Killing Time (3)

Time to Kill (Three)

In the deepest part of the forest, towering ancient trees grew everywhere, and the ground was completely covered in thick moss. Some places gave off a faint phosphorescent glow, the only light in the darkness.

Gena walked alone through the night, his cowhide boots stepping on slick moss and thick fallen leaves without making the slightest sound.

He had already killed seven people, and one of them had even been a beautiful young girl in the prime of her youth. He had felt a little reluctant at the time, but in the end, under her terror-stricken gaze, he had still used the broadsword on his back to sever her tender neck.

This was the forest outside the entrance to Blood Canyon, not anywhere else. Every person who appeared here was an outstanding talent in their profession. Showing someone mercy in one moment might earn him a knife in the back the next. After all, there were only ten places. Of those who had come, who did not want this chance?

It was already deep into the night. Gena's nose was filled with the rotten smell of fallen leaves. He found a towering tree, leaped lightly up into it, and sat down on a thick branch. He had just closed his eyes to rest for a while when they snapped open, and he quietly crouched down.

Swish!

In the distant woods came the sound of leaves being brushed aside, yet there was no wind at all.

More than one person. Gena's heart tightened in alarm. He had heard several streaks of wind, so he buried himself even more carefully among the dense leaves.

Suddenly, the swishing vanished, and the forest returned to a deathly silence.

Gena grew even more vigilant. Holding his breath, he did not dare move a muscle.

He only felt a slight chill at the back of his neck, as if something had dripped down. In an instant, Gena's body arched violently, blue battle aura enveloping him from head to toe. Like an arrow loosed from the string, his body shot toward the ground with a whoosh.

Thud! The xenomorph's tailbone stab missed, piercing a large hole straight through the thick trunk.

When he was still a few meters from the ground, Gena flipped in midair. The moment he landed, the broadsword on his back was already in his hand.

By the flickering blue blade of battle aura on the sword, Gena focused and looked up into the tree, but saw not the slightest movement.

At that moment, behind Gena, a roving xenomorph tailbone silently reached over like a venomous snake, waiting until it was almost beside him before suddenly stabbing out.

Gena seemed to have sensed it in advance. Without even turning his body, the broadsword in his hand slashed swiftly behind him.

"Hiss..." A strange scream came from behind Gena. He only felt something spray onto his back, and his clothes made a sizzling sound. He was horrified. His body leaped forward, and he looked back.

Standing there was a peculiar magical beast. Green blood sprayed from its long tailbone and dripped to the ground, where the fallen leaves immediately sizzled and gave off black smoke.

Thank goodness I'm wearing top-grade Black Iron Battle Armor under my outer robe, and thank goodness it didn't spray onto my skin. Seeing this, Gena was both terrified and relieved.

Before he could dart over, that magical beast vanished. If not for the black smoke rising all over the ground from the corrosion, it would have seemed as if it had never appeared at all.

"Get out here!" Gena suddenly roared. His blue battle-aura-wrapped figure drew a brilliant afterimage through the air as he flew straight toward the tree trunk behind him.

That was exactly where Li Junshan was lying in ambush.

Seeing that the other party had discovered him, Li Junshan was badly startled. He flipped over onto the back of the xenomorph crouching beside him, then rushed toward a neighboring giant tree.

Boom! With a tremendous crash, the giant tree where Li Junshan had just been hiding was chopped in half by blue battle aura and collapsed with a roar.

Gena missed with his strike, and his body leaped rapidly as he pursued Li Junshan.

It was only because I got nervous when the xenomorph was injured and my breathing became a little uneven, but he still noticed! Sitting on the xenomorph's back, Li Junshan dodged the branches and leaves whipping toward his face, inwardly groaning in misery.

Xenomorphs were experts at assassination, but facing a Great Battle Master with blue battle aura head-on, they might not be all that formidable. Besides, the other party was wearing close-fitting armor that was not afraid of being corroded by xenomorph blood.

While commanding the other two xenomorphs to harass that Great Battle Master from time to time, Li Junshan rode the xenomorph, constantly changing direction as he leaped and shifted between the giant trees.

Suddenly, through his spiritual senses, he felt that another xenomorph had been injured. In the middle of his rush, Li Junshan looked back and saw a xenomorph falling from a tree. Helpless, he could only recall it into his spiritual space.

The other Xenomorph Eggs still haven't reacted. Right now, every xenomorph I lose is one fewer I have. I can't afford this kind of waste. Who knows how many experts are still hidden in this darkness? I have to end this quickly. I can't drag it out any longer. Thinking this, Li Junshan commanded the xenomorph to land on the ground.

Gena was pursuing extremely closely. Seeing the other party land on the ground, he sneered inwardly several times. The broadsword in his hand shook out a blue blade of battle aura as he came at him like a gale.

All of a sudden, Gena saw five identical magical beasts appear in front of the sneering youth, and his heart jolted in shock.

How are there still so many? Gena's mind buzzed. His battle-aura sword force had already been released, and it was too late to pull it back. Gritting his teeth, he drove his battle aura and slashed the broadsword in his hand diagonally through the air. A blue blade of battle aura over five meters long swept straight toward the five magical beasts.

By then, Li Junshan had already urged the ordinary xenomorph beneath him to jump away. Naturally, the other five xenomorphs would not stand there and take a beating. Their agile bodies drew afterimages as they rapidly leaped into the surrounding brush and woods.

