Battle Royale of the Sinners

April 1st, 183 A.D.

Many days passed since Tong had returned to Anping.

Jia Xu and other officers, except Tong, Friday, and Lu Bu, moved to their designated city to reinforce the unstable economy.

Li Feihong had canceled his quest, which saved the life of Gao Lan. As for the general, he was assigned to assist Zhang He in Shangdang Commandery.

Qu Yi, who was captured by Xu Huang, also surrendered and agreed to serve Tong as soon as he heard that Gao Lan switched side. He was also assigned to Shangdang.

Te Langpu was dragged to Julu so Hua Shi could put him into Tong's clan. He was transferred to work under Zhang Jiao as a finance officer.

As for the remaining people at Anping …

*CLANK*

*CLANK*

Two men, who were wielding iron halberds, were trying to kill each other in front of the fortress while soldiers were cheering for them. At the side, Friday sat on top of a 3-meter-tall watchtower to spectate the duel.

In the middle of the field, Lu Bu and Tong exchanged their 150th blow.

*CLANK*

"[Time Alter: Triple Accel]!"

"ORAAA!!"

*BOOM*

Tong's halberd shaft and Lu Bu's polearm shaft collided and broke into pieces. As the fractured weapons dropped onto the ground, Lu Bu staggered backward while Tong knelt on the floor, exhausted.

Tong wiped a trail of blood from a cut on his face, which the wound slowly healed at a visible pace.

<<Ding>>

<<Your [Pride] has 0.75% chance to control your body>>

'Well, it worked. Fighting for my life without using a system skill really reduces my sin. But it doesn't increase even though I slipped a few anime lines?'

On the other side, Lu Bu gaggled and spat a mouthful of blood which clogged in his throat. The bandages, which wrapped around his chest, had a tinge of red liquid expanding. His old injuries had been reopened because of the fight.

"That's it for today. It's a draw again," Announced Friday.

"Oi! I'm still standing, but Tong has knelt! I'm the winner here!" Lu Bu protested.

"Your weapon broke at the same time, and that's the end of the fight."

"But I'm standing!"

"The fight ends when any weapon is broken, and my verdict is final. If you have a problem, I'll be your opponent next!"

"Grr."

The face of Lu Bu twitched. He harrumphed and sat cross-leg on the spot to catch his breath.

Lu Bu knew that he was no match for Xiao Wu, so he avoided picking a fight with her and humiliate himself again. At first, he wanted to pursue her to make Xiao Wu his concubine, but Tong's sudden increase in martial art prowess alarmed Lu Bu.

The more Lu Bu fought Tong, the more frustrated he became. Every time Tong shouted [Triple Accel], his reflex could not keep up with Tong's attacks in the next few seconds.

Lu Bu managed to parry some of them, but they always broke each other weapon and ended the fight in with a draw.

This depressed Lu Bu. He could take it if the opponent was stronger than him from the very beginning, such as Xiao Wu. However, he was frustrated with the fact that Tong, whom Lu Bu had seen as a bug, had suddenly become as strong as himself.

Lu Bu lost the sense of superiority and felt that the one-trick-pony that he had relied on to become successful in the military was being destroyed by Tong.

"Why does it feel like all of you are cheating!?" Lu Bu bellowed out of anger.

Tong had a wry smile on his face as he rebuked Lu Bu in his mind.

'Yeah, we're probably cheating. Hell, you are probably the cheater here! I have to awaken 3 wings to match with your strength and speed, but you haven't awakened any wing. What kind of monster will you become if you have my power!?'

...

...

Since that day when Lu Bu and Tong tried to kill each other in the duel, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Li Feihong lobbied all soldiers to merge their forces into Julu system, telling everyone that Ding Yuan had joined forces with the Yellow Turban permanently.

It was the move that stripped all power that Lu Bu had, preventing him from causing an uprising within Tong's forces.

