Chapter 23: Rapid Changes

Rod, whose neck was grabbed and lifted, had his face turned completely red. He opened his mouth wide in an attempt to breathe, gasping desperately, but to no avail. His neck felt as if it had been broken, stars appeared before his eyes, and his legs struggled hard to free himself from Vidoc’s steel-like grip.

“Hehe, Knight Rod, stop struggling uselessly. Don’t you know that once caught by our boss, not to mention you, even the strongest person can’t escape? Just quietly enjoy the process of dying!”

Somehow, Ryan had also arrived in front of the two. Watching Rod’s face turn pale as veins bulged on his forehead, Ryan sneered.

“Damn it! If I’m still alive, the first one I’ll deal with is you, you little bastard!” Rod growled inwardly at Ryan’s unrestrained laughter.

He felt weak all over, as if he were floating in midair, spinning wildly. Over time, Rod’s resistance weakened gradually. His consciousness began to blur; his eyes rolled back, and saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.

In his fading consciousness, he saw Vidoc laughing heartily without any restraint. He saw Ryan smiling wickedly, enjoying the sight of him. Vaguely, he heard Jerome and the others roaring in frustration, as well as Kambi’s guttural screams!

“No, I can’t die! They’re all waiting for me!” Just as his consciousness was about to vanish, an idea suddenly struck Rod.

Suddenly, some unknown strength gave him the urge to resist again. He strained his legs, opened his mouth wide, trying to catch a breath. He flailed his hands forward, hoping Vidoc would loosen his grip just a bit to give him a chance.

“Hm? You can still struggle? Kid, do you really think you have a chance?” Surprised that Rod still had the strength to resist, Vidoc slowly pulled back his hand and brought Rod’s face close to his own, smiling coldly.

“Tch…” In a moment of desperation, Rod came up with an idea. For some reason, his mind was unusually clear now, much better than before. That familiar icy aura flowed through his body once again—it was the Sword Spirit; indeed, it was the Sword Spirit helping him. Feeling this, Rod calmed down a bit. Glancing at Vidoc’s hateful expression, he spat at his face.

Perhaps Vidoc hadn’t expected Knight Rod to do such a thing at such a critical moment. Caught off guard, he was hit right in the face by the spit. Instinctively, he turned his head away.

“Ah…” The next moment, a heart-wrenching scream was heard.

He let go, dropping Rod to the ground. Covering his ears, he roared in extreme pain.

Just then, Rod’s eyes flashed with determination. His expression turned cold as he endured the dizziness. Seizing the moment when Vidoc was unprepared, he pushed forward slightly and bit down hard on the ear right in front of him.

Faced with death, the human body’s potential was pushed to its limit. Rod unleashed an unprecedentedly terrifying force, tearing Vidoc’s ear off in one bite.

After being set free, Rod fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He spat out the ear he was still holding and spat out the blood from his mouth. Ignoring the nausea, he inhaled fresh air as if reborn.

Without hesitation, after taking a couple of breaths of fresh air, Rod jumped up. Enduring the dizziness, he kicked Vidoc hard in the lower body.

Then, with swift and skilled movements, he turned, grabbed a yellowed long sword from the ground, and swung it at Ryan, who was still standing behind him, staring at him in shock.

“Ah…” This time, two screams were heard.

The first was naturally Vidoc’s. Having been kicked hard in the lower body with full force, the damage was obvious. As for Ryan, he was cut off an arm in one swift swing by Rod, completely unprepared.

His right arm was flung into the air, leaving a trail of blood before falling to the ground, creating a wound the size of a bowl from which blood gushed forth. Moments later, he let out agonized screams, rolling around in pain as blood flowed everywhere, and his heart-wrenching cries filled the entire scene.

His face was covered in blood. At this moment, Rod felt a strange sensation—his blood seemed to be boiling and burning, his fighting spirit also burning, and a murderous urge was growing within him. The bright red blood excited him, while the enemies’ screams filled him with rage! He felt extremely clear-headed now, as if all his previous fatigue had vanished.

