It required him to deal with two powerful martial artists at the peak of Gate Realm. The governor had also mentioned that he was not to startle or alarm them, which meant that Happy could not gather helpers. But he could decide the time and place where the fight would happen, and since he could have time and geographical advantage, all that was left for him was to plan his strategy.
Happy chose to travel in crowded places until he reached the foot of Cold Mountain Temple. From the distance, he saw Qian Kunzi run to him while dressed in white warrior clothes. There was a faint blush on his cheeks due to excitement.
"Senior Brother Happy!"
"You're here. I'll have to trouble you again."
"I was just around the area doing a quest. When I heard that you're coming to this place, I came over straight away. I'm just going to take a stroll with you in this place. It won't affect my work at all."
Qian Kunzi laughed brightly and clearly.
While Happy was on the way, he had written a letter and sent it to Qian Kunzi via a messenger pigeon to tell him about his quest. What Qian Kunzi needed to do was to accompany Happy for a short period of time until he could find a suitable battleground. His presence would not allow First Tomb Robber and Second Tomb Robber to attack before Happy was ready to welcome them!
Once they exchanged a few words, the two went into the forest.
Before long, Qian Kunzi returned to the main road alone. He looked disappointed and stood outside dejectedly for a while. After lingering around for some time, he shook his head and left.
During the entire trip, he had indeed not been able to provide any sort of help except to accompany Happy.
He followed behind him and watched him do all sorts of things, but he did not know exactly what he did. He only saw Happy hang bags upon bags of lime powder on the trees that were not too far away from each other.
Qian Kunzi could not make any sense of it. If Happy had not sternly urged him repeatedly to leave the forest immediately and run far away, he would have stayed nearby to see what exactly was going on.
The somewhat dark forest swiftly became silent.
Among the trees was a boy in blue robes. He stood proudly with his eyes slightly shut. He looked at peace, just like an old monk who had entered a meditative state. He was quiet and did not move.
The sounds of birds, beasts, and insects gradually rose.
Happy did not show any signs of agitation. He had his heart and mind completely immersed in the delicate peace.
Before long, the birds, beasts, and insects who had grown used to the blue-robed boy's existence became silent again. A strange atmosphere rose in the forest.
A light, barely noticeable breeze swept up the fallen leaves on the ground. It blew up the dust and made Happy's sleeves flutter. It alerted the boy who had his eyes closed to rest his mind. He opened them, and his gaze was as sharp as arrows when he looked at the spot from which the wind came.
"Who is it?!"
Before he finished speaking, the sounds of sleeves fluttering rose from a place in front of him, and it was not far away.
A cold snort traveled into the air!
Happy saw a person walk out slowly from behind the tree from which the sound had come. His eyes were long, narrow, and cold, and he looked as if he was staring at a dead person.
"As expected of a Murong Clan disciple, you are indeed quite skilled. But a pity… This time, regardless of whether the news that came from Murong Clan are real or not, since Third died because of you, today marks the day of your death!"
His cold and ghastly words allowed Happy to reach a conclusion.
He instantly recognized that the speaker was the leader of the tomb robbers that night.
When he was about to answer, light footsteps came from behind him! Happy frowned and quickly turned around. A man in tight-fitting black clothes and holding two short blades walked out from behind a tree. His eyes burned, and he glared at Happy with a murderous gaze. His footsteps were heavy and slow. It was quite clear that he was planning to launch a pincer attack with his comrade.
"You're the one who killed my brother! I'm going to cut you to pieces!"
Second Tomb Robber gritted his teeth. His gaze was furious, as if he wanted to immediately attack and crush Third's murderer to take revenge for his brother.
'I knew it!'
Happy's heart sank. He did not dare to let his guard around them. Slowly and cautiously, he drew his Noble Sword.
The targets had been lured to their places, so what remained was the most important part.
Clang!
At the instant Happy drew his Noble Sword, a clear, quivering whistle came from the distance.
"Kill him!"
First Tomb Robber and Second Tomb Robber disappeared from the spot at the same time.
While martial artists who had just reached the peak of Gate Realm could not be considered as powerful people, tomb robbers like them who had lived away from other people's eyes had their own methods to protect themselves.
Whoosh!
A silver hook spun a few times in the air. With a thud, it wrapped itself around a huge tree to Happy's left. He used the momentum and swung himself. He rose into the air, and by doing so, not only did Happy manage to avoid First Tomb Robber's ruthless and swift slash in time, with a few taps, his body also continued rising into the air. In an instant, he appeared on a branch thirty-two feet above ground. His movements were very neat and experienced, as if he had already done this multiple times in the past.
"And where do you think you're going?!"
First Tomb Robber and Second Tomb Robber clearly did not expect that Happy would have such a trick up his sleeve. Once they overcame their shock, they roared at him. They used the strength in their legs to jump high into the air at the same time.
Whoosh!
The two closed in on Happy on the tree branch.
Happy was not alarmed. He smiled instead.
