Chapter 62

Sword.

The sword cut through the void, letting the air emit a mournful cry.

The indistinct golden shadow surged forth, submerging all the monsters, drowning them in a tide of golden threads.

A fierce wind howled, leaving nothing but blood and flesh.

Only the monster leader in the center managed to block all the golden threads.

Unfortunately—

This was just the prelude to the sudden rise of the sword's edge; the true move was hidden behind it.

The cold, murderous edge of the sword, like a dragon emerging from the sea, extended from the surging golden light and stabbed forward with a light, casual thrust.

Zeng.

The long sword pierced through the monster leader's skull.

This strike was simple and unadorned, relying solely on speed, but it utilized the full force of "accumulated momentum."

It contained all the sword techniques known to Wu Xiaode!

—The moment the long sword pierced the monster's skull, it trembled thirty-six times, completely destroying the internal structure of the monster's skull.

It wasn't until the skull was pierced that the monster's body reacted, flailing its arms and legs, but since its owner was already dead, these movements quickly subsided.

The long sword steadily held the monster's corpse, gently placing it on the mound of earth before slowly withdrawing.

Mist quietly spread, enveloping the corpse.

The corpse instantly vanished.

All the monster corpses disappeared.

In front of the pit of corpses, only two men remained, kneeling on the ground.

These events, though described slowly, actually happened in the span of a single breath.

Crows quietly appeared, excitedly flying around the monster corpses.

The Book of the Dead immediately opened.

Rows of icy crystal letters quickly appeared on the pages:

"You have killed 9 monsters, one of which was powerful."

"You need to kill one more monster to return."

"The crows have absorbed their soul power and temporarily stored it in themselves, to give it to you when you need it."

Immediately, the crow's voice came through:

"Brother, I won't give you the soul power for now, to prevent your limit from increasing and making it impossible for you to return."

"Understood, thanks," Wu Xiaode said.

He stood in the endless mist, looking at the two human men.

The two men had their eyes closed, silently sensing the transformation of their bodies, but suddenly realized that the transformation had ended.

"What's going on...?"

One man opened his eyes and looked around.

There was nothing on the mound of earth.

The surroundings were silent.

No one was there.

The monsters had all disappeared.

The man urgently nudged his companion.

His companion also opened his eyes and found nothing around, not even the monster leader.

Mist began to appear in the forest.

"Strange, what's happening!"

The two men were bewildered and at a loss.

Wu Xiaode pondered for a moment, sheathed his sword, and walked step by step into the pit of corpses, coming to the body of the woman.

He knelt on one knee and said softly, "Hello, I am a martial artist from the S-Class Club."

"The single strike was too quick; this time, I prefer to use a different method. If you are still here..."

"Please give me some advice."

The body did not move.

All the bodies remained still.

Wu Xiaode did not move either.

He just waited quietly.

After a few moments,

A mountain breeze blew, gently sweeping through the forest.

The wind lifted the fallen leaves, scattered the dust, and entered the pit of corpses.

The woman's hair gently fluttered.

She still could not move at all.

She was dead.

But the wind was too strong, blowing into her eyes, causing the tears in her eye sockets to silently roll down her cheeks.

On her wrist, the wind's force made the red cord twist and turn.

It was already loosely tied, and after the mountain breeze's gentle caress, it gradually came undone, falling to the ground beside Wu Xiaode.

"I understand."

Wu Xiaode said, picking up the red cord and wrapping it around his black glove, circle by circle.

As he wrapped his fist, he stood up and walked step by step back to the two men.

The two men were secretly anxious, not knowing where the monster lord who had been standing in front of them had gone.

One hesitated and said, "Should we look for him?"

As he spoke, he started to stand up but saw a black glove rapidly approaching his face.

Dong—

The man's face was struck, his entire body flying and crashing into a tree, then falling to the ground.

Fortunately, he had already transformed into a monster, so this punch did not kill him.

Boom!

Flames erupted on his body, burning with a "crackling" sound.

"Ah! Help! Someone save me!"

The man was engulfed in the flames, rolling frantically.

Wu Xiaode watched silently, as if hearing those words again in his ears.

"It will delay for a few seconds upon impact, causing flames to burst around the target. The harder the impact, the more intense the flames—come back tomorrow to have your martial artist pick it up."

The woman wrapped the red cord around her wrist, tied a knot, and said with a smile,

"It's useless in our hands, so we'll give it to your martial artist. We hope he can help us kill more monsters."

She had said this before.

But she and her child were dead.

Wu Xiaode clenched his fist, wrapping the red cord tighter and tighter.

The other man, kneeling on the ground, sensing something was wrong, stood up and hurriedly tried to escape.

Wu Xiaode's figure flashed, he caught up, and clenched his fist.

One punch.

