Chapter 559: Chapter 149: First Appearance of the Netherworld_1
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Taking a deep breath, Ah Dai adjusted his inner Qi evenly, and drifted towards the warehouse door. This towering warehouse was indeed peculiar - it had no windows. Ah Dai pressed his ear to the heavy door, trying to discern the aura inside. To his surprise, he discovered a powerful barrier contained within the warehouse walls, its strength comparable to that of the Magic Guild of the continent. The barrier not only greatly enhanced the warehouse’s defensive power but also completely blocked the sounds and aura from the inside, making it impossible for him to detect the events occurring within.
Ah Dai glanced at the ’Goris’s Wish’ on his right wrist, intending to use short-distance teleportation to enter directly. However, fearing that the instant teleportation of Goris’s Wish might not be able to penetrate the warehouse’s barrier, he decided against it. His eyes sparked with a cold light as he stopped hiding his momentum. As there was no way for him to sneak in, he decided to charge in brazenly. The overwhelming aura of dominance gushed from his body, and under the coverage of True Qi, Ah Dai shone brightly. He took a step forward, and kicked heavily at the warehouse door.
The door, reinforced with powerful defense magic, still wasn’t able to withstand Ah Dai’s vigorous assault. In a roaring thunderous sound, the warehouse door was kicked open by Ah Dai’s heavy blow. Thankfully, the door was solid enough that it didn’t collapse under the protection of the barrier.
Contrary to Ah Dai’s expectation, the interior of the warehouse was surprisingly dim. Not a glimmer of light. Startled, Ah Dai instinctively reached for the Sword of Hades on his chest and strode into the warehouse. The protective white True Qi illuminated a ten-meter radius around his body. The warehouse was eerily empty, devoid of any signs of life. But Ah Dai felt a powerful presence lurking in the dark. Now that he was here, he wouldn’t give up easily without exterminating all the assassins here. With a wave of his right hand, the warehouse door closed again, under the power of his True Qi.
The moment the door closed, a powerful energy came slashing towards him from the front. The sharp edge demonstrated a formidable attack power. Although Ah Dai could not see the source of the energy, he had no fear at all. With a cross of his hands, a pale purple energy instantly coalesced into a robust solid purple energy shield in front of him. Just as the shield formed, the opponent’s attack arrived. The energy was unexpectedly ferocious, and with a loud bang, a notch was carved on Ah Dai’s Living Qi Shield, forcing him to step back three steps before steadying himself.
A chill ran down Ah Dai’s spine. This was the first time he had met an opponent since he began to annihilate the Assassin’s Guild. His Solid Living Qi Shield, which had reached the fifth transformation, failed to completely dissipate the opponent’s attack, making him more cautious. Suddenly, the warehouse lit up. The sudden brightness made Ah Dai’s eyes feel uncomfortable. A gloomy voice echoed, "Welcome, Grim Reaper. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time."
Gradually adjusting to the surrounding brightness, Ah Dai looked towards the source of the voice. He saw that on the wall of the warehouse, about ten meters high, there was a platform about two meters wide. On this platform, many men in black stood. There were at least thirty to forty men, each holding a shimmering narrow sword. He clearly sensed that the seven men directly in front were the ones who had ambushed him in the Illusive Forest. A thrill of anticipation filled him, and he coldly said, "It’s just perfect that everyone is here. Saves me the trouble of searching around. Today marks the end of you."
Mieyi cast a wary glance at Ah Dai below, who was brimming with aura, a sense of unease suddenly surged in his heart. In order to devise this trap, he could be said to have exhausted all his efforts. Since he accepted the command of his lord, he had mobilised all the resources he could to find Ah Dai’s whereabouts within the Empire of Sunset City. However, Ah Dai’s movements were elusive and difficult to predict. The Thief’s Guild had also vanished, so he was unable to find Ah Dai successfully. Left with no alternative, he decided to halt his search and adopted the strategy of waiting for Ah Dai to walk into his trap. Although he didn’t know how Ah Dai managed to locate each of the Assassin’s Guild’s strongholds one by one, he knew that this branch would eventually be visited. As such, he gathered all the power his lord had assigned to him, disregarding the fate of the other strongholds as he waited for Ah Dai to arrive.
