Hearing the shout from the female detective, Jason nodded in acknowledgment. Then… he gazed at the ‘food’ in front of him with an indescribable hunger in his eyes.
The rumbling of his stomach had long since turned into a continuous roar.
The excessive secretion of saliva made Jason swallow incessantly.
"Thank goodness I didn’t give up. Finally, you’re here.”
In those hunger-filled eyes was a glimmer of relief.
He had almost given up just moments ago.
Everything had taken a turn!
After clearing out the outer areas of the Hanakaiin Family’s territory, Jason darted toward the core of the black mist without stopping.
The scent of food suddenly became faint and elusive, filling Jason with an uneasy premonition.
Thus, Jason pressed forward with all his might.
But soon, he was forced to halt.
A defensive forcefield blocked his way.
Without hesitation, Jason raised his blade and struck.
The forcefield in front of him wavered back and forth under the impact.
After three consecutive strikes, the forcefield shattered before him.
However, Jason still couldn’t advance.
Because inside that forcefield, there was yet another pristine defensive forcefield.
A troubling hypothesis surfaced in his mind.
But he didn’t stop moving.
With another strike of his blade,
After several more hits, the defensive forcefield shattered.
And Jason’s uneasy hypothesis was confirmed.
Yet another pristine defensive forcefield appeared within.
"So it’s a layered defensive forcefield acting as protection?”
Jason murmured to himself.
This method seemed clumsy.
But precisely because of this clumsiness, it gave no openings to exploit.
Simply put, the only way was to destroy layer after layer of the forcefields to advance.
With the scent of ‘food’ growing weaker by the moment, Jason wasted no time and quickened his pace.
Even as voices reached his ears, Jason paid no mind.
"Is it the esteemed ‘Sword Saint’?”
"I believe we can have a discussion.”
"I harbor no malice.”
The voice was female, slightly hoarse.
But Jason showed no intention of responding. Instead, as the other spoke, he shattered yet another layer of the defensive forcefield.
Watching through a crystal ball, the diminutive figure’s brows furrowed deeply.
She had anticipated encountering an opponent beforehand.
But she hadn’t expected such an opponent to appear so soon.
Hanakaiin Rs plan was already at the final critical juncture and could not be interrupted!
They only needed a little more time, and Hanakaiin Rō would succeed!
However, the current defensive forcefields weren’t enough to stall until then.
The defensive forcefields had a total of ten layers.
Jason had already broken through four. Based on his current speed, the remaining six layers would crumble in just two to three minutes at most.
And two to three minutes was far from enough.
They needed at least ten minutes!
Stalling a ‘Sword Saint’ for ten minutes…
"Hanakaiin Rō, you owe me, not just in this lifetime but in the next one as well. In the one after that, you’ll have to be my workhorse, too.”
With a sigh like that, the short figure formed a hand sign and disappeared.
Just as Jason was about to swing his blade again to shatter another forcefield, he suddenly turned and lashed out with his blade.
A slender longsword collided with the broad-bladed, short-handled chopping knife.
The longsword emitted a mournful metallic cry and snapped clean in two. The sword bearer was sent flying by the transmitted force.
"As expected of the ‘Sword Saint’.”
Midair, the short figure’s voice rang out clearly.
At the same time, she hurled the broken sword in her hand at the advancing Jason.
Another metallic clash rang out as Jason deflected the broken sword. But as he pursued, Jason sharply turned his head—previously discarded blade fragments silently brushed past his ear.
The short woman said softly, landing on her feet with a sigh.
The two broken pieces of the sword returned to her side.
Under Jason’s gaze, the two fragments merged into one.
Gripping the sword’s hilt, the short woman gave it a light wave. The air whistled sharply in response.
Jason’s eyes fixed on the slender sword in her hand.
There was no trace of ‘food’s’ scent.
So, it wasn’t the sword itself but likely her secret technique or some kind of ability.
That was Jason’s deduction.
"Are you curious about it?”
"But, compared to it, I’m more curious about your weapon.”
"You’re revered as the ‘Sword Saint,’ yet you use such an odd-looking blade?”
The short woman looked intrigued.
"Who says a Sword Saint can’t use a blade?”
"A blade is just a sword.”
Jason replied solemnly, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
Hearing Jason’s nonsense, the short woman not only refrained from getting angry but also seemed delighted.
After all, her goal was to stall for time.
Now that Jason was willing to spout nonsense, she was happy to play along.
Thus, she immediately sought to continue the conversation.
But just as she opened her mouth, she saw Jason suddenly spin around and strike another blow at the defensive forcefield.
The defensive forcefield quivered violently.
The short woman squinted her eyes.
She knew her ploy had been seen through by Jason.
At this point, there was no choice but to fight head-on.
Although it wasn’t what she wanted,
When it came down to it, she was still willing to fight.
Because she had made a promise to Hanakaiin Rō.