"Are you not afraid of the castle tracking you down?" Aidan asked. "According to castle law, killing a fellow ascender without cause is a capital offense."
"Afraid? What do I have to fear? People die for wealth, and birds perish for food. Don't you understand such a simple truth?" the werewolf replied.
"I can give you all of my Essence Gems, and then I'll leave the castle to wander. Please spare my life," Aidan pleaded with a look of supplication.
"Your wealth will naturally be mine after you die, so why bother sparing you?" Although he said this, the werewolf did not immediately attack. He was more interested in the secret of how someone with Raidant-level talent like Aidan could advance so quickly.
"So, how will you agree to spare my life?" Aidan knew what he wanted, but he pretended as if he didn't.
"Do you know? My mother was an ordinary human. She was raped by an ascender and unexpectedly became pregnant with me. She raised me alone, but died from overwork. I never knew who my father was. As I grew up, I hunted in the forests around the castle and sold the meat to the taverns just to survive. One day when I was in my thirties, while hunting, I coincidentally stumbled upon a treasure left behind by an ascender. It was heaven's favor that I actually had the aptitude for ascension, and from then on, I entered this new world of ascenders."
"But because of the lack of resources for cultivation, more than a decade has passed, and I'm still just a Novice Tier ascender. And my talent is only average, with just 40 Ascension Sigils, like you, only Raidant-level talent."
"If I don't have a new opportunity, I'm afraid this life will end here. Then how will I avenge my mother, who was abandoned by her husband?"
At the end of his story, the werewolf clenched his claws tightly, full of anger. Then he calmed down and looked at Aidan.
"I heard you're also an orphan. Your parents died early, and your uncle and aunt even hired assassins to kill you. It seems your relationship with them has reached its limit. And you also have Raidant-level talent. We are truly alike!" he sighed.
"Even more alike is that, with such talent, you rose so quickly without anyone's help. I believe you found some kind of treasure," the werewolf's gaze turned greedy and ferocious.
"Speak up, and I may spare your life!"
The terrified expression on Aidan's face slowly faded, replaced by an icy indifference. He looked at the werewolf and said coldly:
"The treasure? Isn't it right here?"
"Here?" The werewolf looked around at the empty cave. "It seems you're not willing to confess without a little suffering."
The werewolf emitted a Copper Bronze glow, indicating he was a peak Novice Tier ascender.
"Yes, it's right here," Aidan's gaze suddenly turned cold, and he emitted a Honey Bronze glow. His wolf immediately pounced forward.
The werewolf's eyes flashed with contempt. A Level 1 Intermediate Extraordinary Direwolf could easily defeat it. After killing this wolf, he would slowly torture the kid until he spoke!
But when he tried to move, he felt weak all over!
The wolf's jaws bit fiercely into the werewolf's throat!
"What...?"
At that moment, the entire cave emitted a silver glow!
A massive amount of blood sprayed out from the werewolf's crushed throat, splattering on the ground, as the silver glow intensified!
He looked up and saw a silver rat soul crouching on his forehead.
A single blow!
At the final moment of his life, he seemed to see his mother's busy figure, and heard her words before she died:
"Son, forget about hatred! Live well...!"
...
...
...
"Killing is killing, Why keep talking" Aidan said indifferently, casting a glance at the corpse on the ground.
In this cave, Aidan performed a blood sacrifice ritual on a Tier 2 Essence Conduit "Thief" using blood. After leaving the cave, although Aidan could harness the power of "Thief," it would consume a tremendous amount of energy, and the effectiveness would diminish with distance. Despite being a Tier 2 Essence Conduit, it could only exert less than Tier 1 power within the castle. However, within this cave, "Thief" could unleash its original Tier 2 conduit power. As a mid-tier Novice Tier ascender, Aidan's use of a Tier 2 Essence Conduit would inevitably attract attention and could be easily detected by enemies. Therefore, Aidan deliberately injured in the initial attack, allowing his blood to flow onto the ground. Leveraging his knowledge of blood magic from his past life, Aidan infused energy into his blood, communicating with the essence conduit that had been blood sacrificed, thereby achieving twice the result with half the effort!
