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overlord_ Welcome the Birth of the King_chapter_0231
Chapter 254
Chapter 230: The Assassins Appear, The Rabbit Hunts
The mercenaries of the Death Spreading Sword Corps were being completely overwhelmed by the Evil Spirit Hounds. If not for their magic chanter providing suppression, the number of casualties would have been far greater.
But at this moment!
The magic chanter who had been suppressing the Evil Spirit Hounds had already switched targets. To be precise, he was now working with another magic chanter to suppress the Green Leaf Witch.
This was Brain's request all along—for Leader Fikampa to completely pin down the Green Leaf Witch!
"As I thought, you're no ordinary Evil Spirit Hound. Very well, I'll treat this as a warm-up before the real battle."
The corner of Brain's mouth curled up. He looked at the ferocious, nearly two-meter-tall Evil Spirit Hound, then suddenly kicked off the ground and charged forward.
"Flowing Water Acceleration!"
*Bang—Bang—*
Brain's sword movements grew a notch faster, suppressing the relentlessly swinging chains as he rapidly closed in on the Evil Spirit Hound.
"Aaargh." The Evil Spirit Hound's beastly eyes narrowed. It quickly retracted its chains, wrapping them around its body once more as it swiped with its sharp claws.
*Swoosh!*
Brain sidestepped to avoid it, and following the motion of his turn, he swung his longsword in a slash.
*Clang!*
The sword blade collided with the bone chain and was blocked.
But immediately after, Brain skillfully flicked the tip of his sword, deflecting the bone chain and forcing it back. In that opening, his sword tip easily carved a gash into the Evil Spirit Hound's body.
A splash of blood flew out.
The Evil Spirit Hound roared, spun around, and lunged with its gaping maw.
*Thump.*
Brain pushed off with his front foot, dodging once again.
The Evil Spirit Hound turned its whole body into a weapon—its horns, claws, and bone chains—unleashing a continuous, ferocious assault.
However!
With nimble techniques, Brain evaded the entire series of attacks. His footwork was elegant and unhurried, and with every swing of his longsword, he carved another wound into the Evil Spirit Hound.
In just a few moments.
The Evil Spirit Hound's fur was already stained red with blood. His opponent was clearly overwhelming it.
"Come back, Xiao Hei," Tang Zheng's voice came from behind.
Panting heavily, its beastly eyes bloodshot, the Evil Spirit Hound shot a vicious glare at Brain.
Chain Whirlwind!
*Thump!*
The writhing chains shot out with extraordinary speed, lashing out in all directions to force Brain back.
Faced with such a powerful attack, Brain's gaze was sharp. He retreated a step and crouched, seemingly having anticipated it. As he dodged the chain attack, he swung his longsword in an upward slash. "Die!"
*Hiss—*
The sword blade glinted with a cold light, tracing a sharp arc through the air. With enough force to slice an armored soldier in two, it slashed toward the Evil Spirit Hound.
*Boom!*
Sparks flew!
A Flame Archangel charged in, blocking the blow in front of the Evil Spirit Hound. The longsword and the flame sword collided with a deafening clang.
The Flame Archangel's wings trembled, and it was sent flying backward uncontrollably.
"My, my, it got away," Brain said, annoyed, as he saw the Evil Spirit Hound had escaped his attack range. He rested the longsword on his shoulder, a contemptuous smile on his lips as he gazed across at his opponent.
By now, Tang Zheng had stepped down from the carriage. He looked at the battered Evil Spirit Hound that had come to his side and pulled a Regeneration Potion from his robes.
"Tsk, you're no match for him at all, Xiao Hei."
He opened the stopper and poured the contents onto the Evil Spirit Hound. "Relying on brute force won't work against a skilled opponent like him, not to mention your power is lower than his."
*Swoosh! Swoosh!*
Two Flame Archangels, one from the left and one from the right, charged at Brain simultaneously.
Brain's eyes flickered left and right, confirming the Flame Archangels' trajectories. His gaze then fell on the Evil Spirit Hound's wounds, which were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Tch, just as I'd expect from an Alchemist. In a war of attrition, they're an absolute headache."
