Chapter 42: Break His Legs, Crawl Back
The Black Antlered Deer’s eyes flew wide open as it whipped its head toward the inferno behind it.
“Human! I’m going to kill you!”
Its hooves rose high and then slammed down with all its might.
Boom!
The ground split open with a web of cracks, all racing toward Xu Han.
Xu Han leapt, his body vanishing in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was standing right before the stag.
Shadowless Flash!
His dagger swept across the antlers atop the creature’s head.
Crack!
With a crisp, snapping sound, the Tooth of the Furious Dragon shattered a notch into the antler.
And the massive antler was severed completely!
It crashed to the ground.
“Human!”
The stag was consumed by rage.
Antlers were not only its weapons, but also its symbol of status.
To lose them was as good as losing its life.
It had lost all reason, plunging into a berserk frenzy!
Its hooves thundered into the earth.
The ground burst apart.
Towering tree demons clawed their way out, their roars echoing ceaselessly.
“You don’t have to shout,” Xu Han said coolly. “It ends here.”
“Furious Dragon Unfurls Its Wings!”
A cold voice sounded beside the stag’s ear.
The stag jerked its head up.
A roaring dragon, wreathed in fury, plummeted straight toward it!
Boom!
With an earth-shaking detonation, the dagger drilled effortlessly through the stag’s skull.
The stag’s eyes bulged wide, and its enormous body collapsed to the ground.
Its health drained to zero in an instant.
The tree demons wailed in despair, withering away, their lives snuffed out.
Xu Han landed steadily, walking to the Black Antlered Deer’s side, gripping the Tooth of the Furious Dragon and pulling it free.
He opened his status panel for a glance at his experience bar.
He had reached his limit.
Time to accept the advancement quest.
Closing the status panel, his gaze shifted to the loot beside the stag’s corpse.
Two pieces of equipment lay quietly on the ground.
A staff carved from wood, and a wooden bracer.
He picked up the staff to examine its properties.
[Living Wood Staff]
[Quality: Silver]
[Spirit +100]
[Mana Recovery Speed +10%]
[Skill 1: Summon Tree Demon (Summons a tree demon of your level. The tree demon lasts five minutes. Cooldown: fifteen minutes.)]
[Living Wood Set (1/2): Two-piece bonus: +20% Wood Elemental Damage]
[Description: Crafted from the essence of a hundred living woods, this staff brings you closer to nature.]
[Equipment Requirement: Level 20]
For a wood-element mage, this staff was quite decent.
Summoning a tree demon at the same level was nearly equivalent to having a front-line protector.
It granted mages a better chance at survival.
He then checked the bracer.
[Living Wood Bracer]
[Quality: Silver]
[Spirit +70]
[Mana Recovery Speed +10%]
[Skill 1: Closeness to Nature (Passive. Increases natural attribute skill casting speed by 20%)]
[Living Wood Set (1/2): Two-piece bonus: +20% Nature Attribute Damage]
[Description: Crafted from the essence of a hundred living woods, this bracer brings you closer to nature.]
[Equipment Requirement: Level 20]
Another set piece.
Xu Han wasn’t interested.
Though he could use staves in his class, this one was far too weak.
He sliced a piece of venison from the stag, stored it in his spatial ring, and headed for the exit.
Passing through the vortex, darkness enveloped him for a moment before the world returned to normal.
No sooner had he steadied himself than he sensed several sharp auras surging toward him.
Xu Han’s brow furrowed slightly.
His form flickered several times, easily dodging the incoming attacks.
Boom!
A massive sphere of lightning crashed against him, forcing him two steps back and shaving off a portion of his health.
But within a few breaths, his life was fully restored.
“Kid, hand over the treasures you found in the secret realm, and I’ll let you walk away alive!” a man in a dark purple robe proclaimed from on high.
The purple crystal orb atop his staff glowed brightly, arcs of lightning dancing along its surface.
The spell was primed and ready to be unleashed.
Xu Han’s face darkened as his gaze swept over his opponents.
There were five in total.
Two shield warriors stood at the front, with two sword-wielding fighters flanking them, eyes menacing.
The mage, staff in hand, waited in the rear.
A textbook group formation.
The mage, growing impatient, spoke more coldly, “Hurry up! Or I’ll break your legs and make you crawl home on your knees!”
The burly men sneered, already picturing Xu Han’s humiliation.
Xu Han nodded solemnly. “All right.”
The mage looked at him as if he were a fool. “Since he’s being so agreeable, Wang Fu, Liu Wu, go on and oblige him!”
“Yes, young master!”
The two swordsmen grinned wickedly and advanced.
“Kid, you asked for this! Don’t blame us for being rough.”
“If you’ll kneel and beg young master for forgiveness, and hand over everything, maybe he’ll show you mercy.”
Xu Han gazed at them impassively. “No need. Even if you begged me, I wouldn’t let you off.”
Wang Fu and Liu Wu’s expressions changed.
“This brat is too arrogant!”
“Today, I’ll hack off your hands and feet and make you a human swine!”
The two charged, swords raised.
Xu Han lifted his hand.
Three blades of green light hovered before him.
With a flick of his wrist, the blades shot forward, streaking toward the swordsmen’s legs.
Slice!
“Ah!”
The blades swept across their thighs, drawing screams of agony.
They crashed heavily to the ground, swords clattering aside.
Xu Han toyed with the Tooth of the Furious Dragon, the crimson blade swirling in his palm like a fiery blossom.
He strode to Wang Fu’s side and stomped down hard.
Crack!
“Ah!”
Wang Fu’s scream was like a slaughtered pig’s.
His leg was snapped, the bone twisted grotesquely.
Expressionless, Xu Han stomped again.
Crack!
Another sharp snap—both legs were broken.
Pain lanced through Wang Fu, leaving him twitching helplessly on the ground.
Liu Wu trembled with terror, dragging himself backward, desperate to escape, as if he’d seen a demon.
The mage’s gaze turned frostbitten. “Insolence! Kneel!”
He raised his staff, sending a dark purple sphere of lightning hurtling toward Xu Han.
Xu Han raised his hand lazily.
A black vortex swirled into being on his palm.
The sphere vanished into the vortex, leaving no trace.
The mage’s eyes bulged, nearly popping from their sockets. “Where’s my lightning ball?!”
Xu Han replied offhandedly, “You want it back? Here you go.”
The black vortex roiled violently.
In the next instant, a dark purple orb shot from the vortex, streaking straight toward the mage.
The two shield warriors paled and rushed to shield him, raising their shields just in time.
Boom!
The lightning sphere exploded against their shields, sending both warriors flying, blood spewing from their mouths.
The mage turned ashen.
As he raised his staff to cast another spell, a chilling voice sounded by his ear, “We agreed.”
“Break your legs. Crawl back.”