Lord of Rot

Bonta Market, on the city walls.

Leech was eating fruit, enjoying the cool air, and staring blankly at the sky.

About half an hour ago, he had received news: Baron Jin Fu had personally escorted the merchants and had arrived.

”My lord! I am willing to conquer Date Palm Village for you!” Buerwell, the leader of the Wandering Knights, volunteered. With the Wandering Knights’ abilities, breaking through two of Baron Jin Fu’s villages wouldn’t be difficult.

Right now, Leech only had 70 city guards, a group of Iron Fist Gang members who were only good at petty theft, and a dozen or so bodyguards.

The addition of the Wandering Knights’ strength would increase their overall defensive power several times over.

”There will be a chance for you to act.” Leech nodded, accepting the Wandering Knight’s goodwill. ’These hyenas with no bottom line are better suited for crazier things in the desert, not for fighting on a battlefield. Although their combat strength is extraordinary, the enemy that has come this time is anything but ordinary.’

The corpse bird he had sent out had been discovered and shot down with a single arrow.

There were Transcendents among them, and quite a few at that!

Lin Nuo, the barbarian woman from the Northern Territory, had changed into plate armor. To ensure her arms remained flexible, she only wore leather armor on her arms, with bracers at her wrists that offered little real protection.

The other few Transcendents were also ready for battle. They all knew the time had come to fight for their lives; Baron Porcupine couldn’t possibly keep paying them to sit around and do nothing.

The most relaxed of them all was actually Vendra. Because his Extraordinary power gave no warning, and since he wouldn’t die, what was there to be afraid of? ’This is my chance to shine!’

The Soldiers on the walls held their crossbows warily, their wrists trembling. They were the most nervous of all.

They had been getting by in Bonta Market for a long time and rarely killed anyone, mostly just maintaining order. Because they were unwilling to spend the money to join the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps, their lives were quite frustrating.

Raising their crossbows was the greatest respect they could show for their profession.

”They’re here!” Trevor shouted.

At the edge of their vision, about two hundred Soldiers were approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand.

”Fire!” Lin Nuo yelled. She had already taken command of the Soldiers.

The arrows traced an arc through the air, ultimately plunging into the sandy ground, still a long way from the enemy Soldiers.

A distance of 300 paces was the maximum range of the crossbows wielded by the Bonta Market Soldiers.

This volley of arrows was a warning.

Baron Jin Fu glanced at the arrows stuck in the ground ahead and sneered.

The Wild Boar Mercenary Corps was determined to take Bonta Market, and even his own territory. Although he was very displeased with the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps’ domineering ways, the thought of Baron Porcupine from East Gorge captured and begging for mercy in a little while made him feel much better.

The weak are not best at hating the strong, but at hoping more people will be defeated by the strong. That way, they can say, ”See, it’s not that I’m too weak. Everyone’s the same.”

This was exactly what Baron Jin Fu was thinking. In his heart, he loathed Kunq Green Oasis for letting the wolf into the house, yet he also looked forward to the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps defeating Porcupine.

After the volley of arrows, Baron Jin Fu and Jones exchanged a glance, took a step forward, and shouted, ”Sir Leech, your merchants have twisted their ankles! We’ve specially come to escort them home. Open the gates!”

The merchants were brought forward, bound by ropes, their faces bruised. They looked utterly miserable.

Except for their legs and feet, there wasn’t a patch of unharmed skin on them.

Baron Jin Fu was not in the habit of treating prisoners well.

But there was no response from the walls.

Baron Jin Fu didn’t think a few merchants could threaten a nobleman anyway. He turned to Jones. ”It’s up to you now.”

”Mm,” Jones nodded. He glanced back, and fourteen people immediately stepped forward.

This group was the backbone of the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps. The entire corps only had just over 20 Transcendents. They had paid an enormous price to cultivate these twenty-odd Transcendents, but it was precisely because of this power that even Count Buffalo didn’t dare to underestimate them, even ennobling the corps’ leader and granting him a title!

Fifteen people simultaneously released their auras. The concentrated burst of Extraordinary aura made them seem like torches in the dead of Night, their brilliance impossible to ignore.

On the wall, Leech was genuinely startled. ’Fifteen of them? All Transcendents?’

Baron Jin Fu had been shouting his lungs out just now, but Leech hadn’t heard a single word. It would have been a miracle to hear anything shouted against the wind. ’Even if I’m a Transcendent, I don’t have super-hearing.’

However, the appearance of fifteen Transcendents made their intentions clear. ’That earlier display must have been a threat too.’

This was truly the first time Leech had seen so many hostile Transcendents. ’If it weren’t for Corpse Ghost Jonney, this might actually take some effort.’

”My lord, that’s the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps. The man in the lead should be the ’Desert Captain,’ Jones!” Kuer Oasis took the initiative to explain. ”It’s said he has disgusting black hair...”

After saying this, Kuer suddenly realized that Leech also seemed to have black hair.

Fortunately, Leech didn’t give him any trouble over such a small matter, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

”Desert Captain?” Leech asked, his surprised expression even more exaggerated than when he saw the 15 Transcendents. ”What a ridiculous title.”

