Tragic

Although Laman deliberately lowered his voice, it still carried clearly through the quiet night. Hidden in the darkness, Leian heard every word of their conversation.

"Transform into a magical beast? A Dragonblood Warrior?"

The thought flashed through Leian's mind instinctively, but he immediately dismissed it. The timing did not match; there were no Dragonblood Warriors yet.

Could the Cleo Family possess the bloodline of a divine beast?

As Leian pondered, he focused his hearing.

Under the night sky, a gloomy look flashed through Elvis's eyes. He had not expected Laman to discover his greatest secret so quickly.

But this secret concerned the family inheritance, and he absolutely could not admit it. With that thought, he put on a stunned expression and replied:

"Transform into a magical beast? Laman, has your brain gone bad? What nonsense are you talking about? My Cleo Family is human through and through, not magical beasts!"

Laman sneered.

"Elvis, there's no point saying that. Would I come here in the middle of the night to spout nonsense without being absolutely certain?

"Your Cleo Family may have a long legacy, but my Rachel Family is no minor player either. Our Rachel Family has written records of people transforming into magical beasts!

"Hand over the secret technique obediently, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, after tonight, the Cleo Family will have no descendants left!"

Seeing how certain Laman was, Elvis knew he could no longer hide the matter. With a sigh, he gave a bitter smile and said:

"Laman, I never expected your information network to be so well-informed! That's right, the Cleo Family can indeed transform into magical beasts.

"But this is not some secret technique. The blood of the Magic Dragon flows through our family. It is a gift from our ancestors, not something an ordinary person like you can covet."

As Elvis spoke, Laman's expression darkened further and further. He stared at Elvis as though looking at a dead man. Once Elvis finished, he gave a cold laugh and said murderously:

"Elvis, you really won't give up until you see the coffin. At a time like this, you still dare play tricks with me.

"Do you know why Bird betrayed you? Here's a hint: the night of the sixteenth, when you spoke to your wife in the study, and everything you did afterward!

"Well? Do you want me to continue?"

Elvis fell silent. He still could not understand why Bird had betrayed him. In his heart, dying for one's lord was only natural.

However, upon hearing the words "the night of the sixteenth," he understood that the secret of transforming into a magical beast could no longer be concealed.

Because that was the night he had first attempted to transform into a magical beast using the family's secret technique. Bird must have seen everything, then told Laman every detail.

What should he do?

Elvis's mind began racing. He did not believe that Laman would spare him after he handed over the secret technique.

At once, boundless killing intent surged through his heart. Handing it over meant death, and refusing meant death. Since death awaited him either way, why not gamble once?

Besides, it was not as though he had no chance of winning.

Once he made up his mind, Elvis gradually revealed a dejected expression. After struggling for a moment, he removed the bundle from his back and reluctantly tossed it between them.

"Laman, you win. Everything you want is in the bundle. I hope you keep your promise!"

Laman glanced at Elvis, then at the bundle on the ground. Greed flashed uncontrollably through his eyes, but he remained cautious. Rather than step forward, he gestured to Carl at his side.

"Carl, go retrieve the bundle!"

"Yes, Baron!" Carl was also somewhat excited, so much so that she could barely keep her voice under control.

Of course, she did not lack basic caution. She kept her eyes fixed on Elvis while slowly and carefully moving toward the bundle.

When she reached the bundle, she paused. Only after confirming that Elvis would not attack did she cautiously crouch down.

Throughout the entire process, her eyes never left Elvis.

However, the instant Carl's fingers touched the bundle, Elvis suddenly moved.

"Die!"

With a thunderous shout, Elvis kicked off with both feet. He lunged at Carl like a hurricane.

Before he arrived, blade light had already risen. The gleaming saber was like a bolt of lightning in the darkness as it cleaved down toward Carl's head.

Whether in speed or momentum, Elvis's strike had surpassed the level of a seventh-rank warrior. Caught off guard, Laman and the others froze on the spot, so stunned that they did not notice the changes in Elvis's body.

In truth, the instant Elvis charged out, both his hands had transformed into black dragon claws. Even his cheeks and neck were covered in a layer of black dragon scales.

Laman and the others did not notice the transformation, and Leian naturally could not see it either. However, Leian saw Elvis's speed with perfect clarity. He was so shocked that even his breathing faltered.

In the field, Carl naturally abandoned the bundle at once.

But they had not been far apart to begin with, and Elvis's speed had exceeded everyone's expectations. In her haste, Carl could only barely raise her axe to block the blade light.

Clang!

The blade and axe collided with a crisp metallic ring. Carl's whole body shook as an overwhelming force traveled up the axe handle into her arm, numbing it until it went weak and limp.

