Chapter 156 Leana Friedrich

"Cucumber salad, be good now... huh?" Jiang Xiao's downward thrust with his war halberd froze abruptly, his body flashing instantly.

A short knife slashed through the air, targeting the very spot where Jiang Xiao's neck had been!

"Ah?"

"What's going on?"

"What happened? Who is that person?"

"Beep beep! Beep beep! Unauthorized personnel, leave the arena!" The referee blew his whistle and shouted urgently.

The figure was draped in a black cloak, the upper half of their face hidden within the hood, revealing only the lower half from the tip of their nose down.

This face, it seemed to be a woman?

Her chin was slightly pointed, her lips were pale, and her skin was just as bloodless.

As for her figure...it was impossible to tell, considering she was wearing a large cloak.

Jiang Xiao stood in the center circle, unable to clearly see her face. In his Domain of Tears, the raindrops could only outline the contours of the hood.

But from the cloak's appearance, color, and the rhythm of its movements, Jiang Xiao knew that it was a rare creature from the deep sea: a Soul-Devouring Abyss!

The mysterious woman's next move confirmed Jiang Xiao's guess.

The long tail of the cloak wrapped around the half of Marta's body that was exposed in the soil,缠绕着her arm, and directly yanked her out.

And Marta...

No! Something was wrong!

Jiang Xiao frowned deeply. The effects of Blessing on anyone shouldn't last this long!

But Marta remained like a puddle of mud, seemingly devoid of her senses, her large eyes staring blankly at the ground, devoid of light.

If Jiang Xiao hadn't sensed the slight rise and fall of her chest, her still-present breath, through the Domain of Tears, he would have truly thought the woman was dead.

The scene had descended into chaos. With so many Chinese spectators, a torrent of curses and protests erupted. A match was a match, rules were rules!

Just when their darling was about to win, why bring in a foreign aid?

And this foreign aid was so sinister, coming in with a knife to sever their little Jiu Xing Du Nai's head?

Teams of staff members rushed onto the field, and then Jiang Xiao realized that his Domain of Tears' raindrops could no longer sense anything on the field.

The raindrops did, however, outline the image of the defensive barrier above being sealed.

The staff had completely sealed off the green field?

"Disrupting the arena! Take them down!" This wasn't the referee speaking, but the Italian police officers maintaining order at the scene.

And Jiang Xiao, on the other hand, stood foolishly in the center circle, his pupils slightly constricted, looking towards the sideline.

Why?

Because...

That woman reached out, pinched the edge of her hood, and slowly lifted it up.

A familiar yet unfamiliar face was revealed to Jiang Xiao's eyes.

This face, nearing fifty years old but impeccably maintained, was likely very familiar to Star Warriors, military and police, of a certain level and strength around the world!

One of the twelve members of the Transformation Star Organization: Leana Friedrich.

All kinds of control-type star techniques slammed onto the field, but Leana's figure vanished in a flash.

Before leaving, Leana's brown eyes narrowed slightly at Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao subconsciously took a step back. It wasn't that he was being a coward; these were people who lived and died with their heads attached to their belts, who was afraid of who?

The key was, that look...

Jiang Xiao's heart beat violently, as if it might jump out of his throat at any moment.

But this was nothing compared to the true damage.

The real damage was the trembling of his soul...

"Ha... ha..." Jiang Xiao gasped for breath, cold sweat mixed with rain, flowing down his forehead.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Pressing a Bell of Serenity to his chest, Jiang Xiao covered his heart with one hand and slowly crouched down.

The Bell of Serenity quickly stabilized Jiang Xiao's emotions, and under its calming effect, Jiang Xiao finally came to his senses.

Was this the true strength of the Transformation Star Organization's members?

These organization members were truly awesome!

Jiang Xiao had heard that they could go anywhere, up to the heavens and down to the earth, that they could come and go as they pleased to the various other-dimensional spaces heavily guarded by each country.

They not only left, but also took star beads and star pets with them...

Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times!

On the stage of the World Cup semi-finals, with the whole world watching, Leana had appeared so openly!

To what extent was this arrogance?

Or rather, to what extent was this strength necessary to be so carefree, not caring about anything?

Well... that's right, they casually wandered into other-dimensional spaces heavily guarded by powerful countries, let alone the World Cup?

The Italian police officers maintaining order at the scene, cooperating with the staff, quickly sealed off the field. The vines, stars, and control domains only缠绕着 Marta's body, not touching Leana at all, because Leana had disappeared.

To everyone's shock, Marta, who had been firmly controlled, suddenly turned into a puddle of water stains and shattered.

This was just a water clone?

She had already been taken away?

When? When was the switch made?

On the field, there was only a group of Italian police officers, and Jiang Xiao, crouching in the center circle, covering his heart with one hand, panting heavily.

Then, the Italian police quickly surrounded the coaching staff of the Apennine Peninsula, not communicating on the spot, but taking them away directly.

Jiang Xiao sat down in the center circle, looking like he was still in shock, panting heavily.

But it was all an act. His condition had recovered after the first Bell of Serenity.

Disguising himself as a victim, or rather, letting certain people see his miserable state at this time, would be a very wise choice.

Playing dumb? Showing weakness?

These were all just means. Putting aside the identity of a participating student, in a true Star Warrior career, victory was probably determined by life and death.

