Chapter 23: Wind Breather (2)

The raw mana of the Wind Breather possesses sharp characteristics, clearly different from the neutral mana that most cultivators have. His Cultivation Art was a specialized one and is attuned to the element of the wind.

Soon, the sword was coated with a layer of light green mana, increasing its sharpness exponentially. With quick swings, the Wind Breather performed multiple slashes in succession.

The fireballs were cut into smaller pieces, the embers of flames harming anything but Herrick Ashton. Even the flying weapons targeting him were deflected easily. Not even the hem of his clothes was harmed in the slightest.

"Damn it! Even our Martial Skills are ineffective!"

The assassins shuddered but nonetheless, only by either defeating the Wind Breather or kidnapping Kyrell can they survive the night.

With tacit understanding, the remaining assassins split into two groups. One group decided to stall the Wind Breather and keep him occupied while the other group went straight to Kyrell where Melissa and the driver were ready to defend.

However, they still underestimated their enemy. Although there was a group designated to stall him, the Wind Breather moved so fast that these cultivators were not able to catch him nor keep him occupied.

He leapt in the air and as if the wind itself blessed him, his jump reached more than ten meters in height. One of his hands held his sword while the other took out shurikens from his weapon pouch and he threw them.

The shurikens fell down like rain, striking the bodies of the leading cultivators causing them to groan in pain. The shurikens might not have killed them but it still wounded them.

The pain halted their movement and soon, the Wind Breather landed not on the ground but on the shoulder of a Genetic Awakener.

With the same stoic expression as before, he thrusts his sword downwards, impaling the poor assassin's skull. His eyes flashed and while he retrieved his sword, he also bent his body to dodge a flying dagger thrown at him, barely missing him by an inch.

With his 'platform' dead and he even shifted his weight, the corpse of the assassin starts to fall down but before it lands on the ground, the Wind Breather twisted his foot on the assassin's neck. With unbelievable reflexes, Herrick Ashton used his foot to throw the dead body to the assassins who were approaching him.

That led to the assassin's delay and Herrick's palm met the ground and he used just enough force to throw himself back in the air. This time, when he landed, his feet were already on the ground.

"[Martial Skill: Earth Strike!]"

One of the assassins slammed his palms on the ground and a bullet-sized earth rose from the ground to strike the Wind Breather.

With superior speed, the Wind Breather deflected the stone using his sword and he didn't stop there. He moved like the wind and appeared in front of the cultivator that just finished casting his Martial Skill.

Puchi!

A severed head flew in the air with blood gushing out. The metallic scent of blood in the air has become even more prominent causing Kyrell to wrinkle his nose.

This was not the first time he witnessed people getting killed. He, himself also killed a person before. However, he still felt uncomfortable from the scene of carnage and the nauseating scent of blood.

However, despite being uncomfortable, he still steeled himself. This is something that he has no choice but to get used to.

The battle continued and with a palm strike, the Wind Breather threw the headless corpse, causing it to collide with another cultivator.

The battle has not started for long yet a few Genetic Awakeners on the enemy's side already died, showcasing the fearsome battle prowess of Herrick Ashton.

"Damn it! Why don't you just die!"

In anger, one of the assassins threw a few small metallic cubes which were consumable mana tools.

The Wind Breaker knew that he definitely could not let those mana tools land on him or near the Young Master and he rooted his feet to the ground while clasping his palms in front of him.

He opened his mouth wide and he sucked the surrounding air. His chest visibly grew abnormally larger as he mobilized quite a significant amount of mana.

The wind he sucked was infused with his wind-attributed mana, the martial skill that will be activated surely is not weak.

When the preparation was ready, the Wind Breather opened his mouth and he turned into a wind cannon.

"[Martial Skill: Wind Breath!]"

As soon as Herrick opened his mouth, a breath of wind was released by him. The wind's strength was no different than a storm as it collided with the small metallic cubes.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The metallic cubes which are explosive cubes exploded at the same time. Flames and metal fragments threatened the people around but the strong breath of wind carried all the flames and metal shards away.

Explosive Cubes are famous consumable mana tools. Even a Genetic Strengthener wouldn't face them head-on. In fact, if enough explosive cubes are detonated at the right distance, even a Genetic Strengthener would definitely die.

The lethality of these little cubes is high. Of course, using them won't guarantee victory. Since they are used by throwing them at the enemies and they will explode upon contact, one must hit their target accurately.

There are many ways to evade, deflect, or even block the explosive cubes. As such, despite having the power to kill even Genetic Strengtheners, the instances that do happen are rare.

"Explosive cubes... each one is priced at $50,000. Heh... how extravagant" Rezen mused before staring at the Wind Breaker in admiration.

Forget the explosive cubes, as long as you have money, you can buy them. What's really amazing is the Wind Breaker, the martial skill he used belongs to the Breath Series.

Genetic Awakeners and weaker Genetic Strengtheners generally use martial skills like Fireball, Wind Bullet, Water Gun, Earth Strike, etc.

They are 'newbie friendly' and with some practice, a cultivator can use them in combat. However, the breath series are 'upgraded' versions of these basic martial skills.

Weaker Genetic Strengtheners cannot use them effectively in battles. Firstly, it involves huge mana expenditure. Secondly, learning these skills is much harder compared to their basic counterparts. And lastly, even if a cultivator did learn them, it's not easy to use in real battle.

The demand for mana and skills is high, causing the activation time to be impractical in battles. Only skilled cultivators like the Wind Breaker can use the Breath Series in real battles.

Truly deserving to be the strongest Serpent Death Guard! He doesn't even need to use the Cursed Seal to deal with more than a dozen cultivators with three of them also at the Genetic Strengthener Realm.

"Attack! He must be exhausted after using such a big move!" The assassin announced and they attacked even more vigorously than before and Kyrell couldn't help but shake his head due to the ignorance of these people.

Since the Wind Breather cultivates the Wind Breathing Art, his mana naturally has wind attributes. While it restricts him from using other elements, it has its own advantages.

The power of his wind-style attacks are enhanced greatly while also reducing the mana consumption. While the Wind Breath sure does use quite a significant amount of his mana, surely, he still has a lot in reserve.

One must not forget that even if he doesn't circulate his mana inside him, his physical body is naturally enhanced! He can save on mana expenditure by enhancing his physical capabilities only when needed.

As expected, it was as if the Wind Breather did not know what fatigue was. His movements and attacks are relentless as if he doesn't know how to stop.

Well, his cultivation art has the term 'breathing' in it, naturally, Herrick can also regulate his breathing to ensure that he won't be physically tired after just a few exchanges of moves.

As such, Herrick Ashton once again charged at the assassins, his sword slashing at an assassin's sword who felt an overwhelming force on his arms.

The assassin's arm trembled and his sword almost flew out of his hands. He was about to die but before Herrick Ashton could kill him, one of the Genetic Strengtheners attacked.

This assassin was wearing a bronze gauntlet and he threw a punch causing the air to screech.

With extreme calmness, the Wind Breather ducked, his hair flying out due to the force of that punch yet his movements didn't stop.

While in a ducking position, he threw a kick at that Genetic Strengthener's belly, and the poor man was thrown in the air. He wasn't dead yet but that surely hurts his guts.

"Die!"

Seizing this opportunity, the Genetic Awakener who almost died slashed his sword at Herrick who was still in a ducking position.

Fortunately, Herrick managed to block the sword with his own sword in time. His position was unfavorable but he managed to hold on thanks to his superior physique.