He turned and rushed at Victor on the ground again, giving him no chance. Picking up the knife in his hand, he swung it at Victor’s head. At this moment, Rod was utterly cold-hearted. His face, twisted in a sinister smile, made everyone present feel uneasy—such a smile was no different from that of a devil.

“Pfft…” A muffled sound followed by another scream, along with the crack of bones breaking.

Another long trail of blood appeared on his body. Rod sneered at Victor on the ground. It turned out that Victor had managed to block his strike with his hand. Of course, under his full-force attack, Victor also lost one of his arms as a result.

“Damn it, stop it already! If anyone thinks they’re tired of living, go ahead and die!”

Holding his long knife, Rod sneered at Victor and Ryan, who were rolling on the ground. Then, suddenly, he let out a loud roar, breaking the silence and waking those who were staring at him in shock.

“Alright, I believe you’ve seen what’s happening to your boss now. If you still want to continue, stay. Otherwise, get the hell out! Don’t ever come across me in Blaze City again—if I see you, I’ll beat you every time!” Seeing everyone looking at him, Rod smiled satisfactorily before roaring coldly.

“Heh, Victor. I’m sparing your life today. Starting now, I’ll take over all your territory. You better stay at home and retire! If you dare to cause trouble again, don’t blame me for being merciless!” Then, Rod slowly crouched down beside Victor, who was gasping for air in pain, and snarled.

With a swift motion, he disabled Victor’s other hand as well. This time, he was merciful—only severing the tendons. He didn’t want to leave any threats behind. After all, even though Victor had one hand disabled, once his injuries healed, relying on his last hand and his skills as a Bronze Warrior, it would be effortless for him to fight back. He couldn’t give his enemy any chance—disabling his tendons was the wisest choice!

Of course, his feet weren’t spared either. With a swift slash, his tendons were severed, triggering Victor’s agonized screams. Even if he managed to reconnect his meridians later, he would be a useless man unable to fight, posing no threat at all to him.

Turning and approaching Ryan, who was pale and unconscious, Rod delivered a vicious kick to his testicles.

“Ah…” Another scream echoed as the poor Ryan was pulled out of his unconsciousness by the intense pain.

“Don’t play dead, you bastard! I hate you the most. Listen well—don’t show up in Fire City again. Don’t make me see you again, or things won’t be this simple!”

With a cold snort, Rod slowly left the area and headed toward Jerome and the others. Blood streamed from his forehead, his face and body covered in Victor and Ryan’s blood, with a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. His appearance was truly terrifying! Combined with his cold expression, he resembled a devil, instilling fear in everyone.

He wasn’t that stupid as to kill those two. After all, they were in the city—though it was just a small town like Fire City, it was still imperial territory. Killing two people in public would only bring trouble to himself!

Besides, could someone like Victor have no connection to the city lord’s residence? And Roger already disliked him. Killing two people would only give him an excuse to cause trouble.

Rod didn’t want to end up in such a situation. Paralyzing those two was still better—something common in Fire City. For Victor’s group, it was a much smaller problem, easier to handle.

“Ding ding ding…” As Rod approached, Victor’s men quickly dropped their weapons and fled. They were truly terrified. Rod’s methods filled them with dread. They didn’t dare face such a devil, nor want to confront such a heartless man. With their leader and backbone, Ryan, injured, they had no courage to stay.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—this was exactly the situation at that moment. Of course, perhaps Vidocq and Ryan should be grateful that at least a few people hadn’t abandoned them; they quickly rushed to their side, lifted the two seriously injured men, and fled from there, saving them from the danger of dying from excessive blood loss.
“Boss… our leader!” With difficulty swallowing, Jerome, Kambi, and the others spoke softly as they looked at Rod approaching. Their expressions were complex at that moment, while the rest didn’t even have the courage to speak, only standing there in fear, staring at Rod.