While Lu Bu was recuperating from his wounds, Jia Xu moved all Jinyang officers away to cut off Lu Bu's arms and legs. Without a trusted subordinate, this crazy general would not be able to mobilize a single soldier.

This morning, Lu Bu realized what Jia Xu and Tong had schemed, so he challenged Tong into another fight, hoping to defeat Tong and regain his authority in the army. However, it ended with another draw.

Moreover, Xiao Wu was watching Lu Bu's every move, which pressured him.

Lu Bu lied inside the infirmary tent while a physician tended his reopened cut on his chest.

'Why did it turn into this?'

Lu Bu was confused. That day, he only wanted to give Tong a good punch and establish his authority. He also planned to vent his past frustration and the pending anger from the last few months. Unfortunately, the situation escalated and caused a misunderstanding, which resulted in the sour relationship between him and Tong.

Lu Bu did not like Tong's tone that day. As a person who had never experienced being under someone else's authority, Lu Bu failed to appreciate the Yellow Turban's goodwill, benefits, and salary that had been bestowed upon him.

He felt insecure for working under a stronger existence. Lu Bu did not have any other good point that could surpass Tong other than his combat skills, but Tong was about to surpass him.

'I don't want to work for him anymore.'

Lu Bu sighed.

'But if I don't work for him, how can I support my wife and daughter? They will be exiled or killed the moment I betray Tong. This is not a good choice at all.'

Because of Tong's warning before the fight, Lu Bu contemplated his past decisions. From his finding, he, indeed, was rash and thoughtless.

Lu Bu sighed again.

'Why did I have to do all of that!? Can't I just bow my head to that brat and enjoy the rich salary? Why am I so stupid!?'

His eyes gazed at the empty roof of the tent, thinking about his mistakes.

'I can't think straight. Maybe once I'm healed, I'll go home.'

Lu Bu did not notice. Several stalks of his hair had turned white from his deep thought.

…

…

Meanwhile, Tong was in better condition.

Tong sat cross-legs in his tent while Friday was waving a feather fan at him by his side.

On Tong's naked upper body, his bruises and cuts were healing at a slow pace. A 3-centimeter deep wound was mending at a rate of a millimeter per every five seconds.

"Don't be greedy, heal each location at a time or the rate will be slow," Advised Friday.

Tong took a deep breath and concentrated again. The deep wound heal rate got faster as the cut attached itself and disappeared in less than a minute.

What Tong did was an internal cell manipulation that Friday taught. By controlling the cells manually with his separated consciousness, the speed of his recovery became faster than letting the body worked by itself. It was a fundamental skill that Tong had to master before continue training the Lamia Step.

In an hour, all injuries were gone as if they never happened.

Friday smiled and wiped Tong's sweat with a towel while she used this chance to touch his body.

"Your hands are lewd, Friday."

"They missed their husband."

"We're inside a military camp."

"The men will understand. Besides, they will be happy if we are happy. Oh, it's time to teach you about the curses that you can use …"

Friday summoned Lust Soul and made it pointed its finger at Tong.

[Lust Curse]

Tong felt a heat rushing inside his body, which gathered in his crotch.

"What?"

"This is called [Lust Curse] that all Lust Soul can use. All sins contain a curse that can influence a mortal's mind, but it can be used on any weak immortal as well. As for the practice, I'll show you …"

Friday shut the cloth door of the tent and enjoyed her time with Tong. The sultry sound leaked out from the tent, which made all nearby guarding soldiers gulped and blushed as it stimulated them.

…

April 2nd.

5 AM.

Friday had her fill, and she continued sleeping inside Tong's tent.

Tong, however, exited the tent for a morning bath and training. He stood still and accelerated his brain power.

As Tong was training, he was contemplating the scale of his power.

[Overclock]

The perception sense sharpened and Tong could feel all movements of every object around him.

'[Overclock] is using 80% of my brain power into perception and reaction speed.'

