62: Chapter 62 Interrogation

Abandoned building.

"Why did you come back alone? Where are the others? Did you get what the Young Master wanted?"

The middle-aged man frowned as he looked at his subordinate, whose eyes were filled with terror.

"Steward Lude, everyone else was killed. I'm the only one who escaped."

The masked man replied in fear and trepidation.

Hearing this answer, Steward Lude's frown deepened.

"Isn't the strongest person in the Hervis Family an Intermediate Knight? Didn't Wisda go with you?"

"He's dead too. He didn't even last a single round. That person can use fire; Lord Wisda was burned alive."

As soon as the masked man finished speaking, Lude's expression suddenly froze, and he directly grabbed the masked man's throat.

"Useless trash, you didn't even know you were being followed!"

With that, Steward Lude slapped the masked man's forehead with his palm.

As the masked man fell lifelessly to the ground with vacant eyes, Steward Lude turned to look toward the doorway.

But after waiting for a moment and seeing no one emerge, a look of doubt appeared in Lude's eyes.

Could he have guessed wrong?

Or perhaps the opponent's concealment technique was too strong?

Glancing at the subordinate lying on the ground, Lude couldn't help but rub his nose awkwardly; he would just act as if this subordinate had never returned.

Just as Lude was thinking this, a figure suddenly appeared at the window and immediately shattered the glass, kicking toward Lude.

However, Lude's reactions were swift; he crossed his arms to block Nie Ning's attack.

Nie Ning landed, and seeing that the attack hadn't worked, the longsword in his hand ignited with flames as he slashed toward Lude's head.

Lude avoided the longsword and struck a palm toward Nie Ning's chest, knocking Nie Ning back several meters.

"So you're a Psionicist."

Looking at the glowing red longsword in Nie Ning's hand, a solemn expression appeared on Lude's face.

'Psionicist?'

Nie Ning found it a bit strange.

In fact, Knights were not the only transcendent profession in this world.

There were also Warriors who focused on blood-qi power, or Assassin-type practitioners who followed the agility path.

Although they seemed different, they all belonged to the physical type; in some respects, there wasn't much difference.

The reason Nie Ning hadn't encountered them before was that the Wilbes Republic was a nation of Knights, led by noble Knights before the reforms.

However, Nie Ning had never heard of Psionicists. Did it refer to people who could manipulate elemental power?

"Tell me, why did you attack the Hervis Family? Perhaps I'll grant you a way to live."

Nie Ning pointed his longsword directly at Lude and asked in a flat voice.

"Are you really that confident you can defeat me?"

Lude gave a contemptuous smile, a trace of disdain showing in his eyes.

Psionicists were indeed strong and could greatly augment their own strength.

But he was a peak High-Tier Knight.

Judging by the blood-qi fluctuations the opponent had just exposed, killing him wouldn't be that simple.

Nie Ning didn't speak, thrusting his longsword straight at Lude's head.

Although Lude had no weapon in hand, he possessed impressive martial arts skills.

After several rounds of fighting, Lude's combat experience was clearly richer than Nie Ning's, and for a moment, Nie Ning failed to gain the upper hand.

"It seems you're only so-so."

Lude dodged Nie Ning's longsword and threw a punch toward Nie Ning's face.

Nie Ning was quick to react, grabbing Lude's fist with his left hand as his eyes gradually turned amber.

"That's not necessarily true."

Lude's expression suddenly changed.

He wanted to pull back and retreat, but found that Nie Ning's grip was incredibly strong; he couldn't pull his fist free for a moment.

As Nie Ning grew hook-like nails, they sank deep into the back of Lude's hand.

"Monster!"

Looking at Nie Ning, who had transformed into a bull-headed monster, Lude kicked toward Nie Ning's chest.

However, the Strange Beast Body didn't just enhance Nie Ning's strength; the unique crystal core formed a special magical protection within his body.

Lude's kick only managed to break him free from Nie Ning's hand but failed to truly injure Nie Ning.

With the appearance of the Strange Beast Body, Nie Ning's various stats rose significantly.

Even if his practical experience wasn't as rich as Lude's, he could rely on his superhuman senses to react in time and counterattack.

And although Lude's Knight rank was higher than Nie Ning's, facing Nie Ning who was now going all out, he could only focus on defending.

In just over a dozen rounds, Nie Ning found an opening and slammed a punch into Lude's chest.

Lude spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He didn't understand why Nie Ning would turn into this, or was Nie Ning not human at all?

Just then, a special fluctuation came from behind Lude. Before Lude could react, an earthen pillar shot out and slammed into his lower back.

Faced with this sudden strike, Lude's body flew uncontrollably toward Nie Ning.

But Lude was a High-Tier Knight after all. He didn't panic in this situation; instead, he gathered Dou Qi into his right fist, flipped over, and struck toward Nie Ning's head.

Nie Ning remained expressionless as a large amount of soil covered his right fist, and he threw a punch back in response.

'Bang!'

With a muffled thud, Nie Ning stepped back several paces.

Lude, however, was sent flying, crashing heavily into the wall behind him.

With a wave of Nie Ning's hand, a large amount of earth and stone covered Lude's body, leaving only his head exposed.

"Speak, who sent you? If I'm in a good mood, I might let you off."

Looking at Lude sitting on the ground spitting blood, Nie Ning walked forward slowly and asked.

"Heh, you think I'll believe your nonsense?"

Lude said with a miserable smile and a look of utter disdain.

Nie Ning stepped on Lude's leg, his terrifying strength causing Lude's leg bone to make a 'creak' sound like it was cracking.

But Lude gritted his teeth, showing no intention of speaking.

Seeing this, Nie Ning couldn't help but frown slightly.

Killing was easy for him, but he really wasn't cut out for interrogation.

Especially when facing a High-Tier Knight like this; without sufficient willpower, it would be hard to reach such achievements based on talent alone.

But suddenly, Nie Ning's eyes shifted slightly.

"Tell me, if I cripple you now and sterilize you, would that be more painful than letting you die?"

As he spoke, Nie Ning stepped between Lude's legs, which were covered by earth and stone.

"You'd better just kill me!"

Lude roared loudly with a dark expression.

Hearing this, Nie Ning applied a little pressure with his foot, instantly shattering the earth and stone beneath him, and the pressure was once again put on Lude.

"Hey, hey! Let's talk this out properly. Keep asking."

Feeling the stinging pain in his lower body, Lude hurriedly shouted out.

"Tell me, who ordered you to wipe out the Hervis Family, and what are you looking for?"

Nie Ning scratched his ear, but then he noticed the mocking look in Lude's eyes and instantly sensed something was wrong.

"Pah! You won't get the chance to know. I'll be waiting for you to come down and join me."

At this point, a large amount of blood overflowed from Lude's mouth as he laughed loudly in mockery.

Nie Ning's eyes widened, and before he could react, Lude had already stopped breathing.

...