"It wasn't the factory."
Uesugi Tetsu looked at the astonished Foreman and heard him ask instinctively, "Mr. Brahma, do you know what happened?"
"Of course."
Uesugi Tetsu nodded and held out five fingers. The bloodstained hatchet dropped into his hand with a slap.
"Because I did it."
Amid the rumbling silence in which only the factory operated, Uesugi Tetsu deliberately waited two seconds, yet failed to see the emotion he expected in the Foreman's eyes.
The Foreman merely looked at him calmly, a trace of realization in his eyes. "So it was you..."
Uesugi Tetsu tilted his head. "You're not curious why?"
If the Foreman could move away together with the workshop, Uesugi Tetsu might not necessarily have killed him. After all, the blacksmith had only wanted the noisy workshop to disappear.
And when faced with a demon with rare personal ambition, Uesugi Tetsu did not mind losing dozens or even hundreds of soul ash.
But after speaking with the Foreman, Uesugi Tetsu had already understood that the conflict between them could not be resolved.
Sorry, Foreman, but die for the sake of my new weapon!
The Foreman sighed. He removed the hard hat from his head, revealing a fierce, bloodthirsty expression he had not shown in a long time. "The reason doesn't matter anymore."
Laughing Brahma nodded in complete agreement and smiled.
"Whoosh—"
With a sound like a whale exhaling, the falling leaves drifting through the air and the Foreman's chest and abdomen were cleaved open at the same instant.
Grayish-white blood sprayed into the air.
"One slash isn't enough."
The impact from the Foreman's sternum had left Uesugi Tetsu's palm numb. This half-star elite's health was clearly on an entirely different level from that of a minor monster. Even after landing a sneak attack, one slash could not seriously injure him.
While he was sheathing his blade, Uesugi Tetsu could already clearly see the Foreman's arm beginning to move.
It seemed Fearful Smile could give him, at most, the initiative for one slash against an opponent of the same level.
But that was enough.
A proficient Ki-ai Technique would not falter after one full-powered strike. Far more enduring than before, the flow of energy coursed through Uesugi Tetsu's body.
With this advantage, he could simply wear down the unarmed Foreman to death...
Just as Uesugi Tetsu thought this, the Foreman suddenly raised his hand, and a heavy flash of cold light pierced through his waist.
The agony of flesh being torn apart made Uesugi Tetsu's brow twitch. He rapidly circulated the Ki-ai Technique and retreated, then looked toward the Foreman again.
What is he holding? He doesn't have a storage bag like me.
Uesugi Tetsu saw the weapon in the Foreman's hand.
It was a long, rod-shaped object, thicker at one end and thinner at the other.
A crowbar?!
He had actually forgotten about this thing. Earlier, Uesugi Tetsu had only paid attention to sharp weapons, so he had not cared much about cold weapons meant more as tools.
After all, he was the Foreman. Carrying a crowbar around was perfectly reasonable.
Uesugi Tetsu glanced at the wound around two fingers wide at his waist. After directing a large amount of energy there and successfully stopping the bleeding, he said indifferently, "The Foreman really is meticulous."
The Foreman kicked the hard hat beside his foot aside. "And how are you any different, Mr. Brahma?"
Drag it out. Just drag it out!
While casually exchanging a few words with the Foreman, Uesugi Tetsu's mind was exceptionally clear under the effect of Heart Like Still Water.
The Foreman had no way to stop his bleeding now. As long as he dragged things out, the Foreman would bleed to death even without Uesugi Tetsu lifting a finger.
And given the size of the wound, it would not take long.
If he failed to kill the Foreman this time, Uesugi Tetsu believed the other man would never give him a second chance. That would not only greatly extend the time needed to clear the scenario, but might even prevent him from obtaining the weapon forged by the blacksmith.
So all he had to do was stay steady.
He could not reveal even the slightest opening to this treacherous Foreman.
Time passed slowly. Uesugi Tetsu watched the Foreman weaken bit by bit, while the energy within his own body had already recovered to its peak.
As one waned and the other waxed, victory was practically guaranteed!
Yet instinctively, Uesugi Tetsu sensed that something was wrong.
The Foreman, who had nearly dealt him a critical hit with the crowbar, surely knew what the correct choice was when pushed to the brink, didn't he?
Uesugi Tetsu tightened his grip on the hatchet and decided to take the initiative.
With a bang, a large amount of energy burst from Uesugi Tetsu's body.
He shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, the speed of his descending hatchet surpassing any of his previous strikes.
"Come on!"
Unexpectedly, the Foreman roared. His body instantly turned crimson, and he raised the crowbar to block the attack.
