Extermination

Before returning to the inn, He Zhao made a special trip to the herbal shop. After talking with the shopkeeper for half the day with his silver tongue and paying several bearer banknotes worth a hundred taels each, he left in a hurry with a bag in hand.

After storing the items in his room, changing into another set of clothes, and disguising himself, he finally went out to scout the area.

Before night fell, he returned without incident. Unlike before, however, there was less loose silver in his bag.

Six hours passed in the blink of an eye.

[Bronze Man Stance: 4801/10000 (Mastery)]

[Unknown Breathing Technique: 4801/10000 (Mastery)]

[Original Blood Warrior: 11.2%]

He then took out the bag he had bought from the herbal shop, pulled out a medical book, and began reading the Poisons Chapter.

"Plants, trees, stones, and minerals can all be used to poison. They are divided into five categories. The first is metals and stones, the second is herbal medicines, the third..."

In a daze, it was already two in the morning.

He Zhao put away the book, secretly thinking that he should have gone to the herbal shop earlier!

Otherwise, why would he have needed to personally get his hands dirty?

After checking his equipment, he carefully slipped out of the inn through the window and vanished into the darkness.

Avoiding the soldiers who patrolled with painstaking vigilance along the way, it took him a full half hour to barely reach Zhang Family Manor.

'According to the information provided by nearby residents, the women and children of the Zhang Family had already left Wancheng early under the escort of private soldiers. They are at their weakest now. Of the three hundred private soldiers, only one hundred remain.

'A small portion of them are equipped with blades, but have no armor for protection. Most use modified clubs with ridged ends. They pose little threat.'

There had to be Secret Blood Warriors in the manor. He simply did not know how strong they were.

Of course, He Zhao was not afraid. Setting aside the fact that a mere Simulation Scenario could not harm his real life, what if there truly was an expert? If he could not win, he could run!

Holding the short blade he had brought out of the Qinghe Spirit Realm, he easily vaulted over the two-meter-high wall and landed without a sound.

Not far ahead, a squad of ten passed by carrying lanterns. None of them spoke. Their discipline was decent.

Ruthless He Zhao reached into his robes and took out the Jade Register. After injecting Spirit Power into it, two whirlwinds supported his feet.

"Whoosh—"

A figure, concealed by the night, closed in on the squad almost instantly.

Before they could react, a flash of blade light burst forth and slashed again and again.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

The captain at the front, carrying a lantern and wearing a steel blade at his waist, had no time to react. He only felt a chill at his neck before his entire world plunged into darkness.

The squad members behind him saw a blur before muffled groans rang out one after another.

"Thud!"

Ten men. Five seconds. Wiped out.

He Zhao casually flicked the blood droplets from his short blade and continued forward without a word.

His own speed was 6, the Jade Register added 5, nighttime combat added 5, making 16 in total.

Even if the Zhang Family's private soldiers ate and drank well and trained without interruption, at most they could reach 2.

With speed eight times that of an ordinary person, their confrontation was in truth a one-sided slaughter!

As Ruthless He Zhao pressed deeper inside, blossoms of blood splashed into the air.

His methods of killing grew increasingly proficient, as though some instinct buried deep in his bones was awakening.

Five minutes. Ten squads annihilated.

Even He Zhao, the instigator himself, was shocked by his results.

Too fast!

Was this what a Secret Blood Warrior was?

Killing people was like butchering chickens.

At the same time, he came to understand the meaning of the Veteran title: [Proficient in all cold weapons; certain traits of cold weapons will be amplified in your hands.]

Short blade: concealment, swiftness, sharpness.

With those three as a foundation, He Zhao's blade became even deadlier. The speed of his swings could not be captured. The private soldiers did not even know what weapon had killed them before they died.

It was as though a flash of light appeared, and then they inexplicably ceased to exist.

If the high-agility Demon Eater was an assassin in the darkness, then Pig Woman was an unparalleled warrior with high attack and high defense.

If the two could be combined, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Unfortunately, they could not.

Under cover of night, He Zhao entered the Inner Courtyard. The instant he stepped inside, his Sixth Sense issued a frantic warning. He instinctively threw his head back and retreated explosively. A fierce gust shot past him.

