Chapter 82: You Must Die

"No."

Rayan's unrelenting attitude instantly turned Simon's pale complexion to ashen.

Simon had thought he could persuade Rayan with his eloquent tongue, but it turned out to be a futile effort. The realization that he had been played again filled him with uncontrollable rage.

"Crow Lord, you are a smart man, you should know that my master's identity is not ordinary."

"Indeed, I am a smart man."

Rayan gave a faint smile, "That's why I waited for you to leave Shadowcrest Ridge before making a move."

Simon let out a cry of surprise, his grip on the horse saber creaking loudly. "It seems you must kill me."

"To be honest, when those two slave mercenaries insulted my boss, you did not support him, so your crime does not warrant death. But if I don't kill you, Shadowcrest Ridge will suffer endless misfortune."

Rayan lifted the Crow Sword from the ground, raising an eyebrow: "You must die."

His cold gaze made Simon's body tremble like leaves in a storm. Despite being protected by Seventh Tier Battle Qi, he knew he was no match for Rayan, and even if he could somehow defeat Rayan, a rather fierce crow was waiting for him.

Rayan stepped forward, and Simon instantly jumped back like a startled deer.

"Wait—"

Simon forcefully calmed his racing heart, feigning composure: "I am someone of note in Stonerock City, I demand a duel! A one-on-one duel, if I win, your bird can't trouble me!"

"Wu ah is not my bird, he's my brother—"

Rayan slightly frowned, "Forget it, it's pointless to explain this to someone like you. Since you want a duel, I'll grant you one. As for your request, I don't even need Brother Crow's approval, because you won't have a chance."

Speaking, the Eighth Tier Battle Qi instantly empowered the Crow Sword, striking down toward Simon's head with overwhelming force.

Simon's heart raced, raising his horse saber above his head to block.

The clash was a stark demonstration of the difference in their strength. Simon concentrated all his Battle Qi on the horse saber, hoping to catch Rayan off-guard after blocking the clumsy Crow Sword, then counterattack Rayan's flank.

His plan was clear, but unfortunately—The power of the Crow Sword was like a hill crashing down from the sky, a simple slash forcing his feet deep into the hard ground, his knees aching painfully, his arms feeling like they could snap at any moment.

Luckily, his Seventh Tier Battle Qi protective barrier hadn't yet broken. Simon pushed away Rayan's Crow Sword, swallowing back the surge of blood in his throat, pretending as if nothing had happened: "To think you could break through my Battle Qi with such a basic sword technique, you are truly arrogant!"

Rayan did not respond, raising the Crow Sword again while Simon spoke, using the same simple shoulder cut.

This time, the Battle Qi fluctuation was even more ferocious. Simon barely heard the Crow Sword roaring. His lips twitched bitterly, not daring to delay, he concentrated all his Battle Qi on the horse saber again.

Battle Qi collision—

The bright red glare forced Simon to close his eyes, and after a deafening metallic clash, Simon's sword-holding hand twitched, his body's Seventh Tier Battle Qi also becoming chaotic. He tried to hold on, but Rayan struck a third blow at lightning speed!

The fierce Eighth Tier Battle Qi immediately sent Simon flying, his body crashing through several tree trunks before stopping, the ground where the battle had taken place now pocked with craters the size of meteorites.

He leaned against a tree trunk, struggling to stand, about to speak but first spitting out a mouthful of blood, the protective Battle Qi around his body finally breaking.

Three ordinary chops, without even a complete set of moves, just...

Simon couldn't help but smirk bitterly, admiringly saying from the heart, "Truly... impressive!"

Rayan was not pleased; he had used the most ordinary sword technique against Simon, simply to use the hard clash of Battle Qi to try and break through to the Ninth Tier. After three strikes, Simon was defeated, but the Ninth Tier threshold remained unbroken.

He lifted the Crow Sword and approached Simon, coldly stating, "You have one chance to plead for yourself."

"Plead?"

Simon's pale face lacked any hint of blood, his voice weak and intermittent due to pain: "No matter how I plead, you will kill me, why should I bother? Rather than pleading, I'd rather say something else—if I die, my master will surely avenge me."

At the brink, he was no longer afraid, saying with a cold smile, "Actually, you have no idea what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into."

"Only fools make threats they can't fulfill."

