Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Salvador was unable to defend himself from every attack, especially as they were constant. Each wave of attack from the Magical Beast army strung his nerves tighter. He knew Yang Ling was out there somewhere, plotting his demise. He sustained no life-threatening injuries from these relentless attacks, but he was in a state of heightened anxiety.

What do I do?

He looked at the endless swarm of Magical Beasts, at the crafty Horned Bee Beasts retreating after striking at him, and the spiders hot on his heels. Salvador could not formulate a plan. If he continued scrambling around and retreating like that, he might die from blood loss before he even got out of the forest, but staying behind and counterattacking was also perilous. It was not a good choice for an assassin.

Whoosh…

At the instant of his hesitation, Salvador saw a blur before his eyes as a black figure appeared out of thin air. He instinctively swung his Blood Elf Dagger, his body tilting to one side. He narrowly avoided Yang Ling’s lightning-fast dagger, but his back had been ambushed by the Tarantula King descending from the sky. It tore a piece of flesh from his back, and blood flowed freely.

He sure lives up to his reputation as an assassin. His reaction speed is much faster than the Sword Saint Santiago! Thought Yang Ling as he retreated quickly back into hiding. He instructed his Magical Beast army to launch another offensive, completely surrounding the injured Salvador. Yang Ling had thought at first that he would be able to kill Salvador just as he had done with Santiago. He did not expect the other party to have such quick reactions. He sure lived up to his reputation as a top-notch killer!

Having observed Salvador from the darkness, Yang Ling knew that this assassin leading the group had exceptional abilities. His alarming speed and teleportation-like wind element Acceleration Spell were all equal to the Heaven-ranked Assassin that had ambushed him at the edge of the Terras Forest way back when. If he did not have the Magical Beast army to help him, if not for the fact that the other party did not dare fight him straight on, it would be hard to tell who the ultimate victor would be!

Salvador was as frightened as Yang Ling was surprised. The intelligence he had on Yang Ling did mention that he was a summoner. But Salvador hadn’t expected him to be so fast, or so powerful.

Was that a Teleportation Spell or a Sword Saint’s Wind Step?

Fighting off a few Horned Bee Beasts, Salvador retreated slowly and with caution. He sensed the ripples of energy in the air, afraid that Yang Ling would once again attack him from the darkness.

The most important quality as a top-level assassin was not how strong the Battle Energy in his body was, or how deep his Magical Energy ran, but his nimble senses. As a Heaven-ranked Assassin, Salvador’s state of high caution and nearly instantaneous reaction speed allowed him to avoid Yang Ling’s fatal blows.

The thickening stench of blood emanating from Salvador’s body sent the Magical Beast army into a frenzy. The Horned Bee Beasts attacked in waves, some attacking Salvador’s vital points, and others choosing to rain poisonous stingers down upon him in waves. The Tarantula King led the spider army to follow closely behind the target, spitting fatal poison.

Salvador was in a tough spot, having to avoid the Magical Beast army as well as remain vigilant against Yang Ling’s sneak attacks. In no time at all, his body had become inflicted with deep wounds, and he was drenched in blood.

Having advanced to the level of mid-level Earth Wizard and having become adept in the Earth Evasion and Wood Evasion Techniques, Yang Ling’s abilities had improved dramatically. Now that he was in a lush forest and instructing his Magical Beast army to attack strategically, he might even stand a chance against a sage level fighter.

As an experienced Heaven-ranked Assassin, despite Salvador’s powerful abilities, he had been unable to fully defend himself after stepping into the trap Yang Ling had meticulously set. Yang Ling believed that with just a little more time, Salvador would be unable to hold out because of his injuries, even without further action.

The Magical Beast army had been absorbing the mysterious white fog in the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda, and their abilities improved day by day. Even though they had not yet evolved to the next level, their battle abilities had all been enhanced to some degree, and their compatibility with each other had increased. Yang Ling was confident that the Magical Beast army would be able to exhaust the assassin to death, with or without Yang Ling’s direction.

Whoosh…

Just as Yang Ling was biding his time and Salvador was becoming increasingly nervous, a magical flare appeared in the faraway sky. Following that could be heard a faint wave of footsteps and exclamations. At the same time, two white Germite Vultures swooped toward them from the sky. It looked like the enemy reinforcements had come quickly.

Salvador howled the customary notes to alert his reinforcements of his position, then sighed with relief. He no longer focused his attention entirely on retreating but re-focused his efforts on self-defense. As long as he lasted for some time longer, his target would have no choice but to retreat. He could then find an opportunity for a counterattack.

What do I do, do I let this guy that I’ve been pursuing go just like that? Yang Ling creased his brows and went searching for a strategy, as he saw the torches of the other party’s reinforcements approaching them quickly.

It was quite a journey from that place to Wissen Town. It was not feasible for him to flee for his life for the rest of the journey, as the other party could track him using the Germite Vultures by air, and surround him with their men on the ground. Only by frequently counterattacking could he achieve a threatening effect, making it such that the other party would not dare get too close to him. He could then erode the determination and the courage of his pursuers and successfully make it back to the Magical Beast territory.

