Chapter 2

A group of several hundred people marched grandly towards the valley where the Giant Rock Demon resided. Apart from Baron Malon and his few confidants, the rest were all cannon fodder like Bai Cangdong, who had been temporarily rounded up.

The valley was barren, with not a single blade of grass, and black-brown rocks were exposed everywhere. The valley was filled with two-meter-tall Rock Demons, whose bodies were entirely made of rock. A Giant Rock Demon, over five meters tall, sat on a huge rock, seemingly asleep.

"You, you, and you... charge into the valley and kill those Rock Demons," Baron Malon pointed at the cannon fodder and shouted loudly.

Bai Cangdong had no choice but to follow the crowd into the valley. Most of these people were unarmed, and the few who had weapons had only a couple of pieces of poor-quality equipment. How could they possibly fight against the incredibly strong Rock Demons?

"What can I do? Rushing in like this is no different from suicide." Bai Cangdong saw the group about to reach the Rock Demons. Noticing a narrow rock crevice nearby, he quickly rolled into it without hesitation.

If he weren't afraid of overacting, Bai Cangdong would have shouted, "I'm dead!"

Some people had already reached the Rock Demons, and everyone's attention was drawn to the battle. No one noticed Bai Cangdong rolling to the side and pretending to be dead. Under Baron Malon's urging, the group engaged the Rock Demons in fierce combat.

The Rock Demons were incredibly tough and powerful. Unarmed ordinary people were no match for them. A few people surrounding a single Rock Demon couldn't even defeat it. Soon, the cannon fodder was routed, with limbs and bodies scattered everywhere, while only two or three Rock Demons had been killed.

"Useless trash," Baron Malon cursed and instructed his confidants to prepare for battle.

These few people summoned their equipment, all of which included armor and weapons. Although they were not uniform, they were far superior to the cannon fodder.

When these people charged to cut down the Rock Demons, they were indeed much stronger. While several cannon fodder couldn't handle a single Rock Demon, these people quickly killed at least one each.

Baron Malon looked pleased but still didn't join the fight.

"Boom!" The large number of Rock Demons being killed enraged the Giant Rock Demon, who stood up and charged towards the group, causing the valley to shake with each step due to his massive size.

"Ah!" A huge fist smashed down, and one person tried to block it with his armed shield. Both the person and the shield were crushed into pieces, blood splattering everywhere.

"Damn it." Baron Malon was very upset. It was one thing for his confidants to die, but the equipment they wore was hard to come by, and he was heartbroken to see it destroyed.

No longer watching from the sidelines, Baron Malon summoned his equipment: a shiny golden armor, a flaming arm guard, and a pure white greatsword, even his boots were black metal equipment.

"Kill!" Baron Malon leaped up, raised his greatsword, and slashed down, instantly splitting a Rock Demon in two.

His strength was so great that Bai Cangdong, who was pretending to be dead, felt extremely envious.

"You deal with the Rock Demons; I'll handle the Giant Rock Demon." Baron Malon charged at the Giant Rock Demon, his greatsword slashing rapidly, cutting off chunks of rock from its body.

With Baron Malon keeping the Giant Rock Demon occupied, the others quickly killed the Rock Demons. Soon, the Rock Demons were all dead, leaving behind many life scales, but no one paid attention to them, as they all rushed to help Baron Malon.

The group attacked the Giant Rock Demon for a long time, cutting off many rock fragments, but the Giant Rock Demon continued to swing its huge fists at them, showing no signs of falling.

"Lord Baron, something seems off. The Giant Rock Demon's body seems to be self-repairing. Look at the places we cut; they have all returned to their original state. I've never heard of the Giant Rock Demon having this ability," a confidant said suspiciously.

"Who knows why the Giant Rock Demon has this ability, but we must kill it. I need the Giant Rock Demon's armor; otherwise, I'll have no face in front of the other barons," Baron Malon roared. "You surround the Giant Rock Demon and hold it in place. I'll go up and cut off its head, and see if it can still repair itself."

The confidants' faces showed bitterness. They had often bullied others while clinging to Baron Malon's power, but now it was their turn to be cannon fodder.

Daring not to disobey Baron Malon's orders, the confidants rushed forward, surrounding the Giant Rock Demon and preventing it from moving freely.

The Giant Rock Demon was enraged, bent down, and smashed its huge fists down, instantly killing two people.

"Right now." Taking advantage of the Giant Rock Demon bending down, Baron Malon leaped up and slashed his pure white greatsword at its neck.

