Hogan's corpse fell. That hammer blow had smashed more than half his head, leaving only a small part intact. Blood and brains were splattered throughout the room, making for a rather gruesome sight.
Rayne wiped away several drops of blood that had splashed onto his face and slowly let out a breath.
He raised a hand to press against his ribs, feeling a faint pain. He had probably suffered a minor injury, but it was nothing serious.
A Rank 2 Fighter's full-strength strike, with Inner Qi fully unleashed, could not leave him completely unscathed even with the Body of Steel.
A soul flew out of the corpse and was absorbed. His phone battery immediately rose by three bars.
"A Rank 2 Transcendent can only provide me with 3% battery?" Rayne shook his head. The efficiency of directly absorbing souls was truly poor, far inferior to complete fusion, but he was still satisfied.
If he relied entirely on meditation to increase his Soul Power, those three bars of battery might take a long time to accumulate.
He looked at the woman on the floor. She was still unconscious. Judging from the flashy clothes hanging by the bed, she was either a full-time prostitute or a high-end call girl. She posed no threat to him, and in the darkness, she had not seen what he looked like.
Rayne ignored her. He did not want to linger here any longer, so he went through the hole in the wall, returned to the balcony, and vaulted down.
The balcony was not high. Before he even landed, a flash of green light suddenly streaked before his eyes.
Screech!
In that instant, Rayne had no time to react. Fortunately, the Body of Steel activated automatically upon impact, turning his entire body as hard as iron.
The narrow green gleam slashed across Rayne's chest, as if it intended to cut him in two.
Pain shot into his mind. Ignoring his injury, Rayne retreated the moment he landed, holding the warhammer horizontally before him in a defensive stance.
"Hm? You're not dead?" A low male voice sounded from the shadows beneath the balcony.
Rayne had long activated the Soul Eye and clearly saw the other man's appearance.
From his voice alone, he recognized him. This man was the accomplice Hogan had spoken with in the tavern, a man named Wilt.
Wilt was wearing close-fitting black clothes, with a cloth covering his face and only his eyes exposed. His whole body blended into the shadows, flickering indistinctly. He held a curved longsword, green glimmers flowing across its blade. In Aerenus, there was no term for "saber"; such weapons were considered a type of sword, called single-edged swords.
This single-edged sword was clearly an Enchanted Weapon, resembling a katana from Rayne's previous life.
Rayne lowered his head to look at his chest. His clothes had been sliced open, and a long wound stretched horizontally across his torso from left to right. Fortunately, it was not deep, probably only one or two centimeters. Blood flowed out and stained his clothes red.
The wound was already healing, and the bleeding had stopped.
A wave of lingering fear rose in him. Without the Body of Steel, he would have been a corpse in two pieces by now.
"Why was Wilt here?"
Rayne took several more steps back, widening the distance between himself and Wilt while warily watching his every movement.
Within the Soul Eye, Wilt's soul was exposed. It had four layers in total, and black-and-red Flame of Faith shrouded it. The aura was familiar—it belonged to Loki, the Evil God.
Moreover, there were as many as five elements within Wilt's soul!
Rayne had no time to closely identify the information of those elements. With just one glance, he understood Wilt's Transcendent profession.
"A Sword Mage—a level 4 Gale Sword Mage!"
Sword Mages were an advanced profession of Rangers. At level 4 or Level 7, Rangers could fuse Demon Souls containing elemental Affinity Elements, gaining affinity for one element and combining spells with swordsmanship to increase the power of their sword techniques.
Sword Mages had several branches, and Gale Sword Mage was one of them.
This rare Transcendent profession was renowned for speed and could compete for the title of the fastest profession in the world.
Compared with basic physical qualities such as strength, defense, and mental power, speed was the hardest to improve. The speed gap between many high-level Transcendents and low tier ones was not large, unlike strength or mental power, which often had an unbridgeable gulf between them.
But once speed reached a certain realm and opened a gap against an opponent, it became terrifying.
Just as the saying from his previous life went: in all martial arts under heaven, only speed is undefeatable!
Rayne's strength and defense were both formidable, far surpassing Transcendents of the same level, but he had no real advantage in speed. It had only improved slightly after becoming a Transcendent, making it his greatest weakness at present.
And Wilt happened to be a Gale Sword Mage, perfectly countering him in speed.
He had been completely unable to react to that sword strike.
Rayne immediately felt the pressure. Wilt's professional level was three levels higher than his, and he wielded a sharp weapon. He might have difficulty resisting.
What made his heart pound even more was why Wilt had appeared here.
Rayne's mind raced, and he could think of only one possibility.
Wilt could not possibly have noticed him eavesdropping outside the tavern yesterday. He must have guessed from Hogan's words that Rayne had realized he was being followed and had then tracked Hogan in return. Wilt had concealed this from Hogan, using him as bait while lying in ambush here, waiting for Rayne to take the hook.
When Rayne had arrived just now, he had waited carefully for a while, yet he had not discovered Wilt's presence.
This made him even more vigilant. The Voice of All Things was not omnipotent. There would always be unknown methods in the world capable of evading detection.
The next time he encountered such an experienced enemy, he would have to be even more careful.
Hopefully, there would still be a next time...
Rayne calmed down and tightened his grip on the warhammer.
