Chapter 116 - 115: Strength

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Strength

"Is He Kui alive!" the Silver Wolf Captain’s voice echoed across the scene.

It was pointless for these bailiffs to stay here and fight to the death. Sending someone out for reinforcements was the best option.

"Captain, this guy’s dead!"

"What about Li Qi? Is Li Qi alive!" the Silver Wolf Captain’s voice came again, devoid of any emotion.

...

Li Qi’s expression was dazed.

The thick stench of blood filled his nostrils, and his vision was flooded with fallen bodies.

Even as he helped the Demon Suppression Guards desperately fend off the Blood Evil fiends’ attacks, his hands and feet couldn’t help but tremble.

When the slaughter had first erupted, he had been stunned for a moment.

’Is this some other kind of assessment arranged by the Demon Suppression Bureau?’

Not until a Demon Suppression Guard was injured and a bailiff’s family member was cut down in a single blow did he realize. In just over ten seconds, the scene had become a total wreck.

That’s when he knew: the fiends from the Blood Slaughter Sect had come.

These beings, who wouldn’t dare cause trouble inside the city, were showing their utterly vicious side out here.

It wasn’t until the Captain’s deep voice reached his ears that Li Qi snapped back to his senses and shouted his reply:

"I’m alive, Captain!"

"Good! The two closest Demon Suppression Guards, break through the encirclement with this kid!"

...

Li Qi knew this was no time for cowardice. He immediately pushed the sister he was protecting into the carriage, hooked a saber with the tip of his foot, and placed it in her arms.

"Stay here and don’t move. Big brother will be back soon!"

Despite being scared to death facing so many fiends, Li Qi could only force himself to calm down.

After quickly settling his sister, he turned and followed the two nearest Profound Robe Demon Suppression Guards to charge the enemy formation.

But the fiends weren’t about to let them have their way. They had chosen this incredibly precarious location to strike precisely because it would catch their targets off guard.

’If even one person escapes and runs into the soldiers patrolling the base of Mountain Mist City’s walls, wouldn’t all our efforts be for nothing?’

’What if someone on the city walls is looking out from a high vantage point? They might have already noticed this place, and soldiers could be on their way right now!’

"Don’t let a single one escape!"

"Block them off!"

...

The group of fiends knew they were gambling with their lives. They couldn’t possibly allow anyone to escape. With loud shouts, they surged forward, cutting off any chance for the Demon Suppression Guards to break out and deliver a message.

In an hour at most, these Demon Suppression Guards would run out of Qi Power.

By then, at least half of the fiends present could break through to the next realm.

How could these fiends not be driven mad by such a prospect!

BOOM!

But the sound of galloping hooves, followed by a thunderous crash and the crack of breaking bones, made everyone on the battlefield freeze for a second.

’The elite troops from Mountain Mist City are here already?’

Fear instantly gripped the fiends, and the speed of their attacks naturally slowed.

A sidelong glance revealed it was just a single rider on a single horse, charging toward them.

One unlucky soul failed to defend in time and was struck with enough force to shatter his bones and tear his tendons, killing him on the spot.

Only then did they realize they had overthought things.

’It’s just one rider. And from his clothes, he’s not from the City Defense Department.’

Now, if it were thirty heavy cavalrymen charging in unison, *that* would be deadly!

But the newcomer was all alone. None of the fiends present felt any fear. Four or five of them who were nearby freed themselves up, preparing to intercept this meddlesome passerby from the jianghu.

...

In the crowd, the tall and burly Silver Wolf Captain could only watch this scene in silence.

He had initially felt a surge of joy at the sound of galloping hooves, but upon seeing it was just one man on one horse—and a common jianghu traveler at that—only despair remained in his heart.

Especially when, after accidentally ramming one person to death, the man didn’t pull back. Instead, he sent his horse away and charged the formation alone. It was audacious to the point of recklessness, simply toying with his own life!

Although the man had come to help out of good intentions, in his eyes, charging alone against thirty or forty fiends was futile. He would only get himself killed.

But the Silver Wolf Captain knew this was no time to stand on ceremony. The lives of twenty to thirty people depended on his decisions.

"Brave hero, I am Gu Hongbin, a Silver Wolf Demon Suppression Captain! These fiends are incredibly fierce, more than you or I can handle."

He took a deep breath, forced back three fiends charging at him, and then shouted to the cloaked figure:

"I ask you, brave hero, ride to Mountain Mist City! Go to the City Defense Department and inform the garrison commander that the Demon Suppression Guards have been ambushed outside the city by the Blood Slaughter Sect."

"If you can bring elite troops to break this siege, I will reward you generously afterward!"

...

Hearing the Silver Wolf Captain’s words, Wu Chen was a little speechless.

