Chapter 30: Fury

"Damn it! He’s an Awakened One?!" Seeing Ryan’s strange black hook claws, the four burly men in black were horrified.

Their expressions changed drastically, and their bodies instinctively stiffened.

They had never expected a commoner Awakened One to appear in this remote slum.

A chill ran down their spines. For the surrounding commoners, witnessing an Awakened One at such close range was an extremely rare sight.

They all gasped in shock, their eyes fixed on Ryan in disbelief.

"What?! An Awakened One?!"

"That good-for-nothing Ryan actually awakened?!"

"He’s already almost twenty years old! Isn’t that far beyond the normal age for awakening? How could he still awaken now?!"

"Heaven is truly unfair! Why can someone like Ryan awaken while I can’t?!"

... "My brother actually awakened?!" Witnessing this, Ethan was instantly overwhelmed with joy.

After everything they had just endured, seeing his older brother awaken was like witnessing a miracle.

Meanwhile, Toby, whose eyes were still covered by Ethan’s hand, seemed to have cried himself to exhaustion. He had completely quieted down, no longer making a sound. His small body had gone limp, and he appeared to have fainted from exhaustion.

At this moment, Wesley Sterling was in unbearable pain.

The dark, gleaming hook claws had pierced straight through his flesh and even penetrated the bones of his hands, the razor-sharp tips emerging from the backs of his palms.

"Ahhh!!!" Wesley screamed shrilly, cold sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall.

He desperately tried to pull his hands free, but they felt as though they had been caught in two enormous beast traps.

The harder he struggled, the deeper the claws dug into his flesh.

Blood continued to gush from his wounds. Realizing that struggling would only make things worse, Wesley finally stopped moving recklessly.

Yet the fury burning in his eyes only grew more intense.

"Damn it! Let go of me!" His voice was filled with rage and humiliation. "If you don’t let go, my family will come for you!!!"

At this moment, Wesley was truly enraged.

It was as though a volcano of fury had been building inside him for years and had finally reached the point of eruption.

Ever since childhood, he had lived under the protection of his father, Gareth Sterling.

When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Aside from the Sterling Family’s direct descendants whom he didn’t dare offend, which subordinate around him hadn’t treated him with flattery and respect?

And now, a mere commoner actually dared to defy him.

As long as Wesley crooked a finger, the beautiful daughters of commoner families would be brought before him, and their families wouldn’t dare resist.

Once he grew tired of them, he would simply discard them like trash.

And those commoner families? They wouldn’t even dare utter a word of protest. That was the power of the Sterling Family.

That was the authority Wesley had grown accustomed to wielding.

Yet now, for some inexplicable reason, all of that influence seemed completely useless.

The scrawny young man standing before him was utterly unmoved.

It was as though he couldn’t understand human speech at all.

Wesley had threatened him. He had warned him. He had even invoked the name of the Sterling Family.

Yet this bastard still dared to hold him there, continuing to injure him without the slightest hesitation.

It was utterly outrageous!

For the first time in his life, Wesley felt as though the power he had always relied upon had suddenly become meaningless.

"You keep calling me a commoner and threatening to kill my entire family! Do you think you’re the only human being in this world, while everyone else is nothing more than livestock?!"

Ryan’s voice erupted with fury. A terrifying killing intent flashed through his eyes.

Yet, contrary to Wesley’s expectations, the strength in Ryan’s claws suddenly loosened.

He actually let go. Wesley Sterling felt the pressure around his fists disappear, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

Enduring the excruciating pain in his bloodied hands, he hurriedly pulled them back.

But before he could celebrate, he turned around and prepared to retreat.

WHOOSH!

A cold glint flashed through Ryan’s eyes. His dark, gleaming right hook claw shot forward with terrifying speed.

Wesley didn’t even have time to react.

The sharp claw instantly locked around his neck.

Immediately afterward, dense white Origin Sea Bloodline surged violently along Ryan’s right arm.

With a powerful upward pull, Wesley’s entire body was lifted off the ground.

"You..." His body suddenly lost all contact with the ground.

Wesley’s pupils contracted, and his expression changed drastically.

"Let... go..." His neck was tightly constricted, making it extremely difficult to breathe.

His face quickly flushed red, and his voice became hoarse and broken, each word barely escaping his throat.

He frantically grabbed at Ryan’s right arm with both hands, desperately trying to pry the hook claw away.

His legs kicked wildly in midair. But it was useless.

The black hook claw around his neck remained completely motionless, as immovable as if it had been forged from bronze and iron.

No matter how violently he struggled, he couldn’t escape.

Wesley’s fury reached its limit. At the same time, the lack of oxygen caused his face to rapidly turn dark purplish-red.

With great difficulty, he forced out a few broken words:

"You... what... are you... waiting for...? Kill... him... for me...!"

"Yes!"

The four men in black didn’t dare hesitate any longer.

Their expressions became grim as they braced themselves and charged toward Ryan.

They knew very well that ordinary martial artists could never contend with a Bloodline Fighter.

But they also understood the terrifying consequences of disobeying Wesley Sterling.

Wesley was a member of the powerful Sterling Family.

Whether they could defeat Ryan or not, they had no choice but to obey his command.

Their only option was to charge forward. Even if it meant risking their lives.

"Hmph!"

Seeing the four men charging toward him, Ryan merely snorted coldly.