Gena's sword aura struck empty, carving a trench over five meters long into the damp, soft ground. He checked his momentum and landed steadily, meeting change by remaining unchanged as he looked at the five xenomorphs falling from the air.

His vision suddenly brightened. Gena stared in surprise at the light projectile spat from a xenomorph's mouth. Circulating his battle aura, he swung the broadsword in his hand and knocked the light projectile aside, then followed through and scattered the Fireball spat out by another xenomorph. His body shot up several zhang, barely avoiding the black mist sprayed by a xenomorph, and he stabbed toward another xenomorph leaping over his head.

Zzzzt! As that xenomorph twisted its body strangely to avoid Gena's sword tip, it spat out Paralysis Lightning that struck the sword.

The other side's magical beasts appeared one after another without end. Gena had wanted to conserve battle aura, so he had not channeled it onto the blade. He only felt his body stiffen in a bizarre way, and only then did he realize that this insignificant-looking bolt of lightning was actually Paralysis Lightning. His courage nearly shattered in terror.

That slight stiffness did not even last the blink of an eye, but for the lightning-fast xenomorphs, it was already enough.

Pfft...

A series of sounds rang out. While Gena was still in midair, he was stabbed into a sieve by the xenomorphs' tailbones. One xenomorph tailbone pierced out through the back of his head, spraying brain matter everywhere. He did not even have time to let out a scream.

Li Junshan let out a long breath and recalled the five magic xenomorphs. He quickly ran to Gena's side and skillfully searched him. Including the one on Gena's finger, this time he actually obtained eight Space Rings, which filled him with delight.

He did not let go of the other party's close-fitting armor either. After stripping it off and taking a look, he found it was a dark, thin armor made of unknown material. There were even two small Beast Cores embedded inside the armor.

It isn't afraid of corrosion from xenomorph blood. Maybe it has a lot to do with these two cores. I'll find someone to ask when I get the chance.

Li Junshan thought this to himself. He tried putting it on and found it somewhat loose, so he tossed it into a Space Ring.

Two ordinary xenomorphs opened the way in front and behind. Riding one, Li Junshan quickly ran toward the deeper part of the forest.

After running for quite a while, Li Junshan still did not encounter a single person. Not only was his own strength starting to fail, even those three xenomorphs had grown somewhat tired after he had ridden them repeatedly.

Xenomorphs were several times more lethal in the dark than during the day. Seeing the east begin to pale, Li Junshan simply stopped. He found a towering tree, climbed all the way to the top, and found a relatively flat branch to lean against. Clutching that black blade tightly, before long, he relaxed his mind and fell asleep.

Among the branches on either side of him crouched two vigilant xenomorphs.

Half-conscious and groggy, Li Junshan had no idea how long he had slept. Suddenly, he sensed a mental communication from a Xenomorph and jolted awake, only to find that the sky was already bright and the sun had climbed overhead.

Carefully poking his head out, he saw five people walking past beneath the tree. The one in front wore leather armor and carried a giant axe as broad as a door panel. His muscles bulged all over, and from above, his whole body looked like a huge ball of flesh.

On the left walked a young girl in purple, holding a silver rod like the ones Li Junshan had seen carried by high-ranking priests in the viscount's estate in Floro City. Her hair was swept up in an elegant, cloudlike style, and he could not make out her face.

On the right was a mage holding a black magic staff. His gray magic robe was spotless, and his body was rather thin.

The one at the rear was even leaner, dressed entirely in black. The way he walked was very peculiar; he kept glancing left and right from time to time, looking exceptionally alert.

In the middle was someone wearing light armor. Their entire body was covered in gray light armor, and Li Junshan could not even tell whether the person was male or female.

"The four around them seem to be protecting the one in the middle." Li Junshan could not help feeling a little puzzled.

Anyone who could come to Blood Canyon was no pushover. Who would be willing to protect someone else?

After they gradually moved farther away, Li Junshan had one Xenomorph quietly follow them while he hid among the trees, not daring to act rashly.

If the other side had been alone, he would have killed without mercy. But there were five of them, so he had no choice but to be careful.

Only after the Xenomorph crawling stealthily through the woods vanished from Li Junshan's sight did he carefully climb down from the tree. Jumping across branches in broad daylight would make him a moving target. Relatively speaking, the ground was safer.

He had just landed on the ground and had not even steadied himself when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the mental message from the Xenomorph lying in wait and tracking them. In an instant, it had actually suffered severe injuries.

Startled, Li Junshan quickly climbed toward the treetop. By the time he had reached halfway up the trunk, his mental communication with that Xenomorph had been completely cut off.

A summoned beast had to appear beside its summoner when summoned, and to recall a summoned beast into the mental space, it had to be within the summoner's field of vision. Although Li Junshan possessed heaven-defying Xenomorph summoned beasts, he still could not escape this rule.

With no time to think further, Li Junshan swiftly climbed to the top of the tree and concealed himself in silence.

At that moment, the five people who had just passed by quickly appeared within Li Junshan's view. They vigilantly checked their surroundings, even raising their heads to look up into the trees.

Though he knew perfectly well they could not see him, Li Junshan's heart still tightened despite himself, and he involuntarily held his breath.