Chapter 500: Dodge and Ambush

Ding dang dang——

Cī cī cī——

The clashing of metal and the slicing of blades echoed continuously across Old Oak Hill.

Beneath a sky far clearer than before.

Six dog-people, identical in combat style and perfectly coordinated, wielded uniform steel swords as they encircled the towering, handsome human standing motionless at the center.

Yet the opponent held no weapon—only his bare, muscular arms exposed to the air.

Whether probing, punching, elbowing, or grappling, he left every attacker with not a single successful strike.

Even wearing a faint, calm smile.

The dog-people had initially assumed this evil enslaver was also Mid-7th Rank.

After all, he was the same rank as their captain; even if stronger, how could six of them working in unison fail to subdue him?

But thoughts were thoughts, and reality was reality.

Precisely because their captain shared the same rank as him.

They had cooperated in attack for a full twenty minutes.

The more they fought, the more their hearts sank, the more sweat poured from their brows.

This guy seemed to have eyes in the back of his head—no matter from which blind spot they struck, he could reach out and catch their blades without even looking.

Could a 7th Rank human really be this strong?!

There was no help for it.

These six dog-people were all Spirit Warriors of the Cut-Iron Stream or its reserves.

They had no grasp of flashy Spirit Arts—relying solely on their mastered strikes and sword techniques.

Yet Luo De was their absolute counter.

They simply couldn't break through!

Unlike the frustration on the other side.

Luo De was having a blast.

He deliberately activated the 【Dragon Scale Art】 only on his arms, precisely to heavily use the combination of 【Reflective Evasion】, 【Omnidirectional Vision】, and 【Spider Sense】.

In truth, Luo De had received little sword training.

If matched evenly, any one of these six could easily defeat him in swordplay alone.

But now, with his superior perception and reflexes, he could take on all six at once.

This was just raw stats.

"Die trying—still worth it!"

After another failed assault, the gray-furred dog-person leader snarled in fury.

The hatred in his voice was chilling.

Sigh.

This was why Luo De held back.

Hatred was always easy to understand.

He didn't want these six to die at his hands over a simple misunderstanding.

Of the six dog-person swordsmen, the strongest was Mid-7th Rank, the next was Low-7th Rank, and the rest were 6th Rank.

This was no force to underestimate.

More importantly,

They seemed willing to die without hesitation.

Look.

After a brief glance exchange, one six-rank dog-person—missing an arm—charged forward first to engage Luo De, drawing the others with him.

Clearly meant as a sacrifice to buy time.

Look behind.

Sure enough, the two 7th Ranks stood frozen in place, gripping their steel swords with both hands, faces flushed red.

No need to guess—they were charging up a final technique.

Hss—

The blade was about to strike.

Luo De didn't dodge—he simply reached out and grabbed the sword cleanly.

Creak!

His palm blocked the blade, producing a grating metallic screech.

The attacker's face didn't change—he twisted his wrist hard, trying to scrape Luo De's palm open, while simultaneously kicking forward with all his strength.

Luo De's five fingers clenched tight.

Crunch-ga!

The steel blade twisted into a spiral.

At the same time, he casually seized the kicked leg and hurled the man flying.

Meanwhile, two other dog-people lunged forward.

Luo De chuckled, accelerating sharply—he punched each squarely in the nose.

"Ugh!" x2

Both stared in disbelief at the speed, groaned, and collapsed.

Pain and numbness flooded their brains instantly; their eyes rolled back, swords slipped from their hands, and they crashed backward.

Luo De reached out with both hands—【Grasp】 and 【Gravitational Wave】—sucking the remaining steel swords from their grip, then snapping them apart with a crunch-crack.

The last six-rank dog-person, clearly the slowest and weakest, hesitated a moment too long.

His thrusting sword was easily dodged by Luo De's head turn, then his wrist was flipped upward by an elbow strike—the sword flew from his grip.

"You're holding everyone back, friend."

Luo De kicked him away, catching the falling sword mid-air.

Snapped it again.

At this moment,

The final two dog-people—the only two 7th Ranks—were still charging their power.

One was the gray-furred speaker; the other, a female dog-person with half her face and one eye gouged into bloody ruin.

At this instant, not a trace of Spirit could be sensed from either.

Luo De made no move.

He simply stood before them, waiting in silence.

"Come on. Let me see what you're made of."

"Enslaver! You will pay for your arrogance!"

The two dog-people glared with pure hatred, baring their teeth like dogs.

Grass flew across Old Oak Hill; a cool breeze brushed their faces.

Behind them, Tally screamed loudly in encouragement: "Master! Ah—Master~~ Master is so hot!! Step on them~~ then step on their corpses and fuck me!!"

"Miss Tally, lower your voice! What if someone else hears?!"

Dimea, still unfamiliar with the succubus's lewdness, blushed and tugged at her sleeve.

