64 Desperation

Sunier and the rest of the group whipped the horses and disappeared into the dusk. "Can you let Lord Mario go now?" the middle-aged knight asked in a slow tone after waiting patiently for a moment.

"Get down from your horses." Han Jin smiled without a direct reply to him.

The middle-aged knight inhaled a long breath and made a gesture. All the knights dismounted.

"Now, kill your horses," Han Jin added.

"You..." A sharp cold light reflected from the man's eyes.

Han Jin agilely twirled the knife in his hand before it was put back on the hostage's face. The knife, which was from Sunier but had been sharpened by him, was no longer an ordinary dinner knife. Its keen point was only several millimeters away from the hostage's eyeball. Even a blink would cause his eyelashes to touch the tip of the knife, and the sense that the knife was about to stab into his eyes made both him and his rescuers shudder with fear. Pain tortured him, but he dared not move, shout, nor have a look at the place where his pain was coming from, and what had dropped down. He simply sat motionless like a statue.

Han Jin's hand was very firm, as if it had been frozen in the air. "I am a straightforward person, and I don't like to repeat my words."

The middle-aged knight gave a stuffy humph. He raised his long sword and stabbed it into the neck of his horse. The steed neighed in pain and twisted its body before dropping down to the ground in a pool of blood.

Hundreds of murderous eyes stared at Han Jin, but he didn't seem to care at all. The next moment, the rest of the horses were stabbed down by their masters, one after another, leaving a wave of the miserable sounds of neighing to resound in midair.

"Are you satisfied now?" the middle-aged knight gnashed word by word.

"Wait." Han Jin didn't say much as if his words were as precious as gold.

The middle-aged knight looked seriously at him and somehow felt terrified. The smile on Han Jin's face was warm and kind, but the hatred reflected in his eyes were as overwhelming as roaring waves, oppressing others to the point of being out of breath.

In all honesty, Han Jin shouldn't be able to assert so much pressure in front of these knights with his current level of cultivation. However, Han Jin came from another world and had gone through various unimaginable ordeals, during which he had tried to keep the wholeness of his spirit among the endless turbulence of spacetime. Through that trail, his mental strength had been tempered beyond any normal person's imagination. Besides, although he looked calm, an extremely fierce conflict was raging in his head.

First impressions usually played a very important role in almost everything, like the first time you used a mobile phone, drank a new kind of liquor, or enjoyed a new type of cuisine. If those first impression were bad, you might very well decide to never try them again for the rest of your life.

It just so happened that Han Jin had a terrible first impression of this world. It was chaotic and disordered. The destruction of Radon Town, George the cheating merchant, the knights they had met during their travels, the Association of Mercenaries in Isolated Cliff City, and the danger he had run into now, all drove him beyond his limit. He had never been so eager to destroy something.

Perhaps these experiences were nothing unusual for people accustomed to being submissive, but for Han Jin, these experiences were intolerable. His experience had made him into a restive man. Bullying and oppression had also existed in his former world, but it was mostly based on interest. Without this premise, no one would choose to hurt others easily.

Things here were totally disordered. Looting, bullying, and even killing were common practices. All Han Jin felt was disgust, extreme disgust!

The middle-aged knight had no idea what change had gone through Han Jin's mind, nor did he realize what kind of direction he had just pushed Han Jin in. He was still striving to save the hostage.

"Can you put down your knife, young man? I promise I won't hurt you! I swear!"

"How long do you want us to wait?"

"This is your last chance, I hope you appreciate it!"

"You know who Lord Mario is? He is a distinguished aristocrat, a..."

Han Jin stood still while the middle-aged man chattered nonstop. The hand and the knife were steadfast, but the hostage couldn't hold on anymore. Beads of sweat were dropping down, and his body was trembling while his head remained motionless. Obviously, the hostage was trying hard to control himself. He indeed was perfect at holding such a difficult pose.

Just when the middle-aged man had given up trying to persuade Han Jin, Han Jin suddenly spoke up. "Tell me, why did you attack us? Also, order your archers to put away their arrows. I'm prone to getting nervous, and I do stupid things when I get nervous. Don't push me."

The middle-aged knight waved his hand, indicating the archers to put away their bows and arrows. After some contemplation, he gave a wry smile. "This is not the first trade caravan."

"What do you mean?" Han Jin asked coldly.

"It's hard to explain... Every time our caravan purchases military supplies in Isolated Cliff City, we will spread the news that we need to deliver the goods directly to Holy Crown City." The middle-aged man slowly said, "In reality, they only need to be escorted here. We have other channels to transport them to the destination. We truly did not intend to target your group directly, but we can't leak this news out. If Black Raven City or Depew City knows, we will be..."

"If this is true, why would you still hire us?"

"We have to at least put up an act. Otherwise, it would arouse suspicion. Moreover, it's not safe along the way. We may have trouble if we encounter bandits."

"Is that all?" Han Jin sneered. "When the trade caravan is back at Isolated Cliff City, they will tell the Mercenary Association that the mission has failed and all of the mercenaries have been killed. You people can then claim all the deposit. After all, all the mercenaries are dead, and no one will argue with you. What a great plot! Even if the merchants get no money from you, you can make a great fortune with the deposit."

The expression on the middle-aged man's face changed dramatically. A murderous intention flashed in his eyes. In fact, all this were meaningless. He would not have allowed Han Jin to go back alive even if he hadn't figured out their plan.

Han Jin looked up at the sky. It was getting darker. "Now, all of you... kneel down!"

The middle-aged knight clenched his teeth and kneeled first. He could do nothing but obey Han Jin tricking him into letting his guard down. The last thing they wanted was to push Han Jin into desperation. It would be disastrous for them if he chose to die along with his hostage.

"If I let you go, will you try to kill me again?" Han Jin asked smilingly.

"No... never..." The hostage nearly burst out crying and almost fainted due to extreme joy when he heard this. He was only doing this to earn some military merit, and had never expected to fall into a situation like this.

"You must keep your words." This said, Han Jin patted the hostage's head and suddenly pushed him forward.

"Pop!" The knife thrust deeply into the eye of the hostage. "No!" the middle-aged knight roared in rage. He immediately threw the sword in his hand toward Han Jin.