The Gentleman at the End

Chapter 230: Chapter 229: Combat

Because burning corpses suspended the Death Symbol in the sky, anyone alive in Levhome City was tagged with a “Forbidden to Look Up” label.

Of course, having your eyes closed was still fine.

However, the threat of death was not just from the sky.

All sorts of insects, rodents, and birds were affected and could form the Death Symbol in front of anyone, anywhere,

even if you kept your head down the entire time, you might accidentally see ants arranged into the symbol on the ground, or birds flashing by in the alleyways, resulting in the transmission of death.

The best method was not to use your eyes at all.

Yi Chen made a quick decision to tear off a strip of black cloth from his clothing. Though he said it was torn, the moment he thought of tearing, the Gentleman’s Skin automatically separated out a ribbon.

Imitating teacher Zede’s usual attire, Yi Chen unfolded the black cloth and slowly covered his eyes, deciding to completely abandon his vision for the upcoming actions.

The moment his eyes were covered, his thoughts were taken back to the Underground Paradise.

In physical sparring with teacher Zede, the latter usually only acted as a ‘sandbag’, not dodging at all, allowing Yi Chen’s attacks to land on him, slicing, smashing, or whipping.

They would occasionally try a real sparring session.

During these sessions, the total time Yi Chen could last was typically no more than ten seconds,

and all his attacks, no matter how cleverly he set up traps and used tactics, could not injure Zede; all were dodged or completely neutralized by him.

“Teacher Zede, how do you manage to do this?”

“When those monks first deprived me of [vision], I wasn’t used to it either.

This conceptual level of deprivation meant I would never gain vision again, even if I fitted perfect eyeballs in my face and connected all the nerves, I still wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Gradually, I got used to the changes.

I even found that by erasing vision, my main sensory input, I could focus better on developing my other senses.

I could construct a whole new world through hearing, smell, and touch.

For instance, I can taste every drop of sweat flowing from your body, Yi Chen, discern which pore it comes from, taste the saltiness, and even deduce what you ate last night and your current physical state.

It was also by fully utilizing my remaining senses that I managed to escape from the Monastery. If those guys hadn’t gouged out my eyes, maybe I couldn’t have escaped at all.

Sometimes, losing something might not be such a bad thing.

William, you might try it too when you have nothing else to do. Although your vision is naturally excellent and supported by your internal partner, sometimes other senses might be more useful.”

“Understood.”

Later, in physical training and sparring with Zede, Yi Chen also tried this ‘Blind Strike.’ At the beginning, he couldn’t find his way at all, but gradually he could capture environmental parameters through his other senses and perform a series of basic activities.

Of course,

to reach Zede’s level was still a long way off, only the tip of the iceberg.

…

Levhome City.

With his eyes covered by black cloth, Yi Chen’s body also took on a stooped shape; anyone who knew Zede could certainly discern some clues from Yi Chen’s posture and style.

“Never thought I’d actually need to use this technique, but it’s a good thing I tried Blind Strike with teacher Zede.

Now I better hurry to meet Mr. Helvoye at the hospital. Death is spreading throughout the city, this isn’t something I can solve alone, and even the whole of Levhome might not be saved.

The only hope we can pin on is Dean Dis, if he can find and kill the Root of Death. Once the Root is removed, the spread of death will stop, and we can then eliminate the remaining dead in the city, bringing everything back to normal.”

At this moment, Barry also came closer, his armor sticking to Yi Chen’s outfit.

Yi Chen immediately smelled a unique scent from Barry, which if described was like a plate of Cantonese roast, all fatty meat, possibly related to his having eaten three people’s breakfast that day.

“William, you also have experience fighting blindfolded?”

“By coincidence, one of my tutors is like that, I learned from him. Barry, you might also try not to use your eyes, right?”

“That I really can’t do, though I learned basic Blind Strike in family training, it was only in fixed locations. To abandon my vision and move through these unfamiliar city areas for combat, I definitely can’t do it, and might even die faster.

Maybe I’ll really die here…”

Yi Chen slapped his hand on the armor as usual, “It’s fine. Didn’t we already come to an important conclusion about suppressing death last night? The formation of the Death Symbol isn’t instantaneous; it’s a process.

As long as we detect this process, we can interrupt it early or close our eyes to successfully contain it.”

We aren’t going to stubbornly fight to the death here. Let’s first head to the hospital to meet with Helvoye and Lotson, and then join the apprentices to guard inside together.

In a special area like Sunward Hospital, there must definitely be a barrier as well as defense mechanisms.

If all else fails, we’ll just run for it.”

“Okay.”

“Of course, there will inevitably be some minor conflicts on the way back to the hospital.”

He picked up a shotgun with his left hand,

and carried the Hand Axe in his right hand,

transforming his suitcase into a backpack that did not hinder movement while still allowing him to access the Medicine inside at any time.

Yi Chen’s scalp steamed with white smoke again as his brain began to operate at high speed. Using his precise memory of the city area, he moved quickly toward the hospital.

When the two passed the first intersection, an orderly group of birds suddenly flew out, clearly preparing to form the Death Symbol.

Just as Yi Chen was about to fire his gun, there was a loud snap!

A shield embossed with a Heavy Hammer pattern flew out at high speed, smashing the birds and scattering their flesh and feathers, interrupting their gathering process.

Drawn by some contractual power, the shield quickly flew back.

Snap! Barry’s left hand grasped it securely, his breath visible beneath his bucket-like mask.

“Barry, not bad~ It’s my first time seeing you use a weapon in combat. Is this one of your abilities?”

“Indeed, this is one of the abilities bestowed by ‘Heavy Knight.’ Currently, it allows me to control up to two ‘Heavy Equipments.’ As long as I confirm the ‘Binding’ with the equipment, I can significantly improve my proficiency with the equipment and also bestow the ‘Recall’ ability.”

“That’s really cool!”

Yi Chen had always thought Barry was just a supporting tank, but he didn’t expect him to have such a flexible way of fighting.

The two jogged for a while, and as they passed a detached house… Bang! All the windows on the second floor shattered.

A family of four jumped out from inside,

actively releasing Death Aura all over their bodies, which could rapidly age any object or flesh upon contact.

The most terrifying part was that they could self-destruct at any moment, making them exponentially more dangerous.

Furthermore,

as the family members dove down, they ‘swiftly stripped off their clothes,’ attempting to expose the Death Symbols etched on their bodies.

Blindfolded, Yi Chen fired his gun directly at one of the fathers and was about to swing his axe to kill the others when… Whirr! The sound of a heavy object spinning through the air reached them.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

A Mithril Hammer spinning at high speed flew in from the side, exploding the bodies of the remaining three in midair with such force that even the rats and dead fish that made up their flesh were ground into powder.

The Mithril Hammer continued to spin for a while, shaking off the blood on its surface before automatically flying back to Barry’s hand.

“Cool, Barry!”

“Damn, I’ve been freaking out! Ever since we entered the city, we’ve barely seen any clear patients or enemies… Now finally I get a chance to show off. Watch me smash their heads one by one.”

The conversation had just ended when, Snap!

From an intersection about ten meters away, the sound of breaking bones and flesh could be heard.

Barry glanced over cautiously, the sight capturing his gaze wiped the smile off his face, and Yi Chen also sensed an uncomfortable aroma… the distinct scent of a Gentleman.

A Gentleman had just committed suicide at the intersection,

precisely by jumping from the top floor of the nearby Sunward Hotel, falling in a perfect vertical line to the ground, his head smashed open upon impact.

His body stood upside down on the ground, feet joined and pointing upwards, one hand pointing like a signpost towards the entrance of the Sunward Hotel.