However, this arrow swirling of black and white seemed to be on a completely different level entirely.

'I may be the weakest here.' Fourteen thought calmly. 'But do not underestimate a numbered warrior!'

As if responding to Fourteen's thoughts, Dyon only smiled. 'I never did.'

The dark ocean lit up once more. Arcs of blue lightning surging forward. Fourteen didn't need to think very long to realize that this wasn't a fake strike like before This was the real deal! Dyon had saved it just for this moment!

A bitter smile coated Fourteen's features. He lived in silence, so many it was fitting that he died in silence as well.

The arrow of black and white pierced into his back the moment the arc of blue lightning stalled his movements. If he erupted with his full strength, he was certain that he could force himself to move, but it was already too late.

The arrow didn't dig very deep. The body of a dao expert was far beyond Dyon's understanding. But, it didn't need to. Severing a part of his spine was enough for Dyon's purposes.

The blue lightning stalled his movements. The arrow blasted him forward toward his immortal puppets and impeded his movement further. And in the next instant, his chest was pierced on both the left and right side by the metallic hands of two immortal puppets.

Dyon didn't even react to Fourteen's death as he ordered the immortal puppets to retreat. Not long later, a puppet came to his side, holding onto two drops of blood in a sphere of qi.

It was time for the second plan.

Dyon nodded with satisfaction at these two drops of blood. It had been far more difficult to procure these than it seemed. Or, rather, it was clearly difficult, but there were even more hidden difficulties left unseen.

Because of the nature of his black arrows, there was a good chance that any blood Thirteen bled would have been burnt up before it could be collected. Dyon had Nine's kick to thank for these two, or else it would have been difficult and he would have had to leave the immortal puppets in action for longer than he would have liked.

To now, he hadn't even used 10 seconds of their time, so he had four minutes and fifty seconds of time remaining. That wasn't the only good news either, due to him being overwhelmed by cold qi and assaulted by four immortal puppets plus a sentinel, Ten was heavily injured, he'd be handicapped for the remainder of the battle, at least.

Dyon would have liked to kill him as well, but dragons, or mixed blood descendants of theirs in this case, were tenacious. Ten had his stomach torn through, and his leg nearly severed, but he was still very much alive.

One might wonder why? If four immortal puppets could do this in less than ten seconds, why would Dyon pull back so soon? And the reason was rooted in the simple virtue of not being greedy. No matter what, Dyon couldn't forget what and who he was fighting against. Getting anxious and losing himself for short term benefits would do him no good.

Plus, something told him that Nine wouldn't just wait around to watch Ten die That woman She was dangerous. Retreating was definitely the best choice.

Dyon was certain that his only chance at true victory was to take Nine on alone after defeating the others. He refused to believe that she could withstand the assault of ten immortal puppets, two sentinels, and Thirteen all at once. Well Thirteen would only be included if he succeeded.

'Bless me this one time, stingy Heavens.' Dyon took a deep breath. He felt that whether or not these two drops of blood worked would decide his victory or defeat.

In the distance, Ten coughed up blood, weakly swimming to what remained of the numbered warriors. His body was a mess, but his expression was even more ugly.

"Fourteen died?" Ten couldn't help but turn a blaming eye toward Nine.

"Who are you looking at?" The growl that escaped the purple furred humanoid woman shook Ten back to reality. They might only be a single ranking apart, but the difference between them was akin to Heaven and Earth. Once one reaches these heights in the dao realm, even a single filled meridian made a massive difference, let alone the fact that Nine was ahead of him by 14.

While Ten was an 8th stage dao expert, Nine was a 9th, the difference was that Ten had only filled 65 meridians, but Nine had filled 79. She was only a few steps away from the 10th stage. This didn't even mention the fact Nine was a supreme grade beast, while his Silver Metal Draconic Falcons were a mere transcendent grade beast race.

"We need a plan." Nine said after snorting. "It'll be hard to explain to Leader the loss of two numbered warriors even if they might have been expected. We of BPA do not retreat!

"We need to progress forward, but we cannot do it blindly. I suggest that "

Suddenly, Nine's voice was interrupted by Thirteen's blood curdling scream.

At first, Nine wanted to kick Thirteen away once more. It was just a dislocated shoulder and you were a dao warrior, was there a need to be so pathetic? But, in the next instant, her eyes narrowed.

Thirteen's body had turned a blinding shade of red and steam began to emit from her body.

Dyon had never concentrated to this level in his life. In reality, his soul was more than strong enough to attempt to entrap a dao beast, he wasn't scared of the backlash either since the base of the seal wasn't in his mind's eye, but rather in The Seal. However, this didn't mean he didn't have to give it his everything.

Using treasures of the 33 heavens was incredibly taxing. Even with his soul strength, Dyon couldn't use the active ability of the aurora steps for more than a few seconds, well, that might have increased to a minute or two by now. Luckily, The Seal was a bit better in this aspect, though not by much.

A savage light shone in Dyon's eyes.

"Thirteen, what's happening?!" Eleven panicked. Could it be the arrow? Was there some even more deadly poison attached to it?

Dyon grit his teeth, beads of sweat welling up within the sheen of fat he had covered himself in.

'Come!'

Dyon's eyes shone like bright torches along the dark ocean floor.

In the next instant, an audible snap was heard. Dyon understood what it was in an instant. The moment she was subdued forcibly, Thirteen's dao heart had shattered, and so had her King aura. She was now just a regular Heaven grade beast instead of a King beast. But, Dyon didn't care at all, he had succeeded!

"Good!" Dyon gripped his fists. "Quickly, [Retrace]!"

Dyon had waited ten minutes before acting just for this purpose. He had let them talk through their strategy and he had even allowed Ten a moment to rest and recoup from his injuries for a moment. All so that he could pull Thirteen out as quickly as possible the moment she would no longer resist.

PPSSHUU

Dyon froze.