Chapter 101: A Faltering Ambush and a Broken Blade

I hadn’t intended for it to be like this.

When my consciousness withdrew from a blank void and fell back into reality, the first thing that entered my sight was the elf’s body lying on the ground.

His throat had been torn open, and a fine mist of blood continuously sprayed from the wound, much like the damp fog rising in the spring mountains—carrying a surreal, cruel beauty.

The crossbow in my hand was still vibrating slightly, the hum of the metal string echoing low in my ears like a curse refusing to dissipate.

Nolan looked over with a terrifying gaze.

“Hey, wait, wait, wait.”

I could almost hear the terror of my own heartbeat.

It was true; my purpose for this trip was indeed to end this elf’s life—or rather, such was the mission handed down by that god.

But in my original design, it was absolutely not meant to be this savage and sudden.

I had fantasized that there might be a gentler method.

For example, trying to negotiate first, finding a reason to convince one another.

Or, at the very least, choosing a safer timing and angle to launch a precise and swift attack, and then slipping away quietly…

Deep down in my heart, there was even a sliver of unrealistic hope that perhaps I could persuade the other party and find a perfect solution that would help me evade the various restrictions set by the Evil God.

I scouted the location in advance and lay in wait inside Leyak’s Magic Goods shop, wasn’t it precisely to fight for this sliver of control?

My nature was not that of a bloodthirsty madman; all my plans were built upon what I considered to be comprehensive reason—

But why?

The moment that door was pushed open and the elf’s figure appeared… it was as if a cloying, alluring scent drilled into my nose.

All the meticulously constructed plans, all the hesitations and considerations evaporated from my mind in an instant.

By the time I realized what I was doing again, someone had already paid the price in blood.

Hiss… I understood.

I had overestimated myself.

When observing from a distance, I could perhaps barely suppress the bloodthirsty craving originating from the Evil God’s power.

But once face-to-face with the “prey,” the dam of reason collapsed instantly, and all that remained was that primitive, savage impulse driving me until one side completely fell.

“Who are you?”

Nolan’s words sounded as if they were squeezed from his throat.

He crouched down, his fingers touching the elf’s cold but barely discernible wound.

From the torn wound on the throat, wisps of transparent mist invisible to the naked eye spilled out.

As he applied slight pressure with his fingertips, the mist surged as if it possessed a life of its own.

He carefully examined the terrifying wound on the throat, then suddenly stood up a moment later.

His sharp sword was drawn in tandem, the chilling tip pointing straight at my throat.

“Who—who are you?” he repeated, pausing after every word, each syllable sounding as if squeezed from an icy fissure. “Why are you here?”

I knew clearly that I couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

I wanted to explain—but with the mess all over the floor, the splattered blood, and the murder weapon in my hand that had just taken a life, what explanation could I possibly offer?

—Perhaps reason was still on my side?

After all, tonight, they were the ones at fault first.

This elf was the culprit who intended to murder our young Lady!

I didn’t actively seek a fight; I merely… merely executed a countermeasure in some out-of-control manner?

“Do you have anything else to say?”

…

Nolan did not rush to attack, but he blocked the only exit like a mountain, cutting off all my escape routes.

I tilted my head, silently appraising him for a moment, and finally spoke in a voice so hoarse it didn’t sound like my own:

“What, are you going to avenge him?”

“I wouldn’t call it avenging—after all, I’ve only known him for a day, I don’t even know his name, and I have no right to avenge him. But, I cannot accept what you did,” Nolan said resolutely.

“What? Carrying a murder weapon at night, engaging in sneaky, shameful deeds, and threatening the lives of others, yet you weren’t prepared to be killed yourself?” I replied coldly.

“I have no intention of threatening your life. But—swords have no eyes. Since you are standing before me now, I hope you are also prepared for what I just said.”

As Nolan spoke, he held his sword horizontally across his chest, assuming a stance prepared for both attack and defense.

Ah… this kid. We haven’t seen each other for a few years, and he’s become quite arrogant, hasn’t he?

Taking in this scene, it shouldn’t have been a time to underestimate the enemy, but I didn’t know why, a cold sneer arose in my heart:

“Then there’s nothing more to say… fine, let me test your skills and see how much you’ve grown!”

