Excellent Fertilizer

"Viper, I need you to deal with someone for me."

"Your orders."

"Lately, there have been plenty of rumors in the city about that person from Longwind Fortress. I want you to get rid of him."

In Flint City, the butler stood atop Deer Terrace, where the view was unobstructed. He stood as straight as a pine, his tone gentle, as if he were discussing something utterly ordinary.

It was only the death of one person. People died in Flint City every day.

To the butler, whatever significance that person from Longwind Fortress held, he had to carry out the city lord's orders.

Viper raised his head in surprise and studied the butler for a moment.

As an ability user of Black Iron who specialized in gathering intelligence and carrying out assassinations, Viper had naturally heard about Longwind Fortress.

"I understand. Give me a few days."

The butler's words were etched into Viper's mind, as if they had been spoken yesterday.

Longwind Fortress had not been easy to find. If Zhang Rui had not accidentally exposed its location on the map, Viper would have needed even more time to get here.

And as a D-rank ability user, surviving in the darkness had not been difficult.

Yet after he had finally pinpointed the location, he saw a man-made shrine along the way, as well as the strange Sunshine Sunflower Sea outside the city.

But before he could enter, a strange man appeared in his sight.

There was not the slightest trace of an ability user's aura on this man. He had merely been lucky enough to evade Viper's attack, yet he had the nerve to say he would tear Viper into eight pieces.

Haha... It had always been Lord Viper who tore others into eight pieces. This was the first time anyone had dared to shout so arrogantly in his face.

The killing intent in Viper's eyes grew even stronger. He had already decided exactly how he would torture the other man.

Whoosh!!

In an instant, Viper vanished from where he stood. His speed seemed faster than sound itself, reaching a level that ordinary eyes could not catch.

A series of sharp explosions rang out in the air.

As a speed-type ability user, Viper was fully confident that, at full power, he could instantly render the man before him incapable of fighting.

The blade edges carried a terrifying chill. The two daggers were even more dangerous and deadly than Viper's fangs.

"At full power, there's no way you can dodge at this distance."

Less than a meter remained between Viper and the man before him. He had completely entered Viper's kill range.

Other than high-ranking ability users, no ability user of the same rank had ever survived this move.

Yet in Viper's eyes, the man before him raised his head without the slightest fear.

He could not understand it. The other man was about to die, so why was he still smiling?

But the next second, an attack Viper had never expected flew out from an extremely tricky angle and viciously struck his chest and abdomen.

Smack!!

A thick root burst out from beneath the soil in front of Lincon. It moved as nimbly as a whip, sending Viper flying.

Viper struggled to adjust himself in midair. The intense pain in his chest blurred his vision, and he finally spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked behind the man in shock. The previously ordinary ancient maple tree had actually risen upright, its gnarled roots twisting like giant pythons to form an enormous fist that came crashing down on him.

Boom...

In the end, Viper failed to dodge.

Even as he lost consciousness, he could not understand how the danger he had sensed had come from a large tree behind his opponent.

The Ancient Maple Guardian lifted its fist. Viper on the ground was no longer remotely human.

Speed-type ability users were comparatively fragile to begin with. After taking the Ancient Maple Guardian's full-force blow, there was no surprise—he was dead beyond doubt.

Lincon slowly walked over to Viper's corpse and crouched down. Looking at the mangled remains, he let out a long sigh.

That punch from the Ancient Maple Guardian had been practically like getting hit by a truck. The victim did not even get to keep an intact corpse.

"Still, it's fine. It counts as fulfilling the way you said you wanted to die."

After saying that, Lincon rummaged through Viper's body and picked out everything that was still usable.

Several gold beans and Dark Matter Crystals, two daggers, an iron insignia, and a map.

There had originally been some food as well, but it had mixed together with flesh and blood, so Lincon did not want it.

After picking up the remaining items, he had the Ancient Maple Guardian toss the corpse into the flower field.

"This is premium fertilizer. Don't complain that I never give you anything good to eat again."

The flesh and blood of ability users contained special energy substances, far superior to ordinary fertilizer. Lincon had not been wrong about that.

Lincon did not hurry home. Instead, he called Zhang Rui over.

He placed the items taken from Viper before Zhang Rui, setting the iron insignia in the most conspicuous spot.

"Have you seen these things before?"

Zhang Rui frowned slightly and picked up the bloodstained insignia. A trace of gravity appeared in his eyes.

Because two words were written on the insignia.

"Snake Guard."

"My lord, this is an insignia from Flint City!"

Zhang Rui could not help clenching the insignia tightly, a deep chill rising in his heart.

They've come after me!

But was sending a Snake Guard to hunt me down not making too much of it? What right did I have to make an ability user travel such a long way just to kill me?

Suddenly, Zhang Rui seemed to think of something. He abruptly raised his head and looked at Lincon.

Meeting Zhang Rui's eyes, Lincon had already roughly guessed the answer from his expression.

"This man... came specifically to kill me, didn't he?"

Hearing those calm yet faintly icy words, Zhang Rui's heart tightened. He actually dropped to one knee.

"My lord, it's all my fault. If I hadn't spread news of you, this would not have happened today.

If you are angry, I will take my wife and children and leave the fortress immediately. I will also erase all traces around Longwind Fortress and make sure everything is handled properly for you."

Zhang Rui lowered his head, his voice trembling faintly. He was terribly afraid Lincon would take his anger out on his wife and children because of this.

Yet just as his nerves tightened to the limit, a strong hand gripped his shoulder and helped him up.

Lincon still wore that unflappable expression, as though nothing could stir much emotion in him.

"You did nothing wrong. Human hearts are unpredictable by nature. It's simply that someone doesn't like the sight of me and wants to get rid of me. What is there to blame yourself for?"

"What should we do now?" Zhang Rui said with a frown. "If Flint City does not receive any news from the Snake Guard, they will definitely know his mission failed and that he is dead.

"And after losing an ability user, Flint City will be even less willing to let this go. They may send even stronger ability users next."

Lincon picked up the insignia and examined it, then asked a completely different question.

"What rank are Snake Guards?"

Zhang Rui frowned as he thought. "Flint City has a total of 187 ability users. Those with Beast Insignias are generally E-rank ability users or above.

"C-rank ability users are the strongest beneath the city lord. Their numbers are few, and they do not move lightly. This Snake Guard was most likely a D-rank ability user."

Lincon nodded, patted Zhang Rui on the shoulder, and said in a soothing tone, "Then it's fine. Take it easy. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

"???"

Zhang Rui could not help freezing at those words.

He hesitantly wanted to correct the mistake in Lincon's words, but when the words reached his lips, he ultimately said nothing.

My lord, the target was clearly you!