The most ideal opportunity for an attack was when the other party was the least cautious!

Looking at Salvador, bloodied and trying his best to fight his way out of the Magical Beast army’s grasp, then looking at his reinforcements getting increasingly nearer, Yang Ling came up with a plan. He instructed his Magical Beasts to unleash a last wave of attacks, then retreat quickly, creating the illusion that he had drawn back with haste.

Yang Ling remained calm, sitting motionless under the cover of a shrub. He tried his best to subdue the ripples of Wizard Power in his body, observing Salvador’s actions through the gaps in the shrub and waited for a chance to attack.

Salvador watched the other party’s Magical Beast army disappear deep into the forest like a tide and finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his reinforcements arriving. They were only twenty steps away. He leaned against a sturdy tree and took more deep breaths, and then produced medicine and bandages to begin dressing his wounds.

He had survived!

Thinking back to the lightning-fast Horned Bee Beasts and the endless stream of tarantulas, as well as the Vampire Bats that had latched themselves onto his body, and the sharp spikes of the Withered Tree Warriors, and finally thinking back to Yang Ling’s strange speed and powerful attacks, he could not help but swallow hard, his skin crawling.

In all his years, he had seen Sword Saints with coursing Battle Energy that dared to head into the Poisonous Dragon Swamp; he had encountered Magical Tutors with deep Magical Energy, able to deal with heavy cavalry alone. He had never seen a Summoner as terrifying as Yang Ling!

Yang Ling was no ordinary Summoner. He was faster than a Sword Saint and had attacks stranger and more powerful than a Heaven-ranked Assassin!

After cursing his informant thoroughly, Salvador clenched his teeth and poured the medicine on his wounds and then wrapped them in bandages. But just as he was about to tie a knot, he felt a strange ripple of energy behind him.

With no time to react, the dagger entered his body. Salvador first felt heart-wrenching pain, and then he went numb as the world began to spin.

No good, there’s poison! Salvador thought, instinctively lowering his head and hunching his back, hoping that he could roll away.

But it was too late.

As a silver glow flashed past him, pain blossomed in his throat as fresh blood sprayed. Not far away, his reinforcements were thundering toward him in a panic. The sky was black. He could hear the faint calls of the Germite Vultures and the angry screaming of his reinforcements in the distance, but their voices were getting softer and softer…

That was an opportunity that Yang Ling could not afford to miss!

Salvador had been tending to his wounds with both hands. Yang Ling had attacked decisively when Salvador’s caution was at its lowest. He cast a Wizard Mantra and appeared behind the defenseless assassin, and had plunged his sharp dagger into the man’s heart and slit his throat.

To ensure that the attack was absolutely fatal, he had smeared his dagger with the snake venom from the Medusas. Indeed, even a Heaven-ranked Assassin was unable to withstand the venom, his body instantly numbing, his senses turning dull.

After picking up the other party’s Blood Elf Dagger and bag, Yang Ling looked toward the reinforcements racing toward him. He turned and left quickly. It was only after Yang Ling had disappeared deep in the forest that Salvador, with blood flowing freely from his throat, fell to the ground, his eyes wide, as if he had died a wrongful death.

Looking at Salvador who had died an unrighteous death, and then looking in the direction of Yang Ling’s escape, the men that had come to help Salvador felt their skin crawl, their hair standing on end. No one dared to pursue Yang Ling.

Each man had been doubtful that what they had heard about Yang Ling killing the Sword Saint Santiago at the emperor’s banquet was true. But they had seen this killing blow with their own eyes, and nobody doubted Yang Ling’s abilities anymore.

An ordinary person would not be a match for him if even the Heaven-ranked Killer Salvador died in his hands. Even though he had exceptional abilities, the leader of the black-robed men conceded that he was no match for Yang Ling. Leading his men into the forest in pursuit would be reckless, and would only increase the body count.

“Perhaps only Flowing Venom would be a match for this target. Retreat and quickly report this to the commander!” The leader of the black-robed men gave the decisive order to retreat.

“Flowing Venom? Sir, do you mean that Flowing Venom that has the highest chance of advancing to the level of Night Vision Assassin?”

The men looked at their leader, doubtful. Flowing Venom was the most powerful expert level in the association. It was rumored that he was soon about to reach sage level, and was an expert that had the highest possibility of advancing to the level of a Night Vision Assassin. If he succeeded, it would be the first time anyone had in the last thousand years. Only the high-ranking officials in the association knew of where he was in these dozens of years. In fact, no one knew exactly what he looked like.

“That’s right. A Heaven-ranked Assassin is no longer a match for the target. Perhaps the only way to successfully complete the mission is to get the legendary Flowing Venom to take action!” Peering into the pitch back forest, thinking about Yang Ling lurking in the shadows, the leader of the black-robed men spoke as he quickened his footsteps. He led his men out of the forest with the fastest speed possible.