Chapter 90: Victim and PerpetratorBeside a street, Marcus and Ashley walked side by side.Marcus looked at the bags and packages in his hands, turned his head, and said to Ashley."I didn't expect you to be such a little Rich girl, buying so many things."Having followed Ashley the whole way, Marcusknew the value of the items in his hands; altogether, these things were worth millions of Berries.Of course, if he were to buy them himself, he could get them for a few hundred thousand Berries. But since Ashley bought things in a way that screamed 'I'm Rich' with her whole being, who else would the merchants fleece if not her?Ashley lifted her head and said proudly: "That's right. How about you become my bodyguard? You're so strong."Ashley looked at Marcus with anticipation. In all these years, Marcus was the only one she could truly count as a friend.Although she had only known Marcus for less than a day, Ashley felt an incredibly comfortable vibe from him."No way," Marcus shook his head, his tone very firm. "I am a Marine, how could I possibly be your bodyguard?""Why not? Being a Marine is dangerous and tiring. Being my bodyguard would be very comfortable," Ashley said, pouting.Taking a sip of water, Marcus still shook his head. No matter what Ashley said, Marcus could not agree.Biting her finger, Ashley suddenly said happily: "Besides, I'll pay you a salary. I'll have my father give you ten million Berries a month, how about that?""Pfft..."Hearing this number, the water in Marcus's mouth sprayed out instantly, and he looked at Ashley in disbelief."Ten... ten... ten million?""Yeah!" thinking Marcus was about to agree, Ashleyreplied very happily.It seemed Ashley's family background was not simple. To be able to casually offer a monthly salary of ten million Berries to hire him as a bodyguard meant one hundred and twenty million Berries a year.Just how Rich did one have to be to have this much money? No wonder Ashley hadn't even blinked when spending millions of Berries along the way; it turned out her family had nothing left but money."Forget it. Ten million is indeed a lot, but I still have to stay in the Marine," Marcus said, still refusing.His ambition could not be changed by mere Berries.The world was so wonderful, and he hadn't finished experiencing it yet; how could he stop here?Besides, as for money, as long as he had the strength, he wouldn't worry about not being able to get it. When that time came, he could get as much as he wanted.He could just go and rob a Dark Port, and that would be over a billion Berries. What money could come faster than that?"Don't say that!" Ashley hadn't given up on the idea of having Marcus as her bodyguard, and she continued—no, it should be changed to "tempted.""How about I double it? Twenty million Berries a month, how about that?"Seeing that Marcus still didn't speak, Ashleycontinued to tempt him."Thirty million Berries! Forty million Berries! How about fifty million Berries!""Stop!" Marcus quickly spoke up to stop her.Marcus felt that if he let Ashley continue, he might really not be able to hold out.Fifty million Berries a month meant six hundred million Berries a year. And all he had to do was play around with this little Rich girl to get six hundred million Berries in a year.Even in the Grand Line, pirates with bounties exceeding six hundred million were few and far between, and now he could achieve that in just one year."Stop talking. It's impossible for me. I have my own goals, and I can't stay here.""Oh."Ashley replied dejectedly. From Marcus's firm tone, she understood that he would never agree to her request.The two fell silent like this and walked slowly.Finally, it was Marcus who spoke up, breaking the silent atmosphere."By the way, your family should have provided you with bodyguards, so how did you get caught by those pirates?"Ashley's family was so Rich that the bodyguards provided should have been very strong, while those pirates were very weak."Hehe..." Ashley said embarrassedly: "Staying at home all the time is so boring, and there's no one to play with me, so I snuck out by myself."Marcus finally understood. With those pirates' strength, how could they have caught Ashley? It turned out she had snuck out."It must have been you again, spending money on things, and then these pirates noticed you," Marcussaid.If he hadn't seen that Ashley was Rich, Marcusreally couldn't imagine why these pirates would have grabbed her.However, Ashley shook her head and said: "No, at that time, as soon as I snuck out, I met a famous doctor named Doctor Wu.""He said he had treated the Celestial Dragons, so I listened to him and spent ten million Berries to buy a prescription."Marcus interrupted: "But, I didn't expect that he was cheating you. Actually, he was just a pirate, the same pirate who caught you earlier and threatened me.""Hey!" Ashley looked surprised, "How did you know?""You said it earlier!""Did I say that?" Ashley asked herself.Marcus nodded. When Ashley escaped from Rich's hands, she had said that this Doctor Wu had deceived her."I actually don't remember," but Ashley recalled for a long time and couldn't think of ever having said such a thing.Regarding Ashley's thick-headedness, Marcussmiled bitterly and shook his head, not knowing what to say."Forget it, if I can't remember, then I won't think about it," Ashley waved her hand, feeling depressed.Thinking about where she had left off, Ashleycontinued her story."After that, I was wandering around Korode, but later I got lost. I didn't know where I had walked to at all, and ended up entering...""Stop, wait a second," Marcus suddenly heard a piece of very important information and quickly stopped Ashley from continuing.Marcus looked at Ashley in surprise, "What did you just say! You actually got lost. Didn't you say earlier that you were very familiar with this place?"By the end, Marcus's voice was much louder. Marcusfinally realized that he had been tricked by Ashleyagain.He should have thought of this earlier. As soon as Ashley entered Korode, she was interested in everything. If Ashley were familiar with this place, how could she have been so excited?"I've been found out, I'm dead meat now!"Ashley immediately realized she had let something slip. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Marcus, her face full of worry.Because Marcus hadn't controlled himself well and his voice was too loud, people on the whole street were looking at Marcus with dissatisfaction.Being watched by so many people, Marcus also felt embarrassed. He scratched his head and apologized with his head lowered."Sorry, everyone, my voice was a bit too loud."Marcus quickly turned around and grabbed Ashley, who was trying to slip away, "Where are you trying to go?"Feeling her collar being grabbed by a hand, Ashley's face immediately fell."Uh, Marcus, why are you grabbing me?"Ashley stopped unwillingly. The moment she turned around, the bitter look on Ashley's face was instantly replaced by a smile."What do you think?" Marcus asked with a smile.But that smile looked so terrifying to Ashley. If she had known, she should have run away earlier. Now that she had been caught, she was done for.Just as Ashley was about to speak, she was interrupted by Marcus's low voice, "Don't speak. When we get to a place, you can explain it to me properly! Explain!"Marcus didn't want to settle the score with Ashleyunder the gaze of so many people.After speaking, Marcus pulled Ashley and walked toward a street not far away where not many people passed by.Although Ashley really didn't want to go with Marcus, she was in his hands now and had to follow his instructions.Marcus was holding Ashley's left shoulder with his right hand, and the two were walking side by side. Ashley knew she had done something wrong and didn't dare to look at Marcus, keeping her head slightly lowered the whole time.But looking from a distance, it looked like a couple embracing each other.The other people on the street couldn't help but shake their heads when they saw this scene."Young people these days are really too mature!""They're so young, yet they're already dating and hugging in the street. It's really disgraceful.""That's right!"Because these people didn't deliberately lower their voices, both Marcus and Ashley heard them clearly.Hearing what these people said, Ashley's face turned completely red, and she lowered her head even further, unable to even see the road. She had to rely on Marcus holding her to continue walking.Every time Marcus heard a sentence, he felt a black line appear on his head. If there weren't so many people...Marcus really wanted to turn around immediately, take his size 43 shoes, and place them on these people's size 37 faces to measure exactly how big their mouths were.How do we look like a couple? This is clearly a relationship between a 'victim' and a 'perpetrator'.He was the victim!UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 91: Change of Events, Mysterious Man"Speak!"In an unnoticed dark alley, Marcus sat on a stone bench with a dark Face, while opposite him was Ashley, her Face full of grievance.This scene couldn't help but remind one of the black-faced Judge Bao sitting high in the courtroom, interrogating prisoners one by one.It was a pity that Zhan Zhao, Gongsun Ce, Dynasty, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu were missing; otherwise, it would have been even more like it.Getting a bit sidetracked, let's get back to the point."Speak, speak about what? I don't know what to say," Ashley sobbed in a low voice.Ashley had already planned ahead: as long as she pretended to be wronged, faked a few sobs, and then refused to admit anything, Marcus couldn't do anything to her.Seeing this, Marcus licked his lips, a helpless smile appearing on his Face.Looking at the situation, it seemed as if he, the 'victim', had become the 'perpetrator', and this 'perpetrator' had turned into the 'victim'.But Marcus had experience now; anyone who had been scammed by the same person twice would gain experience.He saw at a glance that Ashley was faking it so he couldn't do anything to her.Marcus hadn't really intended to do anything to Ashley, but having been scammed twice, he had to regain some dignity; otherwise, he would lose too much Face.Although no third person knew about it, being scammed by a woman twice in the same day made Marcus unwilling to let Ashley off so easily. He had to scare her at least."Speak about what? You should know that better than me!" Marcus said with a dark Face, pretending