“What do you mean?” James asked calmly.“Stop playing dumb.” Dominator threw Thea aside and pointed his gun at James. “Hand it over, James, and I’ll let you die without suffering. Otherwise, I’ll torment you till your very last breath.”Even with a gun pointed at his head, James showed no fear.He would not have lived this long if he were so easily intimidated.“You can’t kill me. It’ll be hard to get your job done if you kill me now,” James said coldly.He looked at Dominator and asked, “Was it the Emperor who sent you? I’m already a crippled man, yet he’s still wary of me. So, he’s had people constantly spying on me but doesn’t know what I’m looking for?”“Are you not going to hand it over?” Dominator’s face darkened, and he turned to shoot Thea.Bang!Thea was shot in the thigh and cried out in pain.“Ahh!!!”Desolate screams echoed throughout the cavern.James sat on the ground with a terrifying expression. His eyes were squinted, and blood vessels bulged on his face
It was a dangerous gamble.One that would cost him his and Thea’s life if he lost.James crouched down to pick up the chest. At the same time, he secretly picked up a few small stones.He slowly got up, his eyes fixed on Dominator all the while. The man stood about two meters away from him. With a smile, he said, “You’d better watch closely or you’ll miss it. This is how you should open the chest…”Dominator’s eyes were fixed on the chest in James’ hands as he tried to watch him open the chest. Naturally, everyone else’s eyes were also drawn toward the chest.Suddenly, James’ hands trembled, and he dropped the chest to the ground.“Aghh…” James let out a frustrated cry.Looking back up weakly, he said, “I-I’ve no strength left, and my hands aren’t steady. I need someone to help me hold it.”Dominator looked at one of his men and used his head to gesture in James’ direction. “You, go help him.”One of the mercenaries quickly walked over and picked up the chest.Like lightning,
Thea had two gunshot wounds in her legShe attempted to carry James out of the cavern, but her wounds were still bleeding. Every step she took caused more blood to run down her leg. In addition to that, every step also caused her nothing less than agonizing pain. Thea felt like she was about to pass out from the intensity of the pain as well as the blood loss.Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, tears kept rolling down her cheeks.She could not move anymore, let alone drag a full-grown man with her.Holding James tightly, she leaned against his unconscious body.…After receiving Quincy’s call for help, the Blithe King immediately dispatched troops to where James and Thea were.In less than an hour, the army had turned up at Mount Dragon Treasure.Helicopters flocked the skies.In a brief moment, legions of fully armed soldiers descended from the skies.The battlefield at the riverbank had been cleared away, with the corpses already piled together on one side.A few of the
“I was out for that long?”James was surprised to find out he was unconscious for three whole days.“How’d it go? Is… everyone okay?”Hearing his question, Quincy went silent. Her lips were drawn into a taut line.“Answer me.”It took some time for Quincy to form a reply. “Thea’s fine, but because she sustained two gunshot wounds and lost a lot of blood, she’s still in the ICU. General Highsmith was also severely injured, but he’s being treated as we speak. As for the rest, they…didn’t make it...”She choked on her words as they left her mouth.James’ mind went blank when the news hit him.Leaning back on the hospital bed, he looked at the white wall in front of him, and the soldiers' faces flashed in his mind.His eyes suddenly became moist, and tears began cascading down his face uncontrollably. “N-none of them survived?”He could not believe it.Dozens of soldiers laid down their lives for him.“James…”Seeing James’ shell-shocked state, Quincy held his hand and attem
After James paid his respects to the soldiers that had fallen in battle, he returned to the military hospital.James was wracked with guilt over the dozens of lives that had sacrificed themselves for him.He was determined to continue to live life to the fullest in honor of the men that had perished.After everything had happened, it also further strengthened his resolve to devote his body to his homeland.Inside the military hospital…James took out the chest he found in the underground cavern from the cabinet.The outer surface was black and had mysterious patterns carved on it.The chest was sealed but it lacked a keyhole. Only under careful inspection would one notice the numerous tiny pinholes dotted all over it.James had discovered it in the cavern but did not get a chance to take a closer look due to the appearance of the mercenaries.As he stared at the black chest, the Blithe King asked, “What’s this thing that you went through so much trouble to find?”James shook
“Wait, what?”Both of them looked at James with their mouths agape.James continued to elaborate on his earlier point, “The medical skills I learned ten years ago were from the first volume, and this book is the second volume of the same series. It has records on how to use the Crucifier in its full capacity.”The second volume of the Medical Book was beyond anything James could imagine.Not only did it have texts on cultivation methods and how to use True Energy, but it also explained further applications of the Crucifier.The first volume of the medical book was akin to a book on the letters of the alphabet, while the second volume taught one how to combine said letters to form different words.Once she realized the implications of James’ words, her eyes lit up. “So, you’re not going to die?”“Mhm.”James responded affirmatively and said, “I can learn how to cultivate True Energy with this book. The venom in my body will naturally dissipate when I cultivate True Energy.”“Th
Meditation was commonly used as a means to calm one’s sensesIt was not a term that James felt was necessary to explain to Quincy.Quincy served him a plate of rice.James gladly received the food. He picked up his utensils and set to devour the food instantly.After being listless for so long, he had finally regained some strength and felt slightly more energetic.Although his current shape was far from what a normal person would consider healthy, he was confident he could cultivate True Energy if he kept this up. Moreover, he had only just gone through the second volume's first chapter.He had still yet to read the main content transcribed inside.James was confident he would find an Internal Martial Arts cultivation method in the following chapters.Seeing that James’ condition had finally started to improve, Quincy also breathed a sigh of relief.After eating, James put down the tableware and turned to Quincy. “By the way, where’s General Highsmith’s ward? I’d like to go
Quincy stood outside the corridor and found herself a seat.She wore a complicated expression as a billion thoughts raced through her mind.Meanwhile, inside the ward…Thea looked at James frantically while lying in bed and pleaded. “Honey, let’s remarry.”James raised his hand and interrupted Thea.Getting back together with her was not an option.He had many things he needed to do and wished to avoid involving Thea again.The Emperor wielded a considerable amount of power, and someone more powerful than him was definitely pulling his strings.Marrying Thea again would only put her in harm’s way yet another time.He knew this for a fact in his brain, but his heart was still undecided. He owed Thea for saving his life. Without her, he would never have become the man he was today. He once swore to protect Thea and devote himself to her for the rest of his life.Unfortunately, many things happened along the way. Circumstances had changed.Speaking of circumstances, another w