Meanwhile, the werewolf, thinking he could easily kill Aidan, became arrogant and boastful. Guided by Aidan's words and actions, he continued to talk incessantly, ultimately giving Aidan enough time to activate "Thief."
In battle, words and actions are effective means to mislead enemies and should not be used to vent emotions, thereby giving the enemy an opportunity!
As the werewolf died, he gradually transformed back into the appearance of a human, a middle-aged man in his forties, weathered by the passage of time. Aidan then commanded the giant wolf to tear and devour the body to ensure a thorough death before slowly approaching.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
Before his eyes, the stone wall shimmered and revealed a scene.
A formidable ascender stood atop a mountain, with another ascender kneeling before him.
Around the two ascenders were collapsed pits and shattered rocks, clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle.
Not far from the two, a group of onlooker elders watched the scene, their expressions filled with shock, anger, and fear.
The victorious ascender in the center laughed heartily, "Hahaha, Alexander, despite your young age, you're already a Pinnacle Tier ascender. I thought you were someone of note, but you're nothing but a disappointment. Hmph!"
This laughing ascender, with his narrow eyes, wore a pink robe, its wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. His robe was open wide, revealing his strong chest as smooth as white jade.
Most striking was his bald head, shining brightly without a single hair.
"Malagor!" Aidan immediately recognized the ascender.
"Compared to Lord Malagor, I'm nothing! I was foolish, offending Lord Malagor. Lord Malagor, please spare my life in consideration of the hospitality our castle has shown you previously!" The ascender kneeling on the ground trembled, cold sweat pouring down his body, tears and mucus streaming down as he begged for mercy.
Malagor pointed at the kneeling third-generation bishop, sneering, "Cooperate well, and you wouldn't end up like this. Instead, you tried to gain fame using my name. You've brought this upon yourself!"
"Lord, spare my lowly life!" The third-generation bishop trembled, sweating profusely, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded for mercy.
Aidan squinted, carefully discerning the bishop's attire, realizing he was the third-generation bishop of the castle. And those elderly onlookers were likely the castle's elders from that era.
"Ha, hospitality? You dare say that! I was sincerely planning to trade with you, exchanging Gems for the castle's wolf teeth at a fair price. But you had ulterior motives, pretending to welcome me, attempting to poison me. You underestimated me. How could I, who have traveled the world, fall for such poison?"
Malagor's anger simmered down, replaced by a sneer, "Stop bowing. I can't stand sycophants like you! What genius? You're not worthy of your reputation. Serve me well, and that will be your salvation...ugh!"
Malagor suddenly exclaimed in horror, kicking the third-generation bishop away and staggering back a few steps, his face showing disbelief.
Kicked in the chest, the bishop spat out blood mixed with countless internal organ fragments. Struggling to stand up, he smirked triumphantly, "Hehehe, this essence conduit is called 'Shadow.' Although it's only fourth-level, it can restrict Ascension Sigils. Demon, you and I have fought for so long, you don't have many essence conduits left on you. How can you counter 'Shadow'? Surrender to me and become my servant. As long as you serve me well, there's still a way out for you!"
Malagor erupted in rage, roaring, "Damn it!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he lunged forward like lightning and punched the third-generation bishop in the chest.
Thrown back, the bishop crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organs.
"Are you crazy? We could have negotiated...," he glared at Malagor, his lips trembling. But before he could finish his sentence, his legs gave out, his head slumped to the side, and he breathed his last.
"Bishop!"
"Kill, kill this demon and avenge our clan leader!"
"He's affected by 'Shadow,' and his essence can't be mobilized at will anymore. Over time, even his Ascension Sigils will be threatened."
The elder onlookers roared with anger, rushing forward.
"Haha, come and meet your deaths!" Malagor laughed, facing the charging elders head-on.
A fierce battle ensued, with Malagor quickly gaining the upper hand. Soon, the elders fell one by one, dead or wounded, all collapsing to the ground.
Just as he was about to finish off the remaining elders, Malagor's expression changed abruptly. "Damn it!"
"I'll deal with you later." Malagor glared fiercely at the remaining elders, then swiftly disappeared into the mountains and vanished without a trace.