Today, he knew it was Ah Dai the moment the first assassin was killed. The Assassin’s Guild had a very unique method of communication. Once the person being contacted is dead, the person in control can distinctly feel it. Mieyi didn’t zone in on Ah Dai anxiously, instead he waited for Ah Dai to walk into the storeroom sealed by a barrier. The twenty Stealth Killers outside were bait he used to lure Ah Dai. To him, the death of his companions wasn’t significant as long as he achieves the final objective. Just as he anticipated, Ah Dai barged in, prompting Mieyi and his six brothers to launch their attack without hesitation. Unexpectedly, they couldn’t breach Ah Dai’s defenses despite their combined efforts, which left Mieyi astounded with his confidence from before beginning to falter.
"Let’s not get carried away, it’s still not determined who will die here today. Granted, your capability has surpassed the previous Hades, but, I should tell you, this storeroom consists of over half of the Assassin’s Guild’s power. Even your Sword of Hades won’t stand a chance of continuously striking in a short span of time. Seven Primordial Killers, fourteen Annihilation Killers, and the most potent twenty-three Stealth Killers are enough to end anyone’s life, even if it’s a Sword Saint. Honestly, I really don’t understand how could you, at such a tender age, attain such a level of martial arts," Mieyi declared.
Ah Dai retorted angrily, "You will never understand, never. All of you sullied souls will never comprehend the essence of Martial Arts. Today, I’m going to kill all of you first then head to the Assassin’s Guild’s headquarters to seek revenge on your lord. Uncle Owen’s blood will not have been shed in vain, all of you will accompany him in death."
Mieyi chuckled coldly, "Really? I’d really like to see how you’re going to fulfill this." He slowly raised his Narrow Sword, his immense aura soaring along with it. As he moved, all the assassins raised their weapons, and in that moment, numerous robust Battle Auras of different colors flickered around the storeroom. Dozens of shimmering weapons readied themselves to launch their attacks.
Ah Dai’s heart sank, the immense pressure nearly suffocating him. Despite his profound power, he was, after all, a human being. The collective strength of the numerous powerful assassins did surpass his abilities. He gripped the Sword of Hades on his chest tightly, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.
A surge of dark energy spiralled up from Mieyi as he shouted, "Strike!" Simultaneously, he and the other six Primordial Assassins slashed forward, each ending in a dark sword energy. Seven trails of dark energy, abrupt as they were, converged in the air and was launched towards Ah Dai as quickly as a lightning bolt, this was the decisive attacking power of the assassins. Ah Dai clearly understood that the assault he had encountered when he entered was the combined attack of these seven men. As Mieyi and the seven others launched their attack, the other assassins also sprang into action. Holding their Narrow Swords, they swung downwards abruptly, dozens of Battle Auras of different colors struck towards Ah Dai from all directions. For a moment, the entire storeroom began to tremble amidst the fluctuations of energies.
Ah Dai was already having a tough time dealing with just the seven of Mieyi’s team, and now that so many assassins were launching a united attack, the swathes of energy from all sides left him with no opportunity to dodge. However, Ah Dai didn’t panic, Mieyi clearly saw a cruel smile at the corner of Ah Dai’s mouth. A shiver ran down Mieyi’s spine as he realized something, but at this moment, the collective attack force of the assassins was already unstoppable. Just as dozens of formidable energies were about to hit Ah Dai, he vanished from his spot.
"Bang——" The gigantic sound reverberated throughout the storeroom, which continued to shudder. The potent combined attack from dozens of assassins blasted a crater with a diameter of several meters, reaching a depth of five meters, that nearly covered a third of the storeroom. Nonetheless, their formidable attack didn’t hit the intended target.
With the entire storeroom echoing the uproarious explosive sound, a frosty voice resounded, "The First Style of Hades Sword Technique: Nether Flash." The voice continued to reverberate in the air, an incomparably chilling Ultimate Evil Energy aired in the storeroom. Even with the inclusion of Mieyi’s team of seven, all of the assassins involuntarily shivered. A faint blue light brandishing a black figure flashed upon the platform on the left of the storeroom. The glow was so captivating, its blue color seemed to encase a lustrous sheen from the sky as if it was exclaiming in exhilaration.