"In that case—time to get a little serious!"
Brain sneered and leaned to his left, first meeting the Flame Archangel charging from that direction.
"Fast Slash!"
He unleashed a gale-like flurry of slashes. Immediately after, a faint blue light enveloped Brain, and he instantly snapped back to his previous position.
"Instant Reflection!"
Another slash was unleashed!
The two slashes were completed in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a sound like tearing cloth.
*Bang! Bang!*
The two Flame Archangels were cut in half, dissipating into white motes of light.
"Summoning two angel monsters for ranged attacks, a magical beast for close-quarters protection, plus regeneration potions to heal injuries."
"Hey, this setup alone is comparable to an elite Adventurer Team."
The corner of Brain's mouth curled up, his face showing a look of contempt. He raised his longsword and pointed its tip at Tang Zheng.
"Unfortunately for you, you ran into me, black-haired kid. If you don't have any other tricks, then you can just die."
"Six months ago, I watched that martial exhibition in the Royal Capital," a calm voice came from behind the Evil Spirit Hound.
Brain's grip on his sword tightened, his expression impassive. "Oh, so you know who I am. It's too late to try and get on my good side or beg for mercy now."
Although that battle in the Royal Capital had greatly increased his reputation, in Brain's eyes, it was a humiliation.
Victory brings honor!
As the runner-up, all the praise he received was nothing more than a way to further elevate that man, Gazef.
"No."
The pristine white Priest robes rustled softly in the cold wind. Tang Zheng walked out from behind the Evil Spirit Hound, his tone gentle and slow.
"You were just as confident before you lost to Gazef, weren't you, Brain?"
*Twang!*
In an instant, Brain's gaze turned impossibly cold, and a frigid killing intent radiated from his entire body.
"I won't be like you, acting smug before you've even defeated your opponent. You're a perfect example of what not to do."
Tang Zheng shook his head, his words relentlessly sharp.
"So, I'm going to use my trump card now. Weren't you suspicious that I was holding back? I'll let you see it, then. Try not to die."
*Pop!*
The wide sleeve of his Priest robe swayed, and he crushed a scroll in his hand.
*Whoosh!*
An even more dazzling and sacred magical light bloomed above Tang Zheng's head. First, a bright white halo appeared, followed by a massive, three-meter-tall angel with a slender, towering figure, which appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Fourth-Tier Angel Summoning: Principality of Peace (Lv 28)!"
Two pairs of bright yellow wings, one large and one small, unfurled. Its slender form made it clear that this was an offensive-type angel monster.
"Hahh... this is my strongest move."
Tang Zheng let out a heavy breath, a look of exhaustion on his face.
"This, this... a Fourth-Tier..."
Brain craned his neck, his pupils widening in disbelief as goosebumps rose all over his body.
If the previous two Flame Archangels were something he could handle by getting serious, then this massive angel before him...
It made Brain feel an aura of death. His sharp warrior's intuition, in particular, was screaming warnings at him.
Brain was far from reaching the level he would be at four years in the future. Moreover, even the Brain from four years later was only Lv 28.
*Swoosh!*
Under everyone's astonished gazes, the white figure flashed and appeared right in front of Brain.
"Strike Against Evil!"
The Principality of Peace swung its spear-like staff down.
*Boom!*
"Too fast—"
Brain's eyes widened. He barely managed to block with his longsword in front of his chest. An astonishing power exploded on the surface of his sword, and his body was sent flying uncontrollably.
He crashed into the shrubbery dozens of meters away with a deafening crash.
"Still a bit too weak." Tang Zheng watched this scene with a calm gaze, shaking his head with a hint of almost imperceptible disappointment.
A Lv 28 Fourth-Tier Angel, just one level shy of reaching the Heroic Realm, was already considered a top-tier combat power among humans.
An angel monster of this level alone was enough to handle most situations.
"You've been hiding for so long. Shouldn't you all come out now?" Tang Zheng's cold gaze swept over the corpses on the ground around him.