to speak in a deep voice.To increase his Aura and scare her, Marcus leaked a trace of extremely faint Killing Intent.Even Marcus didn't know how many villains had died by his hands, so one could imagine how thick his Killing Intent was.Even a tiny trace was enough to cause a tremor in Ashley.Ashley immediately felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly, and she felt a chill all over her body.Looking up, she met Marcus's predatory gaze, causing her whole body to tremble, and she quickly avoided Marcus's eyes.At this moment, in Ashley's eyes, Marcus was no longer the gentle person from before, exuding warmth and sunshine. Now, only that cold, dark, and incomparable Aura remained.After just one look, Ashley quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Marcus again.Ashley also understood that Marcus was clearly truly angry this time; otherwise, he wouldn't be this fierce.However, what Ashley didn't expect was that when Marcus got angry, he was so terrifying and frightening."Speak about what? You didn't tell me what to say, how do you expect me to say anything?" Ashleypouted, speaking with an unhappy look on her Face."Uh..." Marcus was momentarily speechless; this indeed seemed to be his problem.After thinking about it, Marcus continued to scare Ashley in a deep voice, "Then explain why you lied to me about living in Korode.""Hmph..." Ashley suddenly snorted, looking at Marcus with an indignant Face, "I didn't lie to you; I really do live in Korode."For a moment, Marcus was stunned by Ashley's Aura, but it was only for a moment.Coming back to his senses, Marcus looked at Ashleywith a puzzled expression, "Since you live in Korode, why are you unfamiliar with this place?""Who says that growing up in Korode means you must be very familiar with Korode? I've always stayed at home and never had a chance to go out and wander around, so of course I'm not familiar with Korode. Otherwise, why would I have run out?"After speaking, Ashley rolled her eyes at Marcus, as if saying, 'You are stupid, you don't even understand such a simple truth.'Seeing Ashley despise him, Marcus didn't know what to say.Marcus suddenly felt that he was being defeated by Ashley, and his initially good position was instantly shattered.He had to do something, or else he, the victim, would be suppressed by the perpetrator.Thinking for a moment, Marcus's eyes lit up, and he suddenly unleashed a killer move, "However, you seemed to tell me earlier that you were very familiar with Korode."Facing this killer move from Marcus, Ashley was instantly at a loss, not knowing how to refute it, as she had indeed said those words.A killer move was indeed a killer move; the situation instantly shifted to Marcus's side, and his Auraimmediately soared.As for Ashley, the Aura she had managed to build up instantly collapsed, and she fell into a disadvantageous position."Is that so? I don't remember saying those words; you must have remembered wrong."Since she couldn't refute it, Ashley also unleashed a killer move: refusing to admit it. Anyway, she was a woman, and Marcus wouldn't dare do anything to her.Once this killer move was unleashed, Ashleymanaged to withstand Marcus's continuous attacks.Marcus pursed his lips, not knowing what to do. If the person in front of him were an enemy, Marcuswould have already started interrogating him with torture; why would he be here wasting time?But he was facing a woman now, and he had originally intended to just scare her."Scare her, scare, scare..." Marcus's eyes lit up, and he thought of a good idea."Hehehe..." Marcus stared intently at Ashley, his mouth emitting continuous cold laughter, as he slowly approached Ashley step by step.Seeing Marcus like this, a bad premonition flashed through Ashley, and she slowly backed away. Unfortunately, she hadn't taken many steps before reaching a corner; there were high walls behind her, and she had nowhere left to retreat.Watching Marcus approach step by step, Ashleyquickly hugged her chest with both hands and asked vigilantly, "Hey, Marcus, what are you doing? Don't come any closer."Marcus did not answer the question but asked back, "Do you know why I chose this corner where no one passes by and which is very hidden?"Ashley's expression changed as she thought of a possibility; her Face was filled with terror, and her whole body couldn't help but tremble slightly.Seeing that Ashley was scared by him, Marcuspretended to have a very lecherous expression on the surface, but in his heart, he was already laughing secretly."Don't come over! Go away! Don't come over!..." Closing her eyes, Ashley kept waving her hands, saying this continuously.Marcus accurately grabbed Ashley's hands and pressed them tightly against the wall, continuously making licking sounds near her ear."Don't come over, don't come over; if you come any closer, I'm going to call for help.""Call! Call! Even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will come to save you, haha..." Marcus threatened, suppressing the laughter in his heart."Ah...! Help! Save me!"After screaming for a while, Marcus didn't make any move, which made Ashley feel very strange. She stopped screaming and slowly opened her eyes to look.She discovered that Marcus was staring at her, his Face full of mischievous smiles."Hahaha..."Seeing that Ashley had discovered it, Marcus finally couldn't hold it in anymore; he released Ashley's hands and held his stomach, laughing loudly.Ashley understood in an instant that everything just now was just Marcus deliberately scaring her. In fact, Marcus didn't have 'that kind of idea' at all; as for what kind of idea, everyone understands.Thinking of how she had been scared out of her wits by Marcus and kept screaming, Ashley felt extremely ashamed.Especially seeing Marcus laughing on the side, Ashley became even more furious; she lifted her foot and stepped hard on the back of Marcus's foot."Ah..." A scream immediately rang out in the alley.Before Marcus could react, fists like raindrops smashed towards Marcus's head. Marcus hurriedly bent down and covered his head to dodge."Stinky Marcus! Bad Marcus! Dead Marcus! You actually dared to scare me; I will definitely beat you to death."Originally, he felt a bit guilty for scaring Ashley like that, so it didn't matter if he let her hit him; her strength wasn't great anyway, and it didn't hurt.But Ashley kept hitting him without any intention of stopping.Marcus grabbed Ashley's hands, "Hey, hey! Stop hitting; you scammed me, I scared you, we are even.""No, no, you scared me like that, and you still want me to hit you," Ashley struggled with her hands.Just at this moment, Marcus suddenly felt a sound of something breaking through the air coming from the alley entrance, and it was rushing towards him.Marcus quickly pushed Ashley away, protecting his chest with his hands held in front of him.This sound of breaking through the air was incredibly fast, like a clap of thunder, and Marcushadn't fully prepared to defend himself.In an instant, a fist appeared before his eyes, striking towards him. Even the air vibrated under this punch, forming waves of fist wind circling around the center of the fist.Bang! A loud noise rang out in thin air, and a powerful wave of air spread in all directions. This punch had exploded the air; this punch was terrifyingly powerful.Flying backward, only one sentence remained in Marcus's mind, "An expert, a true expert."Bang! Another loud noise, and Marcus crashed into the wall, causing the entire wall to cave in with a large pit."Pfft!" Sliding down from the wall, Marcus opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Marcus looked forward; where he had been standing, another figure was already standing there.UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 92: Am I Going to Die?"Huh!"Seeing that the brat could still stand after his punch, a hint of surprise appeared on the middle-aged man's face, but it was quickly replaced by ferocity."No matter what kind of brat you are, since you dared to do such a thing, I will never let you off today."As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful Killing Intent erupted from the man's body, an intent far stronger than Marcus's.Although he didn't understand what the man was saying, the eruption of Killing Intent meant he was preparing to kill him.Moreover, Ashley was still in his hands. Even if he wasn't this man's opponent, he had to rescue Ashley first before thinking about anything else."Brat, prepare to die!"The man stomped his foot, let out an angry roar, and shot towards Marcus. The entire ground cracked into numerous fissures under this immense power, extending all the way to the nearby wall.Seeing this, Marcus's eyes narrowed. These grounds were made of hard bluestone, yet this man could achieve such a feat with a casual stomp. Although he could also do it, he couldn't do it as casually as the man."Don't underestimate me, you just ambushed me earlier."Marcus's Battle Intent was also high, and he met the man's attack without showing any weakness.Just as his fist was about to collide with Marcus's, a subtle change appeared on the man's face. He suddenly noticed that there was an indistinct substance covering the brat's hand.The two fists collided without a sound, as if the world had momentarily frozen.But if one looked closely, they would find a tiny gap between the two fists."Hmph, brat, so what if you're a Devil Fruit User? How can an ant contend with the bright moon? Die!"The man's strength in his hand suddenly increased, and a sound like shattering glass appeared out of nowhere.Marcus, like a cannonball, crashed into the wall behind him, creating a large hole and entering a shop.Ahhh... The people who were shopping screamed in fright at this sight and rushed out the door.The man wasn't happy after repelling Marcus; instead, his face changed dramatically because he felt a Killing Intent from behind him.It turned out to be one of Marcus's Space Blades, which suddenly appeared behind the man and slashed towards his back.Haki!Armament Haki covered his fists. Without hesitation, the man grabbed backward, and this black circular blade was caught in his hand."Explode!" Marcus, in the dust, sensed this and let out a low growl.The Space Blade immediately exploded, splitting into countless tiny sharp blades that shot towards the man at extreme speed."Hmph," the man snorted coldly. These tiny sharp blades immediately fell to the ground and then disappeared.Clearly, this man was also a powerful Devil Fruit