The passing of a black shadow saw five lives extinguished. Vanquished under the Ultimate Evil Sharpness of the Sword of Hades. Pulling the strings behind this Ultimate Evil Sword was none other than Ah Dai, whose heart was filled with the intent to kill. As soon as Mieyi and his men initiated their attack, Ah Dai realized that it was a force that wouldn’t be able to withstand outright. Without any hesitation, he activated Goris’ aspiration on his right wrist, the first teleportation effortlessly relocated him from the dangerous vortex, ensuring his precise emergence onto the platform on the left. Ah Dai understood that directly attacking Mieyi and the rest might not be successful, and he would be besieged by all the assassins. Hence, he chose the relatively weaker Stealth Killers. The potency of his adversaries was beyond Ah Dai’s expectations, the five men that he killed were far superior to the ones outside, their competence was already nearing the Annihilation Killers’ level. Their pure Battle Aura unexpectedly slowed down the speed of his First Style of Hades Sword Technique: Nether Flash, merely taking away the lives of five of them with a body slide. Fortunately, the demonic energy of Nether Flash was insufficient to impact Ah Dai anymore, his body didn’t pause even for a second, the faint purple Battle Aura flitted as he prepared to launch towards the other three Stealth Killers not far away from him. Behind him, five men who had their throats cut by the Sword of Hades were gradually collapsing on the ground, turning into withered corpses.
Mie Yi let out a sharp shout, "Everybody, scatter! Don’t let his Sword of Hades target many at once." He had already developed a strategy that if the first mass attack didn’t harm Ah Dai, he would adopt the method of attritional warfare with all his subordinates, trying to deplete Ah Dai’s strength as much as possible. Even if Ah Dai used the Sword of Hades, he wouldn’t be able to kill many at once. A human’s strength is always finite, and he believed that under the onslaught of so many of his top fighters, Ah Dai wouldn’t be able to hold out until the end. But would his plan really work?
Upon receiving Mie Yi’s order, all the assassins floated into the air, scattering in all directions, ready to harness their energy at any moment. Of course, the assassins scattering did not include the three who were trapped under Ah Dai’s Solid Battle Aura. Ah Dai didn’t care about the other assassins’ movements. The pale purple Solid Battle Aura enveloped the three assassins, blocking all their escape routes. They, being Stealth Killers, were not flustered even when they abruptly faced a strong attack. The Narrow Swords in their hands began to dance, forming a dense screen of swords in an attempt to block Ah Dai’s attack. However, how could their skills compete with Ah Dai, who had reached the level of a Sword Saint? The floating Battle Aura suddenly changed, scattering in all directions like a goddess tossing flowers, and launched a sudden attack on them from all sides. The sword screen of the three assassins shifted with the changes in the Battle Aura, with their defenses not as solid as before. Ah Dai coldly snorted, and three strands of solid Battle Aura soundlessly attacked their faces, while the scattered Battle Aura disappeared just before touching the sword screen, causing the three assassins to inevitably hesitate. It was this less than one second hesitation that determined their fate. Three soft sounds, their sword screen, weakened to some extent, was completely pierced by the fifth stage Solid Battle Aura, Ah Dai didn’t have to look to know the outcome of the three. He floated up, dodging the three sword winds from his rear. In fact, he could have killed the three assassins head-on, but facing so many enemies, he chose to conserve his strength as much as possible.
From the moment Mie Yi led the group of assassins to launch the first wave of attack on Ah Dai, to when Ah Dai killed eight Stealth Killers one after another using the Sword of Hades and the Solid Battle Aura, it was only a matter of a few breaths. The illusory black figure of Ah Dai kept changing in the air, the powerful sword energies unleashed by the assassins could only brush past him, unable to harm him. The screams of the dying assassins, like nightmares of death, shook the core of the remaining assassins, wavering their staunch intent slightly.
