Chapter 299 - 290: Demon Commander, Blue Banner

Chapter 299: Chapter 290: Demon Commander, Blue Banner

’A Martial Artist? An expert?!’

Countless thoughts flashed through the burly man’s mind. Gripped by the handsome young man with just one hand, he had completely lost control of his body. It felt as if only his eyes and mouth could still move.

RUMBLE—

The sound of Horse Bandits!

Fierce, spear-wielding figures galloped in on horseback from all sides of Xingwan Village!

The long whistle the burly man in black had blown earlier had its effect.

"Third Brother!"

Someone shouted from horseback, bolting their rifle and drawing their saber!

The burly man in black’s eyes lit up, his expression a mixture of wild joy and hope.

His lips moved, about to respond, but the handsome young man whose hand was around his neck had already heard the approaching riders and slowly stood up.

"Don’t want to talk?"

The young man let out a soft sigh, as if in regret.

"In that case, first, listen to how a magpie truly sings."

As he spoke, the young man casually extended a hand.

His palm opened, and a ball of light slowly bloomed within it.

The light was perfectly clear and translucent, resembling Jade but not quite. It was like the first ray of sun piercing the depths of a river as it thaws in spring.

Then, a "bird" broke free from the light.

It looked just like a blown-sugar magpie made by an artisan at the market fair.

But this one was far more beautiful. It was "alive." With a transparent body and fluttering wings, it leaped from the young man’s palm and took flight.

Then came a second, and a third...

As if performing a magic trick, the young man simply lifted his empty hand and released hundreds, even thousands, of these "magpies."

The dense swarm of "magpies" scrambled over one another, flapping their wings and soaring into the sky. In an instant, the air above the village entrance was obscured by countless transparent wings.

As the spring sun slanted down, each "magpie" refracted the light into a rainbow of colors.

The halos of light intertwined and merged, creating a strange, dreamlike, and mesmerizing spectacle.

The burly man in black tilted his head back, his eyes wide.

He was so stunned that he almost forgot where he was.

But in the next second, this dreamlike scene was shattered by a cruel and bloody reality.

The winged "magpies of light," flying in small flocks, dove toward the approaching Horse Bandits.

Several of the "magpies" plunged straight into a Horse Bandit’s chest...

BOOM!!

With a sound like exploding gunpowder, the Horse Bandit struck by the "magpies" blew apart without warning!

His entire upper body erupted into a spray of crimson mist, sending flesh and bone fragments flying.

The horse beneath him shrieked in terror, rearing up and throwing the pair of disembodied legs from its back.

BOOM!—

BANG!

The explosions echoed one after another, punctuated by the occasional misfired gunshot.

The warm, viscous mist of blood drifted into the air, and when the wind blew, it rained down, soaking the ground in crimson.

The five or six Horse Bandits at the head of the charge were blown to smithereens. Those behind watched the bizarre scene unfold, the ferocity on their faces freezing into shock, then quickly melting into fear as they began to turn their horses to flee.

Just then, several figures rushed forward, firing their guns. One by one, the fleeing Horse Bandits tumbled from their saddles...

In the blink of an eye, every Horse Bandit who came to raid the village was dead—all except for the burly man in black.

The burly man in black stood in a daze, his expression vacant. The scene replayed in his mind over and over, as if it were all some bizarre dream.

The handsome young man holding him by the neck turned to him, his calm, indifferent gaze falling upon him.

He snapped back to reality, words tumbling from his mouth in fits and starts.

"Grand Marshal Chen... we work for someone..."

"Every month, we have to capture a batch of live people and send them out."

"Able-bodied men between eighteen and thirty-five are best. But for the last two months, we couldn’t get enough... so he made us... grab the elderly and children, too."

"Who does he work for?"

"I... I don’t know."

"I just know... it’s some Noble from Yingjing."

Hearing the man’s answer, a glint appeared in Fu Juemin’s eyes.

