Swords, magic, and martial arts

Let's try to persuade him first; it's best to avoid a fight.

"Run for your lives!" Rod shouted. "There's a monster chasing us. If you try to stop me, all three of us will die here."

"Heh heh, trying to fool your father again? I'm going to kill you today. This time I won't fall for your tricks again. I'll smash your head in with my own fists." The adventurer replied as he chased after him.

"I'm not lying to you! Can you wait a few more days if you want revenge? I can tell you where I live!" Rod shouted.

"Impossible! You won't leave here alive today!" the adventurer shouted.

Rhodes was quite helpless. He took out a poisoned golden needle, slowed down, and used a mage ball to control the poisoned golden needle to pierce the approaching adventurer. After running a few steps, the adventurer collapsed to the ground in pain, his eyes fixed on Rhodes.

"I should have just killed him with one blow; that would have saved him some pain," Rod thought to himself. "Looking back, my so-called kindness is truly disgusting."

Rhodes pushed the "Treading Snow Without Leaving a Trace" technique to its limit, and even while carrying someone on his back, he could still run more than 100 meters in 10 seconds. However, he still felt that he was too slow because he could clearly sense that the owner of the oppressive aura was still getting closer.

What should I do?

Rhodes felt a sense of despair; he deeply regretted entering the forest that day.

But now that it has happened, there's no use in regretting it. He adjusted his breathing and started running while thinking of a solution.

He suddenly thought of the system's lottery and began to consider whether to draw equipment or medicine. He did not consider drawing martial arts skills because even if he drew a peerless martial arts skill, its power would be quite limited without practice.

As for extracting the medicine, he thought that the poison from the previous poisoned needles had no effect on him, and other poisons would probably have limited effect as well. Then he remembered that he still had the Ten Fragrant Tendon-Softening Powder in the system that he hadn't used yet.

After drawing Shengxie, I have two more chances to draw prizes. I must draw something useful in these two draws. I wonder if I can draw a warhorse.

Rod started the lottery with hope. A flash of blue light made him excited, and he kept praying that it would be something that could save his life.

Bright Light Armor: It is made of 1590 fish scale armor pieces and 644 long strip armor pieces. There are metal round guards on the chest and back, which are polished to an extremely smooth finish, much like a mirror. Under the sunlight, they reflect a dazzling light, hence the name "Bright Light Armor".

It's alright, I guess. If I really get caught, I can wear it when I'm fighting for my life. Rhodes conducted another lottery draw, this time a golden light flashed, and the result appeared in front of Rhodes.

Peacock Feather: One of the seven weapons.

Rhodes was overjoyed when he saw the lottery results. Although the system's introduction to the Peacock Feather was brief, he knew of its power; it could even kill a group of peerless masters. However, he wondered how effective it would be against that invulnerable monster.

Rhodes continued running towards Ebony City. If he could escape, that would be best. He could save the Peacock Feather for when he encountered a powerful opponent and needed to save his life.

However, he could clearly feel the oppressive aura getting closer and closer to him. He estimated the distance he had run and made a decision.

He placed Aya on the ground, put on his Bright Armor, and stood ready with the Peacock Feather in hand. The oppressive aura grew stronger and stronger, and Rhodes found it hard to breathe. Looking at the pure gold Peacock Feather in his hand, he felt a sense of security.

Soon a dark figure appeared before him—it was the monster. Its black scales were stained with blood, though it was clearly not its own. There were also some red bits of flesh stuck to its mouth, suggesting it had just finished eating. Rhodes shuddered at the sight.

Without uttering a single word, the monster flapped its wings and charged towards Rhode, its claws, reeking of blood, reaching for his chest.

Rhodes raised the Peacock Feather and pressed the button. The hidden weapon inside flew out, reflecting the pure white moonlight as brilliantly as a peacock spreading its tail. The monster reacted quickly, but the hidden weapon flew even faster, and it could only raise its arm to cover its eyes.

Countless hidden weapons pierced the monster's body with a "clang, clang, clang" sound. Its incredibly hard scales shattered into fragments, and blood seeped from the wounds, dripping onto the ground and turning the newly sprouted grass yellow and withering. Its wings were also torn to pieces, covered with countless small holes.

Despite suffering such severe injuries, the monster was still alive. It roared in pain and flew over, clawing at Rhodes' head.

The claws were too fast; Rhodes didn't have time to react and was sent flying, his helmet dented by the force.

Despite his dizziness and headache, Rhode quickly used the Mage Ball, using all his magic power to control the monster's movements. He then took out the Ten-Fragrance Softening Powder from the system and used the Mage Ball to stuff all of the powder into the wounds caused by the Peacock Feather on the monster.

After doing all this, the monster roared and tried to get closer to him, but its body went limp and it knelt on the ground. Rhodes dispelled the Mage Orb and took out the Fiend and stabbed it into the monster's throat.

Without feeling any resistance, Rhodes pierced the monster's throat with the Shengxie sword. The monster stared in disbelief at the Shengxie sword in Rhodes' hand. He pulled the sword out, and blood gushed from the wound in its throat. It fell to the ground, motionless, and the oppressive aura disappeared with its death.

He breathed a sigh of relief. If he had known Sheng Xie was so powerful, he should have killed it directly in the tomb, and so many people wouldn't have died. He wasn't decisive enough; he should have pushed through the crowd and rushed in to finish it off when he was blocked.

Rhodes chopped off the monster's head and felt a chill run down his spine as he thought it was smiling.

To prevent the monster from having the abnormal regenerative ability of a troll, he used Shengxie to cut off all parts of its body, even cutting off all its fingers one by one and throwing them in different directions.

After doing all this, Rhodes quickly put Shengxie back into the system space, sat on the ground, and focused his mind to calm the evil thoughts in his heart.

For some reason, he felt a strong urge to eat the monster's corpse, and this urge grew stronger with time. Even his practice of maintaining his composure couldn't quell it, and he tried his best to suppress this strange desire.

Am I cursed by a monster? Will it regenerate inside me after I eat its corpse? Is it because it is unkillable that the ancient Nords sealed it away?

Rhode put the Bright Armor back into the system space, carried Aya on his back, and put the monster's head in his backpack to prevent it from resurrecting, and continued walking towards Ebony City.

Once you reach Ebony City, you'll be safe. It's heavily guarded, and even a real dragon would weigh the pros and cons before attacking it.

He felt extremely uneasy and wanted to confide his fears to someone, but apart from the unconscious Aya on his back, there was no human being around him to talk to.

Daylight had broken, and after a brief stop to eat something simple, he resumed his journey towards Ebony City. Around noon, he felt that oppressive aura again, not from his backpack, but from a distant place—the very spot where he had killed the monster.

Could it have really come back to life?

Without giving it much thought, Rhodes immediately pushed the Snowwalking Without a Trace technique to its limit and ran towards Ebony City...