Leslie region, on the surface, was a place with nothing of particular importance. The monsters were weak and invaluable, no valuable resources, and no training sites. In the territories under the Valkut barrier, there were many places with more promise of riches and power so the region rarely had any visitors.

In that place, a river split open, showing a staircase underground. Max stood before it for a few seconds and walked in.

Viers waited for the seconds to move. It could not be too short or too long before coming out from his hiding place.

On the way, tailing Max was so easy. What is it with hero types and their awareness? How can they be so careless? No wonder villains often get the jump on them.

Viers now stood at the place Max was earlier, in the middle of a split up river, like in the biblical Red Sea scene. The ancient wet staircases silently whispered to him promises of adventure.

Hmm, Euryale Sight didn't pick up anything before Max opened the path. Impressive. On the other hand, those guys…

“You all call that hiding? Come out before you further embarrass yourselves.”

Realizing the jig was up, ten unsavory-looking people surrounded Viers. They were led by someone Viers knew.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Viers. Vigilant as always, I see.”

“Skinny Dog. You survived.”

In truth, the people Skinny Dog employed were quite adept at hiding. Only, Viers’ Euryale Sight, his version of Ezio Eagle Vision, was better.

Viers was cloaked and hiding his face but Skinny Dog recognized him anyway. Understandable, since Viers leaked the info in the first place.

“Must thank you. Because you told me to stake out the Leslie region, me and my men were not in the city when that happened.”

The shady man pointed at the Magitek Wonder skyscraper.

Viers could guess why they were here even though he already rescinded the request. From there, the information dealer must have suspected there was something valuable here and like him, he wanted to take it for himself.

Just another day in the Path of Power.

Skinny Dog wasn't that powerful, only a Level 2. But the ten men he hired were all Level 3.

“We meet again, boy,” one of Skinny Dog’s men said.

“...You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?” Captain Viers Sparrow asked with a questioning look.

“Hehehe,” another man beside him chuckled. “It’s the other way around, doofus. We threatened you! And you folded like a chicken.”

A lightbulb lit up inside Viers’ head.

“You’re the guys that robbed the Chevry girl.”

“I believe you’re acquainted with the Five Gentleman Thieves. And these esteemed men,” Skinny Dog pointed to the group on his right. “Are the Tigerblade Company.”

Viers had no idea who they were.

“That’s how it is, boy.” The leader of the Five Gentleman Thieves, a Level 3 peak said. “Be smart and surrender. We’ll make your death painless.”

Viers wasn't there.

Viers had more important things to do than hearing their ramblings. At the word ‘smart’, Viers had already moved towards the smug-faced Skinny Dog, putting him within cutting distance.

The ‘oh, shit’ expression on his face was like fine wine.

Arte - Cut the Crap!

The unsheathed blade drew blood.

“Arrrghh!!” Skinny Dog screamed while putting pressure on his bleeding neck. “Kill him! Kill him now!”

The cut was too shallow because Skinny Dog’s men intervened.

“Bad call.”

“Not so smart, after all.”

“Die.”

Ten bodyguards attacked Viers from all sides.

Viers was about to move but found his Arte hampered. His movement Arte was sluggish, giving only a fraction of the speed. He didn't make it in time to dodge and multiple blows landed on him.

“Eat that! Do you think I’m here without preparations? I know you are strong. Water and soul dual Pathseeker to boot. Too bad, these magic items will be the end of you!” Skinny Dog laughed maniacally.

Viers mitigated the damage as he could with his Unreality Field. He saw the two leaders of the Thieves and the Tigerblade had a magic item each that disturbed the water and soul Artes. Viers’s enemies didn't use any of the two elements so only he was disadvantaged.

“Make him into mincemeat for the birds!” Skinny Dog ordered.

The ten bodyguards looked pleased as they surrounded Viers in a circle.

“No more Arte for you. No hard feelings, boy.”

The leader of the Gentlemen Thieves, Hauru, held a favorable impression of Viers after what happened before. If possible he didn't want to kill him.

He was about to take a step forward but the murderous intent he saw in Viers’ eyes made his foot nailed to the ground.

A Tigerblade that couldn't see Viers’ eyes and was thus oblivious, attacked from behind.

In response, Viers whistled.

A streak of blue jumped out from his coat.

And the attacking Tigerblade was dead.

