Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  The system let out a clear notification.

  "Learned the low-tier body fortification technique—Black Sand Invulnerable Body!"

  It was a body fortification technique he had obtained from Black Wind Mountain's chief bandit. As its level and realm increased, its defensive properties would also gradually increase.

  However, Black Sand Invulnerable Body was just at Level 1, so it was the same as him not having any body fortification technique. If he used it to withstand an attack from a Stone Giant in Blessed Realm, it would be similar to him wearing a thick piece of paper, but it was better than nothing.

  Happy s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath, and at a moderate pace, he brought out his Great Wolf Fur Coat, Great Wolf Fur Gauntlets, Great Wolf Fur Boots, and Great Wolf Fur Shorts, and equipped all of them. Once he turned himself into a hunter in the forest, he stood up and approached a Stone Giant not too far away from him.

  Whoosh!

  With a flick of his wrist, a lancet knife accurately struck the Stone Giant dozens of feet to his left. Then, Happy quickly came back to his original spot. The Stone Giant did not even flinch, but it glared at Happy once it found the perpetrator. With loud stomps, it took huge strides and charged toward Happy, as if there was wind under its feet.

  Happy's breathing instantly became light and slow.

  If he wanted to withstand the Stone Giant's attacks with a Level 1 Black Sand Invulnerable Body, there was still a huge risk involved.

  He had been practicing his martial arts with Thunderous Battle for a long time by going up against these monsters head on with brute strength. It was time to increase the progress of his training!

  Chapter 101 - Disturbance in the Ancient Tomb

  Outside the ancient tomb located a distance away from Yangzhou City was a young woman. She staggered out of a forest while cradling her injured arm. There was anxiety on her face, and under two phantasmal balls of blue light, she looked around for just a short while before she gritted her teeth and went straight into the dark ancient tomb!

  Soon, heavy but swift footsteps rose from deeper in the tunnel. Yet those sounds quickly faded away and returned to silence.

  Not long after, whooshing sounds came from the forest. They were similar to the sounds produced when something sliced apart the air, and there were also the sounds of sleeves fluttering. There were a lot of them…

  A group of people appeared at the spot where the young woman had once stopped. One of them had an electrifying gaze. Once he looked around, he quickly noticed the specks of blood at the entrance of the ancient tomb, and he slowly looked up to cast his gaze at the dark and narrow tunnel nearby.

  He narrowed his eyes and told the people behind him in a deep and grave voice, "She's inside."

  Everyone looked at a man dressed in a scholar's robe simultaneously when he walked out of the forest.

  He had a disdainful and lackadaisical look on his face. While he fanned himself with a paper fan, he chuckled. "She wants to use the Stone Giants and Dirt Puppets in the ancient tomb to avoid us, huh? Hmph! As expected of the chief military advisor of Black Rose. Have two people stay here and guard the entrance! The others will go with me into the tomb to capture her."

  The group voiced its obedience.

  The seven people were clearly not greenhorns. They understood the layout of the ancient tomb very well, and no one recklessly charged forward. Instead, all of them activated their qi realm, and a rather buff man opened the path for them. The others followed behind him.

  A total of seven people entered the tomb, and they were all in Blessed Realm. They moved like the wind and did not dawdle around.

  The man in charge of opening the path did not budge in the slightest even if he was hit by a Stone Giant, and he did not move until all the people behind him passed him. His body fortification technique was so great that it was equal to Thunderous Battle's.

  "Follow the blood trail!" the man who shook the paper fan gently said with an indifferent tone. He moved in the middle of the group while giving everyone reminders in a calm manner. He looked incredibly relaxed.

  Soon, the group shook off the Stone Giants and Dirt Puppets and arrived at the first fork.

  It was clear that this was the first time the man with the fan had entered Yangzhou City's ancient tomb. He swept his gaze over the fork and frowned when he saw that there were two paths.

  "Phantom Jade, take two people with you. If you run into a deadend, immediately turn back. Remember to catch up to us by the marks we leave behind!" he ordered decisively.

  "Understood!"

  Even though there were plenty of forks in the ancient tomb, the correct path could usually be seen at first glance. Soon, the group led by Phantom Jade caught up to the main group through the marks.

  However, they ran into a new fork after that.

  Phantom Jade did not comment on the situation. He led his men down one of the paths again.

  They had no other choice. Their target was the Black Rose's Chief Military Advisor Red Coral. Not only did she plan all the ambushes, she had also successfully snatched a very important tribute, along with something that originally never belonged to them! This made their leader incredibly vexed, and he spent a lot of money to buy Red Coral's location from a master fortune teller. He wanted to kill Red Coral at all costs, and before she could register what happened, get that item to drop from her.

  "Young master, we found someone!"

  The group of people soon arrived at the main hall of the ancient tomb. There were whistles as fists were thrown in the air from the distance. There were also hoarse and decisive whistles from a saber, which quickly attracted their attention.

  They stopped at the entrance to the main hall, and the man fanning himself quickly cast a glance at the drop of blood not too far in the distance. A small smile appeared on his lips. Red Coral had come through there.

