Chapter 214: The Weeping Serpent (Part 4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: The Weeping Serpent (Part 4)
The terrifying pressure radiating from the Banshee made Muen’s breath hitch.
Peak of the Third-Tier—a full realm above Muen.
Combined with her other methods, her overt strength far surpassed his own. Muen couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The Banshee was a truly formidable opponent.
Her lethality didn't just lie in her raw power, but in her extreme caution. From the Red Fire Gang’s assassination plot to the cannon fodder she had just sent to exhaust him, she left nothing to chance.
Even when facing him directly, her first move had been to use Shali’s personality to confuse him, planting a suggestion in hopes of taking him down without shedding a drop of blood.
Only after all those plans failed did she commit to a direct confrontation—and even then, her opening moves were merely to probe his strength and techniques.
Step by step, she felt her way forward with meticulous care. Only when she was certain of victory did she reveal her full strength to cruelly trample her foe like a lowly insect. It made one wonder who was the Second-Tier fighter who needed to be cautious, and who was the Third-Tier powerhouse with the overwhelming advantage.
Under such calculating prudence, even those whose paper strength slightly exceeded hers would likely be schemed to death.
She was a ruthless woman who had gone as far as brainwashing herself and creating a new personality just to infiltrate the Academy. It was no wonder the Silence Bureau had been hunting her for so long without catching so much as a shadow.
Unfortunately for her, she could never have guessed that there were things about Muen that simply couldn't be calculated.
"I never thought I’d get the 'protagonist treatment' one day... No, wait. From start to finish, I’ve had it way worse than any protagonist."
At least the enemies a protagonist faced could be defeated with enough hard work. But look at the things he had provoked: the Corrupted Love God, the Silent Moon... were those things a villainous blonde bastard like him was supposed to touch?
But those who intend to escape their fate will inevitably be met with fate’s hostility. Muen understood this truth better than he knew the size of An’s underwear.
Muen took a deep breath and looked up, staring directly at the first enemy he had faced in a true life-or-death struggle since coming to this world—excluding those mess of Evil Gods. He suppressed his emotions, lightly tapped Elizabeth, and deployed his Alchemy Domain. As arcs of electricity crackled around him, he spoke softly:
"Come, Banshee."
"Hehe, it seems you’ve found the resolve to die."
Like she was admiring the death throes of an ant, the Banshee—certain she could crush Muen—had been quietly watching him lost in thought. She wasn't the one pressed for time, so she was in no hurry.
But the moment Muen gripped his twin blades, she stopped hesitating and lunged!
The heavy rain, falling like ten thousand silken threads, was suddenly disturbed. The Banshee struck like a venomous snake darting from the shadows, aiming straight for Muen’s vitals.
Her two crescent scimitars were like rising slivers of the moon; their cold moonlight reflected off Muen’s pale face.
The Banshee’s assault was incredibly fierce. Empowered by Peak Third-Tier fighting spirit, even her basic strikes—honed through grueling practice—were a level above her previous attacks.
A needle-like premonition of death pricked Muen's nerves. This time, he followed his instincts. He didn't try to block recklessly; he evaded.
The skin on his back grew hot as the Alchemy Core whirred to life.
Tenfold Time Dilation—Activate!
In Muen’s eyes, the Banshee’s movements slowed down. In the Banshee’s eyes, however, Muen’s speed increased exponentially, turning him into a blur in an instant.
Not only did he dodge her attack, but as he ducked, he swung Elizabeth in a cunning upward flick.
A "flick" didn't mean a lack of power. With Elizabeth’s sharpness, even a light graze was enough to slice through the steel-hard scales covering the Banshee’s body.
Yet, the Banshee didn't panic. Instead, the mockery in her eyes deepened.
I’ve already seen your sudden burst of speed. Did you think I wouldn't be prepared?
A whistling wind suddenly tore through the darkness.
A thick, heavy serpent tail whipped through the rain and air, lashing out the moment Muen raised his blade!
Muen was mid-attack, leaving his chest wide open and defenseless. The tail slammed precisely into his sternum.
Even though he could see the tail coming clearly through the tenfold time dilation, Muen’s expression didn't flicker. He allowed the tail to strike his chest with the force of a thousand pounds.
But in that same heartbeat, his technique shifted!
The fact that his upward flick had carried no weight now showed its purpose—it meant Muen could change his move instantly without any resistance.
A ruthless glint flashed in Muen’s eyes. Veins bulged on his arms as he redirected his momentum. With a sharp, cold glint, he slammed the blades down.
Downward Cleave!
Blood sprayed.
The Banshee shrieked.
Under the razor-sharp edge of Elizabeth, the Banshee’s tail was severed clean off!
The Banshee’s mocking face instantly contorted into a mask of agony. Driven by the pain, she prepared to counterattack regardless of the cost.
But Muen had already used the massive force of the tail's impact to fly backward, successfully avoiding her frantic retaliation.
"Cough, cough... Well? How’d that feel?"
Muen nipped back to his feet with a kip-up, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with bits of internal tissue. A mocking smile mirrored hers.
The red flames in his eyes flickered briefly. The Withered King’s fire was already repairing his body; an injury that would be fatal to an ordinary person was nothing to him.
By the same token, losing a tail wasn't a crippling blow to the Banshee, but the humiliation made her feel like she was going to explode with rage.
She was a full realm higher and had laid trap after trap, yet in their first real exchange, Muen had cut off her tail. How could she endure such a disgrace?
"I’ll kill you! I’m going to kill you! No... I won't just kill you, I’ll make you suffer the most horrific agony in this world!"
The stump of the Banshee’s tail squirmed, clearly regenerating at high speed. But her fury wouldn't let her wait for it to grow back. She shot forward like a bolt of lightning, pouncing on Muen.
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing."
Muen smiled and focused his mind, casting aside all distractions.
That brief clash had confirmed one thing: he had zero chance of winning in a head-on collision of power unless he used the Withered King’s flames directly.
However, the sounds of the Silence Bureau’s battle were still echoing in the distance, drawing closer. His Alchemy Domain could mask his presence enough to use the flames for healing, but the moment he tried to use them to burn the Banshee to death, he would become a lighthouse in the dark. He might as well be shouting for the Silencers to come and execute him.
Therefore, this fight had to be won with blades. Muen had anticipated this from the start, which was why he hadn't hesitated to burn through his other items earlier.
But even in a melee, there were different ways to fight.
If he couldn't win with raw power, he would crush her in the field he knew best.
As it happened, the Banshee’s layers of scheming had exposed her greatest weakness: her experience in genuine, face-to-face combat was severely lacking.
If he were fighting the Maid Assassin or the Adventurer from the Black Book’s records, they never would have made such a mistake.
And as it happened, after being slaughtered and tormented countless times by those two records in the Black Book, the one thing Muen didn't lack was experience in life-or-death combat.