Chapter 927: The Path of an a.s.sa.s.sin, From Beginner to Master
As Meng Chao spoke, his finger suddenly stabbed Leaf slightly below his Adam’s apple like a dagger.
Leaf felt a bolt of lightning enter his throat. It was so painful that his tears were frozen in her eyes, but he could not make a single sound. It was as if lightning had torn a hole in his throat. His strength and voice flowed through the hole completely.
However, Meng Chao had no intention of stopping.
His fingers moved around the vital parts of the rat teenager’s body like lightning.
From his eyes to his temples…
From his carotid artery to his heart…
From his liver region to his legs.
He let Leaf experience once again what it felt like to live a life worse than death.
However, he used a special method to keep Leaf’s mind absolutely clear and not lose consciousness due to the severe pain.
If Leaf had some idea of modern medical concepts, he would definitely feel as if he had undergone a large-scale surgery without anesthetic!
As he stabbed, Meng Chao explained to Leaf at a leisurely pace. The structure of the human body, the distribution of vital points, how to cut into it to be the most effective. While ensuring the maximum lethality, it could instantly release all the power of the target, including the power of moaning, and so on, it was a compulsory course for ghost a.s.sa.s.sins.
In Leaf’s eyes, Meng Chao was an out-and-out reaper—the reaper of life!
In the past three days, the youth had seen many powerhouses from the Blood Hoof Clan.
Including the broken-horned Minotaur warrior, they were all existences with b.l.o.o.d.y hands, and they killed as if they were numb.
However, he had never seen or even heard of someone like Meng Chao, who could turn killing into an absolutely accurate technique, or even an art.
“Lord Reaper, what exactly did you do in the past…”
The more he looked at Meng Chao’s bottomless black eyes, the more he felt a chill run down his spine.
Pain was pain, but Meng Chao’s teaching method was very effective.
It was the teaching method that the black skeleton instructor in his previous life had personally instilled into Meng Chao, leaving a deep impression on him.
The excruciating pain was enough for an a.s.sa.s.sin who had just entered the training camp to imprint all the general knowledge about vital points into his bones.
In a battle, he could perform it without thinking and by using his nerves.
“Now you know how to kill people. Although you can’t deal with an expert like the broken-horned Minotaur warrior, it’s enough to deal with these red-eyed rat people.”
Taking advantage of the lightning-like pain that was still lingering around Leaf, Meng Chao continued to add, “However, there are a few things that I hope you can remember.
“First, I won’t pretend to tell you not to kill people. Living in such a haunted time and place, killing people is indeed one of the effective ways to solve problems.
“But I don’t want you to rely entirely on killing people to solve problems, and I don’t want you to fall in love with the feeling of killing people.
“The feeling of killing people will become addictive and form a path of dependence, causing you to unknowingly lose the ability to solve problems with methods other than killing people.
“The world is so big. One day, you will meet someone you can’t kill.
“When that time comes, you, who have been completely controlled by the desire to kill, will be finished!”
Leaf did not really understand Meng Chao’s words.
However, under the stimulation of the excruciating pain, he still nodded desperately.
“Second, a.s.sa.s.sins are not berserkers. In fact, achieving the greatest effect with the least amount of killing is the highest realm that we are pursuing.”
Meng Chao went on to say, “Take the current situation as an example. Right now, you are almost certain that you can deal with three to five strong rat people.
“However, there are more than three to five muscular rat people in this cell. There are a total of 82 of them.
“Thirty-seven of them have eaten at least one fried mandrake fruit in the past day. They have been recuperating for a long time, but they still have their basic combat ability. Stimulated by hunger and the desire to survive, their instantaneous explosive power might be several times stronger than usual.
“Among these people, there are another five experts. In the past day, they have eaten an average of six fried mandrake fruits. Their fighting strength is shocking.
“You can’t defeat everyone in one go. You have to make a choice. Tell me, the next round of food delivery is about to begin. What are you going to do?”
Leaf’s thoughts raced as he blurted out, “Thank you for the reminder, Reaper. I will avoid the five strongest red-eyed rat people and start with the sixth.”
“Wrong.”
Meng Chao said, “If it’s just one round of s.n.a.t.c.hing, it’s indeed the right choice to start with the sixth strongest red-eyed rat subject in this prison cell. After all, the sixth ranked guy has only eaten two fried mandrake fruits in the past day. There’s a big gap between his strength and the top five.
“It’s impossible for the top five to s.n.a.t.c.h all the fried mandrake fruits and replace the sixth position. It can indeed fill your stomach temporarily.
“But it’s impossible for us to get the ten fried mandrake fruits that we need in one round.
“We still have to stay here for a long time. There will be several rounds of s.n.a.t.c.hing.