"Hades Flash Ghost——God——Awe——." Although the assassins were extraordinarily formidable, Ah Dai believed that to deal with those low-ranking Stealth Killers, the use of Hades Flash was already sufficient. The cold Ultimate Evil Energy emerged again, causing all the assassins to feel a sinking feeling in their hearts. No one dared to resist the surging energy, they all scattered and fled in all directions. But how could they be faster than Ah Dai? The black figure, with a faint blue glow, flickered constantly in the air. Faced with the immense evil force, the assassins’ movements slowed considerably. The blue glow flickered, and the bodies of six more Stealth Killers shriveled up, their souls and blood had been sucked into the Sword of Hades. A total of twenty-three Stealth Killers had been slaughtered, more than half of them were killed in Ah Dai’s previous two attacks.
Seeing such a scene, Mie Yi felt chills crawling up his scalp and loudly shouted, "Attack him with all your might, no retreat." After saying so, he led his six brothers and charged ahead first.
After using the Sword of Hades twice in a row, the ultimate evil energy unavoidably began to affect Ah Dai’s mental state. The significant consumption of the Vital Qi forced him to touch the ground to catch a breath.
Mie Yi noticed that Ah Dai seemed to be flagging, and was overjoyed. He bellowed, "He can’t hold on any longer. Whoever kills him will be promoted to the Yuan Kill Group immediately." The Yuan Kill Group held an extremely high status in the Assassins Guild and was a level all assassins aspired to reach. Under the incentive of this benefit, almost all assassins accelerated their charge towards Ah Dai.
Ah Dai was indeed flagging a bit, but mostly, he was using his Vital Qi to dispel the evil energy of the Sword of Hades. His strength had not weakened as Mie Yi had imagined. Seeing the assassins charging at him, a strange red light flashed in Ah Dai’s eyes, and a sly, cruel smile spread across his face. The usually cautious Mie Yi was greatly shaken to see the red light in Ah Dai’s eyes. The preceding events had made him understand that changes in Ah Dai’s eyes meant that something different was about to happen. "Retreat." With his potent strength as support, Mie Yi thrust a palm towards the ground, forcefully stopping the attack, and retreated as fast as lightning. At his signal, his six brothers didn’t hesitate and chose the same action, retreating as rapidly as possible. The seven black figures suddenly retreated from their fast-approaching attack. The odd rhythm of attacking and retreating was indescribable. However, while they managed to escape successfully, their subordinates were not so lucky. Not to mention the assassins whose minds were clouded by greed who were unable to comprehend the fear hidden in Mie Yi’s call to retreat, even if they did react, they couldn’t possibly stop their charge in full swing.
Mie Yi’s judgment was correct. Faced with attacks from all sides, Ah Dai was overjoyed. He was worrying about where to start and the assassins who voluntarily attacked were just what he wanted. The red light Mie Yi had seen was the red light of devouring blood. Ah Dai’s figure suddenly became blurry as an unprecedented tremendous evil power unfolded around his body within a hundred meters radius, causing all the approaching assassins to plunge into an abyss of fear. Ah Dai deliberately condensed the evil energy so as to unleash greater power. "Hades Clone——Endless——" With the help of the massive evil power derived from the fourth move of Hades Nine Modes, all the assassins slowed down, unable to harness their full strength due to profound fear. They could only muster their strength to release their Battle Aura. The eerie blue figures appeared, the ominous blue light seemed like the Grim Reaper’s arrival, easily shaking off one wave of Battle Aura after another. Amid the fluttering blue light, the demonic figures devoured life after life. One by one, the assassins disappeared in the seemingly endless faint blue figures. This moment revealed the difference in their skills. Apart from the two Stealth Killers who rushed in first and were shredded by the evil force of the Sword of Hades, the remaining eight Stealth Killers chose to save themselves. There couldn’t be a better description than "A brother is used for betrayal" for them. They quickly found their Stealth Killer companions and pushed them into the evil vortex like hell while they took this opportunity to retreat rapidly.
The power of Hades Shadow was maximized, the faint blue figures abruptly intensified, then vanished. With the increase in Ah Dai’s strength, this fourth move of Hades Nine Modes had unleashed a power far stronger than ever before.
