From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

Chris silently stared at the "threads" formed by the various currents in the air, among which the most crimson one was undoubtedly the scent left by Viscount Garcia's blood.

Viscount Garcia must die today, or all the extensive preparations of the Fischer family would be for naught.

Chris silently tracked the scent, continuously moving through the forest, and quickly realized that his target seemed to have noticed the pursuit, moving swiftly once again.

Had he been discovered?

He recalled the intelligence on Viscount Garcia, the man who could determine the location of his enemies by sensing the flow of the wind.

Usually, members of the Fischer family would ensure a successful ambush by hiding their scent with the Mysterious rare artifact of "Black Lion", but now Chris was acting alone, and even with his exceptional stealth skills, he could still expose himself as long as Viscount Garcia remained vigilant.

Chris knew that continuing the pursuit would pose significant danger.

But he did not give up and continued to push deeper into pursuit.

Both parties moved swiftly, and by the dark of night, Chris gradually sensed more human presences around.

He deduced that there was a small village ahead, likely not belonging to any viscount family's territory but to some baronial family, with not many villagers.

After Viscount Garcia took refuge in the village, he stopped moving, as if waiting for Chris to arrive.

"..."

Chris calmly and silently slipped in, concealing himself in the shadows and gazing at the silent village in the night.

He indifferently listened to the villagers while they enjoyed their dinner, whispering about the taxes to be paid this winter, how to prepare food for the coming cold, girls softly speaking words of love to their beloved, and elders soothing crying children.

Chris once again found the scent of blood in the air, but discovered it had scattered from a certain point, spreading in all directions, making it impossible for him to pinpoint Viscount Garcia's precise location.

So it was, the seasoned Viscount Garcia had figured out that he was being tracked by scent.

Thus, Viscount Garcia silently used the wind to spread the scent of his blood throughout the village, diluting the trace from his body.

So, could Viscount Garcia lock onto his position?

Chris was very clear that Viscount Garcia used airflow to sense location, and therefore, he should also be unable to distinguish between himself and the villagers.

As long as he didn't isolate himself on the rooftops.

Therefore, Chris immediately climbed down from the rooftop and entered a room where a couple was already asleep, stealthily crouching beside them, pretending to be one of the villagers.

In the quiet darkness of the village, neither saw the other, yet they had already engaged in an unseen match of wits.

Chris hid next to the couple, silently contemplating in the dark.

The Eyes of Conviction required nearly two seconds of mutual gaze to activate, but the recent exchange between them was too fast, the movements too vast, completely beyond the limits of human capability, leaving no chance to activate the Eyes of Conviction.

The Fire of Sin was kept hidden by Chris; he intended to use it when his opponent was most confident, followed immediately by the Eyes of Conviction, but he hadn't expected Elf March's move to prompt Viscount Garcia to flee.

"..."

A peculiar feeling suddenly surged from deep within Chris, wondering why his opponent was waiting for him to come to the village. What kind of trap had he set?

After Viscount Garcia used the wind to scatter his scent, making it difficult for Chris to track him, he hadn't taken the offensive, which was completely out of character.

Unless, he was buying time waiting for something, perhaps the activation of some Forbidden rare artifact?

With this thought, Chris knew he had to take the initiative to attack.

No, there might be other options.

"Huh, the Countdown Timer is almost ready... Chris Fischer, pursuing me alone was a fatal decision you made."

In a corner of the village, Viscount Garcia, who had already expelled the seeds brought by the arrows from his body, silently looked at the "Countdown Timer" pocket watch in his hand.

Indeed, the moment he stayed in the village, he had already activated the Forbidden rare artifact "Countdown Timer" twice in advance, then started to wait for Chris to catch up.

This time, Viscount Garcia set the Countdown Timer for five minutes. When the five minutes elapsed, all living things within five hundred meters of it, except for himself, would freeze for five seconds.

Five seconds was enough to decide life or death!

There was one and a half minutes left until the Countdown Timer finished!

In his heart, Viscount Garcia didn't believe that Chris could find him and kill him in the last minute and a half of the Countdown Timer.

That young man from the Fischer family was strong, but the survivor would be himself.

And in those five seconds when everyone else was frozen, he was confident that he could kill the young man hiding in the village.

Did Chris Fischer really think he could successfully hide among the villagers?

Too naive; apart from him, which villager would move from the rooftop to inside a house with such speed?

Yes, Viscount Garcia was well aware that Chris Fischer was hiding three hundred and seventy meters away in that house.