"Beep beep! China #1, wins!" The referee waved a small flag and blew his whistle.

"Won the match! Skill Points +100!"

A coach suddenly appeared beside him, leaning down to help Jiang Xiao up, and led Jiang Xiao off the field.

The roaring, restless stands gradually gave way to applause and encouraging voices.

As Jiang Xiao walked, he waved to He Huan, who was blocked by the police outside the arena, indicating that he would no longer accept interviews.

No one would have thought that a highly anticipated World Cup semi-final would end in this way.

And for Jiang Xiao, this battle was not over yet.

His eyes were still red, and the Domain of Tears continued to expand, even encompassing the entire city of Bailand.

Jiang Xiao gently pushed away the coach's support beside him, and amidst the cheers and consolation of the people, he walked step by step towards the player tunnel.

Jiang Xiao: "Coach Gong, I'm going back to the hotel first."

Gong Juren hurriedly stopped him: "No, Xiao Pi, we..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Xiao's figure had disappeared.

Gong Juren's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly looked at the assistant coach beside him, saying, "Go, quickly take people back and guard Xiao Pi!"

The assistant coach didn't bring Gong Juren, but brought another assistant coach. It seemed that this assistant coach was the strongest in the coaching team, and the two figures immediately disappeared.

Obviously, the assistant coach's teleportation wasn't a Spatial Rift, otherwise he wouldn't be able to bring people with him. His teleportation was likely the same as Pioneer Army Instructor Jiang Hong's teleportation, which could selectively bring one person.

The two assistant coaches quickly teleported back to the hotel and went directly to Jiang Xiao's room, but they didn't find Jiang Xiao.

And at this time, Jiang Xiao...

Starry Sky · Land of Light, switch to Blade Flower Star Chart.

Starry Sky · Secondary Form. A white man with a buzz cut and brown hair appeared in a corridor on the first floor of a small apartment building in the southern suburbs of Bailand.

Starry Sky · Star Concealment, completely concealing the star power fluctuations within his body.

Jiang Xiao's body flashed again, stepping through the door and entering an incredibly messy apartment, like a pigsty.

He frowned slightly, sat down in a chair, propped his elbows on his knees, leaned his upper body forward, and quietly looked at the ground.

Wet hair dripped rainwater, and tears flowed down from Jiang Xiao's red eyes.

In that Domain of Tears, ten seconds ago, Jiang Xiao sensed a girl stumbling out onto the outdoor balcony on the top floor of the apartment - the fourth floor.

The girl sat on the ground, constantly shaking her head, her feet frantically kicking the ground, her hands constantly supporting her body, moving backwards.

"No, please, don't do this, let me go." The girl retreated in a panic, eventually leaning her back against the stone pillar on the rooftop.

A dignified Star Warrior, able to crush the stone fence with one hand, but at this time, Marta seemed like a weak ordinary person, with only pleading and crying left.

Jiang Xiao, in the apartment on the first floor, ran a hand through his wet hair. He couldn't hear these words, but he could perceive Marta's mouth shape through the raindrops.

The problem was... Marta was speaking the native language of the Apennine, not English.

On the platform on the fourth floor, the cloaked figure kicked over a wooden table beside them. The flower pot above toppled over, shattering on the ground.

"You have unparalleled talent, child, but you are wasting it." The cloaked figure stepped forward, placing a foot on Marta's shoulder, immobilizing her body. Underneath the cloak, a combat blade was revealed.

Cloaked figure: "Every minute, every second of your life, you should be grateful for the grace and gifts of heaven. But your stupidity and ignorance only make you mediocre."

"No... no..." Marta kept shaking her head, but saw the cloaked figure leaning down, the back of the short knife against her chin, lifting her head up.

Cloaked figure: "You see the achievements you've made, right? In the past few years, with my help, you've reached the achievements of today."

Marta looked at the face above with frightened eyes. She finally mustered the courage to shout sharply, "Get away, stay away from me!"

Crack!

The cloaked figure's right foot, which was stepping on Marta's shoulder, stomped down hard, and Marta's right shoulder instantly shattered.

The cloaked figure crouched down, the short blade against Marta's heart, their voice hoarse: "You don't know gratitude, child, that's very bad. I give you star beads, I use your body to fight, to conquer everyone who stands in my way, what do I get in return?"

The cloaked figure twisted their foot on Marta's right shoulder back and forth: "I want your cooperation, I want your gratitude, I want you to learn my skills, accept my experience and wisdom, inherit my views and perceptions of this world!

I pour all my energy into giving you everything, let you have everything I have! But on that arena, you've been struggling. If it wasn't for you, how would that little bastard have found the opportunity to defeat you!?

Even now, you're still resisting me."

"Ah..." The sound of bones breaking continued to ring out, and Marta screamed in pain, her voice extremely miserable.

The cloaked figure's short knife slowly pierced into Marta's heart. At the same time, a cloak-shaped star chart bloomed on the cloaked figure's chest, and in the cloak's hood, a ball of mist lit up with light.

Cloaked figure: "You've disappointed me too much, Marta. Maybe I should have taken this body long ago. You could have stood at the top of the world. I thought you would understand all this."

Marta kept shaking her head, her eyes filled with despairing tears: "Don't control my body anymore, don't control my life, Mom, please..."