Ah Dai was half-kneeling on the ground, panting continuously. Although the combined attack of the assassins seemed to have been easily neutralized, it had consumed his enormous True Qi. The move he had just made had almost exhausted all his power. If people like Mie Yi hadn’t withdrawn in fear of death, but collaborated to attack him at full power with all the assassins, Ah Dai would have had an eighty percent chance of being unable to withstand their power. But it was precisely the withdrawal of Mie Yi’s seven men that brought a destructive blow to the remaining assassins. The evil aura brought by the Sword of Hades constantly attacked Ah Dai’s mind. The evil power kept struggling with his continuously circulating True Qi, and the evil thoughts that Ah Dai himself had suppressed burst out under the traction of the Ultimate Evil Power. The fusion of evil gave birth to powerful energy. Ah Dai knew well that once his True Qi could not suppress the Ultimate Evil Energy, he himself would fall under the control of the Sword of Hades and become a real Murderous Devil King. He had so many unfulfilled wishes, how could he allow the evil energy to run rampant? The golden body in his dantian burst into an unusually strong light, the white defensive aura around his body slowly emanating a faint golden light, constantly driving back the evil power of the Sword of Hades. His profound True Qi played a huge role at this moment, the vast energy full of vitality kept fighting the evil aura.
Ah Dai’s Nether Shadow demonstrated tremendous power. Just now, at the moment of collective assault by the assassins, Ah Dai resolutely selected this move to deal with the group attack, and the fourth technique of the Nine Nether Techniques exploded with unprecedented powerful evil power. The remaining nine Stealth Killers were all swallowed by the evil power. Only the top five assassins with highest martial arts skill in the Killers managed to survive. Along with Mie Yi’s seven men, out of the forty assassins, only less than one third survived. Their losses were extremely heavy. Mie Yi, still in shock, looked at Ah Dai who half-knelt on the ground. His eyes were a bit blurred, seeming to see Ah Dai transformed into a soul-stealing Grim Reaper. Despite their meticulous deployment, they still failed to kill Ah Dai. How could he not feel depressed?
The warehouse fell into silence. The assassins were stunned by Ah Dai’s earth-shaking strike just now. The surviving five Stealth Killers, like Ah Dai, were panting continuously. Although they were not hit by the Nether Shadow, the evil aura that Ah Dai had contracted had a significant impact on their consciousness, and they were struggling against this evil energy infiltrating their bodies.
Mie Yi clenched his teeth and said in a deep voice: "Unite. Mie Shi One Cut." In his cold and heavy voice, the five surviving Stealth Killers all showed expressions of despair. However, due to their long-term rigorous training, they did not object. Under the command of their seniors, they had no choice but to obey. Struggling to suppress the evil aura inside their bodies, they levitated and landed in front of Mie Yi’s seven men, standing erect in a line, holding their narrow swords high. Mie Yi knew that if they did not kill Ah Dai while his power was not yet restored, his men would be completely finished. Therefore, he decided to unite everyone’s power and attack Ah Dai with the strongest strength. This was his last hope. The Mie Shi One Cut was developed by the eight of them, Mie Yi and his seven men, and its power is immense. However, since a member of their team was killed by Ah Dai in the Illusive Forest, this powerful attack had shown some flaws. Even if they had significantly improved their martial arts during this year, these flaws were still unrepairable. Seeing no way out, Mie Yi imparted the Mie Shi One Cut to all the assassins under his command. The Mie Shi One Cut, which now combines the strength of many Stealth Killers, significantly exceeds its original power. It is their strongest attack now.
Including Mie Yi, the remaining twelve assassins pushed their power to the limit, slowly levitating. Their bodies were eerily suspended in the air, wrapped in their battle aura. The twelve assassins simultaneously raised their narrow swords high in the air, with Mie Yi at the back. Each of the seven senior assassins released a strong black battle aura that shot up into the sky, instantly tinging the battle aura of the five Stealth Killers in front of them black. The enormous energy began to wildly ravage around their bodies. The battle aura slowly began to condense in the air, forming a huge energy blade of tremendous pressure that filled the air. Composed of black battle aura, this energy blade embodied all twelve assassins’ battle aura. The full power of the twelve, including Mie Yi, constantly merged into the energy blade. The eyes of the assassins all lit up. This was their last hope. If they couldn’t succeed, death was the only endpoint. For their survival, they had all pushed their potential to the limit. The huge black energy blade in the air caused the space around it to distort as its volume continually increased, shaking the whole warehouse as though it was trembling with their condensing enormous energy.