User.Rankyaku!Marcus, in the smoke, kicked out a light blue light wave, attacking the man!Soru!At the same time, he used Soru, instantly rushing to the man's side with a Death Ball in his left hand. But upon closer inspection, it had nothing to do with a Death Ball.The surface of this sphere had countless tiny, upright spikes, with sharp barbs along their edges, and the entire black sphere was constantly rotating.This Move was a new one Marcus had developed over a year of combat—Reaper, an upgraded version of Death Ball.This black sphere not only possessed the same, but even more powerful, explosive force as the Death Ball.The most important advantage was that those spikes, under high-speed rotation, were like incredibly sharp blades. Even steel would be instantly cut into pieces. It could not only attack but also defend at appropriate times.This series of combo Moves was delivered at precisely the right moment, yet the man's face still showed a relaxed expression."The Six Powers may be powerful, but it depends on who you're facing."The man kicked out,Since he shattered the Rankyaku that could cut steel, one could see through his torn clothes that his foot was covered in Armament Haki.Although the man shattered the Rankyaku, his defense above also dropped significantly. Marcus's Reaper was now only a few centimeters away from the man.Swish!A cold glint flashed.Marcus's expression changed drastically. He quickly let go of the Reaper in his hand and dodged to the side.He saw a huge crack appear on the wall behind Marcus without any warning, cutting the entire building in half.The setting sun's rays shone through the crack, illuminating Marcus's relieved face.Meanwhile, the man beside him already had a slender rapier in his hand. Seeing Marcus dodge his slash, a hint of shock appeared on his face.One had to know that his Kyowa Zan just now, though not one of his most powerful Moves, was still extremely lethal. Its only advantage was its speed, an unparalleled speed, yet this brat had managed to dodge it.Looking at the 'Reaper' that was cut in half on the ground, Marcus's face showed a hint of a smile. In that brief exchange, he still had the upper hand.Because Marcus had seen a faint trace of blood on the ground just now, and since he wasn't injured, this bloodstain could only belong to the man.The man didn't hide what happened to his hand. He took out a white cloth, wiped the blood from the back of his hand, then folded the cloth neatly and put it in his pocket."I didn't expect you, a brat, to be a Marine, and to use the Six Powers and Devil Fruit Ability so skillfully. That's remarkable.""Unfortunately, you're a Marine scoundrel for doing such a thing. Today, I'll help the Marine clear out a scoundrel.""Hey, hey..." Marcus quickly said, "What do you mean I'm a Marine scoundrel? And what did I do?"Marcus didn't want to be wrongly accused and then beaten up for no reason. He certainly didn't want to experience that feeling.Seeing that the brat still wouldn't admit it even when death was imminent, the man's anger deepened considerably, and he roared."Brat, I saw it with my own eyes, and you still want to argue? It seems I'll have to capture you. Die, brat.""Wait a moment, wait a moment," Marcus seemed to understand something and quickly spoke up.Unfortunately, the enraged man wouldn't listen to Marcus and attacked with the rapier in his hand.Seeing that the man wouldn't listen, Marcus could only resist, but how could a pair of bare fists contend with the man's exquisite swordsmanship?Swish! Another powerful slash came, cutting a building in half.Soru. Marcus narrowly dodged it by shifting his body. If he had been even a tiny bit slower, he would have been finished.At this moment, the man closed in, his long sword glinting coldly, stabbing towards him from an extremely tricky angle.The man had waited for a long time, precisely for this moment. Although Marcus realized this Movewas coming, he simply didn't have enough space or time to dodge it.Moreover, this Move by the man was clearly intended to kill Marcus.Space Sword!A black longsword instantly appeared in Marcus's hand, and he quickly swung it to block the man's killing Move.His Move failing, the man instantly changed tactics, flipping his long sword and striking horizontally against Marcus's Space Sword.Immediately, a powerful force traveled along the sword to Marcus's hand, his tiger's mouth split open, and the sword almost fell from his grasp.Marcus retreated dozens of steps before finally dispelling this force.Marcus was shocked. He had been fighting for years, and his pure strength was incredibly powerful.Especially since he often fought against pure strength masters like the Stinky Old Man, he had accumulated considerable experience and had developed a combat method suitable for himself.How could this man's strength be so strong? A light tap made him retreat dozens of steps."Is it a Devil Fruit Ability? Yes, it's very likely a Devil Fruit Ability."The man spoke, "Brat, I'm done playing with you."Before his words even fell, the man vanished from Marcus's sight. When the man reappeared, he was above Marcus, slashing down with his sword."How is this possible? How can this man be so fast? If he had been this fast earlier, I would have lost long ago. Has this man been suppressing his strength while fighting me?" Marcus thought in disbelief.Facing the man's sword descending from the sky, Marcus didn't think he could resist it.Just as Marcus was about to use Soru to dodge, suddenly, an incredibly powerful force pressed down on him from above. Marcus had no power to resist and was pressed to the ground, unable to Move.Looking at the sword getting closer from above, Marcus showed a hint of reminiscence."Is this what death feels like? It seems I'm going to experience it again. This feeling is really unpleasant."Stop!UU Reading welcomes all book lovers to read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 93: Misunderstanding!A startled shout rang out like a sudden clap of thunder!This shout came from Ashley's mouth. Earlier, she had been suddenly pushed down by Marcus, and before she could react to what was happening...She saw Marcus start fighting with a man. When Ashley saw the man's face clearly, she was shocked and initially thought about escaping secretly.But thinking that Marcus was no match for the man and fearing he would get hurt, she didn't dare leave. Caught in a dilemma, she could only stand to the side, at a loss for what to do.When she saw that Marcus was about to be killed by the man, Ashley quickly called out to stop him.But the man acted as if he hadn't heard anything and didn't stop; the long sword in his hand still stabbed down toward Marcus on the ground.If he were stabbed by this, Marcus would surely die, and even a Great Golden Immortal would find it hard to save him—though, of course, there were no Great Golden Immortals here.Seeing that the man didn't stop, Ashley rushed over and shouted loudly."Stop! Stop right now!"Clang!The long sword collided with the bluestone floor, letting out a crisp ring.Seeing this scene, Ashley's heart leaped into her throat. A single tear escaped her eyes and slid down her pure white face, appearing piercingly bright under the glow of the setting sun.At this moment, Ashley felt incomparable regret. If she hadn't insisted on following Marcus, the man wouldn't have misunderstood, and Marcus wouldn't have to die.Lying on the ground, Marcus felt the killing intent above his head and naturally closed his eyes, a trace of self-mockery appearing on his face.He hadn't expected that not long after his Rebirthinto this world, he would be killed. If he had known, he would have listened to the Stinky Old Man.He didn't expect there to be such a powerful person in Korode. This great whirlpool was indeed not something he could get involved in.After waiting for a few breaths, Marcus realized he didn't feel any pain. He found it incredibly strange; how could the feeling of death be like this?It wasn't like he hadn't experienced it before; how could there be no pain at all?Opening his eyes, he saw the cold glint of the long sword before him. The sharp blade was pressed so close to his face that he could clearly feel its icy chill.Above his head, strands of hair drifted down in the wind and landed on the ground.Finding himself alive, Marcus was immediately filled with relief. No one in this world wants to die; even ants struggle to live, let alone a human.Moreover, there were still so many wonderful things in this world that he hadn't experienced yet; how could he just die?At the same time, Marcus was very puzzled. He had clearly felt that this man intended to kill him, so why did he suddenly stop?Beside them, Ashley also let out a sigh of relief when she saw this. A joyful smile appeared on her face as she wiped away her tears and rushed toward the man.Seeing Ashley rush over, Marcus thought she was trying to save him and quickly spoke up."Ashley, run! This man is very..."Before he could finish, Marcus was so shocked by the scene before him that he was speechless.Ashley directly grabbed the man's arm and acted spoiled with a look of delight: "Uncle Teng, you really scared me to death just now. I thought you were actually going to do it!"Upon seeing Ashley, the killing intent and anger on the man's body vanished instantly. He rubbed Ashley's head with a face full of doting affection."How would your Uncle Teng dare to ignore what you say? If you get angry, wouldn't that take your Uncle Teng's old life?""Hmph!" Ashley pouted in dissatisfaction. "I'm not as scary as you say."Well then!Marcus instantly understood that his worry had been for nothing. It turned out they knew each other and were on very good terms.No wonder this man called Uncle Teng had thrown a punch the moment they met and unleashed such intense killing intent toward him.He had even said things like he was a 'Marine scum' and 'did that kind of thing but still refused to admit it'.This man must have seen the scene where he was scaring Ashley and misunderstood that he was going to do *that*, so he came forward ready to kill him.Marcus had figured it out, but Uncle Teng had not."Speak, what was going on just now?" Uncle Tengpointed at Marcus and said, "This Stinky Kid was like that just now, and you still want me to let him go?"Hearing Uncle Teng's question, both Marcus and Ashley showed a hint of embarrassment. The two of them were just joking earlier, but the joke had gone a bit too far.Ashley's face in