments later.

Evan was the one taking the initiative.

Due to the pill’s effects, he had to attack to quickly kill Lucas and leave.

He knew better than anyone how dangerous his current state was.

The medicinal power rampaging through his body was already becoming unstable.

Once the effects ended—

Forget escaping.

He might not even remain standing.

So Evan attacked like a desperate beast cornered at the edge of a cliff.

Every strike carried terrifying killing intent.

His fists aimed at throats.

His knees targeted ribs.

His elbows attacked temples and hearts.

He no longer cared about defense.

All he wanted—

Was to kill Lucas before his body collapsed.

Lucas initially leaned more towards defense, thinking of dragging out the fight to exhaust Evan.

His strategy had been simple from the beginning.

Delay.

Avoid direct exchanges.

Wait for the medicinal effects to disappear.

Then finish Evan cleanly.

But Evan’s reckless fighting style, trading injury for injury, left him in a bad state too.

Lucas frowned darkly after narrowly dodging another vicious punch.

This lunatic...

He was genuinely trying to drag both of them into death together.

Boom!

Evan’s fist smashed directly into Lucas’s shoulder.

The terrifying impact forced Lucas several meters backward.

Before he could stabilize himself—

Evan already chased after him again like a mad tiger.

Lucas’s expression finally darkened completely.

He had no choice but to switch to offense.

Bang!

The two collided again head-on.

After Evan broke two of his ribs with a punch, Lucas retaliated with a punch to Evan’s chest.

Crack!

The sound of ribs fracturing echoed clearly.

Evan spat blood instantly.

But his eyes only became more vicious afterward.

After both retreated three meters, Lucas wiped the blood from his mouth and sneered.

"How much longer can you hold on?"

His blond hair had become disheveled.

Blood stained the corner of his lips.

Several bruises had already formed across his body.

Evan laughed coldly after hearing that.

"Your mom knows the answer better."

The vulgar insult echoed loudly across the hall.

Several people watching nearly choked on their breath.

Even in this situation, this bastard still had the mood to curse people.

Lucas’s expression immediately turned ugly.

"You’re courting death!"

Evan cursed and charged again, and the two tangled once more.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This time, their attacks were even more ruthless.

Neither side showed mercy anymore.

Both knew clearly—

This battle would determine who lived and who died.

The shattered arena floor continued collapsing beneath their feet.

Fragments of wood and stone exploded everywhere.

The pressure generated by their fight forced the nearby crowd to retreat repeatedly.

After a minute of fighting, they had exchanged over a hundred punches.

The speed alone left countless spectators numb with shock.

Even some Silver Realm experts watching nearby felt chills crawling down their backs.

Too fast.

Too fierce.

Too brutal.

This was no longer a martial arts exchange.

It was two monsters trying to rip each other apart alive.

After being hit in the chest by Evan, Lucas flew back several meters, spitting out blood.

His body slammed heavily against the broken edge of the arena.

The impact caused several cracks to spread across the wooden platform.

Lucas coughed violently.

Fresh blood dripped slowly down his chin.

He cursed inwardly; this kid was really crazy, was he planning to die together with him?

At this rate—

Even if he survived today—

He would likely suffer serious internal injuries.

Just as he hit the ground, a figure suddenly jumped onto the ring, delivering a flurry of punches to Lucas with lightning speed.

The attacker was Julian D’Aurelius!

His timing was perfect.

No—

Perfect wasn’t enough to describe it.

It was terrifyingly precise.

He had waited silently in the shadows the entire time like a patient hunter.

Waiting for both beasts to wound each other.

Waiting for exhaustion.

Waiting for weakness.

Then—

He struck.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Julian’s fists landed one after another with ruthless precision.

Each strike targeted Lucas’s injured ribs and chest.

Lucas didn’t even have a chance to defend before being sent flying again.

Blood sprayed through the air.

After rolling on the ground a few times, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, looking at Julian with a hint of fear.

How was this guy here?

His pupils contracted violently.

He had calculated Evan.

He had manipulated the situation.

He had hidden patiently in the shadows.

But somehow—

Julian had hidden even deeper than him.

Julian, having successfully ambushed, twisted his wrist and smiled at the two.

His black hair moved slightly beneath the wind pressure filling the hall.

Golden eyes gleamed sharply with amusement.

"Finally, you brothers are reunited. Surprised? Unexpected?"

His tone sounded relaxed.

Almost playful.

But everyone present suddenly felt chills run through their bodies.

This man...

He had played everyone.

He had deliberately set up a few days ago, intending to trap Evan here.

Unexpectedly, the hiding and recovering Lucas took the bait and started a dogfight with Evan.

Killing two birds with one stone, taking out this pair of brothers at once was the best outcome.

Julian’s lips curved slightly higher.

Everything had developed even smoother than he originally expected.

Both Evan and Lucas finally realized what was happening.

Their expressions darkened simultaneously.

They both thought they were the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware that Julian, the oriole, had been aiming at them in the dark!

Now, both were in terrible condition.

One’s pill effect was about to expire, and the other had six broken ribs.

The atmosphere turned heavy instantly.

Evan stared at Julian with bloodshot eyes.

Hatred nearly overflowed from them.

"So you set this up today?"

Evan glared at Julian with hatred and asked harshly.

His voice sounded almost murderous.

He never expected this waste to turn the tables and plot against him and Lucas!

Julian just chuckled, not bothering to answer such a silly question.

That calm attitude only made Evan even angrier.

Lucas was equally resentful.

His chest rose violently while breathing.

He had planned to ambush Evan, only to be outsmarted by Julian.

Feeling the real threat of death, he could only temporarily cease fighting with Evan and suggested.

"Shall we join forces against this guy?"

His eyes remained fixed carefully on Julian.

In their current state, the only way to escape was to use this guy as a hostage.

Evan hesitated only briefly before nodding coldly.

"Alright."

But the instant he agreed—

His figure suddenly exploded backward instead.

He turned and dashed off the ring, stepping on a few people’s heads as he fled, running as fast as he could.

The crowd cursed loudly in shock.

"This bastard!"

"He’s escaping!"

Evan’s face looked extremely ugly while fleeing.

His pill’s effect had less than two minutes left.

Staying here any longer would mean certain death; Lucas clearly intended to use him as bait!

Lucas’s face darkened furiously after realizing he had been tricked again.

"Evan!"

Seeing Evan flee first, Lucas got up and tried to escape too.

But Julian’s cold voice immediately echoed throughout the hall.

"Don’t let him get away."

Julian instructed as he leaped off the ring to chase Evan.

Neither of these two would escape today.

In fact, Julian didn’t even need to shout; how could Yana Tyson sit by and watch the heavily injured Lucas escape?

Hatred flashed fiercely inside her orange eyes.

With a wave of her hand, the Tyson Family’s Old Martial Arts experts rushed up to beat the drowning dog.