Karsha's movement on the battlefield was so swift that even the Master stage cultivators struggled to keep up with him. He had added 100 points to his Agility, coupled with level-up benefits and his boots. His boots were a reward he received after completing the 60th-day quest, allowing him to move at almost twice his normal agility. So, if he could move 20 meters per second, wearing the boots allowed him to move 40 meters per second.
It was a broken item that came at the most opportune time. Additionally, he grew stronger with each opponent he killed. In the world of Quinox, a cultivator only rises in the ranks by absorbing cores from their kills. However, in Karsha's case, he rose in the ranks as he killed his opponents. The higher the number of kills, the stronger he became.
He was like a walking cheat, requiring kills to get stronger. He had many ways to rise in levels and to increase his attributes to the maximum. However, on the battlefield now, he was utilizing only the basic forms of the sword technique he received from the system after completing the 70th-day quest. This technique had only one move called [Rapid Thrust].
It utilizes momentum from his speed to thrust his sword. It's mediocre at best, but with his [Thrust] skill making his thrusts 25% more powerful, his presence on the battlefield at the moment is nothing short of amazing and terrifying. He is like an untamed swordsman, bathing in the blood of his victims.
The longer the fight extends, the more dangerous he becomes. Even the slaves fighting and those watching couldn't help but shudder at the way Karsha was slaying the soldiers. He appeared to have no fear as he moved from one soldier to the next, thrusting his sword through either their heart or stomach. His whole body was bathed in blood, indicating the level of massacre he was unleashing on the pitiful soldiers waiting for their master to come and save them.
Of course, that was just a fool's dream. Their master, or leader, or king, was long dead. He died after a night of pleasure with his mistress. Karsha wasn't a demon; he wouldn't have killed them while they were at it. He waited for them to finish before sending them to the Netherworld. It was his way of showing them mercy.
Karsha's initial plan was to make his way to the gate and escape without engaging in any battles. However, after receiving the quest, he changed his plan and added 100 points to each of his attributes. He is now a Level 3 Master, but his stats are comparable to those of a Level 7 Master. This, combined with his savage fighting style, left the pitiful soldiers at a loss.
All their watchtowers were destroyed by the explosives planted by Karsha, so those adept in long-range attacks had long died from the explosions, leaving only those proficient in close combat to fight.
The slaves were also holding their own against the soldiers. They were wise enough to know they couldn't fight a trained soldier one-on-one, so they teamed up three-to-one, using all their small and weak fighting skills to defend and try to fight back. However, some of the slaves who used to be soldiers were able to hold their own against the soldiers while looking out for their fellow slaves.
It was a heated morning for all of them. They had slept only to wake up to what appeared to be the revolution of the year. The one responsible for all of this, Karsha, was currently making his way to the door, looking like a red demon. As Karsha began his killing spree, his demeanor started changing. The more he killed, the more dangerous the air around him became, affecting his aura.
In his previous life, Karsha had killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people. However, since he couldn't manifest his aura then, he could only appear dangerous. But in the world of Quinox, where mana and cultivation exist, all the killing he did in his previous life started to transform his new body into the killing machine that he once was. The more he killed, the more sinister his aura became.
He was bathed in blood and exuding a powerful murderous aura. The sheer amount of savagery he was unleashing had transformed him into a killing demon. While he may have been a savage to the slaves and a menace to the soldiers, he was focused solely on completing his quest. The killing and appearing heroic were all part of the quest to him and nothing else. He didn't care about the slaves or whether they survived. He just wanted to leave and hoped 100 of them would also make it out after he unlocked the gate.
Although he had killed almost 50 percent of the soldiers, the slaves were also doing their part. They all knew survival wouldn't be easy, but after Karsha had cleared almost half of the soldiers, they saw hope. Those initially standing by began picking up weapons from the fallen soldiers and started ganging up on the remaining soldiers, who were now trying to run for their lives. However, the gate was closed.
The gate that was used to block the retreat of the slaves had now become an obstacle for the soldiers trying to escape. The slave mine was built in such a way that the only way out was through the main gate. What they saw as a way to contain the slaves had now turned into their prison. Their leader was nowhere to be seen, which meant he was long dead, leaving them on their own.
Karsha had overheard a soldier saying there would be a new batch of slaves coming in today, so he knew he had to leave before they arrived. He couldn't possibly stay when the soldiers outside came in with reinforcements. He had already seen through the video the mysterious being showed him that there were soldiers outside who regularly came to pick up fresh batches of slaves to be shipped to the slave mine. By the time they arrived, he would be long gone.
Of course, he already had plans to come back and destroy the ruin for good, but today was not that day. He simply wished to unlock the gate, which was guarded by 50 soldiers glaring at him with murderous intent.
"Looks like you survived the pit," one of the soldiers said. He appeared to have immediately recognized Karsha, as he was one of the three soldiers who had thrown Austin into the pit. Karsha wasn't particularly scared of the 50 Advanced-stage cultivators blocking him. His surprise came from the fact that the soldier instantly recognized him. He had looked at his new appearance in a mirror he found in the leader's office and could tell that his new look was a blend of his previous self and Austin.
In short, he looked more like his previous self than Austin, yet the soldier was able to recognize him almost immediately. This discovery further fueled his anger and determination to kill all the soldiers before leaving. So, wasting no time, he charged at the 50 soldiers with only one goal: to kill them all and then go back to kill the rest. Gaining freedom but constantly looking over his shoulder was not the kind of life he wanted to live.
He clashed with the soldiers, pushing his agility to the limit. He didn't particularly feel threatened, so from the start of the battle until now, he hadn't added any points to his stats. He just maintained his default stats and intended to keep it that way until he reached the 7th level in the Master stage.
The higher he rose in levels, the slower the progression became. He had noticed this since breaking into the Master stage; he couldn't level up quickly like in the previous stages. He now had to accumulate a lot of EXP to advance, which meant he had to kill a lot of humans or monsters. Killing the advanced-stage cultivators wasn't helping him much now. They merely added laughable points to his reserves.
But even though they didn't contribute much to his cultivation, the soldiers still stood between him and freedom. Desperate to gain his freedom, he subconsciously started exuding a dense murderous aura, akin to a berserker in rage mode. The initially arrogant soldiers who saw him as a mere nuisance shuddered when they felt his gaze land on them.
"Thud." Three heads fell almost simultaneously as Karsha appeared behind a soldier. He knew he didn't want to waste his time, so instead of facing them head-on, he merely blinked from one shadow to the next, leaving headless bodies in his wake.
"You won't get far, slave. The mark on you won't allow you to have the freedom you so desperately crave," the last soldier said as Karsha drove his sword through his heart. Karsha paid no heed to his words, standing by the door and unlocking the huge padlock.
He turned back and gazed at the slaves now ganging up on the few soldiers left. He couldn't help but let a small smile escape his lips. "You all are free to go. But before that, take whatever will be useful to you before leaving. Farewell, fellow slaves." Karsha didn't even bother to take care of the remaining soldiers, knowing they were as good as dead. The slaves who heard him nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to kill and loot the whole place.
They left nothing of value behind. All the mining equipment had been thrown into the pit, and all the mined minerals had been pocketed in a "you get what you get" format. Those who were fast and wise went for the space rings on the fingers of the dead soldiers, allowing them to pocket many valuables.
Seven hours after the slaves escaped, hundreds of new slaves were shipped to the place. Upon arrival, they saw the entire area drenched in blood and immediately sent distress signals back to the nearest town. However, it was too late; the escaped slaves had long scattered in different directions.