Even if Rezar was at grade B, if he was penetrated by steel swords when his powers were suppressed, his life would still be in danger.
Han Xiao secretly observed the situation, his eyes swayed as he saw this. He had thought that these knights wanted Rezar’s spell. The deal was almost coming to an end, yet they suddenly wanted to kill him?
Seeing that these knights were about to attack, Han Xiao thought about it and walked out.
Hearing the footsteps, the people immediately turned around. When they saw who it was, they were all shocked.
Rezar’s face changed immediately. You again!
If their conversation had been overheard, his tinder of hope would be extinguished once again.
Han Xiao looked around and noticed that although these knights were surprised, they did not panic like their private deal had been found out.
“What’s going on?” Han Xiao decided to speak first.
“Yo—you heard?” a knight asked carefully.
“Guess.” Han Xiao’s eyes landed on his steel sword.
“Kill him!” that knight yelled as he turned around and stabbed his sword at Rezar’s chest, blood splashing all over.
Han Xiao’s expression was strange. He had thought that these knights were going to fight him, but what was happening now?
Rezar’s eyes widened. Before he could react, the other knights lunged at him with their swords. Han Xiao’s outline swayed, and these knights could only see a flash before their bodies fell back in the air. They were all sent flying by Han Xiao’s kicks in an instant.
“Although I don’t know what’s going on, I shall stop you first.”
Han Xiao looked at Rezar. This guy was kneeling on the ground. His face was pale, and he was gasping for air. Although he was a Mage, he had at least more than one hundred Endurance, so he would not die. The steel sword did not cut too deep, but it probably penetrated his lungs, so he was having a hard time breathing.
“Can anyone explain this?” Han Xiao glanced at the knights. They closed their mouths and did not say anything.
Han Xiao turned to look at the deeper side of the forest and said to the darkness, “The one hiding, they’re not speaking, so you will explain it to me.”
The sound of footsteps approaching appeared in the forest. Having hidden for a long time at the side, Rex walked out with a serious face. He knew that he could not hide anymore as soon as Han Xiao appeared.
Rex took a deep breath and said slowly, “These knights are my supporters. I arranged for them to be on duty at the same time. Bringing Rezar here was to kill him.”
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “Isn’t he already captured? Why bother killing him secretly? Just kill him in broad daylight.”
Rex shook his head and said, “The king wanted me to capture him alive, interrogate him openly, and lock him in a cell. Captain Black Star, you’re not someone from our kingdom, so I shall tell you bluntly. For criminals at the level of ascenders like Rezar, the higher-ups of the kingdom will very likely give them to the Godoran emissary in exchange for something. This way, Rezar will still be alive, and his dream of going to the higher world will become true as well. When it comes to this kind of person that almost killed a million of others for his own sake, I don’t even want to give him the slightest chance of staying alive!
“Also, Rezar knows the ceremony to absorb the Origin Water. Maybe someone in the kingdom is interested and might force him to share the ceremony spell in exchange for not killing him. Then this horrifying spell might be leaked out. If that happens, something like this will happen again. Therefore, even if this means disobeying orders from the king, I can’t let him reach the Kingdom City alive!
“As long as we kill him this way, we can use the excuse of Rezar trying to escape to cover up his death. Captain Black Star, I appreciate your timely assistance very much, but this is our kingdom’s matter. Please do not interfere.”
Rex spoke in a very justified tone. Although he clearly knew that he was no match for Han Xiao, he did not intend to back off.
Han Xiao now understood.
So, that’s what happened. As it turns out, the deal was a trick to divert Rezar’s attention. Quite a smart plan.
He sized Rex up. Being so full of justice, could he be another main character type of person?
Or… did you make up an excuse long ago and are lying?
Han Xiao pointed at Rezar and said, “Since you don’t want him to go back alive, how about giving him to me? It’s easier for you this way.”
“What do you want him for?” Rex frowned.
“That’s not for you to know. Anyway, I will take him into the galaxy… er, the higher world, far away from you, and never let him come back here.”
Rezar heard this and was immediately surprised; going to the higher world was something that he had dreamed every day. He was already in a hopeless situation, but now he felt like he had found hope again!
However, when he looked up, he saw Han Xiao smiling at him with unknown meanings in his eyes. That look was almost wicked and giving out a cold aura.
Rezar felt a chill, and the excitement immediately dissipated.
His intuition suddenly told him that this was probably not good news…
Chapter 421 - Super-Gene Extractor and Temporary Character Summon Card
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boom!
The explosion awakened the night.
The Blue Shield Knights in the camp walked out of their tents and looked at the forest not far away with suspicion. Thick smoke was rising inside the forest. They turned around and were shocked to realize that Rezar was missing.
“The prisoner has escaped!” someone shouted.
The knights hastily picked up their shields and steel swords and hurried to the scene of the explosion.
As they entered the forest, they saw Han Xiao standing before a huge pit. Inside was a corpse that was as burnt as charcoal, unidentifiable.
Rex ‘hastily’ arrived at the scene and demanded with a serious face, “What happened here?”