*Swoosh!*
The Principality of Peace flew back to hover above Tang Zheng's head. A brilliant holy light was released from its spear-staff.
"Holy Light!"
A soft, pure light that wasn't particularly intense quickly spread outwards. The shadows of the mercenary corpses lying on the ground began to lengthen.
Among them, centered on Tang Zheng, within the seemingly chaotic mess of corpses, the shadows of eight bodies remained unchanged.
Under the illumination of the Holy Light, the assassins, who were equipped with magic items granting an effect similar to invisibility, instead reflected faint human-shaped silhouettes.
"We've been discovered!"
"Move!"
In an instant, cold, emotionless voices rang out.
The eight humanoid silhouettes revealed themselves as their cloaks fluttered, transforming into eight black afterimages that charged toward Tang Zheng in unison.
"Assassins from Ijenia," Tang Zheng said, somewhat disappointed.
The concealment ability of these assassins was indeed quite stealthy. However, no matter how strong the concealment was, it was useless before Tang Zheng's status panel.
As for his disappointment...
It was because these assassins all held ordinary classes; none had mastered the high-grade class of Ninja.
"I thought their leader might appear. Turns out they just sent ordinary assassins. Am I being underestimated? Or was the bounty simply not enough?" Tang Zheng mused.
*Boom!*
A massive tremor suddenly erupted behind him.
The Principality of Peace, which had been hovering over his head, was now behind him. In that split second, a figure shot in like a meteor.
It had slammed into the Principality of Peace with overwhelming force.
"It was blocked?"
A youth dressed in a maid's uniform, with a pair of rabbit ears on his head, sighed softly when he saw his all-out sneak attack had been stopped.
These animalistic traits, different from a normal human's, indicated that the youth was clearly a demi-human, and a rather rare rabbitman at that.
"Strike Against..."
The Principality of Peace swung its spear-staff, just about to launch an attack.
The rabbitman pushed off the ground, and with a single, light leap, he was already level with the hovering angel's head.
*Pow!*
A heavy whip kick landed on the Principality of Peace's head, actually causing it to stagger.
PS: Wishing all my dear readers a Happy New Year, good health, and good fortune!
(end of chapter)
The mercenaries of the Death Spreading Sword Corps were being completely overwhelmed by the Evil Spirit Hounds. If not for their magic chanter providing suppression, the number of casualties would have been far greater.
But at this moment!
The magic chanter who had been suppressing the Evil Spirit Hounds had already switched targets. To be precise, he was now working with another magic chanter to suppress the Green Leaf Witch.
This was Brain's request all along—for Leader Fikampa to completely pin down the Green Leaf Witch!
"As I thought, you're no ordinary Evil Spirit Hound. Very well, I'll treat this as a warm-up before the real battle."
The corner of Brain's mouth curled up. He looked at the ferocious, nearly two-meter-tall Evil Spirit Hound, then suddenly kicked off the ground and charged forward.
"Flowing Water Acceleration!"
*Bang—Bang—*
Brain's sword movements grew a notch faster, suppressing the relentlessly swinging chains as he rapidly closed in on the Evil Spirit Hound.
"Aaargh." The Evil Spirit Hound's beastly eyes narrowed. It quickly retracted its chains, wrapping them around its body once more as it swiped with its sharp claws.
*Swoosh!*
Brain sidestepped to avoid it, and following the motion of his turn, he swung his longsword in a slash.
*Clang!*
The sword blade collided with the bone chain and was blocked.
But immediately after, Brain skillfully flicked the tip of his sword, deflecting the bone chain and forcing it back. In that opening, his sword tip easily carved a gash into the Evil Spirit Hound's body.
A splash of blood flew out.
The Evil Spirit Hound roared, spun around, and lunged with its gaping maw.
*Thump.*
Brain pushed off with his front foot, dodging once again.
The Evil Spirit Hound turned its whole body into a weapon—its horns, claws, and bone chains—unleashing a continuous, ferocious assault.
However!
With nimble techniques, Brain evaded the entire series of attacks. His footwork was elegant and unhurried, and with every swing of his longsword, he carved another wound into the Evil Spirit Hound.