Before the words had even faded, Nolan saw the bizarre figure before him, whose head and face were covered with bloodstained bandages, suddenly raise their elbow and pull the trigger of the hand crossbow.

He remembered the lethal power of the crossbow bolts and instinctively ducked and dodged, trying to evade the line of fire.

Ha! Tricked you!

The anticipated crossbow bolt did not fire; a gust of bloody scent swept past his nose.

In the mere fraction of a second he was distracted, that person lunged forward, closing in right before his eyes.

Nolan reacted instantly, the horizontal blade smoothly changing its trajectory into a fierce straight slash, cleaving forward—

Thwack!

The blade indeed sank into flesh, but it transmitted a bizarre, sticky sensation lacking solid resistance.

The figure before him instantly burst into a thick cloud of scarlet blood mist.

Nolan felt as if his sword had cleaved into a heavy quagmire, forcefully dragged down by a downward pulling force.

“Well then, bye-bye.”

My true body separated from the edge of the blood mist, intending to bypass Nolan and rush out into the free darkness outside the door.

However, just then, a muffled, low grunt came from behind him—

“Hmph!”

Riiip—like sturdy linen being forcefully torn apart.

The yet-to-dissipate blood mist was forcibly split open from the middle by an incredibly sharp force!

I was alarmed to realize that a blade of chilling aura, whipping up a razor-sharp gale, was chasing after me through the air!

You’ve got to be kidding me—what kind of move is this?!

The tip of the sword was still several feet away from me, but the fierce sword wind was already causing my exposed skin to sting in waves!

I hastily raised the only metal object in my hands—the hand crossbow forged from rare metal—in a panic to block in front of me.

Clang!

The sword aura smashed fiercely against the hand crossbow, erupting in a deafening crash of clashing metal and stone.

The massive impact numbed my arm and forced me to stagger backward repeatedly.

If it weren’t for the instinctive premonition of an upper-tier demon hunter prompting me to block in advance, this strike would have likely succeeded.

‘No wonder… this kid dared to speak such arrogant words; his strength has actually advanced to this level…’

‘How long has it been? The sheer power displayed by that casual swing just now probably already meets the standard of an upper-tier warrior, right?’

I instantly realized that fighting him head-on was not a wise choice.

If I were fully prepared, relying on the unpredictable nature of dark magic, I might have been able to maneuver and perhaps even win through a surprise attack.

But fighting hastily right now, with nothing else on me, I didn’t even know when the last time I truly engaged in hand-to-hand combat was…

‘What should I do—should I play the emotional card? But she wouldn’t…’

Just as I was desperately trying to come up with a countermeasure, unexpectedly, Nolan stopped in place and did not press the attack.

I looked up and immediately understood; the sword he held was nothing more than an ordinary iron sword.

Corroded by the caustic blood mist and subjected to the explosive force of his own power, it could no longer bear the burden and naturally broke and shattered.

This was a fleeting opportunity!

I seized Nolan’s momentary pause, turned without hesitation, and plunged into the night outside the door.

“Hey! Wait!”

Nolan discarded the ruined longsword in his hand and hurried forward, but there was nothing around except the lingering scent of blood.

The masked girl shrouded in ominous blood aura had completely vanished like a phantom.

“That strike just now… I used Teacher Darryl’s sword technique, how did she know where I was going to thrust… Could that person have fought Teacher Darryl before?”

“Forget it, I’ll go back and ask Teacher first.”

Nolan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the strange unease in his heart.

He turned around, his gaze falling upon the remains of the elven warrior nearby.

“May you rest in peace… I will bring you back to your homeland.”

He knelt on one knee, carefully pulling the exquisitely crafted crossbow bolt from the elf’s throat, then took out a piece of oilcloth from his breast pocket, wrapping it carefully and putting it away.

Subsequently, he reached out, his hand gently sweeping over those still-widened gray-white eyes, wanting to close the eyelids of the deceased.

“—What is going on?”

As Nolan’s hand lifted, the eyelids that should have closed suddenly snapped open again.

The gray pupils stared hollowly at the blood-stained sky; no matter what, they could not be closed, still fixating on some unfulfilled obsession.

“Do you still have a dying wish…” Nolan whispered.

However, before he could finish his words, he saw that the eyeball clearly trembled.