บท 35: No Taxes That Time
Tears fell to the floor.
Xiong Zhelan had a hard time holding Xun Lan, who was screaming and struggling to help Nero.
"We have to help him!"
It is not as if Xiong Zhelan does not want to help Nero, but he knew that cultivators need to go through difficult fights to improve themself and advance in the world of cultivation.
He knew what kind of opponent Tao Jian was and could stop the fight with a word before Nero suffered fatal injuries. So Xiong Zhelan continued to watch the fight even when it got awful for Nero, and he held Xun Lan, who would have gone to help even though she was too weak for this fight.
Zhu Tai, who watched the fight, also thought it was time to help Nero. He could not deny that he did not have good relations with him and was also jealous, but it was not right to see Nero suffering that much.
"Maybe he's already on the limit."
Xion Zhelan was in a difficult situation because he also wanted to help Nero but knew that he was the kind of person who doesn't like receiving help and would prefer to deal with the matter alone. In addition to the fact that fighting on the limit is very beneficial for any cultivator, he chose to wait before doing anything.
"Let's give him more time."
The group watched the fight, and Xiong Zhelan was prepared to intervene when Nero was about to be pierced by Tao Jian's sword. But when he was about to make a move, Qiao Mei appeared, and Tao Jian went towards her leaving Nero.
Xion Zhelan now had no choice. To let the fight continue, he would have to do something. He gave Xun Lan, who did not stop crying to Zhu Tai and headed towards the center of the square.
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Other tears fall on the floor. These are from Qiao Mei, who was running towards Nero. She didn't know why that day was being so bad. If it wasn't enough, her father to go through hell, now her benefactor was in a worse state.
While she went towards the man responsible for all this evil, she cannot help but beg him to let at least Nero go out alive.
"Please let him go! I do everything for you."
Tao Jian was a cruel person who would not miss the opportunity to make others suffer for no reason, and now he was too angry with Nero to want to hurt him as much as possible. He thought the situation couldn't get any better when Qiao Mei arrived because now he would be able to do all kinds of brutality with her and Nero.
"Ah, yes, you will do anything. But you will not want, and your boyfriend even less."
Nero couldn't help but be happy knowing that Qiao Mei didn't run away and came back for him even though she couldn't do much. He had spent two years alone and could not trust anyone, but now, in such a short time, he had already found two persons who risked their lives for him.
Xiong Zhelan and Qiao Mei, even though they were human, did not abandon him at risk, and even though she did not know about his secret, that act was still very significant for Nero.
He liked that lovely waitress more and more. So it was not the time to stand and see her in trouble. Nero could hear Xiong Zhelan coming, so he took a bottle of blood from the Red World and drank it to regain Qi and vitality. After a sip, he felt better to get up and scream.
"TAO JIAN!!!"
Nero's scream caught Tao Jian's attention, and he turned to look, and at that moment, he saw Nero running towards him. He was very impressed with Nero's will and thought his recovery had to do with the potion he was drinking while running.
Tao Jian didn't think much as he headed towards Nero to knock him down again when he felt another person approaching. He knew that it was Nero's allies that he was sure that were in the shadows. Now that he would see all the enemies, things would be easier, but he had to defeat them quickly as his technique would not last much longer.
Tao Jian wanted to take advantage that Nero was still recovering and attacked him quickly, so he launched a sword stroke in Nero's direction, but then he heard a familiar voice that made him tremble.
"Someone as dumb as you have lived for a long time."
Xiong Zhelan quickly arrived in the center of the square and held Qiao Mei so that she did not go in the direction of danger. He cannot help commenting on Tao Jian's recklessness, recalling old conflicts.
Tao Jian stopped his attack while turning to face someone he wouldn't want to meet again. A long time ago, he fought with Xion Zhelan when they had the same strength, but he knew that Xiong Zhelan would not get stronger with time and did not worry about him going back for revenge. But Tao Jian did not fear him but his sister.
Now seeing Xiong Zhelan here probably with Nero, Tao Jian didn't know what to think. He prepared himself for the worst and asked Xiong Zhelan without showing his fear inside.
