Chapter 246 Phoenix Nirvana
Lloyd gathered all his strength and raised his knife once more, slashing down at Isabella on the ground.
Sean drew his blade to block the strike. "Lloyd, put the knife down!"
"No way!" Lloyd snorted coldly. "You're all cowards. Just because you're scared doesn't mean I am!"
Lloyd launched a series of slashes directly at Sean.
Sean had to block while also protecting Isabella on the ground.
After several exchanges, Sean seized an opportunity and kicked Lloyd right in the head.
Hit hard on the temple, Lloyd's vision spun and he nearly lost his balance.
"Lloyd, stop. No more fighting. We'd rather lose this job than risk offending the Powell family," Sean urged.
Lloyd roared like an enraged beast, losing all reason as he attacked Sean.
After several more exchanges, with Lloyd's every move deadly, Sean's strength gradually faded. In just a moment of distraction, Lloyd suddenly charged at Sean, his knife stabbing straight toward him.
The strike was swift and powerful. By the time Sean realized he'd left an opening, it was too late to dodge. He quickly caught the blade with his hand. His palm was sliced open by the sharp knife, blood immediately gushing out.
Seeing this, Lloyd still didn't stop, but he didn't kill Sean either. Instead, he kicked Sean hard, sending him flying.
Sean hit the ground, spitting out blood.
"Sean, you're not the same Sean you used to be!" Lloyd sneered.
He looked at the other two team members. "See that? Sean's no match for me anymore! After we finish this job, you decide whether you're with me or with Sean!"
Lloyd had been annoyed with Sean for a long time. He thought Sean was too indecisive and didn't deserve to be captain of Wraith Division. If it weren't for Sean's skills, he wouldn't respect him at all.
The other two members were somewhat angry. "Lloyd, how could you really hit Sean that hard?"
"Hard?" Lloyd snorted dismissively. "If I'd really gone for the kill, he'd be a corpse by now."
With Sean dealt with, he could finally kill Isabella!
Lloyd walked toward Isabella with his bloodied knife.
"Once I kill her, we get paid. You can either split that ten million dollars with me, or go back to Novaria empty-handed with Sean. Your choice!"
The two members exchanged glances, both hesitating.
They became assassins for money, the kind who risked their lives for it. Now the payment was within reach if they just took care of Isabella. Who wouldn't want it?
But they'd been following Sean all these years, and Sean had always been good to them.
After thinking it over, the two members helped Sean up from the ground, showing they stood with him.
Lloyd sneered. "Blind fools. You'll regret following Sean!"
He turned around, his long knife stabbing directly toward Isabella.
Just then.
"Wait!"
Sean's voice rang out again.
Lloyd looked at Sean with displeasure. "What? You're going to stop me again?"
"If you try to stop me again, I won't just injure your hand! I only spared you earlier out of brotherhood! Next time I won't hold back!"
"I'm not stopping you," Sean said.
As he spoke, he couldn't help coughing up a trace of blood.
He'd already been badly hurt fighting Isabella earlier, and now Lloyd had injured him too. He was truly at his limit. He knew he couldn't stop Lloyd.
Sean lifted his legs and walked toward Lloyd step by step. "I just want to tell you, there's a way to determine if she's from the Powell family."
Lloyd's eyes flickered with suspicion. "What way?"
Sean pressed his lips together and said, "Actually, the totem on the Powell family members' backs isn't a tattoo."
"What do you mean?" Lloyd was confused. "If it's not a tattoo, what is it?"
"It's something they're born with," Sean said.
The Powell family didn't have any tradition of tattooing their members.
Those with the Powell family's main bloodline naturally developed this tattoo-like pattern on their backs from birth. The pattern wasn't obvious at birth but gradually appeared as they grew older.
No one could explain this phenomenon. The most scientific explanation was genetic inheritance.
But such a beautiful, perfect phoenix pattern passing down through generations still seemed absurd.
Perhaps to give this phenomenon a reasonable explanation, or to hide the Powell family's ancient secret, the Powell family claimed to outsiders that it was just a tattoo.
Lloyd frowned. "But how do we tell if the pattern on her back is a tattoo or natural?"
The pattern on this girl's back looked just like a tattoo. Besides, they'd never seen the pattern on a real Powell family member's back. How could they determine if the totem on her back was naturally formed?
"No one except the Powell family can tell," Sean paused, then continued, "But I'm not telling you this so you can judge her identity by it. I just want you to focus on the meaning of the totem itself."
"The meaning of the totem itself?" a team member asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Sean's eyes narrowed as he said in a low voice, "Legend has it that the Powell family's ancestor was the reincarnation of the Phoenix God, which is why the Powell family has the phoenix totem."
Few would believe this claim, and it was just a rumor anyway. No one could verify whether the Powell family's ancestor was really the Phoenix God reincarnated.
"Novaria's major families all possess ancient and mysterious powers. They're so powerful precisely because their members inherited the mysterious powers passed down from their ancestors."
"Do you know what ancient power the Powell family possesses?"
Everyone looked at Sean curiously.
"What is it?"
"Rebirth from the ashes," Sean said.
"In mythology, the phoenix represents rebirth from the ashes."
"The Powell family has this mysterious power, so every few hundred years, one family member can be reborn from the ashes."
"Are you making up stories for me?" Lloyd had had enough, displeasure flashing in his eyes. "You're deliberately making the Powell family sound so mystical just to scare me off, so I won't dare touch this girl, right?"
Sean frowned. "Everything I'm saying is true."
"Whatever you say, I won't believe you!" Lloyd said unhappily.
Besides, even if what Sean said was true, what did any of this have to do with this girl?
She wasn't even from the Powell family, let alone possessed any mysterious powers!
Sean gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "The phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn through fire. The phoenix has a natural affinity with flames, so the Powell family's most mysterious power isn't just rebirth—they're not afraid of fire!"
"You want to know if she's from the Powell family? Then set her on fire!"
Sean pointed at Isabella on the ground and said to Lloyd, "They can die a thousand different ways, but they absolutely cannot die by fire!"
Lloyd listened to Sean's words, stunned. "What did you say?"
Was Sean crazy or was he crazy?
How could there possibly be people in this world who aren't afraid of fire?