Chapter 390: Unleashing Madness (Part 1)

A loud dragon roar soared into the sky, as if tearing apart the darkness of night. The intense light made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
Fen Tian seemed to sense Rod’s presence, abandoning its last few enemies and charging toward Rod with a long howl. Coupled with Rod’s own dragon roar, it rushed at the enemies. With Fen Tian, whose strength matched that of a mid-level warrior at the Yin Huang realm, joining in, Rod’s pressure soared!
A flash of white light revealed the Xuanyuan Sword before everyone’s eyes. It descended from the sky under the astonished gazes of Gu Xun and the others, tearing through space as it slashed downward.
With a muffled thud, blood sprayed everywhere. The gushing crimson blood stood out eerily and brightly against the once-dark night. The blood mist fell like raindrops, and two bodies flew apart from either side.
Before even a scream could be uttered, the old man closest to Rod was split in two. Perhaps due to the extreme speed, the severed body trembled on the ground for a moment before falling silent.
Gu Xun and the three remaining elders hurriedly retreated, but it was too late. Two of them were also injured by the sword’s glow, with two deep cuts on their bodies from which blood flowed continuously.
Without giving them a chance to catch their breath, Rod rushed forward swiftly after Fen Tian arrived. His body moved like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains, accompanied by a roar. He unleashed the Shadowless Sword. Having reached the mid-level of the Yang Xuan realm, Rod finally brought the Shadowless Sword to its full potential.
Thirty-six clones appeared in all directions in the blink of an eye, charging at Gu Xun and the others in the center.
Aoh… Fen Tian, unwilling to fall behind, spat out a storm of fire. Brilliant fireballs illuminated the entire night sky, streaking across like dazzling meteors. Their scorching heat dried out the previously cold air.
“Elder, run!” Seeing their once favorable situation reversed in an instant, and with battles elsewhere also lost, one of the elders shouted at Gu Xun in a desperate voice.
The outcome of this battle was already clear— the Black Phoenix clan had achieved a decisive victory. Water Screen City was doomed. The stronghold of the pro-war faction, a thousand-year-old city, had been destroyed by them.
“Elder, run!” Another elder also shouted, his eyes filled with determination as he stared at Rod.
There was madness in his eyes, as well as despair. At that moment, the third elder stepped forward, blocking Gu Xun’s path. His intention was clear— he wanted Gu Xun to flee quickly.

“He is the leader of the pro-war faction. If something happens to him here, everyone knows what that means. If he dies, the pro-war faction will be completely ruined. By then, since the external conflict isn’t over, it will inevitably lead to a civil war.”
The three princes are none ordinary—how long have they envied their positions? If Gu Xun dies now, it will surely spark a struggle among them.
By then, the pro-war faction might truly be pushed into an irrecoverable situation.
But if Gu Xun can escape, everything will be completely different. Now that Water Curtain City has been taken, though it’s a great humiliation, at least the people inside aren’t the main force. The real strength lies in Dark Moon City, where there’s a hundred-thousand-strong army of the pro-war faction, and in Wuyou City, with another thirty thousand troops! Together, these two forces preserve almost all of the pro-war faction’s strength. A comeback is just a matter of time.
“Nobody leaves. Stay here!” Hearing this, Rod snorted coldly and said indifferently.
With things having reached this point, how could he let Gu Xun slip away right under his nose? How could he give up such a good opportunity? If he misses this chance, he won’t know when the next one will come.
“If you don’t eradicate the roots, the weeds will grow back when the spring breeze blows”—Rod knew this well, as did the truth behind letting a tiger go back to the mountains after taming it. Though Water Curtain City seems to be occupied and the pro-war faction appears to no longer exist, they are fundamentally different from the Mi Jiao clan and Wuyou City. In this great war, almost all of their forces have been sent out. Losing Water Curtain City means losing face at most—not their core strength. As long as Gu Xun is alive, the pro-war faction still has immense power. But if he dies, it’s completely different. Rod has seen many struggles for succession and understands these matters well.
“Leader, run quickly! We’ll hold them off here!” With a faint, desolate smile, the elderly man at the head spoke anxiously before charging at Rod’s clones with wild eyes.
The other two also let out frantic roars and rushed forward.