”It’s said that Jones comes from the seacoast on the far west of the continent. He’s skilled in naval combat and was once a pirate. For some unknown reason, he later joined the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps and came here. He made a big name for himself through his own methods, and because he moves extremely fast in the desert, he slowly earned the title of Desert Captain.”

Lin Nuo looked at Leech. ”My lord, I am willing to charge into battle for you!”

Leech glanced at those beside him.

Setting aside the Corpse Ghosts for a moment, he currently had five combat-ready Transcendents: the elf, the barbarian woman, the four-armed one, the scorpion, and the cup-holding Vendra.

Five versus fifteen, with 200 fierce Soldiers on top of that—it was clearly a death sentence.

Of course, if Leech’s Corpse Ghosts entered the fray, the outcome would be completely different.

”I want an overwhelming battle,” Leech said, sitting in his chair, propping his cheek on one hand and crossing his legs. ”Kill all of their Transcendents.”

’Mercenaries have no loyalty. Rather than spending money to hire them and keep them around as potential traitors, it’s better to kill them and extract their Extraordinary substance. Even if I don’t use it to create Corpse Ghosts, sending it to Linta Bay for the Master of Golden Armor to forge artifacts would be great.’

’Those fifteen below aren’t Transcendents; they’re fifteen upgrade materials.’

”Yes!” Lin Nuo replied.

The Transcendents turned and descended from the wall. The Corpse Ghosts were much more orderly; even without Leech’s control, their own combat experience made them top-tier masters.

The town gates of Bonta Market slowly opened. Despite being outnumbered, the Bonta Market side charged out with soaring morale. Trevor and Allen were still a bit scared and deliberately ran a few steps slower, but Vendra was different. He rushed to the very front with the air of a man charging to his death.

Leech glanced at Jonney beside him. ”You go, too.”

With Jonney entering the field, the outcome was already decided.

The other responded in a deep, muffled voice, ”Yes!” then leaped directly off the city wall.

When he landed, a large crater was smashed into the ground. Sitting on the wall, Leech could even feel his chair shake with the tremor from below.

The many Transcendents of the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps watched the figures charging toward them and sneered, ”They’re courting death!”

’Our Transcendents have the absolute advantage. The gap between Transcendents can be large, but those who can fight two-on-one are rare. On what grounds do they think...’

The ground shook violently.

The Knight, encased in what looked like tin-can plate armor, suddenly rushed in front of everyone and raised his fist.

As he drew his fist back, the wind seemed to be sucked backward, and a WHOOSHING howl scraped past their ears.

Although Jones sensed something was wrong, he didn’t run. ’For someone to rush out ahead of everyone and reach us first, he must be a speed type. And that sound of wind means his power is related to it.’

’Besides, by pulling his fist back like that, he’s left his chest completely exposed to fifteen Transcendents. He’s practically asking to die!’

For Transcendents, plate armor was of little significance.

”Attack!”

The fifteen of them unleashed their powers simultaneously. A barrage of multicolored attacks all slammed into Jonney, who was right in front of them.

”Not good!” Lin Nuo and the others, running up from behind, also had their expressions change drastically.

’Even if we know Jonney is Leech’s strongest guardian Knight, there’s no way he can withstand an attack from fifteen Transcendents all by himself! If we all attacked together, we would have had the advantage in this fight. With that Horse-headed Eagle in the sky, it could easily pick off the Transcendents on the field.’

The various-colored lights faded.

To the shock of both sides, Jonney stood there completely unscathed. His plate armor didn’t have the slightest bit of damage.

Instead, his aura grew stronger and stronger, like a volcano about to erupt, making the fifteen ”torches” before him seem utterly insignificant.

He threw the punch, stirring up a blinding sandstorm.

Baron Jin Fu and Kunq Green Oasis, hiding in the rear, were caught in the gale and tumbled to the ground.

Reacting quickly, Baron Jin Fu drew his Longsword and plunged it into the sand. Using the weight of his full plate armor, he barely managed to hold his ground against the sandstorm.

”AHH!!” Kunq Green Oasis, however, screamed as he was sent tumbling far away. It was unknown if he was dead or alive after he landed.

No one was paying any attention to Kunq Green Oasis now.

More Soldiers were blown away, their formation completely shattered.

Baron Jin Fu then witnessed the most unforgettable scene of his life. The Knight in the tin-can Lobster Armor slammed a fist into Jones’s chest. The ”Desert Captain’s” back exploded outward, leaving a massive hole through his torso as he collapsed to the ground.

Dead!

Dead in a single punch!

In the blink of an eye, eight Transcendents had fallen!

’What happened? What in the world just happened?!’

’Baron Porcupine has such a terrifying subordinate! Not even an army of thousands could stop him!’

After killing eight, Jonney stopped.

Lin Nuo and the others had no time for astonishment and immediately joined the pursuit. The members of the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps, who had looked so certain of victory moments before, were now the ones being hunted down.

”We surrender! We’re willing to be prisoners!” a Transcendent from the Wild Boar Mercenary Corps shouted.

Lin Nuo, gripping a hand axe in each hand, spun around and cleaved his head off. ”The Lord said to kill all the Transcendents!”