Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 199: Arsenal

Striking first had undeniable advantages, especially when the gap was so wide. Liam and the middle-aged man might have both been foundation experts, but the power difference was simply immense.

The middle-aged man was a lone cultivator with an incomplete foundation and unknown, probably lacking, training with the Qi.

Meanwhile, Liam had stepped on a level that only the unique union between his divine talent and high-grade circulation technique could reach. In his eyes, his opponent had been no different than a mortal, his life frail by every definition of the world.

All hell broke loose, but Liam was still the first to move. He shot to his left, reaching the woman who had just begun to retreat, two of his fingers already pointed at her forehead.

In the past, Liam would have gone for the eyes, but the experience with his previous opponent’s skull told him exactly what his fingers could achieve through the Metal Hand.

So, the woman powerlessly watched as Liam’s fingers hit her forehead and pierced it, digging through her skull as if it were butter, effortlessly carving through her brain.

The woman went limp, standing out of virtue of her hanging from the fingers stabbed inside her head, which Liam retrieved to turn.

The two men on the right side of the partial encirclement had charged together, their panic leading them to believe that there was strength in numbers.

Naturally, those lone cultivators were wrong.

The timing had been good, great even. The two men had exploited the second Liam had used to kill their companion, reaching him when he had just finished turning.

However, good timing was pointless when Liam could move at a far superior speed. Strategy just couldn’t close that gap, and his opponents had also been wrong about the numerical superiority.

Before the two cultivators could begin to launch attacks, something heavy splashed precisely onto their knees, destabilizing their balance, even making them release cracking noises and bend oddly.

One man fell right before Liam, only for the latter to wave his left hand upward, stabbing his fingers into his throat, ripping off whatever his grasp could reach.

Meanwhile, the other man fell to his knees, but nothing was broken. He was quite burly, which translated into decent physical endurance, even allowing him to throw a panic hook at Liam.

Nevertheless, the hook met a palm as hard as steel. Liam merely caught his opponent’s punch and squeezed, cracking noises resounding from that hand while his fingers pierced its skin.

The cultivator screamed, but a bloody hand promptly closed on his face and began applying pressure, which his skull couldn’t oppose. The man felt his bones giving in and cracking before his head caved in.

Liam let the now-corpse go and turned. The last lone cultivator, a woman, had instead decided to run away, and her figure had already crossed several meters over the grassland.

Yet, a thunderous noise resounded, matched by an explosion of grass and soil. Liam chased after the woman, his speed so great that the edges of his vision blurred, only for his newfound confidence to allow something better.

After two mere steps, Liam kicked the ground again, his Qi exploding to release another thunderous noise. His speed increased even further, pushing his body to its structural limits, almost making him miss the instantaneous arrival at his destination.

High maneuverability was impossible at that speed, but that momentum also made fancy attacks superfluous. Liam fought against the pressure on him to stretch his clawed hand, which hit the woman’s neck and tore away her entire head.

Liam had to take a few more steps to slow himself down, even ending up sliding over the grass, his feet carving deep grooves. The woman’s head was still in his hands, but he tossed it away, instead moving to retrieve her corpse. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

And, as Liam dragged the headless corpse to the carriage, nods unfolded in his mind. The Lightning Step was great, something he couldn’t wait to master through the superior Qi of the rooting stage, but the Metal Hand was simply perfect for him.

The Metal Hand would also only show its true power at the rooting stage, but its advantages were already evident. It not only played into Liam’s fighting style. It was even dirt-cheap when it came to Qi consumption.

Since Liam’s new threshold of power was so demanding of Qi, having such a deadly but cheap martial art at his disposal was priceless.

Of course, there were disadvantages. The Metal Hand’s reach was terrible. It also required grabbing or speed to apply its deadly effects. Liam even exposed himself while performing it, putting his fingers under heavy strain.

Defensive martial arts like the Jade Skin would render the technique useless, but that didn’t stop Liam from seeing it as his new main weapon. Moreover, his arsenal now had variety, which was crucial to achieving victories and basic survival.

"Senior Sister, thank you," Liam exclaimed once he reached the carriage and threw the headless corpse to the grass. He didn’t know what martial art Melissa had used, but it had been undeniably effective.

Nevertheless, as Liam squatted down to begin to loot the corpse for whatever it might have, a familiar hand grabbed his shoulder, only to feature quite an unfamiliar strength.

And, when Liam looked up, he found Melissa glaring down at him, her annoyance so evident that her emotionless mask was powerless to cover it.

"Senior Sister?" Liam called, not knowing why he was experiencing some fear.

"I’ll do it," Melissa declared, her voice matching her glare. "You turn."

Concepts like men and women didn’t exist in that slaughter for Liam. He only saw prey lying there, so his brain failed even to attempt to make a connection.

As for Melissa, her reaction stemmed from her possessiveness, with intensity she had never experienced before. She couldn’t allow Liam to see another woman naked, especially since he had yet to see her like that, and there was no arguing against it.

"Senior-?" Liam muttered, frowning in confusion, only for a single word to defeat him.

"Turn," Melissa ordered.

Liam didn’t know why, how, or when. Still, he found himself on his feet, blinking in confusion as he looked at the carriage’s insides, the inability to defy that incomprehensible creature stemming from the same feeling that made him want to provide for her.