The Banshee Krist said: "Ignore her. Succubi are always like this—in the forest, they were even worse. Purely someone's personal toilet."

"Personal toilet?"

Though she wrote lewd novels, the sorceress, still inexperienced, didn't understand.

Krist flushed, didn't dare shout it out, and whispered the explanation into her ear.

Instantly, Dimea's baby cheeks turned bright red.

"You… oh, you're terrible! So inappropriate!"

Even as she said it, she pulled out a notebook and secretly wrote it down.

"It's not my fault—this word was coined by some perverted forest ranger, Master! Stop snapping their weapons—they're worth money!!"

Listening to the laughter and disrespectful chatter,

The two 7th-rank dog-people grew confused.

Now that they looked closely, these two beautiful girls under enslavement showed no sign of suffering at all.

Each had smooth, delicate skin, boundless energy, no magical restraints, and their internal Spirit was fully replenished.

Pure enslavement magic, without magical devices, was never truly advanced.

Most required careful monitoring of the enslaved's internal Spirit or magic.

Especially at 7th Rank—those with talent could even independently discover ways to break free.

These two girls' condition was as defenseless as an open door.

"You… why…?"

But Luo De ignored them—he saw their power was nearly charged.

He forced a sinister expression, whispering with a cruel grin:

"See? I've trained them well, haven't I?"

"What?! You devil!!"

The gray-furred dog-man, whose blood was already boiling, flew into a rage upon hearing this.

No longer holding back, he and his companion unleashed a brilliant silver glow from their steel swords.

But there was a difference.

Extra thick streams of crimson energy spread from the gray-furred dog-man's steel sword.

It was the crimson energy of the 【Heroic Buff】.

This time, it was Luo De who was stunned.

Self-taught? The halfling Lily had done that before.

But that wasn't right.

This guy wasn't some genius like Lily—otherwise he wouldn't have ended up this way because of Luo De.

This was genuine 【Heroic Buff】.

The steel swords wove a net of silver light and crimson energy, descending like a sky-covering storm.

Luo De knew exactly what this sword net was.

—It was called the 【Silver Moon Sword Dance】.

Legend said it was created by the twin brothers who led the famed Silver Moon Knights of the Kingdom of Aithelon.

This Heji sword technique, like 【Aithelon's Flash】, belonged to the fast-strike category.

Clearly, as a Heji technique, its power surpassed 【Aithelon's Flash】.

It had played a crucial role in the kingdom's territorial expansion, but because it required two warriors with perfect synchronization and was extremely difficult to master, and because the Silver Moon Knights were later disbanded for unknown reasons, it vanished completely from public memory.

"Die!!"

The two dog-men leapt into the air and slammed toward Luo De.

Luo De?

He'd been waiting for this moment—of course he'd meet it head-on.

He canceled his 【Dragon Scale Technique】.

Applied 【Hunger for Prey】—"When the target is hostile toward you, your agility gains a 25% bonus."

Added 【Agility Boost】—"All speed-based spiritual techniques or spells gain an additional 35% effect."

【Spider Sense】【Omnivision】【Precise Prediction】【Swift Shadow Step】【Reflexive Evasion】.

Unleash them all.

The next instant.

The sword net swallowed his body.

Hundreds of lightning-fast strikes slashed down!

Yet on the spot, only flickering shadows remained.

Swiftly, the light faded.

CRACK!

Both dog-men's longswords shattered into fragments simultaneously.

A crushing sense of exhaustion and weakness surged through every part of their bodies; they frantically looked up.

The dust cleared.

The towering figure still stood tall and unyielding.

CRACK—CRACK—

Luo De, wearing the boots crafted by Xiao Ke, crushed a rock beneath his foot—his sleeves untouched, not even a single fold cut.

"'Die'?"

He brushed off nonexistent dust from his shoulder. "That's usually my line."

The gray-furred dog-man trembled, sinking weakly to one knee, his facial muscles twitching unnaturally.

"Y-you. Y-you."

"What 'you'? Never seen a master before?"

Never seen one this high.

The incredulous gray-furred dog-man's mind flashed that thought.

Luo De smiled and patted the dog-man's head.

"Let go of Nick!"

A roar erupted from behind.

The weakest of the dog-men—the one Luo De had called a liability—even though unarmed, charged forward.

"Mickey! Don't come!" Nick, the gray-furred dog-man, turned pale and shouted in panic.

Just as he said that,

Mickey, the weakling, who had been rushing at Luo De, suddenly veered off and slammed into Nick.

Nick caught sight of the green dagger in Mickey's hand, gleaming as it stabbed toward him—he still had some strength left to resist, but his mind simply didn't react; he just stared, frozen.

A large hand shot out, snatching the green dagger with a snap.

Mickey's charge was violently halted by a powerful arm.

He stared stiffly at Luo De, meeting only a sneer of contempt.

"Trying this on me? What were you thinking?"

(End of Chapter)