Three days later, at the southeastern border of Black Sand Region.
Kohen Karabeyan supported himself with his' Load-Bearer 'saber and half-knelt on the ground in pain. He glanced at the two people in the distance.
They were Raphael, whose status was unknown, and Miranda, who was severely injured and unconscious.
'Damn it.'
Kohen felt waves of pain in his ribs. His opponent's sword was merciless.
'Putray was right.'
It was extremely dangerous for them to stay in Northland.
But he missed out on one thing.
'Black Sand Region isn't the only enemy.
'There's also the Day before the Bitter Cold Blizzard …
'And …'
Kohen raised his head with difficulty and looked at the enemy in front of him. He saw the sneer on his opponent's lips.
'And him.'
'That young man.'
The man who belonged to the 'Disaster Swords', who was defeated by Kohen in the narrow alley, and then saved by Raphael.
"How shameful," Kohen said weakly. "Compared to your teacher, you're scum.
"You're not qualified to be a swordsman at all …
"Even as a Disaster Sword, you're still too weak …"
They were on their way back to Constellation. Their journey had been smooth until they were ambushed for no reason …
Kohen looked at the smug young man, then at the unconscious Raphael and Miranda. He clenched his fists tightly.
In the distance, a horse that had lost its footing was whining in the snow.
"Ah, who asked me to run into you, and you're both heavily injured."
The young Northlander narrowed his eyes. Just like in the alley, he waved the weapon in his hand. "Just admit that you're unlucky.
"As for my teacher, heh, he won't know about this."
Kohen stood up with difficulty, but the injury on his hand in Heroic Spirit Palace was far from healed. He could barely hold his sword steadily.
'No …
'Raphael's condition is far more serious than I expected …
'Miranda's injury is not to be underestimated either …
The police officer clenched his teeth.
'I'm the only one left now …'
"Oh, oh." The young man from the Disaster Swords laughed and glanced at Miranda. "That girl looks pretty good."
'Damn it!'
Kohen punched the snow so hard that he almost crushed his teeth.
"Ah!"
In the next second, the police officer roared furiously and activated the remaining Glory of the Stars, once again launching a series of continuous attacks.
In the snow, the young man's and the police officer's shadows separated as soon as they met.
Clang!
Cohen spat out another mouthful of blood and slumped to the ground.
His sword slipped out of his hand.
He had reached his limit.
This was especially true for his back. Whether it was Kaslan's ruthless attack or Tolja's heavy throw, the damage done to him was far more terrifying than expected.
He was powerless to retaliate.
No.
"Where is your prestige in Dragon Clouds City, big guy? Where's the Sudden Stab that you're so proud of? "
"I forgot to thank you." The young man glanced at the torn sleeve on his hand and laughed out loud. "As a reward for giving me so many 'gifts' in the city."
The police officer felt the pierced arm and the unbridled pain from the rampaging Power of Eradication in his muscles. He could only feel anger rising in his heart.
"And this Barren Bone man." The young man glanced at Raphael in disgust. "Relying on his Northern background in the Secret Intelligence Department …"
The young man spat and immediately shifted his attention to Miranda with interest.
"Hey! Stay away from them! "Cohen mustered all his remaining strength and punched the snow. He roared," Come at me!
"You f * cking f * cking * sshole!"
From Walla Land to Western Desert, and then to Northland, Cohen angrily stuffed all the dirty words he had learned into this one sentence.
He only hoped that he could anger his opponent and make him …
"Don't be hasty.
"Take a guess." The young man's gaze was cold, but he stretched his neck and licked his lips. He did not seem to be angered at all. "How will I deal with this beautiful girl … It will definitely leave a deep impression on you."
"This is to let you remember." The young man walked to Miranda's side and put on an expression that was both angry and amused. "When you provoke the wrong person …"
Unable to move, Cohen watched with remorse as the young man walked towards Miranda in a show of force. He only felt despair.
'I can't do anything …
'Nothing …'
Cohen lay on the snow in pain. He had never hated his own incompetence so much.
