Chapter 265: Steel Mill Battle (4)

It was at this moment that an opening appeared in Song Yao's technique. A Steward seized the chance and landed a heavy punch on her abdomen.

Her wound tore open. Song Yao's petite frame was sent flying, crashing against a steel furnace before she collapsed to her knees, blood streaming from her mouth.

A prolonged defense is bound to fail. This was especially true for Song Yao, whose strength was already lacking. A single opening was all it took to seal her fate.

"Junior Sister!"

Seeing Song Yao gravely injured, Xia Qingxue grew frantic. With a continuous wave of her slender, fair fingers, she sent a storm of Silver Needles raining down on Gu Li.

There were too many Silver Needles for Gu Li to dodge. Instead, he shot upright, clasped his hands over his head, and channeled his Inner Strength, forming an invisible barrier that enveloped his body.

When the Silver Needles came within half an inch of his body, they seemed to sink into thick mud, their advance completely halted. With a jolt of his body, all the needles were flung away.

Seeing that Xia Qingxue seemed to be moving to help her friend, Gu Li laughed. "You dare get distracted while fighting me?!"

With a light tap of his foot, he shot forward, appearing beside Xia Qingxue in the blink of an eye. He swayed his shoulder and slammed it directly into her.

"Pfft—"

Xia Qingxue felt as if she'd been struck by lightning, like she'd been hit by a train. The ribs in her chest shattered. She sprayed a mouthful of blood as her body was sent flying backward.

Gu Li was about to press his advantage, but Chen Fang had already appeared behind him, lashing out with a roundhouse kick.

"Damn it!"

Gu Li gritted his teeth and shot his large hand back in a grabbing motion.

BANG!

As fist met leg, a shock went through both of them.

'This bastard's got incredible power!'

Before Chen Fang had even found his footing, he launched into a series of spinning kicks in midair. Gu Li met them with a flurry of palm strikes. CRACK! POW! The impacts of their fists and feet rang out like rolling thunder.

They fought as they moved, their movements relentless. In just a few dozen seconds, they had exchanged scores of blows, their battle stirring up fierce gales that sent sand and stones flying.

"Exhilarating!"

Gu Li took a deep breath, his attacks growing sharper and more vicious as he relentlessly targeted Chen Fang's vital points.

Chen Fang had initially thought they were evenly matched, but the longer they fought, the more horrified he became.

His opponent's speed completely surpassed his own, and his monstrous strength was in no way inferior.

'Aside from that initial surprise attack, I'm being completely led by the nose in this fight!'

Seeing that help had arrived, Xia Qingxue gritted her teeth against the searing pain and staggered toward her junior sister.

The two Stewards were now engaged in combat with Lu Mountain. Lu Mountain was stronger than them, but by teaming up, they were just barely able to hold their ground.

"Junior Sister!"

Xia Qingxue reached Song Yao's side. Seeing her covered in blood, her face deathly pale, filled Xia Qingxue with worry.

"I'm fine… COUGH, COUGH, COUGH… Go help the others first. Kill all of these bastards!"

Song Yao was completely drained of strength, one hand clutching her abdomen as she leaned against the steel furnace.

Xia Qingxue helped Song Yao stanch the bleeding, then struggled to her feet and made her way toward Lu Mountain.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

Silver Needles tore through the air, speeding toward the two Stewards.

One of them failed to dodge in time, and a Silver Needle instantly pierced his shoulder. A look of horror crossed his face. He was about to circulate his energy to force the needle out when his complexion darkened. A potent poison was coursing through him, turning half his body black.

"What a vicious poison!"

He shrieked in alarm, but in the next instant, Lu Mountain found his opening and smashed his head to smithereens with a single punch!

Gore splattered everywhere as the headless corpse crashed to the ground.

Seeing this, the other Steward's blood ran cold. He scrambled backward, but Lu Mountain pressed his advantage, a sound like the roaring of tigers and leopards emanating from his body. He swung his bowl-sized fists, forcing the man to defend himself in a panic.

Xia Qingxue was already severely wounded, and forcing her energy to attack with the Silver Needles had made things worse. Her injuries flared up, and she collapsed weakly to the ground next to Song Yao.

"Lu Mountain, fucking hurry up! I can't hold on much longer!"

Chen Fang was barely holding on against Gu Li, his body already covered in injuries. Seeing that Lu Mountain had dealt with one of the men, he yelled for him to hurry.

"Hold on, you bastard! They're at their limit!"

Gu Li roared, glaring at the sole remaining Steward.

Lu Mountain's assault grew more ferocious, and the Steward fought back with the desperation of a cornered animal. Both were burly men, and every punch landed with a sickening thud of flesh on flesh, splattering blood. They had both abandoned all pretense of technique for a life-or-death brawl.

Who needed defense?

The best defense was a good offense!

Lu Mountain took a punch to the neck but used the opening to jab out his index finger, forcibly gouging out one of the Steward's eyeballs.

"AHHHH…"

The Steward staggered back, clutching his bleeding socket and screaming in agony. The blow to the neck sent Lu Mountain into a coughing fit, and he clutched his throat, gasping for air.

But only a moment later, he forced himself through the pain, surged forward, and clawed at the man's throat with five sharp fingers.

SQUELCH...

Flesh tore, and the man's windpipe snapped in Lu Mountain's hand.

And with that, both Stewards were down for the count.

Lu Mountain had no time to rest. He immediately ran toward Gu Li.

Gu Li had already spotted Lu Mountain. Battle lust flared in his eyes. He sent Chen Fang flying with a single punch and charged toward Lu Mountain with a feral roar.

The two giants, both two meters tall, collided with terrifying, absolute force.

BOOM—

As they collided, the entire metal scaffolding shuddered violently. The next moment, the sturdy welds cracked, and the five-meter-high structure came crashing down.

Chen Fang had already used his Qinggong to leap clear. Xia Qingxue, gritting her teeth against the pain, grabbed Song Yao and jumped aside.

Gu Li and Lu Mountain were locked in a struggle, completely ignoring the collapsing scaffolding. They grabbed each other's shoulders, grappling and tearing at one another as they fell to the ground with the steel plates.

CRASH! RUMBLE!

Countless steel bars and plates smashed into the junk piled on the floor. The entire workshop filled with roiling dust, and visibility dropped to near zero.

The downpour outside grew even more torrential, as if a chasm had opened in the heavens, unleashing the celestial river upon the world below.

A vast curtain of water vapor filled the plains, muffling the massive commotion inside the Steel Mill.

In the preceding fierce battle, Chen Fang had taken several of Gu Li's punches. He rubbed a bleeding wound and leaned against a cold iron pillar, slowly sliding to the ground, his mouth twitching in pain.

Xia Qingxue held Song Yao, taking cover near the main entrance to the workshop. Both were nearly out of stamina and severely wounded. They stared worriedly into the spreading cloud of dust.

After Lu Mountain and Gu Li fell, there was no sound. They didn't know if the two had been crushed to death or just knocked unconscious.

The three of them kept a wary eye on the dust cloud while simultaneously looking toward the distant fight between Hua Yueqing and Chen Sheng.

The battle there was even more intense.

Their figures were completely obscured, with only the whistle of a Dagger and military spikes through the air, and the blinding flashes of light, testifying to the extreme peril of their fight.

"You're no match for me!"

To this point, Chen Sheng's body remained hidden beneath his black robes. With a series of rapid swings, his Dagger not only blocked both of Hua Yueqing's military spikes but also found openings to counterattack, leaving a series of shallow wounds on Hua Yueqing's body.