Chapter 4: Surprise Attack

Hawk felt no fear at all; he slammed his uninjured leg against the ground, leaping high into the air, sword gripped in both hands, roaring like a giant bear.

"Break open!"

The great sword slammed violently onto the dark current, erupting with a thunderous boom.

The dark current beast was immediately split open, a gaping wound tearing through it.

Hawk roared again, expending nearly every ounce of his strength; light erupted from his body, wrapping his great sword in a golden radiance that seemed to grow with the wind, transforming into a blade that covered the sky and earth.

The hooded man's expression changed drastically; he had never expected Hawk to truly risk his life, nor that such a desperate strike would carry such immense power—otherwise, he would never have been so arrogant as to confront it head-on.

But now, regret came too late.

He could only retreat at maximum speed, crossing his arms and positioning his two curved blades before his chest.

"Boom~"

Several sword blades struck the curved blades; the tremendous force caused the hooded man to lose his grip, sending the blades flying from his hands while his body was blasted backward.

Upon landing, the hooded man spat a mouthful of fresh blood; both arms streamed with blood, flesh torn and inverted, exposing the stark white bones beneath.

Fortunately, the twin blades had blocked most of the force; otherwise, his arms would likely have been completely crippled.

"Cough, cough..."

Having landed a successful strike, Hawk was faring no better; he had nearly exhausted all his strength, spitting out several mouthfuls of fresh blood in succession as his great sword clattered to the ground.

"Heh heh... cough, cough... Hawk, despite your Grand Swordsman cultivation, in the end you still must die at my hands."

Seeing the dying Hawk, the hooded man grinned viciously, picked up a curved blade, and stumbled toward him.

He was already at the end of his rope, but Hawk was in even worse condition; he only needed to reach Hawk's side and slice open his throat.

Hawk gasped for breath; he knew he was doomed, yet he felt not a shred of regret.

His trembling hand tried to reach for the sword, but his fingers lacked even the strength to curl.

Rage still burned in his eyes; he held his head high, waiting for the hooded man.

Come on, you rat; even if I die, I'll tear a chunk of flesh from you.

"What are you looking at! Cough, cough... Rest assured, I won't kill you immediately; I'll first gouge out your eyes, then cut off your tongue, and finally drink all your blood, letting you die slowly in agony and terror... Heh heh, cough, cough..." As he spoke, the hooded man spat out two more mouthfuls of congealed blood.

He finally shuffled to Hawk's side and grabbed a handful of his hair.

"Look at these eyes; you're furious, aren't you..."

He aimed the curved blade at Hawk's eye and slowly thrust it forward.

Hawk stared unblinking, glaring fiercely at the hooded man.

"Heh heh..." The hooded man was excited to the point of perversion.

Xixi could no longer hold back; she disregarded Wang Chong's instructions entirely.

"Stop!"

She ran out from her hiding place, shouting loudly at the hooded man.

"Eh? It's actually you!"

The hooded man found it hard to believe.

Yet moments later, he split his mouth into a grin, laughing with great delight.

"Heh heh... This is simply wonderful..."

He yanked hard on Hawk's hair, forcibly turning his face to look in Xixi's direction.

"Young Lady!"

Seeing that Xixi was unharmed, Hawk was overwhelmed with joy.

But he immediately realized the danger and shouted with a hoarse voice, "Young Lady, run!"

"No, Uncle Hawk..." Xixi shook her head, weeping.

"Heh heh... Look at that, such deep loyalty between master and servant..." He released Hawk and turned to walk toward Xixi.

After resting for some time, he had regained a bit of strength; a little girl like Xixi, who possessed no cultivation, was not worth his concern in the slightest.

"Go quickly... Young Lady..."

Hawk lay prone on the ground, watching helplessly; he could only shout with all his might.

Xixi turned and ran.

"Only now you think to run? Too late!"

The hooded man grabbed Xixi's hand.

"Ah! Brother..." Xixi screamed in terror.

"Heh heh... Good little sister, Brother will show you mercy..." The hooded man laughed lewdly.

"Mercy your ass!"

Wang Chong had secretly circled around earlier to pick up a curved blade; now he had looped back, arriving precisely behind the hooded man.

Disgusted by the hooded man, he leaped up and swung the blade down toward the man's head.

He knew one must never show mercy to such people; strike a snake without killing it, and you will be bitten in return—thus, this strike was intended to kill.

The hooded man was still indulging in his vile fantasies when a cold glint suddenly appeared behind him.

Instantly chilled with sweat, he had no time to turn fully and urgently twisted his body sideways.

"Swish!"

The curved blade sliced across his cheek, leaving only a bloody gash on his mask; blood flowed down the mask, making him appear even more ferocious.

Wang Chong reacted quickly; seeing his attack dodged, he immediately slashed horizontally at the hooded man's neck.

"Clang!"

At the critical moment, the hooded man actually blocked it, but he then collapsed to the ground.

What Wang Chong did not expect was that the man could not even withstand this slight rebound force; he was directly blasted away, crashing into a massive boulder that shattered into pieces, while he himself spat out a torrent of blood.

"Goblin? You dare ambush me!" The hooded man looked at Wang Chong, who had been blasted away.

Damn it!

Wang Chong didn't even want to explain anymore.

This is the gap in strength! Wang Chong couldn't help but sigh.

Such a half-dead thing could actually nearly kill him too.

Fortunately, Wang Chong was tough; after resting briefly, he picked up his dropped curved blade and walked toward the hooded man.

"Goblin, go kill them, and I will let today's matter pass." Seeing that his attacker was a goblin, the hooded man became emboldened and threw an object at Wang Chong's feet.

"What is this thing?"

Wang Chong picked it up and examined it; it looked like a token, made of a rather special material he had never seen before.

He tossed it in his hand; it felt heavy. Sneering lightly, he said, "Hmph, trying to bribe me?"

The hooded man flew into a rage: "Bastard! Look closely! This is a token possessed only by the noble Goblin Royal Family, a symbol of status. You, a mere little green-skinned goblin..."

"Slap!"

Wang Chong stepped forward and slapped him across the face; that would teach him to run his mouth.

"You dare hit me?" The hooded man looked somewhat incredulous.

"I hit you, so what!" Wang Chong was now angry too.

What kind of nonsense is this!

"Heh heh... then you all go die!" The hooded man's voice turned yin-cold.

A powerful aura erupted from his body once again.

"It's the power of bloodline! He is burning his bloodline; kill him quickly!" Hawk suddenly shouted.

"The power of bloodline?"

Although Wang Chong did not yet understand what the power of bloodline entailed, it sounded impressive, and the hooded man's transformation was obvious, so he immediately realized the situation was dire.

"Die!"

Wang Chong slashed down with his blade once more.

"Bang!"

The hooded man kicked Wang Chong squarely in the stomach.

"Ugh!" Wang Chong's face turned green; the kick was so powerful it nearly made him vomit up last night's meal.