Her forearm sank involuntarily, and Elvis's blade followed through into her shoulder.

Overwhelmed by pain, Carl finally lost her grip on the axe handle. With a heavy bang, the giant axe crashed onto the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Elvis swept his saber horizontally, and a grotesque head flew through the air.

Seventh-rank warrior Carl, dead!

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Though he had eliminated a major threat in one stroke, Elvis was not faring well either. The attack seemed to aggravate an old injury. Having just severed Carl's head, he planted his saber on the ground and began coughing violently.

Not far away, Laman and the other four had been stunned by Elvis's ferocity, but the coughing brought them back to their senses.

When they saw Elvis's "magical beast transformation," desire flared once more in their hearts.

The four exchanged looks. Then Laman gritted his teeth and said, "Don't be afraid. This bastard is at the end of his rope. If we attack together, he definitely won't be able to stop us."

After saying that, he slowly moved forward.

As Laman's son, Benson was afraid inside, but he did not dare retreat at such a moment. Ryan, the steward, was long accustomed to obedience. Kelun had been poisoned by the Heart-Eroding Potion, and his life was in Laman's hands, so how could he dare defy his orders?

The four formed a semicircle and approached Elvis together.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Elvis continued coughing without end. He truly seemed, as Laman had said, to be at the end of his rope. This gave the four even greater confidence.

"Kill!"

With Laman's low shout, the four attacked at once. He and Ryan raised their swords, stabbing toward Elvis's head and chest respectively, while Benson and Kelun bent down to attack Elvis's legs.

Facing their combined assault, Elvis suddenly leaned backward, narrowly avoiding Laman and Ryan's sword points. At the same time, he pressed his saber downward.

After pinning Benson and Kelun's swords, he flipped over, braced himself against the ground with one hand, and swept his right leg viciously toward the four men's abdomens.

The sequence of changes was incredibly fast, completely surpassing the level of a seventh-rank warrior. Laman's heart jolted as his gaze instinctively swept over Elvis's dragon-clawed arms.

Could this guy have broken through to the eighth rank after cultivating that secret technique?

The moment the thought arose, Laman believed most of it. When he considered that Elvis might already be an eighth-rank warrior, he did not feel fear. Instead, it stirred the ruthlessness buried in his bones.

He knew very well that if they failed to leave Elvis here tonight, then once Elvis recovered from his injuries, the Rachel Family would face utter destruction.

With that in mind, Laman advanced rather than retreating. He spread his arms, his face savage as he charged toward Elvis's right leg, intending to lock it against his chest.

Had this kick come from any other eighth-rank warrior, Laman would never have dared act so recklessly. He was gambling that Elvis was seriously injured. Even if he possessed an eighth-rank warrior's speed, he could not possibly exert an eighth-rank warrior's strength.

Laman's action truly caught Elvis off guard, leaving him no time to change moves. Although his right leg smashed fiercely into Laman's abdomen, it was, as expected, caught around the calf.

Bang!

The powerful force surged into his chest and abdomen. Laman gave a muffled grunt, his face turning pale in an instant as a thread of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

That single kick had injured Laman's internal organs, but he had won the gamble. The force behind Elvis's kick had indeed only barely reached the level of a seventh-rank warrior.

"Kill!"

At that moment, Kelun roared and seized the opportunity. The heavy sword in his hand swept viciously across Elvis's back, sending a spray of blood into the air.

As captain of the guard, Kelun had often escorted goods and fought bandits. He had seen blood before, so he was the first to realize what Laman intended.

Benson lacked experience and reacted a step too slowly. Ryan was old, so he was slightly slower as well.

But Elvis had even richer combat experience. The instant Laman caught his calf, he rolled along the ground, freeing his leg while avoiding part of the heavy sword's edge.

After several rolls, Elvis swept his saber, forcing Laman and the others back, then slowly rose to his feet.

Old wounds had been joined by new ones, and Elvis's condition grew increasingly dire. Yet his gaze became sharper. He stared at Laman and said:

"I never expected someone as pampered as you to be so decisive. I underestimated you, Laman!"

"Looks like I have no choice but to use that move!"

With that, Elvis slowly raised his saber. Battle qi surged within him, and beneath the dim moonlight, a layer of dark radiance lit up across the blade.

"Watch out!"

The moment he saw the Black Light flowing across the blade, Laman knew Elvis was going all out. But before he could offer any further warning, Elvis had already charged over.

This time, Elvis was even faster. He was like a streak of black lightning. As he rushed forward, his figure flickered and split into four Elviss in the blink of an eye.

The four men's expressions immediately turned grave, though they were not overly panicked. After all, the two families knew each other well, and they naturally understood Elvis's methods.

