Chapter 37: Shackles of the Soul

The blood on his face had not yet dried. Even with his health points below 100, the icy killing intent radiating from him still made those around him shudder. His exceptionally high charm attribute allowed Mo Xuanyu to easily disturb the minds of others, even without using any skills.

At this moment, everyone in the Iron Curtain Guild, with the exception of Mist Sickle, was in a strange state of being both terrified and eager to steal another glance at Mo Xuanyu.

"This level of handsomeness... it really never gets old," a mage huddled in the back whispered. "What do you think are the Guild Leader's chances of winning?"

"Seventy percent, I'd say. After all, Moray is already so heavily injured. No matter how formidable he is, he is still just a human. It’s already miraculous that he can even stand."

The team’s healer had extensive experience in injury assessment, so she could tell at a glance just how severe Mo Xuanyu's wounds were; he was like a candle about to be extinguished at any moment.

"No need to wait. Let's start now; I'm in a hurry."

As they were whispering among themselves, Mo Xuanyu suddenly interrupted their conversation. He tucked May Rain into his storage space, then stood up, gripping Nightmare Moon. He held the back of the blade against his arm, wiping away the dust and gore.

He raised the long blade toward Mist Sickle.

Seeing this, Mist Sickle tilted his head. "Very well."

Long blade against sickle edge—the battle erupted in an instant.

Although Mo Xuanyu was severely injured and his +3 constitution pendant was shattered, his personal stats still held the advantage. Even Mist Sickle found it hard to imagine how Mo Xuanyu’s strength could have advanced so drastically; even while mortally wounded, he did not fall into a disadvantage during the fight.

"You..." His expression grew increasingly suspicious.

After a clash, both men retreated. Mo Xuanyu chuckled at Mist Sickle. "Have you figured it out already?"

"You are not a native of this world... You are a God-Chosen." Mist Sickle’s inner suspicion was thoroughly confirmed by Mo Xuanyu.

In fact, during the battle at the royal palace earlier, Mist Sickle had briefly doubted Mo Xuanyu’s identity due to his use of spatial storage, but it was only a fleeting thought. After all, spatial storage was essentially a type of transcendent ability, and it was not uncommon for natives to possess them. However, Mo Xuanyu’s monstrous growth in strength could not be explained by simple transcendent abilities. Combined with his terrifying track record in previous missions, Mist Sickle could only conclude one possibility: he was a God-Chosen.

"Huh?" The others in the Iron Curtain Guild were dumbstruck. After all this time of standing in opposition, it turned out the person on the other side was also a God-Chosen?

"It is said that in Sacred Geometry, there are rare titles that can help God-Chosen hide their information, forge a perfect identity, and even grant immunity to all detection items." Mist Sickle recalled rumors he had heard, his gaze locked firmly on Mo Xuanyu. "I didn't expect it to be true."

Mo Xuanyu shrugged. He knew nothing of such titles; his identity had been arranged entirely by Sacred Geometry. Being able to keep it hidden until now was simply a matter of information asymmetry. Most God-Chosen, upon entering a world, were given identities with zero presence. For example, the identities of Mist Sickle and his team were "outsiders" or "wanderers" from other continents—generic, nameless roles. Unlike them, Mo Xuanyu had started as the renowned Master Assassin of the Nora Kingdom. Later, he had climbed the ranks to become the Commander of the Sun Knights, occupying a position of great power. No one could have imagined he was a God-Chosen.

"Hiss... what happened? Moray, are you alright?"

By the nearby pool, Kain stood up, clutching the wound on his chest.

"You are still alive?" Mo Xuanyu looked at him with some surprise. He sheathed his blade, went to Kain’s side to support his arm, and infused him with his own healing ability.

"I can only say I'm barely holding on." Kain winced, feeling the sharp pain in his body ease only after Mo Xuanyu’s healing power flooded his wound. He, too, had been pierced through the chest by the Sun King's sword, but fortunately, his heart was positioned unusually—on the right side—which allowed him to survive.

"What is going on with you guys? The one in the mask—I remember you are members of the Allied Forces, right?" Kain asked, beginning to scrutinize the members of the Iron Curtain Guild.

Mist Sickle was silent for a moment. Recognizing Kain as a boss-level threat, he pulled a secret letter from his pocket and flicked it toward him like a playing card. Kain caught the letter, opened it, and after reading its contents, tore the paper into shreds in a fit of rage.

"Damn those idiots! How dare they make such a decision? Has Peter’s conscience been eaten by dogs?!" he roared in fury.

The content of the letter was simple: if the Freedom Commune won the upcoming all-out offensive, Moray-Vinas would have to "heroically sacrifice" himself. If Moray could take the Sun King down with him, that would be ideal. But if Moray survived, his existence would become a permanent stain that the Freedom Commune would have to carry.

