Chapter 21: Ruthless and Decisive, Beyond Human

“Who’s there?”

The three of them were startled, immediately turning around.

All of them had undergone rigorous training and survived countless life-and-death struggles. For someone to approach them so silently, it was clear that the newcomer was no ordinary person. They suspected he might be an agent sent by a rival company.

But in the next instant, their surprise turned to confusion.

Standing before them was a young man, not yet twenty, dressed plainly with nothing remarkable about his appearance—except for the cheerful smile he wore as he looked at them.

“It’s him,” one of them said, recognizing the newcomer as the owner of this very farm.

The other two immediately relaxed. If he was just an ordinary person, there was nothing to fear. Their earlier lapse in awareness could be explained by their attention being wholly absorbed by the meteorite.

“Kid, my advice to you is to pretend you saw nothing tonight. Maybe then you’ll keep your life.” The leader, Zhao, finally spoke, his tone unfriendly. Although the company had ordered discretion, he didn’t want unnecessary bloodshed. If the young man left quietly, Zhao would let it go.

“And you expect me to walk away while you’re stealing from my land?” Lu Yuan looked at the three with a smile, making no move to act. He wanted to know exactly who these people were. The compound bows they carried had caught his eye; their power and cost were considerable, and they were strictly regulated. Clearly, these men were not simple thieves, and he needed to understand the situation.

“Your property?” one of them sneered. “This meteorite fell from the sky—how could it belong to you? Leave now, or don’t blame us for what happens next.”

Their patience was thin. They didn’t want to waste time talking, and their hands drifted to the quivers at their backs, a clear threat for Lu Yuan to leave.

“If it landed on my farm, it’s mine,” Lu Yuan replied, shaking his head. He had no intention of leaving.

“Boss, enough talk,” the short one said, eyes full of killing intent. “Let’s just get rid of him.”

“Fine, but make it clean,” Zhao agreed. Since the boy was courting death, he had only himself to blame. With that, he turned to help the other man secure the meteorite, not wanting to risk the night any longer. As far as he was concerned, Lu Yuan was already a dead man.

Given the order, the short man licked his lips and, with lightning speed, drew several arrows and loaded his bow. His movements were practiced and swift.

The compound bow could fire in rapid succession with devastating force, far beyond an ordinary bow. As soon as the weapon was loaded, he looked at Lu Yuan with a mixture of cruelty and pity.

Pity for an ordinary man who had no idea what he was up against—someone who could have lived, but chose instead to die.

Without hesitation, he let fly a volley at Lu Yuan.

Arrows whistled through the air, glinting coldly as they flew.

Lu Yuan, however, did not retreat. In fact, he was curious to test his new physique against real foes. So he stood his ground, raising a hand as the arrows sped toward him.

Seeing this, the short man smirked.

Foolish. Even wild boars and bears couldn’t withstand a compound bow’s arrow—did this boy really think he could catch one barehanded?

But then his smile froze. The arrows he had just loosed were now caught in Lu Yuan’s hand.

Impossible.

The short man’s heart pounded wildly as if he’d seen a ghost.

After catching the arrows, Lu Yuan tossed them aside and stepped forward.

The distance of tens of meters vanished in a flash. Without any unnecessary movement, he simply slapped the short man with his palm.

He had no choice—his current strength was far beyond what a human could endure. Any more force and the man’s skull would have cracked open.

Slap.

Lu Yuan’s palm landed atop the man’s head.

In an instant, blood gushed from the man’s nose and mouth. He staggered backwards and fell.

“Something’s wrong—take him together!” Zhao barked, realizing their opponent was anything but ordinary. He ordered the remaining man to attack from a different angle, both firing their bows at once.

A hail of arrows flew.

Lu Yuan didn’t even bother to look. With a few casual steps, he evaded them easily.

The distance was only a dozen meters or so, but he now surpassed human limits in every respect.

To him, the arrows seemed to move in slow motion.

“Damn, he’s fast. Close in!” Zhao had plenty of combat experience. Seeing the bows were useless, he switched tactics. Both he and his companion drew knives from their belts and charged. The short man, though dizzy from the blow, recovered enough to join in.

“Quick to react, at least,” Lu Yuan said with a smile. He no longer intended to hide his strength.

In the next instant, he appeared beside the short man, fist cocked.

With a single punch to the man’s chest,

Crack, crack.

The force shattered the man’s ribs. He flew backward twenty meters, his head lolling to the side, lifeless.

Lu Yuan turned immediately to the remaining two. Their attempts to kill him stirred no emotion within.

In his previous life, he had struggled for over a decade in a brutal new era where the strong preyed on the weak. He had seen true cruelty.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

“This man isn’t normal,” Zhao thought, watching his subordinate die instantly. He judged himself no match and prepared to flee—his life was more valuable than the mission.

But Lu Yuan gave him no chance. In a blur, he closed in on the other man and struck again.

With a punch to the shoulder, the man crashed to the ground, leaving a crater, and did not rise.

In less than three seconds, two men were down.

Lu Yuan turned to Zhao, the last one standing, and spoke softly, “Tell me—who sent you, and what is your purpose?”

“You want information from me? Dream on,” Zhao sneered, his face tense with defiance.

“Still stubborn,” Lu Yuan chuckled, closing in quickly.

Clearly, they were after the meteorite—but did they know about the extraterrestrial sword embryo within? If not, there was no need to keep one alive. But if they did, he’d need to be even more careful in the future. Being watched was always unsettling.

Lu Yuan moved so swiftly that the air around him seemed to tear, a tremendous force building within him.

“Do or die,” Zhao muttered, trembling, but quickly composed himself.

He drew a white pill from his belt and swallowed it.

A grotesque sound of flesh and bone shifting followed.

Zhao's body swelled until he was over two meters tall; his right arm bulged monstrously, muscles thicker than millstones, veins standing out, white vapor wafting from his body, and the whites of his eyes veined with red.

He was no longer human.