Act17: TNT

[Part 1: The Power of Inheritance]

Removing his mask, Daniel Fragrak sat down on the ground. This gunsmith's prized student had just arrived at Lieyang Fort and immediately began dealing with the local warbands.

He and A Hao found a hotel, and before they could even change their clothes, they had to grab their guns and rescue someone. Because of the rumors surrounding the "True Name Curse," Daniel dared not show his true face. There was also a little selfish motive involved—

Both students hoped to become the gunsmith's shadow and awaken the fighting spirit of the local people.

"Time to hand over the shift, Ugly." Daniel said, quickly taking off his smelly winter clothes.

On the other side, Shao Jinghao was still resting, immediately got up, changed into his carrying gear and bulletproof vest, and put on the colorful clown mask of a poker ace. "No problem! You've had a full eight hours of sleep this time! Leave the rest to me!"

Daniel simply took a quick shower and did some stretching before going to sleep. The intense gunfight had left him unable to relax, and his muscles were tense all over.

As he grew older, he admired his teacher more and more. The more he learned, the more he felt insignificant.

It's truly unbelievable that the gunsmith could fight continuously for thirty-one hours without sleep or food, only needing clean water. He could even manage his sleep time under such extreme pressure.

Daniel rubbed his stiff shoulders and neck. When he shot and killed Ghost Arm Ron's gang members, ending Ron's life, he had put in too much concentration. Nearly a hundred high-precision shots had drained his mind. But these tactical shooting methods were just an appetizer for the gunsmith.

This difference in endurance, and the level of focus required to execute the killing plan, all left Daniel with a deep sense of powerlessness, even though he had done very well—not even twenty-year-old Hasben Madison was as good as Fragerak.

"Is the teacher really dead?"

Daniel looked worried and repeatedly rubbed his toes.

His legs felt like zombie flesh; after sitting in the car for over twenty hours and then immediately getting back into action, he needed to improve blood circulation and allow his body to fully relax before he could fall asleep peacefully.

Hao Bro tidied his clothes, he heard his senior brother talk about this matter. His originally high fighting spirit was like being doused with a bucket of cold water, and he could no longer rekindle it.

"I don't know. Duo Hun, if that's what the BOSS said, then Gunsmith Master is probably indeed dead."

Daniel: "The Immortals defeated him?"

A Hao: "Hmm"

Daniel: "We have to take responsibility. I mean, A Hao, if I were stronger, if we were more capable, wouldn't the teacher have survived?"

"You're too nervous." A Hao tried to comfort his senior, "This isn't anyone's fault, nor is it anyone's responsibility. It's me."

"No! Our teacher is thirty years old! That's not right!" Daniel interrupted. "He's not like he used to be. He's not a god, nor is he some ageless lapis lazuli—when he was twenty-one, he was already fighting the Madness Butterfly cultists! We are his students."

Daniel has always been a perfectionist; he takes life very seriously.

We should be better than him.

A Hao: "You took down a Wings of Light! Daniel! You were too nervous!"

"That's only right! That's what I should do!" Daniel felt his mouth was dry. When he was in close contact with the blood-receiving unit, he was affected by the monster's spiritual pressure, and his mental state had become very bad. "The student surpasses the master, that's common sense!"

He seemed possessed, his face a patchwork of red and blue.

"Since the gunsmith master is dead, I have to become the next gunsmith, right?"

Six months ago, Daniel, A Hao, and many other Galahad students believed that the future was bright. They thought there was a big umbrella over their heads that would shelter them from the wind and rain and continue to guide them in their studies and training, so that they could become stronger.

"Otherwise, who will protect the weak? The General of Tears and the Big Sister can't replace the Gunsmith Master."

Meteor and Glory's techniques and tactics, their martial arts styles and fighting styles are closely related to their own elemental nature. They possess amazing physiques that are impossible to replicate, and the fighting methods they use are also difficult to teach to students, as not everyone has a punch with the force of a thousand pounds.

"Why did the teacher suddenly collapse? I feel very confused."

The moment news of the gunsmith's death reached Galahad, Daniel's life lost a very important guiding light.

His faith crumbled and reformed time and time again, but the gunsmith changed his fate. Apart from bloodline, wealth, status, and position, the gunsmith used knightly combat skills and the Six Arts to show these children that there was another way to prove their worth.

"Daniel!" A Hao called out his senior's real name.

This finally snapped Daniel Fragerc out of his anxiety.

A Hao gripped the doorknob, preparing to go support his master's wife and help out at Wulong Fortress. Unlike Daniel, he didn't have as many messy thoughts, nor was he as clever or worried.

