Chapter 558: Chapter 148: The Grim Reaper Returns_1
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On the third day after leaving Soul City, Ah Dai and Mie Feng arrived at Dark City. Looking at the long-lost City of Darkness, a bitter feeling welled up in Ah Dai’s heart. Patting the picture of Bing in his arms, Ah Dai murmured: "Bing, I know you don’t want to return to this dirty place. But, for the sake of avenging Uncle Owen, I can’t help coming here again. Don’t worry, once I kill the assassins here, I’ll take you away as soon as possible." Mie Feng looked at Ah Dai’s lonely eyes and coldly asked: "What are you mumbling about? Who is Bing?"
Ah Dai sighed and while headed towards the city gate of Dark City, he said: "Mie Feng, do you know? If it wasn’t for Bing, you wouldn’t be alive today."
Ah Dai’s words piqued Mie Feng’s interest and she asked, "Who is Bing? Why don’t you kill me because of her?"
Returning to Dark City once again cracked the icy shell around Ah Dai’s heart as he sorrowfully stated, "Bing was a very pitiful girl. If it weren’t for her sacrificing herself to save me, I’d already be dead..." He couldn’t help but recount the story of what had happened between him and Bing back then. By the time he’d finished speaking, tears had soaked the front of his shirt.
Having listened to Ah Dai’s account, Mie Feng felt a sudden mist descend before her eyes. "She really was very miserable, but she was also lucky. At least after her death, there’s still you constantly thinking about her."
Ah Dai wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, "You should understand now why I hate dark forces so much. The first time you tried to kill me, if it hadn’t been for the fact that your demeanor was so similar to Bing’s, how could I have spared you? My hatred for the Thief Guild is not as intense as it is for the Assassin’s Guild, but the difference is not much."
Mie Feng said, "You will never have a chance to deal with our Thief Guild. No one would lead you to find our lair."
Ah Dai glanced at Mie Feng, and once again resumed his cold demeanor, calmly stating, "Don’t be so sure. If I wanted to, the Thief Guild might not be able to hide forever. Let’s go, take me to the branch of the Assassin’s Guild here in Dark City." The look in Ah Dai’s eyes sent a shiver down Mie Feng’s spine, as she recalled his method of killing, she couldn’t help but worry for her own Guild.
Three hours later, Ah Dai and Mie Feng left. The only difference from their arrival was that Ah Dai had claimed dozens more lives. Those assassins, although they were nightmares to everyone on the mainland, were utterly defenseless against a supreme expert like Ah Dai. Leaving Dark City, the murderous intent in Ah Dai’s eyes gradually faded as he murmured, "Four Stealth Killers, eleven Assassin level killers, and twenty-three ordinary assassins. The harvest this time was quite substantial. Perhaps, in not too long, the president of the Assassin’s Guild, who hides in the shadows, will take the initiative to seek me out."
Mie Feng found herself growing more and more fearful of the seemingly wooden young man in front of her. Each glance at his cold eyes made her previously unshakeable resolve tremble. Even she didn’t know if her initial agreement to Ah Dai’s terms was correct. But now that she’s started down this path, she can’t turn back anymore.
A month later, at the Headquarters of the Assassin Guild.
In the darkness, two red lights were flickering continuously, and an atmosphere of oppressive gloom filled the entire dark space.
"Killer One." A cold and gloomy voice sounded.
"My Lord, please give your command." Ever since the Vice President was demoted by his Lord to Stealth Killer status, Killer One and his team became the most powerful helpers of their Lord. He was now the leader of the sudden death squad.
"According to the information we received, the Grim Reaper has reappeared in the Empire of Sunset City, and this time, it seems that he is deliberately opposing our Assassin’s Guild. In one month, he has destroyed all our seven strongholds in Dark Province and the branch in Dark City. There were no survivors. What do you think of this provocation?"
Killer One replied, "I am aware of this matter. However, it cannot be definitively confirmed that the Grim Reaper who appeared this time is Ah Dai, Hades’ disciple. His killing method seem to be different from before."
The Lord grunted, "I’ve noticed this too. The Grim Reaper used to kill mostly with the Sword of Hades. Even if he didn’t use it, he would ruthlessly kill the enemy. But in the attacked strongholds belonging to us, among all the dead, each time there would only be one body destroyed, the rest all died from something resembling a steel needle piercing their brow."
Mie Feng thought, do you also understand the word cruelty? Compared to you, the Grim Reaper is far less cruel. However, he responded, "You’re right. The Grim Reaper who has appeared this time seems to be even stronger than before. I have examined the bodies. They were all killed in an instant without any resistance, such a powerful strength, it’s really terrifying. If it’s really Ah Dai, our situation will be very bad. His hatred for our guild because of the Sword of Hades is tremendous, I fear the killing will continue. Especially, he still has the unused Sword of Hades, I fear we seven people can’t confront him."
