159: Chapter 159 Kuro's Talent

Snowflakes drifted through the air, covering the entire Tianping Mountain Range in a coat of silver as the bone-chilling cold whistled and raged.

This snowfall came suddenly, but Lister was not surprised; his divination information had already foretold everything.

"Everyone dismount, we're heading into the mountains on foot," Lister ordered in a clear voice.

There were no ready-made roads in the Tianping Mountain Range; even the previous masters here had never carved any out.

Therefore, the rugged terrain formed by large amounts of rubble and mud made those entering the mountains very cautious.

Fortunately, Lister's group were all knights, so even though the road conditions were poor, their travel efficiency remained high, giving them the feeling of walking on level ground.

"Squeak, squeak~"

"Roar~"

As soon as they stepped into the interior of the mountain range, the cries of various magical beasts and wild animals echoed continuously in the ears of Lister's group.

The group could clearly sense pairs of intimidating eyes peering at them from the shadows.

But he guessed it might be because of the snowy weather, or perhaps the aura they emitted, or maybe both.

Those peeping eyes merely took one look before quickly vanishing into the snow-filled environment.

As they journeyed deeper into the mountains, the terrain became increasingly steep and the ground more rugged and uneven.

Coupled with the snowflakes falling diagonally with the gale, Lister's group was more or less affected in terms of speed.

Under these circumstances, the group mobilized the Dou Qi Energy within their bodies, coating the surface of their skin.

With the protection of Dou Qi Energy, the violent blizzard seemed to become as soft as feathers, and the group's traveling speed increased again, becoming much faster than before.

Lister's entry into the Tianping Mountain Range was not on a whim; first, it was for an inspection, and second, it was to find a very important person.

According to the divination information from a few days ago, the person he was looking for was named Kuro, the youngest son of the Black Snake Tribe's leader.

Kuro's tragic encounter was described clearly in the divination, but none of that was what Lister cared about most.

What truly forced him to search for an irrelevant young master of a tribal power from the Western Outlands on such a cold, snowy day—

Was because Kuro possessed powerful knight and swordsmanship talent; barring any accidents, he could easily reach the Great Knight realm in the future.

This was the first time Lister had seen someone with such formidable talent in the divination information.

A Great Knight's strength was equivalent to that of the King of the Pedan Kingdom, a figure truly standing at the pinnacle of the kingdom.

Lister had never seen a Great Knight fight, but he could imagine without even thinking that a knight of this realm must be terrifyingly strong.

Moreover, Kuro was only twelve years old now; if nurtured well, there was a high probability he wouldn't stop there, meaning Great Knight would only be his beginning.

Besides, this was also a good opportunity for Lister to learn about the powers outside the Western Border.

Since he had chosen this territory, he didn't plan on living a quiet life; developing the territory was one goal, and expanding its range was another.

By winning over Kuro, he could obtain an exceptionally talented individual and also gain the information he wanted through him.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone!

The wind and snow grew more intense, and the path Lister's group walked left behind a long trail of deep footprints.

About half an hour later, the group finally reached the western region of the mountain range.

This area had many naturally formed caves, perfect for fugitives to hide in, and the divination information indicated that Kuro's group was in this vicinity.

Just as Lister was about to signal everyone to spread out and search, a roar of clashing metal came from not far away.

Lister's expression tightened as he immediately ordered, "Everyone, follow me!"

The direction of the sound was a large flat area halfway up the mountain to the east, about a few hundred meters away.

For Lister's group, this distance was covered in just a few breaths, arriving like a gust of wind.

Entering this area, nearly twenty men dressed in animal-skin coats immediately came into the view of Lister and his companions.

Scanning the area, Lister found the person he was looking for: Kuro.

At this moment, he was being cornered at the entrance of a cave by a group of people, unable to advance or retreat.

Directly in front of him, on the flat ground outside the cave, a burly man swung a giant axe back and forth, each move erupting with powerful might.

Around him, four equally robust men had a faint black light clinging to the surface of their bodies.

They were constantly launching attacks against the burly man, their strikes well-coordinated and their cooperation seamless.

