A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 137 Summer in the Mountain City (Part 2)

Dark clouds obscured the light of day, making the alleyway quite dim. Quinn stood at the alley entrance, holding that oddly shaped arcane katana. The crimson light from the blade shone through the gaps in the raindrops onto Anlexi's face.

He was unhurried, as if waiting for Anlikhe to launch the first attack.

"I already told you, if you take one more step forward, my boyfriend will come and beat you up—" Xia Dai'er said, gesturing with her fist.

"Hey, when did I become your boyfriend?" Quinn said with a dark expression.

"Isn't that how it's written in the story?" Xia Dai'er protested indignantly. "Don't break character! You have to follow the script. A delicate, petite, beautiful young lady gets lost alone in Westville and is followed into an alley by a perverted superhuman. At the critical moment, her boyfriend arrives, bravely drives away the bad guy, and finally proposes to the young lady—"

"Is there a proposal scene?" the boss asked, rubbing his belly in confusion.

"I just added this because I felt the rainy atmosphere was really nice and the inspiration just came to me," Xia Dai'er said softly.

The sound of wind breaking suddenly came.

From the very beginning, Anlexicote had been speculating about the origins of this group: assassins from other gangs? His enemies? Instructors from the Eswell City government?

The White Bandits' main business over the years has been acting as shady agents for the wealthy, handling disputes, and suppressing unruly workers. They have countless enemies. Several of the White Bandits' core members are extraordinary individuals. Although the gang is small, its members are extremely skilled fighters. Over the years, they haven't caused any major incidents, which has made them increasingly reckless in their actions.

If you were to investigate further, it wouldn't be easy to figure out why these two were causing him trouble. He had no recollection of any of the three: one seemed like an ordinary, barely noticeable passerby; another resembled a pretty, well-behaved rich girl; and the third was an old man with a pretentious, high-skill air about him.
The old man's words indicated he had no intention of resolving the matter peacefully. His statement, "Kill him and you can leave," actually meant "If you don't kill him, you can't leave," and his tone showed he didn't take himself seriously at all.

He rushed out, but the man stood guard at the crossroads, wielding a strange arcane longsword. Having weathered many storms in the underworld, Anlexithy knew all too well that the most harmless-looking person was often the most dangerous. The old man inside, though his tone was forceful, appeared unremarkable at first glance; he was obese, his steps unsteady, and he carried only a bottle of wine.
As long as you don't provoke anyone from the academy, you won't encounter any mid-sequence transcendents in Axwell City. Even these two, no matter how strange, have their limits. After weighing his options, Anlexi decided to take action against the girl who was being protected by the old man.

Taking her hostage is currently the best solution.

The old man seemed much easier to deal with than the man. As Anleksei charged towards him, he drew his belt, which was shaped like a sword, with sharp, flexible iron edges on both sides. With a flick of Anleksei's wrist, the belt, imbued with the concept of a "sword," instantly taut and pierced straight into the old man's forehead.

The speed was incredibly fast, no less than that of a thief at Sequence Nine. Both of them were in the same alley, and the already extremely short distance passed in an instant. Behind the old man was the wall between the girl and the dead end, with no way to avoid it. Even when the "sword tip" of the belt was about to touch his skin, neither of them reacted at all, not even blinking, as if they were stunned by fear.

For a moment, Anlexicoeur even thought he was just an ordinary person who had jumped out to pretend to be stupid.

The sword suddenly struck empty air, and in a flash, the two of them vanished.

Anlekes' eyes twitched, and he quickly looked up. On both sides were four or five-story stone buildings, which were warehouses used by the merchants of Woodcutter Street to store goods. To prevent thieves, even the windows were sealed shut, and there was no sign of an old man or a young girl climbing up to escape.

"By the way, don't use your weird immobilization magic. This imperial guy is stronger than the previous ones. Keep your eyes peeled." A nonchalant voice, completely disregarding him, came from the alley entrance. Anlexi turned around in shock and saw the old man standing behind the man, while the girl with the parasol was sticking her tongue out at him and making a face.

when? !

Anlexi immediately had the idea of ​​running away. He didn't even see how the old man led the girl around him and disappeared behind him, nor did he catch a trace of it.

There are only two possibilities.

The extraordinary abilities of a ninja's destiny and an archer's destiny.

Or perhaps the speed was too fast, so fast that Anlexis's naked eye couldn't keep up, resulting in this teleportation-like speed.

He preferred to believe the first one.

Even with those two classes' extraordinary abilities, achieving this kind of teleportation-like movement requires prior planning, and the order of the abilities must be quite high, at least one major order higher than his.

Before he could think, Quinn had already charged at him with his wand.