He had long since put away his Noble Sword back into his Universe Bag. He spun on his feet, and with a sweep, a large cloud of white powder descended from the sky. It covered everything in the area along with the two tomb robbers who had used lightness skills to chase after him.
"It's lime powder! How shameless!"
"Big brother, be careful!"
The two men had nothing that could be used to assist them in changing their movements while they were in the air. When the lime powder covered their faces, the two roared and closed their eyes. They swung their weapons wildly in an attempt to chase away the gray fog in front of them.
However, they did not know that Happy had been prepared for such actions a long time ago. While standing on the tree branch, he sent two fatal lancet knives into the air. They flew quietly under the cover of the lime powder.
"Urk!"
"Ah!"
The knives were thrown from a close distance, so First Tomb Robber and Second Tomb Robber did not have time to defend against them. They were hit at the same time and cried out in pain.
Their true qi flowed in reverse. The two instantly lost their ability to continue rising in the air and fell down.
"It's Third's lancet knives! Second, be careful!"
When the leader of the tomb robbers saw the throwing knife stuck in his abdomen, he became apprehensive and quickly shouted a reminder to his second brother.
"You should be worried about yourself."
The preparations he had made beforehand did indeed provide miraculous effects. Not only did they make his enemies rise into the air and reveal their weaknesses, the lime powder also clouded their vision and threw their minds into chaos. It greatly reduced their ability to avoid the throwing knives.
However, two throwing knives were far from enough to decide the battle.
As of right then, the two men were only lightly injured!
While he had the advantage, Happy had to give chase. He had to first kill one of them.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The leader of the t
omb robbers was unlucky, since he had chosen to talk at that moment. this was enough for Happy, who had hesitated on who he should kill first, to instantly make his decision.
The leader of the tomb robbers was off balance, and because of it, he had a throwing knife stuck in his c.h.e.s.t and t.h.i.g.h. With a grunt, he fell into the pile of fallen leaves, just like how a leaf would fall once a knife cut it from a tree.
"Damn you, you brat!"
When he saw that his leader's survival was no longer known, Second Tomb Robber instantly flew into a rage!
Even though he knew that he had already fallen into Happy's trap, he could not accept the fact that he was toyed around by a nameless boy. Second Tomb Robber resisted the sharp pain in his arm, and with a vicious charge, he rammed his body against the tree in which Happy hid.
Boom!
His great power broke the tree, catching Happy off guard. He was thrown off like a kite whose string was snapped, and his heart thumped loudly against his c.h.e.s.t.
'No! This is bad!'
Just as Happy expected, before he could land on the ground, wind stirred by a blade came crashing at his face.
With eyes filled with shock, he could only watch as a short blade slashed at him. It cut his c.h.e.s.t.
Chapter 37 - Knife Throwing Skills in Grandmaster Realm
It was difficult for even powerful martial artists in Blessed Realm to withstand a blow from someone at the peak of Gate Realm, much less a new player who had not reached any realm.
With a heart full of anger and murderous intent, Second Tomb Robber struck his target with a savage expression on his face, but soon, surprise appeared on his face. The short blades in his hand did not cut the boy who had killed Third into three pieces.
When the short blades cut through the blue-robed boy's clothes with a fierce momentum, they touched an incredibly tough object. Not only did it block the force from the short blades, they were also knocked to the sides. When he looked carefully, Second saw a black metallic shine at the tear. The force he had used to slash at the boy turned into tremors that knocked the boy backwards!
Ink Armor!
The brat actually had a metallic leather armor that cost thousands of taels of silver crumbs.
As he stared at the boy who was knocked back, Second Tomb Robber became even more furious. He also felt incredibly indignant!
But before he could chase after the boy, two cold rays of light shot toward him.
'Hit him!'
Once Happy escaped death, he clenched his teeth, endured the sharp pain in his c.h.e.s.t, and threw two lancet knives. The cold glares shot forth with the speed of lightning and moved in between Second Tomb Robber's blades.
When thrown at such a close distance, there was no way Second Tomb Robber could avoid the knives.
With a pained scream, Second Tomb Robber moved back while covering his injured eye! Blood gushed out nonstop from the cracks between his fingers, and he looked horrifying. One of Happy's knives had taken away one of his eyes.
'Whew!'
Once Second lost one of his eyes, his fighting ability would be greatly reduced. There was no way he would still dare to linger around to fight. As he screamed in pain, he did not even have time to take care of the leader of the tomb robbers, who lay on the ground and whose survival was still unknown. He turned around and dashed swiftly into the forest on unsteady feet. Trails of blood were left behind on the ground.
'Pity!'
He raised his hand and flicked his wrist.
The lancet knife instantly went after Second Tomb Robber's back. It pierced him, pinning the man on the ground near a big tree.
"Battle ended! Battle Assessment: Class A!
"The Realm of your Lancet Knife Throwing Technique has increased!"