particular was incredibly red. Thinking of the scene from before and how she had kept screaming, she felt extremely ashamed; it was simply too embarrassing.She stole a quick glance at Marcus and then immediately retracted her gaze.Seeing the change in Ashley's expression, Uncle Teng thought he had arrived too late, and a surge of nameless fury instantly rose in his chest.Thinking that the Young Miss had actually been defiled by this Marine scum, Uncle Teng felt immense heartache. If such a thing had happened, how could he explain it to the Master?He said angrily, "Don't tell me this brat has already done that to you? I'll kill him right now!"A powerful killing intent erupted from Uncle Teng's body. He angrily raised his right hand, about to strike Marcus's head.Ashley grabbed Uncle Teng's hand. "Uncle Teng, what are you talking about? What 'done that' to me?""Weren't you like that just now? Didn't this brat do that to you? Why are you saying you don't know what 'that' is?" Uncle Teng said in confusion."Like what? What 'that'? Uncle Teng, what on earth are you saying?"Now it was Ashley's turn to be confused. The more they spoke, the more muddled it became. Ashley felt completely dazed.The only one who remained clear-headed was Marcus. Hearing the dialogue between these two, he could only smile bitterly.Seeing them both getting more confused, Marcusknew he should step up and explain. Otherwise, things would get more and more complicated until even he couldn't explain them clearly.Moreover, this concerned the innocence of two people! Marcus couldn't stay silent any longer!"Um, could you let me say something?" Marcusraised his hand and spoke in a low voice."You speak!" Ashley and Uncle Teng turned their heads at the same time and spoke to Marcus.Uncle Teng wanted to quickly find out what exactly had happened, while Ashley wanted Marcus to quickly explain everything clearly to Uncle Teng.Although their motives were different, their thoughts were the same: they wanted Marcus to explain.Marcus spoke up: "Actually, this is all just a misunderstanding. Nothing actually happened between the two of us.""A misunderstanding? Nothing?" Uncle Teng clearly didn't believe Marcus's words.He had clearly heard those sounds and seen with his own eyes this brat grabbing the Young Miss's hand. How could nothing have happened?Uncle Teng shifted his gaze to Ashley, asking if what Marcus said was true.Ashley thought about it and finally nodded gently. Marcus had indeed only scared her and hadn't done anything else.Seeing Ashley nod, Uncle Teng still had some doubts."What exactly is going on? What happened between you two earlier?"Uncle Teng still couldn't understand. Since nothing had happened between them, why did the Young Miss scream like that, and why was this Stinky Kidgrabbing her hand?A hint of embarrassment flashed across Marcus's face. He was a bit embarrassed to speak about what happened just now; it was quite shameful. But in this situation, he had to speak.So, Marcus proceeded to explain how he met Ashley, defeated those pirates, saved her... and finally how he found out Ashley had lied to him, so he did that on purpose to scare her.After hearing Marcus's explanation, the corner of Uncle Teng's mouth twitched involuntarily. All of that just now was just the two of them joking around?You young people really know how to play!However, knowing that the Young Miss was almost captured by pirates, Uncle Teng was also incredibly nervous. If she hadn't met this kid, the Young Misswould have been in grave danger this time, and his guilt would have been immense.At that point, even if he killed all those pirates, he wouldn't be able to undo anything."Those pirates really deserve to die. When I get back, I'll definitely send people to capture them all."Marcus smiled slightly. "There's no need. I've already dealt with all those pirates."A hint of admiration flashed in Uncle Teng's eyes. Uncle Teng was also a decisive person, and Marcus's way of doing things was indeed to his liking.Only then did Uncle Teng realize he didn't know this brat's name, so he asked."By the way, kid, what's your name? How come I haven't heard of you in the Marine?""Marcus, a Marine."UU Reading. Readers are welcome to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read
Chapter 94: Coincidence"Marcus? Marcus?"Uncle Teng felt the name was very familiar, as if he had heard it many times, but he just couldn't quite place it. He started muttering to himself."That's right!" Uncle Teng suddenly remembered. "You are that Marcus whom the Marine Headquarters has been promoting for the past two years!"Marcus was not surprised that Uncle Teng had heard of him; his name was already known throughout the world."Marcus, are you very famous? How come I've never heard of you?" Ashley interjected."Of course you haven't heard of him. You never read the newspaper, so it would be strange if you had," Uncle Teng said."Hehe..." Hearing Uncle Teng say this, Ashley felt a bit embarrassed. She really didn't pay attention to things in the newspapers.Uncle Teng said, "I was just wondering earlier, how such a powerful youth suddenly appeared among the Marines."To be honest, Uncle Teng had always felt that Marcus was just being hyped up by the Marines. But seeing Marcus today, he realized that Marine Headquarters really hadn't been exaggerating."Uncle Teng, listening to you, it seems you are very familiar with the Marines. Did you join the Marines back in the day?" Marcus asked, scratching his head in confusion.If Uncle Teng had joined the Marines, given his strength, his rank shouldn't have been low, yet Marcus had never heard of him."No," Uncle Teng shook his head. "It's just that the business our Master does involves the Marines."Hearing Uncle Teng's explanation, Marcus suddenly understood. So Ashley's father did business with the Marines, which explained why they were so wealthy, though he didn't know what kind of business they were actually doing.Ashley bit her finger, looking confused. "Father does business with the Marines? How come I didn't know about this?""That, you don't need to worry about," Uncle Tengsaid in a deep voice. "You should think about how to explain this to your father."Ashley's face immediately fell. She had snuck out on her own this time, and her father would definitely be very angry, and she would be grounded for a few more days."You, child, do you know how worried your father was when you ran away this time? Your father sent everyone out to search for you in Korode and even secretly posted a very high bounty."Uncle Teng tapped Ashley on the head, scolding her, though his tone was still full of concern.Marcus asked, "Uncle Teng, how did you find us? I didn't notice anyone following us.""We have our people on every street in all of Korode, so as soon as you entered Korode, we had already discovered you.""It's just that we didn't understand the situation at the time, so we didn't follow you, but in fact, you have always been in our sight, waiting until I arrived."Marcus couldn't help but gasp. Although Uncle Teng made it sound simple, Marcus knew how difficult it was to implement this.Just gathering so many people was extremely difficult. Korode was so big; to have people on every street required so many personnel.And Ashley's father had managed to gather them in such a short time; one could imagine how much power Ashley's father truly had.Seeing Marcus and Uncle Teng talking, Ashley's eyes rolled, and she prepared to slowly slip away.However, Ashley didn't know that with the strength of Uncle Teng and Marcus, they had already noticed her actions the moment she prepared to slip away.Seeing the alley entrance close by, a hint of a happy smile appeared on Ashley's face.At this moment, a voice sounded from behind."Stop the Young Miss."As soon as Uncle Teng finished speaking, four figures dressed entirely in black walked out from the shadows of the alley corner and blocked the way.Seeing these four figures who appeared suddenly, Marcus's eyes narrowed, and a look of shock appeared on his face.He had been talking to Uncle Teng for so long and hadn't noticed these four people here at all.He hadn't even noticed when they arrived.Were they with Uncle Teng, or did they come after Uncle Teng, or were they here from the beginning? Marcus had no idea.With his own strength, they were right in front of him, yet he hadn't detected anything unusual. This was truly a high level of stealth technique.The moment he saw them, Marcus understood that these four were extremely powerful assassins; only assassins would have such high-level stealth techniques.Marcus couldn't help but think that if they had come to assassinate him, he probably wouldn't even have known how he died. Fortunately, they were not enemies.Being targeted by them would truly be sleepless nights, because you wouldn't know when a dagger might be slashed at your throat while eating or sleeping.Likewise, Marcus became even more curious about Ashley's father. Not only did he have such a powerful expert like Uncle Teng, but he also had these four equally powerful assassins.Who exactly was Ashley's father?Although he knew Ashley's father had business dealings with the Marines, there were too many merchants who did business with the Marines. Without seeing the person, he couldn't be sure.Seeing these four people appear, Ashley knew she couldn't run; they were her father's personal bodyguards.Ashley made a bitter face and obediently turned back, muttering to herself."Stinky father! Bad father! Sending these four people out. Now I can't escape.""Uncle Teng!" Ashley shook Uncle Teng's arm vigorously. "Can't you just let me go? I haven't finished looking around yet. Let me look around a bit more."Uncle Teng grabbed Ashley's hand and said, "Stop shaking. If you shake anymore, these old bones of mine are going to fall apart."Uncle Teng glanced at the four Men in Black standing to the side, saying nothing."It's not that I won't let you go. They have received orders from the Master to bring you back. You know, with them here, how could I possibly let you go?"Releasing Uncle Teng's hand, her mouth pouted high; Ashley certainly understood that Uncle Tengwas right.Suddenly, Ashley saw Marcus, who was resting his chin on his hand nearby, his face full of smiles."Marcus, come with us. I'll take you to see my home. My home is very beautiful," Ashley said."No," Marcus shook his head immediately.Marcus understood Ashley's little thoughts. Ashleyjust wanted him to go play with her, but he