Max leaned back in his chair, a grin spreading across his face. "Let me guess. You're here to offer me a deal? Work with the Hand, and I get to live a long, prosperous life?"
Gao raised an eyebrow hearing this as Max continued, "You've forgotten one thing. A deal is between parties with equal Strength with equal strength. And right now, you're weaker than me."
Before she could respond, Max's aura shifted dramatically, his power suddenly erupting. With a forceful wave, he sent Madam Gao flying across the room, crashing into the wall with a loud thud.
"Heh," Max chuckled, sitting back casually. "So, what can you even offer me with your pitiful strength when I can kill you easily even without moving a finger"
Gao, barely fazed, picked herself up and wiped the blood from her lip. Her eyes glinted with amusement. "What you need is something no mortal can ever beat—Death. The power to defy it. We can grant you immortality."
Max raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but only for a second. "I'm already immortal," he said flatly, leaning forward. "Next offer, please."
Madam Gao's smile wavered slightly, but she seemed more amused than frustrated. "You may think that, but you have not truly grasped the concept of immortality."
She gestured with her hand, and a faint golden aura enveloped her body. She then reached out toward Max, her power radiating as she manipulated the flow of life energy. The air grew heavy with golden energy, but Max wasn't impressed.
"I'm not immortal because I can't die, Gao," he said with a smirk. "I'm immortal because I've mastered death."
Before she could respond, Max's aura flared once more, and with a single kick, he sent the incoming wave of energy flying back. The grayish energy burst as it collided with her, sending her skidding across the floor and back into the wall.
Gao slowly stood, her eyes narrowing in calculation. "So, you're more than just a power player," she murmured, wiping away the remnants of the blast. "I underestimated you, Max Ryder."
Max's smirk deepened. "That's your mistake. Now, are we done here, or do you have more cryptic offers to throw at me?"
Max's smirk deepened. "That's your mistake. Now, are we done here, or do you have more cryptic offers to throw at me?"
"If not, I should just kill you, take another finger of the Hand, and be done with your lot," he said, cracking his knuckles.
For the first time, Madam Gao smiled, a knowing glint in her eyes. "What do you know?"
Max leaned forward, his gaze sharp. "I know you didn't start as an assassin. You were once a noble healer, using and manipulating life energy to help others. But somewhere along the way, you twisted it—to maintain your own immortality."
Madam Gao's expression darkened slightly, though she remained calm. "You are strong, Max Ryder, but even the strongest have weaknesses. And I will use that very weakness against you."
With a flick of her fingers, the screens in the room flickered to life, displaying an image that made Max's smirk vanish.
It was his sister, Lumia. She was staying at a safehouse, unaware of the watchful eyes upon her.
"If you do not wish for her death, beyond even yourself," Gao said smoothly, "you will reconsider your stance."
Max narrowed his eyes, his aura subtly shifting. Gao simply sat there, watching, her hands folded in her lap.
Madam Gao sat haughtily, her fingers tapping against the armrest of her chair. "Are you ready to talk now about our offer of cooperation?" she asked, her voice calm but laced with arrogance.
Max leaned back, smirking. "No need. I'd rather sit back and watch my sister's undead slaughter the little ninjas you sent after her."
Madam Gao's expression flickered for a split second before she chuckled. "Is this your final answer, then? I suppose I should at least show you a little demonstration." She lazily gestured with her fingers as if signaling someone.
"Go inside and inject the venom into Lumia Ryder," she commanded.
Max, unfazed, simply waited.
The screen shifted, showing the Hand ninjas infiltrating the house. They moved silently, navigating through the dimly lit corridors before reaching Lumia's room.
There she was, lying lazily on her bed, seemingly unaware of their presence.
Max sighed, facepalming. "This is so stupid. She can sense them from over a hundred meters away, and yet they think she's oblivious? Are they seriously this careless?" He shook his head in amusement.
Madam Gao, on the other hand, smirked. "It seems this will be easier than I thought—"
Before she could finish, a sudden movement on the screen made her freeze.
Half of the ninjas had been slaughtered in an instant. Blood painted the walls as a towering figure loomed in the darkness.
A knight clad in black armor, its ominous presence sending a chill through the remaining assassins.
One of Lumia's Death Knights had arrived.
As a Death Lord, Lumia commanded countless undead warriors—some of them powerful enough to make even the Hand hesitate.
Madam Gao's smirk disappeared.
Max grinned. "Yeah… you really should've done your homework. Your little Hand can't even defeat my sister, yet you dream of making me submit?"
His aura flared, pressing down on Madam Gao like an invisible weight. She trembled, her breathing ragged as she felt an overwhelming force crush against her very soul.
"Any last words?" Max asked coldly, stepping closer.
Madam Gao, despite her usual composure, gritted her teeth. "I guess not," she muttered.
In the next instant, her head was severed from her body, rolling to the floor as her lifeless corpse slumped over.
Max sighed, cracking his neck as he looked toward the towering Death Knight standing by. "A waste of time," he muttered before glancing at the lifeless body.
He raised his hand, channeling the dark energy of Necromancy. The air crackled with eerie power as shadows coiled around Gao's corpse. Her body twitched violently before dark flames engulfed it.
Within moments, the transformation was complete. What once was Madam Gao was now a reanimated Dullahan—an armored undead warrior with no head, its body radiating a sinister aura.
Max smirked, looking at his new creation. "Welcome to the world of the dead, Dullahan."
The undead knight kneeled before him in silent obedience.
***
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