Fireball Barrage, Heretics

"Status!"

Name: Parr Tianxing
Gender: Male
Race: Human Race

Age: 10 (20)

Realm: Peak Rookie (0/50)

Stamina: 35/50
Mental Power: 2/10
HP: 100/100
Talent: Prompt Wake-Up LV1
Skill: Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique LV5
Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship LV4
Life Energy Points: 41
Mental Energy Points: 30

Parr fixed his gaze on the lit-up Skill panel again. As he looked at Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship, a thought crossed his mind, and an upgrade prompt appeared.

Ding! Consume 10 Life Energy Points to upgrade Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship LV4 to LV5?

To deal with the Black Robe Walking Corpses, Parr's attack power was still somewhat lacking. Since he could not improve his realm, he could only raise his Skill again.

"Yes!"

Ding! 10 Life Energy Points consumed. Skill upgraded.

Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship LV5 (The most basic sword-drawing technique of the Wind Wolf Kingdom. It has three forms: Upward Flick, Slanting Slash, and Horizontal Slash. Cost: 5 Stamina.) Parr had prepared this in case he had to fight the Black Robe Walking Corpses again.

If things went as Old Man Jack had said, the heretics would be unwilling to expend the Black Robe Walking Corpses here. As long as they held out until daylight, everything would be fine.

But if things did not unfold as Old Man Jack had said...

The truth proved that things often headed in the worst possible direction.

Boom! Parr rested for a while after upgrading his Skill. Just as he was drifting off, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out beside his ears. Something seemed to have exploded outside the sturdy Ironwood walls of the Haystack Village Grain Warehouse. Although the walls had only been blasted with several cracks and had not collapsed, everyone inside the warehouse was thoroughly frightened.

"What the hell?"

Parr's ears rang. He covered them and shook his head. Just as he was about to stand up and assess the situation, Old Man Jack beside him tackled him to the ground. Through the haze, he seemed to hear Old Man Jack shout, "It's a Fireball Spell! Get down!"

Boom! Another explosion rang out, this time at the warehouse doors. With the blast, the thick wooden doors shattered apart. Orange-red flames surged inside and ignited some of the clutter in the warehouse. The fire-resistant Ironwood walls were unharmed; otherwise, Haystack Village would have been wiped out today.

Even so, the shattered doors had inflicted severe casualties on the people near the front of the warehouse. Cries and wails reached Parr's ears as Old Man Jack shielded him beneath his body.

"Old Man Jack! Old Man Jack! Are you okay?"

Parr gently pushed Old Man Jack off him and called out anxiously. Only now did the rootless soul from another world begin to feel some sense of kinship toward the relatives of the body he occupied.

"Cough, cough."

Old Man Jack's back was covered in blood from splintered wood. He coughed several times, then opened his eyes and looked at the worried Parr before him. His gaze went unfocused for a moment before he finally remembered where he was and what had just happened.

"Run! Parr, run!"

The first thing Old Man Jack said after coming to his senses was to tell his adopted son to flee. Then, under Parr's stunned gaze, he struggled to his feet and swept his eyes around until he found his One-Handed Sword, stuck diagonally into the ground.

Old Man Jack pulled out the One-Handed Sword, turned, and looked through the shattered warehouse doors at several Black Robe Walking Corpses slowly approaching them, as well as... a Black-Robed Man who had appeared behind them at some point.

The Black-Robed Man had one arm raised, his palm open toward the grain warehouse. On his middle finger was a ring set with a dull ruby. The ruby was extremely dim and cracked. Judging from its condition, it probably could not fire a third Fireball Spell.

But that did not matter. This was not the Death Heretic's primary method. Their primary weapon was the Walking Corpses, which felt no pain and feared no death.

"Heretic!"

The instant he saw the Black-Robed Man, Old Man Jack ground out those three words through gritted teeth. Then he slowly walked out of the grain warehouse and stood alone before the shattered doors. Without looking back, he said, "I'll hold him off in a moment. Parr, run as fast as you can. Don't look back. Run toward the town."

Old Man Jack's instructions sounded like final words, jolting Parr out of his daze. He slowly lowered his head and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Can I really escape?

"Dead or alive, I'll face the sky. I have no reason to flee alone. Besides, I picked up this life to begin with. How can I just leave now? My conscience would never rest easy."

Muttering under his breath, Parr climbed to his feet. His left hand gripped the short sword's scabbard tightly, while his right loosely held its hilt. He quickly walked to Old Man Jack's side, tilted his head, and said:

"Old Man Jack, I don't think we need to run. The outcome is still uncertain! Besides, they've already surrounded us. Where could I even run to?"

"Parr..."

