Chapter 48: Rabbit Hunting (2)

"The will of the heavens?" Ferdinand repeated, perplexity coloring his voice. In the next instant, however, it was replaced by shimmering wrath. "Don't f*cking joke with me, boy!"

With lightning-fast speed, he removed his hand-held firearm from his holster and pointed it at Wuzhi. A disgusting smile appeared on his filth-covered face as he spoke. "Blame yourself for bringing a sword to a gunfight." He then pulled on the trigger.

Silence.

Ferdinand frowned. He then pulled the trigger once again. Just like the previous time, nothing happened. "This damned!!" He cursed, moving to inspect the weapon.

As it turned out, much like Ferdinand himself, the firearm was also covered in filthy mud entirely. Dirt and wet sludge seemed to be hindering the various fine components of the firearm making it unusable.

The moment he discovered this; an ominous thought appeared within his mind. The fact that a trap was set here instead of anywhere else; the fact that fallen into a marshland swamp which was rarely found in the southern lands; the fact that his firearm, an armament of overwhelming power, had been rendered useless.

'Did he plan for all of this to happen?' If this was true, Ferdinand felt a chill. This person would be the most terrible opponent that he had ever faced in all his years of living.

"I'm afraid that your firearm has been rendered useless, Lord Ferdinand," Wuzhi calmly uttered. Drawing another sword from his waist, he continued, "Now if we could start." Wuzhi leveled a polite smile toward the nobleman while wielding swords in both of his hands.

Seeing his opponent's desire to fight him, Ferdinand calmed his roiling emotions. He then threw away his firearm and unsheathed his sword from his waist. A brilliant silver gleam shined as a beautiful long sword appeared in his hands.

Gathering his internal energy into his arms, Ferdinand calmly said, "You shall pay the price," he took a single step forward, "for toying with a Rank 2 [Sword Path] cultivator!!"

Energy exploded beneath the soles of his feet causing Ferdinand to flash in front of Wuzhi. The scholarly youth, clearly caught off-guard by his opponent's sudden burst in speed, hesitated for a second before firmly stepping forward. The sword in his right hand rose and fell; dishing out a chop towards his opponent.

Seeing the chop filled with numerous holes in its form heading towards him, Ferdinand could not help but scoff. "Pathetic," he barked, flicking his wrist and blocking that attack.

Silver light flashed and Wuzhi felt a terrible power blocking his attack. A loud clang resounded and the scholarly youth's right arm was thrown back by the recoil. However, Wuzhi did not seem surprised by this outcome.

An instant before Ferdinand's silver sword came into contact with his own, Wuzhi's left arm flashed as he stabbed forth with another, simultaneous attack; this one aimed at his opponent's heart. By the time that his other attack had been repelled by his opponent, his left sword had neared his opponent's heart region; being less than a palm's width away from it.

Just as his sword was about to pierce its target, Wuzhi heard a low scoff followed by a mocking voice. "Did you think that it would be this easy to kill me?"

Alarm rose within Wuzhi's heart and the intent to retreat appeared within his mind. Unfortunately, he had already committed himself too deeply and was not able to pull back in time.

"[Flame]" chanted his opponent. Three jets of flames appeared in the back of Ferdinand's arms, radically increasing the speed of his swing. In an instant, the sword which had been lured away to block his primary attack had returned to guard from the insidious stab to his heart. Another clang sounded and Wuzhi was repelled once again. Only this time, the recoil from his attack was much more severe.

Wuzhi's entire body was thrown back and the sword in his left hand was directly shattered. A terrible pain rose from his entire left arm causing Wuzhi to almost let out a scream. However, he held it in. The danger had not passed yet.

Wuzhi's body traveled a good ten feet in the distance before the momentum of his fall diminished. Calling upon the strength of his muscles, he forcibly twisted his body and made an effort to land on his feet. After much effort, Wuzhi finally managed to land without stumbling or falling.

However, the instant that he did land, he was immediately met with another stream of attacks by Ferdinand. Unable to even breathe, Wuzhi frantically unsheathed another sword and desperately defended himself.

Ferdinand did not scold or mock his opponent. He wordlessly pressed forward and attacked the unnamed scholarly youth with his full power. Due to the fact that he had drawn upon his cultivator powers, his assaults grew more brutal and ferocious. Jets of fire systemically appeared and assisted in his assaults. Sometimes they would appear behind his legs to increase his speed; sometimes they would appear at the tip of his sword to temporarily blind his opponent; sometimes they would coat his hand as he grabbed his opponent to sear the scholarly youth's flesh.

In short, Ferdinand's usage of his power was experienced and devious. He truly was an accomplished general of a hundred battles.

As time passed, Wuzhi fell into greater passivity. With his opponent growing more familiar with his style, Wuzhi found himself blocking less and less of the opponent's assaults. Wounds steadily appeared on Wuzhi's body, each one more grievous than the last.

'I can't win this.' Wuzhi readily admitted to himself. First of all, he wasn't a properly nurtured swordsman at all. The very fact that he had managed to last this long without falling under his opponent's blade stood as a testament to his talent and hard work over the last few months.

'I can't delay any longer. I will die.' Being someone quick to come to decisions, Wuzhi immediately acted. Bearing another wound inflicted by Ferdinand, the scholarly youth twisted and fell in a particular direction.

