Chapter 19

Ironclaw's face darkened.

"Impossible. We've got the entire island surrounded tight."

Ares looked at them with amusement, a mocking smile playing at his lips.

"Otherwise, why do you think I'm still here playing games with you when I could easily make my escape with my abilities?"

Ironclaw's expression changed drastically as he immediately pressed his earpiece.

"Contact Ghosthand right now! Ares says the sample has been sent away! Damn it!"

After planning for so long, was it all going to fall apart at the last moment?

Ironclaw couldn't contain his anxiety and frustration. He looked at Damien.

Damien's face looked like it was covered in ice.

His lips parted slightly, forcing out the words, "Raze Devil Island to the ground."

"Yes!" Ironclaw responded with a fierce expression.

In a flash, Ares suddenly leaped up like a cheetah, lunging at Damien. His fingers gripped the knife handle and yanked hard. The short blade flew from its sheath, cold light flashing as killing intent rushed forward.

Damien quickly drew his knife to block. The blades clashed, sparks flying as the two figures crossed like lightning, already exchanging more than a dozen moves.

Ares's strike missed, but his arm got cut. He glanced at it, his eyes darkening.

Though Damien's movements appeared composed, they concealed lethal intention. His posture was like a fully drawn bow, poised to strike at any moment.

Ares attacked again, his short blade sweeping horizontally, slashing at Damien's lower leg. Damien leaped up, spinning with heavy force, kicking toward Ares's shoulder.

Ares could only raise his hand to block. The moment Damien landed before he could steady himself, Ares thrust upward, aiming straight for Damien's face.

But Damien shifted his body, dodging nimbly while his own dagger swept upward in response, driving forward instead of retreating and aiming straight for his opponent's heart.

Every thrust and block was precise and ruthless. At the most dangerous moment, the tip of the dagger was less than an inch from Ares's throat.

Yet Ares still managed to parry the blow, using his own dagger to block Damien's weapon. The two stood almost face to face in close-quarters combat.

Damien's eyes flashed with fighting spirit, "You're stronger than before."

Ares struck back with a swift backhand blow. The instant their blades met, both used the impact to leap apart.

He smiled cruelly and replied, "Really? I think you've gotten weaker."

Their movements became increasingly fierce. Ares was fighting with almost reckless abandon.

Meanwhile, the others took up fighting positions. Gunfire crackled all around, yet no one interrupted the battle between Damien and Ares.

This was a fight between the Supreme King and the God of War.

"Destroy Devil Island for me, hit it hard!"

As he finished speaking, explosions erupted. The entire Devil Island seemed to shake—the warships had opened fire.

Soon, Ironclaw also led his team to kill and clear out the remaining Celestial Temple members.

And Ares was also driven into a corner by Damien!

Damien finally found Ares's weak spot. The knife handle struck hard against his opponent's neck with a dull thud. Ares's legs went weak, and he fell straight forward, hitting the ground.

His body was covered in bloody marks, not a single patch of intact skin.

Damien stepped on his wrist and pressed down hard, breaking the bones in his hand and sending the dagger clattering to the ground.

Ares lay there, gasping roughly through his throat, his eyes still filled with intense unwillingness.

"Lord, how about putting this waste to use and letting me play with him?"

Ironclaw watched excitedly from the sidelines. He too wanted to have a satisfying, face-to-face fight with the God of War.

Damien said nothing, just flicked the blood droplets off his dagger. His movements were lazy and casual, yet revealed complete ruthlessness.

Just as he was about to finish the fight, a burst of machine-gun fire raked across the area. Damien rolled away with quick agility.

Ironclaw and the others scattered, "Reinforcements?"

"Three o'clock direction!" Damien shouted.

Everyone concentrated their fire.

At that moment, the half-dead Ares suddenly got up and ran in one direction. Damien immediately chased after him.

He dashed to the edge of the cliff without a moment's hesitation and jumped straight off, his figure vanishing from sight instantly.

Two helicopters carrying a large net rose from the canyon.

Ares landed on the net, gripping the rope with one hand while the other dangled at an unnatural angle. His body was covered in blood, yet his eyes still gleamed.

"Damien, you really have what it takes to be my opponent."

"We'll meet again next time!"

Ironclaw and the others aimed their weapons in Ares's direction and opened fire, but the distance was too great to cause any real harm.

"Just a little bit more!"

Ironclaw regretted not bringing heavier firepower—even a sniper rifle would have helped. He could only order the other combat teams, hoping they might intercept Ares.

"He didn't expect Celestial Temple to still have the strength to send rescue."

Falcon frowned.

"Those are people from the assassin organization."

Even though they never met face to face, Damien recognized who they were.

"I'll go after them!" Rage Tiger said.

"No need to chase. Let him go."

"Let him go? Lord, our fighter jets can intercept him," Rage Tiger said, puzzled.

"Keeping him alive has other uses."

Damien said lightly.

None of his subordinates asked more questions, silently going to clean up the battlefield.

Damien looked in the direction Ares left, his lips curving into an arc. Next time we meet, I won't show mercy again. Ares, enjoy your last moments of life.

An underground shelter, now serving as Celestial Temple's temporary headquarters.

This time, Damien had inflicted heavy losses on Celestial Temple. They had no choice but to temporarily withdraw and stay out of sight.

In the cold, iron-styled hall, a whole wall of large screens showed the council members of the Assassin Alliance.

The elders of Celestial Temple and several of the gods had only just learned that the sample had been destroyed and that Ares was severely wounded.

"The God of War Ares can't even handle one Damien," a woman flicked her bright red long nails and sneered.

"Aphrodite, I know you and Ares don't see eye to eye, but now is not the time to take advantage of his misfortune."

The King of Gods, White, frowned at Aphrodite and spoke coldly.

"Kick him when he's down? I'm not a fool like Ares. I will kill Damien."

The goddess Aphrodite.

Aphrodite's stunningly beautiful face absolutely matched her status. Her seductive, striking lips looked like they had just drunk warm fresh blood—cruel and terrifying.

Everyone showed the same hateful expression as Aphrodite.

"Damien is too arrogant. Does he think winning once by luck means he can oppose Celestial Temple? My Celestial Temple and Damien cannot coexist under the same sky. No matter what the cost, Damien must pay for today's actions."

A surviving elder's face showed ruthlessness in every wrinkle, speaking through gritted teeth when mentioning Damien.

"Our Assassin Alliance will put in every effort to assist Celestial Temple. We can't allow Damien to keep acting so arrogantly."

The people from the Assassin Alliance in the video spoke in unison.

Even so, Celestial Temple knew they couldn't afford the losses now and could only temporarily avoid confrontation. As for the Assassin Alliance's promises, they would have to actually deliver on them.

Celestial Temple wouldn't become the Assassin Alliance's hitmen.

And so, from that day on, Celestial Temple suddenly went quiet.