Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 444: Serial Assassin

The Trampling Ram waited in position between the stars. Thanks to its specially designed glass walls, it did not reflect the starlight, lending itself perfectly for an ambush.

Jack stood on the bridge, arms crossed. His chest was bare, while a gray cloak fluttered behind his back. He seemed like a warlord. Next to him, Brock calmly waited, reading from the Bro Code. Golden ripples spread out of him every once in a while to scan the distance.

“This is fun!” Gan Salin exclaimed. “Just some dirty old friends prowling the galaxy in search of guilty victims. Doesn’t get much better!”

“Pace yourself, my canine friend,” said Vashter. “Don’t be in a rush.” He leaned against a wall with his mace in hand, emitting the air of a veteran. His eyes glistened. He was ready whenever.

“Do you want to play some Crazy Man Goes to Town?” Nauja asked, fishing a deck of cards from her pocket.

Salin shrugged. “We could. But I want to be the Crazy Man.”

“Nobody is the Crazy Man. It’s just the name of the game.”

“Hey, I’m a man and I’m pretty crazy.”

“They’re here,” Brock suddenly said. Everyone tensed up. The deck of cards in Nauja’s hand disappeared, replaced by a longbow, and Salin’s canines showed beneath his raised lips. Bomn drew his greataxe, Vashter straightened himself, and Brock took out his new Goldwood Staff—though, probably, none of them would need to fight.

A starship entered their view. Red walls surrounded a white interior visible through large windows, and they could clearly make out a pale man bathing in a pool of blood.

“The Blood Baron,” Salin said, licking his lips. “I’ve always wanted to kill this son of a bitch.”

Their starship accelerated, matching the other’s speed. They hadn’t been discovered yet, but they were flying almost in parallel—it would be difficult to catch something moving at thousands of miles per minute otherwise.

Jack took a step through space, borrowing the Ram’s momentum to approach the other starship. He reached out a hand, then clenched it. Space collapsed around the Blood Baron’s starship. It veered off to the side and spun wildly. The pool of blood flew everywhere, revealing a dazed, naked man. The Blood Baron instantly disappeared and reappeared outside his starship, already wearing a set of crimson robes which looked macabre against his pale skin.

“Who goes there!?” he thundered. He was an early C-Grade Enforcer of the Animal Kingdom out on official business. There was nothing he feared. The only people willing to attack his starship were poor souls too naive to recognize it.

His gaze and perception scanned space. Now that he was actively looking, he quickly spotted Jack. His eyes widened. His lips trembled. He recognized this man. The Blood Baron had attended Jack’s Grand Duel on Hell, and he’d also seen a recording of Jack fighting the planetary overseer. This was a face carved deep into his memory, a dark star he hoped to never meet.

However, Jack Rust had died a year ago. How could he randomly be here?

An illusion! the Blood Baron thought quickly, but no matter how he looked, there was no sign of falsehood. His gaze reached farther, falling onto the dark starship.

A pair of ram horns decorated its front—a recent addition designed by Bomn. The horns weren’t only aesthetic; they fulfilled a practical purpose as well, which was to make the starship easily recognizable. It was much easier to spread terror and prestige like this—it was kind of their brand.

Even before Jack appeared, the Kingdom cultivators had learned to fear the starship with horns rams—the Dark Ram, they called it. The Blood Baron was one of them. Facing both the Dark Ram and a man suspiciously similar to Jack Rust, he felt deep fear. The appearance of Jack Rust could be imitated—but the terrifying aura emitted from his body could not.

“Wait!” he said. “I can offer you money!”

Jack snorted. “Just die.”

A fist crossed space, exploding on the Blood Baron and his starship both. They were destroyed. The Blood Baron, an almighty Enforcer of the Animal Kingdom, the pride of his home planet, didn’t even have time to cry out, let alone defend. An instant after Jack attacked, only broken debris littered this part of space.

Jack shook his head. “Again, no levels…”

Brock flashed by his side. “This is a bit slow….” he agreed.

Jack did not reply. This was already the third Enforcer he killed, and he hadn’t received a single level. He remained stuck at 318.

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There were two reasons why he hunted the Animal Kingdom Enforcers. One was to get revenge against the Kingdom, to clip its wings and break off its fingers one by one. The other reason was to level up. He wanted to become strong enough to storm into Animal Planet, the capital of the Animal Kingdom, and massacre anyone who got in his way. He wanted to completely uproot the Kingdom, and to do that, his current power wasn’t enough. Eva Solvig would pursue him the moment he appeared publicly.

Targeting Enforcers specifically was a strategic move. The death of each of them was a loss to the Kingdom, but each death by itself wasn’t enough to truly rouse their suspicions. After all, they had hundreds of Enforcers. Due to the recent uprisings all over the constellation, these Enforcers were often sent on missions, making for easy, isolated targets.

Jack knew that the disappearance of the Animal Abyss would undoubtedly form connections to his name. They wouldn’t believe he was still alive just from that, but it was vital that he hid his return for as long as possible to not give them time to prepare. The longer he could hunt from the shadows, the better.