"What do you have to do with the boy? Don't tell me that you intend to use him to fight in your place since you are crippled?"
Xiong Zhelan did not want to open old wounds. He had fought with Tao Jian in the past, but it was nothing so bad that he couldn't forget it, so this issue was not about him but about Nero.
"You don't deserve my time. This problem is yours and Nero's, so I'm going to take this girl away, and you can continue without my interference."
Tao Jian was very confused when he saw Xiong Zhelan ignoring him and taking the girl away. He didn't know what to think because nothing made sense, so he questioned it again.
"You are kidding? The boy is already finished."
Xiong Zhelan would be laughing now if it were not inappropriate as Tao Jian did not know the stone he had kicked. He turned with a disguised smile and warned the man who could no longer be considered alive.
"I don't think anyone with that look would be even close to being finished. One more thing... If you knew who he will be a disciple of... You would already be on the ground begging for a quick death."
Now the confusion took over Tao Jian's mind. Xiong Zhelan left with Qiao Mei crying and struggling to stay and help Nero. Tao Jian kept looking in the direction that he was still trying to understand the situation.
"How... Maybe... Her?!"
Nero was relieved when Xiong Zhelan came and took Qiao Mei because he couldn't fight well, knowing that she was in danger. He was also happy that Xiong Zhelan did not interfere in his fight against Tao Jian even though they had disagreements in the past.
Then he finished drinking the bottle of blood. Now it was time to return to the fight, and he ran towards Tao Jian with his gauntlet ready. Nero knew that the difference in strength was still significant, so he would have to resist a little more until the effects of the technique were gone.
*Woosh*
Tao Jian was having a lot of thoughts, but he was a cultivator, and his senses were heightened, so it was not difficult to avoid the blow that Nero tried. Tao Jian no longer wanted to fight because he feared that doing any harm to Nero would only cause him problems if his thinking was right.
"Stop, boy! Our fight can end now. I won't touch anyone here anymore, and you can go on your way."
Nero understood that Tao Jian must fear Xiong Zhelan and the Black Sword Sect now, but he didn't care. Every bloody battle would make a vampire more and more excited, and it was no different from Nero but even more intense because of the Dark Soul Stone that amplified negative feelings.
After Nero got up and drank blood, he felt furious and excited at the same time. His whole body burned with desire for blood, and he was already fighting against the desire to put his fangs out. His nails had already grown, in his right hand, the gauntlet covered it, but in his left, he had to close his hand in a fist to hide the nails that tore his flesh.
Nero went towards Tao Jian attacking with all the speed and ferocity he had. Tao Jian was trying to dodge the attacks because he didn't want to kill Nero, but he was suffering many cuts by the gauntlet and started bleeding from several parts of his body.
Tao Jian started to feel a lot of pain because of Nero's attacks, and along with that pain came a wave of new anger that was overcoming the desire not to kill Nero. It didn't take long for him to forget anything Xiong Zhelan had said and started attacking Nero again with the intention of killing.
"Idiot Boy! I gave you a chance to get out alive, but you insist then there is nothing to do but kill you."
Tao Jian started attacking Nero with his sword, leaving several cuts on his body. One suffering damage by the sword and the other by the gauntlet. They always hit counter-attacks as they both had similar speed, and Tao Jian could no longer block due to the reduction of stamina, and his emotional state weakened.
And so it was for a few minutes while one managed to deflect another cut appeared. Both were already bleeding everywhere, and the ground was red as evidence that the battle was nearing its end.
"Arrrggh!"
"Aaaahhhh"
Tao Jian talked a lot during the fight trying to make Nero stop or distract his attention, but Nero didn't speak a word or make any sound. He just attacked and attacked with a sinister smile on his face and a devilish look.
When Tao Jian hit Nero, there was no result other than blood because Nero did not seem to care and continued to attack him. Tao Jian was almost at the limit, but Nero appeared to enjoy the battle more and more. It was like fighting a demon, and Tao Jian started to think that Nero could really be the devil. Those red eyes shining with excitement were suitable proof of that.
