Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 124: Knife

The blue signal still shone above the trees, depleting the Qi it contained to continue illuminating the area and attract anyone who might see it.

Yet, the blue foundation expert seemed to have forgotten the signal’s existence, too terrified by that near-death experience to care about possible reinforcements.

It had only taken one look from Maxwell to make the foundation expert lose any will to fight. Still, that turned out to be a temporary setback caused by the overwhelming difference in strength, which wasn’t the case when it came to the next threat.

Barely one second after Maxwell had thrown himself at the two rooting experts, the foundation expert felt something coming from his right and instinctively waved his hand upward, his Qi creating a current that the red waters followed.

Something slammed on the rising red waters and flowed alongside them, landing above the black-haired cultivator’s head before releasing an explosion that splashed that defensive technique away.

The foundation expert only managed to spot a palm before rolling away, beginning to stand up as soon as his feet landed on the muddy surface. Yet, his eyes went wide when he saw that someone was already upon him.

The black-haired cultivator had no time to think. He could only summon his Qi again, waving his hands to his right to create another deflecting current.

The defensive technique moved no water now, allowing a perfect view of the attack. The foundation expert finally saw Liam slam his palm forward, only for the current to move it off-course, making it land to his right.

The foundation expert used the explosion of Qi in the air that followed to retreat again, ready to defend once more. However, he made sure to add words this time.

"I’m Homer!" The foundation expert hastily shouted, pushing his hands forward, Qi accompanying the gesture.

Liam barely heard the young man. He had followed after him again, already throwing a Seismic Palm forward, only for the current blowing in his direction to slow down the attack.

Homer had the chance to step back in time to make Liam’s martial arts explode in empty air. He even jumped backward once more at that point, his palms lifted and ready to deflect another of those dangerous attacks.

"You must be the famous Liam who killed the Crimson Warrior Sect’s disciples," Homer exclaimed. "It’s sad we had to meet under such tense circumstances."

’Is he trying to buy himself time?’ Liam wondered, slightly annoyed at the fact that he had to play into that alleged strategy.

Truth be told, Liam had already wasted his best opportunity to strike, albeit he hadn’t been at fault there.

Liam had been ready to fire another arrow as soon as the water wall fell, but Maxwell had reacted faster than him, reaching the blue team and creating enough distance for the bow to stop working. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Even the arrow Liam had already created had disappeared, forcing him to store the bow on his left shoulder for the time being. It felt good to re-experience that familiar weight, but that didn’t change what the lack of ownership had caused.

Still, finally attacking hadn’t done much for Liam. Actually, his situation had worsened. He had planned to use his opponent’s poor footing to mount an advantage that would lead to a quick kill, only to end up worse than before.

The Seismic Palm was a deadly technique, but that power came at the cost of high Qi consumption. Meanwhile, Homer had deflected it easily, even too easily.

"Did the Crimson Warrior Sect tell you about my Seismic Palm?" Liam asked.

It could have been a coincidence, but Liam struggled to believe that the first team to find him would have a foundation expert with a martial art that countered his.

"The information the Rising Waterfall Sect received stated that you were quite stupid," Homer half-admitted. "Did your brain expand during these months?"

The mockery had no effect on Liam. It probably was another attempt to buy time, which his stillness seemed to vouch for, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Liam had already wasted three Seismic Palms and three arrows. Insisting on that offense would have just exhausted him, but his hunch had saved him from falling into that trap.

Clearly, the other Sects had sent cultivators who could deal with Liam’s martial arts to the Mutated Battlefield. He only had Homer as proof, but chances were the other foundation experts also had suitable techniques.

When accounting for the numerical disadvantage, Liam’s fate seemed set. He would exhaust himself one way or the other, and Maxwell and Joel might be too busy to protect him at that point.

Nevertheless, there was a big flaw in the, probably, general strategy. The only information the Crimson Warriors Sect might have spread came from the tournament, since that was what Cecilia had witnessed, meaning the other teams weren’t ready for what Liam had developed in those months.

As soon as the realization arrived, Liam darted ahead, a strategy ready in his mind. He was hunting a prey that had miscalculated his capabilities, and he planned to turn that advantage into a killing strike.

Homer saw nothing unusual in the advance. Liam reached Homer in no time, thrusting his right palm forward, only for his opponent to wave his hands to his left, creating another deflecting wave of Qi that made the attack miss.

Homer didn’t stop there now. Since Liam had halted his assault, Homer had donned a proper battle stance that could allow follow-ups to his deflection. Missing had even exposed Liam’s torso, which Homer planned to hit with a shoulder bash.

However, a sharp pain spread from Homer’s side before he could thrust his shoulder forward. He instinctively gasped, too, but his lungs struggled to draw air, triggering a cough instead.

Drops of blood accompanied the cough, together with a sense of weakness. Still, Liam moved before Homer could do anything, slipping behind him and placing something wet on his neck.

Homer barely had the time to lower his eyes and spot the bloodied wooden knife on his throat before that blade cut it, almost beheading him in a single slash.