Andrew knew he had to press his advantage. The Wind Dragon was wounded now; once it recovered its wits, he would never catch it if it fled.
Golden Tiger understood his meaning and sprang into the air, flying in front of Andrew. Andrew jumped lightly onto his back. Within a few breaths, Golden Tiger carried Andrew above the Wind Dragon.
Andrew activated Explosive Steps, his figure flashing onto the Wind Dragon's back. He knew Golden Tiger was slower than the Wind Dragon. He had to wound it severely enough to rob it of its ability to fly first. In that respect, this was somewhat similar to his ambush on Golden Peng.
Just as Andrew was concentrating all his efforts on the Wind Dragon, something suddenly changed below. Some of the warriors who had been working together against the Wind Dragon turned on Howard and the others, led by a ninth-level warrior!
Andrew, who had been watching what happened below the whole time, turned livid. He understood everything in an instant!
"Damn it!" Andrew cursed. The Godslaying Saber pierced both of the Wind Dragon's wings with lightning speed. The Wind Dragon cried out and plummeted from more than thirty meters in the air. Its fully twenty-meter-long body smashed a huge crater into the ground, while the wind elements spilling from its body pulverized every rock nearby.
Without time to finish off the Wind Dragon, Andrew flashed in front of Howard. His cyan battle-qi shield blocked two fire spells, Flame Arrows, while the Godslaying Saber slashed out like lightning, knocking aside the greatsword of another eighth-level warrior launching a sneak attack.
Amid the rush, he glanced back. Howard's side had only six warriors, while the enemy numbered fifteen, including four grand mages!
So they're the mercenary group hunting Father! Andrew quickly pieced together what had happened. The two sides had probably been enemies to begin with, but had temporarily set aside their grudges after the Wind Dragon targeted them in the valley. After all, neither side could withstand its strength alone.
What surprised Andrew somewhat was that the captain of Howard's mercenary group was actually holding off the enemy's ninth-level warrior with his strength at the peak of the eighth level! Of course, in Andrew's eyes, this ninth-level warrior had very ordinary martial skills apart from his more abundant battle-qi. Even so, he was not someone an ordinary eighth-level warrior could contend with.
Once battle-qi reached the high-level warrior stage, the gap between each level was considerable! Challenging someone above one's level was extremely difficult.
This man is already on the verge of comprehending Momentum. No wonder!
Andrew finally understood how Howard and the others had held out for more than ten days while being hunted. With such a powerful captain and Golden Tiger's help, it was hardly strange that they could handle an ordinary ninth-level warrior.
"Flame Wolf, protect my father!"
Andrew killed a warrior of the seventh rank with his saber and gave Flame Wolf the order. Flame Wolf growled and went to Howard's side. At the sight, Howard was filled with emotion. So little time had passed, yet Andrew had subdued another high-level magical beast. From the looks of him, he was formidable even among seventh-level magical beasts.
With his worries laid to rest, Andrew unleashed his slaughter. He had killed people since coming to this world, back when he was in Maple Forest Town. Killing neither excited nor repulsed him. In this world, one either killed or was killed.
The fighting was fierce, but the outcome took everyone by surprise.
On the other side, the ninth-level warrior leading the pursuers was still doing his utmost to suppress the peak eighth-level warrior on Howard's side, while the fighting elsewhere was already nearly over.
Before Andrew, those seventh- and eighth-level warriors posed no threat whatsoever. Even setting aside his attainment of Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy, his fusion battle-qi and speed alone made him an opponent with no answer unless a Saint-level expert came in person.
To protect Howard and the others, Andrew killed the four mages first. A mage's body could not compare with a warrior's; once an enemy closed in, they were basically finished. Andrew was too fast. Before they could react, he had already delivered four slashes in succession. After the flashes of his blade, the four mages were utterly dead!
Shaking the blood droplets from his saber, Andrew stepped forward with ease, crossing more than ten meters as though teleporting to appear before an eighth-level warrior. Before the warrior could react, Andrew had already split him in two from head to toe. His blade had been so fast, however, that for a moment the eighth-level warrior seemed frozen in place. Only a line of blood ran down from the top of his head...
"How terrifying. Who is he?"
On the battlefield, everyone who noticed Andrew, apart from Howard, could not help stopping.
Jester was a late eighth-level warrior, yet he couldn't withstand even one slash. That speed, that flash of the blade... could I do it in his place?
The ninth-level warrior leading the pursuers saw it too and was inwardly horrified. The power and speed of his attacks diminished considerably. Watching Andrew slaughter his subordinates one after another, his heart gradually sank...