"Trying to run away?" Ferdinand instantly reacted and lunged toward Wuzhi. Just as he was about to deliver another strike, Ferdinand let out a soul-piercing scream. "AAAARRRRGHHHHH!!!"

Having finally managed to create some distance between the two of them, Wuzhi took the chance to have a breath of relief. Standing up unsteadily, he looked at where Ferdinand was standing.

'Phew. That was close,' Wuzhi sighed in relief. His scheme had succeeded and he had tricked his opponent into stepping into a bear trap. Two metal jaws firmly clamped around Ferdinand's left leg and kept him unmoving. It was a vicious trap.

"F*CK! F*CK!! I WILL KILL YOU!!! ARRGHHHH!!!" Ferdinand screamed to the point of drawing blood from his throat. Judging from his painful shrieks it quickly became evident that the trap had managed to shatter the bone at his feet.

In other words, Ferdinand had been crippled.

"DIEEE!!!" Unable to move, Ferdinand gathered the flames in his body and shot it towards Wuzhi. The scholarly youth, however, wasn't surprised by this and calmly retreated by a few steps.

Just as how his opponent had managed to probe his limits during their battle earlier, Wuzhi had managed to do the same. And according to his calculations, Ferdinand should soon be approaching the end of his ropes.

Even a Rank 2 mortal was no different from a regular human in terms of physical toughness. This fact held even up to the illustrious rank of Rank 9. It was only when a cultivator consciously covered their body with Energy that their physical toughness shot up and practitioners became invulnerable.

Not to mention that Rank 2 cultivators barely possessed enough energy to cover their bodies with it, their Energy was not yet dense enough to make them invulnerable to metal implements. It was only upon reaching Rank 4 and above that they could calmly tank swords and sabers.

In short, Wuzhi's battle against Ferdinand was more or less decided.

The scholarly youth simply found himself a short rock that he could sit on and took a seat. He paid no attention to the screams and curses of Ferdinand, firmly intending to wait until the man ran out of Energy to but his throat and kill him.

While he waited, Wuzhi took stock of the injuries that he had accrued during this short but intense battle. The result of his investigation was far from pleasant.

Thirty-eight cut wounds, twelve stab wounds, multiple burns of various degrees, broken bones, and fractures... not to mention a slew of other light and medium wounds. It also went without saying that Wuzhi had lost a good amount of blood causing him to feel dizzy and light-headed.

Towards these injuries, Wuzhi could only sigh in resignation. Normally, cultivators possessed a monstrous healing factor. Just by resting and cycling their Energy, they could heal from most wounds; save for the most grievous of wounds. It was said that at higher Ranks, a cultivator could even recover from the dismemberment of limbs and such. There was even a saying amongst cultivators that went, 'As long as there is life, there is hope.'

Unfortunately, Wuzhi was far removed from normality. As a person who did not even possess a Core yet still managed to manipulate Energy and practice Path Techniques, he was the only one of his kind so far. And for all his advantages, this is where Wuzhi's disadvantages also showed.

Wuzhi did not possess the ability to self-heal. His healing factor remained at the level of a normal person. In other words, these injuries borne by Wuzhi during this short battle would take a long time to heal and would leave behind complications.

About this, Wuzhi was helpless. In the end, it was his misfortune to not have a Core and follow the traditional path of Cultivation. While his method had its advantages, it also came with its share of disadvantages.

Reaching for the small satchels that he wore on his body, Wuzhi retrieved various items such as bandages and medicines and began treating his wounds. His actions seemed practiced and experienced as he systematically went around his body administering the best care that he could.

By the time he had finished bandaging the most grievous of wounds, Wuzhi had run out of bandages and medicine. Once again, he was helpless towards this. After all, who had asked him to bear so many injuries during his battle?

"I can only treat the rest after returning to that small hamlet," he muttered to himself. Fortunately, that cozy hamlet was not too distant from here.

Rousing his power, Wuzhi unsteadily stood up on his feet. He used his only remaining sword as a crutch and hobbled his way to where he had left Ferdinand. Upon arrival, he discovered that the older man had passed out from all the screaming and blood loss.

Steadying his gait, Wuzhi raised his sword and chopped it down. His weapon drew a swift arc in the air and Ferdinand was swiftly beheaded. Done with his killing, Wuzhi rested against the sword once again and looked towards the sky.

A few minutes later, he spoke. "With Ferdinand's death, his faction will be swiftly swallowed by Alexandros. The rest of his campaign will have no significant dangers and instead will be filled with glory. With this, my second step in this continent can be said to have been completed."

"If my calculations have been correct, Luna Roseland, the female merchant, must have already sold information about the Empire's plans to the two Auberville brothers before our deal the other day. This is what caused the two brothers to attack the Empire at such an opportune time."

"Fortunately, I had more or less expected this and did the necessary. As for the rest, it will be the will of the heavens." While he said such, Wuzhi was more or less certain that the final victory would be in the Empire's hands. As for the reason behind his confidence; for such was the will of the heavens!

Thinking up to here, Wuzhi let out a sigh and hobbled away. "My work is done for now. I can spend the rest of my time resting and recovering from the injuries sustained in this battle until the good news arrives."

As his solitary figure almost disappeared into the forest, a chuckle suddenly resounded.

"I wonder if she received the present that I had sent her."