Crack!

The Giant Rock Demon's head was cut off and fell to the ground, creating a pit in the rock.

"Ha ha!" Baron Malon laughed, holding his greatsword.

Boom!

Before Baron Malon could finish laughing, the headless Giant Rock Demon suddenly swung its huge fists, smashing into his head. Completely unprepared, Baron Malon's head was instantly crushed, and his equipment was shattered.

The headless Giant Rock Demon burst into flames, burning everything in its path, including the remaining people, who were burned to death before the Giant Rock Demon even moved.

The headless Giant Rock Demon, engulfed in flames, returned to the depths of the valley. Bai Cangdong, who had hidden in the rock crevice, finally dared to come out. Just as he was about to leave the valley, he saw Baron Malon's pure white greatsword lying nearby. All the other equipment had been destroyed, but the greatsword remained intact.

Bai Cangdong rushed over, picked up the greatsword, and fled the valley without looking back.

"The pure white knight greatsword, a greatsword with the knight's unwavering belief, cannot be destroyed." Back at home, Bai Cangdong almost couldn't contain his excitement. From the markings on the sword, it was clear that this was a baron-level piece of equipment, of immeasurable value.

"Rock Brother, you're awesome." Bai Cangdong played with the greatsword, reluctant to put it away. He was undecided whether to sell it for life scales or keep it for himself.

"The design of this greatsword is too distinctive; many people know it belongs to Baron Malon. If I sell it, I might be suspected of killing Baron Malon. It's better to keep it for myself," Bai Cangdong found a reason to keep the pure white knight greatsword.

Putting away the greatsword, Bai Cangdong summoned his sword case and carefully examined the Painful Blade Technique. The more he looked, the more fascinated he became. This was an extremely refined blade technique that required high control, with the ability to dance on the tip of a blade being the entry point.

Moreover, this blade technique came with a map of human pain points. When using this technique, one did not aim for fatal points but for these pain points, causing unbearable pain and making it difficult to control oneself. Even with full strength, one could only exert a fraction of it.

"This is a terrifying blade technique, but this is the World of Light's Stairs, not the World of Dark's Stairs, where killing others can gain life scales. The Painful Blade Technique only has a map of human pain points, not of the Undead, clearly making it a technique from the World of Dark's Stairs," Bai Cangdong felt a bit regretful.

"Never mind, the Undead also have pain and other sensations. Since the technique doesn't have their pain points, I'll experiment and find them myself." Having finally obtained a martial technique, Bai Cangdong didn't want to give it up because of its flaws.

Practicing the blade technique was a very tedious task, especially one that required such high control. It required a lot of time and repeated practice.

What others found painful, Bai Cangdong found enjoyable. Every day, except for eating, drinking, and using the bathroom, he spent almost all his time practicing with a wooden sword, with only a short time for rest and sleep.

At first, he made rapid progress, but after half a month, no matter how hard he practiced, his control over the blade technique did not improve.

Bai Cangdong knew he had reached a bottleneck. Without a special method, further practice would not bring significant improvement.

After much thought, Bai Cangdong suddenly remembered the pure white knight greatsword he had kept.

"When I practice with a light wooden sword, it's naturally easier to control. If I practice with the heavy pure white knight greatsword, the difficulty will increase. If I can control the greatsword as easily as the wooden sword, my control will greatly improve when I use a lighter blade."

Thinking and doing, Bai Cangdong discarded the wooden sword and started practicing the Painful Blade Technique with the pure white knight greatsword.

The difficulty was even greater than he had imagined. The Painful Blade Technique was a one-handed technique, while the pure white knight greatsword was a two-handed greatsword, and even heavier than a regular one. Using such a heavy greatsword to practice the Painful Blade Technique, just lifting the greatsword with one hand was already very difficult.

For the first few days, Bai Cangdong could only lift the greatsword with one hand, without the strength to swing it. When his right hand couldn't hold it, he switched to his left, and when his left hand couldn't hold it, he switched back to his right. After about half a month, he could barely swing the greatsword for a short while, but he was still far from using the blade technique.

"Open the door! Open the door!" The urgent knocking and impatient shouting woke Bai Cangdong, who had been deeply asleep after a day of practice.

Hearing the hateful voice, Bai Cangdong knew it was time to pay the protection fee.

Dawlong City belonged to Baron Dawlong. To live in Dawlong City, one had to pay a certain amount of life scales to Baron Dawlong every month.