The Way to Cheat is Always the Same

Luo Ya, cigarette dangling from his lips, walked slowly toward Ambux's headless corpse. After a moment's thought, he swung Ryujin Jakka down hard upon it.

Luo Ya's eyes widened as the headless body kicked off the ground and retreated, causing his blade to strike the earth with a sharp clang.

He watched as Ambux's head and body rapidly converged, blue flames burning fiercely at the point of severance.

Luo Ya was momentarily stunned by this ability of Ambux's. He had been out at sea for quite a few years, and in the past, he had relied entirely on the immortality of his black flames to bully others.

Now, the tables had turned, and he had encountered an opponent who also possessed an immortal body. This put Luo Ya in a difficult spot; after all, only someone who cheated knew just how hard a cheater was to kill.

Just then, the sound of heavy running filled the air. Luo Ya looked up to see an endless tide of Kobolds surging toward him.

Seeing this, Luo Ya unleashed a ring of flaming sword energy that rippled outward, slicing a vast number of Kobolds in half at the waist, sending intestines and viscera flying through the air amidst a spray of blood.

As these bisected Kobolds died, their corpses reverted to their original forms, and blue flames surged from their remains, flying toward Ambux.

"I told you, no one can defeat me in my kingdom! You're a dead man, Luo Ya!"

Ambux, whose neck was still held together by black-blue flames, roared hideously.

"These lowly commoners—if you kill them, they restore my wounds; if you don't kill them, they will kill you! You're finished!"

Luo Ya continued to swing his sword, slaughtering the endless army of Kobolds, while thinking to himself as he watched the manic Ambux.

Can I no longer rely on absorbing souls from afar to recover? I must charge in and finish him off, otherwise, I'll be worn down as he grows stronger and I grow weaker.

Ambux's ability to recover relied on absorbing the souls of those he had branded as slaves.

Luo Ya, however, relied entirely on his own body to recover. If he hadn't spent half a year eating the fruits from that ruin like meals, he would have been unable to recover by now, especially since the damage Ambux inflicted was not just physical, but also on a soul level.

With this thought, the black flames on Luo Ya's body flared intensely, and he charged desperately toward the recovering Ambux.

It was easy to see from the Kobolds blocking his path that Ambux had gone completely insane, turning every slave he had branded into one of these soldiers.

Although they all had the same dog-like heads, their clothing made it clear that men, women, young, and old had all been thrown into this war.

Ambux's "corpse" retreated rapidly, shielded by four tall Kobolds.

Even though there wasn't a single enemy on the field who could withstand a single blow from Luo Ya, he was completely surrounded by the tidal wave of foes.

Often, before a corpse could even hit the ground after a sword strike, it was trampled underfoot by the surging mass of Kobolds.

Whenever Luo Ya neared Ambux, the four Kobold guards would quickly carry him backward, always maintaining a safe distance.

Unable to break through after a long struggle, Luo Ya hardened his heart and plunged Ryujin Jakka into the ground.

Instantly, dozens of pillars of fire erupted from the earth, illuminating the pitch-black night as if it were broad daylight.

Under Luo Ya's control, the fire pillars did not converge toward the center but detonated right where they stood.

With a thunderous boom, the sky-filling flames slowly descended. Amidst the orange fire and the charred corpses littering the ground, a massive amount of blue flame surged into Ambux's body like a tidal wave.

Ambux let out a moan of pleasure. Seizing this opportunity, Luo Ya lunged at him with his blade.

With a few swift slashes, the four Kobolds carrying the "corpse" were hacked to pieces. With no one left to block his path, Luo Ya brought his blade down on Ambux.

Clang! Ambux, his head and body restored and his left arm regrown, blocked the strike of Ryujin Jakka with a pitch-black claw.

Just as Ambux opened his dog-like maw to speak, Luo Ya channeled a massive amount of Haki into his leg.

Drill Dragon Nail! He kicked out, but Ambux raised his knee to block it with a dull thud.

Ambux seized the opening, his free claw swiping viciously at Luo Ya's face.

Luo Ya gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing with a crimson light. Black flames rolled over his head, and he concentrated a vast amount of Haki into his left hand, which had formed into a claw.