  He swept his gaze over the area and saw a fork to the left and right of the main hall.

  "Go and ask."

  They had chased Red Coral for a long time. There was a high chance that she had removed herself from battle and found a random spot in the ancient tomb to log off. If she managed to hide for a while and requested for someone to come over, then things would become very troublesome.

  Their only choice was to hurry forward and find her before she could stop and send a messenger pigeon. They would then have to kill her…

  However, there were many forks in the ancient tomb, and it was difficult to track anyone.

  One person left the group and headed toward the player who fought against a Stone Giant at the corner furthest away from the entrance.

  "Hey! Did you see someone head past this place?!"

  Happy did not say anything. It was not a relaxing matter to fight against a Stone Giant by himself. He had to pay full attention to the fight and could not let the world around him distract him.

  When he heard someone ask him a question in a gruff voice, he scowled. In a very displeased manner, he shouted, "No!"

  And he continued fighting against the Stone Giant.

  "You…"

  When the person heard Happy answer in such a rude manner, he glared at him. "Open your eyes wider then? I'm asking you a question! A woman walked past this place just now, where did she go?" While he spoke, he intentionally brought out his weapon and held it in his hand.

  Shing!

  His sword let out a clear sound when he drew it out of its sheath, and the w.h.i.n.e did not fade away even after a long time had passed.

  "This guy."

  The man with the fan frowned slightly when he saw that the person he sent had decided to become aggressive, but he did not stop him.

  Even though the other person was clearly in Blessed Realm and even practiced a high-tier saber technique, it was not wise for him to be unreasonable before them. They'd had to suffer a lot of grievances, and anger had been boiling in their hearts for a long time. When faced with such an impudent person, they could not help but lose control
of their emotions a little.

  They might not need to oppress him with numbers, but right then, they were pressed for time, and perhaps threatening him would help them to achieve their goals in the most direct and fastest manner.

  However, their thoughts were wrong.

  Happy only cast a glance at the person who threatened him with ice in his eyes. Then, he didn't say or do anything. He continued to fight against the Stone Giant, completely ignoring the stranger.

  'Very good…'

  'Is he ignoring us simply because he's practicing a high-tier saber technique? What right does he have to do so? Because of his less than hundred thousand silver worth beginner level equipment, or his stupidly low-leveled body fortification technique?

  "You're just asking for death!"

  The man fanning himself shut the fan, and three of the Blessed Realm fighters beside him attacked at the same time. Without any hesitation, they charged toward the person and monster at the furthest corner from the entrance.

  Happy did not say anything. He had noticed the trio's violent charge and ill-will. He frowned and did a calm onceover of the trio's weapons, but did not show any alarm.

  When the trio approached him, his expression turned dark. He tapped against the ground and, to everyone's surprise, rushed between the trio, sinking into their encirclement.

  Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

  Since it had lost its target all of a sudden, the Stone Giant turned around swiftly. It ran as quick as the wind in chase of Happy, but another person appeared between it and its target.

  The Stone Giant acted on its instinct to attack the nearest target, and its ferocious and savage gaze instantly fell on the poor soul before it!

  Chapter 102 - You Have to Win Your Respect!

  "This is bad!"

  The expression of the man with the fan changed. The moment Happy showed his lightness skill, a solemn look flashed briefly in his eyes.

  It was a lightness skill in Grandmaster Realm again!

  Their target, Red Coral, and also had a lightness skill, Fly on Grass, which had reached the pinnacle of perfection. If it were not because she had been injured quite badly, they would not have had the chance to catch up to her. Even so, they were only close on her tail and had yet to find a chance to capture her.

  Even though it was not an issue to provoke an enemy in Blessed Realm who had a high-tier martial art, that enemy would be very difficult to deal with if they had a lightness skill in Grandmaster Realm!

  At that moment, the man with the fan began to regret not asking nicely, but it was too late.

  Happy's accurate landing had not only shifted the Stone Giant's hate on one of the three Blessed Realm players, but his Hundred-battle Saber had also brought about a hoarse m.o.a.n while in the air.

  The person across Happy looked up slightly and him descend from the sky in a graceful manner. At the moment he was dazed by the sight, the Hundred-battle Saber shone when Happy brought it out from behind him. His presence instantly turned incredibly sharp!

  The expression of the person changed slightly! In haste, he brought his sword up to block the attack.

  When Happy saw this, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. He did not reduce his momentum, but increased it. With Flowering Knight's Offer of Wine, he had his saber crash heavily against the man's sword without any flourish.

  The high-tier martial art, Flowering Knights' Song, showed its might of the sixth realm. With the help of the Hundred-battle Saber increasing its attack power, it forced the man to cough up a mouthful of blood. He was also pushed dozens of feet backwards, as if he had been struck by lightning.

  "Stop!"

  The expression of the man with the fan was dark. He could not endure watching anymore.

  He had thought that their victory was in the bag, but not only had their opponent easily neutralized their attacks, he even posed danger to them. The three who had approached him were led around like children. The man with the fan s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath, and his gaze became cautious. 'It's best not to turn this sort of person into our enemy.'

