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The moment these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd took another step back in unison, their faces filled with fear.
It was no joke—even a superior swordsman of the Sword God style had been defeated. Were they supposed to step forward and throw their lives away?
Behind the crowd, a thief who had only mastered the lower levels of the Sword God style knew he was outmatched. Taking advantage of the human wall in front of him, he turned and tried to flee.
But just as he turned around, a sharp whistling sound erupted behind his ear, followed by a piercing explosion of air right at the back of his head!
In the corner of his vision, he saw something gleaming flash past and disappear into the distant woods.
He froze for a moment, feeling a chill run down his side. The sound of liquid splattering on the ground reached his ears. Instinctively, he turned around and saw the horrified gazes of the people around him.
His mouth opened in shock, as if he had realized something. He looked down.
A crimson fountain of blood was gushing from his chest. The proud pectoral muscles he had always boasted about were gone, replaced by a gaping, bloody hole.
Chunks of blood and organs spilled from his mouth as he struggled to turn and look at the crowd behind him.
The faces of his "comrades" blurred in his vision, but for some reason, the figure of the seemingly harmless killer in the distance was crystal clear.
The killer's hand was outstretched, frozen in the motion of a throwing stance. Seeing the thief look his way, the killer even smiled from afar.
The thief's vision darkened.
With a dull thud, the mutilated corpse collapsed to the ground like a rag.
The crowd shifted their gaze from the corpse to the perpetrator of this shocking North God-style throwing technique.
Allen slowly retracted his outstretched hand. The sword of the corpse's owner was now missing, and a faint green light flickered briefly across his body, almost imperceptible.
The night wind howled, but his voice cut through the chaos with clarity.
"Let me remind you all: tonight, you have only two choices."
"One, kneel down and offer your necks for slaughter."
"Two, kill me."
"Until then..."
Allen glanced at the stunned expressions of the people in front of him. His blade, reflecting the firelight, pointed over their heads toward the grim-faced Leopard in the distance.
"No one leaves."
"So... my suggestion is that you all come at me together. After all..."
Allen sheathed his sword, licking the blood off his face.
"I'm in a hurry."
Silence fell.
The thieves looked at each other, unsure of what to do, caught between advancing and retreating.
At the back of the crowd, Grey Hawk and Leopard exchanged a knowing glance. In the deep darkness of the night, they could see the gravity etched on each other's faces.
Grey Hawk took a deep breath, about to shout something, but the wind blew dust into his eyes.
Leopard moved!
A whirlwind of sand erupted at his feet as he shot forward, leaping high into the air! His blade drew a long arc of light through the firelight, the edge whistling as it descended toward Allen from above.
'Perception.'
Allen looked up and smiled. The forest fell silent. The bewildered expressions of the thieves had just begun to form when Leopard's slender figure, like a tiger pouncing from its cage, brought his blade down in a fierce slash!
The gleam of the blade danced in Allen's narrowed pupils.
'North God Style Counter-Slash Technique—Avalanche Descent.'
'A swift, overhead slash favored by practical combatants, with all the aura concentrated on the blade, creating an explosive, wide-ranging impact...'
'The grip on the sword is changing. Is he unskilled? Or is this a feint?'
As these thoughts flashed through Allen's mind, the wind pressure from Leopard's attack collided violently with his body. Just as the blade was about to strike Allen's neck, Allen's own sword was already poised in front of his face.
It perfectly intercepted the path of Leopard's blade.
In that instant, a sharp glint flashed in Leopard's cunning eyes.
With a loud clang, Leopard's blade was deflected by Allen!
But the attacker had already let go of his sword! At the moment of the clash, Leopard had abandoned his weapon! His body twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding Allen's blade, and landed on all fours beside Allen with a brutal crash!
Amid the shattered stones, Leopard lunged toward Allen's side!
At the same time, a dagger gleaming with cold light was thrust toward Allen's ribs.
But before he could strike, Leopard's expression changed. He abandoned the dagger for the second time, flipping backward like an acrobat and landing on his hands to put distance between himself and Allen.
In the next second, a sharp screech erupted between the two!
The dagger in mid-air was shattered by Allen's counter-slash and pinned to the ground. Allen calmly pulled his blade from the fragments and turned to look at Leopard, who had retreated to a safe distance.
Leopard, now holding a sword he had snatched from a nearby comrade, looked somewhat disheveled. But a faint smile crept onto his lips.
"...I thought your so-called original secret technique had improved. That's why I tested you. Turns out, you deliberately interrupted your flow technique and switched to a Sword God-style wrist strike to target my hand... But it seems you're not fast enough..."
Allen chuckled indifferently.
"Avalanche Descent? Mediocre. The four-legged stance? Interesting. But then again, someone who focuses on the flashy techniques of the North God style would never grasp the essence of practical combat. Maybe you should stick to digging like a dog—it suits you better."
Leopard's smile faded, and a hint of resentment flashed in his cunning eyes.
"You're not as silent as the rumors say. That mouth of yours is quite sharp."
Allen blinked.
"Likewise."
As Leopard spoke, the seriousness on his face had mostly disappeared. He deliberately raised his voice.
"If you can interrupt your flow technique to counter me alone, what will you do when everyone attacks you at once? Will you still dare to interrupt your flow technique then?"
Without waiting for Allen to respond, Leopard immediately shouted.
"Did you all see my test just now? This guy is good at Water God-style defense, but his counters aren't fast, and he can't use the Silent Blade! As long as we attack him with enough force, he'll be helpless! Once we get that thousand gold coins, we can all live it up in Rigett!"
Most of the thieves here practiced the North God or Sword God styles. After witnessing Leopard's earlier exchange, they had also noticed Allen's weakness.
This guy really did seem to be waiting for someone to come at him, and his taunts seemed like a tactical ploy...
Once this thought took root, it couldn't be shaken.
The lure of a thousand gold coins was too strong. They instinctively justified their earlier defeat in their minds, giving themselves a reason to charge forward.
For example, that Sword God-style thief's Silent Blade had been "barely passable." Sure, a few more people might die if they all attacked, but it wouldn't be them. As long as they were careful, that thousand gold would be theirs for the taking.
They felt confident again.
As the thieves began to rally, Leopard subtly furrowed his brow and stepped back, positioning the others in front of him. He exchanged a silent glance with Grey Hawk, who was standing not far away.
Allen, however, watched Leopard's movements with amusement. He had remained silent, content to let this scene play out.
If this had been before, taking on so many people in one night would have been impossible. At best, he could have relied on his superior aura quality to pick them off one by one in the forest, like he had during the ambush at Red Dragon's Jaw.
But this forest wasn't too far from town. Some of them might escape and expose his whereabouts, which would be troublesome.
However... things were different now...
Some things had undergone a qualitative change over the past few months.
Like his improvement in swordsmanship.
Like the healing magic runes.
And like...
His "advanced" original secret technique.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 110 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 100 power stones I will publish the next chapter.