Lister knew that the burly man should be the one mentioned in the divination: the commander of the Black Snake Tribe's rebel army, Art.

The four men were the personal guards protecting Kuro's escape.

Judging by the state of the battlefield, the battle between the two sides had likely only just begun.

After observing for a moment, Red spoke up, "Lord Lister, if I'm not mistaken, those should all be people from tribal forces."

"Look at the light on those four men; that is the power of Totem Power."

Lister nodded; he already had some understanding of what Red was talking about.

Under the perception of his mental power, he could clearly feel the difference between that force and Dou Qi Energy.

Through his previous reading, he knew that tribal forces outside the Western Border obtained power through the totems their tribes worshipped.

This power was fundamentally different from Dou Qi Energy; it was a borrowed power, very similar to the power of faith.

Without exception, all tribal forces outside the Western Border had totems they believed in, mostly centered around powerful Beast Gods.

They were called Beast Gods, but in essence, they were just a group of powerful magical beasts, except these beasts were strong enough to rival deities.

As for why they, like the gods worshipped by humans, set up a similar totem faith—

Lister estimated that these Beast Gods felt this method was very high-profile, so they joined in on the fun.

Of course, compared to the gods worshipped in human kingdoms, the reach of these Beast Gods was not large, concentrated entirely within tribal forces.

At this time, under the observation of Lister and his men, Art began to use his superior strength to exert absolute suppression over the four personal guards attacking him.

Lister estimated that in a short while, all four personal guards would be killed by Art.

Naturally, he could not sit idly by; after all, the strength of these four guards was not weak, each possessing strength at or above Bronze Rank Intermediate.

The strongest among them had even reached Bronze Rank 9; if they could be recruited, they would be a significant help to the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

As for the threat posed by Art, Lister didn't care at all; according to the divination, Art only had Silver Mid-Tier strength, on par with Red.

And his personal guards were at most High-Rank Bronze, so he only needed to deal with Art.

No longer observing, Lister led Red and the others, revealing their presence.

"Who are you?" one of Art's warrior subordinates immediately shouted.

As soon as he finished speaking, Art's body jolted with Totem Power, instantly knocking back the four personal guards attacking him.

Art then retreated a few steps, looking sharply at Lister and his group, while his warrior subordinates all gripped their weapons, standing ready.

The four personal guards also retreated to Kuro's side, looking in the direction of Lister's group.

"Who are we?"

Lister smiled faintly and asked back, "Don't you know that this is within the sphere of influence of the Pedan Kingdom?"

Hearing this, everyone from both Kuro's and Art's factions was momentarily stunned, but they quickly reacted.

"Is Your Excellency a pioneer lord of the Pedan Kingdom?" Art was the first to ask, his tone carrying a hint of politeness.

Although he dared to cross the border to hunt down Kuro and the others, it didn't mean he didn't care about the pioneer lords of the Pedan Kingdom.

After all, compared to the Pedan Kingdom, their Black Snake Tribe was just a tiny tribe that could be wiped out with a sneeze.

More importantly, as soon as Lister and his group appeared, they gave him a strangely intense sense of pressure, indicating their strength was superior to his side.

Therefore, considering these two factors, he maintained a good attitude.

Of course, if Lister's group interfered with his important business, he wouldn't be polite at all.

Lister nodded slightly, his expression calm as he said, "That's right. This land is now the territory of me, Lister Howard. You have crossed the border."

"My apologies, Lord Howard," Art immediately expressed his regret, explaining, "We are merely hunting down traitors. Please forgive our accidental entry into your territory."

"Once I have dealt with these traitors, I will certainly send an apology gift."

As soon as he spoke, Kuro shouted from the cave entrance, "Lord, he's lying! He is the real traitor of the tribe!"

"I am the son of the Black Snake Tribe's leader. His name is Art, he was the commander of the tribal army, and he rebelled and murdered my father!"

Art didn't speak to interrupt Kuro, instead quietly waiting for him to finish, then he gave a wicked smile and looked at Lister, saying, "Apologies, Lord Howard, I think Kuro has gone mad with grief; he doesn't even know what the truth is anymore."