'No.
'No!'
At this moment.
"Whoosh!" There was a rapid sound of something cutting through the air.
The young man's expression changed. He suddenly turned around and a sword light exploded in front of him!
"Ding!"
His hand and half sword struck a weapon in the air, making a sharp sound of metal colliding.
The flying weapon was easily deflected by the young man and fell weakly to the ground.
It was a dagger with a strange curve.
Cohen, who was lying on the ground, stared at the dagger in a daze. For a moment, he forgot to react.
That dagger …
"A clumsy sneak attack. Is it your helper?" The young man curled the corner of his mouth and looked around, searching for the sneak attacker.
'What the hell.
'This level of sneak attack is too simple …'
But in the next second, the young man's expression changed.
From the blade he used to deflect the dagger, a strange tremor suddenly came.
The tremor penetrated deep into his body, causing half of his body to instantly go numb.
The young man wanted to raise his right arm, but found that his right hand could no longer move.
He panicked.
'No.'
'This tremor.'
'What is it …'
He had no chance to regret.
"Whoosh …"
The wind whistled. A graceful figure moved at an astonishing pace, broke through the wind and snow, and instantly appeared in front of him!
In the vast expanse of white snow, the sword light suddenly appeared!
In the strange numbness, the young man mustered all his strength to shift the blade of his sword to the position where the enemy was coming from.
But it was useless.
The nimble enemy only tilted his body slightly in the air and dodged the sword.
Then he slashed with the dagger.
"Chi!"
The defenseless young man opened his eyes wide in disbelief as he watched the enemy's dagger slash into his neck.
"Although we are both holding swords, but in comparison," the enemy said in a pleasant voice, pushed his body, and pulled out the blade, "you are really tasteless.
"You can't even compare to Qing Pi.
"Scum."
Warm arterial blood gushed out from the young man's neck.
In endless fear, the young man's eyes focused.
At that moment, the panic-stricken him saw the dagger in his opponent's hand again.
It was a dagger from the tip to the hilt. The angle was crooked, like a dog's leg.
That kind of dagger …
'If.
'If I can react …
'If I can display my strength …'
'But there are no' ifs'. '
He fell limply, and his lifeless eyes met Cohen's shocked expression.
The police officer stared blankly as the graceful figure squatted down in the snow and inserted the two daggers into her boots.
Then, step by step, she walked towards him.
"Puff!"
A pair of thick snow boots appeared in front of him.
Looking up, he saw a pair of long legs that were also wrapped in thick clothing.
Cohen raised his head in a daze.
The other party slowly squatted down. She took off her thick fur hat, revealing a head of neat brown hair.
Cohen could not say anything. He only blinked, as if he could not believe what he saw.
"Ha …" The other party fanned herself with the fur hat in her hand and exhaled a breath of hot air.
The girl in front of him pushed her goggles up to her forehead, leaving red marks around her eyes from the weight of the glasses.
A few strands of hair stuck to her forehead, making her look a little mischievous. Her nose and face were dotted with tiny beads of sweat. Her face was ruddy, and she looked rather healthy.
Cohen did not know why this thought popped up in his head.
"The old man is completely wrong. It's not that cold in the north. I'm already sweating after running a few rounds …"
While she complained to someone in a bad mood, she curiously stared at the dying Cohen with her big, bright eyes, as if she was sizing up a puppy by the roadside.
"Yo, lost boy …"
The female bartender of the underground street, who was dressed thickly but did not lose her elegance, pretended to learn from the police station's rules, and jokingly saluted the police officer with a very nonstandard salute.
"We meet again."
Jala Charleton, who was crouching in front of him, curled up the corners of her mouth and smiled.
Silence.
Cohen continued to stare at her blankly, not saying a word.
It was as if he was born with this appearance.
Jala scratched her head in exasperation and blinked when she saw his expression.
'Has he become stupid from the beating?'
The next moment, the police officer stared blankly at his two companions in the distance.
'Fortunately …
'Fortunately …'
He exhaled as if he had been relieved.
