Chapter 441: Rogue Town
"Ssshh!"
The dagger slashed across Li Meng's back.
Another wound was torn open.
Li Meng spun around and chopped at the Hellhound's neck with a hand strike.
The Hellhound hadn't expected this human kid to fight back even after being slashed.
Was he not afraid of pain?
The strike to its neck made the Hellhound dizzy and stumble backward.
Li Meng closed in, snatching the dagger from the Hellhound's hand.
Gripping the dagger with both hands, one hand braced on the hilt.
He thrust it fiercely into the Hellhound's neck.
The Hellhound was knocked to the ground by Li Meng.
Another Hellhound rushed forward, trying to rescue its companion.
It kicked Li Meng hard in the stomach.
The massive force sent Li Meng flying.
He flew more than ten meters before crashing to the ground.
The little girl stared blankly at the battered boy.
She couldn't understand why he was fighting so desperately.
Wasn't he afraid of dying?
Li Meng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He grinned at the little girl.
Staggering, Li Meng stood up again.
He looked like he could collapse at any moment.
Just as Li Meng got to his feet, a burst of dark energy exploded behind him.
A black-robed figure suddenly appeared behind Li Meng.
He struck Li Meng's neck with a hand chop.
Li Meng's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
"What a fearless kid, born to be a knight!"
Looking at the boy on the ground, a glint of approval flashed in the black-robed man's eyes.
So young, yet daring to fight Hellhounds.
No fear at all, willing to kill the enemy even while wounded.
Such ruthlessness made him suitable not only as a knight but also as an assassin.
Three Hellhounds remained.
The black-robed man's appearance made the remaining three sense danger.
His presence made their souls tremble.
"Run!"
The three Hellhounds turned and fled toward the forest.
"Hmph, die!"
The black-robed man reached out.
"Shadow Burst!"
The three Hellhounds were instantly wrapped in dark energy.
The next moment, the dark energy exploded.
The three Hellhounds were blasted into ashes.
After finishing everything, the black-robed man turned and knelt on one knee.
"Young Miss, it's time to return. You must complete the Death Reincarnation Trial!"
The little girl's face turned pale, and she shook her head in fear.
But when she looked at the battered boy, her gaze was complicated.
The black-robed man noticed her look.
"I will save him!"
The black-robed man stood up.
He took out a pure white scroll from his spatial ring.
Then he unrolled the scroll and channeled his spiritual power into it.
A holy halo appeared above Li Meng.
The halo was small, less than a meter in diameter.
It emitted a warm glow.
Bathed in the glow, Li Meng's wounds began to heal at a visible speed.
In no time, all of Li Meng's injuries vanished.
When the black-robed man stopped channeling power, the halo gradually faded.
It was a high-tier healing scroll, usable ten times.
"Young Miss, let's go!"
The little girl stood up.
The healing halo had also mended her wounds.
She silently followed behind the black-robed man.
Glancing back at every few steps as they gradually disappeared into the forest.
Until they were completely gone, the riverside fell quiet again.
After a long while, Li Meng suddenly opened his eyes.
He turned his head to glance at the direction they had left.
Then got up.
He pulled out a small dried fish and started nibbling on it as he leisurely walked toward the nearby fishing spot.
After such an ordeal.
Li Meng had lost the mood to fish.
Returning to the fishing spot, Li Meng picked up his fish basket.
It was quite full, at least fifty or sixty fish.
All of them were small yellow fish.
In this river, the small yellow fish had the best meat.
Li Meng slung his fishing rod over his shoulder, carried the fish basket, and leisurely made his way downstream back to Rogue Town.
The small stool had been stowed back into his personal storage space.
In this world, spatial rings were very common.
Though their storage capacity was limited.
The highest-grade spatial rings only offered a little over ten cubic meters of space.
Outside Rogue Town was a stone bridge.
A boy carrying a fish basket walked onto the stone bridge.
The guards at the town gate spotted him from afar.
"Yo, back early today? What, empty-handed this time?"
Normally, the boy would return at sunset.
Today he came back quite early.
The two guards exchanged a glance.
They smiled knowingly and blocked Li Meng's way.
"Li Meng, share a couple with us!"
It was a bit shameful for two grown men to ask a kid for food.
But no one was around to see it.
As long as they weren't caught, it was fine.
Li Meng raised an eyebrow and lifted the fish basket.
"When have you ever seen me return to town with an empty basket?"
Hearing this, the two guards curiously leaned over to peek into the basket.
"Whoa, that's quite a haul!"
"Kid, your fishing skills are impressive."
Although not as much as usual.
But returning at midday explained the smaller catch.
Li Meng pulled some dried fish from his pouch and handed them over.
The two guards accepted without hesitation.
It would look really strange if anyone saw two grown men begging a child for food.
"Haha, today's shift wasn't a waste!"
The two guards stepped aside, satisfied.
"Oh right, Old Zhang is very interested in your dried fish recipe. Watch out, he might block your door again."
Li Meng walked past them, waving his hand.
Even if he gave Old Zhang the recipe, he couldn't replicate it.
Because the spices Li Meng used weren't ordinary.
Many could only be found deep in dangerous forests.
This world's magic tech was very advanced.
Although human culture leaned toward the Western style.
You could tell just from the architecture.
But the cities weren't dirty and chaotic like medieval Western ones.
The streets were paved with bluestone bricks.
Even a small town had a proper sewage system.
Outside the west gate was a magic train station.
In large cities, you could even see magic buses on the roads.
No need for oil or electricity.
Spiritual energy powered human technological development.
The Holy City Alliance had no choice but to develop magic tech.
Because humanity's high-end combat power lagged far behind the demons'.
Without advanced magic weapons.
Humans would be powerless to resist the demons on the battlefield.
Demon population outnumbered humans many times over.
And the 72 Demon Lords were immortal.
Even if killed, they could revive through the Demon God Pillars.
This meant human elites could only engage in brutal wars of attrition.
It took decades to cultivate a peak ninth-rank human professional.
But the demons' high-end fighters were mass-produced via the Demon God Pillars.
In a war of attrition, humans would only be slowly devoured.
As a small town deep within the Holy City Alliance.
Today, Rogue Town remained as peaceful as ever.
Returning to Fish Dragon Alley, Li Meng opened the gate to a courtyard.
Before long, a rich aroma wafted from the courtyard.
"Li Meng came back early today."
"Yeah, usually we only smell that delicious scent after dark."
"I saw Old Zhang loitering at Li Meng's door again."
"Tsk tsk, still not giving up."
"Haha, I wouldn't either. That kid's dried fish is addictive. One bite and you can't forget it."