If the two men behind him had continued to charge forward, Claude would have continued to use Magic Missile.
However, the two men stopped in their tracks to check on the injuries of the two men on the ground. That gave Claude enough time to react.
With that thought in mind, he decided to test out how harmful Mental Shock was to humans. Weren't the two Blacksnakes in front of him the best test subjects?
Clack! Claude barked. His target was the black-skinned man on the right who wielded the iron ruler.
"Ugh …" The black man felt as if he had been struck in the head. His body swayed and he took two steps forward. He held onto the mud wall beside him and didn't fall to the ground. However, his expression changed from one of ferocity to one of confusion.
Again. Clack! Claude used Enthymemic Shock on the black man again.
This time, the black man's neck jerked as if he had been hit in the head with a stick.
He spun around twice on the spot, feeling as if the world was spinning around him. The square-headed iron ruler fell to the ground, and both of his hands were placed on the mud wall, groping it up and down unconsciously. His mouth cracked open, and he started to laugh foolishly.
The other man on the left with the trident was stunned. He had been crouching to check on the injured man on the ground, but he didn't expect his comrade to suddenly go crazy.
But he quickly realized that it was definitely Claude's doing!
As the personal bodyguard of Blacksnake's third boss, Squinted Kamadi, this burly man wielding a triangular blade was the best in the group.
He roared like a tiger and forcefully changed from squatting to charging forward. He stomped hard on the ground and covered more than three meters in the blink of an eye, his triangular blade going straight for Claude's heart.
Claude didn't expect the man to be that fast. He didn't have the time to use Magic Missile in his haste and used Enthymemic Shock.
However, even though the ferocious-looking man felt his head jolt as if he had been struck by a stick, he still remembered his original intention, which was to heavily injure Claude. His trident was already right in front of Claude's eyes.
Claude dodged hurriedly and let out another thud. The man's head seemed to have been struck by a club once more. He staggered a little and his body began to sway. His arms trembled as well, but he still subconsciously aimed his triangular blade at where Claude dodged.
This time, Claude didn't hold back anymore. He reached out and grabbed the man's arm that was holding the triangular scraper. With a forceful twist, he pushed his left arm forward and sent the triangular scraper straight into the man's abdomen.
"Ouch …" Even though the man's mind was blank after taking two Enthymemic Shocks, he could still feel the pain.
The moment the trident pierced his abdomen, he clutched his wound and fell to the ground in agony.
Claude wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It had been far too dangerous just now. He had overestimated himself by relying on his spells and thought that the gang members would be easy pickings on his plate. He didn't expect them to react so quickly and nearly let the scythe-wielding man turn the tables on him.
Fortunately, he didn't make any mistakes and didn't fail miserably.
It was no wonder Claude was so ruthless. The trident could have been fatal if it had pierced the man's abdomen.
However, the man's target was Claude's heart and it was obvious that he wanted his life.
Since that was the case, Claude didn't mind taking revenge. You want my life, I'll take yours. It was fair and square.
After all, the death of the trash from Blacksnake would only garner more cheers. Killing them didn't bother Claude at all.
Not far away, the dark-skinned man, who had also suffered two mental shocks, was crouching and shaking his head. He seemed to be showing signs of waking up. His two hands were groping the ground, probably looking for the square iron ruler he had thrown on the ground.
Hmm.
It seemed that Enthymemic Shock was effective on humans as well, just that it wasn't as effective on wild beasts.
Claude's research sickness flared up again and he started thinking about the differences between the two.
Against large wild beasts like cows, horses, and boars, a single Enthymemic Shock was enough. That was something that had been proven through experiments.
But why did it take two Enthymemic Shocks to knock the men into a state of stupidity?
Not to mention, it didn't take long for them to regain consciousness.
Claude had always jokingly referred to Enthymemic Shock as a bludgeoning spell, but it seemed that it could only be used as a metaphor.
It wasn't a true bludgeoning. Otherwise, the men wouldn't have to be hit twice in a row to turn them into idiots.
A simple comparison made it clear that the large beasts' bodies were much stronger than the men's. If it really was a bludgeoning spell that could knock out the beasts' Enthymemic Shock would be more effective on the two men.
Just like how a 50-kilogram club could knock a wild beast into a state of stupidity, the two men would've died a violent death if they were hit in the head. They wouldn't still be in a daze.
On the other side, the dark-skinned man had already reached for the square-headed iron ruler on the ground. He grabbed it in his hand and was about to support himself against the wall to stand up.
Clack! Claude gave him another Enthymemic Shock.
The square ruler fell from the man's hands once more and he smiled like an idiot.
"Hehe … Hehe …" He squatted on the ground and giggled at Claude like a puppy.
It seemed that the difference in brain capacity was the cause of the difference in the effects of Enthymemic Shock.
It was common knowledge that the brain capacity of wild beasts was much smaller than that of humans. That was why a single Enthymemic Shock could turn a wild beast into an idiot. Humans, on the other hand, were much more resistant to it. After all, it wasn't a real bludgeoning to the head.
This spell should be in the form of a mental shock wave, causing the brain to vibrate into a blank state. That was the only explanation.
After figuring that out, Claude felt refreshed.
As he was worried that the black-skinned man would regain consciousness again, Claude gave him two more Mental Shocks with two more clacks.
