The old man's bamboo staff carried armed fury as it struck the mercenary leader's arm. Instantly, the mercenary leader felt a wave of numbness surge through it.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself to endure, barely managing to keep the short blade in his hand from falling.
Unexpectedly, the old man struck again—fast as lightning—bringing the bamboo staff down on his arm once more.
This strike was accompanied by a sharp crack—the sound of bone breaking.
"Ah—!" the mercenary leader screamed in agony. That arm instantly lost all feeling, drooping like a slab of boneless flesh. The knife slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.
Seeing things go wrong, the surrounding mercenaries rushed forward one by one, faces ferocious and full of killing intent.
The old man didn't take them seriously at all. The bamboo staff in his hand flew about in rapid arcs—pa! pa! pa! pa!—and with effortless ease, he knocked more than ten mercenaries flat onto the ground.
Jason watched the old man's free and unrestrained figure from the side. It felt just like the first time he had seen Sun Wukong on TV as a child—the envy and admiration were overwhelming, like surging rivers that would never cease…
The mercenary leader saw that all his men had been taken down, yet he still refused to give up. He knew that if this mission failed, returning would mean certain death. That vicious employer would never spare them. Rather than that, he might as well gamble everything in a final desperate attempt.
Gripping the short blade tightly in his left hand, the mercenary leader prepared to slash at the old man. But before he could move, the old man had already sensed it. The lion beside him lunged forward, biting down hard on the mercenary leader's arm. With a violent shake of its head, it flung him far away, still clenching the torn arm in its jaws.
The scene was incomparably bloody.
Jason and the others couldn't help but shut their eyes. Listening to the mercenary leader's heart-rending screams, every one of them felt chills crawl up their spines.
After a long while, Jason heard no more movement. Only then did he slowly open his eyes, seeing the mercenary leader lying on the ground in a mangled heap of flesh and blood. Mati had already gone over and helped Karadi back up.
Jason looked at the extremely weakened Karadi and asked,"You kid… are you okay?"
Supported by Mati, Karadi glanced at Jason with guilt written all over his face and said,"Young Lord… I'm sorry."
Jason smiled and patted Karadi on the shoulder to comfort him."It's fine. Don't take it to heart. You already did very well."
Karadi knew Jason was only trying to console him. He lowered his head in shame.
"Why aren't you running yet? If you don't leave now, I can't guarantee my pet won't get hungry and treat you all as snacks."
The old man said this cheerfully to the mercenaries.
"Roar—!"The old man's lion seemed to understand his words, letting out an enraged howl at the mercenaries, as if adding fuel to the fire.
The mercenaries who could still move hurriedly supported one another and prepared to flee. Two of them also helped the mercenary leader to his feet.
After standing up, the mercenary leader glared viciously at the old man and said,"Just you wait. One day, I'll make you repay this a hundredfold."
Hearing this, the old man merely smiled faintly and replied,"You'd better not make me wait too long. These old bones of mine might give out one day. If you want revenge, you should hurry."
The mercenary leader still wanted to say something more, but his subordinates were afraid the old man might change his mind and kill them after all. They hurriedly dragged the mercenary leader away from the area.
As soon as the mercenaries were gone, the old man looked around to make sure they had truly left. Then he immediately started pounding his lower back, his face twisted in pain.
"Ah! My old waist… it hurts so bad!"
"Uh…"Jason had been watching the old man closely, thinking he was about to unleash some terrifying finishing move. Who would've thought he was just pretending earlier so the mercenaries wouldn't notice his back pain.
Karadi stared at the old man carefully for a moment, then asked,"Old sir… could you be Lord Keirinans, known as the Cat Viper?"
"Oh?"The old man turned his head and looked straight at Karadi."You know me?"
Hearing this, Karadi immediately realized that the old man had indirectly admitted it. He said excitedly,"Lord Keirinans! It's me, Karadi! My father is Martin Owen! I remember when I was little, you even came to our house as a guest. Don't you remember?"
The old man's eyes lit up in sudden realization."So it's you, kid! You've got a good memory! You only saw me back when you were still running around in split-crotch pants, and you still remember me now?"
Karadi smiled and said,"Of course! My father often mentioned you. The heroic story of how you, relying only on B-rank nuqi and a single fine steel sword, defeated the former king's three A-rank followers accompanied my entire childhood!"
"Is this old man really that amazing?"Jason asked Karadi in a low voice.
"Keirinans. Alias: Cat Viper. In his youth, he was a renowned combat master across the entire Kadias Continent. He possesses the most exquisite combat techniques on the continent. The number of A-rank nuqi practitioners he has slain while fighting above his level is countless. Many famous figures on the continent were once his disciples—your father included."
Karadi seriously explained the Cat Viper's legendary history to Jason.
"So powerful…?"Jason couldn't help but sigh in amazement. At the same time, he thought to himself, "Someone this strong—according to standard shouldn't he be my master?"
After chatting casually with Karadi for a while, Keirinans looked up at the sky. The sun was already beginning to sink.
The Cat Viper said to Jason and the others,"Alright, it's getting late. This place is filled with the smell of blood. It won't be long before hyena packs follow the scent and find this spot. The hyena packs at night are extremely terrifying—one of the strongest beasts on the outskirts of the Zuo'en Mountain Range. You should hurry and leave while it's still daylight!"
"Lord Keirinans! Please accept me as your disciple! I want to become strong—strong like you!"
After learning Keirinans' true background, Jason had been waiting for the right moment to ask to become his student.
Seeing that he was about to leave, and afraid he'd lose the chance, Jason walked straight up to Keirinans without the slightest hesitation and said this.
"Huh?"Keirinans stared at Jason for a long time without saying a word.
"My lord… what does this mean?"Jason asked, confused.
"I have no intention of taking you as my disciple. After finishing teaching your father, I already decided never to accept another student."
Keirinans said this bluntly, showing Jason no face at all—he even wore a look of outright disdain.
Seeing that expression, Jason felt deeply struck.This isn't right—this plotline is completely wrong!
"This… I possess the talent to upgrade my nuqi level. If I also gain combat skills like yours, then given enough time, I will definitely stand at the peak of the Kadias Continent."
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
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"Game of Thrones: Holy Flame"
"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)