He? She?
Behind the fleeing pirates, the heavily armored swordsman had already sheathed his blade and turned to leave.
Judging by his direction, he wasn't returning to the Blood King's palace.
Whether the minions lived or died meant nothing to him.
The Blood King's orders meant even less.
Clack… clack…
The soft grinding of metal was swallowed by the screams of desperate pirates as he walked away without hesitation.
"Devour to your heart's content, monster. Only a monster can deal with another monster."
Yang Ning, unaware the swordsman had already vanished, had fallen into a killing rhythm.
With his Soul Drain Strike scaling higher and higher, and his Starfire Blade's passive magic damage now spiking off his growing AP, the henchmen—who had earlier survived one or two blows—couldn't withstand even a single strike now.
Anyone in his path simply died.
Panic spread through the pirate ranks. When they looked behind them and saw their armored captain gone, terror exploded.
Their formation collapsed instantly.
Screaming, stumbling, tripping over one another, they ran for their lives.
Yang Ning didn't fear them attacking him.
He feared them scattering.
His body was still only as fast as a normal human's.
He managed to cut down a handful of slower pirates before his legs burned and he had to stop, leaning against his sword while panting lightly.
"I must learn Moonwalk and Shave in the future. Running on normal legs is embarrassing."
With the last of the pirates gone, Yang Ning finally opened his panel.
---
Status Panel
Name: Yang Ning
Level: 4
Health: 672 / 672
Attack Power: 17
Ability Power: 68
Armor: 73
Magic Resistance: 9
---
Passive – Hellfire Curse (62)
Harvesting souls from fallen enemies grants 1 Armor and 1 AP per soul.
---
Skill 1 — Soul Drain Strike (91)
Active: Your next basic attack gains +25 range and deals 30 (+1 AD) + passive bonus physical damage.
Passive: Killing an enemy with Soul Drain permanently increases its damage by +3.
Current Damage: 273
---
Skill 2 — Soul Furnace (97)
Passive: Killing a unit grants +4 maximum health.
Current HP bonus: +388
Active: Creates a shield absorbing 194 (+0.4 AP +10% max HP) damage for three minutes.
If still intact after one minute, you may detonate it to deal the same amount as magic damage to nearby enemies.
---
Skill 3 — Starfire Blade
Passive: Basic attacks deal an additional 34 magic damage (20 + 20% AP + 10% bonus AD).
Active: Next attack becomes ranged and deals extra magic damage based on the target's missing health (10% + 0.01 AP).
At level 20, the attack explodes, damaging nearby enemies.
This skill applies both attack and spell effects.
---
Skill 4 — Feast (1)
Devour an enemy to deal 373 (+0.1 bonus HP +0.5 AP) true damage.
Against non-humanoid targets: 1092 (+0.15 bonus HP +0.5 AP) true damage.
Killing with Feast grants 1 Feast Stack, increasing max HP depending on the consumed target.
Current Digestibility: 12%
---
Yang Ning whistled.
"Damn… I'm already this strong?"
His stats had skyrocketed. His shield alone was absurd.
And Feast's digestion was faster than expected—just from tonight's battle, it had climbed to twelve percent.
At this rate, he could use Feast once every two or three hours.
Not the spammable frequency of Soul Drain or Soul Furnace, but easily powerful enough to justify its cooldown.
And that burly pirate he ate…
Judging by game logic, he should give at least +100 HP, right?
Satisfied, Yang Ning turned toward his ship—only to find his crew clustered behind him like ghosts.
"Captain, we came to help!"
Yang Ning rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Their timing was appalling, but he couldn't bring himself to scold them.
"Go back to the ship. Sleep."
He slept soundly that night, already dreaming of crushing generals and dethroning Emperors.
But while he slept peacefully, someone else did not.
---
The Blood King
Under the moonlight, the island's ruler stood atop the highest terrace of his palace. His blood-red high-collared robes billowed lightly in the wind.
Below him, a line of trembling pirate subordinates knelt, reporting.
"You mean… the boxer died in one hit… the swordsman was injured… and more than half of the hundred men I sent out were slaughtered?"
His tone was soft.
Too soft.
Everyone present knew that this softness meant maximum fury.
None dared to answer. Sweat dripped from their temples.
"…Pathetic. Bring me my sword."
He flicked his fingers.
BOOM—!
A concussive shockwave burst from his hand and obliterated the men behind him like cannon fire. Some were reduced to gore. Others bled from shattered skulls.
None resisted.
None screamed.
The Blood King clicked his tongue.
"Trash."
He turned away. He didn't spare them another glance.
There were always plenty of wicked men willing to kill for coin in this ocean.
---
The Sword General
Across town, in an abandoned manor on the outskirts, the armored swordsman finally removed the heavy plates piece by piece.
Underneath…
he became she.
"Ow—damn it, that hurts."
Gone was the cold, stoic warrior from earlier.
Now she was grimacing, cleaning wounds, and bandaging herself with practiced hands.
"That kid's a monster. I blocked every strike, my armor didn't even crack, but he still managed to cut me up like this."
After wrapping herself, she stood barefoot on cold tiles, gazing at the moon through the old window.
Moonlight spilled over her silver hair like water.
"If he's a monster… maybe he really can do it."
She pressed her palms together before her chest and whispered something to the moonlight.
"Sword General! Are you inside?!"
The sudden shout froze her.
Her gentle expression vanished instantly.
In a heartbeat, she pulled her armor back on.
Thump—
An armored figure stepped into the manor.
"I told you not to disturb me at night."
The pirates trembled. Her cold aura was suffocating.
But their leader forced himself to speak.
"T-The Blood King… summons you."
Her pupils tightened behind the visor.
Fear.
Resistance.
Resignation.
"…Understood."
She followed them toward the Blood King's palace.
---
The Throne Room
The Blood King sat high on his throne, his gaze burning with barely contained rage as he stared down at the kneeling swordswoman.
"I heard you lost."
Her tone was respectful, controlled.
"The opponent was stronger than expected. My forces could not match him."
"Useless!"
The Blood King erupted. His gentlemanly mask shattered.
"You mud-soaked commoner filth! You're no different from the rest of your trash-born kind!"
With a howl, he thrust out his palm.
BOOM—!
A shockwave exploded downward.
Her armor couldn't absorb it.
She was hurled back, armor cracking and scattering as blood seeped through the splits.
Only after venting his rage did the Blood King calm.
"So… a 'little mouse' did this to you."
He leaned back, eyes narrowing.
"Bring me that mouse tomorrow. I want to meet it myself."