"I'm sure you can see which one of us is the one telling lies."

"If you can let me take him away, the entire Black Snake Tribe will be eternally grateful to you. It's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy."

"Don't you agree?"

In the last sentence, Lister could clearly tell that Art emphasized his tone, even carrying a faint hint of a threat.

At this moment, he had to admit—

He was truly amused!

Someone who trespassed onto another's territory actually dared to threaten the master of that territory.

Lister gave Art a strange look, wondering if his head had been kicked by a donkey.

Or did he think Lister was just that easy to talk to, or did he simply not fear them at all?

Thoughts flashed through his mind, and Lister gave a cold laugh, "Art, is it? You're quite something. Unfortunately, I'm the type who responds to kindness but not to force, and I especially dislike being threatened."

For this fellow who had touched his sore spot, Lister had already sentenced him to death in his heart.

Art was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting Lister to tear off the facade so directly.

For a moment, he actually felt a strange sense of regret, regretting that he shouldn't have said those words just now.

But spoken words are like spilled water, and he was also a proud person; it was impossible for him to back down now.

The next second, the black snake totem on his back erupted with an intense black light. His muscles expanded, filling him with a terrifying aura.

With a "whoosh," his massive body shot toward Lister like a giant cannonball.

Since the facade was torn, there was only one path left: to kill Lister and the others right here.

Amidst the sound of whistling gales, Lister stood his ground without moving, looking as if he were paralyzed with fear.

Just as Art's figure was less than a few meters from him, a gust of wind suddenly swept past his side.

Boom!

A longsword split the earth as Red appeared in front of Lister, interrupting Art's charge.

The violent aftershocks of Dou Qi Energy sent Art's figure stumbling back repeatedly. The arm gripping the giant axe went numb, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger split, leaking a large amount of blood.

"How is this possible!"

Art, having slid back over ten meters, quickly stabilized himself, his face full of shock.

He hadn't expected Red to not only have incredible speed but also terrifying strength; even he, who prided himself on his power, had fallen into a disadvantage.

He had some understanding of these pioneer lords outside the Western Border and had even interacted with some.

Most of them had mediocre forces, and those with powerful knights were few, but Red's move just now completely exceeded his past knowledge.

At this moment, Art knew he had run into a tough opponent, but the pride in his heart left him without the slightest fear. The black light from the black snake totem on his back grew even denser.

"A few of you stay and keep a close eye on Kuro; the rest of you, kill them with me!"

After shouting the order, Art swung his giant axe and launched a second charge toward Red.

His warrior subordinates didn't dare to hesitate, all rushing toward Lister's direction.

Unfortunately, their strength was too weak. In just a single encounter, Lister and Sejin charged through them, leaving only a few survivors.

The remaining ones were quickly harvested by Aier Sidi and the other knights, turning into corpses that fell onto the cold snow. In an instant, a large patch of white snow was dyed Red with blood.

"Damn it!" Art roared in anger.

Everything happened so fast—too fast for him to even react before all his warrior subordinates were dead.

The warriors in the back watching Kuro and the others now had faces full of terror, not knowing what to do.

The next second, under their despairing gazes, Sejin and the other knights charged again. After a few flashes of cold light, several more corpses were added to the ground.

With eyes nearly bursting and in extreme rage, Art's originally clear eyes were instantly filled with an eerie crimson color.

A terrifying energy fluctuation continuously poured out from deep within his body, exuding the aura of death.

In just an instant, Lister's powerful mental power sensed a very strong threat of death.

"Red, quick, kill him with everything you've got!"

As his voice rang out, Lister circulated all his Dou Qi Energy to execute the Storm Spear Technique.

Sejin was a fraction slower but also reacted, releasing his own skill attack.

The next moment, a snow-white Storm Dragon and Red Dou Qi Energy slashes flew straight toward Art.

Feeling death approaching, Art wanted to use all his strength to dodge, but facing a Red who was going all out, he had no chance of escape.

With a "squelch," along with the three energy skills released by Red, they instantly pierced through Art's massive body, and blood sprayed out.

"I... am not reconciled!"