Chapter 819.1: Killing a Legend: Eventide Worldtrembles (Part 1)
BOOOOM!!!
As his body flew backwards like a kite whose string had been cut, the assassin's mouth opened and a stream of fresh blood flew into the sky. He could feel how several bones of his rib cage had been crushed and had it not been for his better physique thanks to his orc blood he would definitely have died right there with his heart being mashed.
Sensing that the human had not planned to give him even time to touch the ground as he pursued him still in full flight and seeing the blood blades flying in his direction, the assassin was forced to grit his teeth as he released his frustration and anger with a beastly roar.
"Switch!"
Bai Zemin stopped abruptly as he saw the assassin's body being replaced by a shadow and his eyes quickly shifted in a direction before dashing over with crimson lightning dancing noisily around his figure.
However, this time it was not so easy as when the assassin appeared he immediately disappeared and was replaced by another shadow. Moreover, when Bai Zemin tried to chase him he realized that it would be hard to catch him because the other party was jumping from shadow to shadow constantly, therefore, he stopped his steps and laughed loudly.
"What's wrong?! You don't jump to attack me anymore?! You may be faster than me because of that strange skill of yours, but with that murderous intent of yours overflowing it will be impossible for you to ambush me again!"
At the same time as Bai Zemin's words echoed inside the blood dome, more green letters flashed in his retina announcing the evolution of a skill.
[Due to your increased sensitivity and efficiency in controlling killing intent to your advantage, your skill Lonely Wolf Aura evolves.]
[Second Order Lonely Wolf Aura level 5 -----> Third Order Lonely Wolf Aura level 1]
Bai Zemin naturally did not stop to inspect the evolved skill upgrade. Although the current him was considerably more arrogant than usual due to the second activation God of War's Partial Possession of the God of War's Will skill, the enemy he faced this time was nimble and powerful enough to cause him great headaches and damage which was proof of the purity of his Soul Power and his combat experience.
For several seconds, both Bai Zemin and the half-orc met in a middle ground where they both tried to find an opening in the other to attack immediately. However, it was obvious that the more time passed, the more the assassin fell at a disadvantage as every time he jumped into a shadow he consumed Mana not to mention the fact that he needed to do something to heal the wound on his chest.
Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes as he saw the other party pulling out a red potion and drinking it. He identified it as a healing potion that served to speed up the process of tissue and stem cell recovery.
After approximately 30 to 40 seconds, Bai Zemin finally found a way to defeat the other party and without hesitation kicked the ground and rushed towards one of the shadows that was soon replaced by the half-orc.
"Hmph." The half-orc snorted and without hesitation jumped at a new shadow.
"Hehe...." Bai Zemin's lips curved upwards as he fiercely slapped the ground with his wide-open palm, "Blood Spikes!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!....
The assassin had just appeared when he sensed danger and quickly jumped into a new shadow. However, to his horror, the danger continued regardless of the shadow he jumped to so without any other choice he activated another skill to slide across the ground and appear 20 meters far away from the shadow he had just jumped to.
His face turned pale as he saw hundreds of thin blood spikes coming out of the ground and a terrifying thought appeared in his mind when he looked at the place he was standing on and the dome of blood that kept getting stronger and stronger.
Unfortunately, he had realized too late the fact that from the very beginning he had had no hope of winning after falling into the trap Bai Zemin had prepared in advance.
His green eyes met the black eyes of the human who still kept his palm firmly pressed against the ground as he smiled coldly at him and couldn't help but sigh.
'Fuck its mother... I shouldn't have taken this job.'
...
Outside the blood dome, the allied soldiers had tightly encircled every exit as they watched the glowing crimson bubble that seemed to palpitate in the middle of the night as if it had a life of its own.
Occasionally, the sound of explosions from inside the blood dome reached the soldiers' hearing while the shaking of the ground did not stop even for an instant.
"Make sure to squeeze in with each other," General Lazas shouted as he looked at the blood dome with considerable apprehension. "I don't want even a fly to get out of here today!"
It had been approximately 4 or 5 minutes since the combat had begun, not too long considering that two Third Order existences were fighting to the death in a sealed place. However, those 4 or 5 minutes had felt like an eternity to the men of Gales who knew that the person fighting an unknown enemy was none other than the highest general on the battlefield.
Suddenly, the temperature began to rise and seeing that part of the crimson bubble began to turn deep blue Lazas hurriedly ordered the troops to move back 300 meters in an orderly fashion and without breaking the tight formation.
Not long after, the two-color bubble rapidly contracted as several explosions shook the ground with such vigor that most of the Unclassified soldiers fell to the ground on their butts as they stared forward in horror.
By the time the two-colored bubble had shrunk enough to be barely visible to everyone, two figures finally emerged before the eyes of the crowd of soldiers.
The first figure was naturally Bai Zemin, who clearly had been wounded as there was some blood running down the small openings in the armor at the junction area between each limb.
As for the second figure...
"S- Shadow Killer..." General Lazas muttered with his eyes wide open and his face as pale as a sheet when he saw the face of the other side.