It was as if all his shackles had been released in an instant.
Cohen shut his bloodshot eyes tightly, his face contorted, and he buried his face into the snow. To be precise, he buried his face into Jala's boots.
His shoulders twitched, and he let out a sob.
Jala was shocked.
"Hey, hey, don't cry!" The female bartender, whose head was as big as a bucket, recalled the times she took care of injured puppies by the roadside. She pressed down on Cohen's shoulders in a flurry and imitated him by stroking his back. She spoke incoherently, "Sigh, alright, alright, I know, I helped you get rid of the bad guy at the last moment, and I even saved your friends. You're very touched now, and you want to buy me drinks for the rest of your life to show your gratitude, but in this situation …"
When Cohen heard that, he remembered the desperate situation just now, and he felt even more bitter in his heart.
"Ah …" Not only did he not restrain himself, he even bawled loudly.
Hence, Jala's exasperated roar exploded in the air.
"Ah ah ah!
Don't use my clothes to wipe your tears, you damned greenhorn! "
After a while, Jala, who had calmed down, sighed softly as she looked at Cohen, who was covered in wounds and in a daze.
She looked at the snowy slope in front of her, and hesitation appeared in her eyes.
However, Jala looked at the man and woman with Cohen, and she could not help but scratch her hair.
In the end, she shook her head.
Jala's face darkened.
'Forget it.
I've already searched many slopes.
'It seems that this information is also mostly fake.
I'll probably end up empty-handed.
'Besides, if this greenhorn is here …
'It should be much easier to find people, right?'
"Forget it, if you can still walk, come with me." Thinking of this, Jala patted Cohen's back in a carefree manner. "I know, there's a hunter's hut shared by Constellatiates and Northlanders nearby. There are some supplies there, and you can rest for a while."
Cohen forced himself to stay awake, and looked at the strange girl in a daze. "What?"
"Hey, let me make this clear first." The female bartender lowered her head and met the police officer's gaze.
"I have to charge you!"
— — —
What Cohen and Jala did not know was that on the other side of the snowy slope, in the pine forest a few hundred meters away, a group of people wrapped in thick clothes were quietly waiting.
One of the Thirteen Generals of Black Street Brotherhood, 'Thunder Axe' Oschow looked at the sky and frowned slightly.
"It's already half an hour past the scheduled time," Oschow said in dissatisfaction. "They haven't appeared, whether it's that old ghost or that arrogant brat."
A few of the Brotherhood members who were traveling with him also voiced their impatience and agreed with his words.
"Hmph, maybe they're used to working with Blood Bottle Gang." One of them shook his head in disdain. "They probably look down on lowly people like us."
At the front of the group, a middle-aged man with a face full of scars turned around. His gaze was sharp and frightening.
As he turned around, everyone quietened down.
"Wait a little longer. This is one of the secret passages that Prince Horace purposely opened in the pine forest to launch a sneak attack on Eckstedt." 'Iron Heart' Shanda Roda, the Brotherhood's leader in arms smuggling, said coldly, "Now, it's the Day Before the Bitter Cold in Northland. Visibility is not good. They might not be able to find this passage."
'It's all thanks to the tense relationship between Constellation and Eckstedt. Otherwise, it would not be easy to find such an opportunity.'
Oschow sighed and looked behind him.
There were a dozen or so children tied up with thick ropes. They were curled up in a corner, shivering.
Oschow frowned. He saw that one of the cowering children had a broken hand, and a more delicate and pretty young girl even had a scar on her face.
'These people …'
Oschow walked to Roda's side and glanced at the others, telling them to stay away.
Thunder Axe turned around and looked at his boss in dissatisfaction. "Do you really think they're interested in these crippled and leftover child beggars?"
"Why don't we just let that fatty Morris …"
Roda's lips curled up slightly, making the scar on his face look even more hideous.
"This is just the first negotiation. These goods are our sincerity in working together. They don't lack weapons or channels. What they lack is manpower," Roda said flatly. "Besides, Morris won't agree to it."