Old Man Jack had clearly noticed this as well. The Black Robe Walking Corpses were in no hurry to attack. Instead, they had surrounded them in a fan-shaped formation. Behind them stood the grain warehouse, which had no back door. There truly was nowhere to run.

Sigh... We can only fight. I hope I can find a chance to get Parr out of here. Old Man Jack did not say it aloud, because he knew his adopted son's personality. Parr would never abandon him and run away alone.

So Old Man Jack nodded. A carefree smile appeared on his face, which bore several scrapes. He laughed and said, "The outcome is still uncertain! Parr, well said! Did you learn that from Old Man Rottus?"

"I... guess?"

Parr answered vaguely. Old Man Jack did not mind and continued, "Parr, if the Walking Corpses attack, I'll meet them first. After I clash with one head-on, it will stiffen up briefly. That's when you strike. Also, keep part of your attention on that Black-Robed Man in the distance. He's the heretic. If you see the ring on his hand light up, don't hesitate. Jump to either side and get down immediately. Understand?"

"Understood."

Parr nodded without asking more. This was not the time for questions.

"Hehehehe..."

Under Parr and Old Man Jack's watchful eyes, the Black-Robed Man slowly lowered his arm. A sinister laugh came from beneath the hood concealing his face. Then he raised his head slightly, revealing a somewhat pointed chin and gray lips. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Bring him out!"

The moment his words fell, Parr and Old Man Jack saw two Black Robe Walking Corpses escorting a dying old man over from the distance.

There was nothing much to say about the Black Robe Walking Corpses. Their large faces were deathly pale, and their movements were somewhat stiff.

The old man had a head full of white hair and his head hung low. His face was ashen, and only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive. Yet he appeared to be at the end of his rope and would not live much longer.

"That's..."

The instant Parr saw the old man, a wave of familiarity surged through him. He could not help blurting out a name every child in Haystack Village knew well.

"Old Man Rottus!"

An impulse then rose within Parr, urging him to step forward and rescue the man. But the one controlling this body now was a transmigrator. He forcibly suppressed that obvious death wish. At the same time, a clear memory flooded into his mind—the reason Parr had been injured before.

Previously, the transmigrator had only given it a cursory look and thought Parr was merely a reckless brat who did not know his limits. But now, upon examining it carefully, he realized that Parr had seen Old Man Rottus lure away several Black Robe Walking Corpses by himself. Parr had tried to save him, which was why he had been badly wounded by the Walking Corpses.

Old Man Rottus was the old butcher of Haystack Village who had taught Parr for half a year. He was the person the children of Haystack Village feared the most. Yet through their interactions, Parr had discovered that Old Man Rottus merely looked fierce. He was actually quite kind and treated Parr like his own grandson. Besides teaching him, he often told him stories and made him delicious food...

"Parr, calm down!"

Old Man Jack noticed his adopted son's state and turned his head slightly to warn him. Only after seeing that Parr had not impulsively rushed forward to save the man did he relax. He felt somewhat gratified, believing that after tonight's events, Parr had grown up considerably and was no longer the chicken-stealing brat he used to be.

"Rottus, my dear uncle, I've searched so hard for you!"

The two Black Robe Walking Corpses carried the dying Old Man Rottus before the Black-Robed Man. The Black-Robed Man reached out, grabbed Old Man Rottus by his white hair, and yanked up his bowed head. With his other hand, he pulled down his hood, revealing a face somewhat similar to Old Man Rottus's.

"You are... Colin!"

Old Man Rottus barely opened his eyes and looked at the Black-Robed Man. An indistinct voice came from his mouth.

"Why are you here?"

"That's right! It's me, Uncle. I never expected you, the man who abandoned the family, to still remember me. How touching. As for why I'm here?"

The Black-Robed Man, Colin, seemed about to cry as he spoke. But his expression suddenly changed, and his tone shifted as he roared, "Then you should ask yourself, my beloved uncle! You got into trouble and disappeared for more than a decade. Then last year, your enemies found my home and slaughtered everyone in my family. I was the only lucky one. A passing mentor saved me, and I even killed those people in return. Look carefully. Don't these Walking Corpses look familiar?"

Colin pointed at the Black Robe Walking Corpses in the area. Without waiting for Old Man Rottus to answer, he gave the answer himself. "They're all your enemies, Uncle!"

"..."

He barely turned his head to look. Under the bright moonlight, Old Man Rottus seemed to recognize something. Two streams of tears fell from his clouded eyes, and then he cracked his lips and gave two soft laughs.

"Heh heh."

"You're still laughing? You still have the nerve to laugh?"

Colin seemed to have suffered a tremendous humiliation at the sound of that laughter. He covered his forehead and took several deep breaths, then roared hysterically, "Uncle, I've been holding back all this time, for no other reason than to let you personally watch as not a single person survives tonight in the place you hid for more than a decade. Kill them!"