Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 138: Three

The moon high in the sky reflected a dim light, which gained red tones when it crossed the blood-stained halo over the Mutated Battlefield.

Nothing shone directly into the basement, but a reddish illumination leaked through the holes anyway, providing decent-enough visibility. Mortals would have problems there, but cultivators didn’t, especially Liam and a rooting expert.

And, thanks to that very visibility, Cecilia could see Liam turn to show his resolute, cold stance. He was nothing more than a cornered rat in the presence of a superior predator, but he showed a will to fight anyway.

Needless to say, Cecilia felt angry beyond reason, the foul emotion only deepening due to that day’s events.

Liam was clearly capable. His escapes both that morning and that night had shown battle mastery that only experience and intelligence could create. He had sounded socially challenged in the tournament, but that hadn’t been out of stupidity.

Which was why Cecilia found that resolve unforgivable. She could avoid taking it personally if it came from ignorance or arrogance, but Liam possessed genuine skill, meaning his willingness to fight came from conscious confidence.

To make things worse, something was different in Liam’s cold face now. He wore more than resolve and killing intent. Cecilia saw herself in his feral seriousness. She was hunting him, but it seemed he was also hunting her.

"Three times," Cecilia announced. "Junior, this is the third time you have shown readiness to fight me. What makes you believe you can win?"

Liam glanced at the metal item in Cecilia’s hand before refocusing on her. The situation had degenerated too much to have room for words. Besides, Liam wasn’t good with those, and people always found ways to feel insulted when he spoke.

Yet, that could work in Liam’s favor now. Taunting Cecilia would help his strategy, so he spoke like he always did.

"It’s not really that," Liam genuinely said. "It’s just, if I don’t kill you, I’ll die."

There was an entire world between those two extremes. Liam could beg, request support, make deals, and much more. He could be a valuable hostage of the Sects, but Cecilia understood that those options had never crossed his mind.

There Liam stood, his dirty robe littered with tiny holes that still carried some splinters, his hair a mess of mud and dust, ready to kill despite understanding how desperate the situation was.

And Cecilia had to admit that Liam’s mindset was commendable, but she also had to teach him how misplaced it was.

Liam sensed Qi before frowning at the sudden absence that spread. He still saw Cecilia, but her presence and whole figure seemed to have vanished, as if merging with the environment.

’Is that how she snuck up on me?’ Liam wondered, watching Cecilia store the fork-shaped item in her robe, before her figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Liam narrowly dodged to his left, and Cecilia’s fist slammed on the wooden wall, which exploded into a cloud of splinters, dust, and soil. Even the ground beneath that surface couldn’t survive that seemingly simple attack, and things weren’t over.

The flying debris partially hid Liam’s vision, but his senses were usually capable of far more. However, Cecilia’s existence had become vague, even hiding her Qi, preventing him from reacting to the roundhouse kick aimed at his chest.

The kick hit like the heaviest hammer in the world. Liam felt unable to breathe, his rib cage barely enduring the blow as he flew backward, crashing into the rotten floor.

Yet, despite the pain and destabilizing sensation, Liam had survived the blow in one piece, so he ignored his state and looked up, seeing a fist already descending toward him.

Liam threw himself back, his lungs managing to draw air again as he performed a back handspring to launch himself further than a mere jump could achieve.

The descending punch missed Liam by mere centimeters, crashing onto the floor and blowing it up, but Cecilia was already rushing through the debris she had lifted. Still, something flew at her now, too.

Cecilia’s high speed worked against her, preventing her from dodging the pill aimed at her face. She crashed head-on into it, and the item exploded into a cloud of dark smoke.

Liam was already on his feet, wooden knife in hand and charging at the cloud, only for a silhouette to rush outside it before he could enter the smoke.

Cecilia wasn’t merely rushing out of the cloud, either. She was already swinging her right fist, ready to crush Liam’s face with it.

Liam had begun to adjust to having to rely only on his eyes, but Cecilia’s sudden exit from the cloud had taken him by surprise. He didn’t have time to stop himself or dodge, and Cecilia’s punches clearly weren’t something his skull could endure.

In the heat of the moment, Liam lifted his knife to block the punch, and his wrist almost snapped at the impact. He had to summon the entirety of his strength to cling to the weapon, and its handle began to cut through his skin until his fingers finally gave in.

Liam’s left thumb bent oddly, dislocated, as the knife left his now-incomplete grip and flew away. However, the deadly fist had also stopped advancing, but Liam caught another about to rise from the other side.

Cecilia’s second punch couldn’t have had more perfect timing. The impact had dispersed Liam’s momentum, giving him no time to jump out of the attack’s range.

Even the Cloud Pill was powerless there since Cecilia could just ignore it to complete the attack. So, Liam thrust his right palm forward, imitating what Joel had done against the magical beast.

Liam’s palm hit Cecilia’s knuckles, only for a violent force to send his arm and entire body backward. He had used his martial arts to fling himself away, creating a window he could use.

It was obvious that a single pill couldn’t affect Cecilia in any meaningful way. Liam’s dislocated thumb and numb right arm even made for poor dexterity, so he snapped his limbs forward mid-air, using everything he had in one move.

Cecilia had been ready to chase after Liam when her eyes captured a scene that made her blink in disbelief. She had expected him to have a few more of those poisonous trump cards, but the thirteen pills flying at her left her speechless.

No other foundation expert could ever match that wealth. Even Cecilia didn’t know if she could afford that vast assortment of combat pills. Their number finally halted her assault, making her cover her face before the tides of dark smoke took over the entire basement.