At that moment, Wilt spoke. His expression was hidden behind the cloth, but his voice was full of surprise. He stepped out from beneath the balcony and said, "An Iron Guard actually survived my Flash Sword Slash? No wonder you were able to kill trash like Trifer and the others."
Rayne snorted but did not reply.
Wilt had clearly mistaken him for an Iron Guard.
The Flash Sword Slash he mentioned was one of the elements in his soul. It condensed Wind Element Power onto the sword, unleashing astonishing speed and power in an instant as it cut toward the target.
Wilt stood casually, seemingly certain that he had Rayne cornered. He continued in a low voice, "You're quite capable. You killed Hogan in such a short time that I didn't even have time to save him."
"If you hadn't Desecrated the god, I would gladly have let you join Shadow Blade and take Hogan's place."
"Now, die!"
Before his words had faded, Wilt swung his sword forward. A green crescent-shaped blade of air erupted from it, like sword qi, carving a deep trench into the ground as it instantly cut toward Rayne.
Rayne felt a sharp edge approaching. He did not dodge, only activating the Body of Steel with all his strength and deciding to withstand the attack head-on.
The air blade struck his body with a metallic clang.
Rayne paid it no heed, his eyes fixed firmly on Wilt. After releasing the air blade, Wilt's body blurred and vanished, his speed reaching the extreme.
Rayne caught a figure from the corner of his eye, moving with steps too fast for ordinary vision and circling behind him.
"Gale Step!"
Rayne had long expected Wilt to have this move. It was one of the elements in Wilt's soul and the signature technique of a Gale Sword Mage.
A green gleam attacked from behind, flashing past in an instant.
Wilt had used Flash Sword Slash again.
Rayne swung the warhammer, and its hard head struck the sword light with exquisite precision.
With a clang, warhammer and sword collided, scattering a trail of sparks. Wilt's figure appeared, seeming somewhat caught off guard that his Flash Sword Slash had actually been blocked.
Before Rayne could continue his attack, Wilt activated Gale Step and vanished with a whoosh.
Several steps to his side, a sword-wind air blade came hurtling in.
Rayne turned around, but he saw only the air blade and could not find Wilt's figure. He ignored the attack and let it strike him, shredding his clothes, while he focused on searching for Wilt's whereabouts.
Several seconds later, a green gleam came from the left. Concealed by the night, it was almost impossible to notice.
Rayne tried to block it with his warhammer, but this time he was half a beat too slow, and the warhammer struck empty air.
With a wet slash, another sword wound appeared between his chest and abdomen.
However, Rayne had been prepared this time. Before the blow landed, he pushed the Body of Steel to its limit. This wound was shallower than the last one, barely breaking the skin.
Wilt appeared on the balcony, looking down at Rayne in disbelief.
"What kind of defensive element is that?"
His swordsmanship had always been unstoppable. With his sharp enchanted longsword and Flash Sword Slash, he could cut through steel bars as thick as a thumb.
Against anyone else, even a Transcendent two or three levels above him, one slash would inflict grievous wounds or even cut them in half. Yet when it struck this man, it had merely scratched a layer of skin.
The instant he hit his opponent, enormous resistance had traveled through the sword, as though he had truly struck steel. He could not drive the blade any further.
"Body of Steel!"
Wilt immediately guessed the truth, his eyes widening. Other than that famous Superb Element, he could not think of any other element with such astonishing defense.
"You actually possess a Superb Element!"
Wilt's low voice turned hoarse. Whether from jealousy or shock, he stared fixedly at Rayne, trying to confirm it.
Naturally, Rayne did not answer Wilt. Looking at the enemy on the balcony, he was equally helpless.
He was too slow. He could not even touch his opponent.
Without the Body of Steel, even nine lives would not have been enough to survive.
Can't hit him, can't catch him. I can only retreat first.
The thought of retreat arose in Rayne's mind. Fortunately, he had disguised himself before leaving, concealing his face. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome if Wilt had seen what he looked like.
He knew Wilt, but Wilt did not know who he was. There would always be another chance to act.
Rayne turned and left without hesitation.
As long as he escaped the cover of the house and entered the view of the Spirit Demon Eye atop the Wizard Tower, Wilt would not dare attack him.
"You want to run?"
Wilt's figure flickered, yet he did not move from where he stood.
He seemed to have been intimidated by the Body of Steel. Knowing that he could not break Rayne's defense or threaten him in a short time, he merely stood on the balcony and watched Rayne retreat.
Rayne backed toward the wall step by step. He was just about to get away.
A petite figure emerged from the shadows at the corner of the wall, only one step away from Rayne. Fast as lightning, she thrust a dagger toward his back.
At the critical moment, Rayne suddenly turned around, causing her to throw herself into his arms.
As if he had anticipated it all along, he spread his arms and embraced the figure. He felt her slender curves as though they were lovers deeply in love, holding each other tightly and fiercely.
The Body of Steel activated with full force. His two arms became unshakable iron hoops, mercilessly tightening inward.
The petite figure in his arms did not even have time to struggle. Several bone-cracking sounds that made one's teeth ache rang out, and she immediately went still.
Rayne released his arms. The person in his embrace went limp and collapsed, and a soul flew out from her head.
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