"He's going to show his face?"
Upon hearing this, the heaviest stone weighing on Sevrin's heart was instantly lifted.
His eyes lit up, and he cracked a grin. "Then that's just perfect."
Excellent, simply wonderful!
Sevrin began calculating.
In two hours, at the break of dawn, as soon as Huin's grandson got close enough, he would level up on the spot and seize the brat as a hostage.
Since this old fossil cared so much for that little animal, he would surely be hesitant to act, fearing for the boy's safety. In the short term, he wouldn't dare lay a finger on Sevrin.
By then, whether Sevrin chose to bolt or stay and settle scores, he would have plenty of breathing room.
As for that little bastard who could only survive by drinking human blood, if he tried to throw a tantrum or kick while being kidnapped.
Heh, Sevrin wasn't his grandfather. If the kid got annoying, Sevrin would just snap both his legs and drag him along; he could still move just fine.
"Master," Sevrin said with a smile, "Get me some food and drink. That way, I can at least be a well-fed ghost."
Huin narrowed his eyes, sizing him up, before nodding. "Fine."
He casually gestured to a servant to fetch food and wine from the estate's kitchen.
Before long, wine, meat, bowls, and chopsticks were brought before Sevrin.
Then, under the cold, ghostly gaze of the onlookers, Sevrin began to feast and drink heartily, completely unbothered.
And so, time slipped away quietly amidst this bizarre dining atmosphere.
...
The deep night was like ink, as if boundless black silk shrouded the earth.
In this darkness, all things were submerged in silence. Only the occasional howl of the wind and the soft rustle of leaves slightly broke the stillness.
However, as time marched on, the curtain of night finally began to peel away.
Unnoticed, at the edge of the pitch-black horizon above, a faint sliver of light emerged.
Gradually, the radiance expanded, growing increasingly golden.
Finally, it tore through the lingering shroud of night.
Dawn had arrived.
Sevrin, who had finished his feast and spent nearly two hours reclining with his eyes closed to rest his spirit, was now forcibly hoisted up by several burly servants. They dragged him across the courtyard and roughly bound him to the blood-stained wooden stake, which was as thick as a man's waist.
"Why so violent?"
Sevrin, pinned against the stake, looked at the thugs tightening the hemp ropes around him and smirked. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."
The servants naturally ignored him. Once they had finished tying the knots and verified the ropes were secure, they retreated to the side and stood in silence.
Right at that moment, a gaunt, hunched youth in brocade robes with a deathly pale, greenish complexion entered the courtyard. He was accompanied by two middle-aged servants in black, carrying sabers and clubs, and he walked with a slow, effortless stride.
"Hmm~"
Sevrin shot a discreet glance at the sickly youth, muttering to himself, "That must be Huin's grandson. Looks like a ghost dying of consumption... Huh?!"
Suddenly, he 'saw' the youth's personal interface from across the yard. More accurately, he saw that the skill slot was not empty like an ordinary person's; instead, it contained something called Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn.
Furthermore, his level entry displayed an item titled Bloodline Divinity.
Essentially, this Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn belonged to the capability system of Bloodline Divinity.
"I didn't expect..."
Bound to the bloody stake, Sevrin pondered silently, "In this strange world, besides martial arts, there are actually things like Divinity? As for Bloodline, it probably refers to DNA or human genetics."
While thinking, he carefully examined the other's interface information:
[ Character Name: Unknown
Level: Bloodline Divinity → Inferior
Mastered Skills: "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn"
Special Traits: None
Expert Shards: None ]
While Sevrin was observing and using the System to steal that so-called Bloodline Divinity, Huin had already rushed to the youth's side in a few hurried strides. He supported the boy's thin arm, his face full of concern:
"Schture, while Grandfather was away from home, your heart and internal organs..."
"Don't worry, Grandfather. Schture has had no issues," Geo Schture said with a reassuring smile. "Perhaps because I've been diligently following the treatments for years, my heart pain hasn't been very strong lately. It's just that my appetite and strength are still a bit weak."
"That is good, that is very good." A satisfied smile finally appeared on Huin's aged face.
Simultaneously, a similar smile appeared on Sevrin's face dozens of paces away.
"My odds of winning... just went up another notch." His smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Just a moment ago, Sevrin had seamlessly and completely mastered the "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn" divinity that was rooted deep within Schture's bloodline.
It was only after learning this divinity that he understood.
This skill was entirely different from the established martial arts systems that could be learned later in life. It was something born innately from the bloodline, or rather, an ability that could only be possessed through natural awakening.
Furthermore, this divinity's power was focused in only one direction.
It could drastically increase physical strength and stamina by consuming one's own blood and placing an extreme load on the heart, resulting in a massive, short-term surge in overall combat power.
"I imagine the reason this little animal needs to drink human blood..."
Sevrin glanced toward Schture, thinking, "...is because of this divinity."
