Chapter 5: Sword Intent
Instantly, the entire battlefield fell into dead silence.
More than ten Highgods were killed by a single move at the same time—this was simply an unbelievable event!
"How is that possible?" Linley’s eyes bulged wide. "Even if using a soul attack, you can only attack one person at most. How did those ten-plus Highgods all fall from midair at once? What exactly happened just now?" Linley was now filled with regret.
He regretted not seeing that sword strike.
"Run!"
"Run!"
The divine clones that emerged from the corpses of eight Highgods fled in terror in all directions. Having witnessed the terrifying sword strike just now, they didn’t even have the courage to resist.
"Too strong, too terrifying."
These Highgods truly felt the fear of death.
"Flee?" Reihom said indifferently, watching the eight divine clones fly away, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Suddenly—
He drew his sword!
In an instant, eight black sword shadows streaked across the sky, flashing past the eight divine clones in different directions. The clones continued charging forward, but their bodies were directly split in two, then fell from midair.
Blood splattered across the sky.
"That sword!" Linley’s pupils contracted sharply as his mind frantically replayed that strike.
That terrifying, nearly invincible sword strike!
Linley’s mind flashed through the move like lightning—that extreme speed, that erupting volcanic sword intent. The moment the sword was drawn, the move naturally exploded outward… completely unstoppable. Wherever the sword shadow passed, everything was destroyed.
"Is this the Way of Destruction?" Linley shook his head repeatedly. "Not quite, it seems more like…"
Linley’s mind continuously tried to break down this move, delving deeper and deeper, but the more he studied it… the more he gained some insights, yet also more confusion.
At this moment, the leader of the bandit gang, the red-robed burly man, had long since fled. He had shouted for attack, but all his subordinates had charged forward. He himself had stayed in the back the whole time, never engaging. When he saw that devastating sword strike, he immediately chose—
Flee!
"What a terrifying bastard. That sword strike killed over a dozen Highgods at once!" The red-robed man was also filled with fear. "If I had been even a little slower, I would have been killed by that horrible demon too. Those two old men—how did they hire such a fearsome demon?"
The red-robed man narrowed his eyes slightly. "This demon is so powerful. This time, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask the young master’s teacher, Mr. Wind, to personally handle it."
"Hmph." The red-robed man glanced back. "Those fools thought Viona’s money was easy to earn? They might have taken the money, but they won’t live to spend it. Too bad, the twelve Highgod subordinates the young master gave me are all dead now."
This red-robed man was Viona, a subordinate of Inigo.
As for the bandit army, Viona had used money to invite several major bandit groups to form a coalition. At the time, Viona had brought twelve Highgods, while the bandit groups combined had only seven or eight Highgods.
Especially since Viona offered a huge sum of money.
These bandits naturally joined in, and over this period, they had already committed many robberies together.
"Hurry back and have that kid notify the young master immediately." Viona immediately flew toward his residence.
With two divine clones in two locations, the transmission speed was naturally very fast. Inigo could easily and quickly grasp the situation of Linley’s metallic lifeform.
With the bandit leaders almost entirely killed, especially after Reihom’s sword strike, the bandits’ morale completely collapsed. They fled in terror in all directions. In moments… not a single bandit remained nearby.
"They sure run fast!" Bebe snorted.
"This Reihom…" Salomon was also shocked, staring at Reihom in midair. Reihom still wore a cold expression, as if nothing had happened. Indeed, for Reihom, such a minor challenge was nothing.
"Linley?" Delia called softly.
But at this moment, Linley was completely immersed in the shock and insight from that sword strike. How could he notice Delia’s call? "Hey, what’s wrong with boss?" Bebe also noticed Linley’s odd state. Beside him, Nisse laughed, "Bebe, maybe your boss was scared silly by Reihom’s sword strike and is stunned." Nisse deliberately teased.
Bebe glared at her. "What do you know? My boss must have gained some insight."
At this point, Linley also snapped back to clarity.
"Linley, are you alright?" Delia noticed Linley’s expression seemed strange.
"I’m fine." Linley quickly shook his head with a smile. "I was just thinking about something. I thought I might break through, but I was wrong." He glanced at Reihom in the distance, a hint of shock and confusion in his eyes. "That sword…"
Linley also used a sword, and even his soul was sword-shaped.
He had a unique feeling for sword intent.
"I’ve only just started with the Laws of Fire, not even reaching godhood yet. I’m probably wrong." Linley silently committed those lightning-fast eight sword strikes to memory. With his current strength, he couldn’t yet see through the profound mysteries of that sword.
Salomon said calmly, "Linley, are you surprised by Reihom’s sword? Indeed, that strike of his has definitely reached a very high level in the Way of Destruction."
"The Way of Destruction?" Linley raised an eyebrow.
"What, you can’t sense that aura of destruction?" Salomon asked.
"I can sense it." Linley replied but said no more.
"He can sense it and still be surprised?" Salomon was a bit puzzled but didn’t voice it.
