Chapter 18: The First Kill

Just as James was hastily cutting the ropes, a shout of shock and fury erupted from the entrance of the shack!

"You bastard! Where did you come from!"

The second man who had been standing guard outside rushed into the shack, his posture extremely threatening. He gripped a short knife tightly in his hand, his eyes wide as he saw his colleague lying unconscious on the floor and a strange young man with their target.

James instinctively pushed Liana behind him before turning to face the man who had just entered. He had no time to think about whether he was ready or how to handle this situation. He only knew that he had to protect both himself and the girl behind him.

"Die!" the man roared, before lunging to attack James with great speed, the knife in his hand raised high, ready to plunge down.

James instinctively raised the short knife still in his hand to defend. The clang of metal rang out! He had never learned how to use a knife in a fight before. His every move was clumsy and awkward, relying solely on his quick reflexes.

But thanks to the body that had been through training with Ann and his sharpened senses, he was just about able to dodge and parry his opponent's attacks, though it was extremely difficult and dangerous.

The fight was chaotic and fierce within the cramped space of the abandoned shack. The man's skill with a knife was far more experienced and ruthless than James's. He slashed at James's vital points again and again, forcing him to retreat and dodge with almost no chance to counterattack. The cloak Elen had given him was slashed in several places.

In the midst of their fierce clash, as the man stared at James with a murderous glare, James's Void-Born Apex Bloodline responded, displaying his bloodline information:

[Bloodline Detected]

Name: Human

Bloodline Sequence: Special Bloodline (Tier 4) – Mind-Disruptor Bloodline

Awakening Level: 1 – Fused

Strengths: Can emit psionic waves that disrupt concentration and briefly confuse a target, Unpredictable movements

Weaknesses: Low physical durability, Cannot use power continuously for long

Evolution Potential: Low

::

The instant the information appeared, James felt an invisible wave of energy slam into his head! The world spun for a moment, his consciousness felt like it was drifting away, his thoughts became jumbled, and the image before him began to blur.

It was a sudden, dizzying blackout!

"Ugh!" James lost his rhythm instantly, and that gave the man an opening to slash with his knife!

Slice!

The sharp blade cut across the hand James was holding the knife with. Bright red blood sprayed out. The pain was so sharp he couldn't even cry out. The short knife flew from his hand and clattered to the floor.

"Haha! You're finished, you little punk!" the man laughed triumphantly, preparing to rush in for the kill.

When James saw the details of the bloodline and experienced its "mind-disrupting" ability firsthand, he knew instantly that this power was extremely dangerous for him right now. If he let the man use this power again, he was done for!

In that split second between life and death, an intense desire to live surged in James's chest. He made a resolute decision! "If you're going to disrupt my mind, I'll disrupt your bloodline!"

He forced out all the power from his Void-Born Apex Bloodline, focusing his concentration on the man's body. His intention to "stop" the man's movement was clearer than ever before.

The blood in his body thrummed violently again!

Suddenly, the man who was about to charge forward froze in mid-air. His body convulsed violently, his eyes wide with confusion and panic, as if the energy in his body was disobeying his commands. He stumbled slightly, creating an opening for James!

James didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, bent down, and snatched the short knife from the floor again. Driven by panic and a survival instinct that had taken over, he stabbed the knife into the man's side!

Shunk!

But due to the hesitation still lingering deep in his heart and his inexperience with a knife, the stab was clumsy and non-vital. The man cried out in pain and fury. He thrashed violently, knocking James back.

"You little bastard!" he roared. Seizing the moment, he ignored the wound in his side and gathered all his strength to quickly stab back at James with the knife in his hand!

The sharp blade aimed straight for his chest! In that moment, James truly understood the reality of death being just an inch away. His hesitation just a moment ago was about to cost him his life!

"If I hesitate, I'll be the one who dies!" The thought became crystal clear in his head.

James decided to use the bloodline disruption again without hesitation! He pushed out the power with all his might, causing the man to falter once more. The arm that was about to stab him weakened visibly!