By learning "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn", he was able to infer another detail.
Schture had likely failed to activate it, or perhaps lacked the capacity to let this divinity grow to a truly mature state. Consequently, he was unlucky enough to bear the heavy price of the divinity without being able to harness its actual power.
That was why Schture was so frail, and why he so desperately needed human blood.
However, while Schture lacked the capacity to let the divinity "mature" to a finished state, Sevrin certainly did.
Right under the noses of the grandfather and grandson, Sevrin activated the [Study Hard] system. Silently, he elevated the Bloodline Divinity "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn" from its initial, almost embryonic Inferior grade to its hidden limit, the so-called Low Grade.
Simultaneously, Sevrin finally acquired his first Special Trait, [Level 1 Berserk].
As for Huin, despite his formidable martial prowess and sharp senses, he remained oblivious. Bloodline Divinity was something rooted at the genetic level of the human body; even he was incapable of detecting such an anomaly.
This was exactly why Sevrin dared to boldly upgrade "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn".
In essence, from this moment on, by using this divinity and paying a certain price, Sevrin could gain a short-term combat power leap of 30 to 50 percent.
"This kind of life-burning skill... it's best not to use it unless absolutely necessary," Sevrin thought.
He quietly scanned his surroundings, eyeing the more than ten armed thugs stationed across the courtyard floor and atop the compound walls. He muttered inwardly, "I only have one life. If I can play it safe, I will. If I can lay low, I'll lay low just a little bit longer."
"..."
"Grandfather, this person..."
Schture walked slowly toward the armchair, a mere ten meters from Sevrin. After observing him quietly for a few moments, he turned back to Huin and asked, "Is this the blood-fodder for this session?"
"Correct."
Huin nodded slightly. "My dear grandson, the hour has arrived. Nourish yourself quickly; do not let your condition worsen through delay."
"Fine."
Schture nodded.
He then turned and took a foot-long, hollow bronze tube from a wooden box held by a subordinate. Lifting his feet, he walked toward Sevrin, step by step.
But Sevrin, bound tightly to the bloody stake, watched the sharpened bronze tube in Schture's hand draw closer and closer. Instead of showing fear, he bared his teeth in a grin.
"Closer... closer... just a little bit closer."
He whispered under his breath, his smile widening further.
THUD... THUD... THUD...
Schture's footsteps grew nearer.
Finally, he stood directly in front of Sevrin. With a cold, indifferent expression, he gripped the bronze tube and slowly thrust it toward Sevrin's chest.
At the exact moment the chilled metal touched the skin of his chest.
Sevrin snapped his head up, locking eyes with Schture's startled gaze. Deep within his soul, he abruptly activated the System.
The "Tiger Claw Blade-Fist", which had been hanging in his skill slot for so long, bypassed all intermediate steps in a single heartbeat, leaping from Layer 0 to Layer 6, Max Level.
Sevrin's personal interface instantly transformed from its previously unremarkable state into this:
[ Host: Sevrin
Level: Mainstream Martial Arts → Vitality Circulation, Bloodline Divinity → Low
Mastered Skills: "Five Animal Yale""Tiger Claw Blade-Fist""Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn"
Special Traits: [Level 1 Robust Physique][Level 1 Sharp Nails][Level 1 Berserk]
Expert Shards: None ]
The moment these values manifested within Sevrin's actual physical form.
His scrawny frame suddenly expanded like a swelling balloon. As his entire skeleton vibrated and stretched violently, he surged in height, his body instantly becoming covered in blocks of powerful, rock-hard muscle.
Not only that, the originally translucent and frail nails at the ends of Sevrin's ten fingers suddenly and eerily elongated.
Simultaneously, the coils of hemp rope that had tightly bound Sevrin were forcibly snapped by his rapidly expanding, powerful muscles as he completed his on-the-spot upgrade, turning into a mess of frayed fibers on the ground.
As for Schture, who was paralyzed with terror by this sudden transformation, he tragically lost all chance of escape. Sevrin, having broken free from his restraints, grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him three feet off the ground like a helpless chick.
Dozens of meters away, Huin suddenly sensed the explosive, violent shift in Sevrin's aura. His expression twisted as his feet dug into the earth; trailing a series of blurred afterimages and accompanied by a sharp, savage wind, he lunged toward Sevrin's position.
A second later, two men of the same martial realm and identical techniques collided head-on without reservation.
ROAR!!
Accompanied by a deafening sonic boom and the sound of a tiger's roar, Huin was struck as if by some titanic force. His entire body reeled, sent stumbling and flying backward until he landed near his original position.
"How is this possible?!"
Wearing a face full of shock and disbelief, Huin suppressed the churning vitality within his body. He glared at the transformed Sevrin over thirty meters away and growled in disbelief, "How do you possess my ultimate technique? And practiced to such absolute perfection!"