After a moment of contemplation, Fu Juemin extended his hand again. This time, there was no sign of the Glazed True Gang between his fair, slender fingers. In its place, wisps of dark, murky smoke coiled around them.

"Take me to see this Grand Marshal Chen of yours."

He gently pressed his palm against the burly man’s body.

The man’s eyes instantly bulged.

Fu Juemin released his grip, letting the man’s face twist in a sweaty grimace as he howled in agony on the ground.

"You’ve heard how the magpies sing."

Fu Juemin looked down at the man writhing at his feet, his expression casual. "I doubt you want to hear how crows caw inside your stomach, do you?" he said calmly.

The burly man, who had been writhing on the ground like a shrimp, forced himself to endure the excruciating pain, as if he were being sliced by a thousand knives. He knelt at Fu Juemin’s feet and, trembling, pressed his forehead deep into the mud.

"I... understand."

...

Several miles north of Taimei County, a large mansion sat picturesquely on the mountainside of Cyan Ridge.

It had been built as a summer retreat by a wealthy merchant from Taimei County for his family to escape the heat.

But over half a year ago, it was forcibly taken over by a band of Horse Bandits who had suddenly appeared.

The Horse Bandits built a stockade around the villa, and the main house itself was converted into the Marshal’s Mansion for Grand Marshal Chen You.

「The Marshal’s Mansion」

In the center of the vast, spacious hall, a savage phantom image flashed through the air and vanished!

BOOM!

A massive shockwave erupted!

A figure was sent flying backward from the center of the blast like a kite with a snapped string, slamming hard into a wall. The impact spiderwebbed the stone, and he coughed up a violent spray of blood.

"Senior Brother!"

A nearby woman with a slender figure and a beautiful face cried out and rushed to his side.

The figure slid down the wall and slumped to the floor. He was a young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

But now his face was as pale as death, and four gruesome, bloody holes marred his chest, looking as if they’d been gouged out by some savage beast or bird of prey. They gushed blood unceasingly.

The woman stared in panic at the injured young man. He forced a smile, as if to comfort her, but the movement aggravated his injuries. His brow furrowed in pain, and his face grew even paler.

Just then, a voice echoed slowly through the hall.

"What era do you think this is? Still playing at being a disciple, learning martial arts to get revenge?"

A tall, ramrod-straight figure spoke as he walked, step by step, toward the head of the hall.

His military boots clicked against the stone steps with a crisp, unhurried rhythm.

Hearing the voice, the woman’s gaze shot toward its source, her eyes filled with hatred.

At the front of the hall, a massive Blue Banner hung like a waterfall, embroidered with the large character for "Chen." Beneath it was a Taishi Chair draped in a Tiger skin, and on the chair sat a young man.

The man wore a blue, gold-trimmed military uniform. He had a slender build and handsome features, but he exuded an indescribably sinister aura.

He was leaning back nonchalantly, one arm resting on the armrest.

On that arm, a dense network of blue-black veins stood out against pitted, uneven skin, from which black feathers were burrowing back into the flesh.

The attached hand was also slowly shrinking, transforming from the shape of a massive, savage bird’s claw back into a normal human hand...

The entire process looked like some evil entity shifting between human and avian form, creating an unspeakably sinister and bizarre atmosphere.

The man in the uniform glanced at his arm, which was gradually returning to normal, then looked over at the pair by the wall and suddenly laughed.

"Half a year ago, I told your father to be a good boy and hand over this mansion. He refused, so I had to kill him, you see.

"I just didn’t expect that after you’d already escaped, instead of thinking about how to run as far away as possible, you’d actually dare to come back with help..."

"To assassinate me? Avenge your father?"

"Hahaha..."

The uniformed man roared with laughter, a casual laugh, as if he were discussing some trivial matter.

When he finished laughing, he spoke again, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Still, your timing is perfect."

"I was just worrying about not having enough people for next month’s shipment to Yingjing."

"You and your Senior Brother here, who has reached the Tongxuan realm, should be worth at least ten people combined."