Chapter 70: The Blessing of the Death of All Things

Deep in the forest.

“Water, freeze magic rune.”

Xia Mingyu gathered blank magical power at his fingertip, drawing and stacking runes in the air to create a clear block of ice.

“Look at your new blessing,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.

“Thank you, my lord!” Boge slammed his forehead hard against the ground, then immediately turned his gaze to the reflection on the ice.

A line of emerald text appeared before his eyes—“Comrade”—and a wave of information flooded into his mind.

Marching with the King: When you serve your lord faithfully, your strength increases; the angrier your lord becomes, the greater your boost. Each act of loyalty retains a fraction of the gained power.

United in Heart: You may communicate telepathically with your lord across distance, with his consent. Your lord may initiate telepathic communication regardless of your will.

It was a Supernatural-tier identity blessing!

Boge’s heart first reeled in shock, then swelled with ecstatic joy.

Most nobles in this world possessed only Mortal-tier identity blessings—after all, not every noble could become a lord.

And he, a refugee peasant born a hunter, now stood on the same rank as Lord Hughes, the master of Black Wolf Fief!

What honor! What overwhelming gratitude!

Boge felt saving him and begging to become his retainer had been the wisest decision of his life.

At this moment, every organ, every drop of blood, every hair on Boge’s body trembled and screamed one word—Loyalty!

“My lord, your grace I shall never forget. I will drain every drop of blood for you, become your most faithful hound.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Boge pounded his head against the damp earth as if it were his enemy.

Had Xia Mingyu not pulled him up in time, he might have smashed a small crater.

“Enough, enough. Tell me what ability you gained.”

“Your Highness, the ability I gained is...”

After hearing his account, Xia Mingyu fell into thought.

Marching with the King, United in Heart—why did these two abilities feel like something out of Pokémon?

Still, they were useful—at least to him.

“Boge, besides these two abilities, is there another?” Xia Mingyu silently thought.

He hadn’t forgotten—the core function of “Comrade” was to awaken in the other a unique blessing based on potential and will.

“There might be one more, but I need a bow and arrow to use it...”

Moments later, Boge’s uncertain voice echoed in his mind.

“Let’s go get the bow and arrow.”

About half an hour later, the two returned to the forest with the bow and arrows.

Under Xia Mingyu’s watch, Boge drew an iron-tipped arrow from his quiver, nocked it, closed his eyes, and sensed the strange new power within him.

One minute later, Boge opened his eyes. His once-hawk-like brown irises had lost all white, transforming into a stunning, glowing ice-blue.

An immense, terrifying aura erupted from him—more like the primal instinct of prey facing its predator.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hundreds of birds within a few hundred meters of the forest fled wildly away from Boge.

For a moment, the flapping of wings drowned out all other sounds like a tidal wave.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Even Xia Mingyu’s heart accelerated involuntarily as he sensed the threat.

Swish!

Boge drew his bow fully; the longbow arched like a full moon as he loosed the arrow, the tip slicing the air with a sharp whistle.

But its target was not the panicked birds—it was a massive ancient tree ahead, thick enough for several men to encircle.

Boom!

As expected, the arrow struck the hard trunk and lodged firmly within.

At first, the tree showed no reaction—its enormous bulk made the wound no more significant than a man stubbing his toenail.

But seconds later, a transformation erupted.

The spot struck by the arrow rapidly withered and dried, and the decay spread swiftly across the entire tree.

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

As if autumn had swept through in an instant, the leaves turned yellow and fell in droves, fluttering like dying butterflies through the air in mournful arcs.

The trunk withered and blackened visibly; the canopy sagged like a skeleton losing its support.

Soon, the ancient tree—grown for decades—became a dry, lifeless husk, as if centuries had passed in a single moment.

It was dead.

Xia Mingyu clearly recognized this fact.

His pupils shrank sharply; his cheek muscles twitched slightly; his gaze at Boge brimmed with shock.

“Did you somehow gain a blessing that accelerates time by hundreds of years in an instant?!” Xia Mingyu exclaimed in disbelief.

Any ability involving time was unquestionably among the most supreme in the world.

The hunter boy who saved him from the wolf’s jaws—was he truly a hidden steed of boundless potential?

“My lord, what are you thinking? How could I possibly gain such an absurd blessing?” Boge laughed helplessly.

His eyes had returned to normal, but he gasped for breath, sweat pouring from his brow, utterly exhausted.

That single arrow had drained every ounce of his strength.

Of course—it couldn’t be that lucky. Xia Mingyu felt a quiet disappointment.

“I merely gained the blessing to see the death of all things,” Boge explained slowly.

Xia Mingyu: “...”

Damn, I hate these lucky bastards!

He had no shortage of abilities himself, but none were this kind of top-tier offensive power.

Yet he remembered—“Comrade”... could one borrow another’s blessing?

Thinking of this, Xia Mingyu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Tell me in detail about your blessing.”

“I saw the death of all things—but only one point on a living being can carry death.”

After Boge’s overly abstract explanation, it took Xia Mingyu nearly ten minutes to barely understand.

Blessing: Death of All Things

You can perceive the death of living beings as a moving point on their body—the Death Point. By striking that point with a weapon, you may directly impose death, bypassing all rules.

The nobler the creature, the harder it is to see its Death Point, and the heavier the burden on the body—Boge said merely glancing at himself with the corner of his eye made his eyes ache as if about to burst, and he saw no Death Point at all.

“Still hard to grasp. Let me test it myself,” Xia Mingyu smiled faintly.

“Boge, I wish to borrow your blessing. Do you accept?” he asked.

“All I am—flesh, soul, and honor—belongs to you. What need is there for borrowing?” The hunter boy knelt on one knee, his expression solemn.

(End of Chapter)