Dense white Origin Sea energy surged through his body before rapidly flowing toward his feet and pouring into the ground beneath him.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

In an instant, countless strands of snow-white Spider Silk shot from beneath his feet, piercing through his straw sandals and burrowing deep into the earth.

The next moment...

BOOM!

A vast amount of Spider Silk suddenly erupted from the ground before the four men in black.

It moved like several earth dragons breaking through the surface, twisting and surging toward them.

"What?!" The four men instantly widened their eyes in shock, their charging figures coming to an abrupt halt.

But before they could understand what was happening, the countless strands of Spider Silk had already shot toward their faces.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The Spider Silk rapidly wrapped around their heads, layer after layer, forming snow-white masks that completely covered their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.

Then, Ryan suddenly exerted force. The four men were simultaneously yanked off the ground.

Their bodies hung helplessly in midair. The sticky yet incredibly flexible Spider Silk completely sealed their faces, making breathing extremely difficult.

"Wuwuwu—!"

"Mm! Mm!"

The four men desperately clawed at the Spider Silk covering their faces, frantically trying to tear it apart.

But their efforts were futile.

The Spider Silk was far tougher than they had imagined. No matter how desperately they pulled, it refused to tear.

All they could do was emit muffled cries through the thick layers covering their mouths.

They struggled violently in midair, their legs kicking helplessly as they desperately tried to find some way to escape.

The Spider Silk around their mouths and noses constantly trembled as they desperately attempted to draw breath through whatever tiny gaps remained.

The sight was bizarre and unsettling.

For a moment, the entire scene seemed to freeze.

Ryan stood calmly at the center of it all.

A sinister grin appeared on his face as the Origin Energy within his body surged wildly.

Sand and gravel around his feet began to tremble and drift through the air despite the absence of wind.

His right hand remained firmly locked around Wesley Sterling’s neck, holding him suspended in the air.

Above him, countless strands of Spider Silk restrained the other four men, suspending them helplessly like captured prey.

"Hoo..."

A gentle breeze swept across the scene.

The snow-white Spider Silk fluttered softly in the wind.

For a moment, the strange sight resembled an ancient, primordial Nine-Tailed Demonic Fox using its countless tails to coil around several helpless prey and lift them into the air.

The entire scene was both bizarre and terrifying.

"How dare you kick my parents?"

Ryan’s voice was ice-cold.

"And you even tried to hurt my brothers?"

His murderous intent erupted from his eyes.

The fingers of his right hand tightened around Wesley’s neck, while white Origin Sea Bloodline continuously swirled between his finger bones.

"Didn’t you just say you were going to find someone to kill my entire family?"

Ryan stared coldly at Wesley.

"Come on." His voice became even colder. "Why aren’t they dead yet?"

"Why aren’t you saying anything now?"

"You..." Wesley’s face flushed with fury.

"Hmph..."

But his throat was tightly constricted, making it increasingly difficult for him to breathe.

His face had already turned crimson, and his eyes began rolling upward. His struggles gradually weakened. His arms drooped. His legs stopped kicking. The color of his face slowly darkened from crimson to deep red, then to an ominous purplish-black.

He looked as though he could suffocate at any moment.

Yet Ryan had no intention of killing him so easily.

That would be far too convenient. With a cold expression, Ryan suddenly released his grip.

Thud!

Wesley’s body fell heavily onto the ground before him like a discarded rag.

Ryan immediately turned his attention toward the four men still suspended in midair.

His right hand slowly transformed. His fingers straightened and fused together, rapidly forming a dark, glossy blade.

The Spider Blade. A chilling glint flashed across its razor-sharp edge.

The next instant...

WHOOSH!

Ryan stepped forward. His body blurred. The Spider Blade swept horizontally at waist level with terrifying speed.

A thin, dark arc of blade light flashed through the air, resembling a cold half-moon.

PFFT!

The blade sliced cleanly through the four men.

Their eyes widened in terror beneath their Spider Silk masks. They desperately struggled, but the thick layers covering their mouths prevented them from even screaming properly.

Then their bodies went completely still. The four men had been cut down in a single strike.

Blood splattered across the ground as their lifeless bodies collapsed.

One blade.

Four deaths.

Silence, absolute silence descended, the entire street fell deathly quiet.

Every surrounding commoner stared at Ryan in stunned disbelief, none of them daring to make a sound.

All the onlookers stared with their eyes wide open, completely frozen in place.

For a moment, it seemed as though they had forgotten how to breathe.

The entire street had fallen terrifyingly silent. No one spoke. No one moved. No one even dared to make a sound.

At this moment, Wesley Sterling, who had just narrowly escaped death, finally managed to recover a little.

"Hoo... Hmph..."

He lay curled up on the ground like a dying dog, greedily gasping for the air he had nearly lost.

Just moments ago, he had been only a step away from death.

It had felt as though he had already taken a brief trip to the gates of the underworld.

So overwhelmed by the struggle to breathe, he hadn’t even noticed what was happening around him.

Then, a warm drop of liquid suddenly struck his face.

Wesley instinctively reached up and touched it.

His fingers came away stained crimson. His expression stiffened.

Slowly, he raised his head. What he saw caused his pupils to contract violently.

His four burly men in black had all been killed in a single strike.

The sight completely shattered the courage he had left.

His face instantly turned deathly pale, and his entire body began to tremble.

A single thought screamed through his mind.

’Damn it... This guy is a lunatic!!! Why did I come to this wretched slum?! Why did I have to provoke this lunatic?!’