Chapter 764: Godslayer Pathway [1]

At this thought, Hu Qi glanced at the parchment in his hand, the ink still wet.

It detailed the Professional path of the Shadow Walker.

Unfortunately, however…

this Professional path itself only went up to Sequence Six.

And the cowboy, Dick, had only obtained the advancement materials for Sequence Seven.

He knew nothing about Sequence Six.

To deduce the complete Professional path, Hu Qi would naturally need a vast amount of High Tier Mystical Knowledge.

Therefore, he would have to find another way.

Fortunately, this was familiar territory for Hu Qi.

For him, it was merely a matter of time.

…

「That night.」 Overcast clouds filled the sky. Occasionally, lightning spiderwebbed across the canopy, its glow spreading to the distant horizon.

Night Crow Harbor, Tide Street.

A cold, damp fog rose from the sea, carrying the salty stench of the ocean breeze as it transformed into a misty rain that keened through the narrow streets.

At the docks, ships moored due to the weather bobbed with the tide. Their mooring lines strained and slackened, letting out strange groans.

Fishing nets and rotting seaweed were piled in corners, soaked black by the rain.

The windows of a tavern near the docks cast a dim, yellow candlelight. Silhouettes flickered against the glass, and the sounds of laughter and a drunkard’s curses occasionally pierced the rain before quickly fading away.

CREAK!

The tavern door was pushed open.

Then closed.

A figure in a black trench coat, holding an umbrella, appeared outside.

Aelons, reeking of alcohol, licked his dry lips. He squinted, scanned his surroundings, and took a staggering step forward.

Having just eaten and drunk his fill, his mind was now consumed with thoughts of heading to the red-light district to have some fun.

To him, life was about two things: making money and finding women.

With his Ability, making money was easy.

‘Now it’s time to find a pretty girl, wrap an arm around her waist, whisper some dirty jokes, and then get down to business.’

At the thought, he grinned, his steps unsteady but his destination clear as he headed toward the district of red lights and debauchery.

To speed things up, he chose to cut through a pitch-black alleyway.

PATTER PATTER!

The rain hammered against the surrounding tin-roofed buildings, sounding like a dense drumbeat.

The cobblestone path underfoot gleamed darkly, and rainwater gathered in the cracks, forming rivulets that snaked toward the low-lying gutters.

Wooden signs on all sides creaked and swayed in the wind. A notice pasted on a wall was torn loose by a gust, spiraling into a corner.

For some reason, Aelons suddenly felt a chill and couldn’t help but tighten his trench coat.

For a Professional like him, this was extremely unusual.

‘Could the temperature have dropped this much?’

Just as he muttered this to himself…

MEEOOW—!

A sudden cry rang out.

It startled him.

He turned to look.

In the alley, a wooden plank had been blown down by the wind, striking a stray cat. The startled animal arched its back, trying to flee, but its claws kept slipping on the slick flagstones.

After stumbling a few times, it finally disappeared into the shadows of a pile of wooden barrels.

Seeing this, Aelons’s tense muscles relaxed slightly. He exhaled a breath of Dirt Energy, the alcohol still fogging his mind and blurring his vision.

HISS—

Just then, a sharp whistle tore through the sound of the rain!

Aelons’s pupils contracted. The mild drunkenness was instantly shocked out of him.

He had no time to think; his body instinctively rolled forward.

BANG!!

A fierce gust of wind exploded just behind his back. At the same moment, a dull thud echoed from the brick wall behind him, sending fragments of stone flying!

He whipped his head around to see a twisted and deformed iron rod, which had flown from god-knows-where, embedded deep in the wall. Its body was still vibrating as rainwater trickled down its rusty surface.

A blow with that much force could have pierced straight through flesh and bone!

“Who?!”

Aelons barked, his gaze sweeping around like a blade.

If he hadn’t dodged in time just now, he would have been run clean through.

Simultaneously, a First Layer of Invisible Power spread out.

The falling raindrops gathered around his body as if they were alive.

They enveloped him, forming a protective curtain of water.

But from the depths of the alley, only the sound of rain answered; not a single figure was in sight.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something.

He snapped his head up to look.

And there, in the torrent of rain, a bizarre figure stood silently atop a wall, having appeared there at some unknown moment.

The person held an iron rod and wore a dark raincoat. A silver, faceless mask gleamed coldly in the flash of lightning.

Their wide hood swayed slightly in the wind as rain dripped continuously from the hem of their coat.

They stood still as a statue, looking down condescendingly at Aelons in the alley below.

Through the eyeholes of the mask, two points of Crimson light were faintly visible, flickering in the rainy night like the eyes of a lurking beast.

WHOOSH!

The tall wooden houses on both sides of the alley squeezed the space, and the rain grew heavier.

Rainwater dripped from the decaying eaves, beating a rapid rhythm on the puddles below.

“It’s you!? The Silver-faced Demon!”

Aelons’s pupils contracted violently, and he swallowed hard.

The water swirling around his body spun a fraction faster.

It was no wonder he reacted this way.

For the past half-month, a rumor had been circulating in Night Crow Harbor’s Professional circles.

A Hunter wearing a silver, faceless mask was specifically targeting lone Professionals.

What was more terrifying was that of the dozen or so people who had been attacked, only one had survived by a stroke of luck.

It was this survivor who brought back a description of that silver-faced Hunter’s appearance.

Because of the silver mask and their methods, this person had also been dubbed the Silver-faced Demon.