Hearing the two words "Shadow Killer", all the soldiers had drastic changes in their expressions. It didn't matter if it was young or old, it didn't matter if it was Unclassified, First Order, or Second Order, it didn't matter if it was a soldier from Gales or Krap; they all subconsciously recoiled as the blood drained from their now deathly pale faces.
However, what happened next turned some of that fear into disbelief and utter shock.
"Ugh..." The assassin grimaced in pain, and as the black cloak around his body turned into ash, he fell onto his knees.
The bloody wounds that were being covered by his now destroyed cloak that had been a Rank 2 piece of equipment of the highest quality were revealed before the astonished eyes of everyone. Fist-sized bloody holes covered the entire body of Shadow Killer not only on his arms and legs but also on his abdomen and chest. The wounds went from one side of the body to the other, therefore, it was easy to see through; the most surprising thing was that all the wounds had been burned by some kind of high-temperature fire as there was no blood at all there.
With his heart shattered, the assassin could not hold on for long before his entire body slumped forward and fell to the ground with a thud.
[You have received the Soul Power of Third Order 'Angroth' level 136. You cannot absorb Soul Power .....]
Bai Zemin had not noticed the expressions on the face of the soldiers. He was thinking about how powerful his enemy had been in this instance despite the other party's level not being particularly high when compared to the likes of King Philip or King Jeremy who had been defeated by him before.
Even though Bai Zemin had not given his 100% and probably only gave 75-80% of his total, the fact that the other party forced him to even use the Endless Blue Lotus Flame was proof of how skilled and terrifying the enemy had been this time. Moreover, the power boost Bai Zemin received in the middle of the battle when God of War's Partial Possession was triggered was something he did not expect but it undoubtedly made everything easier from that moment on.
He bent down and picked up the dagger that the assassin had used during their fight, as well as the skill scroll that was formed based on a part of his Soul Power after his death. At the same time, Bai Zemin managed to obtain a few more treasures that he kept in his storage ring for later study.
After piercing the head of the assassin, Bai Zemin's eyes lit up slightly as he found a hard object inside the brain and without even taking it out he directly stored it in his storage ring.
'Lucky. Another Third Order Soul Stone for daddy'.
"Mm?" As Bai Zemin stood up and looked forward, he finally noticed the soldiers' expressions, which made him frown slightly.
They all had pale faces and looked at the figure of the dead half-orc with their eyes wide open as if they were seeing the most incredible thing in the world.
Before Bai Zemin could say anything, General Lazas looked at him with wide eyes and muttered in a low but clear voice amidst the silence.
"G- General... G- General Bai... Y- You... You... T- The semi-orc... Did... Did you kill... Shadow Killer...?"
The expression on Bai Zemin's face sank slightly as he said in a deep voice, "General Lazas, what's the problem with your improper attitude? Have you forgotten where we are? If you have to say something say it straight or just don't speak at all."
The effect of the second activation God of War's Partial Possession was still on, therefore, although the effect had been weakened thanks to Bai Zemin's various skills and titles, his current personality was different than usual. Not only was his pride higher as well as his disdain towards his enemies, but his patience was a lot lower in comparison.
Lazas' eyes widened even more if that was even possible and he said in shock: "You.... You really don't know who the soul evolver you just killed is?!"
"Mm?" Bai Zemin frowned sharply this time, finally realizing something he had inadvertently overlooked.
The assassin he had just killed was very powerful, so much so that if the King of Gales fought him he would probably lose his life. Therefore, it was naturally impossible for such an existence to be unknown to the world unless he really was some kind of monk who hid in the mountains and never came out.
But seeing the expression on Bai Zemin's face, Lazas finally realized that the person in front of him really didn't have the slightest idea who the existence he had just fought against was, and he not only came out alive but also killed it!
How could a living, intelligent being, not know a legendary existence such as Shadow Killer... Lazas looked at Bai Zemin as if he was looking at some kind of unknown alien.
Taking a deep breath, Lazas bowed and advanced to the corpse as he first needed to confirm something. However, when he saw the scar of an old burn on the pierced chest of the half-orc Lazas was finally cleared of all doubt.
"This guy really is Shadow Killer." Lazas muttered in incredulity before looking at Bai Zemin in a completely new light.
In fact, Bai Zemin noticed that now even the formerly recruiting soldiers of the Krap Kingdom were looking at him with fervent eyes as if he was some kind of rising celebrity or something similar.
"General Bai, you really don't know who this soul evolver is?" Lazas asked to make sure.
"For god's sake... you're trying my patience, Lazas." Bai Zemin rolled his eyes and was about to decide to ignore the whole thing but Lazas continued speaking.
"It seems that you really don't know... Although it's weird that you don't know since it's recorded in the history books, let me give you a summary of the existence called Angroth but better known throughout Eventide World as Shadow Killer."
Lazas began to narrate, and the more Bai Zemin listened, the weirder his expression became.
It seemed like he had really just done something great without even looking for it.... To think that such a big fish would willingly give himself into the wolf's mouth. Bai Zemin didn't know whether to laugh or cry but he felt happy as many things would move faster from now on.
Even if it meant that it would be harder for him to make a step forward later.