“Your prisoner almost escaped, and I caught him.” Han Xiao shrugged and said, “As you can see, I accidentally played too much.”
“Rezar is dead‽” The knights were shocked.
Rex’s expression changed. He shook his head and said, “The king wants him alive. He should not have died, but sadly, he decided to die…”
As the commander, he concluded this matter with just a few words. He strictly punished a few guards on duty then ordered the knights under his command to go back to sleep. The people saw this and did not bother too much about it. Since Rezar had died, there was no need to escort him anymore, and they would not have to be nervous on their way back anymore.
Many people heaved a sigh of relief and felt content. Most people had the same thought as Rex and wanted Rezar dead. The hometown of some knights was the Southland territory, and Rezar had almost killed their family. If not for the higher world warriors, the outcome would have been unimaginable. Despite Rezar’s failure, they could not take it as if nothing had happened.
A few old soldiers who had followed Rex a long time realized something and gave Rex a meaningful look. They knew their commander well; this ‘escape’ was most likely planned and acted out for the sake of the king and those royalties who wanted to capture Rezar alive. Killing Rezar was to prevent others with vicious intentions from benefitting from him and causing more harm. Rex had a very good reputation among the army and was loved. Furthermore, the soldiers did not have very good impressions of the royals. Without any discussion, they all took it as they knew nothing.
After everyone dispersed, Rex nodded at Han Xiao and left.
Han Xiao did not return to the camp but walked further away instead. In the dark night, he came to the back of a small hill. Rezar had been thrown there, and Herlous was guarding him with his arms crossed.
In the end, Rex had given Rezar up. Although he really wanted to kill Rezar,
he did not have much of a choice with Han Xiao, so he could only believe Han Xiao’s words.
“How is he?” Han Xiao asked.
“The wound on his chest is bandaged, so he won’t die,” Herlous replied.
“Good. I’m going to King City with the knights. You’ll need to stay in the wild with Rezar. When I’m done, we will call a spaceship and leave together.”
Herlous nodded. He sized up Rezar and questioned, “Black Star, are you actually recruiting this Mage? He’s not the good kind at all.”
“Do I look like I’m that short of people?” Han Xiao padded his back and said, “Don’t forget, I promised to bring hundreds of thousands of Supers to solve Sunil’s problems. I’m not interested in him.”
“Alright then, I will listen to you and stay to guard him. If he wants to run, I’ll slash him.”
Herlous trusted Han Xiao a lot. He knew that his fate was bonded with Han Xiao. In the beginning, he had joined Black Star full of doubt, but after going through so much together, he strongly believed that Han Xiao had the ability to live up to his promises when he recruited him. Han Xiao had the ability to change the future of his race.
“Since you’re not recruiting him, what do you want him for?” Herlous asked.
Rezar looked up at Han Xiao. His aged face was filled with horror, no idea what awaited him next.
“You’ll see.”
Han Xiao took out a small suction cup-shaped device, in the middle of which were many tiny needles. He pressed it on Rezar’s arm where his veins were closer to the surface. The needles penetrate into his veins, slowly sucked his blood, and gradually released a dim magic light.
Rezar suddenly felt he was losing the magic power in his body. Terrified, he looked at the device on his arm.
This thing was sucking his magic!
“No! No!” He struggled with all his might, but his strength was disappearing very quickly.
Magic was disappearing continuously. Very soon, more wrinkles appeared on Rezar’s face like he had become ten years older. A sense of weakness filled his body, and he felt like he was back in his childhood when he was just an ordinary person.
“Where’s my power‽ Give me back my power!”
He had gained the power of an ascender for less than half a day, and before he could feel that power fully, he had already lost it. Rezar almost fainted.
Even when the twenty-year plan failed, he had not been this desperate. Power was the foundation of his confidence, and Han Xiao took that away from him.
With his power lost, Rezar’s mind seemed to have become an ordinary person too… no, not even as strong as an ordinary person. He was crying and begging.
Han Xiao shook his head. Some people used their power to do whatever they wanted and be evil, and when they lost it, they became cowards.
The device in his hand was indeed the [Super-Gene Extractor—Test Version] that he had gotten from DarkStar. Herlous saw this, and a chill ran down his spine. “Quickly, put it away. I’m afraid.”
A few months ago, Han Xiao had tested the effect of the extractor. The first test subject was Frenzied Sword. The effect of it on players was absorbing twenty to fifty points of a random attribute and a certain amount of energy from them, which could be given to another person. The duration of it was ten minutes to two hours. In his previous life, the Super-Gene Extractor was controlled by DarkStar. The players could only get [Broken Super-Gene Extractor] after completing highly difficult related missions. Its effect was similar to the one that he had but weaker. The practicality of the extractor was very low in combat, as it had to be in direct contact with the body of the target to take effect. Most people had physical or magical armor, so it was very hard for it to work. Furthermore, the target had to be under control and not fidget around. The prerequisite to use it was very tough.
