Jimmy felt thrilled today. Not only had he managed to purchase a Rank Four Wind Elemental Core at the 'Foot' marketplace, but he had also acquired a Rank Five Elemental Core!
A Rank Five Core! That should be enough to make the arrogant Wyvern King take notice!
Two months ago, when he and his father first learned that the Wyvern King required vast quantities of Elemental Cores to sustain its transformation magic, they had nearly gone mad with excitement!
This meant that with enough Cores, they could sway the Wyvern King’s allegiance. If they secured the Wyvern King’s aid, then… the throne of the Rocky Empire would need a new occupant!
In truth, given the Wyvern King’s power, acquiring Elemental Cores by slaying Battle Beasts should be simple enough. However, as a collateral branch of the Dragon race, their inherent pride dictated that they would not casually hunt Battle Beasts beneath their own rank. Doing so would not only invite scorn from other races but would also lead to complete ostracization by the main Dragon lineage!
How could the true Dragons acknowledge a branch family that engaged in the indiscriminate slaughter of lower-ranked Battle Beasts!
This might even be a built-in feature from the Creator’s design: having bestowed the Dragons with supreme natural talents, He had necessarily granted them an arrogant disposition, ensuring they disdained squabbles with lesser magical beasts. Otherwise, if the Dragons went on a killing spree, many races would likely perish as a result!
Forbidden from hunting low-tier Battle Beasts for their Cores, the Wyvern King had no choice but to cooperate with humans. Thus, the Rocky Empire gained its Wyvern Riders.
Initially, the Empire’s accumulated stockpile of Elemental Cores was more than enough to satisfy the Wyvern King’s demands. But three years ago, the Rocky Empire’s Core reserves began to dwindle. The Wyvern King grew dissatisfied and instituted the Wyvern Selection Trials, effectively curbing the supply of Wyverns to force the Rocky Empire into submission!
It was precisely because of this situation that the price of Elemental Cores in the Rocky Empire skyrocketed, with Cores in the Imperial Capital becoming desperately scarce!
Prices in the Capital were significantly higher than in Gnam Town, meaning almost everyone who obtained Cores from the Frozen Demon Garden traveled to the Capital to sell them, causing Cores to be rarely seen even in massive trading hubs like the 'Foot'!
This was the main reason why Natasha, Benshan, and others were utterly stunned to see Chen Feng selling Rank Three Cores all by himself.
A little over a month ago, his father’s contacts finally managed to reach the Wyvern King and broker a deal. The condition was simple: if the King withdrew its Wyverns from the Rider Corps and armed Jimmy instead, upon successfully seizing the throne with this power, Jimmy would unconditionally supply them with vast quantities of Elemental Cores!
This proposition struck a chord with the Wyvern King, and it agreed!
Coincidentally, around this time, a Wyvern flock vanished without explanation. The Wyvern King seized the opportunity to feign "outrage," leading to the incident described by Vina.
Tomorrow was the Rocky Empire’s so-called Wyvern Selection Trial. If he presented the one hundred Cores he had gathered over the past few days, contained within a golden casket, to the Wyvern King, the creature would surely recognize his capability, and his dream of entering the Imperial Palace would materialize…
Thinking of this, a smile tugged at Jimmy's lips. If his father became Emperor, then as his only son, wouldn't his own succession be a foregone conclusion?
The very thought of sitting upon that seat someday, looking down on everyone, sent a surge of warmth through him!
This dream must be realized!
Jimmy secretly clenched his fists!
Speaking of that Rank Five Core, Jimmy recalled the cloaked figure he had seen during the day. To possess fifteen Rank Three Cores and a Rank Five Core all by oneself—what kind of background could that person have? Furthermore, the control that individual displayed over his Fire-attribute Battle Aura was almost uncanny; one punch had reduced a Rank Five Battle Warrior to ash!
However, judging by the way the person hid their face, they likely didn't belong to any major faction. As long as they lacked institutional backing, they posed no threat to him. Even if personal ability reached the level of a Battle Master, what of it? In the Lord’s Manor, teeming with true masters, anyone like that would simply die!
With this realization, Jimmy felt not the slightest concern regarding the cloaked figure, nor any fear of retaliation.
At noon, he had already dispatched a Rank Nine Assassin and two Rank Nine Mages to hunt the person down. If all went as expected, good news would arrive tonight.
Thinking thus, a smile spread across Jimmy's face as he slowly pushed open the door to the room before him.
A person was tied to the bed inside this room.
“Jimmy, release me quickly! If my brother finds out, he will never forgive you!” Judy’s voice echoed from within.
