Card Chapter 15: Demon Slayer Mark (Patreon)

The newcomer, of course, was Russell.

After leaving the cave, he found that the lingering aura of the centipede inside had driven every other centipede‑type demon away from the summit, so Russell had to return to mid‑mountain to continue farming materials.

Just as he got back to the midway point, he saw, from mid‑air, a tree in the distance collapse.

Had he been inside dense woods, he might not have noticed anything at all, but from above it was plain as day. Urging his Pidgeot onward, Russell reached the scene in time to witness Du Heng shove Jiang Nanxi forward.

This was no moment for questions—
a monster was already lunging at the fallen Jiang Nanxi.

“Yoriichi!” Russell’s eyes sharpened as he released Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yoriichi’s katana blurred, parrying the monster’s raking claws.

Only then did Russell spare a glance at Du Heng.

“Du Heng, it’s bad enough you won’t help them, but you actually tried to use Jiang Nanxi as a shield?” Russell asked with a frown. In his view, even running for his own life would have been forgivable—what was utterly beyond the pale was turning a classmate into a human sacrifice.

Du Heng snapped, half‑hysterical. “Dying for a future Hall‑tier Card Crafter like me is their honor! Stay out of this, Russell!”

Russell sighed, ignored the now‑mad Du Heng, and landed beside Jiang Nanxi, pulling her up. “You all right?”

She shook her head; apart from being shoved over, she was unhurt. Steadying herself, she threw Du Heng a frosty look. “I’ll be telling my father everything that happened here.”

Russell said nothing further. How Du Heng was dealt with was Jiang Nanxi’s business—though if it were up to him, Du Heng’s fate would be grim.

Her words hit Du Heng like a bucket of ice‑water. Legs giving way, he dropped to his knees. “Jiang Nanxi, I was wrong! I’ll kowtow—just please don’t tell your dad!”

He pounded his forehead against the ground. Du Heng came from an ordinary middle‑class family; Jiang Nanxi’s father, however, was a Gold‑tier Card Crafter within the Association. And the Association’s rules forbade registered forgers from harming one another.

Jiang Nanxi ignored him, focusing instead on the fight.

Yoriichi and the monster now faced off, each wary of making the first move—until the crazed creature lost patience and charged.

“So fast…” Russell watched grimly. This was the strongest monster he had encountered since arriving in this world. Yoriichi barely evaded, yet his forearm was still scored by several gashes.

“Yoriichi—use the Mark.” Russell’s brow furrowed. They were out of time; Lin Yue lay badly injured on the ground, every extra second dangerous.

Yoriichi inhaled. The reddish‑brown birthmark on his brow flared wider. Russell felt his own mental energy drain hard—manageable, but heavy.

In the next instant Yoriichi vanished, reappearing right in front of the monster. The creature hadn’t registered his sudden burst of speed. A blade streaked with blazing fire bisected its body.

The monster froze…

and then fell apart with a crash, chunks slamming into the ground and kicking up dust.

Jiang Nanxi stared, stunned. So this is the true strength of Russell’s card.

Yoriichi’s eruption made her realize he’d never shown his full power during the ranking trials.

Du Heng seethed with jealousy and spite. “Why him again? Always him!” Realizing now that Russell had gone easy on him days before, every harsh boast he’d made felt clownish—and to Russell, Du Heng had always been something of a clown.

Russell ignored their reactions and stepped to Yoriichi’s side. The clinging flesh on the monster’s corpse was fading away. As the gore slid off its face, a familiar visage appeared—Russell’s pupils constricted.

It was Old Wang, the guide they had met when the honor‑class students first entered the secret realm.

Russell quietly shifted, blocking the others’ view. “How did you end up like this?” he asked softly.

In his final moments Old Wang seemed to regain a shred of sanity. Bloody coughs racked him. “I… I didn’t want… to die. My… my mom’s still in the hospital…” Tears tracked down his ruined cheeks. “Save… me… I’m sorry, Captain… ‘Qi—’ ”

Before he could finish, Old Wang dissolved into motes of light, the way a card does on death, leaving behind only a crimson‑gleaming card.

Russell frowned at the dying word. “‘Qi…?’ ‘Begging-for-mercy Society?’”

He tucked the clue away mentally and stooped to pick up the card:

Black‑Iron‑grade [Flesh Fiend] (Gold).

Shock rippled through him. He’d expected Old Wang’s personal card—but this was a monster‑core‑like material, and gold no less. Even on trading sites, black‑iron‑grade gold materials were a rarity.

While Russell was pondering Old Wang’s words, Jiang Nanxi walked up. “What did that demon just say?”

Thanks to her father, she knew that some secret‑realm monsters possessed high intelligence—some could even speak. She had taken Old Wang for one of those.

Russell paused, then chose to keep his discovery to himself. “Nothing. It begged me to finish it quickly.” Changing the subject, he said, “There should be a monitoring outpost in this realm. I’ll check the feeds, then go for help.”

“Yoriichi will stay here to guard you two.”

Jiang Nanxi nodded, thinking Russell merely feared more centipede demons. She had no idea he was just as worried about Du Heng, who had looked half‑deranged since her threat.

Summoning Pidgeot, Russell sped toward the foot of the mountain. At the monitoring station he learned why Old Wang had apologized to his captain:

before him lay a headless corpse with a gaping hole through the chest.

No time for further thought—Russell exited the secret realm at once.