The howling wind in their ears made their eardrums ache.
Chi Zhongyue, tightly pressed against Jiang Yuan's chest, held on even tighter.
Even with Early Second Rank strength, a fall from the 26th floor would be fatal if anything went wrong.
The wind swept Chi Zhongyue's long hair into a flurry, each strand carrying a faint fragrance as it whipped against Jiang Yuan's face, obscuring his vision.
Halfway down, even over the howling wind, they could clearly hear a loud crash from the 26th floor.
The thick security door had slammed directly into the balcony's French window, protruding halfway through.
If not for the aluminum frame of the French window blocking it, the door would have shattered through the window completely.
But at that moment, accompanied by a tremendous pulling force, the rope tied around their waists and thighs suddenly tightened, causing sharp pain and an abrupt halt that made those areas throb with pain.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuan's current physical condition prevented any injury; it hurt, but it didn't affect him.
They were now only half a meter above the ground.
At that moment, there was a sudden movement from the rope. Looking up,
they saw a man wrap the rope around a long stick several times, then grab both ends of the stick and jump down from the building, his face expressionless.
His eyes were fixed on them, his pupils blood-red.
He showed signs of losing his sanity.
*Swish—*
A cold light flashed as Chi Zhongyue, still in Jiang Yuan's arms, drew her long sword and cut the rope. At the same time, she shouted, "Early First Rank Hunter, run!!!"
Upon hearing "Early First Rank Hunter," Jiang Yuan didn't hesitate for a moment and turned to run.
Just like Redeemers among the Disguisers.
Those who serve as Hunters in the demon camp are all among the strongest fighters!
For example, in the recent incident with the male and female bandits, Hu Zhengfeng was only Early Second Rank, but the man was Early First Rank!
Yet Hu Zhengfeng managed to control him.
Although Hu Zhengfeng was seriously injured, and the man was not fighting with all his heart, it still demonstrated the power of Redeemers and Hunters.
"Into the mall ahead!"
While running, Chi Zhongyue pointed to a small mall ahead and shouted.
Jiang Yuan immediately changed direction and ran headlong toward it.
At that moment,
the Hunter behind them had landed.
He was even faster, his eyes growing more excited and mad as he stared at their retreating figures.
Watching the distance between them narrow, Chi Zhongyue spoke loudly but extremely calmly: "You run first, I'll hold him off."
As soon as she finished speaking, she stopped running, turned around, her long sword held horizontally in front of her, and with calm, bloodthirsty, mad emotions freely flowing, she advanced instead of retreating, letting out a delicate shout as she actively charged toward the opponent!
Jiang Yuan's heart trembled, but he gritted his teeth and rushed into the mall.
Behind him, the two had already engaged in battle.
Seeing that Jiang Yuan had indeed fled without looking back, a hint of relief appeared in Chi Zhongyue's increasingly mad expression, but for some reason, a faint silence that she herself didn't notice flashed by.
But all emotions were quickly suppressed. Of course she wanted to live if she could, but facing the attacking Hunter, she didn't hesitate to give her all.
Surge of redemption power flowing, a scarlet sword light swept directly toward the opponent.
In fact, the biggest difference between redemption power and demon power isn't in the color of the energy—both are scarlet. The difference is that redemption power is a pure mystical energy, while demon power carries demon marks and has extremely high corrosiveness to the soul.
If demon power were stripped of its soul-corroding properties, it would be essentially identical to redemption power.
This sword light was easily dodged by the opponent.
And while dodging, the opponent leapt into the air, holding his metal staff, roared fiercely, and with a ferocious expression, swung it down toward Chi Zhongyue's head.
The speed and power were so great that it even produced a sonic boom.
*Bang—*
*Pfft—*
The Hunter's metal staff struck Chi Zhongyue hard.
The tremendous force sent her flying more than ten meters away, a mouthful of blood spewing from her mouth.
The difference in their strength... was simply incomparable.
This Hunter wasn't just any Early First Rank Hunter; he was a veteran Early First Rank Hunter!
If classified by Jiang Yuan's level system, the opponent would be a strong fighter at Early First Rank lv7 or above!
He might even be lv10, just one step away from the Middle Rank!
Early First Rank lv1 and lv10 are completely different.
Being struck down with a single blow and spitting blood only fueled Chi Zhongyue's violence and ferocity. Redemption power surged madly, her beautiful deer-like eyes now completely scarlet, her long hair dancing without wind, like a maniac.
At this moment, Chi Zhongyue looked more like a fanatic than the fanatics themselves.
"Ugh! Die! Die! Die!"
Completely ignoring the gap between them, Chi Zhongyue fiercely charged at the opponent again.
"Seeking death!!!"
The Hunter had been about to chase after Jiang Yuan; he had planned to kill Jiang Yuan first before dealing with Chi Zhongyue.
But now, Chi Zhongyue's fierce attack finally overwhelmed his remaining sanity with violent killing intent. He held his staff and charged at Chi Zhongyue as well.
Actually...
The higher one's strength, the less likely they are to lose their sanity.
Everyone's soul grows stronger as their strength increases, though the improvement is quite small. This is why most Disguisers are acquired, with only a few like Jiang Yuan being natural Disguisers.
The same applies to fanatics.
What truly controls fanatics is their thoughts, their souls—not their sanity.
But because most believers and low-level fanatics have too weak souls, they easily lose their sanity.
However, for some powerful individuals, they don't lose their sanity as easily when facing Disguisers.
Additionally, sanity is not the same as thoughts.
A fanatic whose thoughts and soul are controlled can never become a Disguiser, no matter how sane they are.
The Hunter in front of them clearly didn't have a strong soul. He had maintained some sanity at first, but now that Jiang Yuan was about to escape, his sanity immediately vanished.
The two engaged in battle again.
This Hunter was indeed very powerful, but Chi Zhongyue wasn't completely helpless.
Although she was at a disadvantage, it wasn't easy for the opponent to kill her quickly.
Their fierce battle destroyed many facilities outside the mall, and nearby pedestrians had long since moved away to watch.
Of course, this was under the assumption that they didn't know Chi Zhongyue was a Disguiser; otherwise, they would have rushed forward like zombies.
They weren't surprised by this scene. In this world, such scenes happened every day.
*Pfft—*
Chi Zhongyue was caught off guard and sent flying again, crashing into the mall's tempered glass door, creating a large hole in the glass. She fell to the ground, blood still flowing from her mouth.
She now had almost no strength left to move. She had greatly underestimated the power of an Early First Rank Hunter.
Looking at the Hunter, he was covered in wounds, but none were fatal. The most serious injury was just a blood line on his abdomen, nothing more.
At this moment, he had a mad excited expression, muttering crazily about "death, sacrifice, I'll chop you up and sacrifice you" and similar madness. With a flash, he turned into a dark shadow and continued attacking Chi Zhongyue.
The raised metal staff was filled with demon power. It wasn't hard to imagine that with this strike, Chi Zhongyue's head would explode like a watermelon.
Chi Zhongyue had no time to dodge now; she could only watch as the staff swung down, but there was little fear or despair in her eyes.
Instead... she was terrifyingly calm.
It seemed to carry a hint of relief.
Death... would be good too.
That way, she could see her mother and atone for her sins in person.
But at that moment, from behind the mall entrance, a small pig mascot suddenly rushed out like a bolt of lightning.
A straight knife, its cold light dazzling.
Stabbing straight toward the Hunter's back!