The Hierarch said, "Keeping a tiger invites calamity! If, back then, I hadn’t wanted to win him over but had killed him when he was just starting out, taking the Sword of Hades directly into our hands, we wouldn’t be having so many problems now. What surprises me most is, how could he accurately locate all our hiding places?"
Mie Feng pondered, "That’s hard to say. The Grim Reaper disappeared for more than a year, perhaps he’s been collecting our data all this time. Besides, this Grim Reaper may not be Ah Dai."
The Hierarch asked, "Then who could it possibly be?"
Mie Feng said, "My suspicion is that this person might have been sent by the Holy Church to warn us. We’ve committed a lot of major crimes these past few years, and the Holy Church has begun to pay attention to us. Those self-proclaimed holy fellows always like to meddle in others’ affairs."
The Hierarch nodded and said, "You’re right, there is that possibility. However, the Holy Church is probably struggling to keep itself safe right now. So, Mie Feng, you lead your six brothers and the ten masters newly promoted to Executioner rank to find the whereabouts of this Grim Reaper. No matter who he is, once you find his trace, you must destroy him. And, you must find out how he knows the exact locations of our branches. Ever since the Thieves’ Guild disappeared a year ago, no one was supposed to know about our distribution in the Empire of Sunset City!"
Mie Feng bowed and said, "Yes, your highness. Rest assured, I will fulfill the task."
The Hierarch waved his hand, and after Mie Feng paid his respects, he withdrew. In the dark room, only the Hierarch was left.
The Hierarch sighed heavily and muttered to himself, "There have been a lot of troubles lately, not just the emergence of the Grim Reaper, but also the mission from the Hierarch to find the person who created the rain of light. The continent is so huge, where should I begin to look for him? Time is running short, who cares about the savior once we survive to the end, hmm, the continent is bound to fall into our dark hands."
...
Ah Dai stood up from the ground upon completing his spiritual cultivation, his forehead and temples were sweating. Ever since he and Mie Feng began seeking revenge on the Assassin Guild, he had constantly been killing relentlessly, and the number of assassins who had died by his hand had exceeded a hundred. But as more and more people died by his hands, the malevolent aura in his heart grew stronger. Today, after he destroyed an Assassin’s Guild branch in the Hengze Xing Province of the Empire of Sunset City, he nearly killed passersby due to his overpowering malicious thoughts. Realizing his changes, Ah Dai was greatly alarmed and hurriedly found a secluded place for spiritual cultivation. With the sacred aura contained in his True Qi, he was finally able to suppress the malevolent aura. This aura is the root of the trouble left by the Sword of Hades in Ah Dai’s heart, which would naturally take root and sprout in his body when he embraced malice.
Mie Feng watched as Ah Dai recovered from the near-insanity state, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She said lightly, "Now you can keep your clone back, can’t you?" To prevent Mie Feng from attacking him during his spiritual cultivation, Ah Dai would always release his clone to protect himself whenever Mie Feng was present. As he was desperate to keep living and to continue seeking revenge, he no longer cared about keeping this secret, but whenever Mie Feng asked about it, he never offered any explanation. The first time Mie Feng saw the clone, she was greatly astonished and even engaged in a quick sparring with it, only to find out dejectedly that even this illusion identical to Ah Dai made by him, she had no chance of winning.
Ah Dai wiped the sweat off his forehead, retracted his clone and said, "I still need to be cautious around a thief like you. We can go now." He proceeded towards the main road after finishing his sentence.
Mie Feng made no move to follow; she stood in place and watched Ah Dai’s retreating figure before asking, "Do you really plan to keep on killing?"
Ah Dai paused and said in a sombre voice, "This is my mission, an unalterable mission."
Mie Feng stepped forward and exclaimed, "But do you want a repeat of what happened today? You should understand that if you continue to kill, there is a chance you will slip into madness."
Ah Dai replied, "I can’t worry about that. Even if I go insane, I must seek revenge. Eliminating the Assassin’s Guild is currently my sole wish."
Mie Feng burst out angrily, "You can’t go insane! Have you forgotten the condition you promised me? If you go insane, how can I kill you? Don’t you want to fulfill your own promise?"
Ah Dai seemed to be convinced by Mie Feng, he turned around and faced her, the coldness on his face abated slightly, "I will remember the promise I made to you. My True Qi contains a sacred aura, as long as I cultivate for a while after each kill, I think I should be able to suppress it. Enough to persist until the promise is fulfilled. Let’s go to the next place."
