Chapter 45: The Objective

With a deafening boom, William was flipped backward through the air, momentarily dizzied as if he had just collided with an ancient beast.

As he steadied himself mid-air, he saw Qianye, propelled by the impact, fly back and land. In the blink of an eye, he had already dashed out dozens of meters.

“Am I that terrifying? You run away at the sight of me!”

Qianye stumbled, nearly tripping, feeling a chill run down his spine. The tone of lamentation was like that of the most mischievous children in the mercenary group, who would be disgruntled when they failed to sneak a drink of alcohol. It must have been a hallucination!

Immediately, Qianye sensed a gale building up behind him, a tremendous force slicing through the air. He quickly estimated the speed and power, knowing there was no way to escape from a dark warlord like William within a hundred meters.

Qianye took a deep breath, then suddenly stopped. As he felt the sharp pain of a fist’s breeze, he sidestepped and turned, swinging his elbow. Suddenly, he entered a wondrous state, as if his arm were bearing a colossal stone, requiring all his strength to move it. But once set in motion, its momentum was entirely different.

With William’s keen eyes, he had noticed Qianye’s occasional lack of coordination, but this time, even though the initial strike seemed clumsy, it gave him an inexplicable sense—danger?

Even when facing warlords of his own level, William rarely felt such a sensation. His curiosity surged, and he altered his attack, meeting Qianye’s elbow with one of his own. This time, he had ample time to react and added a bit more force.

Elbows clashed!

In that instant, their arms collided multiple times, producing a series of crackling sounds. Instantly, all the nodes in Qianye’s body resonated, and the tide of origin power surged, forming a wall that crashed into William.

This time, William felt strange vibrations at the point of contact, which somehow dispersed some of his concentrated power. As his power diminished, William was thrown back again.

He clung tightly to his trousers, flying backward horizontally.

But Qianye only retreated half a step, then leaped forward, grabbing William’s ankle. Without hesitation, he gave it a sharp shake. All the nodes in Qianye’s body vibrated again, and the peculiar oscillations caused a numbing sensation in William’s body.

William let out a scream, falling from the sky and crashing heavily to the ground. Qianye raised an eyebrow and brought his foot down. Though the motion wasn’t swift, the air began to tremble, emitting a low hum, as if a giant hammer was descending.

William, who had been lying on the ground seemingly unscathed, was now terrified. He no longer held back and thrust out a lightning-fast kick, trailing a sapphire glow of origin power.

Qianye grunted, his defenses breached by the scorching dark origin power, and he was thrown back.

On the vast grassland, smoke rose from a campfire. Qianye and William sat around it, roasting two robust wild boar haunches and two large racks of ribs on a makeshift spit. Golden droplets of oil fell into the fire, filling the air with a rich aroma.

William, his face flushed with indignation, berated Qianye, “I kindly got rid of several Gisso assassins for you, and this is how you repay me? How can someone as kind-hearted as I…”

Qianye, fully focused on turning the meat, felt the heat of the flames on his face, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“…At least help me, don’t just ignore me! Look at what you did to me! That last kick, do you feel ashamed at all? You!” William still shuddered, remembering Qianye’s last attack.

Although Qianye was only a seventh-level warrior, the force of that blow was definitely at the warlord level. Even with William’s formidable physique, certain areas were relatively fragile and could not withstand a warlord’s strike.

Qianye flicked his hand, and a large rack of ribs flew toward William.

William’s eyes lit up, catching the ribs and stuffing them into his mouth, ignoring the heat. Still unsatisfied, he eyed a nearly cooked wild boar leg, his ash-blue eyes glowing with a faint green light.

Qianye’s forehead dripped with sweat as he shook his head, applied the final seasoning, and roasted the remaining ribs and both boar legs, tossing them to William.

William chuckled awkwardly, not slowing down his eating. He devoured nearly a hundred pounds of roasted meat in a whirlwind.

Qianye shrugged, finding it hard to believe that this dark count, who had once intimidated an entire squad of upper bloods, was essentially a food enthusiast. He grabbed another rack of ribs and a hind leg, continuing to prepare them. Given William’s wolf form, one wild boar was clearly not enough.

