Chapter 593: The Escaped Prisoner

The first strike must be overwhelming.

Rod narrowed his eyes slightly.

The opponent is pressing us to the limit, probing for our lowest bottom line.

Then I might as well press back.

But sorry, a Spirit Warrior like me doesn't do all that twisting and turning; I just kill directly and be done with it.

Night.

An unnatural shadow fell upon the entrance of the lit-up Town Hall.

A faint blue magical barrier, invisible to the naked eye, enveloped the entire building.

Soldiers in armor bearing intricately carved emblems guarded the entrance.

The streets of Shi Ying Town at night had no dwarf lamps lit.

Amidst the hazy darkness, only the faint light spreading from this single building provided the soldiers outside with a sliver of vision.

Someone yawned.

"Perk up, don't fall asleep."

"What's there to fear? We've been collecting taxes all the way down here; who dares to make a move?"

He dismissed the concern.

He shifted his stance, propping himself on a steel spear, not exactly lazy.

He finally understood.

The tax collectors of the Yige Sect would not leave the Town Hall until they had fully reviewed and understood everything; they ate, drank, and relieved themselves inside.

To prevent leaks and bribes, of course.

But staying up all night like in Shi Ying Town was rare.

One could even say it was a unique case.

Heh heh.

I heard the Yige Sect suffered a setback at the hands of Shi Ying Town years ago; now it seems, indeed so!

The soldier looked at his companion beside him and teased with a smile:

"You seem very nervous?"

"Of course. Haven't you heard of Rod, the Ranger here? He can chop down a giant dragon!"

"Can a giant dragon compare to Aethalon, which we represent? Rest a hundred percent assured, he wouldn't dare. After the shift change tomorrow, I'll take you to a good place."

"What?"

"I found a pretty girl in a fabric shop; she even painted her face black. Heh heh, how sharp are my golden eyes and fiery gaze?"

His companion seemed to relax somewhat, excitement and lust appearing in his eyes.

"Good. Brothels in Shi Ying Town are so few, and they're all trash; they surely aren't as fun as a pure girl!"

Thud—

However, his companion beside him did not respond.

Instead, a strange sound of flesh and armor hitting the ground came through.

He thought his lazy colleague had simply sat down.

"Hey, hey, hey, stand properly while on duty."

While speaking, he turned his head.

Then he suddenly froze.

A bald man had appeared beside him at some unknown moment.

He wore prison garb and had a fierce countenance.

And the soldier's companion lay on the ground, head separated from his body, the blood gushing from his neck blooming behind the bald man.

"Is this the Town Hall? Are the officials who arrested me still here?"

The bald man's face showed hatred, revealing his purpose.

"What? Wait!"

Before the soldier could react, he was punched in the chest.

His chest caved in, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into the wall with a boom, his life or death unknown.

A shadow appeared on the ground.

Another female 'prisoner' formed by Tally poked her head out; she extended a shadow to check the soldier.

"Not dead."

"Nonsense. Are you questioning my control over my own power?"

Rod secretly sighed in relief, then snorted stubbornly.

This matter requires a witness; the soldier at the gate is the perfect choice.

Damn it.

The weakening of 【Fabio's Soul-Stealing Gaze】 has somewhat affected my fine control over power.

Boosting mental resistance should probably exempt me from this negative status.

Previously, he had consulted Lady Kali on the matter and conducted a small experiment.

That is, the Young Lady Elf set up a ritual to amplify his mental resistance to see if there was any effect.

Although his mental resistance was truly so high that the amplification was almost negligible.

He could still feel a subtle sensation.

"How would I dare question~~ Master is the most powerful~~"

As a succubus who constantly watched over her master, Tally had certainly noticed the brief stiffness that crossed Rod's face after he threw his punch.

She beamed and offered flattering praise.

She leapt out from the shadows.

The one-piece prison uniform with its binding straps had been tailored by her to fit the body even more snugly, paired with a pair of small dirty boots on her feet, making her curves strikingly obvious.

The collar was propped up by her chest, revealing snow-white mounds of flesh.

Black grime spread from her face down to her neck, and from her collarbones to the thick, soft bunnies exposed at the neckline.

She had even tied her hair into twin ponytails, giving her a somewhat Ghoul Pan Ni gothic flair.

"We came here to kill people — what are you doing?"

Under Rod's Disguise Domain and the transfiguration assistance of the dog-kin Sharon, he became a bald fugitive.

Even his tone when asking was fierce and overbearing.

"Today I specially didn't eat, just waiting to dig in on the corpses and blood after we finish the killing!"

Tally beamed brightly and struck a cute pose with her little bottom stuck out.

Then she made small fists, pumping them in and out in front of her lips, while her tongue occasionally poked up her cheeks.

The teasing intent was maxed out.

Not long after.

Blood, Bai Huahua brains, and stiff corpses had nearly spread across the entire interior of the town hall.

Every tax inspector had their skull blasted apart.

In the office of the old gentleman Humbert.

The corpse of a Yige Sect tax inspector in a white clerical robe lay sprawled across the desk.

Rod's shoe stuck and pulled up a smear of blood, stamping out an air-pressed shoe print on the floor.

He picked up a seal on the desk that symbolized Humbert himself.

Beside it sat an ink pad, and a fresh red seal on a contract document — one that framed him for colluding with Abyssal demons and sacrificing the former residents of Coral Bay — glowed with an eerie cold light.

"Boring."

Rod gave a cold snort.

As an important member of Shi Ying town's management, Humbert had no class strength — he was merely an ordinary human.

Compared to the witch Dimia, who had the backing of the Agul family, and Rod, who possessed astonishing strength, Humbert was indeed a rather nice appetizer in the eyes of the conscription corps.

Humbert had been involved with his own stepdaughter — his private morals were hardly anything to brag about.

Rod didn't much care for that stepdaughter of his, Tobecca, either.

But the old tortoise-man understood the big picture and was experienced; he had been of no small help to Shi Ying town and Coral Bay. By any sense of reason, anyone wanting to frame him would have to get past Rod first.

"Should we burn it, Master?"

"Don't bother with it. The identity we're playing is escaped convicts out for revenge — tampering with documents doesn't fit our persona."

"Aren't we supposed to be turning against them? Why still care about this?"

Tally didn't quite get it, tilting her head so her twin ponytails swayed in the air.

"What turning against? We're respectable businessmen."

Rod shook his head. "These past few days you've also seen the bards coming to Dusk Hills — news travels fast across the continent. At the very least, we can't turn against them openly.

Besides, for them the cost of forging collusion documents is too low. We can burn one, but we can't burn a second, a third, a fourth. I have an idea."

Before he could finish speaking.

Rod's 【Spider Sense】 blared red!

He turned his head and saw, just outside the ornate window behind the desk, a figure with flowing black hair floating in midair.

A long blade as tall as an adult was drawn from its sheath, and a bright-white, razor-sharp Refined Edge radiance gushed out into the lightless night.

Hiss—

A piercing, shrill whistle pierced straight through the office wall from outside and slammed into his ears.

Rod shoved Tally aside and bared his teeth in a cold grin.

His burly arms were swiftly coated by the liquid metal of Slime Xiao Hei — cold, overbearing, domineering.

He whipped his body around and slammed out a punch!

(End of this chapter)