Xu Feng slowly walked up behind him, and his blade flashed down.
As the silver flying blades spread slightly apart, the black armor covering the man's right arm shattered beneath the strike.
Xu Feng's blade light dimmed only a little, its remaining force still severing the arm at the shoulder.
The severed arm spun several times through the air, the broken armor still gleaming black, before landing in the mud more than ten meters away.
The man screamed and dropped to one knee, his left hand reaching for something at his waist.
But Xu Feng had already stepped on his wrist and kicked him onto his back.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones rang out with startling clarity in the night.
"I ask, you answer." Xu Feng pressed the tip of his blade against the man's neck. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The black-armored man's mouth was full of blood, and muffled whimpers rose from his throat.
He looked up at Xu Feng, his eyes filled with bitter resentment and bone-deep terror.
His lips moved a few times before he finally forced a word through his teeth. "You..."
Xu Feng pressed the blade down a little farther.
The tip pierced the skin, and a thin line of blood trickled down the man's neck.
"Black Gold Demon City!" the black-armored man finally blurted out. "We're tax envoys from Black Gold Demon City... We were ordered to collect Nightcry Town's annual tribute."
"What is that Blood Tower core?" Xu Feng asked.
The man gasped for breath. "It's a Thunder-Repelling Crystal. It can repel enemies and stand guard. At full power, it can kill someone at Radiant God Peak."
Xu Feng glanced back toward the town entrance.
Black Rock and a group of townspeople had followed them out with torches