still had things to do.Besides, seeing so many experts, Marcus felt Ashley's home was too scary. It was possible that once he went in, he wouldn't be able to come out. His small frame wasn't suitable for that.Uncle Teng also spoke up: "That's right, Marcus, you can certainly go. I think if our Master knew, he would definitely welcome you."Ashley shook Marcus's hand, chiming in, "Yeah, Marcus, go!"Feeling the softness from the two "big white rabbits" rubbing against his arm, Marcus almost agreed. But Marcus's will was firm; how could he be tempted by such mere beauty?"Uncle Teng, it's not that I don't want to go, but I have something to do today. I need to go to a certain place," Marcus apologized.Seeing that Marcus didn't seem to be lying, Uncle Teng nodded and said."Oh! Since that's the case, I won't force you. However, seeing that you are not familiar with Korode, where do you want to go? I will have someone take you there."Marcus was happy. "Really? Then thank you, Uncle Teng."He had just been thinking that he wasn't familiar with this place and would probably have to ask someone to find that Peak Hotel.And now it was getting dark. If he went looking for it himself, it would definitely take a lot of time, and he might very well miss it.Now with Uncle Teng's help, he felt much more relieved.Ashley, on the other hand, was unhappy. She had finally met a friend like Marcus, and he was leaving before even a day had passed."Where is the place you are looking for?" Uncle Teng asked with a smile."Peak Hotel.""What?" Ashley and Uncle Teng exclaimed in surprise at the same time.Yay!Immediately after, Ashley suddenly yelled happily, while Uncle Teng had a strange smile on his face.Marcus scratched his head and asked, confused, "Is there a problem?""Marcus, it seems we are destined to meet. We are going to travel together. The place we are going is also the Peak Hotel."What!Now it was Marcus's turn to exclaim, "This... that... it can't really be that coincidental, right?""It really might be that coincidental!"Uncle Teng also felt very surprised. If he didn't know Marcus, he would have thought Marcus was saying this on purpose for some special purpose.The happy Ashley grabbed Marcus's hand and pulled him toward the alley entrance."Let's go! Marcus!"UU Reading: Welcome, book lovers, to come and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 95: Big Shot"Right, I don't know the way," Ashley said, finally realizing it as she looked at the fork in the road ahead.Bam!Marcus immediately stumbled; you're this excited even though you don't know the way?"Hey, you two, slow down!" Uncle Teng, who was strolling over, shouted from behind.The other four Man in Black did not appear, but Marcus knew they must be hiding in some dark corner, observing everything.Ashley complained, "Uncle Teng, why are you so slow? Hurry up!"A bitter smile appeared on Uncle Teng's face. Earlier you were full of reluctance, but now you're actually more anxious than me; this change is not just a little bit significant.Swish!With a flash of his figure, Uncle Teng appeared beside Ashley.Ashley kept pushing Uncle Teng forward, muttering incessantly, "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry and lead the way, I don't know how to go!""Fine! Fine! Stop pushing me!"Uncle Teng turned his head and said to Ashley, who was looking down with her hands on his waist, continuously applying force.Choosing the main road on the left, Uncle Teng led the way forward.Seeing that Uncle Teng had chosen the path, Ashleygrabbed Marcus's hand, overtook Uncle Teng, who was leading the way, and pulled Marcus forward.Uncle Teng shook his head and smiled, quickened his pace a bit, and followed closely behind the two.Not long after, under Ashley's guidance, Marcusarrived at an extremely busy commercial street."Finally here."Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, Ashley said, panting slightly.As for Marcus, looking at the building in front of him, he was already shocked beyond measure.Unlike the high-rise buildings Marcus had imagined, this building was entirely a huge oblate spheroid.In Marcus's view, this building was just like the UFOs people speculated about in his previous life. It was too similar; Marcus even suspected whether the person who designed this building was a Rebirth, just like him.However, the entire building was unusually large. According to Marcus's visual estimation, the entire building was over a hundred meters high. As for the approximate floor area, Marcus couldn't tell, because it was simply too large.And such a large building was built in the center of this busy commercial street. No! It should be said that this busy commercial street was built surrounding this huge building.This whole area was actually like a ring; the inside was this kind of building, and the ring was this busy commercial street.Just how awesome is Ashley's father to be able to build such a structure? How much money must this have cost? He is truly too rich."How is it, Marcus? Is my home big?" Ashley waved her hands and introduced happily."Wait a moment," Marcus said, as if he had misheard. "You said this is your home?""Mm, that's right," Ashley nodded."This is your home?""Mm!""Hehe... such a large building is actually your home?"Marcus was scared half to death; if he hadn't been holding onto a railing, he would have almost fallen to the ground.Who could imagine that a building over a hundred meters high, with God knows how much floor area, was actually built specifically for someone to live in?You can't show off like this even if you're rich. How is a poor person like me supposed to handle this?"Hey!" Marcus pursed his lips and asked, "Ashley, your home is so big, do that many people live there?"Ashley tilted her head and thought for a moment, "No, only the upper parts are my home. The lower parts are all shops, restaurants, accommodations—anyway, there are lots of things."Hearing Ashley say this, Marcus finally breathed a sigh of relief. So most of this place was for selling things; that was acceptable.At this moment, Marcus finally remembered the purpose of his visit. He scanned the area but couldn't find the place he was looking for, so he hurriedly asked."But why don't I see Peak? Where exactly is this Peak?"Uncle Teng walked over from behind and explained with a smile, "Peak is right in front of you.""Uncle Teng, you mean this is it?" Marcus pointed at the building in front of him and asked, turning around.Suddenly, Marcus smelled a scent of blood on Uncle Teng, and upon closer inspection, he could see that some subtle parts of Uncle Teng's clothes were torn.Judging by the situation, Uncle Teng had experienced a major battle in the time he had just left. Although he noticed it, Marcus did not make a scene.Uncle Teng nodded and replied, "That's right, this is Peak.""But why don't I see any signs related to Peak on it?" Marcus touched his head and asked suspiciously."That's because the two words 'Peak' are on top," Ashley interjected from the side."Oh, enough talking, let's go inside first."Before Marcus could say anything, Ashley grabbed Marcus's hand and ran towards the building.Peak was over a hundred meters high, so its main entrance was unusually tall, reaching a full ten meters high and six meters wide.What was shocking was that this gate was entirely golden yellow; this gate was actually cast from gold.That golden light was enough to blind your 34k titanium alloy dog eyes.No matter how many times you came to Peak, you would stop in front of this gate; who could blame you, this gold was simply too dazzling.A ten-meter-high, six-meter-wide gate—how much gold would that require? Tens of tons, hundreds of tons? Regardless of the amount, it was a number that would make anyone greedy.At this moment, standing beside the gate were two rows of bodyguards in black suits, as if some distinguished guest were arriving.Nearby, there were quite a few staff members in uniforms directing the crowd to enter through other gates. As such a large building, it certainly had many entrances.Unfortunately, most people present chose to stay behind; they wanted to see.Exactly what big shot had arrived that required Peakto clear the entire entrance, and even have the manager of Peak come out specifically to welcome them?Everyone present was extremely curious, so as time passed, more and more people stayed.Peak had to pull a large number of staff members to maintain discipline at the scene, lest anything bad happen."Manager, there are more and more people now. I'm afraid there might be some chaos later," a man in a suit said in a low voice to the manager.Seeing such a large crowd, the manager also frowned. With so many people, it was inevitable there would be some with ulterior motives.After weighing the situation, the manager said sternly, "Call out the guard team, pay attention to everything. If anyone makes any bad moves, kill them on the spot.""This... there's no need to mobilize the guard team, right? And..."The man in the suit knew that the people in the guard team were elites the boss had hired at high salaries from the army. Although their number was not small, each one was extremely powerful.The manager waved his hand to interrupt and said in a deep voice, "Stop talking, go and give the order immediately.""Yes!"The man in the suit replied in a low voice and hurriedly ran inside.The man in the suit didn't know who the person arriving was, but the manager knew very well. The person arriving was the Young Miss, and the Young Miss was the apple of the Master's eye.This time, the Young Miss's disappearance had made the Master furious, and quite a few people had lost their lives because of it. Moreover, this disappearance of the Young Miss had already significantly intensified the atmosphere of an impending storm in Korode.Both openly and secretly, who knew how many people were watching the Master? Especially with the Young Miss's disappearance, it had attracted many forces to search for her.These forces all wanted to capture the Young Missto threaten the Master. It could be said that the entire Korode, whether openly or secretly, was surging with undercurrents over this matter.Now that the Young Miss had returned, it was inevitable that those people would not give up and might strike at this final moment.Although Uncle Teng was there, those petty people were not to be worried about, but sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. If something bad happened later, once the Master was furious, even having nine