The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1565

"You'll have to be a lot more specific than that," Hao Xuan joked, "Apparently I'm quite popular these days since everyone wants a piece."

The hunter lightly shrugged, "That's all you will get out of me. Now will you come willingly or will I have to use force?"

"Use force?"

Hao Xuan's eyes darted between the sword that was bent in half and the hunter's body that was falling apart, "Are you sure you're even capable of that? Why don't you tell me everything you know and I'll let you slither away, huh? Doesn't that sound better?"

The hint of a shadow within the hunter's pupils exploded, covering most of his body in black armor before extending to his left hand where it took the form of a longsword.

Hao Xuan's smile slowly receded as he realized it was not going to be that easy.

"Well...that's a shame. I didn't want to do this..." he mumbled under his breath.

Meanwhile the shade was on another page entirely.

'I will just trade a few strikes to scare him and then retreat under the guise of having taken too many hits,' he thought inwardly, 'A few shallow wounds should be enough. The princess can then help stop his bleeding which should make him feel indebted to her and lower his guard even further.'

With the new plan in mind the shade jumped into action.

The hunter leaned forward until it looked like he was about to tip over. But just before he could hit the ground his figure faded.

His movements were now more than three times faster than before.

Using a mixture of quick-drawing techniques and impeccable footwork, the hunter appeared to his left which was Hao Xuan's blind spot.

The shadow blade in its hand was an extension of itself so everything from the length and width to the sharpness could be controlled at will.

The blade flew upwards with the only intention being to leave some superficial cuts on his back but before it could make contact, Hao Xuan's figure disappeared in much the same manner as the hunter had arrived.

The ground suddenly became unstable prompting the hunter to swiftly examine his surroundings which is when he noticed the entire street twisting to the right.

'?!?'

"Good technique," Hao Xuan's voice came from the immediate left, "Almost perfect execution."

The hunter swung in his direction without even looking before jumping into the air to completely melt into the surrounding darkness.

Hao Xuan gave another approving nod while looking around for his whereabouts.

"Wow, you hid your presence quite well. Was that also a shadow ability?"

But all he got in response was a sword slash passing by his head. It was close enough to cut off a few rogue hair from his beard which left a sour taste in Hao Xuan's mouth.

"Ohh, that was a good one," he said through gritted teeth trying to maintain his composure, "You had no intention to harm me so I couldn't read your killing intent, smart. But what now? You'll have to show yourself sooner or later...unless you plan to keep hiding in the shadows and be an annoying cunt."

A second sword slash came for his legs forcing Hao Xuan to dodge.

*Sigh*

He picked up a few rocks and waited for the next attack which was not that far away. This time as soon as he detected the shadow energy Hao Xuan threw the rocks around it where he thought the hunter's body would be.

Unfortunately not only did it not have an effect but another sword slash whizzed by his head leaving a trail of imperceptible energy in its path that was significantly more dangerous.

He could feel goosebumps all over his arms and neck as the energy tingled his skin.

Hao Xuan's expression turned grim.

'Sword Qi? It's weak but one wrong move without a spiritual energy barrier and I could lose an arm or a leg...again. Looks like I have no choice but to even the playing field a little.'

He called out the Crown of Darkness while keeping its presence hidden.

The crown of black and purple void flames came into existence atop his head while fluttering loudly.

The light source he was standing under dimmed to the point of extinction but his vision was not hindered in the least. The surrounding shadows that were previously being held back by the light all came flooding out and extinguished the light in its entirety.

Everything that was once being kept from him was now on full display, even the shade's true form.

Hao Xuan could now perceive a two-dimensional humanoid figure wrapping around the hunter's body like a parasite.

"There you are," he said beaming in its direction.

The shade was flabbergasted not only because of the abrupt changes to the surroundings but also the changes to his opponent. In its eyes Hao Xuan was a void. It was a void in the shape of a human being but he felt like if he got too close the void would swallow him whole.