Chapter 247 - Murderous Edge

Chapter 247: Chapter 6 Murderous EdgeStepping out of the long-abandoned village, Lu Hong followed an overgrown ancient path deeper into Rocky Mountain.

He scanned the surroundings warily, even a fool would know this was a perfect place for bandits to ambush, and the group that had been attacking members of the Nature God Sect mustn’t have been far from the village; otherwise, why would they strike so often?

Sure enough, relying on his sharp intuition, Lu Hong sensed faint vibrations in the ground nearby; someone was trailing him.

Lu Hong was in no hurry. In fact, he was curious to see what this group of bandits would try to do to him.

As he ventured further in, small stones kept tumbling down the valleys, signifying the increasing number of bandits.

It seemed that a group was waiting for him at the clearing at the outlet of the valley. Lu Hong strode toward it and saw a one-eyed muscular man sitting arrogantly on a simple stone stool, watching him with wild eyes while listening to his subordinates’ reports.

When Lu Hong came closer, the muscular man pointed his sword at him, "So, it was you who caused the losses of my men in Xi’an Village?"

"Are you their leader?" Lu Hong looked at the man, sensing that the muscular man was a Second-Transformation Peak expert.

The muscular man replied coldly, "Indeed, I am known as Murderous Edge. Will you take your own life, or shall I do the killing?"

"What’s the difference?" Lu Hong shrugged, "Seems like either way, I end up dead."

"Of course there’s a difference. If you take your own life, at least your body remains intact. If I make a move, there’s no guarantee any of your limbs will remain."

Lu Hong summoned the War Holy Sword, and the Pure Steel Battle Energy burst forth from his body. Thanks to the Body Refinement process, even though Lu Hong was now a Second Transition Level One Great War Master, his battle energy was in no way inferior to that of a typical Second Transition Late Stage.

"Oh?" Murderous Edge, having the skill to thrive in a chaotic place like Umbra, had some ability to judge people’s strengths. He immediately put away his contempt for Lu Hong, "It seems you’ve got some weight to you."

"Scared now?" Lu Hong taunted, "What happened to that killing intent you had just a moment ago?"

"Hmph." Without another word, Murderous Edge charged forward in a dash. As an Earth Knight, he harnessed the augmentation of earth elements, wielding his Heavy Sword in a fierce onslaught.

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

Lu Hong stepped back twice, while Murderous Edge stumbled back dozens of steps, his face starting to take on a serious expression, "How can you possess such strength? Just who are you?"

"Why don’t you take a guess?"

"The Devil Wind of the Kingdom of Cang?"

"No, no, no," After a quick guess, Murderous Edge immediately rejected his own thought, "Could it be you’re Kui Di from the Kingdom of Pei?"

"Sorry, all wrong. I’m just a traveler from the Star Sea, merely passing through Umbra," Lu Hong replied with a smile, "Now that I’ve said this, do you feel relieved at heart?"

"Of course," Murderous Edge said frankly, "As long as you’re not one of the famed generals from the Seven Kingdoms, killing you won’t bring any trouble."

"Then, make your move."

Urged by Lu Hong, Murderous Edge attacked again, this time with an earth element forming a fiery steed to flank and aid his master in the assault.

Lu Hong took a deep breath and, watching his opponent’s attack, adjusted his sword slightly.

"Holy Light Shine!" Murderous Edge shouted in the heat of their clash, and a dazzling white light suddenly erupted, blinding the surrounding bandits watching the fight.

The corners of Lu Hong’s mouth curled up slightly; he was accustomed to such tactics from having encountered them frequently in past gaming battles. His habitual defensiveness rendered the opponent’s trick utterly ineffective.

Seeing his attack fail, Murderous Edge quickly adjusted his strength, attempting to break Lu Hong’s defense with a confusing force.

Of course, this was a skill that Lu Hong had once taught Nono; how could he fall for it? So he kept counterattacking along with Murderous Edge’s assault.

"Darn it! You’re really tough!" Murderous Edge grumbled, as the earth elements surged once more and two huge boulders broke ground from below, intended to crush Lu Hong into dust.

Lu Hong stepped back several paces, kicked the incoming elemental horse flying, and swung his massive sword fiercely: "Fatal Strike!"

The Pure Steel Battle Energy surged wildly, tearing through the boulders like a hot knife through butter, heading straight for Murderous Edge.

"Earth Split Slash!" Murderous Edge roared, matching the move with his sword skill.

With a booming sound, Murderous Edge was sent flying backward, his weapon cut in half, but fortunately, he remained unharmed.

After their exchange, Murderous Edge realized the strange masked man facing him was strong. In a panic, he yelled, "What are you idiots waiting for? Get him, now!"

"Boss, we’re coming to help you!"

Instantly, thousands of bandits charged at Lu Hong from all directions.

Lead by magic skills, relentless attacks were being flung at Lu Hong’s face as if they cost nothing.

"Mages really are the profession I hate the most," Lu Hong shook his head slightly as he dodged an incoming skill, then pounced toward the Mage hiding at the back.

Taking advantage of his agility and the sharpness of the Holy Light, Lu Hong easily tore through the bandits’ encirclement and began a slaughter among the Mages.

"Earth Element, Prison of Earth!" yelled the assassin name ’Blade of Murder’, his magic power surging.

