The Portal of Wonderland

“Get up! That bastard isn’t using the bow anymore. He’s charging at us unarmed.”

Shi Mu’s feet made thundering sounds as he darted towards his enemies. It was clearly visible that he wasn’t wielding a weapon. However, the faces of the few remaining survivors lit-up with delight when they heard this news.

The two men in the front rose without a thought. They dashed towards Shi Mu like valiant conquerors. One of them wielded a spear; the other a saber.

The other three got off the ground so quickly that it seemed as if their butts were on fire. They then followed after their companions with sinister expressions on their faces.

They had been lying flat against the ground like overpopulated vermin. This transformation had come about after they had seen that Shi Mu had abandoned his bow, and had voluntarily come to present his life.

Shi Mu had been practicing his sprints over the hilltops. Hence, he felt as free as a leopard now that he was running in the open plains. He pounced on the two frontrunners before they even had the chance to distinguish his silhouette from the darkness.

However, they were the best-ranked among the Wu riders, and were able to dodge Shi Mu’s first attack. They separated and began to flank him in perfect coordination. One of them swirled his long spear to produce a myriad of after-images; the other wielded his saber and made a beeline for Shi Mu. Their weapons shrouded Shi Mu with their cold radiance.

Shi Mu snorted as he saw their formation. A spear’s after-images would never be able to faze him. Hence, he punched at one of the after-images.

A ‘boom’ sound was heard.

The great force of Shi Mu’s punch caused the Wu rider to drop his spear. He felt a burning sensation in each of his fingers as the spear flew away. He was pushed back three steps. His face was full of astonishment.

He had heard of Shi Mu’s superhuman force. But he still couldn’t understand how Shi Mu had been able to identify the real spear among its countless shadows.

Shi Mu drew the Sun and Moon Daggers from his waist. He stomped hard on the ground and focussed his attention on the sweeping cold light of the knives.

“Swish” “Swish” Six knife shadows blurred into one streak of cold light. Then, Shi Mu shook the daggers again. He threw out a swift seventh knife shadow as he quickly sidestepped to face the back of the saber-wielding Wu rider.

“Swish! Pop!”

A gaping and bleeding wound appeared on the rider’s neck. Then, his head fell to the ground and rolled for a while. The headless body spasmed like a headless chicken for a moment, and then fell down.

Shi Mu didn’t pause. In fact, he increased his momentum after he got rid of the saber-wielder. He bent low to the ground like a spring. Then, he sprung-out towards the spear-wielding man.

“No!”

The spear-man had barely managed to steady himself after Shi Mu’s punch. Therefore, he was scared out of his wits when he saw Shi Mu darting towards him.

He hadn’t been able to confront Shi Mu even when he had his spear. There was no way he could possibly win without his weapon. He immediately turned around to flee.

However, a howling gale rolled past him as he took his second step. A piercing coldness struck him in the waist. He had been cut into two halves! Warm blood gushed out wildly as the two parts of his corpse fell to the ground.

Shi Mu turned around; the daggers still in his hands. He stared at the surviving Wu riders with cold eyes.

The three survivors were frightened out of their wits after witnessing the gruesome end of their two companions. They had unconsciously stopped charging at Shi Mu. They stood not too far from Shi Mu, and looked at each other.

The man with a knife scar on the corner of his eye suggested in a low voice, “He’s too fast. Running will be useless. Besides, he’ll finish us off if we try to run. Let’s make a trap and wait for Master Tong.”

His companions agreed with him, and quickly gathered around him. The three of them arranged themselves into a strange formation and pointed their blue swords at Shi Mu.

“The Triangle Formation Trap?” Shi Mu murmured.

He strode towards the Wu riders with the Sun and Moon Daggers in his hands.

The three riders grew increasingly nervous as Shi Mu neared them. They shouted in terror before Shi Mu had even reached the prime position for attack. They activated their trap and quickly began to rotate between the three points of the triangle. They wielded their swords and produced layers upon layers of swords; these swords radiated outwards.

“I was expecting more from this useless trick,” Shi Mu laughed scornfully at his enemies’ last desperate attempt. Then, his hand shot out in a blur. The daggers’ six successive knife shadows flew out as one towards their formation.

Peng! Peng!

The ‘sword shadow screen’ was able to defend the attack. However, its density was greatly reduced.

The riders had realized how difficult it was for them to confront Shi Mu’s attack. They began to tremble and sweat in fear. Then, they frantically began to reconstruct the shadow screen in order to shield themselves.

“Formidable!” Shi Mu said in surprise.

He hadn’t only produced six cuts in one breath, but had also instilled immense strength in each of the cuts. This should have crushed the riders.

However, the three riders would’ve been mistaken to think that this strike was Shi Mu’s only attack.

Shi Mu took a deep breath and rotated his body. Then, he began to strike fiercely in all directions with the longer dagger. Each of the attack created five or six shadows. These shadows began to consolidate into a glittering silver spear. It rushed-out towards the three riders like a shark.

The clanging of swords sounded like the echoes of a rainstorm.

The three Wu riders shrilly cried out. Two of them even stumbled away. They had deep wounds on their chests. Their hands were sprouting blood from where they had held their swords. Their falling bodies suggested that the two men had begun their journey to the otherworld.

The sole survivor was the man who wore a scar on his bleeding face. He didn’t have any wound on his chest. However, he had lost the arm with which he had wielded his sword; blood gushed out insanely from his wounds.

He turned around and fled with all his strength; without even looking at his wounds.

Shi Mu glanced around after he had stopped rotating. He smiled coldly when he saw the fleeing man. He grasped a long arrow from his pack and pulled his bow back.

Whiz!

A faint hum of death was released as the arrow shot out from the bow.

The arrow pierced the scar-man’s body with a ‘pop’ sound. The man fell face-down on the ground.

Shi Mu strode over to him leisurely. He separated the man’s head from his body with the Sun and Moon Daggers.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the other two riders twitched as they lay dying in the pool of their own blood.

Shi Mu was about to kill them when his expression changed. Suddenly, he shot his body and dodged an incoming cold light.

The light went past Shi Mu and planted itself into the spot where he had stood. It was a 7.5 cm long knife.

“Master Tong, you have finally arrived. Come out!” Shi Mu said. Suddenly, he turned around and stared at a nearby tree. His expression sharpened as he prepared to confront this mortal enemy.