Falk’s head was on the floor, and 12 other Dark Legion Guards were about to escape. Vogt unleashed an attack at Kent, who just smiled and teleported away.
Everything was happening so fast that Vogt didn’t know how it all ended in such a state. Vogt and Falk were opportunists. Their loyalty was to the highest bidder, so they never truly had the Ashland family at heart.
This was also why Falk was mad when they received reinforcements a few days ago. They didn’t want more soldiers because they never planned to hand over Li Hua to the Ashland family.
Their plan was very simple: when Kent appeared, they would kill him and their men and then run off with Li Hua, intending to sell her to the highest bidder.
They knew she was special, considering the Ashland Noble Family had gone through a lot for her. Naturally, they wouldn’t let such a chance to cash out pass.
Their plan was airtight. They had secured a Tier 3 teleportation talisman that required 5 minutes to activate.
They planned to use it to leave the place since the talisman was designed to wipe their existence from the location once it was used. It could not be tracked.
They had also bought body doubles from an artisan and planned to fake their deaths after killing their men. So, getting more reinforcements was a headache.
However, when Kent appeared and started killing with ease, they decided to put their plan into motion, and they nearly succeeded.
However, they failed to notice one thing: the man they were facing had an overprotective tower that was always looking for ways to keep its master safe.
Although not an actual system, the tower could do much more now that Kent’s soul strength was relatively high.
Now that Kent had become a Soul Master, the tower had grown much stronger and more active. It had already started finding ways to help its master grow even more powerful, and, well, the method it envisioned was a slaughter.
Kent teleported away, causing Vogt’s sword attack to slice through empty air. He reappeared the next moment, and a head rolled to the floor.
[You have slain a Level 2 Root Saint, Kojo Cue]
[Your soul grows stronger.]
[Current Soul essence: 1004/2004]
Kent was absorbing the soul essence of the guards he was killing. Though he hadn’t leveled up his Soul Cultivation subclass yet, he could feel his soul growing stronger by the second.
He moved to his next target, then teleported back to Vogt, who was still recovering from his missed attack.
Kent spared him no pity and unleashed the [36 String Weaving Strike], demanding Vogt’s full attention and forcing him to defend.
Kent vanished, leaving the attack behind for Vogt to handle. Vogt’s sword qi surged, and his intent fully awakened as he unleashed a series of [Blood Cuts], sending deep red sword arcs slicing through the air at the blinding speed of the 36-string strike.
By the time Vogt finished defending, Kent had already killed two more guards, bringing their number down to eight.
Kent unleashed two [Fire Lion Strikes] before repeating the same tactic. After two more rounds, only two guards remained. This time, Kent didn’t bother repeating his strategy.
He moved swiftly, removing their heads from their bodies. When he was done, he turned to face Vogt, who now wore a tired and pale expression.
While he looked tired, his aura and cultivation base still seemed sharp. However, it wasn’t affecting Kent at all. It felt nonexistent.
The reason was simple: Kent’s stats had been boosted by 500%.
When he acquired the skill [Guardian’s Protect] skill, he had expected it to activate only when a ward under his protection was in danger. Of course, this was a miscalculation on his part.
The skill activated when he came within two miles of Li Hua. Although she hadn’t been harmed in any way, she had been knocked out with a drug. But even without that, just kidnapping her was a grave mistake on their part.
Additionally, Kent had grown stronger after distributing his points and absorbing 169 soul essences. Even without using his aura, the peak Saint in front of him posed no threat.
His anger was evident, but he maintained a clear mind.
“Who are you?” Vogt asked, his grip on his sword tightening. He could feel it—his aura wasn’t affecting Kent. That troubled him greatly.
“Just a humble Guardian looking for his ward,” Kent muttered coldly.
“Why are you doing this? Who would go this far for a mere mortal?” Vogt demanded.
The heads of his men lay on the floor. While he didn’t care about them, the only person he cared about was now headless on the ground.
“Like I said, I am here for my ward.” Kent moved forward and thrust his sword at Vogt’s heart. But at the last moment, Kent abandoned the attack and turned while slashing his sword behind him.
Clang!
A spinning disc collided with Kent’s sword, sending him flying backward. He slammed into the ground and coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.
Unfortunately, Vogt, whom Kent planned to kill and absorb memories from, was in the path of the disc that deflected off Kent’s sword.
The disc sliced through him, splitting him in half. Kent’s plan to learn more about the Ashland Family was ruined.
But he didn’t have the luxury to dwell on that. The Tower had warned him about this possibly being a major trap.
It was indeed a trap.
Hovering ahead was a woman with a frowning mask covering her face. She was clad in dark armor, and judging by the aura around her, she was a Peak Root Sage.
Naturally, she was releasing her aura to intimidate Kent who had killed 170 people in less than ten minutes.
She wasn’t underestimating him.
[Master, I have locked onto the young miss. Just give the word, and we are out of here. Although your soul is not strong enough to handle teleportation easily, you won’t die either.]
<Hold on for now, Tower,> Kent replied as he gazed at the masked woman and asked,
“Who are you?”
He already had a plan in mind. The Tower would use his soul energy to teleport both him and Li Hua away. However, the backlash could render him unconscious for up to half a year. Kent didn’t want that outcome.
Not while he still had some way out.
“The question should be, who are you, young man? I’ve encountered many humans with great potential, but none quite like you,” the masked woman said coldly. She moved closer, stopping just a meter away from Kent.
Kent instinctively took a few steps back.
“Tell me, young man, what is your name?” the woman asked.
“I asked the question first,” Kent replied, his gaze steady on the woman. He knew he couldn’t defeat her but refused to cower before her.
“A bold one, huh? I like that,” she said. “Initially, I planned to kill you since I can’t leave any witnesses when I claim the Atomic Divine Body. But I’ve changed my mind.
“With your potential, having you as my slave would be far more advantageous. So, human, will you become my slave willingly, or do you prefer the hard way?”
The moment Kent heard her question, something shifted within him. “What did you just say?” he asked, his voice chilling as the temperature around them dropped.
Then, everything went dark. Kent blacked out.