Chapter 16: Black Swordsman

Translator: CKtalon

William had seen this man at Dogtooth Tavern.

He had sat alone, drinking in a corner of the tavern. He seemed to be the only person who went there to drink.

Moreover, this person had been staring at him since he entered.

Was it because greed had gotten over him? Was it because he acted wealthy in the tavern that resulted in him being targeted and followed by the greedy?

However, wouldn’t it be too exaggerated to rob with a door-sized sword?

Moreover, such an alternate world plot development was too cliché.

As his thoughts raced, William still asked with a relaxed expression, “Is there a problem?”

“The Miners Brotherhood’s territory hasn’t been here for a long time. This is only an abandoned mine,” the person replied.

William looked at the thin man named Wilson beside him in surprise. The other party was staring at the mysterious swordsman, and his entire body was trembling in fear.

“What’s in the mine?” William asked Wilson.

“Nothing.”

The one who answered him was the swordsman holding the black iron sword.

He slowly walked forward and spoke as he walked.

“The mine has been blocked, and the person beside you led two people into this empty mine today. Only he walked out in the end.”

“You’re very lucky.”

He stopped about ten steps away and spoke to William.

“You didn’t become the third person today.”

With that said, he lifted the cloak that obstructed his movement, bent down, held his sword with both hands, and charged forward.

The distance of ten steps shortened in an instant, and the exaggerated black iron sword in his hand swung out the moment he charged over, swinging it at Wilson’s neck.

Logically speaking, Wilson’s head should’ve been sent flying more than ten meters like a rubber ball under this heavy strike, but…

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding rang out, and Wilson was sent flying seven to eight meters away. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop, raising a cloud of slag and dust.

However, his head remained on his neck.

He—or rather, it twitched on the ground and got up.

Its eyes rolled back, and saliva flowed from the corner of its mouth. Its entire body trembled at an extremely exaggerated speed as if something was hiding under its skin.

Its left hand—which had blocked the strike—was bent at a strange angle. Cracks that resembled shattered porcelain extended from it, and a sticky dark-green liquid slowly flowed out.

“Who are you?”

The thing that was once called Wilson asked in a terrified voice.

“The person who will send you on your way.”

With that said, the black swordsman charged forward and swung his sword again.

The monster’s shattered left arm failed to block the heavy sword. Its arm and head were sliced off by the black swordsman, and it flew into the mine far away.

The two strikes resolved the problem, but the black swordsman didn’t stop. He threw the sword to the ground, then drew a sharp dagger from his belt and stabbed it at the severed neck of the decapitated corpse.

A palm-sized spider with a distorted human face on its back was pinned to the ground the moment it crawled out. The face let out a miserable scream.

“Wait, wait, wait. I can give you anything you want. Do you want treasure, strength, or something else? As long as you let me go, I can satisfy you with anything…”

The human face on the spider’s back actually spoke the human language as it constantly begged.

“I’ve heard your kind say the same thing to my companion.”

The black swordsman scoffed.

“Then, my companion died from that instant of hesitation. Of course, you don’t have to be too nervous. There’s something I really need to obtain from you,” the black swordsman pressed his dagger tightly and said coldly.

“I promise to give you whatever you want,” the human face on the spider said sincerely.

“Revenge.”

The black swordsman pulled the dagger and sliced the human-faced spider in half.

William watched silently from the side until the black swordsman wiped the dagger on his cloak and inserted it back into his belt. Only then did he silently walk over and squat beside the corpse to observe.

The human-faced spider that had been sliced in half gradually turned into black salt crystals and dissipated, as did the headless corpse’s stump. However, the other parts of the corpse remained intact without any signs of dissipation.

“See that? That’s what’s hiding under the skin. God knows how many more there are in this city.”

The man didn’t look at William as he picked up the black sword.

“If you’re afraid, wait here for the guards to come. If you don’t want to cause trouble, pretend that nothing happened and leave. Nobody will track you down.”

“Did all 27 people die like this?” William suddenly asked.

The black swordsman was stunned for a moment when he heard that. Then, he pulled off his hood and revealed a weathered face.

This person was indeed the wanted criminal, Cass Durant, whom he had seen on the bounty. He was the former chief of the Bramble Mercenaries and was accused of killing 27 innocent citizens.

Of course, when the guards discovered Wilson’s corpse, this number would change to 28.

“Nobody will believe it unless they see it with their own eyes.”

He watched the human-faced spider gradually turn into black salt crystals and dissipate the corpse as he spoke coldly.

“Without stuffing living spiders down their throats, they will never believe that a foul threat beyond their understanding has appeared in this world.”

After complaining, Cass said to William, who was standing up.

“Leave. It’s fine if you want to collect the bounty from the guards, but it’s best to pretend that nothing happened.”

With that said, he fixed the sword to his back, put on his cloak again, and turned to leave.

“Oh right, I heard your conversation with the tavern owner. I have a suggestion—don’t participate in any business related to Elementium Silver for the time being. Otherwise, you might not be so lucky next time.”

Before leaving, he turned around and said to William.

“Why?” William asked.

“This monster originally came from the Silverstream Mine. So far, the 28 infected people I killed are related to that mine.”

“Then, do you know what this monster is?”

Cass shook his head.

“I only know that they first appeared in that mine. I’ve ‘visited’ a few scholars previously, but they can’t find monsters with such characteristics in the latest Empire’s Transcendent Creatures.”

William knew such a monster.

Soul-Ingesting Spider Demon was a spawn of the Void Sovereign Whispering Empress. It was a demon from the Moon Domain’s Silk Nest. It would parasitize the host’s throat and slowly transform the host into a Lunar Monster.

Although the combat strength of the Soul-Ingesting Spider Demons was weak, they had extremely strong penetrative abilities. They usually lurked in human society and developed into a Void Sovereign’s worship organization, spreading panic and unease to create conditions for a subsequent large-scale invasion.

If the appearance of the Stumbling Demon could be explained as a coincidence because it was close to the day of the Lady of Starvation’s summoning, William didn’t dare make such an optimistic guess after seeing the Whispering Empress’s scouts appear.

At the same time, he didn’t dare imagine what kind of miserable state the entire Vic Continent would be in if they suffered another full-scale Moon Realm invasion when all they had were Master-level spells.

“Then, what are you planning to do next?”

With this in mind, William asked Cass.

“Investigate their origins and kill them all,” Cass said without looking back.

The tone of his voice reminded William of a former companion of his.

The fourth of the 13 Judges was the Black Swordsman, Blake Saba.

He also had the image of a tall and taciturn tough man. He also used an exaggerated huge sword that was like a door, and he also fought alone for revenge.

“Are you planning on solving all the problems yourself?”

William subconsciously recited the lines he had used to recruit Blake Saba.

Cass didn’t answer, just like the person back then.

William smiled and shook his head.

A sharp sound tore through the air. Just as something was about to hit Cass’s head, he caught it with a backhand.

He opened his palm—it was a Demon Sealing rune that flowed with lightning.

“Perhaps you only believe in yourself, but if you feel that you need help one day, crush it.”

Cass turned his head, but the gray-haired, silver-eyed mage had disappeared.