My Clan Cultivation System: Only My Clan Can Cultivate

Chapter 80: Manual

’Shit... shit... shit! Why is she so hyper-focused on me?!’ 32 panicked, looking back over his shoulder at Caroline rapidly closing the distance. ’Dammit, with my missing hand, I can’t even hold my spear properly to defend myself! She will kill me in one slash if I confront her!’

He glanced back again and saw her raising her green blade. ’We are supposedly both in the Fourth Stage! Why is she so terrifyingly different?! And that massive Aura ... she has been constantly using it this whole time! Doesn’t she ever run out?!’

By the door, 44 was starting to pant heavily, showing clear signs of Aura exhaustion. She kept shooting her arrows desperately, but her Aura was running so low that some of the arrows didn’t even explode anymore when they hit the floor.

"Oh my... you seem to be in quite a jam over there. You are even showing signs of completely running out of Aura. Why are you even trying so hard to help that boy? In my eyes, he is already a dead man," the guard noted lazily, casually walking away from the fight and heading toward the staircase.

"Didn’t you just say you would help us kill her?! Why are you just standing there doing nothing?! DO SOMETHING FOR FUCK’S SAKE!!" 44 screamed, fully concentrating on shooting arrows at Caroline so she wouldn’t catch up to 32.

"Oh wow, you really must be a spoiled brat, huh? You don’t even know how to say ’please’ to your elders," the old guard sighed slowly. He drew his sword, and instantly, a terrifying, thick red Aura completely coated the steel. The density of the Aura was so intensely suffocating that it was completely impossible for him to be a simple Third-Stage Aura user.

"CHLOE!! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!" 32 suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, using 44’s real name.

44 was violently startled by her real name being used. But it was far too late.

SHLUCK!

The old guard brutally drove his red-glowing sword straight through her back, the bloody tip bursting cleanly through her chest.

"You... you fucking traitor..." she gasped, blood spilling from her lips as she weakly turned her masked head, only to see the old guard smiling warmly at her.

"CHLOE!! NO!!" 32 screamed in despair, abandoning his retreat and desperately rushing toward 44’s collapsing body.

But Caroline had already perfectly read his panicked movements.

SWISH!

As 32 rushed past her, Caroline cleanly decapitated him in a single, fluid strike.

As she lay bleeding out on the cold floor, 44 watched 32’s headless body collapse right in front of her.

’Leo...!’ she thought, thick tears flowing down her face beneath the dark mask.

The old guard casually yanked his sword out of 44’s back and raised it high into the air, preparing to slash her head off and finish the job. But suddenly, a blindingly bright white light erupted directly from inside 44’s chest!

The intense magical flash completely blinded everyone in the main hall. When the light finally faded seconds later, 44’s bleeding body had completely vanished from the floor.

"She... vanished?!" Caroline gasped in pure shock, dropping to one knee as she began panting heavily. The continuous use of her Aura was finally starting to exhaust her.

"Wowww. I honestly didn’t think she would be that important," the guard whistled, lowering his sword.

"For a Seventh-Circle Mage to personally weave a high-tier contingency teleportation spell onto her body... that kind of magic is exclusively reserved for royalty. But with her spoiled attitude, she doesn’t really give off the vibe of a princess. Is she maybe related to a Tower Master? That dead guy over there kept yelling ’Chloe, Chloe, Chloe’..." The guard tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Never heard of that specific name before. Is she maybe a foreign—"

"Hey!!" Caroline yelled, slowly standing back up and leveling her blade at him. "Who the hell are you really?!"

"Ooh... me? I’m just here to kill you. That’s all, exactly as I said before," he smiled warmly.

"Do you honestly think you can kill me with that level of strength you are showing?" she demanded, carefully scrutinizing his red Aura, trying to confirm his true level. "And why did you help me kill the assassins if you just want to kill me too?"

"My exact strength is irrelevant," the guard chuckled. "As for killing you... I originally wanted to use their hands to tire you out first. But then you started showing me something incredibly abnormal about your physical speed and Aura control. And I definitely didn’t want to share the credit for finding a secret like that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Caroline demanded, her grip tightening on her sword.

"YOU HAVE A SWORD AURA MANUAL HIDDEN HERE, DON’T YOU?" he stated, his face suddenly dropping all amusement and becoming dead serious.

The exact moment he said the words ’Sword Aura Manual’, Caroline visibly flinched.

"I... I don’t know what you are talking about," she lied defensively.

"So I am right!" he grinned greedily.

Suddenly, the old guard completely covered his entire body in the suffocating red Aura. Dashing forward at a completely insane speed that outmatched even Caroline’s earlier movements, he violently slammed his hand around Caroline’s throat, pinning her completely off the ground against the hard wooden wall!

’What the hell is with this insane speed?! I didn’t even have a fraction of a second to react!’ Caroline thought in terror, desperately clawing at his iron grip.

"Now, would you be a dear and just hand over the Sword Manual?" he asked with a polite smile, still choking her against the wall.

"As I told you... I don’t know anything about... what you are looking for!" she choked out. Quickly covering her leg with her green Aura, she delivered a brutal kick directly to his gut, forcing him to let go and stumble backward.

"So it’s the hard way, then," he sighed, pulling his red-glowing sword back up.

He looked at Caroline, who had landed on her feet and fully covered herself in her dense green Aura again, readying her twin blades with a furious, desperate look in her one good eye.

"Don’t worry, Lady Thorne. I won’t kill you right away," he smiled cruelly. "I will make sure to leave your mouth perfectly intact... so that you will still be able to tell me exactly where that Manual is hidden."