Chapter 161: The Shadow King and the Great Benefactor
As a flesh-and-blood master, the Great Benefactor is capable of taking advantage of other beings’ strengths and compensating for their weaknesses. He draws inspiration from insects; the hairs that grow from his skin allow him to sense the slightest vibrations. The Shadow King has attempted to sneak up on him multiple times, but has never been able to get within five meters. However, he had just unintentionally immersed himself in a beautiful dream conjured by Ji Ma.
The Shadow Blade emerged from the back of his neck.
In an instant, the hairs on the back of the Great Benefactor’s neck stood up, warning him that a deadly ambush was imminent, and he judged the location of the Shadow Blade’s attack. The Great Benefactor’s reaction was as quick as lightning; he turned his neck, and the Shadow Blade grazed past him, its sharp edge embedding itself into his neck.
The Great Benefactor narrowly escaped a fatal blow and retaliated with a punch that forcefully struck the ambusher’s abdomen behind him.
“Too slow!”
But the ambusher was merely a shadow cloaked in black.
The Great Benefactor’s pupils contracted as two more Shadow Blades suddenly shot out from the air behind him, one aimed at his neck and the other at his kidneys.
The Shadow King’s old trick: first attack with a shadow and then strike from behind when the opponent turns around.
Ji Ma had even begun to foresee the sight of the Great Benefactor bleeding profusely from both his upper and lower body, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
But an unexpected turn of events occurred. Unbeknownst to him, the bone sword of the Great Benefactor, Bransi, had already been aimed behind him. It shot out like a frog’s tongue, and in the brief distance of less than thirty centimeters between them, there was no escape. The bone sword plunged into the Shadow King’s chest.
The Shadow King’s ambush was also skillfully countered by the Great Benefactor. With his demonic right hand, he grasped his own neck, and the Shadow Blade barely pierced through the chitinous armor on the back of his hand. However, the thrust aimed at his kidneys was not blocked; another Shadow Blade thrust powerfully into his side.
Nevertheless, it was absolutely worth it for the Great Benefactor. He paid the price of a kidney wound in exchange for the Shadow King’s life.
The shadow in front of the Great Benefactor immediately dissipated.
“With the master dead, the shadow is gone.”
The sensation of the sword blade sinking into flesh from the hilt brought immense joy to the Great Benefactor. He was so elated that he barely felt the pain from the kidney wound. He forcefully pulled the short sword from his side and said, “I’ve long studied you. You like to ambush with shadows, but while being ambushed, I was already prepared to kill you. Are you ready to suffer and die, Shadow King?”
The Great Benefactor turned to look at the silver-haired half-eared Shadow King, who he had pierced through the heart with a sword. The Shadow King’s face was blank and dazed—he likely hadn’t yet accepted the reality of his own death.
Rest in peace, daughter; this time, he is truly dead.
As soon as the Great Benefactor had that thought, an intense pain suddenly shot through his armpit, and he widened his eyes in disbelief, looking down.
A hand, clad in gray-black leather gloves, was gripping a dagger that was deeply embedded in his left armpit. That was the weakest point of his armor and one of the closest areas to his heart.
“I can maintain two shadows for a short time.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, that hand twisted the dagger fiercely, shattering the heart within. The Great Benefactor’s demonic right hand shot back, elbowing the Shadow King Akannis in the chest. Akannis grunted in pain and kicked the Great Benefactor’s backside, retreating quickly to avoid being taken down by a final strike.
At that moment, the “silver-haired half-eared Shadow King” that had been pierced through the chest softened into a shadow and began to collapse, but before it disintegrated, it threw the Shadow Blade in its hand towards Shadow King Akannis.
Shadow King Akannis caught the Shadow Blade, while the muscular brutes swung their axe-guns at the Shadow King. After taking a hit from an axe, the Shadow King let out a yell and disappeared into the shadows, fleeing.
Ji Ma’s previously stiff smile instantly “came back to life.”
What a sly guy. The first ambush was from a shadow, and the second ambush also came from a shadow, while his true body waited patiently for an opportunity nearby.
She quickly understood the Shadow King’s strategy.
The Great Benefactor said, “Well done.”
He gritted his teeth, beads of cold sweat on his forehead, and glanced at the smile on Ji Ma’s face. “You’re even more dangerous than I imagined.”
“No, not at all,” Ji Ma replied, “Even now, I’m more dangerous than you could think.” I’m the Demon King; saying this will scare you to death.
“In the future, when you’re up for sale, I will first sign a slave contract with you.”
“You have no future.”
“No.”
Ji Ma thought the Great Benefactor was putting up a brave front, but when she saw him pull out the dagger he had plunged into himself and toss it to the ground, something felt off.
His heart was shattered; how could he still banter for so long?
Blood gushed from the Great Benefactor’s armpit, but he smiled and said, “I have two hearts, so please give me your Blood Horn Cup.”
Ji Ma’s “revival” just now was undoubtedly a great advertisement for the Blood Horn Cup. Although the Great Benefactor had escaped a catastrophe, he was severely injured. If he managed to get hold of the horn cup and recover, it would be very difficult for the wounded Shadow King to kill him.
Upon hearing that, Ji Ma said no more, grabbing the Blood Horn Cup and immediately turning to run.
“Stop! Otherwise, I will kill your hero!”
A shout from behind came from the Great Benefactor.
“Do as you wish.”
Ji Ma didn’t look back as she sprinted towards the building. In front of her were several muscular brutes who stared at Ji Ma, dazed and unsure of what to do. Because of the previous order from the Great Benefactor, they were not allowed to harm Ji Ma, and these cognitively challenged modified humans were momentarily at a loss.
