Chapter 56: Ahead Lies Hell!

In the confined space, the sword energy amplified by the "Flowing Heart" skill was equivalent to stacking an unparalleled buff upon himself.

No dual-wielding short swords.

This was not Liang Yue at his peak, but facing adventurers of meager strength who had once been overwhelmed by fear, a single short sword was already sufficient.

Taking advantage of the moment when the table was kicked flying and the opponents’ attention briefly diverted,

he gathered all the strength in his legs and burst forward with a speed so sudden that even at nearly four meters, the adventurers had no time to react.

With both hands gripping the hilt, Liang Yue unleashed three slashing strikes during his sprint.

Accompanied by devastating sword energy cuts that felled with the force of a withering storm, ordinary adventurers found it hard to respond, not to mention the somewhat cramped hall of the Soma Clan.

Their bodies, long hollowed out by indulgence and vices, were only fit to be dungeon fodder or oppressed lackeys!

The area covered by the sword energy easily sliced through monster defenses, let alone these lightly equipped adventurers.

Screams lasted only moments.

Feeling warm, fresh blood dripping onto his cheek, Liang Yue completed the first round of harvesting with his "Triple Slash," then steadied his footing and turned around.

Unlike monsters in dungeons that would dissipate upon death,

these were real adventurers.

Even prepared for the worst, the sight of scattered limbs and severed arms on the floor delivered a powerful visual shock to Liang Yue.

Blood flowed over the wooden planks, pooling through the cracks, the thick metallic scent gradually suffusing the Soma Clan’s stronghold.

“Such a pity about the limited range of Draw Slash…”

“But the speed of clearing is definitely faster than dungeon adventuring.” Aware that these adventurers stood opposed to him, morality was irrelevant.

Without sufficient strength, this was the fate one would suffer.

Liang Yue lightly shook his blade, letting the blood clinging to its grooves drip from the tip onto the floor, truly sharpening the edge with fresh blood.

The already keen blade now exuded an even colder aura.

He cast his gaze once more upon the remaining Soma Clan adventurers, his eyes unwavering despite the gory scene.

“Then…”

“How about you?”

The sword energy from the Triple Slash hadn’t reached those huddled in the corners, but the shock of the scene remained undiminished.

The clan members, companions day and night, had their lives extinguished in an instant…

No matter how strong their mental endurance, imagining such a scene happening to themselves triggered instinctive nausea.

“This guy…”

Most adventurers had been drawn into the clan by the divine wine, which enabled their dungeon explorations, but it was no cure-all.

Especially once they realized such actions were a death sentence!!

Fear completely enveloped their hearts; before the threat of death, even the divine wine’s mind-calming effects were powerless.

“This guy’s a monster!!”

“Definitely not some Lv2 adventurer!” The first to break down was a middle-aged adventurer, slumping to the ground.

He had no thought of resistance, only survival.

His voice trembling, the middle-aged adventurer tried to use a corpse before him as a shield: “Senior, if I leave now… can I still make it?”

With no room left to resist, the fight shattered the remaining ordinary adventurers’ will to fight.

Those near the clan’s gate, if not deterred by Liang Yue’s unpredictable power, would have fled long ago!

“Root and branch extermination” was quite practical in other contexts.

But if done in Oralie, the somewhat legitimate Soma Clan’s territory, such a massacre would surely provoke a united retaliation.

Liang Yue had no intention of fleeing Oralie under pursuit.

He even needed to arrange a proper death for these fallen Soma Clan adventurers, after all, the Soma Clan was not a dark faction.

“Why leave?”

It was easy to eliminate these ordinary adventurers; the difficulty lay in the aftermath. He smiled lightly at those present.

“Aren’t you curious who the new leader of the Soma Clan will be?” He had no intention to change the clan’s chaotic state.

“For instance…”

“Could it be one of you adventurers? Even if it’s not your turn, don’t you want to continue tasting the divine wine?”

The previously restless atmosphere gradually quieted at Liang Yue’s words, whose underlying meaning was clear: the earlier battle was only a warning.

The ultimate target was the former leader, Chanis.

Despite high-intensity dungeon explorations, only a bit of divine wine was exchanged, causing some adventurers to harbor resentment, even over the current situation.

All blamed on Chanis!!

Upon realizing the disparity in strength, the Lv2 adventurers’ loyalty to Chanis wavered somewhat.

“Why, being Lv2 adventurers as well,”

“can he order clan members to die while he hides away to enjoy the fruits?” Liang Yue’s words whispered like a demon in their souls.

As this youth, whose very presence made their souls tremble, passed by,

most remaining Soma Clan adventurers showed no resistance, even their eyes carried a different emotion.

The final reaction came from a tall, burly orc adventurer.

He did not choose to die but instead hoisted a whole table upright to block the breached clan gate.

At the same time, he cast an ingratiating glance toward Liang Yue.

“Senior…”

“Well done!”

Gathered by the lure of divine wine, how loyal could these adventurers be to Chanis?

This was the scenario Liang Yue wanted to see. Taking Lily, he ascended the wooden stairs toward the second floor.

Witnessing this overwhelming battle firsthand, Chanis already realized this was no ordinary Lv2 adventurer!

In an instant, more than ten clan members were slaughtered, breaking the spirit of the others!

Having long managed the clan and rarely venturing into dungeons, Chanis clearly recognized Liang Yue as a formidable adversary he could not contend with.

His inner anger eventually turned to grudging unwillingness.

Compared to Lily’s rare magical skills, he valued his own life more, willing to let them leave to cover up the truth.

Maybe then he could survive…

But the words Liang Yue had just spoken blocked that path completely!

Watching Liang Yue steadily approach, Chanis’s voice trembled as he retreated: “I’ll approve Lily’s withdrawal immediately… tonight…”

“Tonight’s incident—”

“—was purely clan members fighting over divine wine, nothing to do with you. I’ll keep that secret for you!”

His words were filled with earnest pleading, but when Liang Yue did not stop, regret engulfed Chanis, who kept retreating.

Finally stumbling, he fell to the ground.

He lifted his head, eyes crazed: “I can give you everything the Soma Clan has! Why won’t you spare me?”

“I’ll keep the secret too!”

Looking down from above at the middle-aged man whose emotional control had collapsed, Liang Yue lowered his voice:

“Only the dead can keep a secret…”

Sentenced to death outright, Chanis only sought a clear answer, looking up at Liang Yue’s unusually youthful Far Eastern face.

“Are you a Lv3 adventurer?”

“Sorry, wrong guess.”

Faced with Chanis’s puzzled gaze, Liang Yue explained calmly:

“I applied to the deity yesterday to ascend from Lv2.”

“Mm.”

“…And she refused me.”