’Going there and back... never mind how long it would take for Mountain Mist City to dispatch troops, even if those few Organ Refining Realm experts rushed here, it would still take a while.’

’By then, how many of you would still be alive?’

Wu Chen acted as if he hadn’t heard and gave his own answer.

Kill!

"Reckless!"

Watching this jianghu traveler completely ignore his advice and just charge headfirst into the horde of fiends, fighting wildly like he had a death wish, the Silver Wolf Captain Gu Hongbin’s heart sank.

Even though the newcomer killed several fiends with casual ease, he wasn’t particularly impressed.

’These jianghu types are arrogant by nature. They really can’t be relied upon in a crisis.’

’How could a lone man charging a formation be more effective than elite soldiers?’

’Once the fiends realize something is wrong and gather their forces, this reckless charge can be stopped at any moment.’

However, just as his attention wandered, the attacks from three late-stage Jade Bone Realm fiends grew even more ferocious.

Every move aimed for a vital point.

"So you’re the one called Gu what’s-his-bin, right?"

The fiend’s great saber came down as he laughed. "I’m gonna turn you into Gu has-been!"

Three blades slashed from different angles, clearly intending to kill the Silver Wolf Captain on the spot with this single, coordinated strike.

Even if he didn’t die, he’d be left with half a life.

"I’ll take you bastards down with me!"

Gu Hongbin gritted his teeth, his face contorted. Facing the three sabers descending on him at once, he had nowhere left to retreat.

Even if he did retreat, it would only delay the inevitable for a moment; it wouldn’t change the outcome.

He decided to take a blade to the ribs, hoping to use the opening to kill one of them.

’Then, even gravely wounded, if I can take down another one, my death will be worth it!’

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!—

Just as the fiends’ weapons were about to land, a fierce gust of wind swept toward them.

Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a black object hurtling toward them from the side. The force of the wind it generated stung their cheeks before it even got close.

"You think a simple woven bamboo hat can hurt me? Do you think this Jade Bone Realm body of mine is made of clay?"

The outermost fiend immediately twisted his wrist and, with a smirk, chopped his saber toward the flying hat.

He was going to slice through this desperate rescue attempt and make the other person understand how ridiculous and feeble their move was!

However,

CRACK! BOOM!—

As his saber fell.

The smile was still on his face as his entire body was sent flying backward.

And the fragile woven bamboo hat, struck by his saber, exploded into a thousand sharp bamboo splinters that continued shooting forward.

Their trajectory was aimed precisely at the other two fiends in front of Gu Hongbin.

"Fuck!"

Seeing their companion sent flying and the thousand splinters of the exploded hat rocketing toward them, how could the remaining two fiends not understand the situation?

’The rebound force from a single hat was enough to send a late-stage Jade Bone Realm expert flying. The power of these splinters is likely no less than that of hidden throwing darts!’

The two no longer had the luxury of dealing with the Silver Wolf Captain. They immediately retracted their sabers, twisted their bodies, and tried to dodge.

But the spread of the bamboo splinters was too wide. They could only swing their weapons first, trying to block as many as possible.

CLANG CLANG CLANG! CLANG CLANG CLANG!—

But these seemingly fragile bamboo splinters were like iron nails now. They struck the blades, creating a continuous, crisp ringing sound.

The force behind them was plain to see.

But there were simply too many splinters for the two of them to block.

Soon, splinters that slipped through their defense shot past the fiends’ bodies, tearing away flesh and revealing the stark white bone beneath.

Each splinter seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Under the relentless barrage, the two fiends’ wrists had long since gone numb from the shock of blocking, and their bodies were swaying.

Now, with several wounds deep enough to expose bone, the pain and blood loss slowed their movements even more.

But that slight hesitation was all it took. The remaining bamboo splinters passed through the arc of their blades and plunged into their bodies.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!—

The force carried by the bamboo easily pierced their flesh and embedded itself in their internal organs.

The two men, leaning on their steel sabers, knelt on the ground, mouths agape, gasping desperately as if trying to suck back the air leaking from their punctured lungs.

But it was all in vain. With only a single breath left, they were barely holding on. Death was only moments away.

...

Gu Hongbin stared blankly at the three fiends before him—the same three who, just moments ago, had been insufferably arrogant and had nearly killed him.

In the blink of an eye, one was dead and the other two were gravely wounded.

He painstakingly shifted his gaze and saw that a large area in front of him had been cleared. The bodies of fiends lay scattered about, headless.

He looked again at the hidden figure, still busy harvesting the heads of the fiends, and muttered to himself:

"No wonder he dared to charge the formation alone on horseback. No wonder he dared to plunge into a crowd of fiends by himself..."

"He actually has the strength to be that arrogant!"