“...Steve?”

“What the fu... Is he dead?”

Viers whistled again.

“Gyah!!”

Something small, something fast, made a hole in the man’s chest. His heart was pierced and the second death occurred.

“Disperse!” Hauru shouted.

“What’s the matter?” Viers smiled sinisterly. “Come a little bit closer, boys.”

Death visited them in the form of a blue streak. It flew in the air, leaving trails of blue light. As the men moved away, their field of vision expanded. As death claimed the third victim, they saw its true form.

It was a white arrow.

“Watch out!”

The fourth ducked the arrow but it changed direction midway, piercing him all the same. There was no blood spilled as the arrow left burn marks on the body, cauterizing the wound.

“Rwuah!”

One person cut the arrow mid-flight after it went out of the body of the fourth victim with his sword and Arte.

The white arrow did not even have a scratch. It went around and entered his eye socket.

In seconds, the ten had been reduced to half. Their heartbeats raced and adrenaline coursed through their veins as they faced the fearsome arrow.

And fucking stop that happy whistling, boy!

The Tigerblade leader had the same thought as Hauru and attacked Viers with lightning and darkness. To deal with remote techniques, attacking the caster was the common course of action but he paid dearly for that.

In the opening he showed when he attacked, the arrow delivered him three deaths. Death to his heart, brain, and spine.

As for Viers, he stayed in one place, taking the attack with Unreality Field, trading minor damage for a killing blow. He must be happy because the song-like whistle was becoming merrier after each death.

With the Tigerblade leader’s death, the remaining knew they couldn't show any opening for the arrow or it would be their turn next. Running was not an option because the arrow was too fast so they focused on defense.

In their mind, they knew that but panic got the better of them.

“Calm down! We-”

Hauru’s attempt of mind talk was cut short as the arrow targeted him next. Viers wouldn't allow the man to bring order back to the chaos.

His first line of defense was a shield, the most sturdy one in his arsenal.

The white arrow tore through it like a spear through a cloth.

“Guoooohh!!”

The arrow’s speed did not give him time to do much else. Hauru went all in and focused on making the strongest Unreality Field he was capable of.

It worked! The arrow stopped a few centimeters from his chest. Although the bolt was vibrating violently, Hauru’s aura remained firm. His pupils constricted almost to a point because of the concentration.

Then the arrow flew backward.

Before Hauru could taste the fruit of hope, the arrow charged back in. This time with a drilling motion, striking the same spot as before! The friction from the air set the arrow on fire. It happened in less than a second and his Unreality Field gave out.

There stood Hauru with an extra hole in his body. He didn't see it but the white arrow was curving and aiming at the back of his head.

In his fading consciousness, jolly high-pitch whistling was the last thing he heard.

Ah… What a shitty job.

***

While the arrow was creating corpses, Viers was humming.

Watch out here comes my arrow. It flies super fast, and kills everyone.

Watch out here comes my arrow. Legolas sucks, and Yondu is the ONE~♫

Viers unveiled one of his trump cards, Doyun Arrow.

Made from the bone of Reverend Purity, a Level 5 corpse that he found in Dia’s Biome. A single bone that he took before he buried the rest, which he then gave to Izabella the enchanter to fashion it into an arrow. Every inch of it was covered with her top-grade enchantments, turning the arrow into a deadly weapon.

While the body was made of bone, the core was something else. It was a sapphire. The eye of the Rank 7 spirit bull, Guo Song, who tried to become Viers’ cultivation grandpa. Viers rejected his offer, destroyed his soul, and ate his flesh. Naturally, he plundered the valuable and mystical body parts. Both of the bull’s eyes turned into dazzling sapphires when Viers removed them. He used one for this arrow.

Furthermore, it was upgraded once again by Tomthur the dwarven smith.

Viers received -or grave-robbed- three treasures from Reverend Purity: Scripture of Purity Profound Codex, Dragonweave Gloves, and Comet Shard.

The Codex Viers sealed away, but the other two had been put to good use.

The Comet Shard was a material of incredible hardness from outer space. He let Tomthur use a piece of it to make an arrowhead and gave other various improvements on the arrow. Izabella was a talented enchanter but she was still only a Level 3.

The end result was an arrow capable of the feat he saw in the Guardians 2 movie. Viers wouldn't settle for anything less.

