Legendary Soul Art

The Sand Bandits' confidence skyrocketed once the dark-skinned man stepped forward to take the lead. They all started cursing at Number One but his smile didn't falter for even a second. Despite outnumbering him, they didn't want to attack him which showed they were still wary of his strength.

"You still have thirty seconds," Number One commented as he stopped Luna and Nami in the tunnel. He didn't want to provoke the brutes to attack after seeing two beauties like them.

"And I already told you to fuck off," the dark-skinned man cursed again as he threatened with his ax. "If you don't leave us alone in ten seconds, I will cut off your hand and stick it up your ass."

"Maybe you want to die but others might prefer to enjoy their life," Number One replied calmly while gazing across the cavern. "All of you are responsible for yourself. Is your life less important than a few Soul Crystals you stole just now? You still have time to think it over."

Number One couldn't care less about killing some bandits as long as he received his money so the proposal was genuine. If they grouped up and piled all the goods for him to take, he would leave and never see them again.

Too bad, the bandits were a lost cause and they didn't appreciate his generosity.

"Don't fall for his tricks! We are stronger together!" the dark-skinned man shouted as he walked towards the exit. "The Soul Academy is going to bring reinforcement soon. Either we break through and run away or we will all get killed."

"Or you can just give back what you stole and no one has to die," Number One reminded as he withdrew a Soul Boosting Pill. The sight of it caused an immediate pause as greed lit up on the bandits' faces.

Number One waited just in case anyone decided to give in and popped the pill into his mouth. "No one? That's a shame. You leave me no choice but to kill you all too."

The ladies who were clearly prostitutes in the hideout finally hesitated but Number One already gave them a chance to step forward. He aimed his gun at the dark-skinned man and chose him as the first target.

"Kill this bitc—" the dark-skinned man couldn't even finish his war cry before the cavern lit up with a beam of light. It was a signal for Nami and Luna to finally come out of the tunnel but they weren't here to talk.

They swiftly jumped down towards the closest enemy and sliced them before they could even recover from the temporary blindness. Even though some of the bandits seemed to be skilled, the matchup wasn't fair. How could one compare a bandit who was mostly enjoying his life to Luna who dedicated her life to training?

It was pure slaughter and everything turned into chaos. Tables and meals went flying as bodies were piled on the floor which caused the Sand Bandits to panic. The lucky ones who weren't on the bottom floor of the bar immediately came out of their rooms and rushed towards the only exit. They only needed to pass through lonely Number One who was blocking the way but that turned out to be an even tougher task.

"I gave you all a chance," Number One commented while spreading his wings and beginning his own assault. He fired tens of blades at the closest bandits who had no way of protecting themselves and then finished off with another beam of light that burned the bodies on its path.

Compared to the Black Vultures who were born for quick maneuvers, humans were more sloppy and the place didn't have any room for dodging. The bandits couldn't even reach him in the first place and any long-range ability was sliced through by a quick blade from Number One's wing.

The dark-skinned man who dodged the first shot was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. He was probably right that they could force their way out if it was just Number One but that wasn't the case.

"I'm not dying here!" the dark-skinned man cried out as he stepped on the stairs once again and his body glowed with green light. That momentarily boosted his speed and defense as all blades bounced off his torso.

The dark-skinned man went straight for the head but Number One ducked in the opposite direction. His right wing was sliced off cleanly by the ax just as he counter-attacked on his own.

"Arrghh!"

Number One cut right through the man's thigh which burst out with blood. He didn't let him swing again in desperation and followed with another upper slash that sliced off the incoming arm.

The combo didn't even last a second for everyone but for Number One it was much slower than that. His Soul Vision let him notice all movements with no delay which was a huge advantage compared to someone without it.

"Please! Take our money and we will leave!" the bandits started begging as soon as the big guy fell to the ground but their death was already decided.

Bang!

Another beam pierced through the cavern and killed the beggers on the spot. Once Number One started killing, there was no turning back. He couldn't let anyone survive in case they had connections with other gangs or bandit groups. They have already seen his face so they could only die.

'Kill everyone. No mercy,' Number One informed as he watched his girls go on a rampage and they took it to the heart. Not only did they clear the base floor but they even checked every room and killed everyone who tried to hide in the accommodations.

Was it cruel? Maybe, but that was the world they lived in. Kind-hearted people were the first ones to die and Number One was already too lenient on them. He gave them too much time to scheme and plan an attack on him when he knew very well they wouldn't surrender.

"I got one hundred and twenty-six," Luna announced proudly after the clean-up was over. "What about you Nami?"

"I only got eighty-six," Nami replied casually as they both looked at Number One to learn his number. He actually forgot about the bet and wasn't bothered to count so he only shrugged.

"I guess you two won. Let's collect all the loot and get out of here," Number One commented while looking closely at all the corpses. "Be careful though. Someone might be still alive."

Number One watched everyone in search of any movement but the cavern was completely silent. Most of the lights were broken and someone could try to hide in the dark by pretending to be dead. With so many bodies on the ground, it wasn't that hard to hide underneath one of them in the midst of the chaos.

His instinct seemed to be on point as he didn't need to wait long for a surprise. He was looking through the bodies to collect all the Soul Crystal bags and Storage Rings when he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Someone attacked from the ground while having a hole in their chest and stabbed him with a knife.

"Hahaha, die bitch!" The bandit burst out laughing while coughing out blood from their mouth just before Number One sliced their throat. He actually thought the man was dead which was his mistake.

"Are you okay?" Luna and Nami called out immediately as they approached and watched Number One pull out the knife. The wound closed right away but his skin turned black as if the knife poisoned him.

Number One didn't hesitate to pull out his own knife and began cutting off the dead skin from his leg before letting his regeneration take over. One needed a lot of determination to be able to cut into his own skin but that wasn't his first rodeo.

"I will be fine," Number One assured them while giving his girls a knowing glance. "This is what I was talking about. Double check every body before you get too close."

It was actually more dangerous to face wounded enemies who would risk anything to score a kill. They would even pretend to be dead while bleeding out in order to get the chance of striking them. Looting required them to get close to the bodies which could expose them to danger.

"Maybe we should wait until everyone bleeds to death," Luna suggested only to rub her nose. "But the stench of blood is quite thick. I would rather get out of here quickly."

Number One thought of using his wing blades to stab every single body once again when they heard footsteps coming from the exit. All three of them turned around only to chuckle at Darius' flabbergasted face as he stared at the bloodbath.

"Holy shit… We followed dead bodies and found this hideout but I didn't expect you to clean them this fast," Darius commented while gazing at them with mixed feelings. "Kids these days… What are you all eating?"

"We?" Number One repeated. "Did Captain Jack arrive already?"

They didn't hear an answer as the man in question stepped into the cavern and Captain Jack raised his eyebrows at the scene. He wasn't surprised though and instead burst out laughing.

"Since Number One belongs to our Hunting Team, this should still count as if we completed the mission, right?"