Right after the battle ended, multiple system notifications rose in succession. Then, with a clear ding, the system said its last words. "Congratulations, your Lancet Knife Throwing Technique has reached Grandmaster Realm.
"Your CPH has increased by two points!"
[Lancet Knife Throwing Technique: Level 99.99]
When he heard the notification from the system, Happy slumped down on the ground. He had been pretty badly injured by Second Tomb Robber's blade. He panted, and a relaxed and relieved smile appeared on his pale face.
He had indeed made the correct choice to accept the governor's deadly quest.
He dragged his injured body up and began to grope about the two tomb robber's bodies.
Most of the valuables were obviously on the leader's body. Besides having around six thousand taels of silver crumbs, he also had a martial arts manual along with an ancient jade with an extraordinary appearance.
Happy toyed with the ancient jade in his hands. It was a normal jade ring in the shape of a tiger. Its color was pure, but it was not of superior quality. However, the technique in the carving was very good. Not only did it give off a mighty presence, the expression on the tiger's face as it roared was also completely brought out. In fact, it gave off a very distinct, domineering presence.
Even if Happy had absolutely no knowledge about jade items, he could still tell based on his instincts that this was an extraordinarily precious jade!
However, Happy, who ranked among the extremely powerful martial artists who dominated the top ranks of World of Martial Arts in his previous life, would not be tempted by any jade, no matter how valuable.
Happy put all his rewards into his bag and cast a glance at his qi.
[Qi: 32.47. Less than 8 qi points required to enter Gate Realm.]
But no one knew that if Second Tomb Robber had attacked the areas where Happy was not protected by the Ink Armor, his qi would have dropped to around twenty points or so.
The fights among martial artists were usually this dangerous.
Happy let out a deep breath before groaning and putting a hand on his c.h.e.s.t.
Two dark red spots slowly spread out near his collarbone. Even though his Ink Armor had negated part of the damage, Second Tomb Robber's blade had still cut through his flesh.
"Ha…"
Happy sat down cross-legged and removed his outer clothes and Ink Armor in a familiar motion, then began pouring medicine on his wound in the wild.
He used up one Jinchuang Ointment, and his wound immediately stopped bleeding.
He then quietly circulated his qi using Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique. White steam swiftly rose from his head, and his hero's headband began moving despite there being no wind. As time passed, his cheeks slowly regained a little bit of color from their previous state of paleness due to blood loss. His speed of recovery was greatly increased.
Before long, light footsteps alerted Happy, who was immersed in recovering from his wounds, about the presence of other people.
He frowned and opened his eyes to see two players not too far away from the corpse of the leader of the tomb robbers. They were both very young. One of them crouched down and groped about the leader's corpse while the other youngster stood guard with a bronze sword. He stared at Happy with a wary but puzzled gaze. His eyes moved about as they sparkled.
Once Happy took a look at them, he closed his eyes again. If they were not NPCs that were wild beasts or mountain bandits, then everything was fine. He did not care what they did and continued circulating his qi to heal himself.
One of the two players who appeared in the forest was known as Ghost Leader, and the other was Four All-seeing Eyes. They might not have any fame in Gusu City, but they usually kept a low profile and trained hard. Their qi was already near Gate Realm, and they were quite skilled.
They had entered the forest to practice their skills after they found some wolves. Yet instead of their targets, they saw an unexpected scene.
A boy in blue robes was healing his injuries while two corpses lay on the ground. It was not difficult to guess what had happened in the forest.
However, what shocked them was that the attire of the two corpses was obviously much more unique compared
to the mountain bandits who appeared at night in the area around Cold Mountain Temple. They had face masks, the cloth on their legs was bound, and they wore tight-fitting clothing. All of this showed a presence that was different from a normal mountain bandit.
Were they powerful martial artists in Gate Realm?
What shocked the two even more was the injured boy in the blue robes. They knew him as well, because not too long ago, all the people in the city had heard of the Blue-robed Noble Sword User. He was the eldest senior brother of Murong Clan, and he had extraordinary skills. He was famous, and there were faint signs that he was about to become the strongest in Gusu City.
At that time, the two had regarded this information as something beneath their notice.
But they knew that they did not have the ability to get rid of two powerful martial artists in Gate Realm alone. They had a hard time handling normal mountain bandits, which made it obvious just how strong the Blue-robed Noble Sword User was.
A hint of caution and wariness entered their eyes.
'A Universe Bag! The things in the bag must be very valuable.'
They looked at each other, and they saw the profound look in each other's eyes. They moved to the left and right calmly before swiftly charging at Happy from two sides!
"Kill him!"
The two attacked at the same time.
They might not have the courage to attack the Blue-robed Noble Sword User while he was at his best, but in this quiet forest that was empty of other people, they could end his legend if they worked together, especially considering he was badly wounded already!
The moment they attacked, both players used their most fearsome skills!
Yet before their weapons could touch Happy, he opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp, and the cold glare in his eyes was threatening and aggressive.
"You're just asking for death!"
Chapter 38 - Revenge Quest
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 23
