A Man Who Wants to Die (Part 2)

Yin Kuang's eyes were as cold as ice.

He poured every ounce of his strength into a single slash, aiming straight for Nicholas's neck!

It could be said that his movements were incredibly clumsy, devoid of any technique whatsoever, relying purely on brute force—though in reality, Yin Kuang only had 3 points of strength, so it wasn't even true brute force—or more accurately, it was a desperate, suicidal style of fighting, trading injury for injury.

Yin Kuang knew his own limitations. He was well aware that if he fought normally, even if he had ten lives and 100 health points, it wouldn't be enough to go toe-to-toe with Nicholas!

From childhood to adulthood, he had never learned any combat techniques; moves and forms were completely meaningless to him. Therefore, since conventional attacks wouldn't work, the only thing Yin Kuang could do was gamble with his life!

Attack! Attack! And attack again!!

By fighting desperately and charging forward, Yin Kuang might just have a sliver of a chance at survival. If he even thought about dodging or blocking, it didn't take a genius to realize that a single strike would send him straight back to the "University."

Although Nicholas was prepared for death, as a veteran soldier, he possessed the sense of duty a warrior should have!

To fight, to fight with everything he had, was the only way Nicholas could manifest his value!

Facing the blade Yin Kuang swung at him, how could Nicholas, with his battle-hardened skills and honed combat instincts, fail to see what Yin Kuang was planning?

Trading life for life?

Nicholas didn't need to do anything of the sort.

Nicholas swung his own blade in a backhand motion. With a crisp "ding," the two military knives collided, sparks flying in the air and illuminating their grim faces...

The force of this single block alone left Yin Kuang's arm numb, his webbing split and bleeding, and his knife nearly flew from his grasp.

Yet, before Yin Kuang could even react, a piercing, heart-wrenching pain erupted in his abdomen and surged through his entire body.

The next moment, he was sent flying back like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily onto the asphalt.

One kick, and Yin Kuang lost 2 points of health!

Having started with only 5 health points, Yin Kuang was now down to just three. If one were to calculate it, the force of Nicholas's kick had reached 4 points! A single kick possessed more power than Yin Kuang's entire 3 points of strength. It wasn't hard to imagine that if Nicholas had used his full strength, Yin Kuang might have been sent straight back to the afterlife.

"Wait... full strength?! 4 points of strength!? Impossible! Even that kid Wei Ming has 8 points of strength; there's no reason this elite mercenary would have so little... Either he isn't using his full strength... or he simply can't!"

Amidst the flames, Yin Kuang's eyes flickered with an inexplicable light!

Blood!?

Only then did Yin Kuang notice a pool of blood on the ground, bright crimson and clearly fresh, steaming hot. This blood obviously wasn't his, so...

"Why has he been facing me head-on the whole time?! Could it be..."

His sharp gaze swept over, and sure enough, from this angle, Yin Kuang caught a drop of blood falling from the mercenary's back, splashing into a flower of red on the ground.

To Yin Kuang at this moment, that splash of blood was dazzling.

"He's injured too! That's right, it must be! With such a violent explosion, even if he escaped, how could he possibly be unscathed! Heaven is helping me! Now, it's just a matter of who can hold out longer!"

With this thought, Yin Kuang scrambled up, gripped his knife, and charged at the mercenary once more.

Why charge? Didn't he just think about who could hold out longer?

If Yin Kuang had actually done that, he would have been nearing his death.

Imagine a wounded wolf standing before you. If you chose to stand your ground, intending to stall for time until the wolf bled to death, you could be certain the wounded wolf wouldn't just stand there. It would definitely lunge at you in a frenzy before it died, tearing you apart with its sharp fangs. But if you ran, being bitten to death would still be your ultimate fate.

Therefore, the only correct choice was to charge, use every ounce of your strength, and kill the wolf! Even if you weren't sure you could win, you had to do it. Because this was your only hope of survival.

At this moment, Nicholas was that wounded wolf!

"Did you figure it out?"

With their blades locked, Nicholas bared his teeth and stared straight at Yin Kuang. "That's right, I'm injured. And it's a heavy wound."

