THE HUNTER OF DARKNESS

Crucial Aid

The young man yawned widely while stretching both of his arms. He had to admit—sleeping on a tree had made his body stiff and sore. All the interconnected muscles throughout his body felt painfully tense. He had been forced to maintain his balance the entire night to avoid falling.

Fang An looked off into the distance, toward the direction where the sounds of fighting had come from. His position atop the tree gave him a slight advantage in visibility, although a few large trees blocked parts of his view.

It wasn’t usually in Fang An’s nature to meddle in others’ business, but for some reason, his heart seemed to urge him to approach the scene of the fight.

He leapt lightly to the ground and quickened his pace, moving confidently across a carpet of fallen leaves and lush green grass.

About thirty meters from the battle, Fang An stopped and leaned against a tree trunk. His sharp gaze focused on the dozens of men clashing with one another, while his tongue played with a blade of grass tucked in the corner of his mouth.

He saw an uneven battle taking place. A group of about a dozen men were struggling against nearly thirty others, all dressed in black. Strangely, the thirty attackers all wore wooden bark masks to conceal their faces.

Ten minutes passed, and the masked fighters in black had already cut their enemies' numbers nearly in half. Their attacks were highly coordinated and disciplined, as if they had trained and fought together many times.

Two of them noticed another presence watching the fight from afar. They broke formation and swiftly headed toward Fang An, who was slightly surprised to see them rushing in his direction.

"What are you doing here, boy?" asked one of them.

Although their faces were hidden behind masks, Fang An could tell by their eyes that they were clearly displeased with his presence.

"I just happened to be passing through this area," he answered calmly.

"Then why did you stop to watch our fight? Why not keep walking?"

Fang An scratched his head slowly, then cracked his neck to both sides, producing a soft popping sound from his joints.

"As far as I know, I don’t have to pay to watch something like this, right? Besides, is there a rule saying I can’t stop here and rest?" A faint smile formed on his lips.

"You insolent brat! Are you mocking us? Do you even know who we are?"

"How could I know who you are when we haven’t even been introduced?" Fang An replied flatly.

"You damn punk! Looks like you’re tired of living!" shouted the other masked figure as he slashed his sword toward Fang An.

"Hey, why are you attacking me? I don’t think we have any personal problems," Fang An said as he easily dodged the strike aimed at him.

The masked man clicked his tongue in frustration when he saw how easily Fang An had evaded his attack. He launched another series of strikes in quick succession, but Fang An continued to dodge them without much effort.

Seeing his comrade struggle to land a hit, the other masked man grew impatient and joined the attack. Swing after swing rained down as he supported his partner’s assault.

Even against two masked warriors, Fang An didn’t look the least bit overwhelmed. He leapt up, broke off a sturdy branch hanging overhead, and landed nimbly.

"You asked, and I answered politely. So why attack me?" Fang An questioned as he casually brushed leaves off the branch he held.

"Enough questions!" one of them snapped, panting heavily.

The masked pair resumed their fierce attacks. Their swords sliced powerfully through the air, aiming for every exposed part of Fang An’s body. But this time, instead of dodging, Fang An used the branch in his hand to parry each strike.

"Impossible!" one of them exclaimed. His sword trembled violently each time it clashed with Fang An’s branch. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the branch remained intact, despite taking dozens of blows.

"Be careful. He’s not an ordinary warrior. We’re going to have a hard time if it’s just the two of us," the other muttered, glancing toward the main battle.

"You’d better leave now, kid. We won’t escalate this any further."

"Hah! That’s rich—after you both attacked me first, now you expect me to just walk away?" Fang An snapped back.

"If you don’t leave, you’ll be facing the wrath of the Masked Heretic Sect!"

Fang An chuckled softly, pointing the tip of the branch forward. "Masked Heretic Sect or monkey masks—I don’t care. You picked a fight with me, and now you’ll have to pay for it!"

The white-haired young man knew right away these two came from a dark sect. That alone was reason enough for him to take their lives.

The two masked men swallowed hard. It was clear the threat of their sect’s involvement didn’t frighten this young man at all. They realized that just the two of them wouldn’t be enough to defeat Fang An, especially since their fellow sect members still hadn’t finished off the remaining fighters.

"Die, you bastard!" Fang An lunged forward, unleashing his inner energy to increase the force of his strikes with the branch.

The two masked fighters were stunned by Fang An’s growing speed. After both their swords were knocked from their hands, their bodies collapsed to the ground, their necks broken cleanly.

The young warrior picked up the fallen swords near him. Without delay, Fang An rushed to aid those who were still being overwhelmed by the Masked Heretic Sect members.

Without choosing specific targets, Fang An dived headfirst into the heart of the battle.

The two swords in his hands slashed through the air in swift, fluid arcs. His speed far outmatched that of his enemies, allowing him to strike at will.

Fang An’s arrival drastically shifted the course of the battle. The Masked Heretic Sect members began to retreat as the young man effortlessly cut down eight of them in a short span of time.

Fang An stared down the remaining sixteen sect members, both of his swords now soaked in blood. He then turned to the five men behind him.

"You all should rest. Let me handle the rest!"

"Yes, Warrior," replied a man dressed in official-looking attire. He and his four companions finally breathed a sigh of relief after the arrival of their savior—who, to their surprise, was still so young.