Chapter 98: The Final Betrayal

The battlefield lay in ruins, the remnants of war smoldering under the twilight sky. Li Feng steadied his breath, his body aching from the burdens he had carried for too long. Mei Lian and Yan Shun flanked him, their gazes sweeping across the wasteland that had once been a ground for legends. The war was supposed to be over. But war never ended so simply.

A shift in the wind. A whisper in the dark.

Then came the first strike.

From the shadows, the remnants of Shen Longwei's forces launched a final, desperate assault. The clang of steel rang through the air as war cries echoed once more. The followers of the fallen warlord refused to accept defeat. They had hidden, biding their time, waiting for their enemies to lower their guard. Now, they struck like starving wolves, their bloodlust rekindled by vengeance.

Yan Shun barely had time to deflect a blade aimed at his throat. "They're desperate!" he shouted, parrying another attack. "They'd rather die than surrender."

Mei Lian spun, her sword flashing like silver lightning as she cut through two warriors who lunged at her. But something was wrong. The attack was too coordinated, too precise. These were no mere remnants—someone was leading them.

Then she saw him.

A lone figure, cloaked in black, emerged from the chaos. A face once thought lost to time, a man Li Feng had once called an ally. Wu Jinguo.

Li Feng's breath hitched as he locked eyes with the traitor. "You... you're supposed to be dead."

Wu Jinguo smirked, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "And yet, here I stand. While you, Li Feng, are a shadow of what you once were. Tell me, how does it feel? To lose your power, to be stripped of your greatness? You are no longer the legend they whisper about."

"Why are you doing this?" Mei Lian demanded, her voice laced with fury.

Wu Jinguo chuckled. "Because legends do not fade—they are reforged in fire. Shen Longwei's death left a void, one that must be filled. The war is not over, and I will see to it that the right hand guides the future."

"And you think you're that hand?" Li Feng asked, tightening his grip on his weapon.

Wu Jinguo's gaze darkened. "I know I am. And I will prove it. Here, now. By taking from you what you hold dearest."

Before anyone could react, Wu Jinguo moved.

His blade was faster than the eye, a shadow that blurred through the battlefield. Mei Lian let out a choked gasp as she barely twisted in time, but the edge of the sword caught her side. Blood splattered the ground.

"No!" Li Feng lunged forward, his instincts overriding his exhaustion. He clashed against Wu Jinguo, steel grinding against steel. But the traitor was relentless, pushing forward, using every ounce of power Li Feng had once possessed but no longer wielded.

Yan Shun dragged Mei Lian away, pressing against her wound. "Stay with me," he murmured. "Don't close your eyes."

Mei Lian gritted her teeth. "I'm not dying here." She tried to push herself up, but her strength faltered. The wound was deep.

Li Feng and Wu Jinguo's battle raged, their strikes growing more vicious. It was not just a duel—it was a reckoning. A test of conviction. But Li Feng knew. He could feel it in the weight of his movements, the drag of his limbs. He was not what he used to be. He had sacrificed too much. And Wu Jinguo knew it too.

With a ruthless smirk, Wu Jinguo disengaged, leaping backward. "You're struggling, aren't you? A king without his crown. A warrior without his fire."

Li Feng clenched his jaw. "I don't need power to defeat you."

"Then prove it." Wu Jinguo raised his sword, the flames of war burning in his gaze. "Prove that you are still worthy of standing among legends."

As Li Feng took his stance once more, the ground beneath them trembled. A deep, ancient force began to stir beneath the battlefield, something unseen yet omnipresent.

Then, the battlefield shifted.

A rupture split the ground apart, unveiling a chasm of darkness beneath them. Shadows twisted, swirling with an eerie glow. It was no mere crevice—it was something else. Something waiting.

And as Wu Jinguo smiled, Li Feng realized too late—

The true battle had only just begun.