His fist lightly struck the man's face, making a soft "peng" sound.

The punch was so light that the man did not move at all.

In the next instant,

Whoosh—

Flames attached to his face, starting to burn.

"Ah!"

The man let out a high-pitched scream, desperately covering his face with his hands.

Wu Xiaode said nothing, just continued punching—

Each punch was faster than the last, but the force was light, so the man did not fly away, only standing there, continuously being hit.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Wu Xiaode's hands became a blur, and he did not know how many punches he had thrown before stepping back.

Boom—

Flames spread over the man's entire body, turning him into a blazing inferno.

His screams never stopped.

Wu Xiaode threw another punch.

The man was instantly sent flying, landing beside his companion.

The flames

connected.

"Sir! Please calm down, please calm down! We have always been working for you!"

The man shouted desperately.

His companion, rolling on the ground in pain, shouted, "Lords, lords! We are the most loyal servants, what did we do wrong? If you say, we will correct it immediately!"

The two men gritted their teeth, enduring the burning flames, and knelt, banging their heads on the ground.

Suddenly,

A voice responded to them.

"Your attitude is good, I am very satisfied."

The two men were relieved.

But the surrounding void quietly filled with thick mist.

The mist dispersed.

Wu Xiaode stood opposite the pit of corpses, expressionless, and said,

"If I were a monster, I would think you were quite good, but unfortunately, I am human."

The two men were speechless.

—If a human were to kill them, they indeed had no defense.

But they still had the instinct to survive.

"Spare us! Spare us!"

"Whatever you want me to do, I will do it, please spare my life!"

The two men begged hysterically.

No response.

The surroundings were silent.

Wu Xiaode disappeared into the mist again.

Whenever the flames on their bodies were about to go out, he would beat them fiercely.

Their bodies were already half-transformed into monsters, so they did not die easily, only enduring the burning flames continuously.

The screams never stopped.

Wu Xiaode never stopped either.

A few minutes later,

A "rustling" sound came from the distance.

The grass parted.

A young girl appeared beside the pit of corpses.

As she appeared, Wu Xiaode also revealed himself.

"Captain," Wu Xiaode said.

The girl glanced at the pit of corpses, then at the two young men whose bodies were beginning to transform into monsters.

She immediately understood what had happened.

"Where are the monsters?" she asked.

"They abandoned them," Wu Xiaode said.

"It's impossible, they clearly said that if we cooperated, they would take us with them!" one man couldn't help but shout.

"Did they really abandon them?"

The girl's gaze shifted, seemingly observing the surroundings, but her words aligned with Wu Xiaode's.

Wu Xiaode nodded and said,

"The monsters were originally going to take them, but I told the monsters that since these two could betray their own kind, why shouldn't the monsters betray them?"

The two men held their breath, listening.

"What did the monsters say?" the girl asked, as expected.

"They agreed with my point of view and decided to leave these traitors to me," Wu Xiaode said.

The two men fell into complete despair.

The girl glanced into the pit of corpses and sighed, "That sister and I had a past; I even gave her clothes when her child was born. Sigh, it's really a pity."

Wu Xiaode said nothing.

The girl looked at him and said, "Give me your glove, I'll sew the red cord into it. This will increase your punching speed and also give it the power of fire."

"Alright," Wu Xiaode said.

He took off his glove and gave it to the girl along with the red cord.

The girl took out a dagger and a sewing kit, and began working on the glove.

By the time the two men had screamed for a while, the girl had already started sewing the red cord into the black glove.

"Xiao Wu, bring me two heads, I'll pay respects to these friends," she said, focused on her work, without looking up.

"Alright," Wu Xiaode said.

The Dream-Cutting Sword flashed, and a long, graceful arc of golden light shot out from the blade.

The screaming abruptly stopped.

Two heads shot up into the air and landed in the mud outside the pit of corpses.

Wu Xiaode placed the heads neatly in front of the pit, and said, "We are members of the S-Class Club, and we are paying respects to our friends as per the captain's request. May you rest in peace."

The girl stopped her work, clasped her hands together, and softly recited something.

Silence reigned.

The Book of the Dead quietly fell in front of Wu Xiaode, opening to reveal a line of icy crystal letters:

"They saw it."

Who?

Saw what?

Wu Xiaode was momentarily confused.

Suddenly, without warning—

Multiple figures appeared around them.

They had translucent forms, as if still alive, with expressions of sorrow and relief, surrounding Wu Xiaode.

A phantom lamp suddenly appeared in the air.

The moment it appeared, it emitted a loud "clang" and quickly transformed into a fierce starlight.

One, two, three, four.

Four stars hovered above the pit of corpses, quickly scattering into countless points of light, merging into the Book of the Dead.

The pages turned automatically, revealing more icy crystal letters.