Chapter 50
Xia Fei used his top speed and returned to that patch of tall grass, activating his Breath Control technique while using bushes of dried yellow weeds as cover. Slowly, he crept closer toward the seven candidates with his gaze filled with killing intent.
“Xia Fei, you mustn’t act rashly,” Phantom said in Xia Fei’s consciousness. He was quite worried about the anger that Xia Fei was showing, afraid that he would do something reckless.
“Rash? I’ve never been calmer before. Of course, I’ve never had a stronger desire to kill them either,” Xia Fei softly responded.
Phantom shook his head and returned to the Moore Stone, no longer saying another word. He was not happy about losing Xiao Yu as well.
Several flashes later, Xia Fei got near the seven candidates. While hiding inside the tall grass and quietly looking over, all he saw was them gathered around together, discussing something.
Xiao Yong had spent a lot of money hiring these six underlings. None of them were young, and their wish to rank up or become an adjudicator was no more than a pipe dream now. That was why they had followed Xiao Yong here, merely hoping they could earn a tidy sum before they could retire.
They originally had over thirty of them in their group, but after the four days of slaughter in the eastern foothills, only six left, which showed how ruthless the assessment was.
A wide-faced dark-skinned man seemed to be the leader for these mercenaries, looking to be in his fifties. He bore a very deep cut on his face, giving off a terrifying visage. His two hands were large like palmetto fans, with each hand missing his little finger, appearing to have been chopped off in an injury.
“This is it for today. We’ll wake up at dawn tomorrow to continue northward.” Boss Black laid his head down and slept without saying another word, the sound of his snoring thundered out not long after.
Xiao Yong might be anxious, but he did not dare to rebut. Though he was the employer, he was actually not the one calling the shots.
Xiao Yong sighed helplessly and retrieved a bottle of water from his spatial ring to wash his face before taking out a blanket and wrapped it all around himself. Soon, he wandered off to dreamland.
For these people to have made it out alive from the northern foothills, they ought to be fairly capable themselves. Xia Fei was not in a rush to make his move, so he patiently waited until the moment when all of them were asleep.
Time passed, and in a blink of an eye, it was around 3:00 AM in the wee hours of the morning. People were asleep at this time, and it was precisely the best time to strike.
There was nothing that could be used for cover in the rain shadow, so Xia Fei needed to quickly and effectively eliminate as many enemies as possible. However, the moment someone got startled and woke up, Xia Fei would immediately be discovered.
Xia Fei stooped low and kept his footsteps slow and balanced. Going for speed at this time was hardly the smart move here. Effectiveness was what was important now.
He neared the back of the first mercenary swiftly. This person leaned against a dirt mound, sleeping soundly while still holding onto some strange weapon in his arms.
Xia Fei reached out with one hand to cover the man’s mouth from behind as a cyan light flashed. That mercenary’s throat gained a new yet inconspicuous scar, a cut that directly severed his trachea and arteries, cleanly executed.
The mercenary gurgled in Xia Fei’s arms a little then stopped making sound a few moments later.
Setting the corpse down, Xia Fei continued to circle around to the second mercenary while keeping an even pace.
Xia Fei’s assassination technique was ingenious. The tip of the blade brushed over the throat of this man at high speed, not only was he able to kill this person with precision, but he was also to do so without making any sound.
There were too many arteries around the neck, so any mistake made would cause copious amounts of blood to spurt out like a fountain, making it difficult to avoid making any sound.
But because Xia Fei was swift and proficiently skilled with the blade, the blood did not spurt out from the arteries he sliced. Instead, they very slowly seeped along with the blade’s edge, managing to kill without any trace.
Phantom was nodding approvingly with a look of admiration on his face. Though he had once assassinated some unknown VIP, when talking about being talented in the art of assassination, Phantom was hardly Xia Fei’s match.
In just a handful of months, Xia Fei had internalized the two major techniques Phantom had taught, Crafty Thrust and Breath Control, to the point he could proficiently execute them. Such a speed was essentially unheard of.
Assassination skills might not seem complex, looking like they were all comprised of simple and even unrefined moves. They were all nothing flashy, yet it was precisely these ordinary-looking moves that demanded the most out of the users’ skills for them to be fatal.
Aside from proficiency, the assassin also needed the right psychological state of mind. Someone who could not remain calm even if required to kill a thousand men in a night would surely fail in becoming an outstanding assassin.
When Xia Fei had first killed that man on that plane, Phantom had already realized that even though Xia Fei was unsettled and afraid, he knew how to keep his emotions in check and not let it affect his judgment or actions.
Today, losing Xiao Yu had proved that Xia Fei was able to adjust his mentality in a short time, patiently stalking these men and waiting tirelessly till he found the best opportunity to strike. Maintaining such level-headedness was not something any average person could accomplish.
Four mercenaries had died to Xia Fei’s Chasing Light very quickly, and with a nimble leap, he jumped down into the ditch, not making any sound while doing so.
Xia Fei continued unhurriedly, taking small but sure steps.
First, he neared where Black Eight-fingers was. As the leader of these men, he must definitely be better than the rest in some regard. From the way he spoke to the actions he had taken, Xia Fei could tell that Black Eight-fingers was not smarter than the others, so he must be mightier.
A mightier opponent must be eliminated first!
Xia Fei arrived at the jujube tree where he was leaning against, his left hand reaching out, ready to use his arm to cover his mouth.
Suddenly!
Black Eight-fingers mumbled something in his sleep and turned his body around before continuing his thunderous snore.
Xia Fei felt his heart seize, but his arm remained stationary, suspended in the air, still unobstructed by this unexpected accident.
After a brief moment, Xia Fei’s arm lightly closed his arm around Black Eight-fingers’ mouth, his movement was slow but purposeful.
*Shing!*
Xia Fei’s left hand hugged Black Eight-fingers’ head tightly while he promptly exerted his right hand. Chasing Light drew a beautiful cyan flash that arced as it went right at the man’s throat. The entire execution was done in one go, not even hesitating for a millisecond!