The speed was equally impressive; the white shirt almost left a blur in the alley, and the magic light of the katana swept across the half-full moon, slashing down precisely at Anlexi's head.

Anleksei groaned inwardly. This seemingly casual forward dash was already faster than his own, definitely indicating that the guy was also a combatant. But as fast as he was, at least he could see him clearly, unlike the old man who could teleport and catch him off guard.

The fur-trimmed leather coat flipped over like a cloak in Anlexi's hand, just like the belt that had transformed into a "sword." The surface of the coat gleamed with a metallic sheen of iron powder. The moment Anlexi raised it, it was given the concept of a "shield," taking the blow of the katana head-on, and with a clang, it exploded with dazzling Mana magic light.

With a sudden drop in his arm, the katana was deflected, leaving only a shallow scorch mark on the leather jacket.

Anlexithy's brow relaxed; the strength wasn't as frightening as the speed, it was at a level comparable to his own.

After Quinn finished his strike, he didn't pursue further. Instead, he looked at him thoughtfully and asked, "With a belt as a sword and a leather coat as a shield, how can a knight not die unarmed?"

This is the extraordinary ability of Knight's Fate Sequence 8 [Sword and Shield Hand].

In the Philippian Empire, most of the extraordinary individuals selected for the army were those who had taken knightly potions.

Anleksai did not deny it, but instead took a step back, pressed the "shield" tightly against his chest, and asked in a complicated tone, "...Who exactly are you people? Why are you causing me trouble?"

The three major gangs in Eswell have their own conflicts, but the Golden Wind and the White Bandits have a relatively amicable relationship, usually resolving their disagreements through negotiation, making them more like businessmen than gangsters. The Razor Gang, however, is different; they have developed a deep-seated hatred for the White Bandits, these outsiders, over the years.

However, the Razor Gang did not have the fighting power to threaten the core members of the White Bandits. After all, superhumans are extremely rare. Even in the underworld, a Sequence Nine is considered a formidable level. There are probably no more than twenty superhumans like Anlexis who are involved in the underworld in Eswell. They are all just trying to make a living, and they generally will not take action against each other unless they are absolutely certain of victory.

If these two were assassins, they wouldn't bother wasting their breath talking to me.

Anlexico had absolutely no idea what they were up to.

“If you have any ulterior motives, you can just say so.” He paused. “What just happened can be pretended never happened. I’m not the only one in charge of the brothers. There’s no need to use such methods to establish authority—” “Didn’t you hear me clearly? You kidnapped a girl, and I’m her boyfriend. I came to fight the villains.”

Xia Dai'er's eyes lit up, and she decided to upgrade the couple's status when she wrote the script next time.

Anlexi was exasperated and was about to try to talk again when Quinn stretched out his hand, fingers spread, as if reaching into a bag for something—

The ancient Terran syllable was uttered by Quinn, just a single word. After a flash of bright light, Anlexi felt a lightness in his left hand; the "shield" had vanished.

Then Quinn produced a leather jacket, the very one he was holding!
Without the blessing of "Knights Don't Die Barehanded," the leather jacket no longer stood up and was casually tossed out of the alley by Quinn, falling into the vast rain.

"Theft?" Anleke asked incredulously.

The word Quinn just uttered was "theft," a supernatural ability belonging to the eighth rank of thief [Thief]. If Anlexi hadn't learned similar knowledge in the Empire, he wouldn't have recognized what kind of skill it was.

The fate of a thief is truly exceptional, second only to those secret agents in the mental hospital. His speed does match this rank, but can a thief's strength really rival that of a swordsman and shield bearer?
While Anlexi was stunned for a moment, Quinn attacked again.

This time, after removing his shield, he seemed determined to fight to the bitter end.

"Hey, what exactly are you planning to do—Suka!" Anlekesai blurted out a curse and hurriedly caught the sword. Although the belt in his hand was enhanced with supernatural power, it was not a real sword after all. He carried it with him to make a surprise attack, but how could it compete with the powerful and heavy katana?

Quinn's weapon wasn't a real knife either; it looked to be only at the level of a third-tier arcane spell. However, it was powered by mana, so he could smash and slash it relentlessly without any hesitation. In a short while, four or five bad cuts were made into Anlexi's belt.

The piercing buzzing sound echoed continuously in the alley. Hearing the fighting, Woodcutter Street became even quieter. Not only did no one dare to watch the commotion, but many merchants even closed their doors, fearing that they would be implicated.

Anlexico had a reason for wanting to corner Chaldar in this dead end. He had committed his crimes here more than once. The walls on both sides were neither wide nor narrow, just wide enough for two people to pass through, allowing for various positions without worrying about her breaking free and escaping.

