This area had been cordoned off by the SWAT team, establishing a sizable perimeter that later-arriving officers couldn't cross. However, there were exceptions for some people.
For instance, a group of five or six high-ranking officers led by a man nearing fifty, which surprisingly included... Felicity?!
Of course, her presence wasn't unexpected, given that she was both a police officer and a direct witness to the incident.
"Chief, the scene... it's pretty gruesome," reported a SWAT captain standing outside the perimeter, his face twisted in discomfort.
"Gruesome?" The man glanced at him and then walked in without another word. Moments later, he suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "Felicity! Don't look!"
"Uncle... no, Chief, why?" Felicity asked, confused.
"Just go back!"
"I need to see..."
Ignoring the chief, Felicity stubbornly ran past him. The next moment, her face turned pale, and she squatted down, retching violently.
The chief glanced at her helplessly, then turned to the SWAT captain who had followed them in and asked with a frown, "What exactly happened?"
"Chief, this..."
The SWAT captain took a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining, "It was like this when we arrived. Two robbers had their throats slit with a knife, one was stabbed through theheart from behind, and another had a knife through his throat. The most shocking part was the leader of the robbers... he had shotgun wounds on his back, his entire head was blown apart by the same type of weapon, and..."
"And what? Speak up!"
"It's just a preliminary examination, so the results might not be very accurate..."
"What do you mean by 'not very accurate'?
""From the gunshot wounds, it looks like it could be the leader's own rifle."
"What?!"
The chief was convinced that there must be a mistake in the examination results. After all, if there wasn't a mistake... the leader couldn't have committed suicide out of guilt, could he?
How the robbers died wasn't the main issue; what mattered was that they were dead before the police arrived—so who killed the robbers?
"Felicity, how are you? By the way, you mentioned the robbers took a hostage. That person..." The chief looked at Felicity, who was vomiting uncontrollably.
"I..."
Felicity couldn't bear to look any closer and turned her head away, staying at a distance. "I... I don't know... none of the dead here are him."
Her emotions were indescribable.
Who killed the robbers?
For some reason, she recalled the calmand composed expression of the man during the negotiation with the robbers. He had seemed so confident, almost as if he had nothing to fear.
Could it be...?
No way!
With his frail appearance, he couldn't even take down the weakest robber. But the problem was... this was a deserted wilderness. There were only six of them in total, and five robbers were dead while he was missing. How could this be explainedWithout the protection of inner energy, his vitality was depleting rapidly, and his physical strength was weakening at an alarming rate. His already frail body was growing weaker and weaker.
Merritt had no idea where he was. All he could see was a desolate wasteland stretching out before him.
I can't go on...
I really can't run anymore...
With a thud, he collapsed to the ground. His body went limp, and withthat last breath, he knew he couldn't get up again. He could only lie quietly in the grass.
Waiting for death.
With the protection of his inner energy, his life force had been draining slowly, like a gentle stream. But now,without that protection, it was flowing away like a raging river. He could feel his life slipping away at an alarming speed, heading toward its final moments.
Am I going to die?
Maybe it's for the best.
After all, he only had a few months left to live. Whether it was sooner or later didn't make much difference. But still... he felt so unwilling!
Once a king! Once the Azure Dragon!
Once nearly god-like within a certain
Maybe it's for the best.
After all, he only had a few months left to live. Whether it was sooner or later didn't make much difference. But still... he felt so unwilling!
Once a king! Once the Azure Dragon!
Once nearly god-like within a certain realm, now dying because of a few robbers. How could he accept that?
Countless memories flashed through his mind, and his thoughts settled on a beautiful figure.
She loved to dye her hair fiery red...
She loved to wear tight red leather outfits...
And most importantly, she loved him. He knew this better than anyone.
Even when she knew his powers had plummeted, even when she knew he didn't have long to live, she stayed by his side, willing to become his wife.
But what did he do?
He chose to leave.
It wasn't because he didn't love her, and it wasn't entirely to come to Ancient Splendor to find his childhoodfriends and fulfill his wishes—he didn't want to drag her down with him.