However, this was too slow. He was a middle C-Grade now, and Enforcers were all at the early tier. They just didn’t qualify to give him levels. If he wanted to reliably level up, he would need to pursue Elders, who were at the middle C-Grade and above, but the problem was that Elders were important personnel. They held prestigious positions at the center of the public eye. Killing one was easy, but doing so undiscovered was another matter entirely.

Even if he succeeded, the Kingdom wouldn’t just sit by once its Elders began disappearing. It would request assistance from the Hand of God. Jack didn’t wish to see that happen.

But what choice did he have?

“Never play, never win,” he muttered. He turned to Brock. “I think we should start hunting Elders.”

The brorilla thought for a bit. “I agree. We must take some risks. However, let’s consider our moves properly before we make them. Secrecy is our greatest weapon.”

“My fist is our greatest weapon,” Jack disagreed. “Secrecy is just a bonus—nice to have, but not something we can’t afford to lose.”

“You speak wisely. Good. Then, let’s search for a target.”

“Let’s.”

They flew into the starship and teleported away. The Blood Baron’s disappearance would only be noticed days later, when he never arrived at his destination.

***

“What’s going on?” the Animal Kingdom’s Grand Elder demanded to know. “Four Enforcers have gone missing in two weeks, alongside the Animal Abyss and Ancestor Emberheart. Someone is acting against us!”

“Who would do that?” another Elder replied. They were at an Elder Council hastily convened to discuss the recent disappearances. Thirteen Elders were currently in attendance—the rest hadn’t been able to make it in time.

“Someone give me a list of possible culprits,” the Grand Elder commanded.

An elef Elder stood up. “Reporting to the Grand Elder,” she said calmly. “The two incidents—the Abyss and Enforcers—could be related or unrelated. If they are related, the powers at play are greater than what we can handle, but I don’t think that’s very probable. Anyone capable of unraveling the mysteries of the Animal Abyss wouldn’t bother with mere early C-Grade Enforcers. The two incidents stand at very different levels of power. Unless…” She trailed off.

The Grand Elder raised a brow. “Unless?”

“Unless that man…is somehow alive.”

The Grand Elder banged his fist on the table. “Impossible! Stop spreading bullshit. Ancestors Emberheart and Lonihor both confirmed the death of Jack Rust, alongside two Hand of God Envoys. Are you saying they were all mistaken? That a middle C-Grade human could somehow escape their perceptions, survive in the Animal Abyss for a year, then find a way to make a black hole disappear? Get serious! I’m busy enough with all the uprisings and disappearances, so save me your stupidity!”

“I misspoke,” the elef hurriedly acknowledged.

“The most probable scenario,” the Grand Elder thought aloud, calming down, “is that the two incidents are completely unrelated. I have my suspicions for the disappearance of the Animal Abyss and Ancestor Emberheart: The Hand of God was recently made aware of the Abyss’s circumstances in the process of chasing Jack Rust. The Envoy must have communicated it to her higher-ups, tempting an Elder of the Hand to secretly arrive and investigate. That person discovered the secrets of the Abyss, whatever those were, shattered it to take all the treasures inside, then killed our Ancestor to silence all witnesses.” He clenched his leonine fists. “It is regrettable, but this is the most likely explanation. We can only blame ourselves for being too weak…”

The other Elders glanced at each other, then nodded in agreement. “That man creates trouble for us even in death!” an Elder angrily exclaimed, referring to Jack Rust.

“At least that’s a thorn in our side gone,” the Grand Elder replied, sighing. “Then, onto the matter of the Enforcers… I see three scenarios. One is that enemy constellations are moving onto us. The dissolution of the Exploding Sun left a vacuum that many major factions are eager to fill. It wouldn’t be strange for one of them to make power plays in our constellation—especially the Wide Swirls.

“The second scenario is that rogue cultivators of the Church are retaliating against our Kingdom because Artus Emberheart is guiding the purging forces. If this is the case, there’s nothing we can do. The Hand will catch them eventually. As for the third scenario… That is that the recently-appeared terrorists, the Dark Ram, are upping their game.

“Whichever scenario is true, we are facing opponents at the middle or late C-Grade level. How do you all suggest we deal with this?”

The Elders glanced at each other. This time, nobody was in a hurry to speak up—nobody wanted to risk the Grand Elder’s wrath. However, the Grand Elder didn’t break the silence either.

A sharken Elder finally bit the bullet. “We can temporarily limit the missions of our Enforcers to the minimum and have them move in groups instead of individually,” he suggested. “The uprisings can wait—it’s more important to secure our Enforcers.”

Contrary to what everyone expected, the Grand Elder did not lash out. He gave the sharken Elder a glance of appreciation. “Correct,” he said. Those Elders who had the same idea but hadn’t dared voice it could only curse their lack of confidence.

The Grand Elder continued. “That was my idea as well. Additionally, we will equip each group of moving Enforcers with escape mechanisms and remotely backed-up recording stones. That way, even if they are attacked, we’ll know who did it. That’s the important part. If we can find proof against another B-Grade faction, their deaths will have been worth it.” He passed his gaze around the room. “Any objections?”

No one spoke.

“Very well. This meeting is adjourned. Enforce my commands at once!”

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