Yin Kuang was pushed back repeatedly by Nicholas's immense strength, his body nearly losing its balance. He desperately wanted to free a hand to punch Nicholas, but he knew his fist wouldn't cause any damage; the only thing he could rely on was the military knife in his hand. Thus, no matter what, he could not let go of the blade.

"Bang!" Yin Kuang was slammed against a wall by Nicholas. Having already suffered a gunshot wound to his back, the violent impact left him dizzy and disoriented, his vision swimming with white spots. If not for a powerful obsession sustaining him, Yin Kuang would have likely passed out.

Health reduced by another 1 point!

"Death... is near..." Nicholas's hoarse, low voice rang in Yin Kuang's ear.

"No!! Why... should I die?! I want to... live..." Yin Kuang squeezed the words through his teeth and suddenly slammed his head into Nicholas's.

The two were extremely close, and the move was so sudden that their heads collided with a sickening thud!

Bang!

Blood splattered everywhere.

Yin Kuang felt as if his entire body had been struck by a high-voltage current, leaving him numb and trembling. But worse was the intense pain and dizziness assaulting his brain; it felt as if a giant hammer had smashed into his skull, or as if a powerful hand were crushing his brain—the sensation was... indescribable!

Health reduced by another 1 point.

The collision was so violent that even Nicholas let out a pained cry, and the force he was exerting on the military knife instantly dissipated.

System Prompt: You have dealt 3 points of damage to the elite mercenary leader Nicholas. Headshot critical damage ignores defense values; actual damage dealt: 3 points.

System Prompt: Elite mercenary leader Nicholas is now stunned for 2 seconds.

These prompts appeared, but Yin Kuang had no mind to pay attention to these sudden "prompts." The only thing he had to do now was charge forward and kill Nicholas!

System Prompt: Because your health is below 10%, the "Hardworking" skill effect has been activated. You are immune to stun effects, and you will be in a state of damage immunity for 2 seconds. Damage is doubled after 2 seconds.

System Prompt: "Raging Beast" effect activated. Your Strength +2, Defense +1, Agility -2, Intelligence -3.

"Warning: Due to your low HP, you will fall into a 30-minute state of paralysis once the Raging Beast effect expires!!"

"Damn it!!"

Yin Kuang screamed at the top of his lungs, no longer caring about the consequences. He charged forward like a madman and drove a knee strike straight into Nicholas's crotch.

"ROAR!!"

Nicholas let out a beastly howl; the bone-piercing, excruciating pain instantly snapped him out of his daze.

Almost instinctively, Nicholas curled his legs and fell backward. However, as a warrior with extensive combat experience, the moment he fell, his hands grabbed onto Yin Kuang's clothes, dragging him down to the ground as well, while simultaneously plunging his combat knife into Yin Kuang's right shoulder...

At this moment, one second had already passed...

However, whether it was the activation of Yin Kuang's Mystic Protection and the +3 luck effect from the Kitchen God Amulet, or simply that Nicholas was truly not favored by God, there happened to be a sharp rock on the ground where he fell. As Nicholas hit the ground, his back landed directly onto the jagged stone.

In that instant, the flushed color on Nicholas's face, caused by the agony in his crotch, drained away completely.

His back had already been mangled by the blast, and now, having his spine pressed against a sharp rock—nearly dislocating it—Nicholas had lost all ability to resist.

Yet, Yin Kuang's assault continued!

Thirty minutes of paralysis and the double damage penalty following the immunity effect had driven Yin Kuang to the brink of insanity—if he didn't kill Nicholas within two seconds, he, Yin Kuang, would be dead!!

This was the final frenzy before death!!

One stab, driven into Nicholas's collarbone...

Another stab, driven directly into Nicholas's throat...

The subsequent stabs were all driven into Nicholas's chest—the blood spraying from Nicholas's neck stained Yin Kuang's eyes, obscuring his vision. Coupled with the -3 intelligence effect from Raging Beast, Yin Kuang's blade failed to land on any of Nicholas's vital organs.

However, it was already enough...