Rody threw a stone into the darkness behind him, and Chris saw a sixth-order Shadow Thief slowly sliding out.
It turned out that a Shadow Thief had been following them all along, no wonder he had felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Chris was surprised at the appearance of the Shadow Thief, and at the same time, he secretly admired Rody's perceptive abilities. Although Rody didn’t have the same intuition as him, his mental perception was astonishing. He not only knew they were being followed but also pinpointed the exact location of the enemy.
"You are definitely not knights of the temple's sanctum." The Shadow Thief sneered, "Who are you really? What brings you to the Leiyin Mist Land?"
"When I capture and torture you, I might consider telling you," Rody replied slowly, his voice calm, "You have some nerve, following us within thirty meters. I ignored you before because you didn't enter my three-hundred-meter attack range. But now, your audacity makes me think you believe thieves are invincible. If I don't take you down, you might continue to think so."
"I have already sent a magical message to Lord Jex. He will be here soon," the Shadow Thief laughed heartily. "I really hope, before Lord Jex arrives, you can entertain me in my boredom."
"Weightlessness." Rody raised his hand, casting a black magic sphere.
"Ah... Ouch!" The Shadow Thief turned to run, moving extremely fast. But suddenly, he lost control of his body and, with eyes wide open, crashed into a tree trunk, falling to the ground in a clumsy heap, unable to get up, as if his entire body had lost its spinal support.
"Not every mage needs to cast spells personally. When you saw my hand, you were already cursed by my magic," Rody said slowly as he approached the Shadow Thief. He conjured the giant axe previously seized from an Orc Berserker, preparing to chop the scrambling thief in half. Suddenly, Chris screamed from behind, "Watch out! Ghost Stab!"
Just as Chris spoke, a figure suddenly hung upside down from a tree.
Positioned just above Rody's head, the figure held a sharp, poisoned dagger, swiftly and skillfully slashing at Rody's throat.
Assassins and thieves have many similarities, such as their expertise in stealth and their astonishingly fast and agile movements. However, they also have many differences. For instance, in terms of attack, thieves may be fast, but they mainly practice how to stealthily pickpocket, while assassins never do such things. They only train to slit their target's throat or deeply stab their hearts more swiftly.
Rody, holding his neck, looked in surprise at Ghost Stab, who had ambushed him.
"I never waste words with my enemies. I only speak to corpses, as it's the safest," Ghost Stab coolly snorted.
The Rody in front of him did not respond.
As the hand was about to draw the sword for a counterattack, a red line appeared on the neck. This small red line quickly expanded, then burst open. As Rody drew his silver sword from his waist, the red line on his neck had already turned into a cascade of blood.
Holding the silver sword, Rody swung it weakly a few times before his body thunderously fell.
"Is there anyone in the world who can live with their throat slit?" Chris rushed over, looking at Rody lying in a pool of blood, muttering to himself.
"Unless he's a dead man, an undead," Ghost Stab said as he slid swiftly towards Chris, turning into a blur. The dagger in his hand shimmered with starlight. Chris leaped into the air, drawing his silver sword, ready to strike back with his fighting spirit. But from the darkness, a sharp arrow flew, deeply embedding itself in Chris's throat, propelling him against a tree, where he was deeply impaled.
"We are not alone. Shadow Thieves and Ghost Stabs always act together, and the Archer plays an important role in supporting attacks," the Shadow Thief stood up, sneering, "If you want to understand the rules of survival, you have to pay with your life."
"The laws of the jungle are not something these noble young masters can understand!" A tall man holding a folded carving bow emerged from a distance.
"Chop off their heads and bring them back to Lord Jex," Ghost Stab motioned to the Shadow Thief to proceed.
"He was so handsome; it's a pity he's dead." The Shadow Thief swung his silver sword, chopping off Rody's head, holding it high in his hand, laughing heartily. As he laughed most triumphantly, the tightly closed eyes of the severed head suddenly opened, flashing a faint green light, startling the Shadow Thief into screaming and dropping the head to the ground.