[Full Overclock]

Tong sensed expanded, and he could see all living beings around him in the range of 200 meters, including ants, insects, and bugs.

'[Full Overclock] is exerting all my brain power at 110% efficiency. But …'

[Time Alter: Double Accel]

The name of this skill came from an anime series, which the protagonist could accelerate his movement speed and his perception in this mode. Tong used this knowledge as a base and developed it into his handcraft ability of his own.

A similar phenomenon when Tong used his [Time Stop] occurred. However, instead of being inside a black-and-white world, everything filled with rainbow and aurora rays. Although the world seemed slower, it did not stop entirely like what [Time Stop] skill.

'This is 200%. I can use this for 10 minutes without a backlash. And …'

[Time Alter: Triple Accel]

The color of the world faded, which dimmed the colorful world. This time, Tong could feel the urge of stopping using this mode as his brain was about to burst.

'300% … Using this once or twice a day is the limit.'

Tong canceled his perception boost and repaired his blood vessels with his manual cell controlling.

In the previous day when Tong and Lu Bu settled their score, he used [Triple Accel] on Lu Bu out of desperation and managed to stun him.

Ever since then, Tong had been practicing. Friday also encouraged him to reinforce his ability to manipulate his blood cells and inner organs before the awakening of his 4th wing.

There were so many things he had to master. The three years resting period was Tong's golden opportunity to train.

'Come to think of it, my [Pride] doesn't act up when I used [Double Accel] or [Triple Accel]?'

Tong checked his [Pride] status.

<<Your [Pride] has 0.75% chance to control your body>>

<<If you resist your [Pride] one more time, the sin will be cleansed>>

'It's not too bad. I'll test something.'

"Za Warudo!"

<<[Time Stop] LV. 4 activated>>

<<Your [Pride] has 1.75% chance to control your body>>

"Hmm?"

By acting like a chuunibyou, his sin increased. But it did not change when he activated the [Time Alter].

"They should have increased when I used those deluded keywords. However about this … Time Alter, Double Accel!"

Nothing happened even though Tong manually activated his ability after his chant.

"I didn't use a system skill, so it doesn't increase? Then, I'll test with this …"

Tong covered his hand on his face while expanded his fingers so he could see through the finger gap.

"Unlimited Bullet Work!"

<<[Firearm Creation] LV. 2 activated>>

<<You have created two 9mm bullets>>

<<Your [Pride] has 2.75% chance to control your body>>

"I see."

Though it was embarrassing, Tong learned another thing about his sins and its characteristic.

"So if I use an odd keyword to activate my system skills, my pride increases. But if I don't use the system skill, it doesn't increase."

Tong pretended to act like a character in a movie or an anime while he activated his perception abilities, but his [Pride] did not increase.

At this moment, Friday woke up from the ruckus that Tong was making and walked out of the tent to see what Tong was doing.

"What are you doing?"

Tong turned to Friday and gained inspiration from her drowsy look. He hugged her and chanted a few words in his mind.

'Friday is my daughter.'

<<Ding>>

<<Your [Pride] has 3.75% chance to control your body>>

A smile appeared on Tong's face.

'I get it now. It's not 100% about the system skills. The Pride related to a self-delusion. If I lie to myself, I commit a sin. But if I earn something through my hard work, my Pride won't increase no matter how crazy I am doing with what I have earned. Instead, it will reduce if I use it at the right situation.'

Tong asked Friday to confirm his theory, "Do you know how I can awaken my [Pride]?"

"Simple, stay away from your vain pride, self-importance, and never claim something that doesn't belong to yourself."

"So my system skills are not something that belongs to me, but my perception boost ability came from my hard work. Since I earn it, I can play around with it as crazy as I like … I understand it finally."

"What are you talking about?"

"Thanks, Friday! I figure out something. I think I'll get my 4th wing in no time."

Tong laughed and princess-carried Friday back to his tent. This time, he was the aggressor.