Chapter 21. Ruthless Slaughter, No Longer Human

"Who's there?" The trio froze and turned their heads in unison. They were no amateur operatives. Rather, they had been through real combat and encountered life-or-death situations. Yet, someone could get this close to them without making a sound. That person was far from ordinary.

Their first thought was that the newcomer might be an operative sent by a rival organization.

But soon enough, when they caught a clear look of the figure's face, they were taken aback.

The young man standing there looked to be in his twenties. He was dressed in plain clothes and there was nothing special about him. He merely looked at them with a smile plastered on his face.

"It's him," one of the minions muttered. He recognized him as the new owner of the farm. The others immediately relaxed.

If he was just a civilian, then there was nothing to worry about. They thought that they probably didn't notice his approach because they had simply been too focused on the meteor.

"Kid, I advise you to pretend that you hadn't seen anything tonight," Captain Zhao said, his tone laced with hostility. "If you walk away now, perhaps you will get to keep your life."

The company had given orders to keep things discreet, but he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention. If the kid backed off now, he could let this slide.

"You're trying to steal

my

thing on

my

land, and you're asking me to just walk away?" Lu Yuan asked, his eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement. He hadn't attacked immediately because he wanted to figure out the identities of these people.

When he first noticed the compound crossbows in their hands, his heart turned cold with terror. After all, those were deadly weapons, highly costly, and strictly prohibited. Clearly, they were no ordinary people , so he needed to make things clear.

"Your thing?" One of them let out a cold sneer. "The meteor fell from the sky. How is it considered yours? Get lost before we stop being nice."

Their patience was running low; they didn't want to engage in further conversation. Their hands reached toward the quivers on their backs—a final warning for Lu Yuan to leave.

"Since it landed on my farm, then it's naturally mine." Lu Yuan shook his head. He had no intention of leaving.

"Boss, quite wasting time with him," the short man spat. His eyes were filled with murderous intent as he said, "Let's just kill him."

"Fine. But make it clean," Captain Zhao nodded. Since the kid courted death, it wasn't them to blame.

With that, he and the third operative moved to retrieve the meteor. He didn't want to drag this out any longer. In his eyes, Lu Yuan was already a dead man walking.

Upon receiving the order, the short man licked his lips and swiftly drew several alloy arrows from his quiver. In one swift motion, he loaded them into his compound crossbow.

A crossbow was capable of rapid fire and boasted tremendous power. Standard bows could hardly compare with it. As soon as he loaded the bow and set his gaze on Lu Yuan, his eyes were tinged with cruelty and mockery. However, there was also a tinge of pity.

For a moment, he really pitied this fool who didn't know what he was up against. The kid had a chance to live but he chose death instead.

The next moment, the short man pressed down on the trigger and fired a series of arrows.

Swish, swish, swish.

Accompanied by the sound of piercing whistles, the arrows tore through the air and glimmered a cold light.

But Lu Yuan didn't flinch. He didn't even move. This was the perfect chance for him to test the limits of his newly refined body in actual combat.

As the arrows flew toward him, Lu Yuan remained in his spot and simply raised his hand.

A confident smirk surfaced on the short man's countenance.

How dumb. Even thick-skinned beasts like wild boars and bears couldn't withstand an arrow from a compound crossbow. Yet this kid is actually trying to catch it with his bare hand.

However, his expression froze the next moment.

The arrows he had just fired were caught by Lu Yuan's bare hand.

What the hell?!

The short man was utterly shaken; he felt like he had just seen a ghost.

But Lu Yuan didn't give him time to recover. He casually tossed aside the arrows and dashed forward.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yuan had covered the several dozen meters between them. Before the short man could react, Lu Yuan swung a hand at the former. There was no flourish, no wasted motion.

He had no choice. No human could withstand his current strength. He just needed to use a little more force and the man's head could likely explode.

Smack!

Lu Yuan's palm landed squarely atop the short man's head.

Instantly, blood flowed out of the short man's nose and mouth. He staggered back uncontrollably before dropping on one knee.

"Shit! He's dangerous! Move in together!" Captain Zhao barked. He had instantly realized that their opponent was no ordinary man. He signaled his other teammate, and the two unleashed a barrage of bolts from different angles.

Swish, swish, swish.

Dozens of arrows hurtled through the air.

However, Lu Yuan didn't even spare them a glance. With a few casual sidesteps, he dodged them all with ease.

Even though the two men were just standing barely ten meters away, Lu Yuan's body had long since transcended the limits of human speed and reaction. To him, the incoming bolts were painfully slow.

"Damn it! He's fast! Close the distance!"

Clearly, Captain Zhao had plenty of combat experience under his belt. Upon realizing that crossbows weren't working, he immediately switched tactics. Both he and his teammate drew daggers from their belts and rushed forward.

The short man had also come around. Despite still dizzy and reeling, he forced himself back into the fight in order to get things done once and for all.

"Not bad reaction time," Lu Yuan said with a smirk. In the face of the three men who are closing in on him, he had no intention of hiding his true strength any longer.

The next moment, he stepped forward, disappeared from view, only to reappear beside the short man.

He clenched his fist into a ball and swung it straight into the man's chest.

Bang!

Crack! Crack!

The force was too overwhelming that the short man's ribs shattered on impact. He flung back nearly twenty meters through the air before crumpling lifelessly to the ground, head twisted at an unnatural angle.

Having finished off the short man, Lu Yuan immediately turned around. He had no qualm ending the lives of the remaining two.

In his previous life, he had struggled painfully for more than a decade in a ruthless new era ruled by the law of the jungle. He had seen true cruelty.

This in front of him? It was nothing.

Something's amiss with this guy.

Seeing that his teammate had been killed with a single blow, Captain Zhao immediately realized that he was no match for Lu Yuan. He was prepared to call retreat. After all, survival came first.

But, Lu Yuan didn't give them the chance. He was too fast and in a fraction of a second, he was already in front of the other man.

He raised his fist and struck again.

Bang.

The man was struck on the shoulder, and the impact smashed him straight into the ground and left a gaping crater beneath his body. He never got up again.

In less than three seconds, Lu Yuan had swiftly taken down two men. He then turned toward the last man standing—Captain Zhao.

"Talk. Who sent you? What's your mission?"

"You think you can get intel from me? Dream on!" Captain Zhao snapped, his face turning a shade darker.

"Such tight lips, huh," Lu Yuan said with a chuckle and swiftly closed the distance.

He was already certain that they were here for the meteorite, but he wanted to find out if they also knew about the Celestial Sword Embryo.

That was why he left one man alive, after all, it was too important of a matter.

If they knew, he needed to be more cautious in the future. Being watched by unknown forces was uncomfortable to bear.

Lu Yuan was extremely fast; a low whoosh accompanied his movements. Clearly, the pressure of the power brewing within him had overflowed and caused the surrounding air to tremble.

"Screw it."

Captain Zhao was trembling but he forced himself to calm down quickly. He then retrieved a white pill from his belt and swallowed it.

Gulp.

The sound of squirming flesh and grinding bones echoed in the air. Captain Zhao's height sprouted, his stature growing to a full two meters.

At the same time, his right arm began to bulge grotesquely, his muscles swelling thicker than a millstone. The veins beneath his skin bulged like writhing snakes beneath his skin and plumes of white steam hissed from his pores. His eyes turned bloodshot as well.

He no longer looked human!