Just as Billy and Marvin caught up to the guy and had him surrounded, they could finally see his face and recognize who it was they had been chasing all this while. To their utter astonishment, it was Austin they had been plotting to kill.
They stood transfixed in fear, not having expected to come across Austin like this before they had set their plan in motion. They had seen how Austin had defeated Timothy in the Top Ten Outer Disciples Challenge and they doubted that they could take him down by themselves.
"How's it going, brothers? It's been a while since we met," Austin greeted them, a mocking smile on his face.
It had been Austin's plan to lure them out of the darkness. Even before he had overheard their conversation, he had known that these people were conspiring to harm him. And now, he had proof of their conspiracy. Tonight might be the time to end them once and for all. As to strength, Austin did not think it difficult to kill them considering that his cultivation base was much stronger than theirs.
"Austin, what do you mean making us come here in the middle of the night?"
Marvin barked, scowling and vindictive.
But as he assessed the situation, Marvin had a revelation. As much as Austin was strong and competent and was at level nine of the Energy Gathering Realm, he himself wasn't bad at strength. He was at the same level as Austin but the only difference between them was that Austin was a tad superior because he had acknowledged the level two sword intent and obtained a tougher and stronger fist force.
But Marvin had his own strengths as well. He knew fighting Austin by himself was stupid, so he enlisted Billy's help to implement his wish. Although Billy wasn't as strong as Austin, he wasn't completely useless. He was at level eight of the Energy Gathering Realm, only one level below Austin and Marvin, which was why Marvin believed that Billy could be of much help to him. Combining Billy's and his strengths gave Marvin the hope that they could take Austin down.
After balancing the pros and cons of the situation in his head, Marvin began to become relaxed and a little cocky. He lifted his head to look at Austin in defiance.
"Are you kidding me? What do I mean? I could ask you
, the sword glinted golden under the clear white moonlight. Seeing that Austin had conveyed his desire to the Violet Royal Sword and that he had resolved to kill them, they knew that they were destined to fight to death tonight.
"Let's fight him with all our might! Don't give him the chance to fight back. Doing so would be our downfall because we may not be able to withstand his attack, especially his fists," Marvin reminded Billy, his eyes fixed on Austin.
Marvin clapped suddenly and began to gather his vital energy between his hands as he circled them before him. The vital energy turned earthly yellow and the smell of soil was soon assaulting their senses.
As the color of Marvin's vital energy became darker and the smell became thicker, thunder and lightning began to appear. Flashes of lightning whirled around Marvin's hands like snakes, while the thunder roared and clattered. Within seconds, hundreds of palm projections had spouted from the swirl of vital energy.
The Giant Magic Palm was Marvin's strongest skill. After the palm projections were released, he activated his level one palm intent and transferred his intention and vital energy to the palm projections. Within moments, the palm projections began to enlarge and glowed with a strong, bright light.
Beside him, Billy was also displaying the skill he excelled at. Gathering his vital energy, he clenched his hands, causing the long spear he was carrying on his back to shoot out and reach his hand.