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"What's wrong?" Ghost Stab asked impatiently.
"This man is so eerie, his eyes opened even in death..." the Shadow Thief's voice trembled.
"Impossible. His eyes were clearly closed. You're becoming more cowardly as you live!" The Archer, having already chopped off Chris's head and bagged it, picked up Rody's head to take a look, casually threw it into the bag, and laughed, "Among the thousand people who died by our hands, which one became a vengeful spirit? Even if he did become an undead spirit, we have the Holy Staff to dispel it!"
"Let's go! Lord Jex is waiting!" Ghost Stab was the first to dart away.
"This place is a bit strange..." The Shadow Thief looked around at the eerie silence, fear involuntarily rising in his heart. Seeing his companion leave, he quickly followed, not daring to stay a moment longer.
Fifty kilometers away, there were several small tents set up.
In the largest tent, a one-armed Sword Emperor was leisurely drinking wine. Two scantily clad and sensual female slaves, wearing only silk ribbons, were attending to him on either side. One was pouring wine, while the other massaged his legs. Sitting below the Sword Emperor were two great mages and a middle-aged man dressed as a general, all raising their glasses in salute to him.
As the tent opened, a guard came in to report, "Lord Jex, the Ghost Shadow trio has returned. They have brought back the targets' heads."
"Let them in," nodded the one-armed Sword Emperor.
"Lord, it went smoothly. We have brought back the targets' heads. They were all mages, not adept at close combat, and we easily ambushed them. As per your instructions, we followed them for two days and found no evidence of any companions. Moreover, the two did not travel by the roads, so we surmised they were fleeing from crimes, not meeting with allies," reported the Shadow Thief, kneeling on one knee before the Sword Emperor.
"No abnormalities were found in the Leiyin Mist Land. Our search indicates it's completely a desolate forest," said Ghost Stab respectfully.
"Lord Jex, here are their heads," the Archer pulled out a blood-soaked bag and slowly opened it. The two mages immediately stood up, and the general spat out his wine in shock. Only the Sword Emperor remained seated, though his expression turned very serious.
"Awaken the Mind!" The two mages simultaneously waved their staffs and chanted a spell, casting it on the Shadow Thief, Ghost Stab, and the Archer.
"To think that even Ghost Shadow has failed, haha, you brought back stones, not heads," laughed the general, slamming the table. His words shocked the trio, and upon looking at Rody and Chris's heads again, they found them turned into round stones. Their faces changed drastically; failing to kill their enemy was a great humiliation, and to be deceived by an illusion was even worse.
"Interesting, such an opponent is worth my personal effort," said the Sword Emperor, draining his cup.
"Guards, bring the horses, we're leaving," ordered the general, standing up.
"No need... because we are already here," Rody's voice came from outside the tent. Then, everyone saw him entering with several heads in his hands, wearing a faint smile as if he had done something trivial. His voice was very calm, "General, see if one of these is your guard's head. What I brought is not stones; surely one of these heads belongs to your guard."
"If not, you might find one here," Chris also came in with several heads, throwing them disdainfully in front of everyone.
"You, you look familiar..." the one-armed Sword Emperor couldn't recall where he had seen him.
"People call me the Miraculous Kid, though you wouldn't call me that. You disdainfully refer to me as the Bird Hunter of Koro," Rody said lightly with a smile. "As for you, Lord Jex, the Sword Emperor, if you have any memory of losing your left hand and right leg, you should know that when the Black Dragon Lord Alfred bit off your hand, a human was watching. That was me. Your disciple Vincent should have told you about me, but the proud prince probably disdained to describe my appearance much."
"Is it you?" Upon hearing this, the one-armed Sword Emperor's eyes immediately blazed with furious anger.