After finishing most of the roasted meat, William finally had a chance to discuss serious matters with Qianye.

“Gisso’s target was you. Including the one just now, I killed two, and I found another Gisso corpse in the mountains.” William opened a bag handed to him by a she-wolf, spilling out a pile of odds and ends. “These are the things I found on them. Take a look.”

Qianye nodded, placing the prepared wild boar on the spit and examining the items. Besides lightweight and silenced weapons, there were various field gear and Gisso assassin identity tags, nothing special.

William spread out a map of the Nian Qing mountain range, pointing out the approximate locations where he had encountered the three assassins.

Qianye studied the map for a moment, realizing that Gisso might indeed be after him. These locations, seemingly unrelated, were necessary routes to the Zhao Clan, excluding the official roads. And in the Western Continent, waiting for him could only be related to the item Song Zining entrusted him to deliver!

Qianye looked up, seeing William still engrossed in his meal, and asked, “Why are you here?”

William finished the last piece of roasted meat, contentedly smiling, and said, “I was just passing by, and I happened to see someone following you. I thought I’d come and say hello.” His gaze shifted to Qianye’s waist, “But after seeing that gun, maybe my purpose is somewhat related to you.”

Qianye looked down, noticing William was referring to the sixth-level origin power gun he had taken from a blood baron.

“This gun is called the Thorn Lasso,” William said meaningfully, “It belongs to one of the oldest thirteen clans of the bloods, the Bayne family, and was the sidearm of Baron Zalen.”

Qianye nodded, calmly saying, “He’s dead.”

William narrowed his eyes, suddenly reaching out to Qianye, “Give it to me!”

“What?”

“Since you have the Thorn Lasso, you must have the other things from Zalen as well.” William smiled, “Don’t worry, I don’t care how he died. I was already chasing him in the Forgetting Mountains, planning to take him out.”

Qianye mostly believed this, as some wolf tribes and blood clans had feuds dating back to ancient times, long before written records.

“Everything from Zalen, including these Gisso assassin scraps, goes to you. I only want one thing from him—a blood crystal,” William described its size and shape, “It’s not a pure color, with a few purple streaks.”

Qianye immediately knew William was referring to the blood crystal he had already absorbed, containing active purple energy.

He kept his composure, “I did get some things, but I don’t seem to have what you’re talking about.”

Qianye grabbed his backpack, pulling out the Crimson Fang, crystal currency, red crystal pendant, black titanium annihilation bullets, and other small items, “Here they are.”

William examined each item, then put them down, frowning, “Tell me where you last saw Zalen, so Aya can check it out.”

Qianye took the Nian Qing mountain range map, marking the exact location of Zalen’s body. There was no point in giving false information; the wolf king would find the blood baron’s traces sooner or later.

Aya, the she-wolf accompanying William, appeared quickly after receiving the message. She memorized the location and hurried off.

Qianye thought for a moment, speculating, “If it’s a blood crystal, Zalen might have absorbed it already.”

William sighed, “Impossible. Zalen wouldn’t dare absorb that without an elder present. It contains not just blood energy but also the powerful lineage of the Mammon family, one of the thirteen blood clans. Even a viscount or a count wouldn’t dare try.”

William paused, his tone becoming somber, “Such a blood crystal, if given to the right person, could create another Nana.”

“Nana?” Qianye was startled.

The Empire had records of many powerful figures among the dark races, including the mighty Viscount Nana. Born from the Mammon clan, Nana became a viscount before her hundredth birthday, making her one of the blood genius. To the long-lived bloods, a century was still adolescence.

Nana’s inclusion on that list wasn’t just due to her title but her combat prowess. In several battles, she single-handedly wiped out half the enemy forces, earning a fearsome reputation.

Many Empire strongholds would rather face a blood duke than Nana.

Another Nana-like figure among the bloods would be disastrous for the Empire. She was a potential future prince, a combat genius whose growth would spell doom for human powerhouses. Fortunately, Nana hadn’t participated in many wars, or the human casualty list would be much longer.

Seeing William’s grave expression, Qianye couldn’t help but ask, “Wouldn’t another Nana be good for you?”

William’s expression turned thoughtful, “Not if she becomes a threat to everyone, including us.”