After ding the call, Klaus remained seated at the mountain peak, showing no sign that he was aware of the people sneaking toward him. Ever since he had transformed his spiritual Qi into Star Qi, his sses had sharped dramatically. Now, he could sse anything within a 50-kilometer radius—a feat typically only possible for those at the Saint stage.
At the Saint level, one’s sses evolve into Divine sse, allowing for perfect awaress ev with closed eyes. Though ev Divine sse has its limits, Klaus, who hadn’t yet reached the Master stage, could already detect the slightest disturbance within his 50-kilometer range.
As soon as Klaus ssed the approaching group, he knew they had bad inttions. While he couldn’t see them directly, his heighted awaress allowed him to track their movemt patterns. It became clear to him that they were coming for him—and they wer’t coming in peace.
“Gtlem, I have be expecting you,” Klaus said calmly. As the group of t figures moved within 00 meters, preparing their ambush, Klaus turned toward them. A small lotus flower, made of ice, spun slowly in his hand.
The t m froze in place, shock flashing across their faces. Klaus smiled. “No need to be surprised. Your concealmt skills are good, but I’m not like everyone else.”
One of the figures stepped forward, his expression harding. “Brat, do you really think the satellite is still watching this place? No one’s coming to save you.”
They hadn’t expected Klaus to detect them, so of them had bothered to hide their faces. Their mission was simple—kill him and leave no trace. With Klaus dead, there would be no one left to tell the tale. However, they underestimated him, and that’s their mistake.
“Oh, there was a satellite.” Klaus was clearly tak aback by this revelation but quickly recovered. A small smile crept onto his lips. “It seems my actions didn’t go unnoticed,” he muttered to himself.
Before he could reflect any further, a gruff voice called out. “Hey, brat! Hand over the Zombie Stones, and we might think about sparing your life.”
Klaus turned his atttion to the speaker, a man who appeared to be the leader of the group of t figures facing him. Klaus’s smile faded into a neutral expression. “And what if I say no?” he asked calmly.
The leader sneered. “Th you leave us no choice but to kill you. Let me make this clear—you have no chance of escaping today. So it would be best if you didn’t resist.”
Klaus raised an eyebrow. “I’ll think about that, but first, tell me—who do you work for? Why should I trust any of you?”
The leader’s sneer deeped. “You don’t need to know that. Just hand over the Zombie Stones, and we might consider letting you live.”
Klaus sighed softly, shaking his head. “I guess Ohema was right. This powerhouse wouldn’t leave me in peace.”
He paused for a momt, th turned to face the t figures. “I suppose someone hired you for this, right? This Forbidd Zone only ops once a week. You’re clearly advturers hired by somebody to ambush me here.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Klaus continued, his tone calm but laced with cold mace. “The t of you don’t have the spine to make this decision on your own. You all saw my feats on the internet and know the influce I hold now. So, for all t of you to show up just to throw your lives away, means someone more powerful is pulling the strings.”
He paused, a slight grin forming. “Of course, you don’t have to tell me who it is. It won’t change anything. I’ll just kill you, and I won’t feel the slightest bit of guilt. I’ll ev give you a chance—leave now, while you still can. Because wh I strike, there won’t ev be bones left to bury.”
Though Klaus’s voice remained calm, the icy threat in his words st shivers down the spines of the t figures standing before him.
“With only you, do you think you can take on the t of us? Let me tell you, the Dark Fang Mercary group doesn’t—” One of the figures began to speak but stopped abruptly, ssing something was wrong. But it was already too late.
“Dark Fang Mercaries,” Klaus muttered with a smile. He had wanted information, and now that he had what he needed, there was no reason to hold back. He could deal with them now and figure out who they were working for later.
“KILL HIM!” the leader roared, charging forward with his sword swinging wildly. The other mercaries followed, each radiating the powerful aura of Grandmaster warriors.
Klaus remained still, not ev bothering to draw his own sword. In his palm, he held nothing but an ice lotus, glowing faintly.
“Freeze.”
Suddly, ice exploded from the g, instantly freezing everything within a -kilometer radius. The t figures that had rushed forward were stopped in their tracks, froz solid in mid-motion. Klaus remained calm, his expression unchanged. He gtly tossed the ice lotus toward them.