"Pfft—"

Ruthless He Zhao clutched his neck and appeared more than ten meters away.

Drops of blood seeped between his fingers.

'What was that? So fast!!'

If not for the Sixth Sense protecting him, along with his extraordinary Agility, he would have been separated from his head by now, ending his journey through the Simulation Scenario.

"Hmph! You sneaking, skulking assassin, you dare run wild in this old man's residence? You truly do not know whether you live or die!" Amid the hazy lamp fire, a thin old man emerged.

The wound on his neck was healing rapidly.

After taking a moment to recover, He Zhao lowered his hand and said in a hoarse voice.

"I never expected Old Master Zhang to be a Secret Blood Warrior. I charged too little for this assassination!"

"There are plenty more things you never expected!"

As his words fell, the thin Old Master Zhang prepared to spring forth and kill him, only for He Zhao to roar.

"Fix!"

The Blood Patterned Skull, brimming with sinister evil, appeared in Ruthless He Zhao's hand. A vast amount of Spirit Power poured into it like a flood.

The surrounding lamp fire was abruptly pressed low by an invisible force, its bright yellow flames turning a miserable green.

Old Master Zhang shuddered all over. A wave of malice descended upon him, freezing him in place and leaving him unable to move.

"You?"

He could not believe that an Unusual Scholar would actually do the dirty work of assassination.

"Whoosh—"

He Zhao held his blade in one hand and stabbed toward Old Master Zhang's heart.

His Sixth Sense erupted again, and the sound of whistling wind came from behind his head.

Clearly, the Inner Courtyard held more than one target. Others were hidden here as well, ready to strike at any moment.

Better to break one finger than injure ten. Besides, someone surnamed He would never allow meat that had reached his mouth to be spat back out.

Even if he had to suffer severe injuries, he would kill the old turtle first.

After all, the other man's speed was truly astonishing. Even He Zhao could not keep up with it.

Once he broke free, today's assassination would certainly fail.

To use the Sacrificial Vessel's Immobilization, he first had to capture the target's figure. If he could not even catch sight of him, how could he speak of immobilizing him?

Moreover, he did not know how many times Huang had used it. By the time it reached his hands, the blood patterns had already covered the brow ridge. Now, only an area the size of the crown of the head remained blank on the Skull.

If he used it one more time, he feared disaster would strike.

"Pfft!"

"Bang bang!!"

The former was He Zhao driving his blade into Old Master Zhang's heart. The latter was him forcibly enduring the vicious sneak attacks of two Secret Blood Warriors.

"Wah—"

Ruthless He Zhao spat out a mouthful of blood. The back of his head had been smashed apart, while the fatal spot at the center of his back had likewise taken an enormous blow. For an ordinary Secret Blood Warrior, those two fatal wounds would have been enough to kill them on the spot.

Death Resistance!

High-Speed Regeneration!

With the two stacked together, not only did He Zhao not die, he instead grew fiercer the longer he fought.

Severe Injury, +2 to all attributes!

All attributes meant everything: talents, titles, himself, and so on.

"Die—"

In the darkness, a blade light as cold as ice bloomed.

As He Zhao turned and unleashed the peak strike of his blade, he saw only two pairs of terrified, disbelieving eyes.

"Pfft—"

"Gurgle gurgle."

Two fine heads fell to the ground, rolling into the darkness.

Enduring the agonizing pain, He Zhao pulled out the water pouch at his waist, opened it, and scattered its contents around him.

He casually knocked over the lanterns hanging nearby. Flames spread rapidly, and soon the blaze shot into the sky.

"Fire!"

"Put it out, quickly!"

Amid the chaos, He Zhao vanished into the night.

Before leaving, he took Old Master Zhang's face skin with him.

Thanks to [Shangyue Zhongzhen] for the 4 Qidian Coins, [The Heart Remains Where the Dream Remains] for the 100 Qidian Coins, [Punishment of the Hero] for the 4 Qidian Coins, [Please Create Original Heavens] for the 2 Qidian Coins, [A Little Reader from a Parallel Universe] for the 100 Qidian Coins, [I Love YUEYANG] for the 4 Qidian Coins, and [1024 My Account Suddenly Disappeared This Afternoon] for the 4 Qidian Coins.