In just a few moments.
The Evil Spirit Hound's fur was already stained red with blood. His opponent was clearly overwhelming it.
"Come back, Xiao Hei," Tang Zheng's voice came from behind.
Panting heavily, its beastly eyes bloodshot, the Evil Spirit Hound shot a vicious glare at Brain.
Chain Whirlwind!
*Thump!*
The writhing chains shot out with extraordinary speed, lashing out in all directions to force Brain back.
Faced with such a powerful attack, Brain's gaze was sharp. He retreated a step and crouched, seemingly having anticipated it. As he dodged the chain attack, he swung his longsword in an upward slash. "Die!"
*Hiss—*
The sword blade glinted with a cold light, tracing a sharp arc through the air. With enough force to slice an armored soldier in two, it slashed toward the Evil Spirit Hound.
*Boom!*
Sparks flew!
A Flame Archangel charged in, blocking the blow in front of the Evil Spirit Hound. The longsword and the flame sword collided with a deafening clang.
The Flame Archangel's wings trembled, and it was sent flying backward uncontrollably.
"My, my, it got away," Brain said, annoyed, as he saw the Evil Spirit Hound had escaped his attack range. He rested the longsword on his shoulder, a contemptuous smile on his lips as he gazed across at his opponent.
By now, Tang Zheng had stepped down from the carriage. He looked at the battered Evil Spirit Hound that had come to his side and pulled a Regeneration Potion from his robes.
"Tsk, you're no match for him at all, Xiao Hei."
He opened the stopper and poured the contents onto the Evil Spirit Hound. "Relying on brute force won't work against a skilled opponent like him, not to mention your power is lower than his."
*Swoosh! Swoosh!*
Two Flame Archangels, one from the left and one from the right, charged at Brain simultaneously.
Brain's eyes flickered left and right, confirming the Flame Archangels' trajectories. His gaze then fell on the Evil Spirit Hound's wounds, which were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Tch, just as I'd expect from an Alchemist. In a war of attrition, they're an absolute headache."
"In that case—time to get a little serious!"
Brain sneered and leaned to his left, first meeting the Flame Archangel charging from that direction.
"Fast Slash!"
He unleashed a gale-like flurry of slashes. Immediately after, a faint blue light enveloped Brain, and he instantly snapped back to his previous position.
"Instant Reflection!"
Another slash was unleashed!
The two slashes were completed in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a sound like tearing cloth.
*Bang! Bang!*
The two Flame Archangels were cut in half, dissipating into white motes of light.
"Summoning two angel monsters for ranged attacks, a magical beast for close-quarters protection, plus regeneration potions to heal injuries."
"Hey, this setup alone is comparable to an elite Adventurer Team."
The corner of Brain's mouth curled up, his face showing a look of contempt. He raised his longsword and pointed its tip at Tang Zheng.
"Unfortunately for you, you ran into me, black-haired kid. If you don't have any other tricks, then you can just die."
"Six months ago, I watched that martial exhibition in the Royal Capital," a calm voice came from behind the Evil Spirit Hound.
Brain's grip on his sword tightened, his expression impassive. "Oh, so you know who I am. It's too late to try and get on my good side or beg for mercy now."
Although that battle in the Royal Capital had greatly increased his reputation, in Brain's eyes, it was a humiliation.
Victory brings honor!
As the runner-up, all the praise he received was nothing more than a way to further elevate that man, Gazef.
"No."
The pristine white Priest robes rustled softly in the cold wind. Tang Zheng walked out from behind the Evil Spirit Hound, his tone gentle and slow.
"You were just as confident before you lost to Gazef, weren't you, Brain?"
*Twang!*
In an instant, Brain's gaze turned impossibly cold, and a frigid killing intent radiated from his entire body.
"I won't be like you, acting smug before you've even defeated your opponent. You're a perfect example of what not to do."
Tang Zheng shook his head, his words relentlessly sharp.
"So, I'm going to use my trump card now. Weren't you suspicious that I was holding back? I'll let you see it, then. Try not to die."
*Pop!*
The wide sleeve of his Priest robe swayed, and he crushed a scroll in his hand.
