Chapter 600 - 599: Instant Annihilation

Chapter 600: Chapter 599: Instant Annihilation

"Hey, pal, interested in a chat?" the point man at the mouth of the alley said.

The Warrior glanced around, a cold aura dispersing with his movements.

"I assume you’ve already sent people to warn off the nearby residents, right? So, what is it you want?" the Warrior asked.

"How did you know there are several of us?"

"I didn’t think you’d dare approach me by yourself."

Leaning against the windowsill, Ham nodded.

’The way this guy talks, he’s a lot smarter than the goons around him. Practically a normal person.’

"Alright, down to business," the point man said. "Will you join us?"

"And who is ’us’?"

"Don’t try to pump me for information. You have two choices: join or don’t," the point man said menacingly. "My squad is all around us. I guarantee you don’t want to refuse."

"Is that so? Do you have a Mage in your squad?"

The point man asked, bewildered, "Why do you ask?"

"If you do, I hope he has a [Speak with Dead] Magic Scroll on him," the Warrior said nonchalantly. "That way, I can just ask him who’s pulling the strings. It’ll save a lot of trouble."

’Tell the others to attack,’ Ham urged his master in his mind.

To be honest, he had already guessed this would be the outcome even before his master acted.

’These so-called champions of justice are all the same, always self-importantly picking the dumber option.’

Ham could just make out several squad members flinging open their windows to attack the Warrior below.

The Ranger, for his part, threw down the [Iron Chain Net] he had traded for.

It was an iron ball, ten centimeters in diameter, etched with straight lines. The moment it was thrown, the etchings flared with brilliant light. The entire ball then unfolded along these lines, transforming into a massive steel net over four meters in diameter.

’And that’s that,’ Ham thought.

CRACK! RIIIP! SPLAT!

Several sharp, bizarre sounds pierced his mind at almost the exact same moment.

The sounds were bizarre. In his twenty-plus years of life, Ham had never heard anything like it.

He tilted his head to look.

The next moment, the vertical pupils set within his sulfur-yellow irises shrank into thin black slits.

The Ranger was slumped halfway out the window, his body draped over the sill. Scarlet blood ran down his arm to his fingertips, from which it dripped to the ground below.

The other two men by the second-story windows were gone.

Down in the alley, the point man had been sliced in two. A wide pool of blood bloomed across the cobblestones, the viscous fluid seeping into the cracks and snaking its way deeper into the lane.

Only then did the deployed iron net fall to the ground with a CLATTER.

Having missed its target, it instantly retracted back into an iron ball.

The Warrior now stood beside the fallen point man’s body.

In his hands, he gripped a five-foot-long Giant Sword, its blade crimson with fresh blood.

The Warrior gave the blade a sharp flick, and the blood slid off, leaving it perfectly clean again.

’Dead! They’re all dead!’

’How could this happen? No, this isn’t how it was supposed to go! How did he do that? It’s impossible!’

A moment of stunned disbelief was followed by a surge of terror.

But Ham quickly realized he had already been put into an [Invisibility] state, and the terror was replaced by a rush of ecstasy.

’This tough bastard obviously can’t see me! And with my master dead, I’m free! A free Imp! I can start my own enterprise here in the Mortal World, collect a dozen souls or so, and then—wouldn’t I get promoted to a higher-ranking Demon?!’

And just as he’d hoped, the Warrior glanced around before turning and leaving the alley.

Still invisible, Ham frantically flapped his wings and flew up into the air.

To avoid being spotted by any Griffin Knights that might be in the sky, he carefully kept his altitude low, just above the rooftops.

’Oh, vile Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells above, please let me escape with my life!’

Driven by ecstasy and excitement, Ham picked up his flight Speed.

The very next instant, however, a buzzing suddenly filled his ears. A circle of flowing blue light materialized out of thin air, the patterns coalescing to form a translucent rift.

The moment he saw the rift, Ham knew it was all over.

A hand shot out of the rift, seized the Imp by the neck, and slammed him down onto the slanted rooftop.

Colin thrust his Giant Sword downward. The blade of the [Dragonbone Longsword] easily pierced the Imp’s wing and the wooden shingles beneath, pinning the creature to the roof.

Just then, a small owl flapped its wings and slowly descended from the sky, landing on his shoulder—it had only been with Asvir for two days, and Asvir hadn’t discovered anything new about it.

Colin looked at the Imp, which was slowly materializing from the intense pain, and asked, "Are you connected to the recent Demon activity in Thousand Masts City?"

"Mercy, mercy! For the sake of the Lord of Nine Hells—no, no, no! For the sake of the Morninglord..."

Colin watched with cold eyes as the Imp he had pinned to the roof begged for its life.

The creature pressed its small hands together, suddenly bawling, tears and snot streaming down its face. It looked utterly pathetic.

’Honestly, it was the first time Colin had ever seen a Demon’s tears and snot. He hadn’t even thought the creatures could cry.’

"I’ll ask one more time. Are you connected to the Demon activity in Thousand Masts City?"

"H-Ham is innocent! Ham was captured by master to be one of his Familiars! It was all master’s doing," the Imp blubbered. "Ham doesn’t know what happened! Please, don’t hurt Ham!"

"Fine. My Paladin friend will have a nice, long chat with you," Colin said flatly.

"Mercy, mercy! Ham didn’t mean it! Ham is innocent..."

Colin stepped on the Imp’s mouth, silencing it.

Just then, Ale’s voice drifted up from the alley below. "Colin, are you alright?"

"It’s handled! Go get the Sheriff for me!" Colin shouted down from the roof’s edge.

A few days earlier, while he and Ale were having breakfast, she had warned him that someone was tailing him.

Colin had suspected it was a gang looking to make a move on him for one reason or another, so he’d intentionally separated from Ale for a few days. Today, they finally took the bait.

As Ale went to fetch the Sheriff, Colin glanced at his Task Log.

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[Quest: Kill the Stalkers]

[Rating: 5 (Mortal)]

[Reward: Skill Level +100, Tier Three Magic "Nondetection"]

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