The Martial Unity

He stared at Rui with fearful eyes. Rui calmly returned his stare with an icy one of his own.

"ACK!" He choked as Rui grabbed him by the neck.

"I know it was no more than an assignment for you." Rui strengthened his grip. "I know it wasn't personal for you."

He brought the man's face closer.

"But honestly?" Rui asked. "I don't give a damn."

"...!" The Martial Apprentice's face grew red. He felt as though his head was going to burst. He struggled desperately, trying to pry Rui's hands off his neck while kicking Rui with all the Apprentice-level technique he could.

In vain, of course.

His measly attacks couldn't even budge Rui even when he wasn't using any Squire-level defensive techniques.

The Martial Apprentice's eyelids fluctuated as his vision blurred.

The brain tended to automatically shut down when blood flow to it was shut down for more than seven seconds.

Rui clenched his grip, squeezing down hard.

SNAP

A Martial Apprentice's body was fundamentally human, barring the brain. Rui didn't even need to use Outer Convergence to snap his neck with ease, killing him on the spot.

THUD

He dropped his body to the ground, sighing.

('Not the most rational decision.') He had enough self-awareness to realize that wasn't the best decision he could have made. Maybe the Martial Apprentice had mastered some mental technique that allowed him to fool Rui's Primordial Instinct. Maybe the location that he had given Rui was wrong and fake, and he successfully fooled Rui using that technique.

him alive in case the location was wrong so that

but Rui was normally

time, however, he

scoured the man's body, finding some cash and a communication device, both of which he took. There was nothing

raised one foot

THUD!!

struck the ground, cratering past the soil. In an instant, he had created a crater several meters deep, tossing the corpse in it. Within five minutes, he had buried the body in soil and

dusting

Union on the intel he had acquired, through the communication device. It was necessary to keep them in the loop as soon as he got access to new intel, a policy that ensured

turned, facing south. That was where the location of the homeless shelter

RUMBLE!

speeds. The air recoiled

to reach

be accurate, this was a good sign. Rui could sense a large number of people within the warehouse, huddled together. It was a cramped location. Seismic Mapping detected an underground layout as well, whose only

was no reason

that the people inside gave him. He was clearly not one of them. There appeared to be helpers who aided the needy, they too threw confused looks at him. Rui simply ignored all of them as he headed toward the

are you and where

bunch of armed guards

here to kill Faraday Lowminer." Rui simply

emerged on their faces. Their

THWACK

across

attracted the attention of the rest of the security

his Mind Mask and watched them all freeze in fear, studying their

light curtains. Deeper inside the facility was what appeared to

BAM!

through, shocking the

that entered

raised their muskets and other projectile weapons,

disappeared from their