  "Brother… just now, my men were rash and impolite. I will apologize on their behalf here." When the person with the fan walked over, his smile was rather stiff, which made it clear that he was not a person who knew how to smooth things out.

  It was the first time where he had to take the initiative and apologize when his subordinates were at a disadvantage since he had joined the game!

  But he had no other choice.

  Happy's abilities were just too good. The moment he attacked, he completely turned the tables, and he was so quick and decisive that they could not react to the situation.

  The man with the fan was worried that if they continued fighting, he might become the third joke in the game, right after Mountain Range Sect and Wind and Rain Tower, and it would be the same joke—they were defeated by a single enemy.

  "Hmph!"

  Happy had no good thoughts of people who bullied the weak but feared the strong. He snorted coldly, and with a disdainful look, he swept his gaze over the man with the fan before casting a glance at the person who went round in circles to avoid the Stone Giant's attack, and was in an incredibly dire predicament.

  "Get lost." Happy only said two words in a calm tone, but they were filled with very clear disdain and disregard.

  "You…"

  The face of the man who was chased around by the Stone Giant turned red. His eyes were filled with rage. He wanted to shake off the Stone Giant and cut Happy into two with one slash of his sword!

  The armed man who stood in confrontation against Happy noticed that his companion had great trouble in escaping from his predicament. He frowned and stared into Happy's eyes before he said darkly, "Brother, we've already showed you respect. Don't go overboard now."

  Happy cast a cold glance at the person who spoke. "What a load of bull! Ask yourselves this, if I had lost, would you have showed me respect and taken the initiative to let things slide just like this?"

  The group did not say anything. They found themselves unable to answer the question.

  They all knew that they had wanted to kill Happy to vent their anger.

  He swept his gaze over them, and the mockery in his eyes became greater.

  "So don't talk to me about that stupid respect." When he said this, Happy's gaze turned cold. "When we're in the world of martial artists, respect is not given as a gift by other people."

  Happy quirked an eyebrow. He did not expect that they would have reinforcements.

  "What's wrong?"

  The three-man group led by Phantom Jade swiftly returned to the man with the fan. He cast a glance at his companion, who stood up while cradling his c.h.e.s.t, sensing the hostile atmosphere between them and the stranger. The trio made a racket when they drew out their weapons and looked like they would attack the moment the man with the fan gave the order.

  "Respect is not a gift given by others? Some saying you have there…"

  When Phantom Jade arrived with his men, the expression of the man with the fan, which had originally been incredibly dark, relaxed slightly. He exhaled deeply and began fanning himself with the paper fan again.

  "Today, I have other matters to attend to. We will meet again in the future. Let's see if you can still use the tone you're using right now!" Once he said this insincere remark, the man with the fan called his people to leave.

  Phantom Jade and his group did not witness Happy's power, and they were in disbelief toward the situation, because they knew the personality of the man with the fan.

  They had only one enemy, but their young master had actually managed to squash down his anger!

  'It would seem like this person isn't just tough,' Phantom Jade thought.

  "Phantom Jade, stay here and take care of matters! Guard the exit of the main hall while you're at it! The others, follow me!"

  The man with the fan knew just how important his mission was. It was absolutely necessary for them to kill Red Coral, so he co
uld not let a setback happen because of a momentary burst of anger.

  He had two people stay behind while personally led the others toward the path to the left.

  Happy didn't cast another glance at the group. He just went back to continue dealing with the Stone Giant who had temporarily slunk away from its duties with peace in its mind.

  As for Phantom Jade, he came to learn the entirety of what happened from his injured comrade, and his gaze filled with shock and bewilderment as he stared at the young man in the corner.

  "He injured you heavily with just one slash?" Phantom Jade s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath.

  The people who were sent by their sect to kill Red Coral were all top fighters in the sect. They had contributed to their sect's tribute stealing quest, and none of them had died once. It could be said that they had great fighting experience.

  If this sort of person was subdued with just one slash even though his side was clearly at the advantage, it meant that his opponent's strength could not be described as ordinary.

  "He's good."

  Phantom Jade's eyes sparkled, and when he looked at Happy, the fire in his eyes burned brighter.

  He had always thought of himself as the strongest fighter in the sect. When he heard about the fame surrounding Quicksword from the south and Soul Severing Guest from the north, he had looked forward to gaining such fame himself. But by the looks of it now, there was also a quite powerful player hidden in the ancient tomb!

  His interest made him pay attention to Happy!

  As he watched, Phantom Jade suddenly noticed a problem he had not realized earlier.

  The person in the corner of the hall actually went up against a Stone Giant on his own, and he actually lasted for a very long time with a body fortification technique that was clearly at a very low realm! How was that possible?!

  As he watched closely, Phantom Jade's gaze gradually turned from solemn to shocked.

  Chapter 103 - Jade Coral

  The fist technique the Stone Giants used was a high-tier martial art Heaven's Secret Fist from Heaven's Secret Valley. Even though their realm was not high, only seventh or so, with the materials used to create the puppets, the Stone Giant itself could be considered as a medium-grade masterpiece. Its combat ability was then naturally raised to a relatively high level.