Chapter 9
...…
Kill.
That was the only single thought that crossed the clone's mind before it leaped out from the shadows and plunged a Low-Common Rank dagger straight into the first guard's chest, piercing the fellow's heart!
"!!!"
The second guard's eyes widened in horror as he watched his comrade gurgle on his own blood.
Quickly realizing that they were under an enemy attack, he moved at lightning speeds and drew his silver sword out of its sheath!
However, when his gaze fell on the face of the shadowy assailant, his expression morphed into one of immense confusion, causing a brief moment of hesitation.
His blade narrowly missed the 6th Young Master's head as it cut off a few strands of his hair before hitting the concrete with a loud clang.
CLUNGGGGG
He was about to raise his sword and question the Young Master for his actions, but before he could, a short dagger had its razor-sharp edge slashed into his neck, severing off his vocal cords and nearly taking his head off.
Thud!
The guard's corpse fell to the ground with a heavy thud, a look of astonishment frozen across his ashen face.
"..."
The Peak Body Refinement Realm Clone glanced at the two lifeless mercenaries lying dead on the ground and moved mechanically like a robot. In a swift motion, it lifted up the corpses like sacks of potatoes before tossing them into a nearby canopy of shrubs.
Following these actions, the clone used a simple water-cleansing spell to wash away the blood-stained floor.
One would be able to cast rudimentary spells after reaching the Early Pulse Condensation Stage, so something like this was a trivial task for the 100% Tempering Marrow Clone.
Another one of such spells was the 'Dry' incantation, which was what the clone used after removing any lingering traces of blood.
Only after all the shreds of evidence that could have pointed at the skirmish had been erased did the clone move on to its next series of targets, leaving no time for breaks or inefficiency.
_____
Meanwhile, back in the 6th Young Master's secluded room, a man who looked identical to the person who had committed a homicide, leisurely sat down and watched the system notifications swarming his vision.
BLING!
[Ding! Your Peak Body Refinement Realm Clone has killed 2 Mercenaries of the same realm, granting the host a substantial amount of Clone Essence.]
[Ding! Since this is the first time the Host has used a clone to kill other living beings, an additional amount of Clone Essence will be rewarded!]
[Ding! You have obtained 0.5 Clone Essence!]
[Ding! You have enough Clone Essence to create 5 more Peak Body Refinement Realm Clones, each possessing the ability of the original version that set your status.*
[Ding! Would you like to spend your Clone Essence to create 5 more Peak Body Refinement Realm Clones?]
"...Yes…"
Lucifer barely spent time hesitating to answer that question. After all, it was the only thing he could buy at the moment.
BLING!
[Ding! You have bought 5 Peak Body Refinement Realm Clones using 0.5 Clone Essence.]
[Ding! Your Clones will be ready to spawn in 5…4…3…2...1…]
Lucifer could feel something change within his core being as he immediately scanned his system interface, checking out the changes.
BLING!
__________
{[Infinite Clone System]}
[Host: Lucifer]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 18/125]
[Cultivation: 100% Marrow Tempering Stage (Body Refinement Realm)]
[Battle Power: Absolute Peak Body Refinement Realm]
—---
{[Clones:]}
[Body Refinement Realm Clones: 6]
[Clone Essence required to summon the highest realm Clone: 0.1]
[Clone Essence Bank: 0]
—---
{[Physique(s) and various external power augmenters:]}
[Cultivation Talent: Early-Mortal Rank]
[Spiritual Roots: ???] (Rank: ???)
__________
Lucifer scanned his system interface and noticed that his Battle Power had reached the absolute peak of the Body Refinement Realm. Moreover, the number of clones he could conjure had increased to six.
With this in mind, he dawdled no further and summoned the other five clones, assigning them the same objectives as the first.
"Get it done. And you don't have to hold back."
Lucifer clasped his hands behind his back as he issued those commands.
"..." "..."
The clones lightly nodded their heads before vanishing from the secluded room.
Once all of them had dispersed from his view, the solemn-faced young man gazed at the full moon, already imagining how fruitful the night would be.
'Let's see just how many people they can kill in the next hour… and more importantly, how much I can benefit from the outcome.'
Sinister thoughts stirred in his mind as time ceaselessly passed for those inside the Fire Nation.
_____
About an hour later.
During that one hour, Lucifer's Clones had managed to kill over four dozen hired guards of the Devilduke Family, along with sixty Body Refinement Realm Guards from the neighboring families.
Satisfied with these results, Lucifer sat down and received his most recent gains.
Noticing that his Clone Essence indicator had already surpassed the 20 milestone, he realized how he could now buy over 200 Clones at the Peak Body Refinement Realm!
However, figuring out that he didn't need that many at the moment, he only bought another 40 before conserving the rest of the Clone Essence for future needs. After all, it was unknown when he could start buying skills and other equipment for his clones, and he wanted to be prepared.
Even with this restraint of burning all his Clone Essence, 46 actively hunting clones were more than enough to silently sow chaos across the City of Riversea.
Within the span of 2 hours, more than 300 people had fallen at the hands of Lucifer's Clones.
And by the 4-hour mark, that number had further risen to 1,500.
When the time hit the 5-hour milestone, people had begun to grow suspicious of the lack of guards and mercenaries, but Lucifer made sure that anyone who got a little too nosy was silenced.
Finally, the sun set in the west and by this point, over 5000 people within the Body Refinement Realm had already perished under the combined efforts of over 1,000 clones.
The number would have likely been way more than that if not for the fact that Qi Condensation Realm Cultivators had started to snoop around.
However, by the time they noticed the dead bodies scattered throughout Riversea City, the culprit was long gone…
Lucifer found it quite convenient that he could de-summon the Clones at will in the flip of a dime. They would instantly de-assimilate into a form of energy before covertly flowing back toward their source.
"Ahh... How nice..."
As the blaring Qi-powered alarms echoed in the background, Lucifer sat with a relaxed posture, admiring his new and improved system interface.
...…