CHAPTER 79: AMBUSH AND CURE.

Baam!

Sylus opened the door to the barn.

Waiting inside for him was a group of men, stationed in a straight line, each holding a weapon of choice.

At the very front was a muscular man, about 6’2" tall, with red hair and chains hanging around his neck.

He was seated on some sacks filled with seed, eyes focused on the entrance, not a single hint of a smile on his face.

Judging from the way they were standing, Sylus knew they were most likely already waiting for his arrival.

’Trying to look cool, eh...’

With one hand in his pocket, Sylus strode into the building.

The few steps he took allowed him to already make an analysis of his surroundings.

Behind the wooden pillars were three men, each waiting to ambush him.

And just as he moved away from the entrance, two others had appeared, probably attempting to block his exit.

To a normal person, that may have worked, but Sylus was far different.

Because he had Sophia itching to kill these criminals, he could tell where her death intent was spreading to; that was how he knew the location of every single one of them.

He suddenly halted.

"By any chance, are you Kang?" Sylus asked.

The man seated atop the sack of seeds replied,

"Who is asking?"

"I highly doubt you don’t know me. Think again—who else do you think is standing in front of you?"

Kang sighed. "To have the prince of the kingdom here is truly an honor. Although, I can’t help but wonder—why exactly are you alone? You’d think the prince of a powerful kingdom would have an entourage of knights flanking his side."

"What can I say? I was similarly eager to see the filth that would dare put my people in a constant state of fear. Seeing that you are taller than me just makes me all the more disgusted."

Kang laughed.

"Did your hatred also blind you from knowing you walked into a lion’s den without any backup? Be it as it may, how many men do you think I need to make the crown prince beg for mercy?"

’Oh?’

Sylus tilted his head to the side.

"There must be some kind of mistake. From what I see here, you have seven men in front of you, three behind the pillars over there, and two at the entrance. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but are these the men you intend to use?"

"..."

"That’s honestly sad. I’m afraid you need more than that. I can surely wait for you to bring more victims. I have death, and she is waiting for souls to snatch."

The prince’s arrogance made Kang and his people despise him, despite it being their first impression of him.

But even more, they were terrified of him; somehow, he had called out all the plans they had set for him.

Hearing stories about this man’s greatness was one thing, but seeing it firsthand was another thing entirely.

Kang, with a single motion, stood up from where he was sitting and walked toward Sylus.

He approached and gazed down at the prince, his dark eyes piercing the red, bright pupils.

"I’m afraid we can’t let you leave this place alive; you’ve seen too much. Who would have thought anyone from the royal family would show their face in this slum? No matter, I will—"

His eyes widened in shock as his body suddenly went low, down on his knees.

Turned out Sylus had kicked him at the side of his chin; the impact was so strong that Kang’s leg gave out.

Now Sylus was the one looking down at him.

"I find it insulting to be looked down on by someone like you. Now then, what were you saying?"

Kang grinned, "Aren’t you a bit too prideful for a child!"

He swung his hand, sending a powerful cut that sped toward Sylus’s body.

Before the invisible cut could damage a hair on Sylus’s body, Sophia materialized, her dark form looming over the ground.

As soon as she blocked the attack, she sent a counter.

{How dare you?}

Her appearance sent everyone into a state of shock.

The devil had awakened before them.

Kang was quick to react, leaping back to avoid the sudden gust of dark mist that spread from Sophia’s body.

Those that were unlucky got caught in the attack, their bodies turning into skeletons in a matter of seconds.

Spreading far and wide, the mist slipped through the corner, catching one of the bandits hiding behind the pillar, leaving the remaining two to dash out, running for their lives.

In the blink of an eye, everyone was dead, leaving just Kang, who by himself knew the monster he was up against.

He stared at his hand and noticed a bit of the mist had made contact with his skin. It had begun eating away at his arm, but not at the rate of the men who died around him.

"So, this is the power of the prince, huh? Your blazer is a walking death machine." Kang stood to his feet.

"You might want to watch what you say; I don’t think she likes being called a blazer or a death machine, for that matter."

Kang noticed the death stare on Sophia’s face, and for a brief moment, he felt his heart sink, as though his soul was urging him to run.

Instead, he laughed.

"If I ran from fights, I wouldn’t have gotten as strong as I am right now." He pointed at the monster. "That thing of yours sucks out the life force of others, which is mana, grin! So depending on the amount of mana a person has, they can withstand that pathetic attack."

’Oh? I’m surprised he figured that out.’

"So if I am to beat you, I just need to generate more mana than this monster is absorbing from me. Your silence proves I’m right. Let me show you why I am called Kang the Destroyer..."

He charged forward, sending multiple strikes of wind slices toward Sylus.

’Kidding.’