lives wouldn't be enough for him."Manager, everything has been done according to your instructions," the man in the suit, having finished the task, returned.Seeing some of the guard team hidden in the crowd, the manager nodded slightly. With these powerful guards, he could be much more at ease.At this time, Marcus and Ashley also appeared in front of the crowd.Seeing the Young Miss safe and sound, the manager immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately after, seeing Marcus being tightly pulled by the Young Miss, the manager's face was full of shock."Who is this brat? And he's being held by the hand by the Young Miss. Who can tell me what exactly is going on?"Walking along with Ashley, Marcus looked at the huge crowd, a trace of vigilance appearing on his face, because Marcus felt strands of Killing Intent.Although it was very faint, it was still discovered by the keen Marcus. These Killing Intent were not directed at himself, but at Ashley in front.Marcus exerted a little force on his hand and pulled back the trotting Ashley.Being pulled by Marcus, Ashley turned around and looked at Marcus with a puzzled face."Marcus, why did you suddenly pull me? Is there something the matter?""It's nothing, just walking a bit too fast. Let's walk slower."PS: Tomorrow is May 1st, four updates will be provided. Readers, please cast a few votes for me. Thank you to all readers for your continuous support.UU Reading welcomes all book friends to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 96: AssassinPS: Presenting the May Day update. After reading, don't rush off to play; remember to cast a monthly ticket first. Starting now, the Qidian 515 Fan Festival offers double monthly tickets. There are other activities with red packets, so feel free to take a look!Step, step...Although she didn't understand why Marcus said that, Ashley still followed Marcus's advice and was pulled forward step by step by him."These are clearly just two children; why is Peakputting on such a grand reception?"A resident, clearly a local, explained: "You don't understand, do you? That Little Girl is the Young Miss of Peak; the entire Peak belongs to her.""Hiss, I didn't expect that this girl is actually the Young Miss of Peak; no wonder there's such a grand reception.""Exactly. The boss of Peak only has this one daughter, and in the future, this vast family fortune will all be hers."Several tourists nearby heard the man's words and looked at Ashley with a different kind of gaze.Whoever marries this girl would get all this vast family fortune, wouldn't they?"That's not right. Isn't the boy standing next to her the young master of Peak?""No, I've never heard of Peak having a young master."...Marcus, with his extremely strong sensory abilities, naturally heard the conversation of those people clearly, but he didn't take these conversations to heart.Marcus was now constantly alert to those Killing Intent, and as Ashley got closer to Peak, this Killing Intent became heavier.However, these people had good hiding techniques; Marcus could only sense the Killing Intent but could not sense their specific locations.Even if Ashley was thick-skinned, she now sensed that something was wrong and asked in a low voice."Marcus, has something happened?"Marcus tightly held Ashley's smooth little hand and smiled slightly, "It's nothing, I just want to observe this building carefully."As for the matter of someone wanting to kill her, Marcus felt it was better not to tell Ashley; some things are better left unknown."Mm, since Marcus wants to look, we can walk slower."Feeling Marcus's warm hands, a flush crawled up Ashley's cheeks, and she said it so softly that Marcus didn't hear it at all.However, above Peak, a man wearing casual clothes, with slightly graying hair but looking very spirited, was watching everything below with bright, focused eyes.Seeing Ashley below, the man's face revealed a warm and knowing smile.Feeling another strand of Killing Intent disappear, a smile appeared on Marcus's face; this was the fourth strand of Killing Intent to disappear, and all of this was done by Uncle Teng.Just a moment ago, Marcus discovered that Uncle Teng had suddenly disappeared, and immediately after, a strand of Killing Intent vanished; Marcusknew this was Uncle Teng starting to act.After walking a few more steps, Marcus suddenly felt an extremely strong Killing Intent emerge on his right side.It seems this assassin realized the other assassins had been taken out and knew that if they didn't act now, they wouldn't have another chance.Although he discovered the crisis, with his own perception, it was difficult to feel exactly where the attack was coming from, but this didn't mean Marcus was out of options.Observation Haki! Activate!Once Observation Haki was activated, Marcus's perception instantly increased by many times, and he immediately discovered where the attack was coming from.Ever since last year, on Saxon Island, when he saw the battle between Rayleigh and Garp, especially the use of Haki during the fight, Marcus immediately made the determination to learn Haki.After parting at Saxon, Marcus begged the Stinky Old Man to teach him Haki.Originally, Garp was planning to teach Marcus Hakiafter some time, but since Marcus brought it up, Garp taught Marcus Haki early.Over the past year, with a teacher who knew Hakivery well, plus Marcus's hard work and his extremely strong talent, Marcus had already initially mastered Haki!Marcus's right hand moved nonchalantly, lightly brushing the empty air to Ashley's right.When Marcus pulled his hand back, one could see his hand trembling slightly. Looking closely between Marcus's fingers, one could spot an extremely thin needle gleaming with a cold light.This kind of needle was specially made; under the sun, it was very difficult to spot with the naked eye, so Marcus hadn't noticed it earlier.It was only after activating Observation Haki that he barely discovered its existence. At the same time, there was a faint green tint on this needle, which was obviously coated with deadly poison.It seems these assassins were all acting with the intention of killing Ashley.The assassin who fired this needle must be an expert; Marcus's hand was trembling, which showed how powerful the force was; at the time, Marcus had almost failed to catch it.However, no matter how powerful this assassin was, they would not be a match for Uncle Teng.In the crowd, Uncle Teng had already knocked this assassin unconscious, and several members of the guard team were taking the assassin away.Seeing Marcus look over, Uncle Teng gave Marcus a thumbs up.That scene just now had scared Uncle Teng half to death; Uncle Teng hadn't expected that this assassin would actually fire a poison-tipped silver needle at the very last moment.At that time, Uncle Teng wanted to step in and stop it, but it was already too late.Fortunately, Marcus had stepped in to block it in time, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.With Marcus protecting her by her side, plus Uncle Teng and some guard personnel clearing the crowd.Although there were several crises, they were all resolved. Ashley, who was by his side, naturally didn't know that in the time it took her to walk a few dozen steps, there had been several life-and-death crises.Feeling the Killing Intent disappear, not only did Marcus not smile, but the vigilance on his face became even more severe.Because Marcus realized that the sense of crisis in his heart had not dissipated but had instead become more intense, which meant that there were still assassins hiding in the crowd; they were just hiding too deeply.Seeing the guard personnel right in front of him, Marcus also breathed a slight sigh of relief; as long as they entered Peak, these assassins would naturally retreat on their own.But just at this moment, several figures rushed out from the middle, and for a moment, the sounds of gunfire and artillery rang out.Bang, bang...Seeing these people come out, Marcus did not panic at all; Marcus had long expected that this was their last chance to assassinate.If these assassins didn't want their mission to fail, they had to seize this last opportunity to act.An invisible Space Shield appeared around Marcusand Ashley, blocking all the bullets."Not good, this brat is not simple, retreat!"These final assassins were all extremely experienced individuals with very sharp eyes; they immediately saw that Marcus was not simple.If a strike fails, one must immediately retreat; this is the principle of an assassin.But how could Marcus let them have their way? Since they had come out, how could he let you petty villains escape?Space Bind!The assassins in mid-air, just about to retreat, felt an unknown force bind their bodies.These assassins were all highly skilled individuals and broke free from Marcus's Space Bind with a burst of strength.However, Marcus did not have any expression of surprise, because from the beginning, Marcus didn't think he could bind them.The reason for doing so was to buy a tiny bit of time so that Uncle Teng could annihilate them all.Uncle Teng, who was in the crowd, flashed and appeared above these assassins, his right hand slightly raised, then suddenly pressed down.Feeling someone appear above them, the assassins' faces changed drastically. Just as they wanted to flee, an incredibly powerful force pressed down from above, as if they were carrying a weight of billions of catties on their backs.Bang! Bang! Bang!These assassins fell from the sky, crashing hard into the ground, making several loud noises.These loud noises also woke up the crowd nearby who had been stunned by fear.Immediately, countless screams rang out, and the onlookers fled in all directions, wishing they had grown more legs so they could run faster.The manager at the entrance saw this scene, his heart skipped a beat, and he secretly thought it was bad.He hurriedly waved his hand to signal everyone to follow him, leading them to push through the crowded crowd and run towards the direction of the Young Miss.He cursed inwardly, "These bastard assassins, daring to cause trouble here; don't let me catch you, or I will definitely strangle you bastards to death."At the same time, Uncle Teng, who had solved these assassins with one move in mid-air, saw the chaotic crowd before him, and his expression also changed.There were still some assassins who had not been dealt with, and now that the scene was so chaotic, the remaining assassins would definitely not let go of this good