192 The First Battle

Looking at the extremely arrogant Augustus, Duane stared at him cautiously, his face showing a hint of seriousness. It was evident that the opponent’s strength surpassed his own, and engaging in a direct confrontation wouldn’t be a wise choice.

Furthermore, Shirley was by his side, and if anything went wrong, she would be in danger. It was clear that something was off about the way Augustus looked at Shirley. After a moment of thought, Duane spoke to Augustus, “We have no grievances or disputes with you; we’re just passing through.”

Unexpectedly, Augustus burst into laughter upon hearing Duane’s words. “Hahaha! No grievances or disputes? Just passing through? Then how do you explain injuring my subordinate? Don’t think a few words can deceive me. Today, you must give me an explanation!” As he spoke, a corruptive blood erupted from Augustus’s body, continuously swirling around his palm. Subsequently, the corruptive blood formed a black blood sphere in his hand, continuously rotating and emitting an extremely violent aura.

Seeing the blood sphere, Duane slowly reached for the treasure box at his chest, while Shirley immediately placed her hand on Flowery. Duane knew that this guy wouldn’t let them go today, and the only thing they could do was to fight him.

At this moment, Augustus lowered his head, fixating on the blood sphere in his palm, his face showing a bloodthirsty expression. Seeing this, Duane furrowed his brow and said to Shirley, “Take action!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Shirley didn’t hesitate to draw Flowery from its sheath! Just as Flowery was unsheathed, faint sounds of flowing water could be heard, as if an underground spring flowed through the blade, emitting flickering starlight.

Duane immediately took out a paper doll from the treasure box and threw it on the ground. The paper doll instantly grew in size. He then grabbed an ax and charged towards Augustus behind the paper doll.

Seeing that they were actually making the first move, Augustus smirked and disdainfully looked at their approaching figures. He viciously threw the blood sphere in his hand towards the paper doll! Boom! The blood sphere exploded instantly amidst the paper doll! The huge explosion shattered the paper doll into fragments.

At the same time, Duane and Shirley also reached Augustus’s front. “Aqua Wave Slash!” Shirley raised Flowery and executed a diagonal slash towards Augustus. A blue ripple burst forth from Flowery’s blade, directly rushing toward Augustus’s chest.

“Hehe, a petty trick. How dare you wield an axe before me! You really underestimate me,” Augustus sneered, raising his arm and using the corrosive blood that burst forth to instantly break through Shirley’s Aqua Wave Slash.

In that moment, Duane’s axe also swung down towards Augustus’s head. The axe struck Augustus’s sleeve, producing the sound of metal colliding.

Duane focused his gaze and discovered that his body was covered in a layer of black blood that he didn’t know when it had appeared. When the axe struck it, its power was instantly absorbed.

Duane was shocked! He didn’t expect this guy’s control over blood to be so powerful that he could use it as a defensive layer. While Duane was pondering, a blood sphere once again formed in Augustus’s palm and flew towards Duane’s chest.

“Bad move!” Duane inwardly exclaimed, swiftly opening the treasure box and taking out a black iron block! The iron block instantly expanded into a shield over one meter tall. At the same time, he threw a smoke bomb on the ground with force. Boom! The blood sphere exploded on the shield, creating a strong sound. The white mist inside the smoke bomb instantly diffused, completely obstructing Augustus’s vision. When the dense fog dissipated, Duane and Shirley had already escaped the area.

“Heh, useless!” Augustus, sensing the direction in which the two were fleeing, sneered contemptuously. Taking advantage of the smoke bomb, Duane immediately grabbed Shirley and ran far away.

Inside an abandoned gas station,Duane and Shirley crouched inside a room, observing the commotion outside. When they realized that the person hadn’t caught up with them, Duane finally relaxed.

“Cough, cough!” Suddenly, Duane began coughing continuously, and a trace of fresh blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

“Captain, are you injured?” Shirley asked anxiously upon seeing this.

Although the shield appeared in time to absorb most of the impact from the blood orb, the tremendous force still struck Duane. He felt intense pain in his chest. After catching his breath for a moment, Duane regained his strength.

“It’s nothing, just a minor injury.” Seeing Duane’s complexion improving, Shirley finally felt relieved.

“Who exactly is that person? How can they be so powerful?” Shirley expressed her confusion, recalling Augustus’s attack. Despite being at Level 4, her swordsmanship with the “Flower ” sword was exquisite. However, her signature move, the “Water Ripple Slash,” was effortlessly countered by the opponent.

“That person’s strength has reached Level 6. We are simply no match for them.” Duane realized that only David could completely defeat that person.

However, David had already taken the team out for training, so even if Duane wanted to seek his help, he wouldn’t be able to find him. Additionally, considering the large number of subordinates the other side had, Duane understood that engaging in a direct confrontation was not a wise choice. To defeat that person, comprehensive preparation was necessary.

From Augustus’s moves earlier, Duane deduced that he was definitely connected to the mastermind behind the scenes. Otherwise, his every move wouldn’t carry such a strong ominous aura, just like the aura emitted by Alvin in the past.

This realization strengthened Duane’s determination that the other person must know the identity of the mastermind. After resting for a while, Duane returned to the base with Shirley. He planned to wait for David’s return and discuss a strategy with him.

“David went to D Town. Send some people to entertain him. Remember, during this time, focus on practicing the Decay Blood ability. When David returns, let them witness your strength,” Alexander suddenly appeared before Eamonn and Augustus, who respectfully nodded.

After a while, Alexander’s ethereal figure turned to Augustus, causing him to shudder. “Remember, don’t cause unnecessary trouble. Those two individuals are just small fry at Levels 4 and 5. Don’t worry about them,”

Augustus paused for a moment, immediately understanding Alexander’s unspoken message, and hastily nodded. “Alexander, rest assured, we, the two brothers, will never cause trouble for you.” 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩

“That’s good to hear. Make sure to arrange this matter quickly and make their journey more entertaining,” Alexander finished speaking with a cold laugh, then vanished from the spot.