Chapter 2548: Treat Everyone Equally
The atmosphere around them shifted. The twenty people from District 001 stood behind Xu Huo, while the scattered players of the Holy Sword Society gradually tightened their expressions, spontaneously gathering to both sides—some following the two Gold Disciples, and others splitting off to surround Xu Huo and his group from the other end.
"I've never thought highly of wormhole points below B-grade. No matter how many people such districts produce, they're no different from ants." The masked man fixed his gaze on Xu Huo. "Being able to block my space line makes you a big ant."
The overwhelming arrogance was almost laughable, and Xu Huo did laugh. After finishing, he asked, "So that means you were definitely born in an A-grade wormhole point, right?"
"I wonder what you thought when your family sent you to fight for a district built by 'ants.' Did you feel especially honored as a 'human' competing for territory with ants?"
Serving one's family and contributing was certainly an honor, but fighting over territory with insignificant insects wasn't even something worth mentioning. The masked man regarded District 001 and Xu Huo as ants, yet his words and actions seemed contradictory.
However, the masked man had perfect logical consistency. He said calmly, "We're here to clean up ants, not to compete with them. How could ants possibly qualify to compete with humans?"
Xu Huo pointed at the Holy Sword Society members beside him. "What about them? Are they ants too?"
"Naturally." The masked man showed no guilt or hypocrisy, making no attempt to hide anything. He spoke as if merely stating a fact. "To clean up ants, using ants is sufficient."
Many of the Holy Sword Society members were lawless individuals. Some had joined specifically to commit atrocities without restraint. Being so openly belittled to their faces would never sit well with them. But before they could unleash their anger, several Holy Sword Society members with strange expressions were sliced into pieces, their severed limbs silently sliding down... Few present even sensed him make a move!
At that moment, even those who thought they could stay out of it changed their expressions. Facing the masked man, they once again became ordinary people who could be slaughtered at will. The instinctive fear of having their lives casually taken stirred hostility within them.
In truth, within the chaotic space severed from the game, ordinary players had little resistance against temporal-spatial Super Evolvers, especially one of the masked man's caliber.
The two Gold Disciples of the Holy Sword Society had clearly long accepted this reality. They stood respectfully behind the masked man, making no gestures toward the Society members—no scolding, no warnings, no intimidation. They truly didn't care about their lives at all.
Under immense pressure, the other Holy Sword Society members quickly realized this. Forced to suppress their other thoughts, they turned their blades toward Xu Huo and his group.
The masked man paid their attitudes no mind. His green eyes seemed to see only Xu Huo. Looking down on him, he said, "I permit you to take your own life."
As if granting him a relatively dignified death.
Xu Huo's expression also calmed. "Before I die, can I ask you one question?"
The masked man remained silent, which counted as agreement.
"How many of you came?"
The question seemed random. Just as the masked man was about to respond, he sensed the temporal-spatial power around them growing chaotic. Instinctively, he used a Super Space Entity to construct a space defense shelter. But the time power descending through space-time still struck him precisely. As his eyes rapidly aged, Xu Huo approached, as if to kill him head-on.
The masked man wanted to retreat, but his body, constrained by time power, could barely control itself. With just a slight shift, Xu Huo brushed past him without even a spare glance.
At this moment, the identities of "civilized man" and "ant" seemed reversed.
The masked man was already dead—no need to care about him anymore. Xu Huo's target was the remaining Holy Sword Society members. The range of time power he could originally control wasn't large, nor could he directly summon much. So he couldn't kill many at once with time power. But since they were at the edge of chaotic space, where the interwoven power of time and space was the best proof, he could mobilize more time power—both in range and quantity. Without needing to cover a large area directly, even introducing time power in thin strands like a drizzle could easily finish these people.
He walked across the flat valley the Holy Sword Society had cleared. Wherever he passed, time power descended. Gold Disciples and Silver Disciples alike were all frozen in place by time power.
"Don't kill—" There was no path to escape, and they couldn't even open their mouths to beg for mercy. Xu Huo treated every member of the Holy Sword Society equally.
"What terrible luck, running into a Time Evolver here!" Someone fled toward the training ground, where more Holy Sword Society members were. Whether seeking help or trying to drag others into being shields, they instinctively headed that way.
A few players happened to come out of the training ground. At first, seeing their companions fleeing in panic, they didn't understand—they only thought a powerful enemy was attacking. But when they got closer and saw the companions frozen in various poses, rapidly aging, or turning to ash in moments, what was there not to understand?
Run! Run fast!
The twenty people from District 001 were still clustered together. Not that they didn't want to help—they simply didn't dare move recklessly, afraid that Xu Huo, bloodthirsty as he was, might take them out too. They stood together, and the Holy Sword Society members emerging from the training ground naturally wanted to use Xu Huo's side as a breakthrough. But after running a few steps, their minds suddenly cleared. With deep fear and trembling, they stared fixedly at the man walking alone.
He turned his head, revealing a faint smile. "There are still people inside. Almost forgot about you."
"Don't kill me! I know where the Envoy is!" Someone quick-witted immediately switched sides. "I'll take you there!"
Xu Huo raised his hand, and a cluster of time power landed on that person. Watching the rapidly aging face, he said, "I don't really like Holy Sword Society people, so naturally I can't trust your words. After I kill you all, I'll go find him myself."
Although the chaotic space made it easier to borrow power, with so many targets, the duration couldn't last long. Xu Huo also had to avoid the time power himself. To prevent chain reactions, he stopped after dealing with most of them. A few lucky ones remained—aged but not dead.
"What are you standing around for? Clean up." Xu Huo turned to look at the District 001 people, frowning. "Hurry up."
The masked man had become a skeleton, but his identity wasn't simple—they couldn't just destroy the evidence. After killing the remaining survivors, the District 001 people carefully moved his bones and clothes intact to an area covered by time power. They also threw in a few Holy Sword Society members. Those who had already turned to ash or were harder to handle were packed on-site, dissolved with chemicals, and the remaining residue bagged up.
Xu Huo watched their skilled and orderly movements. It seemed District 001 knew exactly who their real enemy was.
When the District 001 players finished their work and turned around, they suddenly met his cold, piercing gaze. Their hearts skipped a beat.