Chapter 411 - 406 — Jackpot

Chapter 411: Chapter 406 — Jackpot

"You... have you made your peace with death?"

’Four lackeys. And their master makes five.’

Lasner was clearly stronger than the others, about peak mark 2, so dealing with him might require a little more effort.

Suddenly, a strange prickling sensation crept across his skin, prompting him to look past Lasner and deeper into the forest.

A moment later, he cursed.

’Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

Of course something had to go wrong. His mind raced through countless possibilities before he finally settled on a conclusion.

’Fine. A slight change of plans, then.’

"You...! How dare you look away while I’m speaking to you!"

Zephyrion swiftly darted aside as a blast of air whizzed past him.

The vacuum functioned much like a domain, preventing anyone with weaker control from manipulating the surrounding air. With his Anointed-rank air control, Zephyrion didn’t even bother trying to wrestle for control.

Instead, he returned to his most dangerous skill set, the one he’d spent almost a decade perfecting in the Order.

The art of an assassin.

’Heart. Breath. Scent. Leave nothing behind.’

He forced his heartbeat into a slow, steady rhythm, reduced his breathing to almost nothing, and closed off every pore on his body, preventing even the faintest trace of his scent from escaping.

Then, he flowed into motion, swiftly darting behind a tree.

"Where the hell do you think you’re going!?"

Lasner unleashed another blast of air that shredded the tree to pieces. However, his eyes and those of his lackeys widened in disbelief the next moment.

"W-Where did he go!?"

Lasner whirled around, searching frantically, but there was no scent, no sound, not even the slightest disturbance in the wind.

Nothing.

His eyes widened. "The bastard’s trying to run! Spread out! I want him found!"

"Yes, Lord Lasner!"

"I’ll take this side—ARGH!"

Every eye snapped towards the right, only to find Zephyrion withdrawing his fist from a lackey’s crushed throat. The lackey dropped to his knees, clutching his neck with both hands as he desperately struggled to draw breath.

"You... how the hell did you...?" Lasner’s eyes trembled with rage. "You’re fucking dead!"

Countless blades of air formed around him before shooting towards Zephyrion in rapid succession. But Zephyrion merely slipped into a patch of darkness just as the attacks struck. The surrounding trees and shrubs were shredded to pieces, but he was already long gone.

Another scream of pain suddenly rang out from the right, and Lasner spun around to find two more lackeys with their throats caved in.

Thud. Thud.

"You cowardly bastard! Stop hiding and fight me!"

A powerful blast of air erupted from Lasner, surging towards Zephyrion. This time, it struck, hurling him backwards through the forest. Lasner’s eyes lit up with excitement, but his expression quickly turned to dread when he realized where Zephyrion was heading.

Straight towards another patch of pitch darkness.

"Shit! Not again!"

"L-Lord Lasner..." The last remaining lackey spoke, his face drenched in sweat. "M-Maybe we should just forget about this and—"

What happened next was almost instantaneous.

Zephyrion vanished into the darkness, only to emerge beside the lackey a moment later, driving a brutal punch straight into his throat.

As the lackey collapsed to the ground, Lasner’s furious scream echoed through the forest.

"You fucking monster! I’ll tear you limb from limb!"

An aura of condensed air erupted from his body, sending powerful gusts of wind surging in every direction. The aura clung tightly to him like a raging storm, forming dangerous whirlpools of air that swirled violently around his figure.

’Air Aura. So he’s finally getting serious.’

Zephyrion recognized it instantly. It was fundamentally different from Metal Aura, both in form and effect. The latter focused on enhancing overall strength and durability, making the user more like steel. Meanwhile, the former emphasized weightlessness and freedom, making the user more like air. This usually granted them an overwhelming boost in speed and mobility.

’Here he comes.’

Lasner vanished, hurtling towards him like a violent gust of wind. Powerful currents swirled around his arm as it shot towards Zephyrion’s throat.

However, through Thousandpulse, Zephyrion had already sensed the ripples in the WorldPulse and was moving to evade the attack.

’Slip State.’

He dipped, allowing the attack to sweep harmlessly above his head.

"W-What!? How did you—!?"

Lasner’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, Zephyrion kicked off the ground and closed the distance in a single movement, driving his fist straight towards him.

"Ha! You think those bare fists can break through my aura!?"

Lasner’s eyes turned fierce as he poured more power into his Air Aura. The currents around him churned violently, growing denser and more powerful. Confident in his defenses, Lasner braced himself without hesitation.

In comparison, Zephyrion’s arm was completely bare, without even a single strand of air coating it. By all reasonable accounts, his arm should’ve been shredded to pieces by the countless razor-sharp currents swirling around Lasner.

Instead, like steel piercing through air, Zephyrion’s fist tore straight through Lasner’s Air Aura and slammed into his midsection.

Bam!

Air and blood burst from Lasner’s mouth as his body folded around the blow. Zephyrion immediately followed with a vicious uppercut beneath his chin, shattering several teeth and sending them spraying through the air. Before Lasner could be sent flying, he grabbed his leg and slammed him hard against the earth, knocking whatever air remained from his lungs.

Disoriented, Lasner struggled to rise, but Zephyrion was swift and brutal, breaking his arms and legs in quick succession, leaving him in far too much pain to even generate a single gust of air.

’What a shame.’

Zephyrion observed Lasner writhing on the ground, his eyes filled with pain and undisguised hatred.

The best option would have been to kill him and his lackeys. After all, he wasn’t particularly fond of leaving behind people who might eventually grow into a pain in the ass.

As he felt that prickling sensation on his skin again, he sighed and cleared his thoughts.

’Well, that’s no longer an option.’

"I saw what you were doing earlier. Extorting your own brothers, all five of you." Zephyrion made sure to raise his voice, staring at them with undisguised disgust. "You brought this upon yourselves."

"Hurk! Hurk!"

Zephyrion stepped on Lasner’s leg, stopping him from crawling away. "And as for everything you’ve stolen from them, I suppose it’s only right that I return it to its rightful owners."

With that, he flipped Lasner over and began searching him. He found a few coins in his chest pocket, along with some other useless items. However, when his hand closed around the pouch dangling from Lasner’s waist, he barely managed to suppress a smile.

’Jackpot.’