Ah Dai had already realized his danger. Even though the evil aura from the Sword of Hades had not been entirely forced out of his body, time did not allow him to recover his energy any longer. Slowly, he stood from the ground, glaring at the twelve people in front of him. His hand once again touched the hilt of the Sword of Hades. The unprecedented pressure brought by the opponents made him abandon the idea of summoning Sheng Xie. He did not want to see Sheng Xie get hurt or even die. Since he was avenging Uncle Owen, he should have the courage to face it, regardless of their superior power. The Golden Body in his Dantian began to tremble violently under his frantic urging. The sacred aura filled with life battle energy suddenly disappeared within him. The core forces of the Assassin’s Guild are a hard find, and he now had only one thought, to gruesomely kill all of these people. At this moment, Ah Dai’s heart had already discarded the notions of good and evil, right and wrong. What remained was only an endless desire for slaughter. Under the urge of this desire, his black eyes gradually turned blood red. The eerie, red glow flickered continuously, Ah Dai’s right hand firmly grasped the Sword of Hades.
The energy of Mie Yi and the others was almost accumulated. He shouted loudly, "Annihilate—the—world—one—slash—break—the—heavens—and—the—earth—." Seven cold words echoed continuously in the air. A massive black energy blade in the air slowly took form, hovering high above the heads of the assassins.
Ah Dai squinted his blood-red eyes, murmuring, "The Annihilation Slash again? Fine, I’ll show you the true power of the Sword of Hades then." As he spoke, he slowly drew the Sword of Hades from the leather bag on his chest. Yes, he was drawing it out inch by inch. The first four moves of the Hades Decrees involved swift unsheathing of the Sword of Hades for an attack, seizing the opponent’s soul and spirit blood, and then instantly resheathing. Even the most potent Nether Shadow among these four moves only sustained the attack in the air for about a dozen seconds. But now, Ah Dai was slowly pulling out the Sword of Hades. A bizarre, dark blue glow illuminated Ah Dai’s body to the same color, strangely enough, the unsheathing of the Sword of Hades did not give out any evil aura. The short dark blue blade was like a common Divine Weapon. The body of the Sword of Hades had dense patterns, resembling demonic faces on talisman-like lines. Ah Dai held the Sword of Hades in front of his eyes, the blue glow on the sword body increased, enveloping Ah Dai instantly. The red glow in his eyes intensified as he focused on the blade in front of him, vaguely whispering like he was in a stupor, "Hades Domain—First—Appearance—" An overwhelming resentment blasted out of Ah Dai’s red eyes, striking the dark blue blade of the Sword of Hades hard. The strange patterns on the blade appeared to be alive, with shrill screams faintly heard. The warehouse, which was initially illuminated by Mie Yi and the others with special tools, suddenly darkened. Ghostly winds fluttered continuously, and all twelve assassins felt an intense terror rising within them. Countless souls of the dead seemed to be floating out from the dark blue sword body of the Sword of Hades, beckoning them as if wanting to drag them into it. The fifth judgement of the Hades Decrees—Netherworld, finally appeared under Ah Dai’s murderous intent.
Netherworld, to be precise, is not a direct attacking method, but the power it radiates is more colossal than the sum of the first four judgements of the Hades Decrees. Ah Dai recalled all his life battle energy to himself precisely to control his mind and not be invaded by the evil aura of the Netherworld. From Netherworld onward, every move of the Hades Swordsmanship would increase in power multiple times. Netherworld is the foundation of the last five moves, and the energy field it lays down is the evil domain of the Sword of Hades. Indeed, who else could survive in this ultimate evil domain except for the holder of the Sword of Hades?
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