Soon, the surviving demons began gathering around Reihom, the black-horned silver-haired elder, and the others. In moments, over fifty demons had assembled.
The black-horned silver-haired elder and the white-horned silver-haired elder exchanged glances, both showing a hint of worry in their eyes. They had vaguely guessed… why so many bandits had come to attack them. Normally, bandit groups wouldn’t attack such a large group of demons.
The black-horned silver-haired elder spoke loudly, "Everyone, I apologize for encountering so many bandits on the way. In just a short while, over sixty demons have died. Fortunately, we have Mr. Reihom and Edwards and the others…"
"Once we reach Blue Maple City, we will increase the reward."
After he finished, a golden light flashed, and the metallic lifeform appeared again in midair. But clearly… its size had shrunk by one level.
The demons filed in one by one, entering the metallic lifeform.
Soon, the metallic lifeform set off again. Demons lived a life on the edge of a blade. Having cultivated for long years, they all wanted to live more exciting lives and reach the peak of the Infernal Realm. Life and death to them…
Yes, they were unwilling to face death. When insurmountable danger came, demons would flee.
But when death truly arrived, they wouldn’t fear it.
After all, since becoming demons, every one of them had been prepared!
"That black-horned old man has some conscience, knowing to increase our pay." Bebe snorted. "I always feel this escort mission isn’t simple."
Linley nodded as well. "Right. When we first took the mission, we only saw that it required a hundred one-star and two-star demons. Who would have thought… there would also be four-star, five-star, and six-star demons participating!" Linley understood that such group missions were divided into parts.
Just like the battle at Moon Lake Castle.
Linley and the others were responsible for dealing with the Gold-Robed Guards, while the powerful Highgod demons handled the Black-Robed Guards and even the castle master.
This mission, involving a six-star demon, wouldn’t be simple either.
"We’re already on board, so what’s the point of thinking about it?" Salomon shook his head. "If we had faced the bandit siege earlier, we could have taken the chance to escape. But now, we’re already on the metallic lifeform. If we back out now… it would be a disgrace."
Cowardice and retreat.
That would definitely become a laughingstock.
"Let’s all focus on training and preparing." Linley said seriously. "No matter what, even if we encounter enemies, their main target won’t be us, but the black-horned and white-horned old men. We just need to do our best to protect ourselves."
Linley had no intention of protecting the employers. After all…
Those two old men were Highgods themselves, while Linley and the others were only Midgods.
"Yeah."
Everyone nodded, then dispersed to their own rooms to begin training. Only Linley and Delia remained in the room.
"I wonder why those two old men chose us Midgod demons." Linley still had some doubts. "Never mind that. I just need to protect Delia and Bebe." He looked at Delia, then closed his eyes to start training.
"I hope I can break through the bottleneck of the Speed Profound Mystery soon, so I’ll have a better chance of protecting myself." Linley silently thought.
Inside the courtyard.
Inigo received news from his subordinate Viona’s side. Inigo frowned deeply. "I didn’t expect those two old men to have invited such a powerful demon. With his Way of Destruction at that level, he’s probably a five-star or six-star demon."
Inigo didn’t dare think of a seven-star demon.
Because seven-star demons, as titled supreme experts, lacked neither money nor rank. They generally didn’t take missions.
"Inigo." A green-robed elder suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
Seeing the newcomer, Inigo immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Teacher, the results from Viona’s side are in…" Inigo then clearly recounted the battle to his teacher.
The green-robed elder frowned slightly. "Oh? A practitioner of the Way of Destruction who can kill over a dozen Highgods with one sword? Such strength is indeed troublesome." Though the elder was a bit worried about the opponent’s power, he didn’t feel it was insurmountable.
"Teacher, do you think you can handle it?" Inigo asked softly.
The green-robed elder pondered. "Since he took the mission, that demon shouldn’t be a seven-star. If he’s a six-star demon… I should be able to defeat him. But from your description of that sword strike’s power, his attack is too strong. I can’t confront him head-on."
"No need for a head-on confrontation, Teacher. You just need to kill those two old men." Inigo quickly said.
The green-robed elder nodded slightly. "If that’s the case, I have confidence. I just need to trap that demon for a while."
"Then everything depends on you, Teacher." Inigo said gratefully.
The green-robed elder smiled faintly.
"Hmm?" Linley opened his eyes. "Why do I feel uneasy?"
For no reason, Linley felt a sense of panic. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
Delia also opened her eyes. "Linley, what’s wrong?"
Linley looked out the window. "Nothing much. I just felt a bit restless during training." Below the metallic lifeform stretched an endless desert, with howling winds and swirling yellow sand.
The metallic lifeform flew at extreme speed.
"You feel it too?" Delia said in surprise. "I also feel a bit anxious."
But at that moment, the swirling sand completely engulfed the metallic lifeform. The demons inside hadn’t paid much attention to the sand, but the moment the sand enveloped it, the entire metallic lifeform suddenly—
"Boom!"
Exploded!