Daisaku sucked in a cold breath as he watched the almost fatal gash across Jensen's chest close up faster than his eyes could follow.
Jensen summoned his two daggers from his spatial rings to his side.
While he didn't want to waste energy fighting when he could simply wait for his prey to die that did not mean he would shy away from a fight he was sure he would win.
Perhaps if Daisaku was at his best he might have retreated but now…
Jensen glanced down at his chest, although the pain was brutal it did not hinder him in any way thanks to Xal'Zyraeth's training.
His ability, 'Blood Regeneration' was even stronger than he had expected.
Just like 'Blood Cultivation' it required blood from 'Blood Storage' to function but unlike 'Blood Cultivation' the blood did not need to be refined.
In fact, he did not need to refine the blood before using it to 'Blood Cultivation' but that seemed like a bad idea.
Jensen got into his fighting position but just before he could launch his first attack, Daisaku suddenly raised his hands in surrender shouting.
"Young man, please wait… I thought you were one of those XR rats." Daisaku hurriedly explained, "I thought they sent someone else to find me, so I attacked without thinking."
Jensen maintained his position, but he did not continue with his attack.
Seeing him remain silent, Daisaku continued, "I was ambushed by those bastards from XR and now I am not in a good state of mind."
Jensen lowered his hands and asked, "Why did they ambush you?"
"That foolish son of mine conspired with them and now…" Daisaku explained. "I do not wish for my clan to fall into the hands of the XR Gang, Please help me."
Jensen could understand his circumstances.
Following history, every time the XR Gang managed to take control of an organisation, they always gutted it.
As for the ones that survived, they were far in between not to mention they did not leave unshattered.
More often than not none of them survive.
"Please help me reach the Oakland Town and I will forever be indebted to you." Daisaku begged.
Jensen paused for a bit, thinking.
Any other time I would have simply killed the old man and taken all three spatial rings from his corpse but now he had to think differently.
He had to stop looking at just short-term benefits but also long-term ones.
A one-man army sounded impressive when spoken aloud.
It carried a certain arrogance with it, a feeling of absolute power.
But once someone looked past the surface, the idea quickly lost much of its shine.
Power without limits had always made people uncomfortable, not because it was wrong, but because it was unpredictable.
The society was built on invisible agreements, rules, laws, and customs. Yes, everyone pretended to respect them.
In truth, almost everyone broke them at one point or another.
The difference was that most people only broke the rules when they were certain they could escape the consequences.
That alone created boundaries, blurry boundaries, but boundaries, nonetheless.
It was the same reason many people disliked mercenaries.
Mercenaries fought for money, not loyalty, they could change sides tomorrow if the price was right so no one could truly trust them.
A person without clear limits made everyone uneasy.
The same logic applied to power.
A person who stood alone, answering to no one and restrained by nothing, was not admired for long.
At first people might fear him, perhaps even worship him but fear and worship rarely lasted forever.
Eventually someone would begin looking for a way to bring him down.
According to Xal'Zyraeth, the universe itself followed a similar principle.
Balance.
Every system produced its own counterweight.
It was not mercy, justice, or karma as so many people claim.
It was simply how existence maintained stability.
In theory, becoming a one-man army was the ultimate achievement.
The freedom to walk anywhere, take anything, crush anyone who stood in the way.
But such freedom carried a hidden weakness.
Isolation.
Powerful individuals often believed they needed no one. Yet sometimes power alone could not solve every problem.
Imagine reaching the peak of strength only to be sealed away by enemies.
History was full of such stories.
Some of the strongest beings in existence had not been killed.
Killing them was too difficult so instead, they were trapped or locked away in ancient formations or imprisoned in dimensions that countered them directly.
Even Xal'Zyraeth was facing the same although his situation was a bit unique.
Strength alone could not break those prisons.
And if no one existed to search for them, no one to care enough to release them and relying on luck to be free was truly not the best strategy.
Then even the mightiest individual would eventually fade into nothing.
Not defeated but simply forgotten.
Because in the end, a single person, no matter how strong, could only stand against the world for so long.
'For I Jensen shall work the path of one-man army with my own army.'
But for his plan to work…
"Very well… I will help you." Jensen answered.
"May I know your name?" Daisaku asked.
"Jensen, I am also from Oakland Town." He replied.
Daisaku frowned but his face quickly returned to normal, 'How don't I know about such a talented person in the town?'
But he did not think too much about it, but he wasn't stupid either.
"Before we continue may I see your forearms?" Daisaku said but immediately explained, "You have to understand… I have to…"
"Don't worry I understand." Jensen nodded cutting him off.
He ripped off what was left of his clothes and did a 360-degree allowing Daisaku to see he had no tattoos on his body.
Daisaku inspected him carefully and once he was sure, he handed two spatial rings to Jensen.
Jensen nodded, he didn't bother asking for the third one before he could speak Daisaku fainted.
Looking at him, Jensen could understand exactly why Daisaku was so receptive.
That last strike most likely drained him of whatever energy he had left and once he realized that the full strike barely did anything he realized he did not have much of a choice.
All he could really do was hope that Jensen doesn't kill him.
Looking at Daisaku's body, Jensen walked over carefully still wary off him.
Once he touched the body, he finally confirmed what he wanted.
Daisaku had burned his lifeforce to enhance his strength. Meaning he wouldn't live for very long either way.
And that was perfect for him.