Chapter 130: Reinforcements Arrive

As Xiao Feng watched those wretches leering at Ivy's exposed chest with nauseating gazes, a wild fury surged within him, nearly driving him to madness. A torrent of frenzied thoughts clawed at his mind, threatening to rend it apart. He even entertained the desperate impulse to tear his own head asunder.

Ivy was the first woman to ever harbor affection for him. Though no intimate bond had been shared between them, to Xiao Feng, she was undeniably akin to family.

"I will release my grip. Tell them to cease," Xiao Feng said coldly to the Duke, struggling to calm the chaos in his mind as he drew deep, ragged breaths.

But Ivy cried out in alarm, "Xiao Feng, they will kill you... don't..."

The Duke chuckled darkly. "Very well. Cease your actions—for now. After I've slain Xiao Feng, you may continue your debauchery."

Seizing the opportunity, the cultist who had torn Ivy's clothing lasciviously groped her tender breast. "Haha, little lady, then you'll just have to wait a while longer..."

Ivy's anguished scream pierced the air, "You bastards! Your hearts are devoured by dogs, filthy scoundrels!"

Xiao Feng's gaze burned with desperation. He loosened his grip and relinquished his black alloy warblade, collapsing weakly against the wall. Though his regenerative power worked to mend his wounds, it was a slow process, and the relentless blood loss was wearing him down.

The Duke laughed cruelly once more, raising his blade high and bringing it down viciously upon Xiao Feng's shoulder.

Ivy, Old White, Rice, and Blada all cried out in unison.

Old White struggled to rise but was brutally struck on the back of the head by a cultist's rifle butt, collapsing to the floor.

The Duke aimed his blade toward Xiao Feng's head, sneering, "Farewell, Xiao Feng. May your journey to the afterlife be swift..."

With a heavy strike, the alloy blade descended mercilessly. Xiao Feng, drained and defeated, had abandoned all hope of evasion, allowing the blow to fall—knowing that any resistance might lead to Ivy suffering further atrocities.

Though he understood that even in death, Ivy's torment would continue, he convinced himself that blindness to it might dull the anguish.

In that moment, Xiao Feng surrendered every thought, accepting his fate as the blade fell.

Yet, mere centimeters from his skull, the blade halted abruptly—blocked by an overwhelming force.

The Duke's brow furrowed in perplexity, uncertain of the cause.

"Hmph, Duke Mondy, today you won't escape," a voice declared as a figure strode through the doorway. Behind him, several monstrous beasts lay sprawled, each bearing a massive, gaping hole in their foreheads from which white ichor slowly oozed.

Both the Duke and Xiao Feng turned toward the newcomer. The Duke's face froze in stunned disbelief.

A faint smile played on Xiao Feng's lips.

The man was none other than Rush, whom Xiao Feng had met once before—unarmed, clad simply in a suit and dark sunglasses, his expression one of disdain as he casually entered.

The Duke gripped his blade, confronting Rush. "Who are you? How do you wield such formidable powers—an eighth-level psychic?"

Without hesitation, Xiao Feng lunged to Ivy's side, seizing the wrist of the cultist molesting her. "He belongs to me. The rest of you, you can all die."

Rush chuckled softly, and suddenly, countless waves of psychic energy surged from him, forming a conical barrage that swept through the cultists. Within seconds, all were struck dumb, unconscious, each with a tiny, precise hole in their foreheads—Rush's instant headshots sealing their fate.

"Damn you! Die!" the Duke roared, launching a vortex of energy at Rush, but it halted stubbornly a meter before him, losing momentum and vanishing.

Xiao Feng glared fiercely at the cultist. "Which hand did you use to grope Ivy?"

Ivy, now recovering, smiled faintly at Xiao Feng's safety and the arrival of this formidable stranger. "The right hand," she replied.

With sudden force, Xiao Feng grasped the cultist's right hand, yanking it downward and slamming him to the ground. In his mind, the memory of Rice's technique surged forth. Clamping his legs around the man's arm, he twisted and dropped into a crouch.

Cracks of shattering bones echoed sharply, followed by the cultist's agonized screams.

Yet Xiao Feng did not relent. Rising, he raised his foot and stomped mercilessly on the now-crippled arm, each strike harder than the last until it flattened beneath him.

That wretched man surely regretted ever daring to touch Ivy—death at Rush's hands would have been merciful in comparison.

Meanwhile, the Duke fared no better; his armor was constricting, squeezing tighter with unbearable pain. Immobilized, he began to scream, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Rush's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. "My apologies, Duke Mondy, but my master ordered me to ensure Xiao Feng's safety and leave no survivors among you. I must obey. Now, I shall escort you to hell."

Suddenly, Xiao Feng shouted, "Rush, stop! Let me handle this..."