Chapter 19 – Element-Type, Stone Skin
Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Edited By: ! and Rango
“Are you an assassin? Have you come to exact vengeance on me?” Rock immediately awoke from his drunken stupor.
Although his demeanor reeked of arrogance, he wasn’t exactly stupid and had absolutely zero interest in adding his name to the list of those idiots who had succumbed to their negligence.
Though Rock’s appearance suggested that he had engaged in quite a few hours of drunken revelry, he still retained a calm and lucid mind and quickly composed himself. As a mercenary, particularly one that had betrayed his comrades, he did not desire to meet his maker before he had enjoyed all his ill-gotten gains. As one who usually took advantage of others’ drunk state, he prided himself on not making the same mistakes as his victims.
Just because there hadn’t been any assassins on his tail recently, didn’t mean that he had lowered his guard. “Always be alert” was a mantra that all the mercenaries drilled into themselves, especially those who wanted to maintain their ‘alive’ status.
Yue Yang displayed a relaxed disposition and requested him in a friendly manner. “If you don’t mind then I would like to borrow your head for a while . . . and exchange it for some gold. If you have any last words, you can say them now. I am in no particular hurry”
“You brat! You intend to take me on all alone. HAHA.” Rock began to convulse into laughter as if he had heard the world’s funniest joke.
“Oh, those are your last words? You indeed have the virtue of being concise and precise. Now then allow me to send you to the afterlife.” Yue Yang lazily stretched his arms and began to draw closer to Rock.
“Stone Skin” Rock yelled out as he produced a black crystal from his pocket and began chanting.
Immediately a large amount of black light began condensing in the crystal into some type of fog. It rapidly rushed out to form an enormous and dark-skinned stone man that opened its arms and ‘embraced’ Rock’s body.
Within a blink, it merged with Rock’s body and his body reflected the resultant transformation. His body had gained the same dark shade as the stone man and evidently his skin had transformed into armor.
Yue Yang didn’t bother to use any sneak attacks. Instead, he stood silent, calculating.
He realized that his first opponent was an Element- type mercenary who could summon Spirits. It seemed to be the Element-type, Stone Skin.
The Elements could be classified into three main types : Fighting, Strengthening, and Special type beasts. Among them, the Special type beasts mainly used the life skills or reconnaissance skills to gather intelligence. Most mercenaries didn’t opt for these as the Element type beasts had extremely high requirements which was beyond their capabilities.
For the mercenaries, Strengthening-type and Battle-type beasts were ranked higher on their lists. The Strengthening-type could directly boost the body’s combat abilities and hence were crucial to their survival. Battle-type used the beasts’ bodies directly to make their attacks against the enemy more powerful and added that extra bit of sting. A formidable battle type beast meant an amazing support and ensured an outright victory in a fight.
Mercenaries ranked below Level 8 always made the strengthening type beasts their number one priority as they spent their days being cut by knives. Protecting their lives was given the highest priority.
If someone could summon 2 beasts, then almost always the second choice would be the fighting type beasts. Even among these beasts, there were some which had clear advantages over others of their class, such as the avian class.
This ‘Rock’ guy in front of Yue Yang had shockingly summoned an elemental type beast contrary to Yue Yang’s expectations.
This unusual state of affairs meant one thing: this ‘Rock’ person’s strength was quite good and far surpassed the ordinary mercenary’s.
The Vengeance Hunters had estimated Rock to be a Level 2 Upper-ranked Braveman.
Evidently that information was incorrect. Just by comparing their apparent manifested strengths, Rock was at least 5 ranks higher than the amateur Level 1 Lower Rank Yue Yang.
If it was anyone but Yue Yang, then it would have meant an insurmountable difference. Ostensibly it should be an uneventful battle not throwing up any surprises; considering the difference in level and rank, it should be a straightforward victory for the higher rank.
“Come Brat, come and take my head” Rock sneered, pulling out his axe.
His body had become invulnerable, and he was a 100 times more confident now.
Even one strike from his axe would mean a fatal blow for his opponent.
Rock’s strong defense, unreasonable strength, and penetrating attacks meant that pretty much no mercenary was willing to provoke him. The puny masked thief in front of Rock obviously must have overestimated himself and come seeking death. It seemed that the little guy didn’t know that axes like his were meant to cut off legs of such thieves.
Surprisingly Yue Yang smiled. He didn’t lose his head and charge over recklessly. And even more surprisingly, or perhaps not, he took to his heels.
This action stumped Rock.
What? The brat saw the unfavorable situation and wanted to escape?
Rock’s lips curled and he sneered.
He immediately gave chase to the thief. Although he was slower than Yue Yang, he felt no fatigue as a result of his Stone Skin. He was now a machine, a killing machine. He might not win any sprints but in a long chase, the thief’s legs would begin to give away and then he would be turned into mincemeat. This was Rock’s usual strategy. At least 20 other enemies had fallen prey to him in the same manner. No one had ever successfully eluded Rock. And today would be no different.
After chasing him to a desolate farm, Rock’s blood thirst grew as he watched his opponent tire and slow down.
Rock launched his axe at Yue Yang’s back.
Yue Yang dodged to the side and came to a halt.
He looked around and nodded, “This place is not bad. Quiet and dark – the ideal location to kill.”
“Exactly. You have chosen a good place for your grave.” Rock was enraged as he saw Yue Yang acting cocky without any chance to flee. Clearly, this brat doesn’t know the difference between life and death.
“If you bribe me some gold, like maybe 100, I would consider letting you off with your meager little life.” Yue Yang felt that 5 gold was really a paltry sum. If his victim was wealthy, extorting some from him would be a better idea.
“This is getting more ridiculous by the moment.” Rock spat in contempt. “Why don’t you make me kneel and beg for mercy.”
“I usually don’t let others have the chance to beg for mercy . . .”
Yue Yang used his foot to flick the axe into his hand.
He strode towards Rock and before he could even react had sent the axe smashing into Rock’s chest.
DING!
The axe seemed to have collided with iron and a stream of sparks flew outwards.
Aside from sporting a grey sheen, Rock’s chest showed no sign of sustaining any injury.
The elemental type ‘Stone Skin’ was indeed worthy of its name.
Yue Yang looked at the axe in his hand. Its edge had been actually chipped…
Rock traced the marks left on his chest and scorned, “Brat, now do you understand how powerful I am. My body is invulnerable. Even fierce tigers and lions would chip their fangs if they tried to take a bite out of me. How could a little son of a bitch like you who hasn’t even gone through puberty yet, kill me?”