Chapter 3: Guard Captain Hawk

"What has happened to my hand?"

"It is the curse of the ghosts and gods," Xixi said.

"The curse of the ghosts and gods?"

Wang Chong recalled that he had heard this term from the black-robed priest.

At that time, he was already in a demonic state and did not ponder the meaning of those words.

"It is all my fault; I have harmed my brother."

Xixi lowered her head in sorrow, her fingers twisted until they turned white.

"Silly girl, this has nothing to do with you."

Wang Chong forced a smile.

"No, brother broke the blood sphere connecting the will of the ghosts and gods to save me, thus he was tainted by the aura of the ghosts and gods and received their curse. It is all my fault."

Xixi spoke in one breath, her face already covered in tears.

"Uh..."

What a silly girl; I didn't save you, I just accidentally crushed the blood sphere.

"Crybaby..."

Wang Chong flicked Xixi's nose.

"Brother is so mean..."

Xixi stopped crying and laughed.

"Xixi, do you know how to lift the curse of the ghosts and gods?" Wang Chong asked.

"I don't know..." Xixi's eyes dimmed, but she seemed to think of something, and her eyes suddenly brightened again, "But Uncle Hawk must know!"

"Uncle Hawk?"

"Yes, Uncle Hawk is my Guard Captain, but we got separated. He drew away the bad people who were hunting me to protect me. I don't know what has become of him now."

Xixi could not help but worry about Hawk again.

The person you were protecting has already been captured, so what the hell are you drawing enemies for! Wang Chong thought inwardly.

"Which direction did he go? Let's go find him."

"It seems to be this way..." Xixi pointed in a direction, somewhat uncertain.

"Seems?" Wang Chong was speechless.

"Um... I was captured, so..." Xixi peeked at Wang Chong's expression timidly.

What could Wang Chong say?

"Let's go."

He pulled Xixi and walked in that direction.

No matter what, this is the last resort.

Along the way, Wang Chong did not idle.

Through chatting with Xixi, he basically understood his current situation.

The continent where he now found himself was called Arad; besides the human race, many other races lived here, coexisting on this continent and maintaining a delicate balance.

However, this place was not as orderly as Earth; here, everything depended on strength. In a word, whoever had the harder fist was the boss.

"Those Divine Servants who besieged us earlier must be considered powerful, right?" Wang Chong asked intermittently.

"Hehe..." Xixi laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" Wang Chong looked utterly confused.

"Except for that black-robed priest, the rest of those Divine Servants are merely the lowest-level martial artists, not even worthy of being called warriors," Xixi explained.

Oh my goodness!

Wang Chong inwardly whistled in surprise; those Divine Servants were each no worse than him, yet they were merely the lowest-level martial artists. How strong must the strongest here be!

"Do they have powerful bodies from birth?" Wang Chong asked.

"Of course not; to become a martial artist requires cultivation."

Xixi was as smart as ice and snow; she saw through Wang Chong's thoughts at a glance.

"Brother, do not be discouraged. I believe that with your talent, once you cultivate, you will surely become a powerful one."

"That's right."

Wang Chong lifted his chin and flexed his biceps.

However, to speak honestly, although he was unfamiliar with this world, after Xixi's introduction, he actually began to look forward to the Arad Continent.

After all, Wang Chong was also a warmonger.

"Wait..."

Wang Chong suddenly stopped and blocked Xixi, who was about to continue walking.

He smelled a scent of blood.

He looked around cautiously, then walked toward the direction from which the scent came.

"It is a corpse."

He discovered a corpse in the grass; the body was incomplete, showing the cruelty of the killer.

"This is my guard!" Xixi cried out.

"Are you sure?" Wang Chong's expression grew grave.

"I am sure; I know him. He went out with Uncle Hawk. Could it be... could it be that Uncle Hawk..." At this point, Xixi's face was already tense.

No need to ask; Wang Chong knew what Xixi was thinking.

"Silly girl, do not scare yourself. The fact that there is no corpse of your Uncle Hawk here means he has not met with disaster."

"Let's go, we'll keep moving forward. I believe we'll find him soon," Wang Chong said after checking the surroundings.

He was a former special forces soldier; now that there were traces, finding the person was no longer difficult.

"Mm." Xixi nodded and followed closely behind Wang Chong.

For some reason, seeing Wang Chong's determined back made her feel at ease, even though this man was not yet powerful.

They walked and stopped, discovering several more corpses along the way—not only of the guards, but also of the enemies.

"Shh..."

Wang Chong made a hushing gesture, then pointed ahead.

Xixi indeed saw two people confronting each other a few dozen meters away.

"The one on the left is Uncle Hawk; he's injured!" Xixi whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

Wang Chong nodded and waved, signaling for Xixi to follow behind him.

They slipped into a patch of tall grass and slowly approached the two men.

Fortunately, weeds grew thick all around; hiding in any spot made them hard to spot.

Hawk was a middle-aged man wearing protective leather armor, holding a long sword with a blade at least ten centimeters wide, showing his great strength.

By now, he bore multiple wounds; although none were fatal, one on his leg was deep enough to expose bone, greatly hindering his movements.

Opposite him stood a figure in a black hooded cloak, entirely shrouded in darkness, giving off a gloomy aura.

"Heh heh... Hawk, surrender at once. As long as you agree to become my battle slave, I can spare your life." The hooded man seemed certain of Hawk's defeat.

"Tch! A coward hiding his head and tail! Fight if you dare; more words are useless!" Hawk propped himself up with his sword, his beard and hair bristling, ready to fight to the death.

However, the hooded man clearly knew Hawk's prowess and understood that a trapped beast still fights.

"Heh heh... Hawk, your master was captured long ago by my companion and has likely already become a sacrifice to the Lord of Ghosts and Gods. I advise you to be sensible; otherwise, when the Lord of Ghosts and Gods descends, your life will be worse than death!" The hooded man's tone was chilling.

"You bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"

Hearing that Xixi had been harmed, Hawk instantly flew into a rage.

Ignoring his leg wound, he swung his great sword at the hooded man.

"Hmph! You dare not die! Do you really think I fear you? I merely didn't want to waste time. Since you seek death yourself, I will grant it!"

As soon as the hooded man finished speaking, a powerful aura erupted from his body; a dark black current surged from behind him, transforming into a ferocious beast that opened its blood-filled maw, as if about to swallow Hawk in one bite.