章 39: Fighting the Leader

Alex quickly dashed to the side, narrowly dodging the man's attacks.

Boom!

The ground was upheaved, and a small crater was formed at the site of impact.

"Powerful!" thought Alex. "He's much more powerful than his subordinates. Not only is his cultivation in the second stage of the Qi Gathering realm, but it appears that he knows a pretty powerful sword art."

Although Alex was facing a more powerful foe, he wasn't scared. In fact, he felt his body grow hotter, as if heating up in excitement for the fight to come.

"I still don't know why these fights are making me so excited, but that doesn't matter right now."

Alex slashed out as his sword collided with his opponent's sword. Sparks flew everywhere as both combatants were pushed backward.

"You really do have some skill, but if that movement technique of yours is all you can do, then I'm afraid this is where your journey ends," shouted the scar faced man as he dashed towards Alex.

Void Dash!!

Alex instantly dashed to the side of his enemy, his sword following shortly after.

Boom!

Alex and his opponent were once again knocked back.

"Like I said, if that movement technique of yours is all you can do, then this is where you die... Warrior Cleaving Technique!" shouted the scar faced man.

His sword glowed before a beam of sword light pierced toward Alex.

Peng!

Alex hastily blocked the sword light, but had to take a few steps backwards to stabilize himself.

"Again!" shouted the man as he sent another beam of sword light towards Alex.

Alex once again blocked the attack, but the superimposing power of the attacks sent him flying backwards. After tumbling for a bit, Alex hastily stood up and looked at his foe. He felt his blood tumbling inside him from the force of that attack. His arms shook slightly.

"He's much more powerful than I thought. As expected of a second stage Qi Gathering realm expert, maybe his level is close to the third-stage."

Although his enemy was powerful, Alex was not scared. He himself cultivated both essence and body, making him stronger than his current level. Not only that, his powerful movement and sword technique granted him even more assurance.

Alex once again utilized the Void Dash Technique, quickly appearing in front of his opponent.

"I told you, I've already seen through this move," shouted the scar faced man before his eyes widened quickly in shock.

"Sword Slash!"

Alex shouted out as he furiously hacked down at his opponent.

"Gah!"

The scar faced man screamed out in pain as he was sent flying by the attack. He had not expected Alex to attack with such a powerful move. As a result, his hasty defense caused him to suffer a loss in that exchange.

After tumbling over a few times, the scar faced man quickly hopped onto his feet and looked up.

Boom!

Another loud sound echoed out as swords collided. Alex had hoped to take advantage of the situation and land a final blow, but his opponent had recovered faster than he expected. Having successfully parried the attack, the scar faced man slashed out with his sword.

"Warrior Cleaving Technique!"

He once again struck out with his most powerful attack. Alex hastily raised his sword and blocked the attack with all his power. The force of the attack launched Alex backwards dozens of yards, at which point he eventually came to a stop. Alex and the scar faced man stared at each other.

"You're a lot stronger than you look. How are you so strong for a first stage Qi Gathering cultivator?" asked the scar faced man.

Alex ignored the question, but responded, "You're not so bad yourself. However, I think it's time to end this battle, don't you think?"

The scar faced man was shocked at Alex's response before he broke out in laughter.

"You're exactly right. I had been holding back slightly in this battle, but it seems that I can do so no longer. You're the first to see this move in quite some time. Prepare yourself!" The scar faced man shouted as he rapidly dashed towards Alex.

"Idiot," muttered Alex as he prepared himself. Just as the man was about to reach him, Alex utilized the Void Dash Technique and dashed to the side.

"Idiot, I already told you I saw through this technique of yours! Supreme Warrior Technique" A sword came crashing down towards Alex, its power several times stronger than the Warrior Cleaving Technique executed earlier.

Boom!

The ground shook violently as the man struck outwards.

"What?!" the scar faced man cried out. He was certain that his attack would hit Alex. His timing had been perfect, and he struck out right as Alex ended his movement technique. Alex had used his technique a few times already, and the man had noticed that whenever he vanished, he would reappear at a certain distance of 10 feet. He thought that Alex would once more come to a stop right in front of him as he made sure to keep the same distance. But when he struck out, nothing but earth was in front of him.

Sword Slash!

Alex cried out as a sword crashed down on the back of the scar faced man.

"Puh!"

The man spewed out blood as his body was violently sent into the distance. He traveled dozens of yards before crashing into the ground, his remaining momentum causing him to tumble over and over.

Alex was breathing heavily as he stared at the man on the ground. Alex could use Void Dash to disappear and reappear at a certain distance; he could extend the distance by using more Qi, which he did, and when combined with the several Sword Slashes Alex used to merge his Destruction Qi, he was drained of more than half of his Qi. He breathed in deeply before slowly walking over to the man, his katana tip dragging in the dirt behind him. He arrived in front of the man a bit later.

He stared at the man for a few seconds. "Like I said, you're an idiot. Who lets their opponent know that they have a more powerful attack coming?" asked Alex as he stared at the half-dead man. Blood gargled out of the man's mouth as he tried to speak, but he was unable to form any words.

Alex closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once more. His katana plunged into the heart of the man, finishing the deed once and for all. Life started to fade from the man as shock was evident on his face.

[+120 Exp]

[+1 Point]

A notification popped up after Alex killed the leader.

Alex took out his sword and wiped the blood off the blade.

"Thanks for letting me know that your ultimate attack was coming. It was really easy to know when to add more Qi to the Void Dash technique," replied Alex. His enemy had clearly enjoyed a life of bullying the weak. Only such a person would have such little battle experience and telegraph their attacks.

The man finally realized the error of his ways, but it was too late to change his fate. Regret was all he felt as he lapsed into darkness, forever erased from this world.

Alex stared at the corpse for some time before putting away his sword. He analyzed all the bodies, and realized only the leader had a storage ring on his person. Alex sent his divine sense into the ring but was quite disappointed by the minimal contents within.

Alex collected the ring before heading back towards the villagers. The villagers were trembling in fear at the sight of the battle. Alex was about to speak when the trembling man from before spoke up as best he could.

"Whhat hhav youuu donn!?"

"Excuse me?" replied Alex.

As far as he could tell, he had saved the village from a group of vicious men. He had even saved the young girl who was being taken. Although he didn't expect praise, he certainly wasn't expecting condemnation.

Another villager spoke up. "Who will protect us from the beasts now? How are we supposed to survive?"

Soon after, the mob of villages all started throwing insults at Alex. Alex was shocked at their response. Although it wasn't his original intention, he had freed them from the clutches of the vile men. Although their safety was at risk, was it not better than living under the boot of a vicious ruler?

Alex stared coldly at the villagers as they continued to curse him. He shouted out, "If you wanted to live in a place filled with powerful beasts, you should have the strength to do so. Only an idiot would live in a place where they couldn't survive in. Don't curse me for your shortcomings."

"What do you know? We have been living peacefully for a long time."

"Yeah, now because of you, we are doomed."

"Now our peaceful lives have been disrupted, and we have no idea what is going to happen to us next."

"Scram!"

"What the..."

Alex was seriously pissed. He hadn't expected to be treated as a savior, but he definitely wasn't expecting to be treated as an enemy. He thought about cursing back before deciding against it.

"These hypocrites aren't even worth my time. I should get going."

Alex turned around and started walking down the main road leading to the village gate. He suddenly paused before turning back. The villagers, thinking he was going to lash out at them, started fleeing in every direction.

[Welcome to the true nature of this world, host.]

To Be Continued...