The Great Benefactor was furious, clutching his chest and yelling, “Quick, catch her!”
One muscular brute raised his axe-gun and swung it horizontally at Ji Ma. Ji Ma agilely sidestepped but didn’t dodge entirely; thankfully, her “Extraordinary Charm” skewed the axe-gun, causing the blade to graze past Ji Ma’s horn and snap off the sharp tip.
Furiously, the Great Benefactor pressed his chest tightly and shouted, “Hug her with both hands, don’t chop her up!”
Another muscular brute dropped his axe-gun and leaped towards Ji Ma. Ji Ma was as nimble as a monkey, jumping upward. The muscular brute landed face-first on the ground, while Ji Ma’s skirt grazed the top of the muscular brute’s head. She stepped onto the muscular brute’s backside, running a few steps up the stairs, ready to go into the Great Benefactor’s house and play hide-and-seek with him.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared on the third-floor terrace, twisting and contorting as the Shadow King Akannis materialized. He was wearing gray-black leather armor and a matching cloak, one hand hanging limply at his side. Infiltrating enemy lines to assassinate an equally powerful foe is an extremely dangerous endeavor.
His profession specializes in disguise and ambush, but he is not good at berserk-like overpower.
The Shadow King Akannis reached out to Ji Ma and shouted, “Quick, throw the Blood Horn Cup up here!”
At this moment, whoever could recover from their injuries would have a significant advantage.
Ji Ma stopped, ready to toss the horn cup to Shadow King Akannis.
“Stop! Throw the horn cup to me! Otherwise, I will kill you!”
The Great Benefactor was holding a heavy crossbow aimed at Ji Ma’s face. He hadn’t taken the unconscious George hostage; he had even taken care to stay away from George lying on the ground, fearing George might feign death. Only the weak deserve the privilege of being hostages.
Ji Ma immediately raised her hands, saying, “Don’t shoot! Let’s talk this out!”
“You weren’t at all worried when you used the hero as a hostage,” the Great Benefactor Bransi sneered. “You really value your life, don’t you?”
“Are you stupid?” Shadow King Akannis yelled from above, waving his hands like a baboon. “What’s there to fear? Don’t you have your extraordinary abilities to protect you?”
The Great Benefactor said, “As a side note, my eyes are modeled after flies; to me, you all look like you’re moving in slow motion. Girl, do you think you’re running fast? To me, you’re as slow as a snail. When you throw the horn cup to the Shadow King, I could leisurely aim for your heart and shoot you with an arrow.”
Without saying a word, Ji Ma waved her hand and directly threw the horn cup to the Great Benefactor. The horn cup spun in the air, tracing an arc as it flew towards the Great Benefactor.
“Damn!!”
Shadow King Akannis swore, simultaneously throwing a throwing knife aimed at the horn cup.
“No choice; my life is more important.”
Ji Ma shouted while darting into the Great Benefactor’s house. Her figure disappeared into the smoke and flames.
The horn cup was knocked off course by the throwing knife thrown by Akannis, but the Great Benefactor leapt up and still managed to catch the Blood Horn Cup steadily, drinking it down in one gulp. The blood surged down his throat and into his body, and he suddenly felt boundless vitality flowing within him, his body feeling light, and he could distinctly sense that he was gradually becoming younger.
Great Benefactor Bransi’s emotions surged, feeling the vigor of his youth returning, and he laughed heartily:
“Shadow King! Do you dare to fight me? One on one, I want your head as a sacrifice for my daughter. I truly regret not burning that group of parasites in the ignition zone to ashes back then, leaving you, the scum.”
Shadow King Akannis was pouring medicine onto the wound on his left arm. He had no thoughts of fleeing, as escaping would make it nearly impossible to kill Great Benefactor Bransi. It was better to stay and fight to the death. He said:
“Come at me; I’m going to slit open your belly!”
“You all go inside and chase after the succubus girl.”
Great Benefactor Bransi commanded, gripping his bone sword, he took a run-up and jumped onto the second floor. Using his demonic right hand, he climbed up to the terrace on the third floor. As he leaped into the terrace, shadows on both sides held Shadow Blades, lunging towards the Great Benefactor.
The Great Benefactor laughed, dodged, and counterattacked; one kick landed squarely in Shadow King Akannis’s abdomen. Akannis staggered back, crashing against the wall.
The Great Benefactor strode forward, sword in hand, towards Shadow King Akannis, saying:
“I will chop off your fingers and toes one by one, first severing your limbs so you can experience the despair my daughter felt in her last moments.”
Shadow King Akannis, swaying unsteadily but with a glimmer of light in his green eyes, said:
“Ji Ma is quite something; she’s far more dangerous than I expected.”
Great Benefactor Bransi slashed down with his sword, “You’re all worthless.”
The Shadow King leapt away, appearing ten meters away. “Don’t you realize what’s happening? Truly more foolish than a pig.”
“A dream?”
The Great Benefactor was startled and immediately focused, trying to break free from the dream.
The house beneath his feet was on fire; he could feel the oppressive heat. The terrace had the best view in the city; looking out, he could see the entire city caught up in a riot that made his heart ache.
Not a dream.
Just as he made that judgment and prepared to continue killing the Shadow King,
A meaty worm emerged from beneath his cheek, wriggling long and wet in front of Great Benefactor Bransi.
Great Benefactor Bransi’s eyes widened again as a terrifying word flashed through his mind.
Out of control.
That stream of blood was still continuously providing vitality, and as his organs healed, they continued to grow, filling his abdominal cavity, causing the Great Benefactor’s belly to swell up suddenly.
“What the hell is going on?!”