"Wait a minute." Mie Feng stopped Ah Dai, "I can lead you to the next place, but you must rest for three days to completely calm the violent aura in your heart. You can rest assured, I swear on the life of the Thieves’ Guild, I will not attack you during your cultivation."
Ah Dai frowned slightly, "The Empire of Sunset City is vast, and there are still many Assassin Guild outposts and branches. We can’t afford to delay."
Mie Feng stood silent, staring steadfastly at Ah Dai, her eyes filled with tenacity. They stood there, staring at each other as time passed with no change in Mie Feng’s determination. Without Mie Feng’s guidance, how could Ah Dai find traces of the Assassin’s Guild? He sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, we’ll do it your way. I find it odd. Don’t you want me dead? Why this sudden concern?"
A splash of red clouded Mie Feng’s icy face, she responded, "Yes, I do desire your death, that’s why I am cherishing your life now. You must live until you fulfill your promise."
Ah Dai looked deeply into Mie Feng’s eyes, causing her to tremble slightly, and asked, "Where should we go now? We can’t just stay here."
Mie Feng answered, "Let’s head to the next target city. In three days’ time, I will inform you of the target location and you can continue your mission."
Ah Dai nodded, under Mie Feng’s guidance, they headed toward the next city. Unbeknownst to him, these three days of rest Mie Feng insisted upon would save him from potentially going mad due to his excessive killing spree.
For three solid days, Ah Dai spent most of his time meditating and cultivating. He used his profound true Qi to cleanse his soul. Since his inner strength had surpassed the second Golden Body passed down to him by the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang, he was now able to absorb the energy of the second Golden Body much faster. He had already absorbed over 60 percent of the Sword Saint’s full strength. Compared to a month earlier, when he faced the Western Swordsman in battle, his inner strength had deepened, and the fifth transformation of the Life Change had stabilized. He could now easily use its solid-state energy, and with every upgrade, he made a substantial leap. The solid state energy had become his sharpest weapon, pushing him closer to the peak of martial arts.
Knocking on Mie Feng’s door, Ah Dai walked into her room next door. Mie Feng, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, her long black hair loosely pulled back. She seemed so serene, hardly befitting that of a formidable Obtainer.
"It’s been three days, can we move to the Assassin’s Guild base in this city now?"
Mie Feng nodded, "We can, let’s go now. Have you managed to suppress your killing intent? Can you control it?"
Ah Dai shook his head, "I’m not entirely sure, but it doesn’t seem as intense as before. This malevolent aura is primarily due to past accumulation. The evil aura of the Sword of Hades deeply infiltrated my meridians years ago when I saved the elves. It’s difficult to dissolve unless I never kill again, otherwise, the mad killing intent will always resurface. But don’t worry, from now on, I will slow down my pace of killing. After destroying each Assassin Guild’s base, I will rest for a few days. That should help me last until I have fulfilled both promises. Once I’m dead, this innate malevolent aura won’t be able to harm anyone."
As Ah Dai calmly discussed his possible death, a sharp sting pierced Mie Feng’s heart. Forcedly shaking off the thought, she said, "Wait for me outside. Let me get ready and then we’ll leave."
Ah Dai nodded and left Mie Feng’s room.
Mie Feng closed the door leaning against the wall, she took shallow breaths, gripping her neatly arranged long hair, murmuring to herself, "Why? The longer I stay with him, the lesser killing intent I feel. Should I really seek vengeance against him? Why am I questioning this? No, I must avenge fourth uncle. I can’t give up so easily." Clenching her teeth, she tried to calm down and regain her usual icy demeanor. After quickly tidying herself up, she left the inn with Ah Dai.
Three hours later.
Another branch of the Assassin’s Guild was destroyed. As Mie Feng witnessed the blood-red glint in Ah Dai’s eyes, a chill crept into her heart. Despite realizing the profound influence his killing spree might have, he couldn’t stop. His thirst for vengeance was far stronger than hers! What would he be like if he weren’t set on revenge? Perhaps, as the Western Swordsman said, he could have become the continent’s top warrior. After all, he was still so young.
Ah Dai spoke, "Let’s go to the next city for a rest. Perhaps due to the three days of meditation, I feel much better today. The killing intent doesn’t seem to be as strong now. It seems my judgment was correct. Can you tell me how many Assassin’s Guild branches are left?"
Mie Feng snapped back to reality, "You’ve probably destroyed about a quarter of the Assassin Guild’s bases so far. Even if you slow down, it should be more or less completed in half a year."