The three of them didn’t use any fancy techniques but simply moved in one direction, tearing open a rift. At the same time, their bodies suddenly began to swell. The elements around them grew restless, and in the next moment, a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere, followed by a second and a third. These three whirlwinds carried endless energy toward the three men. The world seemed to be overturned, with fierce winds blowing—it felt as if the end of the world was approaching.

Boom… It seemed this had caught the attention of the heavens. A deep thunderous rumble came from above, and a purple lightning bolt streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire land. Its eerie light cast pale shadows on everyone’s faces.

“Bad! Rod, get out of the way quickly! They’re crazy!” From afar, Merk, who was watching the situation with Rod, suddenly shouted in panic.

“Brother, come back quickly!” Lucy also cried out in alarm, pulling the people around her back quickly, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Those three people at the Yin Yellow realm had chosen to self-destruct at the same time! Last time, at the foot of the Nether Mountain, the elder of the Mi Jiao clan’s self-destruction was still fresh in everyone’s memory. They all knew how much energy a self-destruction by a strong being at the Yin Yellow realm could generate.

Back then, Rod had almost lost his life. What about this time? This time, three people were choosing self-destruction at once. Even with Rod’s current strength at the middle stage of the Yang Xuan realm, he wouldn’t have the strength to counterattack with such combined energy.

“Elder, run!” The lead elder, his face flushed with an unnatural red, looked back at Gu Xun and the others in shock before shouting. It was clear that under the impact of the powerful elements, all the veins in his body had bulged, resembling centipedes crawling over them—frightening to behold.

“Brother!”

“Head!”

From behind, screams of pain came from Lucy, Wiski, and the others. They had already rushed hundreds of meters away and were watching worriedly as Rod showed no sign of leaving.

As if isolated from all external information, Rod ignored the panicked cries of Lucy and the others behind him. With a serious expression, he focused on the three people ahead. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave at this moment, but he couldn’t.

Right in front of him, Gu Xun glared at him fiercely, then reluctantly glanced at the three elders, tears even appearing in his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he turned and fled into the distance!

Rod could only watch helplessly as he left, unable to chase after him. If he could, he would surely pursue without hesitation, but those three old men in front of him would never give him a chance—neither would they allow him to retreat. The paths he could use to break through and chase were completely surrounded by those men. The moment he made a move, they would immediately choose to self-destruct. Although the time wasn’t right yet, there was no doubt they could cause him harm; even after he was injured, the self-destruction of the other two could instantly end his life.

Faced with this situation, Rod inwardly groaned in frustration. Frowning, he looked around for a chance to escape. The fluctuations of elements were too intense. Rod had already sent Furnish Heaven back into his body. This was the biggest flaw of the Beast Souls—they were formed from elements, and in the face of severe elemental fluctuations, they couldn’t continue fighting. Otherwise, the elemental bodies on their bodies would be affected by the outside world, leading to serious consequences.

“Knight Rod, since you want our Main Battle Faction to perish, you must pay a price, hahaha… Now that Water Curtain City is gone, it’s fine for it to be yours, but our Main Battle Faction will never perish. Once the clan leader leaves, he will surely lead a large army to retaliate against the Black Phoenix Clan. Just wait—everyone from the Black Phoenix Clan will soon join us in hell!”

“As for you, come with us to hell and wait for them!”

After Gu Xun left, the old man at the head let out a sigh of relief and, with a desolate smile, shouted at Rod.

Being pushed to this point wasn’t something they wanted to see. Everyone feared death, including them. But they had been forced to this situation. At this moment, they were at a critical point, their lives in countdown mode. It was impossible to turn things around; they could only push forward to the end. The only consolation was that they had managed to preserve the Main Battle Faction.

Looking back at the ruined city lord’s mansion and the desolate Water Curtain City behind them, a hint of sorrow and resentment flashed in their eyes. If it weren’t for Rod and the Black Phoenix Clan, Water Curtain City would still be bright with lights, full of revelry, and remain the greatest city in the Source of Darkness. The Main Battle Faction would still be the most powerful clan, even capable of ruling the entire Source of Darkness and the continent. All of this had changed because of Rod’s arrival.

Listening to their words, Rod remained silent, not retorting. Instead, he quietly searched for a route to escape while mobilizing all his combat energy to protect his vital areas, ready to deal with any possible explosions. The hatred between the two sides was deep and irreconcilable, so he held no hope. There was no chance left for these three people; Rod was well aware of their goal: to drag him down to hell with them. It was meaningless to say anything more; the only thing he could do was protect himself as much as possible.