Dragon's Breath! Luo Ya's left hand tore fiercely into Ambux's chest, while almost simultaneously, Ambux's claw raked across Luo Ya's face.

With a loud bang, the two separated and collapsed to the ground.

A gaping hole had been torn in Ambux's chest, with blue flames burning around the edges; one could see the wall behind him and a new batch of incoming Kobolds through the wound.

Luo Ya's face was torn open to the bone, and only one blood-red eye remained, staring fixedly at Ambux. Black flames rolled over his face as well.

"Is this ability of yours trash? After repairing for so long, the result is quite disappointing," Luo Ya mocked.

From the moment they clashed, Luo Ya could feel that Ambux's control over his body had significantly declined.

One had to realize that Ambux, as a master of physical combat, was usually very difficult for Luo Ya to outmaneuver in close-quarters fighting.

But this round of attacks had been completely dictated by Luo Ya, and Ambux's repair speed was, by Luo Ya's estimation, countless times slower than before.

"Is this eerie black flame also an ability granted to you by that sword? It is indeed excellent. I shall practice my swordsmanship diligently in the future."

Ambux sneered and waved his hand.

Following his gesture, a massive number of Kobolds surged forward like a tide once more, swarming toward Luo Ya.

They clawed with their hands, kicked with their feet, and bit with their long, canine maws. These Kobolds, completely transformed into Ambux's slaves, launched suicidal attacks at Luo Ya like mindless zombies.

Luo Ya had to admit that Ambux's ability was truly shameless; if he didn't kill these Kobolds, he would be buried alive by them.

If he did kill them, they would simply become "food" to restore Ambux's wounds.

For a moment, Luo Ya was caught in a dilemma. Surrounded by the massive swarm of Kobolds, it was difficult to effectively break through to Ambux's side.

Furthermore, Ambux was not without combat power; even if he got close, it would be difficult to kill him in a single blow.

Helpless, Luo Ya could only repeat his previous method, continuously slaughtering the Kobolds around him.

During this three-day battle, Luo Ya's stamina was no longer enough to support the release of large-scale clearing moves like Infernal Fire Prison or Scorching Hell.

He could only brandish Ryujin Jakka, occasionally using Fire Burning City Walls to instantly kill dozens of enemies at a time.

He watched helplessly as Ambux continuously absorbed blue fireballs to mend the gaping hole in his chest.

"You're truly capable, Luo Ya. You've already slaughtered over ten thousand of these lowly commoners. The rest are all that I can control on this island. But what will you do about the remaining ten thousand? It's truly pathetic, being swarmed to death by a bunch of commoners, hahahahaha."

Ambux, who was recovering from his wounds on the outskirts of the battlefield, laughed maniacally.

This island originally held at least one hundred thousand controlled residents, but a significant portion had been consumed early on when Ambux extracted their souls to heal himself.

Of course, Ambux wouldn't normally need so many for recovery, but just like the wounds he had inflicted upon Luo Ya, the injuries caused by Ryujin Jakka were on a spiritual level.

The remaining number was still over ten thousand, and as Luo Ya's stamina depleted further, his sword swings grew increasingly sluggish.

He gasped for air with every strike. As he swung his final blow, Luo Ya stood atop a mountain of severed limbs and corpses; seemingly exhausted, he tripped over a severed hand and collapsed, kneeling on the ground while propping himself up with Ryujin Jakka.

Watching Luo Ya kneel, the fully recovered Ambux waved his hand, and the surrounding Kobolds instantly froze, standing as still as statues.

"You aren't pretending to be exhausted to lure me in, are you, Luo Ya? What an ugly trick. Regardless of whether you've truly lost the ability to resist, your fate will only be to be torn to shreds by these commoners, hahaha."

Ambux laughed wildly as blue flames gathered on his claws. He swiped down toward Luo Ya, the three claw-blades slicing through the Kobolds in his path before flying rapidly toward him.

Luo Ya was not discouraged by his ruse being seen through; after all, brainless villains like those in anime were rare, and it was clear that Ambux was determined to wear him down to death.

With a metallic clang, Luo Ya, who had been kneeling on the ground, rose and swung his blade to shatter the claw-blades, charging toward Ambux once more.

Ambux laughed heartily and waved his hand, causing the surrounding Kobolds to swarm forward again.