Chapter 5 Wind, Cloud, Thunder, Lightning (Part 2)

Lin Da was one of the four chief guards always by Lin Xing's side. Each of these four guards possessed the strength of a Great Sword Master. Lin Da had even reached the peak of the late-stage Great Sword Master!! He was just one step away from the realm of a Sword Saint!

Lin Da and Lin Er walked to the edge of the crowd, pushed through the onlookers, and stepped inside. They saw a noble's lackey whipping a ragged child of about six or seven years old, while the young noble master kept shouting, "Hit him, hit him hard! How dare he stare! I'll have him beaten to death! How vile!!"

Hearing his master's words, the lackey seemed even more excited and laid into the boy with even more vigor! The little boy being whipped endured the long, snake-like lash striking his body, letting it tear wounds all over and cover him in blood. He gritted his teeth against the intense pain without making a sound, only fixing a hateful gaze on the young noble master.

Behind the whipped child were three other children of similar age, but they were held by the young noble's guards and couldn't move. They struggled incessantly, clawing and hitting, but they were just children, without any training in Battle Qi or the like. How could they break free from guards who mostly had the strength of Swordsmen! Their faces were streaked with tears. All of them glared at the young noble master with hatred, gnashing their teeth, wishing they could rush forward to tear out his tendons, strip his bones, and drink his blood.

Perhaps the young noble master only now noticed the hateful gaze of the whipped child. Thoroughly irritated by the stare, he flew into a rage, pointed at the beaten child, and said to a guard beside him, "Er Gouzi, gouge out that Commoner's eyes! Let him stare—without eyes, let's see how he looks!" After saying this, he spat at the child.

Er Gouzi obeyed, drew his greatsword, and walked toward the beaten boy. The onlookers couldn't bear to watch the cruel act about to happen, but no one dared to intervene, not even let their feelings show on their faces. Because they were nobles! For nobles, killing you was as simple as crushing an ant. They all turned away with expressionless faces. Only the young noble's guards seemed as if whipped into a frenzy, excitedly shouting, "Er Gouzi, hurry up, gouge out his eyes quickly." They had probably done this sort of thing many times!

The crowd sighed inwardly, but they had grown numb. Such incidents happened frequently every day in the Heavenly Capital, and it was always the commoners who suffered. They couldn't resist; as long as they were careful and didn't attract trouble, they could live out their lives peacefully. The wishes of commoners were just that simple—to live out their lives in peace and safety!!

"Ah..." A shrill, miserable scream rang out, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. The voice didn't sound like a child's! Everyone turned to look—the one screaming was Er Gouzi. His right hand, which had been holding the sword, was now gushing blood, the greatsword lay on the ground beside him, and next to it was a severed palm.

It turned out that Lin Da couldn't bear their cruelty. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he acted just as Er Gouzi's greatsword was about to reach the child's eyes. With a swing of his sword, he severed Er Gouzi's sword-wielding hand! Who was Lin Da? A Great Sword Master infinitely close to becoming a Sword Saint. Before Er Gouzi could even react, his palm was cut off.

Ignoring the stunned young noble master, Lin Da drove away the men holding the other three children, while Lin Er stepped forward to help up the boy who had just been beaten.

At this moment, the stunned young noble master finally reacted, his face immediately flushing with rage. He, the son of a dignified Count—when had anyone ever dared to interfere with what he wanted to do?

He roared furiously, "Who are you people? Do you know who I am? I am Enkas Ray, son of Count Enkas! How dare you interfere in my affairs? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Who were Lin Da and Lin Er? Guards of the Prime Minister's estate, a first-class Duke's residence! What kind of people hadn't they seen? Just the son of a minor Count? They had seen plenty of such trash. They didn't even bother to acknowledge him, continuing with their own tasks.

Seeing that Lin Da and Lin Er completely ignored him, Enkas Ray was infuriated. With a Ferocious expression, he roared at his family's guards, "You all, attack! Kill those two bastards! Let them know the consequences of offending me!"

Many of the Enkas family guards drew their swords and shouted, "Kill them..." but none dared to step forward.

Although they had followed this young master of the Enkas family in committing every evil deed, spending their days bullying men and women, preying on the weak and fearing the strong, engaging in heartless acts—such types were all the more cowardly!

To become universally despised lackeys, they had some small cunning. Otherwise, they wouldn't have committed so many wicked deeds. They weren't fools! They had just witnessed Er Gouzi's hand being severed by Lin Da.

Although Er Gouzi was also a waste, he at least had the strength of an Advanced Swordsman. Yet, he didn't even have time to react before his palm was cut off. Clearly, Lin Da possessed strength superior to theirs, at least not inferior to a Sword Master.

The strength of a Sword Master—that was power capable of instantly killing them. Although some among them had reached the level of Great Swordsmen, there was still a vast difference compared to a Sword Master! Between a Great Swordsman and a Sword Master, though only one realm apart, the strength doubled! It could be said that a single Sword Master could completely withstand ten peak-level Great Swordsmen and still win steadily without defeat.

Moreover, beside Lin Da was Lin Er, whose strength was equally unfathomable. Even if their group could surround and kill Lin Da, that would only be if Lin Da were alone! But Lin Da and Lin Er were together! Lin Er wouldn't just stand by and watch as they all ganged up on Lin Da.

If both of them attacked together, their entire group would probably all perish here. So, for the sake of their own lives, it was best not to provoke them.

However, they knew their own young master's temper. What their young master hated most was people who disobeyed him! If they didn't listen to him, even if nothing happened today, the consequences upon returning... just thinking about it was terrifying!

Thus, the best approach was to cooperate with their young master, let some other fool charge first. That way, they wouldn't disobey the young master's orders and could still preserve their own lives.

Seeing that his guards actually dared to disobey his command, Young Master Enkas Ray's face grew even more Ferocious. "What are you doing? Hurry up and kill them for me!!"

The Count's guards looked at each other, but still no one dared to step forward. "You!..." Young Master Enkas Ray grew even angrier. "Whoever kills either of those two men, I'll give them ten Crystal Coins!!"

Ten Crystal Coins—that was an enormous sum. An ordinary commoner earned only a few dozen gold coins a year. One Crystal Coin equaled ten thousand gold coins, and ten thousand Crystal Coins equaled one Purple Crystal Coin. So, ten Crystal Coins represented immense wealth.

Finally, stimulated by the money, the group let out a howl, their faces fierce and ruthless. Orange and yellow Battle Qi erupted from their bodies as they charged toward Lin Da and Lin Er.