Ray an spoke indifferently: "I will have your body transported to Stonerock Kingdom on a warhorse. No one will know who killed you. Your master, no matter how powerful, can only suffer in silence. Moreover, I am a person who is never bothered by trouble—"

He raised the Crow Sword, blocking the sun from Simon's eyes, and softly finished his sentence: "—trouble should be afraid of me."

With that, the Crow Sword fell, and Simon's head, mouth agape, tumbled to the ground.

"Wu ah!"

The crow flapped its wings, seemingly celebrating Rayan's accomplishment.

Rayan sheathed the Crow Sword, giving a sheepish smile to his brother, "Sorry, Brother Crow, I let you down. You let me kill Simon, but I still haven't made a breakthrough."

The crow patted its wings lightly, as if to offer comfort.

"It seems reaching the next level is not something that can be achieved in a day or two. I need more training. Once I've dealt with Simon's body, how about we go to the dense forest and spar?"

"Wu ah!"

"Then it's settled!"

Rayan packed Simon's body onto the saddle of the warhorse and was about to turn away when his gaze involuntarily rested on a black iron cage pulled by the horse.

This cage was intricately made; the black iron was forged from steel hammered tens of thousands of times and fused with obsidian crystals. The iron formed impenetrable walls, and the crystal shrouded the cage in shadows, making it impossible to peer inside.

Using such a high-grade cage for a slave recently captured from the barbarian tribes indicated that this slave must be extremely important. Considering Simon's hints about his master's identity, Rayan became even more curious about what was inside.

The crow shared his curiosity and was eager to see what was inside. It slid off Rayan's shoulder and pecked at the heavy lock with its hard beak.

"Brother Crow, let me handle it."

Rayan drew the Crow Sword, channeling the Eighth Tier Battle Qi into the blunt blade. After the crow moved aside, he struck the black iron cage's lock. The powerful force of the Eighth Tier Battle Qi caused a severe shake, and the black iron lock split cleanly in two.

"Let's see what's hidden inside—"

Rayan casually handed the Crow Sword to his left hand, then used his right to pull open the heavy black iron door—

A figure like a fierce wolf leaped out the moment the door opened, its sharp claws aimed straight for Rayan's throat!

"Wu ah!"

The crow swooped down, attempting to shield Rayan, but it was slightly too late. The figure that burst out of the black iron cage was not strong, but it had a life-for-life ferocity—

Rayan, caught off guard, instinctively raised his left hand wielding the Crow Sword to block, and the Battle Qi inside his body explosively surged under the shock, its brilliance increasing to a new level after three months—Ninth Tier!

Rayan was elated to have broken through the Battle Qi threshold under such circumstances, but unfortunately, wielding the sword in his left hand was not his strength, and he could not fully utilize the power of the Ninth Tier.

But it was enough to face the immediate danger. In the blink of an eye, the Crow Sword swept horizontally, the broad blade striking the attacker's chest and slamming them hard onto the ground, creating a large crater in the solid earth.

The crow screeched and dived, its sharp claws grabbing the thin throat of the attacker, while Rayan stepped forward, the Crow Sword aimed at the heaving chest—

"A woman?"

Rayan paused, finally seeing clearly that his attacker was a young girl with skin the color of golden wheat. Her strange clothes were torn into rags by the Ninth Tier Battle Qi, exposing her small, firm breasts that looked like newly sprouted lotus tips in a spring lake, tender at the base but bright red at the tips, her golden skin making them appear even more beautiful.

Her nipples were flat, merely a bright red seed, while the surrounding areola had already developed prominently, indicating she was probably just a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl—

Rayan couldn't help frowning, unsure when he had started being able to determine a woman's age just by her breasts. This was not a skill to boast about.

The golden-skinned slave girl breathed weakly, looking as if she would die any moment.

"Brother Crow, let her go."

"Wu ah!"

The crow released its grip and flew back to Rayan's shoulder.

Rayan then saw the girl's face more clearly. Her hair was not long but gray like the mane of an ice plain wolf, with deep eye sockets and a narrow chin, barely showing the potential to mature into a beautiful woman. Her eyes, a shade of orange, were slightly open, emanating endless hatred, her white teeth smeared with blood that had surged from her insides.

"It was my curiosity that harmed you."

Rayan sighed softly, "Since you overheard my conversation with Simon, I can't let you live."

With that, he slowly raised the Crow Sword.

"You must... die."