(A/N: For the sake of creating a good fight scene, I will call the three Root Great Sages Leader 1, 2, and 3. No need to name assassins since they choose to remain incognito)
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BOOM
Leader 2 was thrown meters away by a powerful kick from the battle doll. The force of the kick was evident as he landed face-first on the ground.
Kent turned to look at the battered and bruised Root Great Sage. A portion of his mask had been ripped off from the fall, with cracks spreading across its surface.
The other two charged at the doll, but it effortlessly parried their dagger attacks, making them wince as none of their strikes landed.
The battle had started two minutes ago, yet the three leaders were utterly powerless. They don’t appear much in front of the Peak Great Sage battle Doll.
On the other hand, the doll was dismantling them with ease. It wasn’t using any active techniques, just a good old-fashioned sword fight.
Kent observed with surprise how efficiently it fought. For someone aspiring to walk the sword’s path, Kent saw a promising training partner in the doll.
While the doll mercilessly toyed with the three leaders, the Sages fared no better.
Perhaps, if Kent had been solely a sword cultivator, they might have stood a chance. Unfortunately for them, he was also a soul cultivator with over 50,000 soul essences to fuel his soul attacks.
But that wasn’t all. Kent was also an Alchemist who had developed a peculiar interest in crafting poison pills while studying recipes for Tier 2 pills.
Thus, he created some particularly nasty pills—16 out of the 30 Tier 2 pills he had concocted.
With his mastery of over 7,000 sword plays, formidable soul cultivation, and expertise in alchemy, Kent was practically toying with the Sages.
5 of the 9 Sages were already poisoned and near their death doors. Their poisons are different, so the effect is different and nasty.
One was literally ripping the flesh off his face. The poison was a nasty one that made one skin burn so hot and get itchy that their base instincts would be to claw their skin.
Kent’s only move was to parry their attacks, and then, using the dagger Manager Alina sent him, he would take their masks off, and then, with a kick to the jaw, the month would open.
The pill follows through after that.
It was a combined precise series of attacks, but Kent pulled it off effortlessly. The feeling was so natural to him.
[Rapid Slash]
Ten arcs of sword qi flash out from his sword.
The healthy four arching deep within their soul felt doom in the form of sword arcs moving toward them. The attack landed on them, forcing three to be pushed back because they couldn’t defend fast enough.
Thus, the last one standing was the first kill.
Kent used [Blink] and appeared behind him. The next second, his head was on the ground.
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[You have killed a Root Sage.]
[You have received +500 Soul Essense and Successfully extracted their memory]
[You have received +10,000 Tower points & +100 Skill Upgrade Points]
[You have received a Soul-Spirit.]
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Kent grinned and moved toward the three who had managed to resist his attempts to poison them. But their resistance was futile—they would die for sure.
The other five were in even worse shape, and though Kent knew they would succumb sooner or later, he wasn’t one to let them linger in suffering.
Without hesitation, he moved swiftly, dispatching them efficiently before returning to the three sages who had started to flee.
“Running is futile, brothers. It would be better to face your deaths like true men,” Kent called out, sprinting after them.
“What did we ever do to you? We’re just workers fulfilling a contract!” one of them shouted, his voice trembling, just as Kent caught up and drove his sword through the man’s neck.
The blade was so sharp that the sage likely didn’t even feel the fatal strike.
Well, Kent mused, perhaps the 10,002 sword techniques he was practising were essential after all. His swordsmanship had advanced to a level where even hand-to-hand close combat posed no challenge.
“Take solace in your death, knowing that soon, your employers will follow you,” Kent stopped and watched as the two sages ran around the formation like children.
Meanwhile, the battle doll had severed the head of Leader Three. It was a clean cut with no smudges, showing just how lethal the doll was.
Leader Two was looking rather pathetic.
His left leg was cut off, and, well, his left arm was also severed.
‘That looks painful.’
The right arm was also gone, and he was bleeding all over. Strangely, he was still moving with a single leg, clinging to the belief that he might still be able to kill the unkillable doll.
‘Maybe his brain was also cut somewhere.’
Kent turned to Leader One, who was now lying on the floor with a thousand cuts on his body. Blood oozed from him, making him appear rather pitiful to the eye, but he wasn’t having any fun either.
‘Gaia, I will need a comprehensive list of the best sword combat techniques you have. It will be great to create a monster out of this bastard.’
Kent was thrilled.
Well, the scene was horrible, but the surgical precision the doll was carrying out the slaughter thrilled him. His blood was boiling.
‘Something is definitely wrong with me’
Kent charged at the sages, who seemed to have hit a wall—literally.
The next few seconds were spent dispatching the two sages, who appeared to have given up. Well, the situation hadn’t been in their favour to begin with.
Kent was simply too monstrous. With his relentless soul attacks, the sages couldn’t focus, leaving him with plenty of openings to exploit. In their current state, they were powerless to do much of anything.
Perhaps, if they had been Root Great Sages, the battle would have been much easier. But there are no regrets in a fight to the death.
They came to kill, but instead, they are being killed. One could find the irony in that.
Twenty-five minutes later, the battle ended with all twelve assassins slain. Gaia consumed their memories and began piecing them together to uncover a way for Kent to get to the root of the problem.
The doll sheathed its swords and stood innocently as though it hadn’t just finished torturing three Root Great Sages.
“Good job, buddy. We’ll have you crossing over to the Root Transcendent stage soon enough.” Kent’s laughter rang out before he dismissed the doll.
He asked Gaia to scan their bodies for something valuable. Ultimately, he found a dark token and a good mask that he would use soon enough.
After that, he gathered the bodies and burned them. After making sure everything was settled, Kent took down the formation and then left to have some fun with his lovers, who were eagerly waiting for him.
But of course, he had things to do, and one of them was to get back to manage Alina. He also needed to check the gifts Vexthra had given him when he visited the god realm.
She called them trinkets, but he knew better. Anything from a god is not a trinket. Perhaps, to them, it might seem that way, but to mortals, it’s a treasure worth killing for.