"Hahahaha~"
In the distance, Sevrin used Schture as a shield to partially cover his upper body. He laughed heartily, "Why so much nonsense, you old dog? All you need to know is that whether this little brat lives or dies now depends entirely on your next move."
"So you intend to use Schture's life to trade for your own survival."
Huin said without hesitation, "Fine! Granted. Put him down, and I promise you can leave this place."
"Old dog, who are you trying to fool?"
Sevrin, hiding his head and neck behind the semi-conscious Schture, bared his teeth in a cold sneer. "I bet the moment this little bastard leaves my hands, a dozen or more bullets will be invited into my skull."
As he spoke, he discreetly swept his gaze over the dozen or so armed servants standing in groups behind Huin.
These men had now all raised their blunderbusses, aiming them from afar at Sevrin.
Sevrin could suddenly feel a faint, nearly imperceptible stinging sensation radiating from every spot on his body where those muzzles were pointed.
As the saying goes: "A feather cannot be added, a fly cannot alight; others know me not, but I alone know others."
This was the precognitive perception of danger, the Martial Mind's Eye, that manifested specifically within his robust physique after advancing to the Vitality Circulation realm.
It was this very ability that allowed Sevrin to clearly grasp one fact.
Namely, while his body no longer feared the slashes of common swords or inferior blades, he was still vulnerable to the organized volley fire of gunpowder weaponry.
If there were only two or three gunmen bunched together, Sevrin was confident he could resolve the threat quickly through evasion and rapid closing.
However, there were roughly twelve or thirteen guns present, scattered across every corner of this grand courtyard.
This made a direct confrontation impossible to resolve cleanly; he had to find a way to retreat for now.
Furthermore, through his sharpened hearing, Sevrin could faintly detect the sound of rushing footsteps from every direction outside the courtyard, closing in at varying speeds.
Clearly, the people making those sounds were also Geo's subordinates.
And exactly how many guns were hidden among them remained an unknown variable.
Seeing the situation bordering on a stalemate, Sevrin's expression turned icy. He grabbed the three middle fingers of Schture's left hand and gave a violent yank.
AAAHHH!!!
Accompanied by a spray of blood and a blood-curdling scream, those three fingers were brutally snapped off by Sevrin and tossed carelessly at his feet.
The agonizing pain of severed limbs instantly jolted the nearly unconscious Schture awake. He began to wail, trembling as tears streamed down his face: "AAHH! Grandfather, save me! Save me!"
WAAAGHHH!!
Witnessing this scene and hearing his beloved grandson's piteous cries, Huin was instantly consumed by a murderous rage. His bloodshot, tiger-like eyes glared at Sevrin as he roared hoarsely from across the yard, "You! I will not let you die easily!"
"Still so arrogant even at this point?"
Sevrin acted surprised. "Old Dog, don't you realize who holds the initiative right now, hmm?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Sevrin grabbed the two remaining fingers on Schture's left hand and gave them another violent yank.
AAAHHH!!!
Following a heart-wrenching, ear-piercing scream, Schture actually fainted from the sheer agony.
"Animal! You animal!"
Huin roared toward the heavens, his face contorted in a hideous grimace. "You... what exactly do you want?!"
"I have two demands," Sevrin sneered. "First, have every single one of these lapdogs of yours break the guns in their hands. Second, you will personally lead the way and escort me out of here."
...
The morning light was dim, and a white mist saturated the air.
Under the shroud of the hazy morning frost, five miles away from the courtyard with the blood-stained stake, lay a junction where fertile ridges, narrow mountain clefts, and a silent forest met.
Holding Schture captive, Sevrin carefully scanned the surroundings while glancing at the nearby Huin. He asked loudly with a smile:
"Old Dog, this is the outer edge of that fortress territory you mentioned, right?"
In response to Sevrin's inquiry, Huin spoke with a cold, profound expression:
"Mhm... You only need to follow the cliff into that forest ahead and keep heading deep inside. Reach Mount Yahan, cross the summit, and keep going; then you will be completely free."
As he spoke, the dozens of servants behind him remained with their blunderbusses raised, staring coldly at Sevrin as if they might open fire at any moment.
Sevrin, however, showed no excessive fear. His face remained smiling, though killing intent flickered deep within his eyes.
He had already made up his mind. If he managed to escape this alive, every single one of these people... would have to die.
At the same time, Sevrin did not entirely trust Huin's words.
This old dog looked sinister to the core.
It was entirely possible that the end of this forest wasn't a path to survival at all, but a cliff or an abyss.
As for why these people were still carrying guns, and why their numbers had increased so much.
The reason was that when Sevrin had made his two demands earlier, Huin had only begrudgingly agreed to the second one.
As for the first requirement, even though Sevrin repeatedly used Schture's safety as leverage, Huin merely sneered continuously, showing no intention of complying.