"I've changed my mind! I don't know if the teacher is dead, maybe he's still alive? But life has to go on! Wherever there are enemies, that's where I have to go—isn't that a simple thing?"

Daniel snapped out of his daze and finally realized his loss of composure. For a moment, he was overcome by fear and terrified by the primal spiritual pressure of the Immortals being emanating from Ghost Arm Ron. Although he was able to suppress his fear and carry out the decapitation procedure, the mental damage still had a huge impact on him afterward.

"Daniel, we lost to Mali Pero once, and it was the enemy's mercy that allowed us to survive." A Hao tilted his head back and turned to look at his senior brother. "If these Wings of Light had successfully unleashed their Soul Might superpowers, we probably wouldn't have even had a chance to fight back, right? But what Gunsmith Teacher taught you, you really did it!"

"It's like those cross-level kills often depicted in online novels! In the real world, you always have to consider ranks and status. You don't even ask someone's name, you have to ask their ranking first—what kind of bullshit rule is that? If the Knight Warrior skill breaks this ironclad rule, then the Gunsmith teacher is still alive!"

"My good brother, we thought about this before we set off. The journey is dangerous, and our lives are in danger." A Hao extended his index finger and gently tapped the gun in front of the chest plate. "If we encounter a powerful opponent like Mali Pero again, and have to face the soul power of Immortals —we will never meet again in this life or the next."

Daniel finally stopped being weak. "Hao!"

"My idol is the teaching assistant Meteor! He's a genius!" A Hao said excitedly. "I want to be a genius too! Even if I'm not a born genius! The first step to becoming a genius is to become arrogant, to have extremely strong self-esteem and pride. How can you always place your hopes on your teachers?!"

"I'm leaving, Joker!"

"Ugly! Wait!" Daniel shouted immediately, but to no avail.

Fifteen seconds later, A Hao knocked on the door.

"I forgot my bullets, sorry."

Daniel, looking utterly helpless, retrieved four magazines from beside the bed and carried them to the door.

"--Ugly, if only your hands were half as quick as your mouth when you're working."

A Hao packed up his ammunition and said with a grin.

"Don't worry! I'm fine! I'll definitely come back safely! Get up and buy me dinner! I saw some 80s-style porn at the video arcade downstairs! Shall we do some academic research together tonight? After I get a few heads of the Blood-giving Monster, then..."

Daniel: "Aren't you afraid the flag will come true?"

A Hao's flag-planting technique is like a shooting star; he's not afraid at all.

[Part ②·Tauren]

At this very moment, a fierce battle is raging in Wulong Fortress.

9527 ran into big trouble. After Ghost Arm Ron was assassinated, another Blood-giving Monster from another war gang immediately took over as the leader, namely George Joshua's Wings of Light.

Those Immortals are all individuals with heinous crimes and extraordinary achievements.

Ghost Arm Ron, a rare and strange beast that survived from the Age of Expeditions, relied on connections and seniority to get in; his actual combat strength was not strong, and he was able to be ambushed and beheaded by Daniel using the remaining power of the gunsmith.

The new leader who replaced Ron is Manager Todd's most trusted and ace enforcer.

Before obtaining the elixir, this monster was a rare species in the underworld, a minotaur hunted to extinction by bull hunters, possessing some of the bloodline of the Minotaur mythical beast. He was infamous in Lieyang Fort, known by the infamous name [Mind Flayer | Harris Conte].

The governor and the generals of the legions would give the White Shark Association Society some face, because George Joshua not only had wizards who could cast curses using their real names, but also a monster who could bewitch people and make men and women switch sides.

This Minotaur is cruel and bloodthirsty, and lewd by nature. Completely different from the respectable Ghost Arm Ron, the Minotaur Harris never had a policy of appeasement or negotiation when dealing with prisoners. Regardless of gender, he would subject them to ultimate psychological and physiological torture.

Upon learning that the gunsmith's widow remained in Wulong Fortress, the Bull Warrior was overjoyed. Bringing the wives of the strong into the harem was an ironclad law of nature, and how could he miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

At noon, a large number of Zhan Gang members arrived outside Wulong Fortress, no longer as timid and hesitant as when Ron commanded his team.

The leading bull warrior was nine feet tall, with twisted and protruding joints in his limbs, and his knees and elbows showing signs of bestiality. His head protruded forward and his nostrils were huge. A pair of golden horns further confirmed his mythical lineage.

In the freezing cold of Lieyang Fort, a scorching mist, carrying a foul, fishy stench, billowed from the minotaur's mouth and nostrils.