The tremendous force knocked Uesugi Tetsu two steps backward, and waves of pain shot through his right arm. It was probably fractured.
Because at that moment, the red affix [Jade Shatter] suddenly appeared above the Foreman's head, while the mist above him changed from white and yellow to a dangerous crimson.
[Jade Shatter: Gradually consumes vitality to accumulate strength. The more vitality consumed, the greater the accumulated strength. Vitality cannot be recovered.]
Uesugi Tetsu thought, So this is what he was waiting for.
If he had been a little more cautious just now and dragged things out for three to five minutes, the Foreman might have smashed him to pieces with a single swing of the crowbar.
He had no desire to experience what it felt like to have his upper body explode.
Uesugi Tetsu watched the Foreman struggle to muster strength after that swing and immediately seized this fleeting opportunity to step forward.
As he advanced, he roared as well, "I'll be the one who wins!"
The thrusting technique of Tennen Rishin-ryū that Ririko had demonstrated flashed rapidly through Uesugi Tetsu's mind.
Following his instinct, he thrust out the hatchet.
The rusted blade slipped skillfully through the wound and pierced the heart with ease.
The Foreman's surging momentum suddenly stalled, then dispersed like mist.
After Uesugi Tetsu pulled out the blade, the Foreman fell face-first into the muddy ground with a thud.
The outcome was decided.
In the silence, the Foreman's feeble voice struggled to emerge.
"Mr. Brahma..."
He used all his remaining strength to turn onto his side and gazed at half a gray, dusty sky. "That factory..."
Fading illusions flashed before the Foreman's eyes: the golden rice fields that had once stretched across the mountains and plains of Arakawa Village, and the people laughing as they worked in the fields.
Unfortunately, the days of the past had already shattered and vanished like bubbles.
He closed his eyes and murmured softly, "Please make certain you destroy that factory that brought filth and oppression."
Uesugi Tetsu looked down at him, his eyes black as night.
Even without the Foreman saying so, he would never spare the factory that had gathered so many demons.
Still, after thinking it over, Uesugi Tetsu nodded gently and agreed. "I promise."
The Foreman smiled happily, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
"Thank you..."
The Foreman spoke.
The Jade Shatter affix above his head faded bit by bit until nothing remained.
At that moment, a notification appeared before Uesugi Tetsu's eyes.
[You killed the half-star obsession "Worker Leader" and obtained 75 soul ash.] [You obtained the Foreman's Crowbar (Rare).] [You experienced battle. Incomplete Ki-ai Technique proficiency +25!] [You experienced battle and gained a slight insight. Tennen Rishin-ryū proficiency +76!]
Uesugi Tetsu let out a long breath and sat on the ground, gazing at the gradually brightening twin moons. That was dangerously close.
Fearful Smile had been used at the very beginning, all his energy had been exhausted during the final two strikes, and he had almost no stamina left either...
It could be said that this had been a complete, narrow victory.
How laughable that he had thought a mere half-star opponent, no stronger than a robust farmer, would be someone he could kill in three strikes at most.
Now it seemed that even half-star opponents varied greatly.
He also had to thank the Foreman for teaching him that lesson.
After catching his breath for a while, Uesugi Tetsu remembered to carefully inspect the notifications from earlier.
There was plenty of soul ash, but that was nothing worth mentioning. It was indeed commensurate with the Foreman's strength.
What Uesugi Tetsu had not expected was that the crowbar on the other man's body had dropped as well.
[Foreman's Crowbar] [Quality: Rare] [Effect: Exceptionally durable. Greatly increases damage against all types of objects that are doors.] [—Since I'm the Foreman, carrying a crowbar around is perfectly reasonable, right?]
It was a special-class weapon, or it could also be called a tool.
Looking at the "exceptionally durable" effect, Uesugi Tetsu understood why several notches had been knocked into his hatchet during their exchange, while the crowbar remained completely unharmed.
Fortunately, the Foreman's death meant his new weapon was about to arrive. The battered hatchet could roll into the warehouse and gather dust.
Besides that, Tennen Rishin-ryū proficiency had also surged by an astonishing amount, almost comparable to practicing swordsmanship twice with Soul Soothing Incense Ash.
"Battle really is the fast track to becoming stronger..."
Unfortunately, it was difficult for Uesugi Tetsu to encounter a battle between evenly matched opponents. Either he killed the other side instantly, or the other side killed him instantly. There was no gaming experience at all.
After sitting on the ground a little longer and recovering some stamina, Uesugi Tetsu stood up. Just then, he happened to notice what seemed to be something in the withered farmland not far away.
He focused his eyes and discovered that it was actually a twisting, turning white shadow.
Before you continue