However, this distance was insufficient for wielding a sword. Anlexi's swordsmanship still retained the shadow of the Imperial Army, characterized by wide, sweeping strokes and a knack for close combat, which was extremely useful in gang battles. But at this moment, he was restricted by the walls on both sides and could only frantically take hits.

Quinn's swordsmanship was more cunning than he had ever seen before. It didn't involve any particular skill or technique, but it was precisely because of its speed advantage that it could suppress him with each strike, as fluid as rain, giving the impression of dancing with the rain.

Anlexice had been involved in the underworld for many years and had extensive combat experience. However, he had also encountered dangerous moments when he met a master. In just a few seconds of sword fighting, he realized that he was no match for him. When he was forced into a corner with no way to retreat, he was about to be unable to withstand his fast knife.

We must go up and fight; only by taking the initiative can we survive.

The katana is extremely long, giving it a natural advantage in terms of distance over ordinary swords and other bladed weapons. The man was clearly a master katana user with many years of experience, his distance control was impeccable. To injure him, one would have to risk a close-range attack and place oneself within the katana's horizontal slash range.

Anlexi was willing to risk injury to break through and make a way, even if the unpredictable old man was blocking the way outside. He had to break through; being stuck in the alley would surely mean certain death!

He couldn't help but regret choosing such a place to prey on the girl; he never expected it to become his own prison.

Knights possess exceptional physical attributes, ranking among the best in combat. Even if struck by a blade, they can be largely ignored for a short time unless a vital organ is damaged. Anlexi raised his hand to deflect Quinn's powerful slash. Seeing his belt about to snap, he gritted his teeth and charged forward, abandoning his defensive stance and slashing horizontally at Quinn's chest with his sword!

In Anlexi's mind, Quinn would definitely not trade his life for his. The angle of the sword was not easy to dodge. No matter what, he had to turn to the side. It would be best if he could hit it, but if he missed, he could use the momentum to rush over.

As for Quinn's sidestep attack, that's up to fate.

That guy was really lucky. When a superhuman of the same sequence encounters the skill [Theft], it is very difficult to dodge if they are unprepared. However, Theft cannot be a reliable way to steal; instead, it randomly selects one item from all the items on the person's person and steals it.

Theoretically speaking, the probability of stealing items like underwear, socks, or jewelry is far greater than stealing a shield directly. Without a shield, the swordsman and shieldman suddenly becomes cumbersome. They wouldn't have been in such a sorry state otherwise, but now they have no choice but to take the risk.

A cold glint flashed in Quinn's focused eyes. Seeing that Anlexi had finally stopped playing cowardly, he suddenly twisted his hand holding the katana with a cunning move, abruptly halting the katana's momentum. He then changed the slashing motion into a thrusting motion, his elbow twisting inward to generate force—

Anlexi was horrified. This strike was three times faster than before. Had he been holding back?!

Quinn kept slashing, and Anlexis, caught off guard by the sudden thrust, didn't anticipate it. The katana changed its stance but struck first, the whistling wind aimed directly at his neck. Now, it was Anlexis who had to dodge, not Quinn. Anlexis hastily tried to sidestep in the chaos, but he was far less agile than Quinn. His sword, caught up in the attempt to slash, couldn't return to its original position in time, and he was stabbed in the chest. Blood gushed from his collarbone, and he groaned in pain as he rolled backward.

All of this happened extremely quickly. From the perspective of the ordinary person, Xia Dai'er, Quinn rushed up and slashed wildly, and the monstrous giant was bleeding profusely, already in a state of instant death.

"You won?!" he asked with the admiration of a little fan.

For the past two months, she has been going out with Quinn and the tavern owner every Wednesday to set up honey traps—no, to crack down on crime. Quinn's battles are ending faster and faster; these gangsters or weirdos are no match for him.

The shopkeeper shook his head at Quinn's sword strike, muttering disdainfully, "It's that slow-and-fast blade again. He uses it on everyone, sigh, slow-and-fast blade."

"Did Quinn win?" Xia Dai'er asked anxiously. Usually, after the combat training session ended, Quinn would play with her until evening as payment for acting as bait in a honey trap.

"How could he possibly lose?" the boss said irritably. "This kid just lacks experience. In a one-on-one fight, these level eight or nine fighters are no match for him. He just doesn't want to take risks, otherwise it could have ended much faster."

"What he needs to practice is how to deal with methods that go beyond technique."

As soon as he finished speaking, black mist surged out of the alley.

The curse swept out like a cold wind, as if the gates of hell had been opened within it. The rolling black clouds made Xia Dai'er shrink back in fright, while the boss smiled with satisfaction.

"It wasn't for nothing that I spent so long searching. These gangsters actually managed to buy some weird stuff. Wizard's cursed artifacts... passable."

(End of this chapter)