He had only eight fingers, with thick knuckles and no nails. These obvious bestial features made the young men patrolling the surrounding walled city uneasy—this time, a really important person had arrived.

Those bright yellow bull eyes also had two thick, horizontally striped pupils. They seemed honest and simple, but in reality, they had a very clever mind. Otherwise, the Mind Flayer Harris would not have been able to survive from the era of bull hunting to this day.

The old gatekeeper wanted to ask him some questions.

But just as he was about to speak, the bull warrior gently called upon his spirit and tapped the old man's crown.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

In the old gatekeeper's eyes, the muscular build and wild aura emanating from the jingling leather accessories on Bull Warrior's body became alluring.

The old man seemed to have seen his deceased wife; his eyes were glazed and he was troubled. So he said no more and simply opened the gate made of layers of scrap material from the knife handle factory, letting people pass through.

Along the way, internal security personnel from the stronghold blocked the road, carrying weapons. There were also gunmen hidden in the ranks, who wanted to take the opportunity to kill the leader of the fighting gang.

But after a dozen or so young men went up and exchanged a few words, before they could even fire their guns, a pale yellow phantom of soul power gently brushed past their bodies, and then a strange scene unfolded.

These young men blocking Harris's path all turned into dull-witted, stupid beasts, crawling on all fours as if imitating the mating posture of animals, sticking their buttocks up high, waiting for the bull warrior's favor.

The brothers of the War Gang were dumbfounded. They all knew how powerful the Mind Flayer was, but this was the first time they had seen it with their own eyes. They all instinctively avoided their leader and wanted to stay away from this terrifying bull warrior.

Harris Conte calmly took a pistol from a mindless prisoner and called over several cooks from the mess hall. These young and strong cooks were among the strongest men in Wulong Fortress.

The cooks had already fallen under the spell of the bull warrior. In their eyes, this nine-foot-tall monster had become their dream lover, so they naturally obeyed his every command. They piled up a human chair, and the bull warrior sat on it without hesitation. His exaggerated weight almost broke the spine of the "cushion," but the victim showed a happy smile.

"Let the gunsmith's wife see me, and the other unidentified people, one by one, slowly bring them out."

Harris shouted loudly toward the main building of the fortress, his voice deep and powerful, like a resounding bell.

Let me count them!

"One, two, three."

He lifted the bull's hoof and casually stomped on the heads of the prisoners' heads, deforming and cracking them.

"Seventeen in total. Seventeen families! When did the anonymous person become a coward? Using ordinary people as a shield?"

At this moment, Xiao Qi had just woken up from her afternoon nap. She couldn't possibly stay in combat mode 24 hours a day; she wasn't made of iron.

Harris Conte's challenge jolted her awake, so she picked up her Ash 12.7, ready to snipe the target.

The two were less than a hundred meters apart in a straight line, something her main weapon could easily accomplish. But as the weapon's sights locked onto Harris Conte, Xiao Qi hesitated to pull the trigger.

"What the hell?! WTF?!"

What troubled her was that several of the internal security personnel of Wulong Fortress had deliberately stood in front of the monster; they seemed to have lost their minds and were under mind control!

"Don't hurt my love, gunsmith's wife!" a cook shouted towards the ninth floor. "She's the love of my life! I'm completely smitten! Utterly smitten!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" A housewife stormed out from the third-floor clothes-drying balcony, yelling at her shameless husband lying on the concrete floor, "Open your dog eyes and look around! I'm your wife!"

Xiao Qi broke out in a cold sweat.

--What kind of power is this?!

It seems this cook still retains some consciousness and has already revealed my location to the enemy?!

The two prisoners beside Harris Conte exchanged affectionate glances, protecting the minotaur and completely blocking Xiao Qi's shooting range, while gently stroking the minotaur warrior's abdominal and pectoral muscles.

"Look! Look at this powerful and beautiful body! It's like TNT! It's made my heart explode!"

"Having lived this long, I've finally realized that I actually like a bull! ~ That's vitality! That's surging vitality!! ~"

When Harris Conte's ugly face was revealed through the sights, 9527 could clearly feel an unusually terrifying and perverse spiritual pressure—it even reminded her of the feeling of her heart fluttering when she first met Xue Ming's husband.

Even without directly clashing with the opponent's soul power, this malice, this mind-manipulating evil energy, this pheromone-out-of-control berserk state was almost pushing her Madness Index to the red line!

Her face flushed, she clutched her chest, quickly removed her weapon, and dared not look at the soldier again.

She felt her heart pounding wildly, and a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her chest from this malevolent and malevolent psychic energy surge.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! This feels like a heart attack!"