"I can explain, I..."
Splat!
The walnut tree's owner had barely opened his mouth when the Higher Evil Spirit beheaded him with a knife-hand strike, cutting him off mid-sentence.
His head flew high into the air and crashed heavily to the ground. Bewilderment and incomprehension remained frozen on his face, as though he simply could not understand why the other party had killed him without even giving him a chance to explain.
The Higher Evil Spirit looked at the blood-covered head and curled its lip in disdain.
It had neither the time nor the inclination to waste words on him.
Once they became enemies, one of them was destined to die.
Perhaps the Higher Evil Spirit had quite a few small grievances with its contractor, but it wholeheartedly agreed with his views.
The only good enemy was a dead enemy.
It shook the blood from its palm, leaving a straight, crimson line on the ground. Then it licked its lips and swept its gaze around, its voice dark and murderous as it enunciated each word. "Cross this line... and die!"
The dense woods around them fell silent.
The prying gazes lurking nearby quickly vanished.
The Higher Evil Spirit knew the first half of its little ploy had worked. Its consecutive kills had intimidated those fellows.
But given a little time, those greedy fellows would recover their senses.
The Higher Evil Spirit understood all too well that, driven by greed, they would never willingly retreat. They would certainly risk another attempt.
So it absolutely could not give them time to catch their breath.
"I'll guard this place. Go find those fellows, then..."
"Kill them!"
The Higher Evil Spirit addressed Old Book with a cruel smile on its face.
Anyone who saw that smile would instinctively think they were looking at a