Chapter 208: No Man’s Land

[Third District — No Man’s Land.]

?No Man’s Land was a notorious, heavily fortified autonomous zone nestled deep within the lawless Third District, jointly governed by the Blood Guild and various other ruthless criminal factions. Functioning essentially as a wretched micro-city built entirely on vice and extortion, it operated under a brutal, closed ecosystem.

?With shadowy criminal cartels pulling the strings from behind the scenes, any outsider attempting to enter the territory was forced to navigate a grueling gauntlet of security checkpoints, each ruthlessly operated by armed thugs designed to bleed travelers and refugees of every remaining dollar and asset they possessed.

?Surviving in the Third District without personal strength, a powerful backing organization, or a major guild affiliation was no different than walking through a slaughterhouse as public prey.

?At this exact moment, a lone, enigmatic figure casually approached the outermost perimeter—the first heavy security blockade:

?"Halt right there, stranger!!"

?The five thugs manning the makeshift barricade—constructed out of jagged stone blocks and rusted metal plates—shouted in unison as they stepped forward, gripping their weapons.

?"I haven’t seen your face around this sector before... State your business and hand down your identification." The largest and burliest of the group demanded aggressively, standing directly in front of the cloaked figure whose features were completely obscured beneath a deep, shadow-casting hood.

?"I am looking for the headquarters of the Blood Guild." A calm, flat voice responded from beneath the fabric.

?"Huh? The Blood Guild? They control the fifth and final security checkpoint deep inside the city."

?"The fifth checkpoint... does that literally mean there are five distinct criminal factions carving up No Man’s Land between them?"

?"Hahahaha, look at you trying to act smart! But enough playing tourist—if you want to move forward, you have to pay the standard entry toll!" the thug yelled, baring his yellowed teeth.

?"A toll? May I inquire about the exact sum?"

?"Hehehe, since you’re smart enough to ask, I’ll let you off easy. Because it’s your very first time stepping foot in our territory, we’ll grant you a generous fifty percent discount: hand over fifty thousand dollars cash right now." He barked, aggressively extending an open palm with five thick fingers spread wide.

?"Fifty thousand dollars? How on earth could any ordinary traveler casually carry that kind of cash around?" The cloaked figure asked, his tone remaining eerily composed as he stared downward at the dusty ground.

?"Huh? What kind of stupid question is that? Everyone living out here in the dirt has done bad things to survive—stealing from wealthy district travelers, running smuggling rings, or human trafficking... There’s no fucking way a wanderer like you doesn’t have that kind of money stashed away." The thug sneered, his brow furrowing in irritation.

?"In that case, there is no further need to prolong this conversation. It’s quite clear we cannot reach a mutual agreement."

?WHOOSH!

?The remaining four guards standing near the barricade merely felt a sudden, freezing gust of wind whistle past their ears, and the next instant, their burly leader abruptly froze mid-motion, his mouth still half-open.

?"Hey! What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you going to take the pay?!" one of the thugs yelled impatiently at his motionless guy.

?Asher gently took a single, deliberate step forward, and the heavy metal gate beside the barricade unhinged itself with a soft metallic screech, sliding smoothly aside as he walked past the completely petrified giant.

?"What the absolute hell?!"

?The rest of the thugs scrambled to their feet, frantically gripping their weapons and staring back at Asher with deep, hostile frowns.

?"What did you just do to him?!!" one of them shrieked in sudden panic.

?BAM!!

?"....?!"

?The four remaining men blinked in sheer horror as the muscular man’s entire body suddenly fractured along a thousand invisible lines, instantly shattering into countless microscopic crimson pieces that collapsed into a wet pile on the dirt as Asher continued walking past them down the narrow street.

?"What the fuck?!! That guy was a certified A-Rank Warrior!!"

?"Quick, surround and capture him!! The leader will deal with—"

?"Useless."

?Asher walked smoothly past the four men without even bothering to glance back over his shoulder. Behind him, all four thugs simultaneously disintegrated into piles of parts, blood, and viscera, splattering heavily across the ground.

?’My Killing Intent has evolved and expanded to a stage far beyond the SSS-Rank threshold... At this point, only a true EX-Rank entity would even warrant me exerting the slightest bit of serious effort.’ Asher thought quietly to himself, the fabric of his Supreme Mythic-Tier Cloak of Shadows rippling softly against the cold wind.

__

?[Second Security Gate.]

?"Hey! Stop right there, intruder! You can only pass this point by coughing up the mandatory gate fee, which is sixty thousand dollars—"

?Asher didn’t break his stride, simply walking past the checkpoint with effortless grace. The moment he crossed their threshold, all ten armed guards dropped dead simultaneously to the cold asphalt, their severed heads cleanly rolling away from their torsos.

?"....?!"

?The surrounding civilian onlookers and low-level thugs froze in absolute, breath-stealing terror, turning their wide eyes toward the lone, cloaked figure who hadn’t even lifted a single finger or drawn a weapon.

?"Who on earth is that monster?"

?"How the hell should I know?! But those guards were all seasoned A-Rank Awakened—whoever this guy is, he has to be at least an S-Rank."

?"Sound the general alarm and send word up the chain to the Bosses! It looks like No Man’s Land is about to plunge into total chaos."

__

?[Third Security Gate.]

?The mercenaries manning this checkpoint didn’t even possess enough time to register an audible gasp or utter a single word before their heads parted cleanly from their shoulders, dropping lifelessly to the ground in unison.

?Like an unchecked wildfire sweeping through dry brush, the terrifying news ripped furiously across every corner of No Man’s Land, instantly placing every criminal force—including the upper echelon of the Blood Guild—on high alert.

?Operating completely blind and failing to identify the exact combat profile of the intruder, the ruling factions within No Man’s Land hastily mobilized their finest available combat assets—predominantly elite SS-Rank and S-Rank Awakened—dispatching them toward the fourth primary gate.

?In less than half an hour, an intimidating strike force numbering a full fifty hardened killers had assembled at the barricade.

___

?[Fourth Security Gate.]

[4:35 PM.]

?"Aren’t we drastically overreacting by deploying fifty fighters just to deal with a single lone wolf?" A scarred, heavily tattooed man asked, crossing his arms over his chest with an arrogant smirk.

?"A single person, yes—but the sheer efficiency and brutality of his attacks are entirely unprecedented. You can’t even perceive the ripples of it before targets drop. It’s almost as if his killing strokes are literally merged and carried by the wind... Let’s be entirely clear: we aren’t actually deployed out here to definitively stop him." A sharp-eyed female assassin countered, resting her hands firmly on her hips.

?"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Another mercenary snapped back in confusion, his voice rising:

?"He has already slaughtered dozens of our brothers across the outer checkpoints; I don’t give a damn about his methods, I am going to rip his heart out!!"

?The female assassin glanced around at the eager, bloodthirsty mob and let out a long, weary sigh: ’Someone capable of wiping out multiple checkpoints of armed Awakened without breaking a sweat is fundamentally not an ordinary opponent... The Boss only sent us out here to test the waters.’

?"Hey!! Movement on the road—someone is approaching the gate!!"

?All fifty fighters instantly snapped their heads toward the desolate, debris-strewn street, spotting a single, cloaked figure walking steadily toward them through the gathering shadows.

?"That’s him right there!! Slaughter him—attack all at once!!!"

?"Tear him to pieces!!"

?Without another wasted breath, the entire mob of elite killers lunged forward simultaneously, drawing their blades as they charged into the fray, leaving only five behind.