"Captain Du, long time no see!"
The scarred man spoke in a low, hoarse voice, as though his throat had suffered a grievous injury.
"Yes, long time no see. I've dreamed of killing you!"
Killing intent flashed in Du Qinggang's eyes.
It seemed he and the man with the scar-covered face had known each other before.
"Chasing wanted criminals isn't the mobile squad's job." The scarred man glanced at Duan Ming and continued, "Why meddle?"
"The rise and fall of humanity is everyone's responsibility!"
"Even a three-year-old understands that, yet not only do you fail to understand it, you also brutally murdered warriors stationed on the front lines of the fight against demons!"
"They risked their heads and spilled their blood on the battlefield, all to defend humanity's dignity!"
"They faced death at every turn and never dared hope to see tomorrow's sun, treating every meal as their last!"
"Day and night, they longed to reunite with their families, but duty bound them to guard the border!"
"Yet in the end, they didn't die at the hands of demons. They died at the hands of a parasite like you!"
"Captain Du, I had no choice... You know, if I hadn't killed them, I would've died!"
The scarred man was visibly somewhat afraid of Du Qinggang.
"You murdered human heroes for your own selfish desires. Trash like you deserves to be killed by anyone who finds you!"
"If I, Du Qinggang, cannot avenge the heroic human souls who died, I would rather die!"
Duan Ming looked at Du Qinggang with a complicated expression.
He never would have guessed that this Slovenly King could say something so stirring!
"Then it seems a fight between us is inevitable. Back when we were in the Demon Suppression Army, you and I were always competing. Now it's time to settle who's better!"
"Hmph, that was because I never considered you an opponent back then!" Du Qinggang departed from his usual manner, his eyes filled with killing intent.
The Demon Suppression Army?
Duan Ming looked at Du Qinggang beside him.
He hadn't expected Captain Du to have served in the Demon Suppression Army.
Then how did he end up becoming a squad captain in the Divine Mark Association?
"Remember, if a fight breaks out outside in a moment, you mustn't take your eyes off this man for even a second. With his strength, he could absolutely kill you in one second!"
Du Qinggang looked at Duan Ming and warned him.
Huh?
Outside?
What did he mean?
Were they inside somewhere?
And he could kill him in one second? Was that true?
"Du Qinggang, you're formidable, I have to admit that. But do you think you and that kid beside you can catch me?"
As the scarred man spoke, he pulled a reaper's scythe wreathed in black qi out of thin air.
Huh?
Duan Ming's eyes flashed.
What was that?
He pulled a scythe out of thin air?
Could it be the Power of God?
It seemed only the Power of God could explain what had happened.
Put simply, the Power of God was a special ability.
When a Divine Power Master awakened a Divine Mark, there was a chance he would obtain the Power of God.
It was a special ability distinct from Divine Marks and qi.
Generally, one could obtain it upon awakening a third Divine Mark.
"I never intended to catch you. I just want to kill you!"
Du Qinggang pulled a red die from his pocket.
The action caught Duan Ming's attention.
A cold glint flashed in the scarred man's eyes. "Slaughter Space?"
"What's Slaughter Space?" the young man beside the scarred man asked.
"A Power of God that can create an independent space and bring people inside. No one who enters can carry any weapons, including this reaper's scythe I created with the Power of God. But the ability can only be used if the die lands on an even number. There's one restriction, though: the person using it can only bring in people he considers enemies."
"The success rate is fifty percent. If I roll an even number, I'll slaughter you inside. If it's odd, I'll kill you here!" Du Qinggang tossed away the cigarette in his hand and threw the die at the same time. Looking at the face of the die on the ground, he sneered. "Six! An even number! Now, in my eyes, you're a mortal enemy! Humanity's mortal enemy!"
The scarred man's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Kid, I'll leave that other fellow to you. He's probably some relative of his." Du Qinggang looked at Duan Ming beside him.
Duan Ming blinked.
What happened to him being absolutely safe?
He looked at the young man beside the scarred man.
Judging by his appearance, he couldn't tell how strong the young man was overall...
Did this Slovenly King really have that much confidence in him?
"That guy's no good either. They're both scum of humanity, so don't hold back!"
As a gust of wind blew past, Du Qinggang and the scarred man vanished into thin air.
If not for the still-burning cigarette butt on the ground, it would have been as though Du Qinggang had never been there.
Whoosh-!
A chill swept over him.
Duan Ming immediately tightened his grip on his saber and looked at the young man standing nearby. "Are we going to fight?"
"Obviously."
The young man had never expected the youth before him to ask such a bizarre question.
Duan Ming gathered qi around his eyes.
He saw green qi emanating from the young man across from him, enveloping his body.
"Hm? You've awakened your second Divine Mark too?" Duan Ming frowned slightly.
That was right, he had two Divine Marks too.
But damn it, the other guy had one at level one and another at level two.
Both of his were level one.
Judging by the qi emanating from the man's body, his qi was stronger than Duan Ming's.
If he wanted to win now, he could only rely on his saber techniques to make up for his lack of qi.
Clang-!
Duan Ming drew his cold saber and tossed the sheath aside.
At the same time, the two Divine Marks on his body lit up.
"One Divine Mark?" The young man couldn't help laughing. "Judging by the qi you're giving off, you're no match for me."
"Who said I only have one Divine Mark?" Duan Ming held his saber horizontally before his chest.
The young man drew two short blades from behind him, crossed them in front of his chest, and said, "As I see it, there's no need to use the power of two Divine Marks to deal with you. But since I've already used it, let's end this fight quickly."
With that, he pushed off the ground and rushed toward Duan Ming.
Damn! I've lost the initiative!
Duan Ming tightened his grip on his saber.
In the blink of an eye, the young man was already in front of him, raising a short blade and thrusting it at his throat!
That was a killing move!
The corners of the young man's mouth curled up involuntarily.
But the spray of blood he expected did not follow.
With a clang, his attack was blocked!
"What fast saber techniques."
The young man was utterly stunned!
Although the force hadn't been great enough to knock the short blade from his hand,
the strike really had been fast!
The guy's qi clearly wasn't as strong as his, yet his saber technique was so fast!
Unwilling to accept it, the young man gathered the qi in his body around both hands, while also wrapping some of it around his short blades, making them even sharper.
He thrust at Duan Ming again and again.
Puff, puff, puff-!
He thrust three times in succession, producing three sounds as the blades cut through the air.
Yet the youth before him blocked every one.
The young man stepped back, glanced down at the slash in his outer garment, then looked up and asked, "Who taught you your saber techniques?"
"I taught myself."
??
The young man froze.
Why couldn't he quite make sense of that answer?
"You taught yourself?"
"Yes, in my dreams."
The corner of the young man's mouth twitched, and an expression difficult for ordinary people to understand appeared on his face.
The next second,
he felt he'd been made a fool of.