opportunity.And Marcus and the Young Miss were still stuck below; now, squeezed by these people, he didn't know where they had gone, and trying to find two teenagers among so many people was no less difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.Marcus saw the crowded crowd, and his expression also changed; he hurriedly pulled the frightened Ashley into his arms with one hand.He comforted her, "Don't worry, with me here, no one can hurt you."For some reason, hearing Marcus's comfort, Ashley's heart slowly calmed down, and she snuggled tightly into Marcus's embrace.A sharp longsword stabbed in from the side!First update presented![Thank you all for your continued support. For this Qidian 515 Fan Festival, I hope you can support the Author's Hall of Fame and the overall work election. Also, there are some red packet gift bags for the Fan Festival, so claim them and keep your subscriptions going!]UU Reading welcomes readers to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all on UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 97: Sudden ChangePS: Offering the May 1st update. Don't go play immediately after reading, remember to cast a monthly ticket first. Starting now, the Qidian 515 Fan Festival offers double monthly tickets, and there are other events with red envelopes, so take a look!Clang!Marcus held his black longsword in his hand and accurately blocked this sneak attack.Looking closely, the person wielding the sword was actually a white-haired old man, but his piercing, spirited eyes and upright posture betrayed the assassin's true age."Kid, our target is only this Little Girl. You are just an outsider and have nothing to do with her. Why enter this whirlpool?"This assassin had seen Marcus's earlier move and knew he was not simple; it would take a significant amount of time to deal with this kid.By the time that powerful expert arrived, there would be no more opportunities, so this assassin wanted to use a simple verbal offensive to make Marcus retreat.But this assassin had clearly miscalculated. How could Marcus be the type of person to fear death and flee in the face of battle?Marcus didn't say much; he flipped his longsword and unleashed several sword flowers as he attacked the assassin.Even if he didn't know Ashley, Marcus would have stepped in if he encountered such a thing. Not to mention that his relationship with Ashley was quite deep; how could he abandon her?The assassin hurriedly retreated a few steps, dodging Marcus's attack, waiting for the moment Marcus would hold Ashley and close in to attack.Suddenly, he felt something crawling on his legs, rendering him unable to move, and his body was slowly sinking.Looking down, he saw that the ground where he had just been standing had turned into a swamp, and now his legs were trapped in it."Ability User, there is an Ability User nearby."Before Marcus could react, several powerful mud balls shot out from the swamp, and the sword-wielding assassin also unleashed a powerful slash towards him.Seeing this, Marcus immediately realized that what the assassin had said earlier wasn't just to persuade him to retreat, but also to distract him.To create an opportunity for the other Ability User assassin to trap him.In just an instant, he had been trapped, and two powerful killing moves were unleashed against him; these two assassins coordinated so perfectly.Space Lock!With a wave of his left hand, a Space Shieldenveloped his entire body, locking the several mud balls in mid-air.That wasn't all; Marcus swung his black sword with his right hand, and the black sword turned into a black circular blade, blocking the slash.Bang!A powerful explosion rang out, and several fleeing pedestrians were blown away, crashing into several people before stopping, their survival unknown.This explosion also exposed the location of Marcusand Ashley. The guards searching in the crowd hurriedly gathered towards Marcus, along with some remaining assassins.In the crowd, a group of people neither ran away nor did anything, just standing quietly on the side, watching the development of events."Young Master, the crowd is so chaotic now. Should we make a move to capture that Little Girl? If we use her as a threat, I will definitely be able to get billions of Berries, and our plan can be advanced by a lot.""That's right," the others on the side echoed."No, it's not that simple here," a flash of light crossed the man's eyes. "Don't you see that the ones coming out now are still just small fry? Those powerful ones haven't appeared yet.""For now, since experts from both sides haven't appeared, we should just wait and see.""Young Master, are you planning to wait until later to make a move?" a man guessed.The man said meaningfully, "No, I won't make a move. This whirlpool is not so easy to enter.""Why? The scene is so chaotic now; it's a very good opportunity.""Stupid," the man whispered coldly. "From the moment this Little Girl was found, there was no chance. It's just that some people are still unwilling to give up, but in reality, they have no possibility of success.""Yes! Yes!""Break!"Marcus let out a low shout, and the mud on his feet was repelled by a powerful force.But under the control of that Ability User, countless amounts of mud rose from the ground, instantly burying Marcus and Ashley, leaving only a sphere made of yellow mud in place.Seeing these two trapped, the assassin in the shadows revealed a cold smile. Wrapped in so much mud, within seconds, the two people inside would die in an extremely cruel way."Explode!"A loud shout rang out from the mud sphere, followed by a shocking sound, and the entire mud sphere burst open violently."What!"The assassin in the shadows looked at this scene in disbelief. The defense of that mud sphere was extremely high; it couldn't be blasted open even with cannons from the outside, let alone bursting open from the inside.Countless hard clods of earth burst in all directions, carrying powerful lethality, shooting towards the fleeing crowd on the side.Looking at the sky full of mud clods, everyone's faces were filled with terror, and they hurriedly ran forward, fearing that if they fell behind, they would be hit by these stones.But what was shocking was that these stones just hung in mid-air, motionless. Marcus was not a person who killed indiscriminately, and he didn't want innocent people to lose their lives because of his battle.As the smoke cleared, the figure of Marcus holding Ashley gradually appeared before everyone's eyes.His eyes flashed with a sharp light as Marcus stared intently at a figure in the crowd, his Killing Intentsurging out and pointing directly at that figure.Feeling this intense Killing Intent, the assassin's face revealed a trace of terror. This Killing Intent was actually stronger than his own; how many people had this teenager killed?Seeing that he had been discovered, the assassin turned and ran. The assassin understood that he was no match for this kid, and if he stayed, he would very likely be killed by him.The assassin wanted to flee, but he still had to ask for Marcus's permission.The stones in mid-air, under Marcus's control, gathered together and turned into a spear.Marcus extended his finger and pointed lightly, and the spear attacked the sword-wielding assassin who was also preparing to flee.The assassin drew his longsword and quickly swung out powerful slashes, cutting the entire spear into pieces.But no matter how the man cut, these stone fragments, under Marcus's control, still killed towards the man."Slash — Tornado!"The man took a deep breath, his longsword flying rapidly in his hand, forming a huge air current out of thin air, blowing all the stone fragments away."Clang!"The man looked at the longsword that had fallen to the ground, a flash of confusion in his eyes. How could his sword be on the ground? And why was that body standing on the side so familiar?Looking up, he saw that the body actually had no head, and a look of sudden realization appeared in the man's eyes."So, this body is my own; I have already died!""Soru!"Putting away the huge black circular blade, Marcusdidn't even look at the dead assassin and chased after the other assassin who was fleeing in the crowd.Marcus had only chased for a few steps before stopping, because someone had already made a move, and he didn't need to chase anymore."Swish!"A sword light flashed, and the fleeing assassin was instantly split in two, falling to the ground, triggering a chorus of screams.Retracting the thin sword in his hand, Uncle Tengleaped lightly and arrived beside Marcus. Seeing that Marcus and the Young Miss in his arms were unharmed, Uncle Teng breathed a sigh of relief."Young Miss, are you alright?" Uncle Teng asked softly, looking at Ashley who was huddled tightly in Marcus's arms.Hearing Uncle Teng's familiar voice, Ashley finally came to her senses from Marcus's embrace. Looking at the corpses visible everywhere, a trace of fear and terror appeared in her eyes.Suppressing the fear in her heart, Ashley asked: "Uncle Teng, what is going on?"If Marcus hadn't been by her side risking his life to save her, she would have almost died. Ashley felt she needed to understand the sequence of events."These are all the Master's enemies. After they found out that the Young Miss had snuck out, they all hired many assassins to kill the Young Miss."Uncle Teng didn't want Ashley to know so much, so he just used a few sentences to briefly recount the course of events.Marcus, who was on the side, knew that this matter was not that simple. There must be a huge game behind this, it's just that everything was in the shadows.Take the simplest example, those four powerful Men in Black didn't appear even at that critical moment, which shows that many things are still hidden in the shadows."Young Miss, it's great that you are alright!"The manager, who had struggled through the layers of the crowd, saw that the Young Miss was completely unharmed, and the heart that had been in his throat finally dropped to his chest.Seeing these guards who arrived so late, Uncle Teng's face revealed a trace of anger, and he scolded: "What are you all eating? So many people, yet you arrived so late."Hearing Uncle Teng's reproach, cold sweat poured down the manager's head like water. He didn't even dare to wipe it, and hurriedly explained."Yes! The crowd just now was really too chaotic, and the scene was very crowded, so we arrived a little late."Uncle Teng was about to say something more, but Ashley walked a few steps, came to Uncle Teng's side, and said seriously."Forget it, Uncle Teng! They also tried their best, so don't blame them."Since the Young Miss had said so, Uncle Tengcouldn't say anything more.But just at this moment, the man in a suit beside the manager suddenly exploded into action.