Danger.
Danger was what Tristan felt.
His blood seemed to flow slower, his mouth went dry, he felt cold, and the hairs on his body stood on end. His usually pale skin, as white as a corpse's, somehow seemed even paler now.
This was fear.
"But what is this?"
"What's happening?"
Coli's corpse was now as dry as a mummy.
Stunned, Tristan looked at the scene before him in amazement. Li Cheng, who had seemed barely able to stand moments ago, now looked like he had undergone an intense beauty treatment.
More frightening than that was how, after slitting old Coli's throat as if it were nothing, Li Cheng turned to the others behind them.
Then he charged towards them, forming an ice scythe in his hand. Oh, those poor, frightened prisoners. Some tried to run, others tried to fight, but it was all in vain.
To Tristan, it seemed as if Li Cheng was cutting grass rather than humans.
His ice blade sliced through their limbs effortlessly.
'What should I do?'
'He's too fast. It doesn't seem like he's a regular Martial Artist. With that strength, he might even be a Martial Specialist.'
'There's nothing I can do if he wants to get rid of me.'
Tristan's stomach churned. Just when he thought he might regain control of his life, he was thrown into a situation where he was completely powerless.
But beyond the fear, there was another thought swirling in Tristan's mind, something that left him puzzled and confused.
'Water and Blood, he's definitely using Water and Blood, but how is that possible? They're different elements. Although Blood has some relation to Water, it's permanently fused with Light, making it a completely different element from Water. This shouldn't be possible. Water and Blood, they aren't complementary elements like Light and Darkness, they aren't that dependent.'
'Could he have a hidden artifact?'
Tristan didn't have much time to dwell on this; soon, the prisoners were dead, leaving only him and Li Cheng.
Li Cheng spread his arms, and the blood from all the corpses on the ground floated towards his body. His body swelled more, and his muscles became more defined.
Li Cheng looked at Tristan and said, "The key."
Tristan thought for a moment and tossed the bone key that opened the dungeon entrance.
Li Cheng caught the key and then looked at Tristan.
"Ah, see? I told you I was useful, haha. Well, I'll let you keep your life; my debt is paid now."
Li Cheng's body became a blur as he ran towards the dungeon entrance.
Tristan watched him leave and then looked at the corpses on the ground.
'Power.'
***
After some time, Tristan reached the dungeon entrance.
"At least the bastard left the door open."
In front of the entrance, two guard corpses lay on the ground, looking like mummies.
As Tristan walked, he found more bodies. He knew he didn't have much time; Li Cheng didn't seem to be trying to be subtle, so Tristan needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.
'I managed to get out of the dungeon, but I'm still in the underground floor. I'll try to use the exit behind the mansion. I'll have to climb the wall and hopefully reach the forest around the fortress without being detected.'
[Shadow Aura]
With his concealment ability activated, Tristan ran through the mansion's underground area. After a few minutes, he heard the sound of a bell; all the guards were being alerted.
'Damn it, hopefully, that man isn't home.'
Tristan ran cautiously, needing to stop and hide occasionally. He could hear the sounds of guards passing near him. So far, he had been lucky; no guard had detected him yet.
Now there were only 200m(656ft) left to exit the mansion's underground area. Tristan was walking down a straight corridor as quickly as he could; this would be the most dangerous part, as hiding here was nearly impossible.
Then, suddenly.
Tristan heard the sound of heavy footsteps pounding the floor; someone was coming.
'Damn it, it's too far to go back now.'
After 20 seconds, a guard appeared in front of him, a guard Tristan knew all too well.
He was the dungeon's head guard, the one who had crushed his nose and beaten him.
Tristan stared at the dungeon head guard with a burning fury in his dark eyes.
"You?" the guard said. "How? What are you doing here?"
Tristan didn't respond and took up an attack stance.
Seeing this, the guard just laughed. "Boy, what the hell are you doing? Haha."
"Come on, go back to your cell." He sighed. "Truth be told, I didn't even want to waste my time here with you. I'd rather be going after the other prisoners, but you know, if I let you go, Lady Valerie will have my head. So be a good boy and go back to your cell and don't piss me off, alright? You won't like the outcome if you do!" the guard, who thought the prisoners had united in a rebellion, said this with disdain on his face.
Tristan hesitated for a brief moment, then he changed his stance, looking as though he had given up.
Seeing his surrender, the dungeon head guard approached and grabbed Tristan by the neck.
"Let's go… gasp," When the guard was about to drag Tristan back to his cell, something happened.
[Dark Blade]
A black mist enveloped Tristan's right hand, forming a small blade. Tristan then slashed the guard's right wrist; skin, muscle, veins, Tristan cut through it all. He couldn't cut the bone, but he still managed to render the guard's right arm useless.
Tristan adjusted his position and advanced, trying to slash the guard's abdomen.
But with the powerful physical enhancement caused by the cultivation of Fire, the guard retreated with the agility of a cat.
"You bastard! What did you do to my arm?" The guard screamed in rage as he tried in vain to stop the bleeding from his now useless arm.
"How? How are you able to use a ability? Your cultivation was blocked! What did you do?" The guard's face was now twisted with rage and pain.
"I'll crush your skull, you little rat," the guard said with murderous fury in his eyes.
He extended his left arm, and golden particles of light began to appear.
While the guard was saying these things, Tristan was thinking about his current situation.
'Damn it.'
'What do I do now?'
'Running away is impossible; he's much faster than I am. Running is useless.'
'He's also much stronger than I am. His core is probably still red; otherwise, he wouldn't be just a dungeon head guard, but that doesn't help much. Even if my core is stronger, vital energy only amplifies someone's constitution; it doesn't equalize the forces if there's a significant mass difference.'
'A child, even with an orange core, would never be stronger than an adult, much less a child with a battered and malnourished body like mine.'
'My only advantage is that I can use more vital energy in my abilities, but I only have one offensive ability. He surely has at least a movement ability and a defensive ability.'
Tristan stood still, waiting, thinking of a plan to solve his situation and escape alive.
After about 8 seconds since the golden particles appeared, a big black ax formed, and then the guard charged toward Tristan.