This time, James didn't miss! He no longer hesitated! He lunged at the man's body again, the short knife gripped tightly, and with a roar that came from the depths of his soul, he stabbed repeatedly into the man's throat with all his strength!

Shunk! Shunk!

Warm blood sprayed out, drenching James's face and clothes. The man's eyes widened and froze. His body convulsed violently a few times before going completely still, collapsing into a pool of his own blood on the cold floor of the shack…

James stood frozen, staring at the lifeless body before him. The short knife was still in his hand, which trembled uncontrollably. The smell of blood, stronger than ever before, was so thick it almost made him vomit.

This was… his first kill…

He felt as if the entire world had stopped spinning. His mind was a complete blank. There was only the image of the man's wide, frozen eyes and the warm touch of blood still on his face and hands. His own ragged breathing was loud in the suffocating silence of the abandoned shack. His legs felt so weak he could barely stand.

"I did it… I'm alive…" he murmured to himself, trying to tell himself it was over, but his body wouldn't stop shaking.

As James was lost in shock and the violent images that had just occurred, without him noticing any movement from behind…

The body of the first man, the one he had knocked out with a rock, slowly began to stir. He opened his eyes with difficulty, saw his colleague lying in a pool of blood, and the young man who had attacked him standing with his back turned, completely unguarded.

His eyes widened in shock, before turning to a look of intense rage and vengeance. He spotted another short knife lying not far from his dead friend's body. With his last ounce of strength, he slowly reached out and grabbed the knife as quietly as possible, before struggling to his feet, intending to stab James in the back for revenge!

"Look out!"

Liana's sharp, terrified scream rang out!

James flinched and started to turn, but he was slower than the girl who was closer. Liana's body shot forward from James's side, moving to confront the man who was about to launch the sneak attack.

In that split second, Liana remembered her father's words on the day he gave her the small short knife, well-hidden in the hem of her traveling cloak…

'Keep it with you, my daughter. I hope there never comes a day when you must use it. But if that day truly comes... use it without hesitation.'

And now, Liana knew that day had come!

In her small hand, she gripped her father's short knife tightly. Her golden-brown eyes were wide but filled with an unbelievable resolve. Though she had never harmed anyone before, instinct and the lessons she had heard told her where the vital points were.

She aimed for the man's chest, slightly to the left… the location of the heart!

Shunk!

Liana stabbed the short knife in her hand into the man's body without hesitation! With all her might, the knife pierced through the thick cloak and embedded itself in his chest. The man's eyes widened in shock and pain. He staggered back slightly but didn't fall immediately.

Her innocence and lack of experience in killing made Liana unsure if this single attack would be enough to stop him. The fear that he might still get up and harm her and James made her decide in that split second. She wouldn't give him the chance!

She quickly pulled out the embedded knife, warm blood spraying out, before she frantically and desperately stabbed again and again into the same area and nearby, until the man's body gave one last violent spasm before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.

His last breath hitched in the silence…

Silence once again enveloped the abandoned shack, with only the heavy, ragged breathing of a young man and a young woman, harmonizing with the sound of the wind and snow still raging outside.

Liana stood trembling, the blood-stained knife still gripped tightly in her hand. Her eyes stared at the body of the man she had just killed. Fresh red blood began to seep from the new wounds, staining the rotten wooden floor an even deeper shade of red.

James watched the scene in utter shock. He had just gone through his own first kill, and now, the girl he had just saved had done the same thing… and seemed even more decisive than he had been.

Liana slowly turned to look at James. Her face was pale, but her gaze was firmer and colder than he had expected. Her trembling lips slowly formed words, her voice still shaky but filled with an understanding of a cruel reality.

"If we don't kill… we'll be the ones who get killed," she said, her golden-brown eyes looking directly at James. "Sometimes… you don't want to do it… but you have to."

Those words echoed in James's head. They hammered home the truth he had just learned from this new world… a world where mercy could mean death.

Survival sometimes had to be bought with cruel decisions that went against the conscience he had held his entire life.

He looked at the two lifeless bodies on the floor and then back at Liana, a girl who had just gone through a terrible experience just like him, but seemed to be adapting to this harsh reality faster than he was.