Chapter 240: [Veteran Blood-Seeker]

On the Star Fall Continent, as a prerequisite for becoming a professional, the number of various "combat techniques" has accumulated to an uncountable degree after countless years of development.

Taking the most common 【Warrior】 among professionals as an example, if you were to find one hundred of them at the association at random, the overlap rate of the combat techniques they each mastered would likely not exceed 5%.

And this is only under the condition of being in the same region.

If you were to compare them with those adventurers active in the Underdark and the Shoal Islands, the number would be even smaller.

With this as a premise, those great nobles in the kingdom who possess their own territories—

Conditioned by their immense financial resources and the powerful influence required to be a noble in the first place, it is not a difficult matter to collect or even monopolize some combat techniques that can be practically trained to improve strength and serve as conditions for gaining professional levels.

This has also led many hereditary great nobles to have formed a set of complete and distinct training systems.

Of course, there cannot be many Transcendents, and anything above level 5 also requires a certain amount of luck and talent.

But if it is just ordinary level 1 or 2 professionals, under the huge base of annual selection, while it does not reach the level of "mass production," there are still training methods with a relatively high success rate.

Laosen once served as a guard in the Morton family for a period of time, but compared to those colleagues who were trained by the family since childhood, grew up in the Nianshu Duke's territory, and were instilled with concepts of family honor and loyalty from a young age, he could be said to have started halfway.

When he joined the Morton family, he was already quite old, and even carried a combat technique on him.

This also paved the way for him to later resolutely cut off contact with the family and choose to start over alone rather than continue this lucrative guard work.

And it was precisely this past experience in the Morton family that allowed him to recognize, at a single glance, the special stance that the young man in front of him revealed for an instant and then suddenly retracted.

That special defensive counter-attack stance is something every professional who grew up in the Morton family has mastered proficiently.

Throughout the Pan Yun Province, and even expanding to the Servia Kingdom, after wandering for so many years, Laosen had never seen the same stance.

It was unique to the Morton family.

In this way, the other party's identity became clear.

Apparently, this young man in the crowd also realized his negligence.

The muscle memory developed under years of training made him instinctively perform this defensive counter-attack posture during the fight, but the next instant, realizing that this might lead to his identity being exposed, he awkwardly restrained and retracted the movement.

Those who are not familiar with the ins and outs might not care.

But for Laosen, the other party's action only confirmed the guess in his heart.

A level 4 【Warrior】 + level 2 【Veteran Blood-Seeker】, a total professional level as high as "6," and the physical fitness improvement brought by six master-level combat techniques.

From the perspective of actual combat, this allowed him to draw an insurmountable chasm between himself and ordinary people with just his physical strength.

The strong wind brought by his body during high-speed movement almost blew over the gamblers watching on both sides.

That young man who had defeated three thugs one-on-three without any effort hadn't even had time to react.

Before he felt a pair of large hands that seemed to be made of steel resting on his shoulders, and his body felt as if it were restrained by some invisible force.

The disparity in strength made it difficult for him to even turn his head to look directly at the other party at this moment.

"Someone from the Morton family, how do you have the leisure to patronize a small place like mine?"

A cold and gloomy voice came from his ear, and the deadly, immense pressure made the young man's face stiffen, unable to breathe.

But the concept of loyalty instilled and cultivated by the family since childhood still made him instinctively lift his neck and retort stiffly:

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Let me go, is this how your casino does business?"

"Ganging up to bully a guest? Who would dare to come here to gamble in the future?"

Having already confirmed it in his heart, he didn't care about the other party's threats at all.

Laosen sneered, and with a light stroke of his right hand on the back of the young man's neck, the young man completely lost the ability to resist and collapsed to the ground.

"You will know soon enough."

The cold, hoarse voice echoed in the air that had fallen into a quiet silence at some unknown time.

Behind him, without him needing to say more, Scar had already signaled his men to come forward, lift the young man up, and send him to the inner room.

Xia Nan and his party were sitting at a wine table not far away.

The good viewing environment allowed them to witness almost the entire process.

And it was only after the young man fainted that he finally dug up an impression of the other party from his memory.

It seemed to be one of the knights under the command of the Morton family's Knight Commander, Cornell, whom he had encountered by chance at the Resting Longchao Inn two days ago.

And given the current situation...

Xia Nan did not know whether this young knight came to the Liujin Lunpan by coincidence like them, or if it was intentional; nor did he know what entanglements existed between him, or Cornell behind him, and the casino owner Scar, as well as the gloomy middle-aged man named "Laosen" whom he had also seen at the inn just now.

The only thing he could be sure of was.

Just in that instant, the speed and explosive power displayed by Laosen had already far exceeded the scope of ordinary professionals.

Perhaps it did not reach the level of "Transcendent," but it was far beyond ordinary level 1 or 2 professionals.

He was in the middle of an escort mission and did not intend to cause extra trouble.

And his keen perception also allowed him to smell a subtle feeling of a storm coming, permeating the air of Ronglin Town.

His brows furrowed tightly.

He whispered to his teammates beside him:

"We should go."

On one side, Luka, who was watching the excitement with full attention, was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and opened his mouth, wanting to ask something.

But after seeing Xia Nan's expression, he swallowed the doubt that had already reached his throat.

He nodded earnestly:

"I'll go call Sawa."

Ronglin Town, a certain inconspicuous house.

Cornell stood in the center of the living room, his well-crafted heavy armor already neatly worn on his body.

Lowering his head slightly, the oval-shaped silver-white 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 had disappeared.

No longer disguising.

According to information from an informant in the casino, the knight "Geloufu," whom he had sent to the Liujin Lunpan to keep watch, had been exposed.

Laosen had even pointed out his identity as a Morton family knight in public.

In this way, there was naturally no need to disguise further.

Cornell could not be sure whether the secret treasure stolen from the Longchao was in Laosen's hands; if it was not, what other information the other party knew.

The reason he hadn't made a move before was just out of fear that the other party would fight him to the death, causing unnecessary losses to a mission that should have been a sure thing.

And being in the dark was also more conducive to them making corresponding plans for actions against Laosen.

Now, since one of his brothers had been discovered by the other party.

And indeed, these days he had only seen Laosen and his group moving, without the slightest news about the secret treasure.

There was no point in lurking any longer.

"Are you all ready?"

Cornell's expression was serious, and the long scabbard hanging at his waist rose and fell slightly.

No response was needed; those pairs of eyes looking at him amidst the sound of metal armor rubbing, filled with fighting spirit, had already explained the knights' answer.

Crack—

The leather whip tore through the air, screaming shrilly and leaving a hideous bloodstain on the man's body.

In the air filled with a thick bloody smell, there were no painful wails and pleas for mercy as one might imagine.

Only the sound of grinding teeth, and the whimpering leaking from between the teeth due to excessive force in enduring the pain.

This was a small, dark, and hidden room located behind the casino, deeply embedded in a complex and cramped alley.

As for the room's purpose... ===== CHAPTER 241 =====