“Even if you can kill the red-eyed rat person who is ranked sixth, you can’t guarantee that the top five won’t be interested in you and harbor malicious intentions. They won’t let you off before you show them enough power to deter them.
“Of course, I believe that you will be able to deal with those guys ultimately.
“But you will definitely have to expend a lot of effort and energy.
“If you want to become stronger, you must learn to plan your route of action and target appropriately, saving every precious drop of energy.
“Therefore, the correct answer is not the sixth, but first. You should kill the strongest red-eyed rat person in this cell!”
“What?”
Leaf was shocked.
“Do you know the difference between first and sixth?” Meng Chao smiled faintly.
The youth pondered for a long time.
He still shook his head in confusion.
“If you kill the sixth and the first feels threatened, they will think of ways to kill you. But as long as you kill the first, I guarantee that the second to the sixth will stay far away from you. They won’t even dare to look at you.”
Meng Chao said, “Also, the sixth knows his own strength very well. He is highly vigilant against his compet.i.tors and might not be so easy to deal with.
“In contrast, the strongest red-eyed rat person in this cell has already s.n.a.t.c.hed eleven fried mandrake fruits in the past day.
“He thinks highly of himself and doesn’t spare anyone else a single glance. All he thinks about is leaving this place to partic.i.p.ate in the real compet.i.tion. Why would he be on guard against a wailing coward like you?”
Shedding tears in public was Leaf’s dark history.
The youth lowered his head, his face turning red.
However, he had to admit that Lord Reaper’s words made a lot of sense.
“One more thing, you have to consider the reactions of the others.”
Meng Chao a.n.a.lyzed the situation meticulously, “Let’s say that you’ve killed the sixth. As a result, the first orders everyone to swarm over and tear you into pieces. Threatened by his martial prowess or tempted by the oily chips, how many people do you think will dare to disobey him?
“However, this guy has stolen too much food in the past day and cut off too many people’s chances of survival. Everyone’s eyes are looking at him strangely. Even the second to fifth are angry, but they don’t dare to speak up.
“As the saying goes, the strong will always be on top. Now, the first has become too strong, and he threatens the survival of everyone in this prison.
“If nothing goes wrong, he will definitely be able to get more food in the next round of food delivery than he did in the previous round.
“If he steals a few more fried mandrake fruits, it will mean that a few red-eyed rat people will starve to death.
“In fact, you are not the only one who wants to kill him. All the red-eyed rat people have the intention to kill No. 1. However, the prison cell is so small that everyone’s eyes are wide open and their ears are perked up. There is really no chance for anyone other than the first to join forces.
“Nevertheless, I believe that as long as you strike fast and ruthlessly enough to decide the outcome in an instant, the other red-eyed rat people will definitely stand on your side and help you deal with the first together.”
Leaf was dumbfounded when he heard that. He did not expect that the seemingly chaotic food fight that relied solely on strength and luck would hide so many tricks up its sleeve.
Moreover, Lord Reaper looked like he had done nothing and had just been quietly hiding in a corner.
However, he had observed the number of people in this cell, the strong and the weak, the amount of resources that the strong had s.n.a.t.c.hed, and the mentality of the strong and the weak. He had a.n.a.lyzed everything clearly!
He could not help but look at the tallest, strongest, and most proud red-eyed rat person in the crowd.
This guy probably had the bloodline of some Turan and wild boar people.
His body was covered in a thick and hard mane, and two big fangs raised his lips. His arms were thicker than Leaf’s thighs, and he alone occupied the s.p.a.ce of three rat people as if no one else was around.
The crisscrossing scars on his face and body revealed his rich combat experience.
After eating the fried mandrake fruit, his big oily face was filled with arrogance. “I shouldn’t be here. I should be standing in the real arena!” he bluntly said.
Compared with that arrogant guy with a strong back and a strong waist…
Meng Chao, who was covered in wounds, looked even more miserable.
But Leaf knew better.
The moment the Reaper’s gaze swept over him.
The so-called No.1 was already a dead man.
“Don’t look at him directly.”
Meng Chao reminded, “Move your body forward by 27.5 cm, uh, one-third of an arm’s distance, and turn your head to the lower left… just ever so slightly. Adjust your right angle, and you can clearly see him through the reflection on the surface of the sewage.
“No, there’s nothing good about his appearance. I want you to observe the scars on his body.
“‘Scars are the medals of warriors’—I know that the Turan people have a tradition of exposing scars to others. It seems that the more scars there are, the more severe the injury, and the more glorious it is.
“I have to say that such a tradition is really stupid.
“Scars contain a very rich amount of information, including the habitual use of hands, combat habits, the condition of internal injuries, the location of fatal weaknesses… and so on.
“Believe me, as long as you learn to read scars and corpses…
“You will be able to see through everyone’s weaknesses.”