The peak eighth-level warrior felt the exact opposite. Outside Mithril City, he had been ambushed and wounded by this opponent. Because of that, more than a dozen of his comrades had been killed. Without Golden Tiger's help, their entire group would probably have been wiped out long ago.
This man knows Howard, and I think I've seen him before...
Paying no attention to what anyone else thought, Andrew left afterimages everywhere, killing twelve people within a few minutes. The pursuers, who had held an overwhelming advantage moments earlier, were reduced in the blink of an eye to one ninth-level warrior and two warriors of the seventh rank. All the others had died beneath Andrew's Godslaying Saber. At that point, however, Andrew put away his saber. Howard's side was holding off all three remaining enemies and even had the upper hand. There was no need for Andrew to act.
Damn it, how do they know someone this powerful?! the ninth-level warrior roared inwardly. The agony of watching his own comrades slaughtered before his eyes was something ordinary people could never understand.
More than anger, however, his heart held fear. He knew the strength Andrew had displayed was absolutely beyond his ability to contend with. That leisurely manner in particular, cutting down high-level warriors as easily as chopping vegetables-the strength it revealed was simply too great!
If not for his inability to fly, he would have suspected Andrew was Saint-level!
I have to escape! The ninth-level warrior quickly made his decision.
Unfortunately, Howard's captain was perceptive too and had already guessed his intentions. Working with Golden Tiger, he did everything he could to keep his opponent tied down.
You betrayed our agreement and killed so many of my comrades, and now you want to escape?! he thought in grief and anger. Battle-qi flooded his entire body, faintly showing signs of a breakthrough.
Andrew frowned slightly. Nearby, the Wind Dragon had already recovered its strength and looked ready to take flight.
"Golden Tiger, keep this Wind Dragon occupied. Your ninth-level Magic Crystal Core is right there inside it!"
Andrew called out clearly. Hearing him, Golden Tiger let out a long roar, abandoned the ninth-level warrior, and pounced onto the Wind Dragon's back. Had the Wind Dragon been uninjured, he would have been no match for it. But now that fusion battle-qi had severely wounded it, Golden Tiger's strength was more than sufficient to suppress it.
What mattered most to Golden Tiger was what Andrew had said: the Wind Dragon's Magic Crystal Core was his!
After Golden Tiger left, the pressure on Howard's captain increased drastically. Still, he did not give up. Rather than weakening, his aura grew stronger. Andrew stood nearby to cover him, and with his discernment, he could naturally see that the man was about to break through.
Howard and the others had finished their battles as well. Now he and his four teammates stood watching nearby.
"Howard, do you know this lord?" a round-faced warrior beside Howard asked.
Howard smiled.
"Bernie, you've met him too. Have you forgotten?"
The warrior named Bernie looked thoughtful at that.
"I've met him? How is that possible? If I'd met someone this powerful, I'd definitely remember!" As he spoke, his eyes shone, his admiration plain to see.
Howard shook his head. "When you met him, you didn't know he was powerful! Actually, I only found out today myself that he was this formidable." Howard's tone was somewhat complicated, both proud and downcast, leaving the others thoroughly puzzled.
"I remember!" cried a warrior whose face was covered in blood. "Yes, we've met him, in the imperial capital! Bernie, do you remember? When Howard joined us, there was a young man beside him. That was him!"
"Rhein, aren't you mistaken? The person you're talking about seems to be Howard's son, doesn't he?" Bernie looked doubtful. He had some recollection of what Rhein described, but it was rather vague.
"Howard, is Rhein right?" The last warrior, bare-chested, leaned close to Howard's ear and asked quietly. Before the matter was settled, he did not dare speak loudly. If it was not true, would he not be offending someone so powerful?
Howard cleared his throat softly and said, "Rhein is right. He's my son, Andrew!"
"What?" Even Rhein, who had just made that guess, stared wide-eyed, stunned by his words. "He really is your son?"
Howard felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. Of course he understood what his three companions meant. The son was so strong, while the father was a little...
"Congratulations, Howard," said the bare-chested warrior, whose name was Lester. "If I had a gifted child like that, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams!"
Bernie recovered as well. "That's right. I remember your son is only in his teens, isn't he? An eighth-level warrior in his teens, stronger than a ninth-level warrior-he'll definitely become a Saint-level expert in the future! Saint-level! That's the stuff of legends! Every Saint-level expert is a legend, and you, Howard, are the father of a legend!"