PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

A light layer of steam instantly burst from Desmond’s skin, his fair skin took on a faint reddish hue, and the muscles throughout his body went into a state of tension and over-arousal.

Like a panther’s muscles tense to their maximum limit just before lunging at its prey, the degree of muscle tension and buildup was visible to the naked eye on Desmond’s body.

Inspired by his original ability, Desmond implemented the fire mana and intensity concept that he understood during his first night with Sasha to create a new capacity.

was essentially a more intense and aggressive version of the skill previously used by Desmond, combining the intensity and burning effects of fire mana to fuel a more potent but short-lived combat state.

The aggression within Desmond’s eyes grew marginally, and a second later, using his overwhelming speed, Desmond’s fist struck one of the assassin’s squares in the center of the sternum.

This time, the wave of water mana was more brutal and violent, and the assassin felt as if someone had poured boiling water into his veins just before the shock wave completely pierced his armor’s defenses and ripped everything apart.

The force of the blow nailed the assassin’s body to the wall destroying the solid rock. A burst of blood came from the man’s lips, the light in his eyes instantly went out, and his corpse became a macabre decoration on the wall.

Standing right where the assassin used to stand was Desmond with his fist still outstretched, his legs steady on the cracked ground, his breath leaving a trail of thick vapor in the air.

.....

Desmond recovers from his attack stance and uses another bajiquan move, sliding sideways with his elbow extended.

Like a merciful spear that cannot be stopped, his elbow struck instantly, creating a burst of blood, bone fragments, and brains scattered across the wall, increasing the cruelty of the scene to a terrifying degree.

The second trail of dense steam escaped Desmond’s lips, and a clear statement followed a sinister smile: “As expected of the extreme eight fists, it’s not suitable when you want to leave people alive; The good thing is that I have ten more attempts left.”

A shiver ran down the spine of the assassins; cruelty and murder were not something new for them, but what they were not able to process was Desmond’s carefree attitude, who had just killed two of them. That smile on his lips was far more terrifying to them than the sight of their dead comrades.

However, they were well-trained assassins, and they wouldn’t be intimidated by so little. The dark mana inside each of their bodies boiled over, and they burned every ounce of their strength to mount a lethal coordinated attack against Desmond.

But they had underestimated him too much; the difference in strength was already gigantic in the past, enough for Desmond to annihilate them just by relying on or some other ability.

To some extent, Desmond’s use of was nothing more than an exaggeration on his part in wanting to test his new skill.

Like a ghost that cannot be touched by mundane means, Desmond easily evaded all incoming attacks with no apparent effort, though only he knew the strain his new ability put on his body.

Finding it quite dull to continue playing around with his opponents and having begun to feel the toll of his ability, Desmond decided to end the whole thing and only leave a couple of his opponents alive for questioning.

Leaving behind an afterimage, Desmond walked through his enemies, both hands outstretched with metallic mana coating his fingers. Three silver flashes were followed by the three new blood fountains now plummeting.

Desmond’s leg slammed into the center of one of the assassins’ back with a quick twist, snapping his spine instantly. Still, one of the assassins tried to sneak away from the attack but was quickly met by whiplash from Desmond.

Not to mention the cheekbone where Desmond’s hand hit, but the entire bone structure of the assassin’s skull collapsed, killing the man instantly. Desmond watched with disinterest as two other men fell lifeless to the ground, and with an almost ghostly motion, he lunged at another assassin.

Halfway down the path, Desmond’s hands moved in a blurry burst of speed, which was accompanied by two silver flashes, and as Desmond snapped the neck of the man in front of him, Two other assassins collapsed with daggers stuck in their eye sockets.

The last two assassins suddenly found themselves in a dire situation where they could only watch helplessly as someone who overwhelmed them in every way slaughtered their comrades endlessly.

It all happened too fast; when they both tried to help their first dead partner, Desmond had gone leaving behind three corpses with their throats slashed. The assassins tried to change their strategy, but they hadn’t taken two steps when Desmond had already killed two of his companions; the same thing happened until the end when only both were left alive.