Hearing this, Jimmy’s smile broadened. With the Wyvern King’s recognition secured tomorrow, his grand endeavor was within reach. Let alone one mere mercenary group; what could all the mercenary groups in the entire Rocky Empire possibly do to him?
“Release you? Are you dreaming!” Jimmy reacted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. When he decided to act inside the 'Foot,' he had never intended to let her go!
“You…” Judy’s pretty face flushed crimson, and intense fury made her tremble violently!
In her rage, a rosy flush spread across her snowy, delicate cheeks. Her shapely body shook against the bed bindings, causing the fullness of her chest to rise and fall with the tremor, adding a touch of captivating allure.
Watching her, Jimmy’s breathing grew ragged. Though his self-control was usually commendable, he was, after all, a man. Any man seeing a peerless beauty lying bound and helpless would be moved. If he felt no desire, he’d be either a eunuch or impotent. Consequently, his eyes began to gleam with a reddish light.
Judy seemed to notice his abnormality, a flicker of terror crossing her face: “What are you going to do?”
Jimmy took a deep breath: “Although I’m not typically very interested in women, seeing such exquisite beauty as you like this makes it hard to resist taking a taste…”
Saying this, he walked toward the bed, his hands trembling as he reached for Judy’s clothes…
“Who are you?”
Derrick suppressed the furious storm brewing within him, asking in a chilling voice.
As the Deputy Commander of the City Lord’s Guard, a Rank Nine Battle Warrior, he had never conceived that someone could so arrogantly and madly storm in and bypass the main gates of the City Lord's Mansion!
But since someone dared to intrude this brazenly, they must possess some genuine capability. Despite his rage, he forced himself to inquire first!
“I will say it once more! Hand over Jimmy, or everyone in the entire City Lord’s Manor dies!” Chen Feng stood loftily in the expansive courtyard of the Manor, seemingly unwilling to deign an answer to Derrick’s question.
“What right have you to speak to me like that!” A guard, unable to tolerate Chen Feng’s arrogance any longer, roared and charged forward!
Derrick was about to intervene, but a thought struck him: perhaps it was better to let this subordinate test the intruder’s strength first.
This guard was a Rank Seven Swordsman (equivalent to a Rank Seven Battle Warrior). Among the men surrounding him, he was considered a master.
The Rank Seven Swordsman’s longsword shot forth a blade of Battle Aura, over a foot long, accompanied by his earlier shout, hacking toward Chen Feng!
This strike was perfectly timed and expertly delivered in terms of power. The longsword struck the instant the shout ended, executing a horizontal slash while simultaneously projecting the Battle Aura—the transition between stillness and motion was seamlessly fluid, with no discernible delay. Derrick secretly nodded; judged purely on technique and offensive power, this strike possessed the caliber of an Rank Eight Swordsman. Even he would have to evade first before considering a counterattack!
Chen Feng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his lean frame perfectly straight, seemingly unconcerned by the whistling longsword rushing toward him.
Seeing the opponent act so recklessly, the Rank Seven Swordsman rejoiced, suddenly accelerating his longsword. The speed was so great that phantom images appeared.
“Rank Eight Swordsman’s cultivation!” the onlookers cried out simultaneously.
Derrick was also quite surprised. This Rank Seven Swordsman had been by his side for three years, his cultivation hovering stubbornly at Rank Seven. For him to suddenly unleash Rank Eight power was somewhat impressive.
The sword’s afterimages, swift as lightning, crashed directly toward Chen Feng’s chest! Closer! The Rank Seven Swordsman felt a thrill of excitement; he clearly perceived his longsword was less than five fingers' breadth from the opponent’s chest! The opponent’s hands were still behind his back; even if he tried to draw them back to defend himself, it would be too late!
He had assumed the troublemaker would be a supreme master, but instead, the man seemed foolish. Even a Battle Master-level expert would sustain severe wounds from this blow. He only needed to step forward and land a follow-up strike to ensure the kill! A challenger to the City Lord's Manor’s authority would die upon the first exchange. Ha! The thought alone filled him with pride!
He allowed a smile to grace his lips, picturing himself standing before everyone, receiving their praise and admiration…
However, the smile vanished the instant it appeared, replaced by a bizarre expression!
The sword had indeed struck the opponent’s body, but there was no sensation of cutting flesh and blood… rather, it felt soft and yielding, offering no purchase whatsoever!
Focusing his gaze, his pupils contracted violently. An expression of utter disbelief contorted his face!
Sometime unknown, the opponent’s right hand had shot forward to his chest. At the tip of his fingers, a ball of pale-blue flame danced eerily, radiating an unnerving heat and light. His longsword was lodged precisely in the heart of this flame, unable to advance even a fraction further!