*Whoosh!*
An even more dazzling and sacred magical light bloomed above Tang Zheng's head. First, a bright white halo appeared, followed by a massive, three-meter-tall angel with a slender, towering figure, which appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Fourth-Tier Angel Summoning: Principality of Peace (Lv 28)!"
Two pairs of bright yellow wings, one large and one small, unfurled. Its slender form made it clear that this was an offensive-type angel monster.
"Hahh... this is my strongest move."
Tang Zheng let out a heavy breath, a look of exhaustion on his face.
"This, this... a Fourth-Tier..."
Brain craned his neck, his pupils widening in disbelief as goosebumps rose all over his body.
If the previous two Flame Archangels were something he could handle by getting serious, then this massive angel before him...
It made Brain feel an aura of death. His sharp warrior's intuition, in particular, was screaming warnings at him.
Brain was far from reaching the level he would be at four years in the future. Moreover, even the Brain from four years later was only Lv 28.
*Swoosh!*
Under everyone's astonished gazes, the white figure flashed and appeared right in front of Brain.
"Strike Against Evil!"
The Principality of Peace swung its spear-like staff down.
*Boom!*
"Too fast—"
Brain's eyes widened. He barely managed to block with his longsword in front of his chest. An astonishing power exploded on the surface of his sword, and his body was sent flying uncontrollably.
He crashed into the shrubbery dozens of meters away with a deafening crash.
"Still a bit too weak." Tang Zheng watched this scene with a calm gaze, shaking his head with a hint of almost imperceptible disappointment.
A Lv 28 Fourth-Tier Angel, just one level shy of reaching the Heroic Realm, was already considered a top-tier combat power among humans.
An angel monster of this level alone was enough to handle most situations.
"You've been hiding for so long. Shouldn't you all come out now?" Tang Zheng's cold gaze swept over the corpses on the ground around him.
*Swoosh!*
The Principality of Peace flew back to hover above Tang Zheng's head. A brilliant holy light was released from its spear-staff.
"Holy Light!"
A soft, pure light that wasn't particularly intense quickly spread outwards. The shadows of the mercenary corpses lying on the ground began to lengthen.
Among them, centered on Tang Zheng, within the seemingly chaotic mess of corpses, the shadows of eight bodies remained unchanged.
Under the illumination of the Holy Light, the assassins, who were equipped with magic items granting an effect similar to invisibility, instead reflected faint human-shaped silhouettes.
"We've been discovered!"
"Move!"
In an instant, cold, emotionless voices rang out.
The eight humanoid silhouettes revealed themselves as their cloaks fluttered, transforming into eight black afterimages that charged toward Tang Zheng in unison.
"Assassins from Ijenia," Tang Zheng said, somewhat disappointed.
The concealment ability of these assassins was indeed quite stealthy. However, no matter how strong the concealment was, it was useless before Tang Zheng's status panel.
As for his disappointment...
It was because these assassins all held ordinary classes; none had mastered the high-grade class of Ninja.
"I thought their leader might appear. Turns out they just sent ordinary assassins. Am I being underestimated? Or was the bounty simply not enough?" Tang Zheng mused.
*Boom!*
A massive tremor suddenly erupted behind him.
The Principality of Peace, which had been hovering over his head, was now behind him. In that split second, a figure shot in like a meteor.
It had slammed into the Principality of Peace with overwhelming force.
"It was blocked?"
A youth dressed in a maid's uniform, with a pair of rabbit ears on his head, sighed softly when he saw his all-out sneak attack had been stopped.
These animalistic traits, different from a normal human's, indicated that the youth was clearly a demi-human, and a rather rare rabbitman at that.
"Strike Against..."
The Principality of Peace swung its spear-staff, just about to launch an attack.
The rabbitman pushed off the ground, and with a single, light leap, he was already level with the hovering angel's head.
*Pow!*
A heavy whip kick landed on the Principality of Peace's head, actually causing it to stagger.
PS: Wishing all my dear readers a Happy New Year, good health, and good fortune!
(end of chapter)