The Doyun Arrow was not as strong as a true divine weapon like Solarion or even a broken divine weapon like his Spear of Leonidas, but it was made from extraordinary materials. It far exceeded conventional magic weapons.

The good thing was its speed, range, piercing power, and Viers controlled it with his mind. The whistling was a cosmetic touch and also served as a diversion.

After Hauru’s death, the arrow made short work of the remaining mooks. With the last whistle, the arrow made its return flight. Viers grabbed it as it went to the side of his head.

Twelve seconds.

That was how long it took for Viers to put to death ten Level 3s.

The cost to move Doyun Arrow for one second was 1,000 mana crystals!

Or 3,000 gold coins or 300,000 silver coins.

In the past, when he was just starting as an adventurer, the Rank 1 cockatrice monster he hunted with five people was only worth 500 silver coins.

It was different depending on the people and region but normally 100 silver coins would be enough for a non-Pathseeker family to live in luxury.

Viers was a Level 3 now. The monetary price of his cultivation was far higher. Even so, an average Level 3 wouldn't be able to sustain the sky-high cost of using the Doyun Arrow.

To put it in earth terms, the money to operate the arrow for one second was the price of a brand-new car.

Oh, my poor wallet… Don't cry for being thin, buddy. I’ll fatten you up again. Let’s hope these guys have lots of cash for ya.

Viers walked past the bodies of his victims, approaching the trembling Skinny Dog.

Just ten people, hm? How many did the blue man kill in the most light-hearted massacre scene in movie history?

“W-w-what was that?” Skinny Dog stuttered.

Viers made a snatching motion with his hand and Skinny Dog slumped to the ground with open eyes. The Level 2 was no match for Viers. He then spoke to Skinny Dog’s soul in his hand.

Kill first, talk later.

“Thank you for your services so far. I’m taking your and your men’s souls and belongings. Consider this a professional courtesy.”

Viers did just that. He wasn't able to count the value of the loot at this time but in the future, he would learn that from their belongings, hidden treasures, and the money he would take from their bank savings, Viers gained a profit.

This world revolves around a war economy. How sad… How high risk high reward… Then again, every xianxia power fantasy world is like this, I suppose.

There was an incident with Candice Chevry in the past. If Viers was capable of killing the bandits then, why didn't he just kill the brigands, loot them, then help the beauty?

Viers hadn't improved the Doyun Arrow yet. It would take longer to dispatch them and expose his trump card. Should he do so, he wouldn't have the capital to buy the luck-raising items afterward. In addition, there was no guarantee the value of his loot would cover the cost of his arrow or Victa. It had to be said that the money that moved the arrow now came from the Chevry mana crystal mine before he wrested the Serene Thunder Aviary from them.

Most importantly, Viers didn't have a favorable impression of the Candice girl. Heroes might save everyone equally but Viers was a villain. He refused to save someone he didn't like.

At any rate, Candice and the Five Gentleman Thieves are now reuniting in my soul prison. Feel free to hate and curse each other until judgment day, fellas.

Two side quests were completed simultaneously. Candice’s and Skinny Dog’s.

Now, back to the main story. I wager Max’s storyline is not a simple thing.

Viers chased after Max after dealing with the obstructions. He redid his disguise, just in case.

As he suspected, the structure underground was big. It resembled a temple of sorts. There were corridors and rooms. He encountered traces of earlier battles, unique guardian golems, and trick rooms.

Viers went past them all with ease. Max had taken care of them all.

Like Uncharted or Tomb Raider, after the hero opened ancient ruins that could only be opened with a unique key in their possession, they did not close the door behind, allowing the bad guys to follow. Viers didn't know why they didn't do it, but since he was the bad guy in this scenario, he only held gratitude for their incompetence.

Because the underground was dark, Viers moved under the umbrella of Fade in Shadow Arte. He was almost invincible and untraceable in the darkness.

After a while, Viers caught up to Max who was in the middle of battling some moving armor. Viers let Max do the hard job of trailblazing.

Silently and quietly.

Hours later, Max finally reached the center of the temple.

On the dais, floated a black fire.

“Finally,” Max said with a tired body after all the battles and puzzles. His eyes were shining with hope for his friends. “Faster than I thought. With this, I can help everyone.”

Max reached out his hand to the fire.

And Viers shot a bullet at Max’s head.