As the saying goes, one's position dictates one's perspective. Once the Freedom Commune actually sat in the seat of victory, they would need to cut ties with their past self to legitimately assume power. The Nora Kingdom was a deeply religious nation, and even the former Sun King valued righteousness in his conquests. If the methods of undercover espionage were exposed to the public, the lofty image of the Freedom Commune in the eyes of the Nora people would inevitably crack, leading to skepticism. For a nascent regime, such doubt could lead to internal division or even collapse.

Although Moray-Vinas had contributed immensely to the war, his efforts to gain the Sun King’s trust had indirectly caused the sacrifice of many commune members. Some radicals even claimed Moray was a mere opportunist who helped whoever was winning, unworthy of the title of hero. One faction supported Moray, another opposed him; they argued so fiercely that they nearly came to blows during meetings. Finally, for the sake of the Commune’s future, the supreme resolution council led by Peter made the decision: Moray-Vinas's sacrifice was inevitable. He had to be a nameless hero, not a spy. Every trace and record of him had to be erased.

This was a major reason why Kain had chosen to leave the Freedom Commune; he saw through the ugliness of human nature. But he never expected that even his close friend Peter would be contaminated by such malicious thoughts and agree to execute Moray! He could not stand it! He would never allow anyone to erase Moray’s contributions to the Freedom Commune.

"Looks like we have another opponent." The members of the Iron Curtain Guild felt troubled, as Kain’s muscular physique made him look like a boss-level enemy. But there was no choice; for the sake of the mission rewards, they had to bite the bullet.

Mo Xuanyu asked Kain, "Can your body hold up?"

Kain hoisted his heavy forging hammer. "I can manage. As long as I'm alive, I won't let you die."

Mo Xuanyu shook his head helplessly. "Don't push yourself. Just deal with the cannon fodder; I'll handle that sickle-wielder."

"Uh... alright. I'll listen to you." Considering that his own stats had significantly declined, Kain nodded and agreed to Mo Xuanyu's proposal.

With Kain holding back the other members of the Iron Curtain Guild, Mo Xuanyu was finally free to go all out in his duel with Mist Sickle. Although he no longer had Mo Xiao’s sword mastery, he still possessed Comprehensive Combat Mastery to carry the weight. Furthermore, the combat style Mo Xuanyu excelled in was not limited to unarmed fighting; he preferred to integrate various weapon techniques into his combat, resulting in greater lethality than standard combat mastery.

Mist Sickle noticed the change in Mo Xuanyu’s tactics, and his astonishment deepened. From his perspective, it appeared as if Mo Xuanyu had inexplicably acquired another mastery skill! Was this guy really a God-Chosen?! Mist Sickle had never seen a God-Chosen capable of mastering two skills simultaneously at Tier 1; it was simply impossible!

As the long blade and the sickle edge clashed violently, white mist gradually filled the area around Mo Xuanyu—one of Mist Sickle’s core skills.

[Sacred Geometry Notification: You are affected by Obscuring Mist. Perception -80%, Mental recovery speed -80%.]

With these two debuffs applied, Mo Xuanyu was in the same predicament as Wellen, his field of vision severely restricted. That wasn't all; Mist Sickle snapped the handle of his sickle, once again unleashing his signature Flying Sickle technique. Within the dense white fog, sunlight could barely penetrate, yet Mist Sickle moved with ease. He commanded the sickle blade to launch constant sneak attacks on Mo Xuanyu from the distance.

The white fog severely limited his vision. He needed a breakthrough. Mo Xuanyu looked up at the glass dome shrouded in mist. When the Sun King built this palace, he had used a vast amount of glass reflections to concentrate the sunlight to charge the Sun Core. Now, as the morning sun rose, if he could shatter that glass, the temperature inside the entire palace would skyrocket.

He acted immediately. Mo Xuanyu kicked a piece of debris, sending it flying at high speed toward the glass dome. With a crisp *crack*, the massive glass dome collapsed. The liberated sunlight poured down, illuminating every corner of the palace and leaving Mist Sickle with nowhere to hide in the fog.

Mist Sickle clearly knew that the sunlight would counter his mist. Seizing the moment when Mo Xuanyu shattered the dome, he activated his innate talent skill.

"Soul Shackles!"

*Clang, clang, clang!!*

"Hmm?" Mo Xuanyu looked at the silver-white chains on his wrists, his brow furrowing slightly.

[You have been suppressed by "Soul Shackles". Strength, Agility, and Intelligence attributes decreased!!]

What an outrageous skill... Mo Xuanyu looked at the chains on his wrists with genuine surprise. Under the suppression of the Soul Shackles, all of his attributes had dropped, except for Constitution. Since his cross pendant had shattered, his Constitution was only at 16, leaving no room for further reduction.

Mist Sickle merged the blades of his sickle. With the suppression of the Soul Shackles, he could now safely and boldly engage Mo Xuanyu in melee combat.