When Tao Jian could no longer follow Nero's movements with eyes, he realized that his Qi was almost exhausted, and his end was approaching. He couldn't understand how Nero could change from someone who was practically dead to a kind of berserker who got stronger the more he was hurt. He started to think about what type of liquid was in the bottle that Nero drank.
Then he flew. Nero hit Tao Jian on the chin with the gauntlet as hard as he could, sending him flying a few meters.
When Tao Jian fell to the ground, he almost felt no pain because he didn't even feel his body properly having so many injuries. He stayed on the ground, looking up at the sky, waiting for death to come because he no longer had the force to get up. His Qi was mostly exhausted, and he knew he would not be awake for more than a minute and would probably not wake up again.
The soldiers in the tax collection group did not believe what they were seeing. All guards were keeping their distance from the center of the square as ordered by Tao Jian, but then they saw the fight that should have been won easily to be lost by their leader.
The guards were not stupid, and they had seen how Nero managed to kill them while fighting Tao Jian before so they would not interfere now. Some archers had the audacity to try to shoot arrows at Nero even though they could hit Tao Jian but were killed by Xiong Zhelan before they managed to shoot from a distance.
And so the fight ended. No one would think it was an easy fight, as it was challenging to say who was most hurt between Nero and Tao Jian. But Nero was still standing with blood running down his evil smile.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Nero made the first sound since they started to fight seriously. His laugh was very sinister, which made even Qiao Mei feel goosebumps while watching from a distance.
Tao Jian could hear Nero's footsteps coming towards him while laughing devilishly. Tao Jian knew it was the devil coming to claim his life, and it was all his fault. He died for insulting a simple farmer in a small village. That was really unbelievable.
Xiong Zhelan's group arrived in the center of the square with Qiao Mei. They saw that the fight was over and came to help Nero, who was severely injured. Qiao Mei and Xun Lan ran towards Nero, shouting his name at the same time.
Nero heard the girls calling him, but he could only think of blood and kept walking towards Tao Jian. Sarah tried to speak in his mind, but Nero didn't care about anything other than taking Tao Jian's life with his hands.
"Tao Jian! You gave me a fight like I never had before, so I'm going to give you a quick death. But I'm still sure that your afterlife will be worse than any hell you can think of!"
Nero approached Tao Jian and firmly grasped his head with the Blood Gauntlet. Then he stepped on his chest and pulled his head slowly. It was definitely not a quick death, and Tao Jian was feeling a pain that many could not even imagine.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Tao Jian's neck started to crack and make strange noises. It didn't take long for his head to be ripped off by Nero's gauntlet and the blood to fly everywhere.
The expression in Tao Jian's eyes was one of terror because he suffered not only with a lot of physical pain but with a lot of fear before he died. Even though he expected to die, it was not in such a terrible way.
But the worst was not the pain of death, but the fact that Nero sucked Tao Jian's soul into the Dark Soul Stone for a special place. A place that was filled with the souls of humans from Earth. A place where these souls would be tormented forever as long as Nero lived.
Nero still didn't feel entirely well after taking Tao Jian's head off. Then his hand moved upward by extinct, raising the head of Tao Jian, who was oozing blood.
Blood...
He wanted Tao Jian's blood. Drink straight from the body right after brutally killing him. That feeling excited Nero's body differently from everything. The feeling of drinking this blood filled with fear and terror was like a drug for Nero, and he couldn't refuse it.
Killing Tao Jian was different from killing the Dai Family's people and humans on Earth as it was a very difficult fight. He felt several mixed feelings at the same time and defeated an enemy much stronger than himself.
And now no one could deny his reward. It was entirely fair that he drank his enemy's blood...
Nero opened his mouth with his fangs slightly, showing as he drank the blood dripping from Tao Jian's head.
"Mm... Delicious..."
Nero was out of control, driven only by the vampire instinct. He didn't realize that he could expose his secret to so many people approaching the center of the square. But that scene didn't last more than a few seconds before Sarah screamed in his mind bringing Nero back to rationality.
When Nero realized what he was doing, he couldn't help feeling tired. The fight had taken up a lot of his physical and mental energies, so he took Tao Jian's body to the red world and went towards Qiao Mei and Xun Lan who were looking at him strangely while standing at a distance.and
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