14: Chapter 14 Arno's Awakening (Part 2)

After Arnold killed one of them, the thugs were completely enraged.

A dozen or so men roared and charged in the direction where Arnold was hiding.

Although they were not high-level, they had a certain ferocity from surviving in a world with transcendent powers, especially when dealing with those weaker than them.

After Arnold's sudden attack killed one person, he did not rashly press the advantage. Instead, he utilized his ability to conceal his form to retreat, preparing to employ a kiting strategy.

But the second he turned, a wooden club flew through the air at him.

Arnold did not have time to dodge and was struck directly in the thigh, staggering and nearly falling.

The phantom form created by his stealth technique suddenly solidified, making his figure increasingly visible.

The brutal thugs were overjoyed at the sight, and seizing this split-second opportunity, they charged over; it was too late for him to run.

Gritting his teeth, Arnold simply stopped retreating. Hearing the cries of the children inside the Orphanage, his heart tightened, endless madness welled up in his eyes, and he charged straight into the crowd.

"If I die, I die!"

"I, Arnold, am no coward!"

"I will! Not! Run! Away!"

The two sides collided instantly.

Whoosh~ A wooden club came swinging wildly towards Arnold's head from the left.

Arnold ducked to dodge the lethal blow, and seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward and slashed with his dagger.

The attacking thug felt a chill at his throat, splat~ the stench of fresh blood hit his nose, followed by intense pain as the strength in his body rapidly drained away.

Thud~

The second one.

After that thug died, Arnold felt a surge of energy enter his body again, and his strength increased once more.

"It wasn't an illusion?!"

Arnold was deeply shaken; in this near-suicidal battle, he finally saw a glimmer of hope.

"Lord Loren, if Arnold can return alive, I will surely repay you with my soul!!"

The street was not very bright. Although Arnold's figure had been exposed due to his large movements, he was too agile, making it difficult to discern his next direction of attack.

Most of these thugs were only Black Iron Rank and lacked professional training, so Arnold gained a rare space for survival.

After killing two more in succession, Arnold had a realization. A Shadow Thief—is this what a Shadow Thief is?

Walking, killing, within the shadows.

An enemy was attacking from the right, and another was swinging a blade from the front, but an opening was right before his eyes.

Dodge, sidestep, turn, leap, thrust.

Splat~

The third thug clutched his throat and fell to the ground.

On the right side, there was an opening. Arnold felt as if he had entered a special state.

His perception and agility had both been greatly enhanced.

He now seemed to have become the Grim Reaper of the night.

Splat~, splat~

The cold gleam of the dagger was like snow.

The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh.

In the blink of an eye, half of the fourteen thugs had been taken out by Arnold, leaving only seven on the field.

The thugs, originally enraged and mad, now looked at the corpses on the ground, their spines chilling uncontrollably.

"Why does this lowly Thief possess such powerful strength?!"

Just as Arnold's understanding of the Shadow Thief deepened and his physical strength increased significantly, Kerr, the tattooed man who had been coldly watching the battle, sensed that something was wrong with the situation.

Stifle threats in the cradle; this was the second rule of survival in the slums of Decker City.

"He could wait no longer!!"

His sturdy body leaned forward slightly, then his legs bent sharply, bang~ a massive burst of power erupted, and the earth seemed to tremble.

Warrior Skill—Charge.

Kerr's massive body charged towards Arnold like a cheetah, while at this moment, Arnold's blade was thrusting towards the throat of the eighth thug.

Feeling the terrifying momentum approaching, Arnold's face changed drastically. He wanted to pull back, but it was too late to retract his blade.

Splat~

Kerr, in his sturdy, furious, wild-bull-charging stance, slammed into Arnold.

This Thief, only Bronze Low-rank, was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, blood spraying from his mouth in mid-air, splattering blood everywhere as he landed on the ground.

But at the final moment, the dagger in his hand still slashed across the thug's throat, killing one more.

Bang~

After being knocked several meters away, Arnold crashed hard into the ground, making a dull thud.

He felt like at least four or five ribs were broken, and the intense pain in his chest was crazily stimulating his nerves, nearly driving him mad.

"Hehehe, is this your power? It's truly so weak that it's laughable..."

Thieves were not suited for frontal combat, and low-level Thieves were the lowest-ranked existence among all professionals.

As a Bronze High-rank Warrior who was nearly on the verge of stepping into Silver Rank, Kerr could easily slaughter a low-level Thief in a direct confrontation.

Seeing Arnold, who had suffered such heavy injuries yet did not utter a sound, the disdain in Kerr's eyes diminished slightly. "Not bad, you're a tough guy."

After saying this, he turned back towards the Orphanage, and after taking a few steps, he said coldly.

"Chop him up and feed him to the dogs; I hate stubborn people the most."

A crippled Thief could be dealt with by any Black Iron Rank warrior. He needed blood to appease his subordinates.

The thugs, who had been badly frightened by Arnold killing one person with every step, immediately felt relieved. They turned and charged towards Arnold, almost mad with rage, as if they wanted to repay the fear they had just suffered tenfold!

Arnold lay on the ground, the cold and hard sensation of the earth accompanying the intense pain.

He stared fixedly at Kerr's back; for every step the opponent took closer to the Orphanage, his heart sank a little further.

"No, it cannot go on like this..."

Crazily stimulated by the intense pain, Arnold now looked like a mad demon. The moment the tattooed Kerr stepped into the gate of the Orphanage, something inside Arnold shattered with a crack, and it seemed as if something was about to erupt.

That was the place where he grew up; those children were the ones he had personally adopted from outside. That was his home, the place he had to protect with his life.

"How could he fall here?!!!"

"Lord Loren was still waiting for him, and the children needed him. Arnold, stand up!!"

The strong desire to survive and his willpower overcame the pain in his body. Just as the thugs were about to reach Arnold, he felt certain dormant powers within the depths of his body beginning to awaken.

What he didn't notice was that the enemy he had slashed the throat of at the very end was Bronze Rank, and the opponent's heartbeat stopped at this moment...

At this moment, in the shadows of the street a hundred meters from the Orphanage gate, a cold and elegant figure was silently watching every scene on the field.

After seeing Arnold risk his life to fight for those children, the coldness in the girl's blue eyes softened slightly.

"That bastard Loren did not misjudge you..."

When she saw Arnold knocked to the ground and the situation about to spiral out of control.

The cold, elegant figure's slender fingers gripped the hilt of the longsword at her waist. "Without his permission, you trash have no right to kill his subordinate..."

Just a second before she was about to act, her eyes suddenly narrowed.

Because she discovered that Arnold, who had been collapsed on the ground, had stood up again.

And at this moment, a layer of bronze-colored energy was radiating from his body, burning like flames.

"Bronze Mid-rank... Bloodline Power awakening??"

"For Lord Loren, for those innocent children... Kill!!!"

Accompanied by a cold whisper, the fallen Thief disappeared from where he stood.

The cold, elegant figure in the shadows paused, silently witnessing a bloody slaughter.

And also witnessing the birth of a strong person with an unyielding heart.

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