?Chapter 1156:


    Before he even realized what had happened, Chris had already knocked him down.


    Could this man truly be the coward everyone thought he was? Or had that pathetic mask been hiding something far more dangerous all along?


    Agonizing pain suddenly tore through Austen’s ribs, forcing a ragged gasp from his lips.


    Beads of cold sweat gathered and streamed down his temples. With a single motion, Chris had crushed him and snapped two ribs like twigs.


    Austen’s chest heaved violently as his eyes narrowed in disbelief.


    What in the world had just unfolded? How could Chris unleash such power so suddenly?


    Nothing about it made sense. Austen had struck with his deadliest technique — the very move that had once left Tyrant defenseless — yet it had failed.


    Everything happening before his eyes drove home the grim truth — Chris had been pretending from the very start.


    Austen had to admit that Chris was not a weakling at all but a formidable force, far surpassing him inbat skill.


    What unsettled Austen most was the way Chris spoke, each wordced with a cold challenge.


    That air of contempt, that chilling indifference… it carried the same weight as the notorious figure who led The Mask. No — his mind rebelled at the thought. That couldn’t be right.


    How could anyone ce Chris in the same league as that man? If the leader of The Mask were the one standing here, Austen was certain that the punch wouldn’t have just broken his ribs — it would have ended his life already.


    Hopelessness closed in on Austen.


    Lɑt??τ cнαρτ?rs ιn g??l??ov?ls.??????


    He should have listened to Raegan. He never should have pressed forward with this mission.


    Austen burst into wildughter. “Do you really think I’ll tell you anything? You don’t deserve the truth! You’re just a worthless stray, a disgrace the Cooper family never wanted,” he said, clinging to his defiance even with death close at hand.


    If nothing else, he longed to carve asting wound in Chris’ heart. Chris stood motionless, his face betraying no reaction to the insults hurled at him.


    “I’ll give you one more chance,” Chris said, his voice cold as his eyes flicked to Austen’s battered ribs. “Or should I let those broken bones pierce your lungs?”


    The menace in his words made Austen tremble uncontrobly. That same aura… it was hauntingly like the infamous leader of The Mask.


    But no — it couldn’t be. Austen forced himself to believe that his blood loss and shattered body were distorting his thoughts.


    At that very moment, a vehicle screeched to a halt at the crossroads. Inside, Raegan surveyed the scene with a cold nce before issuing hermand. “Shoot him.”


    “Ma’am, isn’t this too dangerous to pull off in Wront?” one of the men asked with clear hesitation.


    .


    .


    .