Strong, overwhelmingly strong, by the standards of assassins, Desmond was a monster comparable to the best knights of the church. In their opinion, Desmond was still no match for the holy knights; but at least for them, he was an impassable wall.

In the same way, Desmond felt overwhelmed entirely when he was in Katya’s presence; they were strongly oppressed when they were in Desmond’s presence.

But Desmond didn’t care about the inner thoughts of the assassins. From his point of view, they were no different than a fish on a cutting board, so there was little point in thinking about anything unnecessary before subduing them.

One can imagine Desmond’s surprise when he saw both assassins fall to the ground of their own accord. Distrusting the image before him, Desmond cautiously approached the bodies to find both killers dead with black veins bulging down their necks.

It was there that Desmond remembered the poisoned concealed weapon he had been stabbed with moments before. He had overlooked it because the poison was useless to himself, but he completely forgot how common it was for people like this to resort to suicide.

The main target of this entire confrontation had gone right out the window, and Desmond was upset. His current state only exacerbated his anger and the boiling blood coursing through his veins did little to calm his mood.

Not knowing how unlucky he was at that moment, one of the assassins on the ground, who was still clinging to a negligible trace of life, groaned in pain as blood spurted from his throat.

An angry look filled Desmond’s eyes briefly, but he managed to relax his breathing, thereby regaining some sanity.

Checking out the killer, Desmond sighed again, this time helplessly. The assassin had his throat slit from side to side, making interrogation impossible, not to mention that the man was already on his last breath.

“I might as well put you out of your misery.”

“Stop”

Surprised by the new intruder, Desmond reacted reflexively by jumping back with a somersault. Now far away from the unknown intruder, Desmond was barely getting into combat stance when a pair of angry golden eyes stopped him in his tracks.

“Cecilia”

“Is Holy Priestess Cecilia, you should bear that in mind as my knight.” Cecilia was upset, and Desmond knew it, letting go of the golden flames burning within the girl’s eyes; her posture and attitude alone were enough to tell Desmond so much.

Without giving Desmond a chance to reply, Cecilia continued, “I see you’ve dealt with the invaders, extremely savagely, I might add; I wonder what you planned to do with the sole survivor?”

Desmond almost cursed out loud, brushing Cecilia’s words aside. The horrifying way she looked around her was enough to tell Desmond that she wasn’t used to this kind of scene and that she certainly disapproved of his methods.

Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding and not wanting to give in to Cecilia’s naive whims, Desmond replied, “I apologize to the holy priestess for the mess. The invaders proved strong enough to make me take things seriously, which resulted in the current scene; don’t worry, I’ll take care of cleaning the whole place, so you don’t have to witness such a disgusting scene.”

But Cecilia was not fooled by Desmond’s words and asked again: “So, what were you planning to do with the sole survivor?”

Knowing that there was little point in disguising his words, Desmond replied directly: “Put him out of his misery.”

“Even when he’s unarmed and defenseless?”

“With all due respect to the holy priestess, this man and his companions came here with nefarious intentions. Mercy is not an option.”

“Mercy is always an option.”

“Would your enemies choose that option?”

“I don’t want to be like my enemies.”

“In that case, let me fulfill that role” Having been getting closer during the argument, Desmond unexpectedly kicked the dying man to the ground, breaking his neck and thus ending his life; under Cecilia’s dumbfounded gaze.

Cecilia could only watch in horror as Desmond’s blue eyes remained unchanged as he took the life of another human being, something that was unheard of for her.

“With all due respect to the Holiness Cecilia, you should let me care about these things. You should retire to rest.”

Bowing politely, Desmond turned around without waiting for an answer and began cleaning up the blood and other debris, trying to leave the room as clean as he had found it, although the structural damage done to the room would have to be repaired later.

Cecilia had neither the words nor the frame of mind to stay and argue with Desmond, so she retired dejectedly to her chambers for a sleepless and helpless night.

“Truly a naive woman.” Seeing Cecilia walk away with unsteady steps, Desmond couldn’t hold back his comment.

But surprisingly, there was a hint of pity in his eyes when the hunter looked at the priestess; perhaps he felt that the whole situation with Cecilia was quite unfortunate.