This time, the man started crawling on the ground like a newborn baby. From time to time, he would fall to the ground due to his lack of coordination.
Hehe, Slit-Eyed Kamadi was the only one left in the alley.
Claude let out an inexplicable cackle as he approached the dumbfounded Blacksnake boss step by step.
Slit-Eyed Kamadi was on the verge of going crazy. Just a moment ago, he had the advantage in numbers and chased after the retreating enemy while brandishing his weapon.
Yet, in just a few minutes and a few blinks of his eyes, the entire situation had changed.
His four personal guards had all fallen to the ground. Oh, no, there was still one who was crawling on the ground and crying like a baby …
Slit-Eyed Kamadi blinked his triangular eyes once more, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A creepy feeling spread through his entire body and he felt a chill down his spine. The handle of his mithril dagger became wet and slippery and he almost couldn't hold it anymore.
What was going on? Squinting Kamadi recalled everything that had happened. He waved his hand and commanded his four bodyguards to charge forward and kill the mysterious masked man. Then, the masked man retreated, and the four bodyguards charged forward with their weapons in hand.
Then, the two guards at the front suddenly fell to the ground as if they had been ambushed. The two guards at the back stopped in their tracks to check what was going on.
But then, the strangest thing happened. The guard on the right, Decolin, seemed to have been struck on the head. It was two hits at that and he felt dizzy.
Cowles, who was on the left, immediately charged forward, but he didn't seem to be able to resist at all. The masked man grabbed his arm and stabbed his triangular blade into his abdomen.
How is this possible? Slit-Eyed Kamadi knew how skilled his personal guards were. Which one of them wasn't famous for their street fights and had killed before? Usually, they would be able to scare the weak commoners to tears with a single glare. Yet, in front of the masked man, they were nothing more than weaklings. They were all taken care of in the blink of an eye.
Slit-Eyed Kamadi didn't panic when his three subordinates were beaten to the ground. They were empty-handed and the masked man had the advantage of a sneak attack.
But now, the four bodyguards were holding weapons in their hands. They could be said to have experienced hundreds of battles and were among the top experts in the Blacksnake Gang!
Slit-Eyed Kamadi began to tremble. He pointed his mithril dagger at the approaching masked man. "Don't … Don't come over …"
Claude readily agreed. "Alright, I won't go over. You can come over then."
Perhaps he didn't expect such a reply from Claude, Slit-Eyed Kamadi froze for a moment. But he quickly snapped out of it and threw the mithril dagger at Claude before turning to run.
"Shit!"
Claude hurriedly dodged. The mithril dagger brushed past his ear and he heard a splurt behind him.
Turning around, he saw the mithril dagger embedded in the back of the black man who was crawling around like a baby. It seemed that the man wasn't going to make it. His body trembled reflexively and he spat out blood. He couldn't even make a sound anymore.
Blame it on your boss for throwing the dagger … Claude suddenly felt like laughing. He turned back to Slit-Eyed Kamadi. "Hehe, you want to run? Not gonna happen."
With a flick of his hand, two more Magic Missiles shot out and struck Kamadi's knees.
Slit-Eyed Kamadi, who was running away, fell forward. He couldn't care less about the blood flowing out of his face as he hugged his knees and rolled around on the ground.
"Keep running, keep running …" Claude said as he slowly walked over. Squint-Eye's legs were bound to be crippled and his knees were as good as having been shot. Based on Claude's understanding, such injuries couldn't be healed.
Slit-Eyed Kamadi would become a wheelchair Kamadi in the future.
Claude walked to his side, looked down, and was about to leave.
However, he didn't think that the wailing Kamadi would suddenly pull out a dagger from his shoe and pounce at Claude.
"I like how fierce you are!
That's the way to be in the underworld, "Claude praised.
He was already prepared and slipped. Slit-Eyed Kamadi missed and the dagger in his hand stabbed into Claude's shadow.
Claude didn't give him any more chances. Even though Kamadi couldn't reach him while lying on the ground, Claude still had two legs.
With a kick to his wrist, the knife fell to the side. Then, he raised his leg up high and stomped down hard on Squint-Eye Kamadi's right elbow.
The crisp sound of bones breaking rang out in the alleyway.
"Evil must be eradicated. That's a saying passed down by our ancestors!" Claude raised his leg again and stomped down hard. This time, he aimed for Kamadi's left hand.
"Ouch!" The shrill cries continued.
"Too noisy," said Claude, giving Squinty Carmadi a kick in the chin.
The screams came to an abrupt end. "Pu!" Squinted Kamadi spat out a small portion of his tongue. His mouth was full of blood, and his head tilted to the side as he fainted.
"Done, let's call it a day," Claude whistled in a relaxed manner.
Without the obstruction of the Blacksnakes, Gerrard and the other three from Shark entered the yard. However, they didn't return to the second floor of the building. Instead, they stood at the wall that was half the height of a person and watched as Claude single-handedly knocked Squinted Kamadi's group of five to the ground and stomped on them.
Now, they had one more person. Kefnie, who had been anxiously waiting in the house, ran out and stood beside her sister.
They watched as Claude whistled as he passed by their door.
"It's too cruel …" Catherine murmured.
The others nodded in unison.
"What should we do now?" one of Gerrard's men asked.