Clearly, the old fox was gambling with lives.
He was using his grandson's life as the stake, betting that Sevrin wouldn't dare to truly go through with a "dead fish breaks the net" mutual destruction.
"Oh dear, oh dear, Master~"
Feeling the oncoming wave of murderous intent from the old man, Sevrin said with a beaming smile, "Look at that face, looking like you want to slaughter my whole family—it's truly terrifying.
At the end of the day, there's no old grudge or recent enmity between us, so why look so bitter and hateful?
How about this: you take your men and retreat a hundred meters, I'll retreat a hundred meters and release your grandson, and then we both go our separate ways on the high road. Sound good?"
"Hmph."
Huin let out a cold, mocking breath. "You crippled my grandson's hand and now you want to make peace? You must be joking at a time like this.
Enough with the nonsense. Release Schture right now. I am a man of my word; I guarantee I will grant you a path to survival."
Sevrin looked at the dozens of guns pointed at him. He didn't believe a single word of the old man's grand speech.
He was certain that the moment he let go of Schture, those flintlock bullets would be the first things to greet him.
"There's really no other way," Sevrin muttered to himself. "In the end, I'm forced to take the risk."
After weighing his options for a few seconds, he suddenly broke into a cold sneer. Across the hazy morning mist of the ridge, he shouted loudly at Huin:
"Old Dog, since you want to play dirty, then I'll play along. Let your precious grandson... accompany me for one more stretch of the road!"
Having said that, Sevrin abruptly activated the divinity Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn.
THUMP-THUMP
As if a bomb had been detonated inside him, Sevrin's heart began to throb with violent intensity.
The crimson plasma flowing through the hundreds of blood vessels throughout his body began to surge and churn like boiling water.
Along with these internal anomalies, his entire body suddenly began to glow a feverish crimson.
His physical frame, accompanied by the staccato cracking of his tendons and bones, abruptly swelled another size larger.
At a quick glance, Sevrin, standing amidst the thin mist, momentarily resembled a scarlet demon—a sight that sent shivers down one's spine.
In the instant these changes flickered into existence, Sevrin launched himself like a high-speed arrow. Within a spark's flash, he vanished with a WHOOSH, leaping at extreme speed into the dense, dark forest behind him.
The speed was far too great; Huin and his group couldn't react in time. The rifle squad dared not fire immediately, fearing they might accidentally kill Schture.
"Brat!"
Huin was the first to react. With a roar, he moved like a hunting tiger, trailing afterimages as he gave chase.
However, after taking only a few steps and reaching the edge of the forest, he came to a grinding halt. His face betrayed a look of hesitation and wariness as he stood rooted to the spot.
"That little animal's footwork was so agile just now, and his physique grew so massive. Furthermore, his aura..."
Huin's thick brows furrowed tightly. "It faintly carried the flavor of surpassing the Vitality Circulation realm. Could it be... he broke through in the heat of battle? Hmm... no, that's not right. Not right at all."
He shook his head repeatedly. "There's no such thing as a coincidence where he just happens to break through now. It must be some kind of secret technique."
With that thought, Huin became even more hesitant to enter the woods.
Though they occupied the same realm and he possessed vast combat experience, he was old and failing. Facing the young and powerful Sevrin, his chances of winning were inevitably several notches lower.
Huin had realized this after their initial clash earlier.
Especially since this person appeared to possess some sort of unorthodox occult art, coupled with the fact that this dark forest was perpetually shrouded in mist and... for other secret reasons, Huin dared not venture in lightly.
"Master."
At that moment, the Butler stepped forward and asked softly, "How should we proceed? Do we need to summon the other rifle squads from the fortress to search the woods?"
"No."
Huin spoke with a grim face, "This dark forest is not boundless, but it is surrounded on all sides by cliffs with absolutely no way out. Furthermore... there are vengeful ghosts hidden within.
If we suffer severe casualties and the other fortresses learn of this, it will be extremely detrimental to our Geo Fortress."
In truth, Huin had just lied.
The far end of this silent, dark forest had no path to survival at all; there were only towering valley cliffs.
And within, there still lurked the so-called... evil spirits.
"Then..."
The Butler hesitated, "What about Young Master Schture?"
"Sigh~~"
Huin looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh, "Have the rifle squad guard this junction strictly. If that kid doesn't show himself after a while..."
His expression turned vicious as he said coldly, "Then set the forest ablaze and smoke him out!"
...
Within the dim forest.
SWISH SWISH SWISH
Deep inside the dark forest, where thick fog completely blocked the sun, Sevrin trod upon giant trees like a scarlet shadow, moving through the lush forest canopy like a fire ape.
After continuing like this for a short while, feeling the heavy toll on his stamina, he finally came to a halt and ceased the operation of his "Blood-Devouring Heart-Burn".