[Thanks to everyone for your continued support. For this Qidian 515 Fan Festival's Author Glory Hall and Work General Election, I hope you can all support me. Also, there are some red envelope gifts for the Fan Festival, go collect them and keep subscribing!]UU Reading welcomes readers to read; the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all on UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 98: This MomentPS: Here is the May Day update. Don't rush off to play after reading; remember to cast your monthly vote first. Starting now, the Qidian 515 Fan Festival offers double monthly votes, and there are other events with red packets you can check out!The timing chosen by this man in the suit was truly excellent!At this moment, everyone was gathered around Ashley. It could be said that Ashley was absolutely safe, and no one would have thought that someone would dare to attempt an assassination at such a time, so everyone's vigilance had been lowered significantly.Even powerful experts like Uncle Teng, Marcus, the man on the building, and the young master on the side did not expect that an assassin would get so close to Ashley.When the man in the suit suddenly erupted into action, Ashley, Marcus, and even Uncle Teng were stunned by this scene.The man was already close to Ashley, and with Ashley having stepped forward to speak earlier, the distance between her and the man in the suit had been further shortened.The man in the suit was also a powerful expert; this distance could be covered in an instant, a time span so negligible it could be ignored.By the time everyone reacted, the dagger in the man's hand was already just a few centimeters away from Ashley. At this point, even Uncle Teng, who was closest to Ashley, had no time to intervene.In that split second, as everyone watched this scene, they all had their own thoughts running through their minds.Manager: "I'm dead for sure now. If Young Miss gets hurt, the furious Master will definitely not let me off, and this person is even my subordinate."Young Master: "Now there's a good show to watch. If this girl dies, I wonder what he will do in his rage. This world will enter great chaos because of this girl's death."Man upstairs: "Damn it, daughter, you must not die. If you die, how can I face your mother? If my daughter dies, I will make everyone behind this incident pay with their lives."Uncle Teng: "Just a little, just a little, you bastard! Young Miss, you cannot die!"Marcus: "Damn it, I didn't expect this person to be an assassin. Ashley, you must not get hurt!"In the sky, a large white cloud suddenly appeared, blocking the sun high above, and the entire Korodefell into shadow....Although Marcus and Uncle Teng tried their best to intervene, it was still too late. They were just a fraction of a second off; Uncle Teng's hand was only a few centimeters away from the man in the suit!A little... just a little... they only needed that little bit of time, just that little bit!Unfortunately, it was precisely that little bit of difference that allowed the dagger in the man's hand to stab toward Ashley's neck.At this moment, the world stopped turning, all things ceased to breathe, and the entire future trajectory of the world rested on this moment.This moment seemed to determine the fate of the world!Bang!A strange sound rang out. Just as the poison-coated dagger was a hair's breadth from Ashley's neck, it was blocked by something unknown.Feeling this resistance, the overjoyed expression on the man's face instantly turned into terror. He hurriedly increased the force in his hand, trying to drive the dagger into Ashley's neck.But this sliver of resistance was enough; it bought a precious moment for Uncle Teng and Marcus.Uncle Teng grabbed the man's hand, his fury transforming into immense power that surged into his palm, and he squeezed with all his might.The man's hand was instantly crushed by Uncle Teng. Drops of bright red blood flowed through the gaps in Uncle Teng's palm and dripped onto the ground.Yet, the man in the suit forcibly endured the pain that would have caused an ordinary person to faint, refusing to give up on his attempt to assassinate Ashley.He pushed off hard with both feet, lunging forward with all his might, hoping to use his momentum to drive the poisoned dagger into Ashley's neck, even if it meant just scratching her skin.But the man was disappointed. At this moment, Marcus had arrived behind Ashley, wrapping his arms around her from behind, protecting her as he retreated rapidly, dodging the man's attack.Seeing his target rescued, the man knew his mission had failed and that he had no chance to act again.As a powerful assassin, the man was also a decisive person. He knew that in his current state, it was impossible to escape from the eyes of these experts.And if he were captured, these people would never let him go; before dying, he might even be subjected to inhumane torture.Thus, the man immediately tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide, wanting to end it all!But Uncle Teng, who was nearby, had long anticipated this situation. He reached out and dislocated the man's jaw, making it impossible for him to bite his tongue and commit suicide!To be safe, Uncle Teng punched the man in the mouth, shattering all the teeth in his mouth.Because many assassins liked to hide poison in their teeth, and once captured, they would bite into the poison to commit suicide.Unfortunately, Uncle Teng's series of actions deeply crushed the man's thoughts of suicide.A grayish-white look appeared in the man's eyes. He understood that now that he was captured, it would truly be difficult to even die."Hmph!" After finishing all this, Uncle Teng let out a cold snort at the man lying on the ground."You still want to end it all? It's not that easy. Until you reveal the mastermind behind this, don't even think about dying."That moment just now was truly critical. Young Misswas just a hair's breadth away from death; Uncle Teng still felt terrified just thinking about it.Now that the assassin had been captured, how could Uncle Teng easily let him off? He would definitely make him wish he were dead.Having subdued the assassin, Uncle Teng hurriedly ran over to confirm if Young Miss was injured."Hey! It's alright now!"Marcus reached out his hand and waved it in front of Ashley's stunned gaze!Having regained her senses, Ashley threw herself into Marcus's arms, hugging him tightly, and cried. That moment just now had truly terrified her."Wuu wuu... Marcus! You scared me to death. I almost thought I was going to die and would never see Father, Uncle Teng, or everyone else again."In fact, there was one more name Ashley hadn't mentioned: Marcus. In that final moment facing death, besides her father and Uncle Teng, Marcushad also appeared in her mind.Marcus gently patted Ashley's back. He also understood how great of an impact that moment had on Ashley's heart."Don't worry, everything is fine now. The assassin has been caught, and no one can hurt you anymore.""That feeling... that experience of facing death... it was really terrifying, so terrifying!"Recalling that scene just now, Ashley was still incredibly afraid. She had never imagined that one day she would be so close to death."I understand... I understand... I understand it all. I understand this feeling better than anyone..."Marcus said the last sentence extremely quietly, so quietly that even Ashley, who was right in front of him, did not hear what he said.But if one looked into Marcus's eyes at this moment, one could see that his gaze was incomparably deep, as if it could see through everything in the world."Young Miss, are you alright?" Uncle Teng trotted over and asked hurriedly.Hearing Uncle Teng's voice, Ashley hurriedly looked up, only to realize that she had been holding onto Marcus the whole time, and she had been the one to actively throw herself at him.A flush of crimson immediately climbed onto her fair, delicate face. She hurriedly let go and stepped out of Marcus's embrace."I'm fine, that assassin didn't hurt me," Ashley said, lowering her head and shaking it to indicate she was fine.Uncle Teng had said that on purpose because he felt that the posture between Ashley and Marcus was truly too intimate, so he deliberately spoke up to make the two separate.Seeing Young Miss's expression, the wily, experienced Uncle Teng immediately realized something. Recalling the scenes he had witnessed earlier, Uncle Teng became even more certain of his suspicions!At the same time, a hint of hostility appeared in his eyes when he looked at Marcus.Sensing the hostility in Uncle Teng's eyes, Marcuswas instantly confused. He hadn't done anything wrong; why had Uncle Teng's gaze toward him suddenly changed?After carefully checking, he found that Young Misswas indeed unhurt, and the heavy weight on Uncle Teng's heart was finally lifted."Uncle Teng, thank you. If you hadn't saved me, I would have definitely died this time," Ashley said, looking at Uncle Teng, thanking him with a sincere face.If Uncle Teng hadn't acted in time, she would have really died this time, and then her father would be left all alone, with no one to accompany him.Uncle Teng waved his hand and said with a straight face, "Young Miss, saying that is looking down on me. This is what I should do; there's no need for thanks.""I know, Uncle Teng. I won't say it like that next time," Ashley said, grabbing Uncle Teng's hand and shaking it repeatedly."However, you really should thank Marcus this time. He deserves the most credit," Uncle Teng said, giving Marcus a deep look.Although others didn't see clearly what happened, Uncle Teng, who was right there, had seen everything that occurred clearly.Seeing Uncle Teng suddenly shift the topic to him, Marcus rubbed his head and smiled embarrassedly."Marcus?" Ashley asked, looking puzzled.[Thank you all for your continued support. For this Qidian 515 Fan Festival's Writer Hall of Honor and the overall work election, I hope you can all support me. Also, there are some red packet gift packages for the Fan Festival, so go claim them and keep up the subscriptions!]UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all on UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.