“Sss-sss…”
He suddenly felt a searing heat rush up the length of the sword and into his palm. His skin immediately sizzled with a hissing sound, as if being scorched, and he cried out in pain, hastily pulling his hand back!
But even though he pulled his hand away, the longsword remained suspended against the pale-blue flame, floating silently in the air.
With a few sharp sounds, the floating longsword instantly melted into a puddle of molten iron!
The surrounding crowd gasped collectively!
A full-power strike from an Rank Eight cultivation level failed to penetrate the opponent’s flame, and a sword forged from fine steel turned into liquid iron in the blink of an eye—such a bizarre scene made them doubt their own eyes!
Was this truly a flame Battle Aura that a human could release? How could it be so perversely powerful!
After reducing the sword to slag, Chen Feng did not stop. With a summoning gesture of his right hand, the molten iron gathered on the pale-blue flame, and then his finger flicked lightly!
The molten iron shot out like lightning directly into the gaping mouth of the Rank Seven Swordsman, who stood stunned!
“Ugh… ugh…”
The action was far too swift; the Swordsman had no time to react before feeling a burning sensation ignite his throat, followed by excruciating pain surging through his entire digestive tract. His eyes bulged, filled with unwillingness, before he collapsed heavily to the ground, dead.
If the crowd had only been shocked by Chen Feng melting the steel sword earlier, witnessing this method of attack now filled them solely with terror!
What a cruel means of execution!
Derrick fought back the urge to vomit and reassessed the red-haired youth before him, who appeared so young.
What was this person’s origin? Why did he look so young? And what exactly was that ball of pale-blue flame in his hand?
Was it truly Flame Battle Aura? He shook his head, refusing to believe it.
As a Rank Nine Battle Warrior, he specialized in Fire-attribute Battle Aura, but after twenty-five years of cultivation, he had never encountered a flame aura with such destructive power!
Forcing down the panic in his heart, he gave an instruction to a Battle Warrior beside him and slowly walked toward Chen Feng.
“No matter who you are! If you wish to pass through here, you must step over my corpse!” Derrick stated firmly.
He had clearly recognized that he was no match for the opponent, but the dignity and duty of a Battle Warrior compelled him not to retreat an inch.
“Deputy Commander, don’t bother being polite with him! Let’s take him down together!” The guards behind Derrick roared in unison!
Though the opponent looked young and outwardly seemed no stronger than a Rank Three Battle Warrior, absolutely no one present dared to underestimate him now!
From the way he violently smashed the gate and used molten iron to incinerate a Rank Seven Swordsman, everyone’s opinion of him had fundamentally changed! This person was certainly no pushover. If they engaged him in a fair one-on-one fight, adhering to the code of Battle Warriors, this group of guards might all perish at his hands!
It was because they recognized this danger that they all shouted for a joint attack!
Derrick’s heart stirred. As the Deputy Commander of the City Lord’s Guard, he absolutely could not shrink back while his subordinates were being slain before him. However, if he chose to let everyone swarm the youth, even if this young man had reached the Battle Master realm, what good would it do!
Two fists are no match for four hands. They had a total of eighty guards! Even a Battle Master might not fare well against a coordinated assault by eighty men! Moreover, he had already sent someone to the rear courtyard to request reinforcements! Their arrival was only a matter of time!
This thought flashed through his mind, solidifying his plan. Just as he raised his arm to give the command for them all to attack, the figure of the red-haired youth blurred before him—he had moved first!
Chen Feng shifted his feet, and a torrent of potent, swirling energy surged through his meridians into his legs. The bluestone floor instantly shattered under the immense force, fine cracks extending outward for over ten meters!
Utilizing the rebound force, Chen Feng’s figure shot into the crowd like a phantom.
A Rank Five Battle Warrior hadn't even registered what happened before a shadow flickered past his vision and vanished. A sharp pain pierced his chest. He looked down and couldn't help but roar! A hole the size of a bowl pierced straight through his sternum, the edges of the wound charred black, revealing no color of muscle underneath!
“Thud!” Blood streamed from his seven orifices, and he collapsed heavily to the ground, his life extinguished.
ps: Dear readers, if you still have precious Monthly Tickets, please cast them for Old Ya! Old Ya is truly grateful. The first month of a new book is crucial for competing on the Monthly Ticket Power Ranking list. I know you want to give your tickets to your established favorite authors, but as a newcomer without a large established base, I earnestly plead that you spare one for me. Thank you!! Furthermore, I promise that if I receive thirty more Monthly Tickets, I will add an extra 2,000 characters to my usual 7,000-character daily update! If I cannot fulfill it that day, I will certainly make up for it the next… Thank you all! (Sigh, is this goal too high…) (To be continued…)