Not long after, Linde wandered through the city and came to a street full of beautiful women.
It was a lively time, but only one shop had its doors tightly shut.
Upon arriving at the entrance of this peculiar brothel, and after confirming that it was the right place...
Linde kicked open the tightly closed door, and a strong, nauseating smell of rotten wood chips mixed with cheap cosmetics and mold hit him.
The interior was dimly lit, a stark contrast to the night outside.
Several heavily made-up and scantily clad prostitutes were terrified by the sudden loud noise, screaming and shrinking into a corner.
Two burly thugs, their faces contorted with rage, were leaning against the bar drinking when they heard the noise. They stood up abruptly, their eyes wide with fury, and stared at the figure shrouded in a dark cloak at the doorway.
"Damn it! Where did this blind guy come from..."
The thug on the left shouted and cursed, reaching out to grab the nail-headed club leaning against the wall.
But when Linde's cloak was lifted by his movement, revealing a corner of his cold, hard metal armor and the longsword at his waist that, though unsheathed, exuded an invisible killing intent, the two thugs' arrogant demeanor instantly froze.
Their intuition, honed from years of navigating the underworld, told them that this man was no ordinary drunkard causing trouble.
The wear and blood on the armor were marks left by real battlefield combat.
"Get out of here."
Lind's voice came through the hood, cold and devoid of any emotion.
The two thugs' Adam's apples bobbed, and they subconsciously took a step back, their eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
Lind completely ignored them.
His keen eye had already pierced through the building's disguise, looking into its depths.
The prostitutes were covered in murky, grayish-white specks of light, reflecting numbness and fear; the thugs, on the other hand, were brighter, representing strong but ordinary bodies.
In his perception, the entire brothel was like a polluted pond, with several ominous dark purple, writhing and twisting "stains" lurking deep inside the second floor. One of the "stains," particularly dense and concentrated, was moving rapidly, its target clearly heading towards the back door!
The target is on the second floor! And a big fish is trying to escape!
"Oh dear, sir, why are you so angry?"
A voluptuous madam, adorned with gold and silver, swayed her hips as she strode out from the inner room, her face plastered with a professional, fake smile, attempting to block Lind's path.
She had clearly heard the commotion and was trying to buy time.
"Was it because the girls didn't treat you well? Please calm down. Just tell me which one you like, and I'll arrange the best for you..."
As she spoke, she opened her hand, painted with bright red nail polish, as if she wanted to affectionately put it on Lind's arm.
Linde didn't even glance at her. Just as the madam's hand was about to touch his cloak, his right hand, which was hanging by his side, shot up with lightning speed and flicked his finger!
"Bang!"
A dull thud was heard.
The madam's smile froze instantly. She rolled her eyes, her obese body went limp and collapsed to the ground as if her bones had been removed. A clear red mark quickly swelled up on her forehead, and she completely lost consciousness.
"ah--!"
The prostitutes screamed in even greater terror when they saw the madam fall to the ground.
Rapid, chaotic footsteps and deliberately hushed shouts could be heard from upstairs! Clearly, the Shadow Abyss cultists on the second floor had been alerted!
Lin De moved like the wind, completely ignoring any potential ambush at the stairwell. His golden battle aura erupted, exploding into a dazzling golden light in the dimly lit hall!
He took a step forward, the hard soles of his boots making a dull thud on the wooden stairs, and his whole body transformed into a golden afterimage, rushing straight towards the area on the second floor where he sensed the most filth!
"Stop him!"
"Don't let him go up!"
At the corner of the stairs, three sinister-looking figures dressed in tight black leather armor suddenly appeared.
They were not wielding ordinary swords, but rather short-handled scythes and poisoned daggers wreathed in wisps of black energy, and the shadow energy emanating from their bodies far surpassed that of the previous assassins.
A fierce purple light flashed in the eyes of the leader, and the scythe in his hand drew a strange arc, slashing straight at Lind's face with a piercing sound!
The other two slid in from both sides like ghosts, their poisoned blades aimed directly at Lind's lower body, their coordination extremely tricky!
Faced with this deadly combined attack from above and below, Linde's momentum did not diminish in the slightest. Just as the scythe was about to strike, he suddenly thrust his left hand out from under his cloak!
Buzz—!
The pure, boundless power of light veins, imbued with the power of divine order, instantly condensed in his palm, as if he were holding a miniature sun! The dazzling platinum-gold light instantly illuminated the entire corner of the staircase, scorching the filthy shadow energy!
"Holy Light?! No!"
The leader of the cultists was terrified. The black aura on his scythe dissipated rapidly as if it had encountered its nemesis. The blinding light caused him severe pain in his eyes, and his movements involuntarily froze.
It was that split second of hesitation!
Linde didn't unleash the ball of light he had gathered in his left hand. Instead, he pressed it down with perfect precision, striking the side of the scythe that was coming at him!
Click!
The steel scythe, wreathed in black energy, shattered like rotten wood under the impact of the light vein's power! The cultist wielding the scythe was struck hard, his hand split open, and he screamed as he fell backward.
At the same time, Linde's right leg swept out like a battering ram! The leg wind, infused with golden battle aura, emitted a muffled explosion!
Bang! Bang!
Two sharp cracking sounds of bones breaking rang out almost simultaneously.
The two cultists who attacked from both sides felt an overwhelming force slam into their waists. The weak shadow power protecting their bodies shattered like paper. The excruciating pain instantly overwhelmed their consciousness, and their bodies slammed against the walls on both sides like broken sacks, sliding down softly, their fate unknown.
The whole process took only a blink of an eye! The three powerful Shadow Abyss cultists didn't even manage to touch Lind's clothes before they were completely incapacitated!
Linde didn't stop, passing the collapsed enemy, and rushed straight to the heavy wooden door at the end of the second-floor corridor, tightly closed and carved with twisted patterns—the core source of the foul smell, and also the place in his memory leading to the secret room and the secret passage.
However, just as he was three steps away from the door, it was suddenly kicked open from the inside!
A figure with an unusually tall stature, almost blocking the entire doorway, rushed out!
He was covered in thick, spiked, dark purple plate armor, with only a pair of eyes burning with frenzied purple flames visible beneath his helmet.
He held a two-handed greatsword the size of a door panel in his hand. The blade was shrouded in a thick, almost tangible, blackish-purple mist, exuding a nauseating aura of decay and despair!
"Blasphemer! Die!"
The giant roared like thunder, and his greatsword, with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, slashed down at Lind with the force of a mountain crashing down!
Even before the sword arrived, the terrifying pressure and the corrosive, foul feeling made the air thick and sticky!
This guy's aura... far surpasses that of the previous assassins! He's definitely the strongest guardian of this stronghold!
Faced with this overwhelming attack, Lin De's eyes flashed with cold light! Instead of retreating, he accelerated forward once more!
"Those who block my way shall die!"
Clang—!
Linde's longsword was finally drawn! On the blade, golden battle aura and light vein power intertwined and swirled like boiling lava, bursting out with dazzling golden-white light!
The holy and sharp aura instantly dispelled the foul pressure brought by the greatsword!
Linde gripped the sword with both hands, his body like a taut bowstring, pouring his strength and will into this strike!
The sword light surged, transforming into a golden-white lightning bolt that tore through the darkness, meeting the descending giant sword head-on with a straightforward counter-attack!
Light and darkness, two completely opposite yet equally violent forces, collided violently in this narrow corridor!
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