The ground beneath Lu Hong’s feet softened as a mud-like Earth Element erupted, quickly encasing him in a ball of mud.

This was an offbeat Knight skill related to the Earth Element, not one taught by the Holy Temple. Blade of Murder had learned it from who knows where, but its imprisoning effect was rather strong – the wet, muddy Earth was a significant restraint for a close-combat profession. If one’s magic power couldn’t outmatch the opponent’s, escape was impossible.

"What are you waiting for? Stab him to death!" At Blade of Murder’s command, various weapons plunged into the mud ball, and a steady flow of red blood seeped out.

"Humph! I thought you were tough, damn, almost got me injured," Blade of Murder said as he dusted off his hands, slightly relaxing his guard.

"Boss is awesome!"

"Boss is mighty!"

The bandits celebrated, the Prison of Earth was Blade of Murder’s unique signature skill, which many Second-Transition Peak professionals had fallen victim to.

"I’ll send this kid’s corpse to the Nature Temple tomorrow, let that old man see what happens when they don’t pay their tributes," Blade of Murder said viciously. The reason he had yet to strike the Nature God Sect was partly for fear of retaliation from the sect’s higher-ups and partly because he needed a stable food supply. Setting that aside, the Nature God Sect’s method of nurturing plants was among the world’s best – even just two members of the sect could sustain the population of a city.

"Aren’t you celebrating too early?"

At that moment, Lu Hong’s mocking voice came from within the mud ball.

"You’re not dead?!" Blade of Murder was stunned, disbelieving: "But I clearly saw the blood..."

On second thought, with that much blood lost, dead or not severely wounded, what was there to fear?

"You still dare to boast on the brink of death." Blade of Murder snatched a long sword from one of his men and viciously stabbed at the mud ball.

Clang!

The sword snapped, and a faint glow of blood pulsed within the mud ball before exploding outward, sending all the surrounding bandits flying. But after this shock, few besides Blade of Murder were still capable of drawing breath.

"Puh~" With half his body knelt on the ground, Blade of Murder’s internal organs seemed to shift from the shock of the blood, and inside him was a burning flame of pain: "Who exactly are you? Why do you also have Blood techniques?!"

"Ever heard of a Dual-class character?" Lu Hong withdrew his Blood energy and grasped the War Holy Sword again, slowly walking towards Blade of Murder: "You do have something special. But you chose the wrong opponent. I presume this mud trick has killed quite a few foes for you, hasn’t it?"

"Blood technique, you’re a Blood Mage?" Blade of Murder’s face paled: "So, you are from the Shadow Kingdom."

"Shadow Kingdom? No, no, no, I’m not from there," Lu Hong once again refuted Blade of Murder’s speculation: "As I said, I am but a traveler from the Star Sea."

"Then why do you know the Blood technique? That is a special skill of the Shadow Kingdom’s Bat Tribe."

"Bat Tribe?" Lu Hong opened the scroll Danni gave him and found information about the Bat Tribe – a race of half-human, half-demon beast, naturally possessing the power to manipulate blood and similar to bats, with an affinity for drinking human blood.

This truly was an unregulated dimension of the Empire, for even such strange creatures to thrive so well.

"Regardless, it’s time to send you on your way. Your brothers down there are waiting for you." Lu Hong pointed to the bandits whose hearts had been shattered by the blast, and his sword blade aimed at Blade of Murder’s heart.

"No, no, you can’t kill me, I am a secret agent of Liang Chen, if you kill me, Liang Chen won’t let you off!" Blade of Murder, in an attempt to save himself, spilled everything.

"Liang Chen? Sorry, not familiar," Lu Hong’s sword pierced Blade of Murder’s skin, inching deeper.

"No, no, I... I also know a secret; I’m willing to trade it for my life," Blade of Murder proposed another condition to save himself.

"Let’s hear it," said Lu Hong, with no intention of agreeing. This guy had killed many and committed terrible crimes; he was bound to die. Of course, if he could extract some useful information, that would be a bonus.

"You’ll spare me?" Blade of Murder asked again.

"You can try."

"Fine." To save his life, Blade of Murder had to gamble, continuing: "The King’s daughter of the Pale Kingdom has been frail and sickly since childhood, and despite the King’s search for many doctors, none could find the cause. In truth, she suffers from a curse placed by Liang Chen. If you can inform the Pale Kingdom’s King, you will surely be rewarded with a fortune amassed over decades. That money is well over a hundred million Gold Coins, certainly a lucrative deal."

"Then why don’t you earn that money yourself?" Lu Hong countered.

"I was involved in the cursing of the Pale Kingdom King’s daughter and even left a mark. Going to the capital of the Pale Kingdom is like walking into a trap. Moreover, once the matter is known, Liang Chen will definitely come after me. Even if I can get that money, I won’t have a life left to spend it."

"Oh," Lu Hong nodded and pressed harder, his Holy Sword instantly piercing the other’s heart.

"You... you said... you would... let... me..." Before he could finish speaking, Blade of Murder collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.

"If you are to blame anyone, blame your own evil deeds. Redeem yourself in your next life," Lu Hong flicked the blood off the Holy Sword and continued onwards.

He had to pass through the capital city of the Pale Kingdom anyway; it wouldn’t hurt to do a good deed and save someone along the way.