Not all four Elviss before them were real. The truth was one real body and three fakes. The three false ones were merely afterimages, their purpose being to make it impossible to distinguish his true body.

However, Elvis was incredibly fast. The four had only just heightened their vigilance when the four "Elviss" arrived before them.

Elvis's afterimages were unbelievably lifelike. Laman and the others could not tell which was an illusion and which was real. Since they could not distinguish them, they treated every one of them as real.

"Kill!"

In an instant, black radiance flashed and sword light erupted. Then came several soft puffs, as three of the four "Elviss" shattered one after another. The last one knelt on one knee, breathing like a bull.

It appeared that Elvis had gained no advantage, but at that moment, Laman's scream suddenly rang out across the field.

"Ah—"

At some point, Laman's right hand had been severed at the shoulder. His severed arm and the sword it held fell to the ground, while blood sprayed from the wound, turning into a mist of red.

At the same time, Ryan and Benson both threw back their heads. The swords in their hands had snapped, and each clutched his throat with his other hand as if trying to hold something in. Yet scarlet liquid was already seeping through their fingers.

The next instant, the two collapsed stiffly to the ground, never to move again.

"Ah, Benson!"

Laman's eyes widened as he looked at his son's corpse, an enraged roar tearing from his throat.

The power of Elvis's ultimate move had completely exceeded his expectations. Especially the speed of that saber strike—it had been so fast that he had only managed to shift his body slightly, sacrificing an arm to save his life.

At the same time, he could not understand why Ryan and Benson had still been killed if the one attacking him had been Elvis's true body.

"My lord!"

Kelun, the only one uninjured, no longer cared about the dead on the ground. Hearing Laman's scream, he snapped back to his senses and ran to Laman's side with a terrified expression.

Elvis was too terrifying. With one move, he had severed the baron's arm while killing Ryan and young master Benson at the same time.

That kind of strength had absolutely surpassed the seventh rank!

"Benson, my son! Ah, Elvis, I want you dead! I'll slaughter your whole family! Ah!"

The pain of losing his son and the agony of his severed arm nearly drove Laman mad. Yet the last remnants of reason told him that now was the best chance to kill Elvis.

He endured the excruciating pain and fixed his eyes on Kelun. With threat and hatred in his voice, he shouted, "Quick, Kelun! Go kill him! Kill him!"

Kelun did not dare disobey the baron's command. He immediately turned around, gripped his sword hilt tightly, and slowly walked toward Elvis.

At this moment, Elvis was breathing like a bull, his entire body trembling as though he did not even have the strength to stand.

Seeing this, Kelun immediately understood that Elvis, having used his ultimate move while injured, had truly reached the end of his rope.

With that thought, he decisively swung his sword at Elvis's vital point.

Pfft!

Facing Kelun's attack, the nearly exhausted Elvis tried desperately to dodge, but his shoulder was still slashed. The wound ran all the way across his back, blood pouring out in streams.

Seeing this, Kelun's confidence surged. He immediately attacked Elvis with one sword strike after another.

Elvis dragged his exhausted body, barely managing to fend off the attacks. Soon, several more small wounds appeared on him, making Kelun as excited as a crazed tiger.

However, in the next instant, just as Kelun thrust his sword toward Elvis's chest, Elvis advanced instead of retreating, charging directly into the blade.

Kelun's expression changed drastically. In that instant, he guessed Elvis's intention, but it was already too late to evade.

Shhk!

The sharp sword pierced through Elvis's body like bamboo, but Elvis used the chance to close in on Kelun.

Seizing the opportunity, Elvis swung his left arm. His dragon-clawed hand flashed across Kelun's throat like lightning, tearing away a massive chunk of flesh.

"Ghk, ghk—"

Blood sprayed over Elvis like a fountain. Kelun's eyes were wide open, filled with unwillingness, but he quickly ceased breathing.

Elvis pulled Kelun's sword from his body while controlling his muscles to tighten around the wound. Then he staggered toward Laman.

"Elvis!"

Holding a sword in his left hand, Laman pointed it at Elvis with gritted teeth. When Kelun died, he had endured the pain and picked up the sword from the ground.

Elvis sneered. As soon as he approached Laman, he swung his saber without another word.

Clang! Clang!

Laman desperately swung his sword to block. However, his internal organs had already been injured, the loss of his right arm had thrown his body off balance, and he had never practiced swordsmanship with his left hand. He could not display any real strength now.

On the other side, Elvis gritted his teeth and relied entirely on his last breath to hold himself up. After exchanging several moves, Elvis used his extensive experience in desperate combat to trade injury for injury again. At the cost of having his chest pierced, he finally cut off Laman's head with a single strike.

However, Elvis seemed to have reached his final moments as well. After swaying several times, he fell stiffly to the ground and did not move again.