"He's waiting for death."

In the darkness, time ticked away.

After dinner, the ignorant villagers continued to worry about their future lives, happiness, and the two "hunters" hidden in the darkness, each regarding the other as the most important "prey".

Deep down, they both felt an inexplicable excitement!

In the final minute, Viscount Garcia in the darkness took a deep breath.

Having started killing at the age of ten, he had been fighting incessantly, for the Fischer family and for the Cyart people, through numerous life-and-death challenges, enjoying countless honors but never stopping.

Some said he was a killer, some said he was too cruel, others claimed that aside from being able to fight on the battlefield, Viscount Garcia was nothing but a brute and a fool.

In reality, he didn't care about what those ignorant fools thought; he just wanted to seize victory time after time!

All conflicts and struggles in the world eventually end in violence, so what was wrong with wanting to wield the strongest violence?

Ten seconds, five seconds, three seconds...

The excitement deep within him surged all the more; the moment of hunting the strong was precisely what every warrior craved!

Time was up!

Viscount Garcia suddenly burst forth, the "Countdown Timer" of the Forbidden rare artifact activating instantly, and a grey, invisible domain swiftly enveloped everything within a five hundred meter radius, freezing the bodies of all living creatures, making them completely immobile!

"I won! Chris Fischer! You were a respectable and powerful opponent! I will never forget you in my life!"

The first second.

Viscount Garcia suddenly exploded with his fastest speed, riding the power of the wind towards the cabin three hundred and seventy meters away!

The second second.

He had reached the cabin, extending his hands like a frenzied demon, beginning to unleash one wind blade after another!

On the third second, a multitude of wind blades instantly destroyed the whole cabin, everything breaking apart and scattering, as Viscount Garcia saw Chris Fischer inside, his face stricken with intense fear!

The young man was instantaneously sliced by the invisible wind blades, cut to pieces; his head and body were torn asunder, dead beyond the possibility of death!

On the fourth second, Viscount Garcia finally exhaled in relief, but then he felt something was wrong!

Because he saw a card torn in half on the ground, and the figure drawn on it seemed to be Chris Fischer!

What?

Something wasn't right!

On the fifth second, without any hesitation, Viscount Garcia also killed another woman in the room, only to discover that the male owner, who should have still been there, was nowhere to be found!

He didn't understand the capability of the "fake-spirit card", but still instinctively made an assumption—could the "Chris Fischer" he just encountered have been a fake?

The next moment, the grey domain was already retracting into the Countdown Timer, and everything within its scope returned to normal as a figure suddenly burst out from the cellar of the room!

Chris, transformed into the appearance of a passerby, was expressionless as he charged towards Viscount Garcia at top speed!

Just earlier, he had ordered that man to change his shape, while he himself slowly crawled into the cellar. Although at first he did not understand the other's contingency, it seemed now that the "Body Double" had evidently worked.

"What?"

Viscount Garcia froze for an instant, staring at his opponent incredulously, his heart filled with complexity at not achieving victory with the kill move he was sure of.

Chris Fischer!

He stared at his opponent, about to launch the "Chains of Reversal" again, combined with the invisible wind blades, when suddenly, Chris Fischer's eyes changed.

Eyes of Conviction.

Suddenly, the world seemed to plunge into the deepest darkness, as if unending sins were penetrating deep into Viscount Garcia's soul. The people he had once killed, one by one, stood up as if returning from hell, like ghosts seeking to drag Garcia down with them, and each ghost was filled with the deepest darkness, malice, and despair.

They furiously condemned him, demanding his immediate repentance!

"I..."

As Viscount Garcia muttered in a trance, Chris's dagger struck his chest, and then the Fire of Sin spread to every part of his body.

Chris took a deep breath, having shattered Viscount Garcia's heart, and the Fire of Sin was set to completely consume him.

It was over.

At that moment, he suddenly heard Viscount Garcia roar with a power, force, and anger!

"I am a demon from the cruel pits of hell! No one can judge me!"

Viscount Garcia, with lifeless eyes but still, with the Battle Skill 7 "Shatter" and the power of the wind reinforcing his body, threw a punch with an extraordinary will at Chris's head with an unhesitating force!

Chris reflexively retreated, expressionless.

The fist stopped before his face.

The "thorns" of rune power had been triggered, and Viscount Garcia suffered another devastating mental blow. Blood poured from his lifeless eyes unflinchingly, his standing form bound by masses of black thorns, and the Fire of Sin grew more intense.

He had utterly lost all signs of life.