The flower spun through the air before bursting apart. This explosion was smaller than usual, but its freezing power was several times stronger. The ice a the froz mercaries thicked, casing them tirely.
Momts later, there was nothing left but ice sculptures, froz in the exact momt of their defeat.
“Break,” Klaus muttered, snapping his fingers. Instantly, t explosions rocked the area. The t figures that had be targeting him shattered into crystal ice, leaving no trace behind—not ev their bones.
Klaus sighed, gazing at the spot where they had stood just momts ago. “Their mistake was targeting me. Maybe in their next life, they’ll choose their fights more wisely.” He th turned, narrowing his eyes toward a particular direction.
“You can come out now if you’re not convinced,” he called out in a casual tone. Almost immediately, three figures emerged from the shadows.
“I suppose you’re also here for my Zombie stones?” Klaus asked, sounding bored.
“Who cares about Zombie stones?” one of the figures scoffed. Klaus raised an eyebrow. “If not for the stones, th why are you here?” he asked.
One of the figures stepped forward. “You’ve angered some powerful people, brat. They want you gone,” he said coldly. “It’s best you don’t resist. Killing you will take only a momt.”
“I can say the same thing,” Klaus said with a small smile. His sword appeared in his hands, and before anyone could blink, he vanished. In an instant, he reappeared in front of one of the figures. With a swift motion, he stabbed his sword straight through the person’s chest. The figure froze instantly, a look of shock froz on his face.
The remaining two attackers reacted quickly, slashing their weapons at Klaus. But Klaus only smirked. Without turning a, he thrust his sword behind him. One of the attackers managed to block the strike just in time, but the third figure was slower. Klaus lashed out with a powerful kick, hitting the man squarely in the ribs.
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the air as the man staggered back, gasping in pain.
“Courting death!” the man who parried Klaus’s attack snarled, swinging his weapon toward Klaus’s neck. Klaus ducked just in time and kicked out, his fist smashing into the man’s face. A painful grunt escaped the man’s lips, but there was no time to recover.
As the first oppont struggled to get back on his feet, Klaus moved swiftly, delivering another brutal kick to his already battered face. The impact shattered his sword-wielding arm, sding him flying backward.
“Damn, these bones of mine are too strong,” Klaus muttered with a grin as he dashed toward the man with the brok ribs. Before the man could stand, Klaus delivered another kick to his side, sding him crashing into the first oppont. The two of them collided and tumbled ev further across the g.
“Had ough?” Klaus asked, smiling as he stood over the two miserable figures. With their bones brok and their pride shattered, they looked far worse off than they could have ever imagined.
Klaus stared at the two m before him, his expression cold and unfeeling. The brok-faced man, despite his injuries, managed to spit out vomous words. “Brat, do you think we don’t know who you are? If you kill us, you and that slut mother of yours won’t go scot-free.”
Klaus’s icy smile faded, replaced by a deaded gaze. “Coming after me, I could forgive,” he said, his voice chilling. “But threating my mother? That’s something I won’t tolerate.” He tighted his grip on his sword, his knuckles turning . “Here’s what’s going to happ: I’ll kill you two now, and th I’ll find out who st you.
After that, I’ll hunt down every last one of them until there’s no one left to threat my mother.”
Without another word, Klaus disappeared like a shadow in the night, reappearing behind the brok-rib man. Before the man could react, his head was severed from his body, spinning in the air before it hit the g with a dull thud.
The brok-faced man tried to defd himself, but before he could retreat, Klaus’s powerful kick connected with his skull. The impact was brutal—his head split in half, sding chunks of flesh and bone flying through the air.
Bloodstained Klaus for the first time, and he stood there in the midst of it, cold and unmoved. He glanced at the mangled bodies at his feet and muttered quietly, “In your next life, don’t threat my mother.”
As he wiped the blood from his sword, he whispered a vow under his breath. “Daniel Ucher, Michael Stev, Jacob Msah… Your organization and every one of your sponsors will follow soon.” His tone was colder than the grave.
Looking at his blood-stained feet, Klaus frowned. He pulled out a bottle of water from his space ring and cleaned them thoroughly. Once satisfied, he returned to the mountain, sat down, and closed his eyes to calm himself.
A few minutes later, his phone rang again.
“Klaus, is everything alright?” Ohema’s voice came through the phone.