Ah Dai nodded in agreement, "Alright then, let’s slow down the pace". During the fight where he killed dozens of the Guild’s assassins, he discovered that his control over the life energy had become significantly smoother. His power was rapidly increasing. Everything was going smoothly, and Ah Dai was already preoccupied with the Swordsman competition happening a year later, a competition he could not afford to lose. He chose to slow down both to suppress his inner killing intent and continually increase his abilities, determined not to disappoint his master’s hopes.
The Empire of Sunset City was indeed vast, even at Ah Dai and Mie Feng’s pace, it took two more months to cover only half the area, with Ah Dai destroying the Assassin’s Guild’s bases one after another. Yet, Ah Dai was far from satisfied with his achievements. Despite hundreds of assassins dying at his hands, the core forces of the Guild never surfaced. Only nine assassins of the Stealth Killer level died by his hands, with no sign of the higher-ranking ones. While he didn’t spare lower-ranking assassins either, he yearned to exterminate the Guild’s high-ranking assassins to truly reduce the Guild’s abilities.
Over those two months, Ah Dai had spent more than half the time practicing and cultivating his abilities. His Life Qi was becoming more and more substantial. His first Golden Body in his Dantian had now reached close to five inches, while the second one in his chest was less than three inches. Although Life Change hadn’t reached the sixth realm, by his estimation, his current abilities should suffice to beat the Western Swordsman. At times, he himself was awed by his seemingly incredible power, with massive energy coursing through him even in his ordinary movements.
Mie Feng had spent those two months following Ah Dai. Apart from discussing the Assassin’s Guild, they hardly spoke with each other, maintaining a considerable distance as if they were strangers. Mie Feng found it increasingly hard to understand this tall man. He seemed to effortlessly handle any opponent, his life solely occupied by killing and cultivating. But at times, a touch of desolation in the depth of his eyes would stir Mie Feng’s heart, an emotion a seemingly unfeeling person couldn’t possess right?
It had been a day since the annihilation of the previous stronghold. As there were few people in the previous stronghold, the killing intent in Ah Dai had not been greatly provoked. After resting for just one day, Ah Dai decided to head towards the next stronghold.
Tai Ang City, located in the southwest Luzi Province of the Empire of Sunset City, is the capital of Luzi Province. Ah Dai had been here once when he was saving the elves. This is an industrial city of the Empire of Sunset City, with a relatively lesser corrupt and decadent aura compared to other places. One-third of the headquarters of large manufacturing factories in the Empire of Sunset City are located here.
Walking down the street in Tai Ang City, Mie Feng said, "This is a relatively large branch of the Assassin’s Guild, larger than the branch in the Dark City of the Dark Province. Be careful later."
Ah Dai nodded, "Do you think they can handle me? Where is the branch?"
Mie Feng said, "It’s in a large warehouse in the eastern part of the city. It used to be a granary, but I don’t know why it was occupied by the Assassin’s Guild. The granary is surrounded by their guards, and ordinary people are generally not allowed in. When I came to Tai Ang City to complete a mission before, out of curiosity, I investigated that warehouse once. The defense there is much more stringent than imagined. There are at least five Stealth Killers there. So, I just looked around the perimeter and then withdrew. This is one of the places I am least familiar with, apart from the Headquarters of the Assassin Guild."
Ah Dai nodded, "You wait for me outside, I will be out soon." Now, he hardly considers the assassins a threat. In his past operations, even the Stealth Killers had a hard time getting past him in three moves. Upon hearing Mie Feng mention that there were as many as five Stealth Killers here, his killing intent surged again within him.
The two quickly arrived at the eastern part of Tai Ang City. Mie Feng pointed to a tall compound wall not far away and said, "It’s inside here. There’s a very large warehouse inside. Under normal circumstances, apart from the patrolling personnel, other assassins will be inside there. I presume this place might be a stronghold where the Assassin’s Guild trains its subordinates. You must be careful."
Ah Dai turned to look at Mie Feng. Her repeated reminders made Ah Dai feel a bit strange; her concern for him seemed to exceed the expected range.
Without noticing the doubt in Ah Dai’s mind, Mie Feng just gazed in the direction of the warehouse from a distance, "Didn’t you hear what I said? When you go in later, you must first deal with the sentries outside, then sneak in, try to kill the tough ones first, and then clear out the rest. I will be guarding you from outside. As long as the escaped ones are not Stealth Killers or of a higher level, I can deal with them in a short time."
