A Man Who Wanted to Die (Part 2)

Yin Kuang's eyes were cold as ice.

Summoning all his strength, he slashed at Nicholas's neck!

His movements were clumsy, utterly lacking in technique. He relied purely on brute force—though, in truth, Yin Kuang's Strength was only 3, so it hardly counted as brute force. More precisely, he was trading injury for injury, fighting with his life on the line.

Yin Kuang knew his own limits. He understood perfectly well that if he fought by normal means, even with ten lives and 100 Health Points, he wouldn't stand a chance against Nicholas!

He had never learned a single fighting technique, not from childhood to the present. Formal moves were completely out of reach. So, since a conventional attack wouldn't work, the only thing Yin Kuang could do was fight for his life!

Attack! Attack! And attack again!!

If he fought desperately and pressed forward without hesitation, perhaps Yin Kuang still had a sliver of hope. If he tried to dodge or block, anyone could guess what would happen: one slash, and Yin Kuang would be sent straight back to the "university."

Although Nicholas wanted to die, as a Predator, he still had the responsibilities expected of a warrior!

To fight—to fight with all his might—was the only way Nicholas could prove his worth!

As Yin Kuang swung his blade at him, how could Nicholas, with his countless battles and honed instincts, not know what Yin Kuang had in mind?

Trading life for life?

Nicholas had no need to do that.

Nicholas simply swung his blade backhanded. With a clang, the edges of the two combat knives clashed in midair, sending sparks flying and illuminating their grim faces...

That single block shook Yin Kuang's knife arm numb. Blood welled from the web between his thumb and forefinger, and the combat knife nearly flew from his grasp.

But before Yin Kuang could react, a piercing pain tore through his abdomen and spread throughout his body.

The next moment, he flew backward like a kite with its string cut and slammed hard onto the asphalt.

One kick took 2 Health Points from Yin Kuang!

Yin Kuang had only 5 Health Points to begin with. Now he had just 3 left. By his estimate, the force behind Nicholas's kick had reached 4 points! Even that single kick was stronger than Yin Kuang's Strength of 3. It was easy to imagine that if Nicholas went all out, Yin Kuang might be sent straight back.

"Wait... All out?! Strength of 4!? Impossible! Even Wei Ming has 8 points of Strength. There's no way this elite mercenary is that weak... Is he holding back... or is he simply unable to give it his all?!"

Amid the flames, a strange glint shone in Yin Kuang's eyes!

Blood?!

Only then did Yin Kuang notice the pool of blood on the ground—bright red, clearly fresh. It obviously wasn't his blood. Then...

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

His sharp gaze swept over the scene, and sure enough, from this angle, Yin Kuang saw a drop of blood fall from the mercenary's back, splashing onto the ground like a flower.

To Yin Kuang, that splash of blood was dazzling.

"He's wounded too! That's it, he has to be! After such a powerful explosion, how could he have escaped unscathed? Heaven is on my side! Now it's just a matter of who can hold out longer!"

With that thought, Yin Kuang got to his feet, gripped his knife, and charged at the mercenary again.

Why charge at him? Hadn't he just said it was a matter of who could last longer?

If Yin Kuang really did that, he'd be as good as dead.

Imagine a wounded wolf standing in front of you. If you chose to face it and wait for it to bleed to death, you could be sure that the wolf wouldn't just stand there. Before it died, it would lunge at you in a frenzy and tear you apart with its sharp teeth. But if you ran, getting bitten to death would still be your final fate.

So the only right choice was to charge and kill the wolf with all your strength! Even if you weren't sure you could do it, you had to try. It was your only hope of survival.

Nicholas was that wounded wolf!

"You noticed, did you?"

Their knives locked together. Nicholas bared his teeth and stared at Yin Kuang. "That's right. I'm wounded. And badly."

Nicholas's immense strength drove Yin Kuang backward, until he could barely stay on his feet. He wanted to free one hand and punch Nicholas, but he knew his fist couldn't hurt him. The combat knife was the only thing he could rely on, so he couldn't let go of it, no matter what.

With a bang, Nicholas slammed Yin Kuang against the wall. Yin Kuang already had a bullet wound in his back, and the heavy impact sent his head spinning. His vision went white in waves. Only a fierce determination kept him from passing out.

Another 1 Health Point gone!

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

"No!! Why... should I die?! I want... to live..." Yin Kuang forced the words through clenched teeth. Suddenly, he slammed his head into Nicholas's.

The two were close, and the attack came without warning. Their heads crashed together!

Bang!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Yin Kuang felt as if a high-voltage current had surged through his body, leaving him trembling and numb. Worse, a wave of intense pain and dizziness struck his brain. It felt as if a giant hammer had slammed into his skull—or as if a powerful hand were squeezing his brain to death. The sensation was... indescribable!

Another 1 Health Point gone.

The collision hurt Nicholas too. He cried out in pain, and the force he had been applying to their knives vanished instantly.

"Notice: You dealt 3 damage to the elite mercenary leader, Nicholas. The special head injury ignored Defense and dealt 3 actual damage."

"Notice: The elite mercenary leader, Nicholas, is stunned for 2 seconds."

The notices appeared, but Yin Kuang had no mind to pay attention to them. The only thing he needed to do now was charge forward and kill Nicholas!

"Notice: Your Health is below 10%. The Hardworking skill has activated. You are immune to the stun effect and will be immune to damage for 2 seconds. After 2 seconds, damage taken will be doubled."

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

"Warning: Due to your critically low Health, when the Raging Beast effect ends, you will be paralyzed for 30 minutes!!"

"Damn it!!"

Yin Kuang screamed, no longer caring about anything else. He charged at Nicholas like a madman and drove his knee into his groin.

"Roar!!"

Nicholas let out a beastly cry of pain. The agony pierced him to the bone, dragging him out of his daze at once.

Almost instinctively, Nicholas curled his legs and fell backward. But he was an exceptionally experienced fighter. As he fell, he grabbed Yin Kuang's clothes and dragged him down with him. At the same time, his combat knife plunged into Yin Kuang's right shoulder...

One second had already passed...

Whether it was the fortune bonus of +3 from Yin Kuang's Mystic Protection and Kitchen God Amulet taking effect, or Nicholas simply having no favor with God, a sharp stone happened to lie where he fell. When Nicholas hit the ground, his back landed right on top of it.

In that instant, the color drained from Nicholas's face, which had been red with pain from the blow to his groin.

His back was already a bloody mess from the force of the explosion. Now the sharp stone pressed against his spine, nearly dislocating it. Nicholas had lost the ability to fight back.

But Yin Kuang's attack continued!

Thirty minutes of paralysis, and double damage once his immunity wore off—those thoughts drove Yin Kuang almost completely out of his mind. If he didn't kill Nicholas within 2 seconds, he was dead!!

This was the last frenzy before death!!

One stab went into Nicholas's collarbone...

The next plunged straight into his throat...

Then another and another, almost all of them striking Nicholas's chest. Blood spurted from Nicholas's neck, splattering across Yin Kuang's eyes and blinding him. On top of that, Yin Kuang was under the Raging Beast effect, with his Intelligence reduced by 3, so his blade missed Nicholas's vital spots.

But it was enough...