Oschow put on a puzzled expression.
He looked at the group of children. He found the slightly older boy to be an eyesore. His gaze was rather disrespectful.
"Do we have to hide this from the others in the Brotherhood and work together with them?"
As a rising star that Roda thought highly of, Oschow had a lot of right to speak. The young man asked tentatively, "Including … him?"
Roda glanced at him with a meaningful look.
"Don't misunderstand. I still admire Black Sword."
"Without him, we wouldn't be where we are today," the infamous arms boss slowly said, "But their way of thinking is too old-fashioned. Whether it's Lance or Morris, they still treat the Brotherhood, which is getting bigger and has already infiltrated the corners of the city, as a mercenary group."
'That's not all.'
Roda said quietly, 'They're still living in the past.
They're trying to summon the soul of the Bloody Sword.
'But we can't live in the past.
'We have to look further.
We have to deal with the storm that will come sooner or later. '
"But times are changing," Roda said slowly. "When the nobles who rely on their manors to make a living have no choice but to come to the city to make a living, and when the wealthy merchants can also become the nobles of the kingdom, it's time for the Brotherhood to change.
"We can't just stop at being hooligans, and we can't become the servants of nobles like the Blood Bottle Gang."
Oschow's expression froze for a second.
"But," he said rather unconfidently, "we're just …"
Roda suddenly looked up. His gaze was terrifying.
It made Oschow pause for a moment.
"We're countless broken-down merchants, countless desperate craftsmen, countless landless farmers, countless fugitives forced by life, countless lowly people in the city. We're the opposite of the 'respectable people' who were born noble. We're a dark undercurrent made up of countless powerless and powerless people."
Roda put on a frightening smile. "But since the respectable commoner merchants and the vulgar country nobles can form groups and occupy a seat in the National Conference, we can use the king's might to fight against the great nobles.
"Then why do we have to hide in the gutter and fight for the leftovers left behind by the great people?
"We have to look further.
"So, we have to prepare beforehand, even if we have to hide it from others.
"Only then can we seize the opportunity to change our fate."
'The opportunity to change our fate?'
Oschow lowered his head and suppressed the puzzlement in his heart. "But why them?"
"That group of traitors who were swept away? And they're still unclear about our enemy? "
Roda's gaze froze.
"It's not as simple as they're unclear," Roda said faintly. "A hundred years ago, if there were no Disaster Swords, there would be no Blood Bottle Gang."
'Our old enemy …
'It's not as simple as a gang.'
He slowly raised his right hand and rubbed the iron glove on it.
Oschow looked puzzled.
"Before the Bloody Year, I was Prince Horace's messenger. I understood a lot of things that made people uneasy." Roda's expression was solemn. "Why do you think the Disaster Swords are called this, as a group of traitors?"
Oschow was slightly stunned. "Named after the calamities who once destroyed the world? I've seen Dark Night Temple's plays before. Perhaps this sounds scarier? "
Roda laughed coldly.
"If …" Roda exhaled softly and looked at his student with a profound gaze. "If this name is not just meant to scare people …
"What if it has a deeper meaning?"
Oschow was instantly stunned.
After a few more minutes, there was still no one on the snowy slope opposite them.
The snowstorm grew stronger.
Roda's expression became more unpleasant.
"Let's go." In the end, the boss of the firearms company exhaled a breath filled with anger. "It seems that they won't come."
Oschow looked unhappy. "What about our cooperation?"
Roda sneered. "It's fine."
'After all, they're not the only ones …
They hold the key to overturn the world. '
He turned around and walked into the dense coniferous forest.
Oschow snorted softly and asked his brothers to drag the group of frozen children back to the warehouse.
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? Next volume: "The Betrayers"
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Opening Words: The excuses and reasons of traitors are innumerable, but the most absurd and sorrowful of them all is: betrayal for loyalty.
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PS: These two chapters should have been placed in the Dragon Blood Scroll, but because I'm lousy, I put them in the wrong place. Please change them tomorrow.
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