Ah Dai cast his gaze back at the three-yard-high compound wall in front of him and said, "You probably won’t have a chance to move." After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the warehouse. Mie Feng wanted to call him from behind him but didn’t manage to make a sound when she opened her mouth. She initially wanted Ah Dai to wait for dark before making a move which would be much safer. But thinking of the strength Ah Dai had shown before, she knew her worries were probably unnecessary. However, for some unknown reason, Mie Feng always had an uneasy feeling today, as if something was about to happen.
Ah Dai quietly approached the courtyard wall, his ears straining to listen to the sounds from within. After a while, he was surprised to find that there were about twenty guards within the courtyard, all of them formidable, seeming to be at the Stealth Killer level. A cruel smile graced his lips. Ah Dai leapt into the air, cutting through it like a leaf, heading for a relatively open area within the courtyard. As he cleared the top of the wall, he accurately spotted a tall tree within the courtyard, on which a guard was hiding.
The rustling of leaves echoed as Ah Dai used his superhuman speed to silently approach the guard from behind. It was when he closed in to within a meter of the guard that the Stealth Killer level guard finally noticed him. However, it was too late for the guard to react. An unyielding grip chokehold on his throat made a soft, cracking sound. The guard’s body slowly slumped against the tree, his lifeless eyes holding a trace of reluctance.
A glint of excited bloodlust appeared in Ah Dai’s eyes as he carefully laid the guard’s body on a thick branch of the tree. The tree was indeed dense, and he hid at the very top, safe from discovery. From this vantage point, more than ten meters high, he had a clear view of everything in the courtyard. About fifty meters directly ahead was a large warehouse, occupying more than ten thousand square meters. It looked ordinary, built from large blocks of stone. Ah Dai thought to himself, this must be the warehouse that Mie Feng had mentioned. He could clearly sense the danger within the warehouse, for even with his extraordinary abilities, he was unable to discern what was inside. It was evident that the warehouse had been reinforced with powerful wind magic, and it was of a highly fluid type. However, none of this reduced Ah Dai’s killing intent; on the contrary, it excited his bloodthirsty nature even more.
Since he couldn’t sense anything within the warehouse, he would start with the guards outside. Ah Dai continuously channeled his True Qi to elevate his spiritual sense to its limits. He was surprised to discover that his spiritual power had formed an invisible energy net, spreading out and presenting the actions of all the guards around the warehouse to his mind’s eye. Ah Dai realized that his spiritual realm had improved, and he couldn’t help but feel a thrill of joy. Glancing around, he decided to first eliminate the six hidden sentinels. With a cruel laugh, Ah Dai focused his energy on his fingers and flicked a blast of invisible wind towards the warehouse wall.
With a soft "plop", a wisp of dust was kicked up by Ah Dai’s windstrike on the stone wall of the warehouse. Assassins were always on high alert, and the change in the warehouse wall instantly drew their attention. Both the visible and hidden guards around the warehouse simultaneously turned to look towards the source of the sound, their attention caught by the wisp of dust.
Taking advantage of the moment the assassins were distracted, Ah Dai launched himself into the air. He pushed his speed to the limit, a faint purple solid battle aura trailing behind him. The two closest hidden sentinels were taken out immediately. He didn’t pause for a moment, his ten fingers flicking continuously, releasing countless strands of battle aura. Each one, infused with even more energy, sped off in another direction, pinning the other four sentinels in their own positions. Six lives vanished in an instant. To achieve silence, Ah Dai gave it his all. Despite being in broad daylight which inevitably cast shadows on the ground, the ten patrolling guards had already noticed his presence. However, none could utter a sound, as an irresistible wave of malevolent aura instantly enveloped them. In that chilling aura, their bodies trembled uncontrollably. The only sound they heard was a low, grim voice in their ears, "Flash of Hades — Earth — Moves—." A floating figure in the sky trailed a flash of eerie blue light, reminiscent of the underworld, leaving a faint afterimage because of the sheer speed.
Wherever the chilling blue light passed, ten assassins froze in place, disbelief blinking in their eyes. Their bodies rapidly shriveled and felt towards the ground.
The dark figure emitted a bright, white light. That gentle energy whirled, collecting the bodies of the ten assassins and gently laying them on the ground without a sound.
After all this, Ah Dai couldn’t help but gasp for breath. In reality, killing these twenty Stealth Killers would have been a simple task for him. What was difficult was to do it silently. In the split seconds that had just passed, Ah Dai had pushed his potential to the limit, whether it be power, speed, or timing. To silence the sound of the killings, he even resorted to using the Sword of Hades that he hadn’t touched in a while. Though the icy malevolence of the sword wasn’t much to him now, it still served to deepen the murderous intent lurking in his heart.
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