Chapter Forty-Four: Harvest

Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight waved his hand and said, “Enough, if we keep talking, something will happen.”

Sadako paused, for the revelations Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight had just shared were overwhelming. Moreover, if they continued, it seemed some secrets would be exposed.

Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight opened the Paradise locator map; most of the red dots clustered around the Empire’s castle. Seeing the positions of the Paradise travelers, a smile crept onto his lips. Though the Blade Master could nullify the mark equivalent to his first soul skill, could all these Paradise travelers truly resist the mark?

With this thought, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight entered the Mirror Space. In a moment, he crawled out from a mirror within the Empire.

Without hesitation, he marked everyone. Instantly, his soul power plummeted, converting into marks—regardless of whether they were from the Empire or Paradise travelers, all were marked.

A surge of marks alerted some, but mere detection brought no solution.

When the equivalence had drained every last drop of soul power from him, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight ceased using it, having marked roughly four hundred people. His lips curled upward; he drew Justice, pressed it to his shoulder, and fired.

In that instant, the shoulders of over four hundred people within the Empire exploded, pain searing through them. Though Justice blasted his own shoulder apart, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight recovered almost immediately.

Next, he aimed at his knee and fired again. If the first shot was meant to instill fear in those marked, this one was to prevent them from escaping, forcing them to wait as others approached.

Five minutes passed. Sensing his marks begin to fade, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight murmured, “That’s about enough.” He took out a grenade and stuffed it into his mouth.

Three… two… one…

Bang!

His head detonated. At that moment, over four hundred others exploded as well—some were watching the marked ones as they approached, only to see their bodies suddenly burst apart, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Grinning, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight said, “I wonder how you like this gift, Empire.”

Though the impact was not particularly devastating, it served as a psychological training for them—those unable to endure it would simply be left behind.

Looking again at the Paradise locator map, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight saw that the number of Paradise travelers within the Empire had sharply diminished.

The moment his soul power was exhausted, the seventy-two light spheres in his qi sea rapidly released pure soul energy, which Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight absorbed.

Now he could no longer use equivalence, but he activated his second soul skill: Numbness.

From his position, the effect began to spread, growing larger and larger. Suddenly, every creature around lost all six senses in an instant—some ran blindly, others stayed rooted to their spots, fearing that moving randomly while numb might lead to their death.

After that, Shadowed Bathed in Sunlight began hunting. Without their senses, they were like giant, headless flies or unmoving statues.

Bribe in his left hand, Justice in his right. Whenever he passed someone afflicted by numbness, Bribe would dispatch them with a single shot.

At that moment, Paradise intervened…