The hidden function of the extractor would only take effect when the target was completely unguarded, such as sleeping, enslaved, paralyzed, or willing, which meant that the target had to be under complete control. If the players were affected by it unluckily, they would enter a twelve-hour weakness period where their attributes would decrease by thirty to ninety percent, depending on the extractor output. If it was used on an NPC, not only would that NPC also become weak, it would also generate an ability potion. Drinking that potion would grant a certain ability from the target, which would be shown as a Temporary Character Summon Card on the players’ interface.
The second test subject that contributed to this result to Han Xiao was indeed Herlous. Herlous vividly remembered the sense of terror and weakness when his power was taken away, and he was horrified of it. When Han Xiao used it on him, he had only used a low small output, but even so, Herlous had needed many days to recover from it. Things like this that could take away Super-Genes were the natural enemy of Supers!
How many Supers did the organization that invented this device destroy in the process?
Han Xiao took out three empty tubes and poured the blood extracted by the device inside.
_____________________
You have received [Ability Potion] x 3.
_____________________
He drank one tube straight away. The sweet and metallic taste filled his mouth. The warm blood flowed down his throat, and it was very spicy on the nose. Then, a warmth that belonged to magic power rippled in his body.
_____________________
You have received [Character Summon Card—Rezar (Temporary)]!
Character Summon Card—Rezar (Temporary): [Origin Water Magic Power]
Temporarily grants power beyond one’s self. +20% All Attributes.
Duration: 5 – 15 mins
Usage: 0/1 (This Character Summon Card will exist for: 15 days)
_____________________
A buff, not a bad ability at all. Han Xiao was quite satisfied.
Rezar had only lost his magic power temporarily, but this crying old guy did not know that. This meant that Han Xiao could keep shearing him and make many Ability Potions. Although the temporary Character Summon Card’s ability would be different, he believed that the players would be willing to pay for this new product.
In his previous life, DarkStar had used the Super-Gene Extractor to carry out this plan. The difference was, Han Xiao would not capture people as batteries out of nowhere. The temporary Character Summon Card was just an add-on for him—he had no need for it. Only when he met someone that he could use it on without conflicting with his morals would he do it.
“I recall that you begged me to bring you to the higher world. Hehe, now, I promise you I will.”
Han Xiao’s smile was like a demon’s in Rezar’s eyes. This old guy shivered in terror.
Going to the higher world like this was the exact opposite of how he had thought it would be. A strong sense of regret filled his heart and climbed into his eyes.
“Yo—you’re a demon…” Rezar wanted to roar but could only speak these words softly.
Han Xiao was amused. You’re calling me a demon?
…
Two days later, the Blue Shield Knights returned to King City. This city was sitting on a plain, and the Origin Water river split the city in half from the middle, separating it into the East and West Shore, at the same time dividing the classes. The East Shore had royal mansions and palaces, beautiful and luxurious. The West Shore was the crowded civilian area, filled with buildings and all kinds of pollution pipes, forming the complex streets. Only the people who had lived there for more than ten years could remember the roads. The usual people would lose their way after a few turns.
It was now noon, and a bean-sized sun hung high in the sky. The lights were dim and gave the city a dark yellow shade. The buildings and streets shrouded each other. It was like dusk under the sunset, but this was the brightest time of the day in Planet Dawn.
Rex brought everyone to the East Shore and settled near the palace. The steward came to welcome them, and his attitude was more polite and respectful than when he faced the k
ing. He bowed so low that it was as if he wanted to plant his head in the ground.
“On behalf of the Vain Kingdom, I welcome you to Planet Dawn. His highness has invited the higher world warriors to join the palace for dinner. We hope that you can give us the pleasure. By then, our ascenders will communicate with you through the Kingdom Tribune Mages and make payment for the reward of this hire.”
The people had no objection.
Han Xiao’s main goal of this trip was to ask around about the signs of the Mutation Disaster, and it was the perfect opportunity to ask the king. If the palace dinner was the type of party that allowed him to move around freely, he would then ask the King for intel.
Chapter 422 - Sign of Mutation and Beginning of the Finals
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When night came, it was bright in the palace. Han Xiao and the others accepted the invitation, changed into formal clothes given by the steward, and attended the dinner banquet. The waiter of the palace led them to the garden courtyard that was already set up as an outdoor banquet area. The warm, bright light expelled the darkness of the night. On the long tables were exquisite dishes; green, yellow, and purple fruits and vegetables; the fragrant roasted meat from unknown beats, the sweet pies with overflowing cream, and the light blue liquors made from Origin Water. Waiters roamed the place with a plate on their hand, and a musician sat in the middle and played a joyful rhythm with a strange-looking instrument. Meanwhile, the light blue-skinned Vainerian royalties chitchatted in the courtyard. The banquet had just started. At a corner of the courtyard was a pavilion, inside which were the Vain King and the supreme royalties. They looked at the courtyard entrance. Seeing that the higher world warriors had arrived, the King cleared his throat and led the others to stand up.
“Everyone, welcome to the palace dinner banquet. I’m Galo Mio, thank you for your kind assistance,” the King said. ‘Mio’ in the Vainerian language meant king or leader, and it was how the king addressed himself.
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