"You can forget it. I will not tell you anything. I will never betray Boss Dano."
At the critical moment, the crow faced Awakened shut his eyes, wearing an expression of calm resolve, as if ready to face death.
"Oh. That is fine. Do you like barbecue?"
Zayne tilted his head, asking in a casual tone, like an innocent boy next door who knew nothing of the world.
"Bar… barbecue?"
The crow faced Awakened froze, clearly not expecting such a question. No matter how he looked at the situation, it had absolutely nothing to do with barbecue.
Zayne smiled warmly.
Then the blade flashed.
He sliced off a piece of meat from the man's body, a strip with both fat and lean. The crow faced Awakened opened his mouth to scream, but Zayne had already dislocated his jaw.
Zayne snapped his fingers. Red purple Hellfire ignited, quickly charring the meat until it gave off a burnt, acrid smell.
"Sorry. I am not very good at grilling. I burned it a bit. But it is fine. You have plenty of meat left. After a few tries, I will get better."
As he spoke, Zayne calmly set the man's jaw back in place.
The crow faced Awakened began shaking violently. Only now did he truly understand what Zayne meant by eating barbecue.
"Devil. You are a devil."
Seeing Zayne bring the burnt meat toward his mouth, the man completely collapsed.
"I will talk. I will tell you everything."
Zayne did not stop, still pretending to feed him. Terrified, the crow faced Awakened spilled everything he knew in a rush.
"Boss Dano should be with Joanna at this hour, in the central zone of the underground market. The highest level Awakened here is Boss Dano himself. I do not know his exact level. He has not fought in a long time. But last year, he was already level 48."
After speaking, he dragged his severed tendons and begged Zayne.
"Please. Just give me a quick death."
Having learned what he needed, Zayne did not waste any more time. With a single stroke, he ended the man's life cleanly.
A look of relief appeared on the crow faced Awakened's face in his final moment.
After that, Zayne set fire to all the bodies, reducing them to ash and erasing every trace.
"Level 48. That is troublesome."
Zayne frowned.
If he went all out without restraint, he could probably deal with someone around level 40 at best.
Dano had already been level 48 last year. By now, he might have broken past level 50. A direct confrontation was clearly not a viable option. If Zayne wanted to kill him, he would have to play dirty.
Wait.
Zayne suddenly realized something.
There might actually be a way.
If he could seize the right moment and appear at a critical instant, then even if Dano was level 48, or even 58, it would not be impossible.
Once his thinking cleared, Zayne resumed his slaughter.
This night was destined to be drenched in blood for the underground market of Old Shipyard Port.
Zayne moved through the darkness, his steps light yet resolute, perfectly embodying what it meant to be a true hunter.
With ninety nine layers of Sacrificial Blade Technique and Swiftstep Waltz active, Awakened below level 20 could not withstand even a single strike before falling to his blade.
As for those above level 20, it simply took a few more cuts.
Anything alive that entered Zayne's sight took at least one slash.
After each kill, he casually followed up with Hellfire Armageddon, providing a full cremation service from start to finish.
As he carved his way forward, there were no corpses left behind. Not even a drop of blood stained the ground. All that remained were scorched human shaped silhouettes burned into the earth, proof that someone had just died there.
He did encounter Awakened above level 30 along the way. But facing a Forbidden Spellcaster who could not be killed and who rained Forbidden Spells without restraint, even level 30 plus Awakened were helpless.
Under Zayne's life for life fighting style, even Awakened in their thirties were dragged down with him.
Of course, Zayne paid a price.
His body was riddled with terrifying wounds that should have been fatal many times over. Weapons were embedded everywhere. His flesh bore countless burns and frost scars. At this moment, Zayne looked like an avenging demon clawing its way out of the underworld.
He continued killing his way inward, slaughtering while asking for directions to Dano.
Then he finally ran into real trouble.
A level 42 Awakened stood in his path like an immovable wall.
The man was tall and powerfully built, like a towering mountain. Murderous intent filled his face, sharp light gleaming in his eyes. He wore black battle armor and carried a massive battle axe. A crushing aura rolled off him, enough to make one's heart seize.
"You have a lot of nerve. It has been many, many years since anyone dared to storm the underground market alone."
The man spoke, his voice deep and heavy, as if it could pierce straight into the soul.
Zayne stopped.
He looked at the man, a trace of caution rising within him. He knew this was a powerful opponent, one that demanded care.
Seeing Zayne's body bristling with embedded blades, spears, and shattered weapons, Isaac felt a flicker of unease.
As one of the underground market's most notorious enforcers, he had followed Dano for a long time and faced countless dangerous enemies.
But he had never seen anyone as strange as this.
Zayne's injuries would have killed another person twenty times over.
With wounds like these, why was this man still alive?
It made no sense at all.