If it hadn't been for Rody arousing the suspicions of the Black Dragon Lord and the Nine-Headed Monster, his plan would not have failed. Watching two powers clash and reaping the benefits like a fisherman, he didn’t expect to be ambushed by the Black Dragon Lord and the Nine-Headed Monster, losing an arm and a leg, and nearly losing his life. It was only by going on a frenzied killing spree with a bloodsucking dagger in a small town that he managed to survive. Due to the failure of the sacrifice, he was not only repelled by the strong ones in the town but also lost his arm and leg forever.
A prosthetic limb made by an alchemist could replace the right leg, enabling him to walk with difficulty.
But losing the left hand was a significant reduction in the power of a Sword Emperor like him.
Every time he thought of it, the one-armed Sword Emperor felt as tormented as if ants were gnawing at his heart. He was a supremely talented and noble Sword Emperor, a superpower among men, with limitless potential. If he had obtained the dragon blood and dragon crystals from the Black Dragon and Nine-Headed Monster, his strength would have surely soared to new heights. But now, this youngster had utterly destroyed his entire life. If not for him, he could have stepped into the realm of a Great Sword Emperor, but now, he had become a disabled person with only one arm.
"I've also been looking for you for a long time, Lord Jex, the Sword Emperor," Rody's voice turned cold, like bursting ice beads, "Maybe you've killed so many that you've forgotten, but I need to settle this little account with you."
"Good, very good," the one-armed Sword Emperor laughed heartily, "I admire your courage and am shocked at your almost foolish bravery for revenge!"
"Is this your last word?" Rody smiled faintly.
His mysterious smile was like a ghostly fire flickering stealthily in the dark forest, disappearing when noticed and mocking silently in the darkest place closest to the heart when ignored.
The two great mages were secretly alarmed, trying to quietly chant protective spells, only to be shocked to find they couldn’t recite any magic. Whether they tried to chant silently or aloud, it seemed some invisible force was controlling everything, preventing them from even opening their mouths. Even more terrifying, despite their desperate attempts to recall, the mages couldn't remember any of their magical incantations. It seemed as if all the magic they had learned had suddenly been forgotten, leaving their minds completely blank.
Seeing Rody's mysterious smile only intensified their fear and heart-pounding terror...
"Lord Jex, please give us a chance to wash away this disgrace," Ghost Stab bowed slightly to the one-armed Sword Emperor, requesting.
"Before that, shouldn't you ask your companions what they think?" Rody suddenly exclaimed, "Who is the most despicable person? Whose orders made you lose your honor and dignity? Who made you bow and scrape? Kill that most despicable person, kill him, and you can cleanse your great disgrace! Kill! I grant you the opportunity for redemption..."
"Kill!" The Shadow Thief and the Archer's eyes blazed with a blood-red light, their faces contorted in rage as they roared.
They turned around, simultaneously drawing their daggers, and ferociously lunged at the one-armed Sword Emperor, their revered Lord Jex, like two mad dogs.
The one-armed Sword Emperor grunted angrily, flicking his fingers to snap the blades of both daggers, sending them flying into the air.
However, the Shadow Thief and the Archer, like mad dogs, continued their attack, opening their mouths wide to bite viciously and using their fingers to gouge at the Sword Emperor's eyes. The two female slaves behind the Sword Emperor raised their hands, and swords, appearing from nowhere, swiftly pierced the throats of the Shadow Thief and the Archer. Yet, they didn’t fall. Instead, they clung to the Sword Emperor's body and legs, biting down ferociously.
Golden fighting spirit erupted instantly, and with a flash, a crescent-shaped golden light easily sliced the two men's bodies into several pieces.
"Hmph, quite impressive mental magic," the one-armed Sword Emperor, with a fierce glint in his eyes, coldly snorted, "But you are gravely mistaken if you think mental magic alone can defeat a Sword Emperor."
"No, I have prepared an even better feast for you," Rody's face maintained its mysterious smile, causing everyone inside the tent to break out in cold sweat.