Chapter 52: Satisfying, Truly Satisfying

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Ever since following Lei Qing, although Zuo Qianqian could not be said to have been through hundreds of battles, she was nevertheless a fighter with rich combat experience. Especially when it came to big scenes, she had seen quite a few, and she had even nearly shot a Holy Rank power house to death. The pair of daggers Old Man Zuo left her almost never left her side; in her free time or while traveling, she would often hold them in her hands to practice her feel for them.

Her Fighting Qi cultivation had also repeatedly broken through amidst constant fighting and cultivation, and she was already on the verge of breaking through to the High-stage Black Iron degree. With two “puh” sounds, the daggers nailed into Zhao Guang’s body one after the other. With a forceful pull of both arms, she tore open two wounds.

Zhao Guang screamed in agony, jumping up while dripping with blood all over his body. On his stubbly face, there was nothing but hideous terror. In his fierce eyes, there shone a resolve to risk it all. He took a sharp breath, and his already strong body swelled slightly. The Earth-attribute Fighting Qi in his one remaining hand flourished greatly, smashing toward Zuo Qianqian’s chest like a sledgehammer. The wind from the force whistled; if he were to hit her squarely, even if Zuo Qianqian survived by luck, she would be heavily injured. Knowing he had no way back, he had already fallen into despair. His only thought was to drag someone down with him before he died.

Right at this moment, Jiang Yu, wearing heavy armor from head to toe, stepped forward and inserted himself in front of Zuo Qianqian. Relying on his heavy armor and his Earth-attribute Fighting Qi at Black Iron Peak, he forcefully took this punch. But that Zhao Guang was truly formidable; even after suffering repeated heavy injuries, he could still erupt with such powerful strength. The punch landed on the iron armor with a loud clang, ringing Jiang Yu’s ears and making his vision blur. He staggered a few steps, and the chest area of the iron armor caved in by about an inch. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Although Lei Qing somewhat looked down on Zhao Guang’s character, he secretly admired the man’s outstanding combat power. If he were at the same Fighting Qi stage as him and fought head-on, the outcome would be, at best, a sixty-forty split. But admiration was one thing; Lei Qing never had the habit of showing mercy to enemies on the battlefield.

He leaped forward, Ice Flame trembling slightly. The sword radiance was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue as he executed another One-Character Lightning Sword, speeding away. Zhao Guang was right at the moment when his old strength was gone and new strength had not yet been born. Moreover, repeated heavy injuries had already reduced his various abilities greatly. With nowhere to hide, the Treasure Sword Ice Flame directly pierced his throat at lightning speed.

Zhao Guang’s body suddenly stiffened. His eyes were filled with despair and unwillingness. He stumbled back two steps and crashed to the ground with a thud.

This series of changes sounded slow, but in reality, it took only a few short breaths. A bunch of Zhao Guang’s subordinates, hearing the commotion, swarmed up with a loud clatter. But Lei Qing was not fighting alone either. The other nine men wearing full-body iron armor were all elites within the squad. Among the nine, three were Black Iron-rank. They brandished their weapons one after another and blocked that group of bandits.

“Brothers, the Boss is dead! We must avenge the Boss!” Several of Zhao Guang’s trusted subordinates roared in furious rage.

After taking out Zhao Guang, Zuo Qianqian, according to plan, sprinted with Lei Qing toward that side door. The two guards at the door also rushed over during the commotion, but with a flash of Lei Qing’s sword light, two heads flew off. Zuo Qianqian entered the side door and quickly activated her Spatial Ring. She took out the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows hidden inside one by one.

The other iron-armored soldiers fought while retreating, heading toward the side door. The Fighting Qi in Lei Qing’s body burned vigorously, as if covering him in a faint layer of electric light. Under the Thunder Flash movement technique, his figure sped away, leaving overlapping afterimages as he quickly cut into the battle to support the iron-armored soldiers under his command. Although they wore full-body iron armor and had high defense, even the highest defense could not withstand a siege by a large number of people.

Moves from the Heavenly Thunder Combat Code flashed out a dozen or so deep blue sword rays, shooting toward the bandits like a violent storm. Clang, clang, clang! After a series of metal clashing sounds, three of the bandits spurted blood and died on the spot.

The other bandits saw that Lei Qing’s strength was formidable, like a God of Slaughter, and they couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear in their hearts. The thought of avenging the Boss faded a little. It was a joke; if avenging the Boss meant going with the flow, naturally everyone would be incomparably brave, as if they were Righteous and High-Minded. But to fill the gap with their own lives for a dead man—and not even fill it enough—was something they had to weigh and mumble about.

Their own lives, although worthless in the eyes of others, were their own. No matter how precious other things were, they were not as precious as their own lives. When thoughts became many and mixed, bravery was inevitably lost. Lei Qing stood with his sword horizontally, retreating with steady steps while protecting the iron-armored soldiers. His expression was calm and unhurried. Although not much time had passed since the sudden change, fifty or sixty bandits had already swarmed into this huge Juyi Hall.

“Avenge the Boss! Kill that pretty boy!” someone else bellowed at the top of their lungs.

A few obviously hotheaded and hot-blooded bandits, carrying their swords, rushed up while howling. Lei Qing sneered. His figure was elusive, and sword rays flickered from his hand, bursting out with streaks of light. Before those few bandits could get close to him, their shouting stopped abruptly, and they fell dead on the spot.

Blood splattered onto his luxurious clothes and his face, adding a touch of danger and ferocity to his elegant and handsome appearance. At this moment, there was not a hint of the playboy or “pretty boy” vibe he had shown before; he was purely a God of Slaughter.

In the Juyi Hall, there were more and more bandits, yet each of them was as quiet as a cicada in winter, their hearts turning cold.

However, there were a few clever bandits who started shooting at Lei Qing from a distance using strong bows. But Lei Qing was already a Bronze Peak powerhouse now. As he wielded Ice Flame, he protected his whole body so tightly that not even water could splash through. The scattered arrows were all blocked away.

At this time, Zuo Qianqian’s arrangement was also complete. She had taken out twelve Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows, along with a few heavy shields covered in iron sheet. Seeing that bandits dared to shoot at Lei Qing, her young heart felt a surge of annoyance. She lifted a Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow and shot an arrow with a “whoosh”.

The power of the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow was very strong, and the speed of the crossbow bolt breaking through the air was also extremely fast, issuing a low, sharp whistle. After shooting for over ten meters, it precisely nailed into the face of a bandit who was drawing his bow to shoot. The sharp bolt had powerful force, sinking in until the feathers disappeared, and the arrowhead poked out bloody from the back of his head. The powerful impact also made it look like he was punched away and flew out.

The iron-armored soldiers also sprang into action. The three strong Black Iron-rank soldiers quickly picked up the heavy shields, set them up outside the side door, and held them fast. Behind them, Zuo Qianqian and three other archers, a total of four, began to operate the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows, shooting “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” into the group of bandits.

The primary targets were, of course, those archer bandits. The Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow’s aim was fast and accurate; it was a rare and sharp weapon. Its internal structure was very complex and ingenious. It was a treasure of the Tianlan Empire. It was said that in the whole country, there were only ten thousand Thousand-Mechanism Crossbowmen, and they were scattered among various armies.

The archers in the squad had already practiced with the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow beforehand, so using them now did not feel unfamiliar at all. Although their aim was worse than Zuo Qianqian’s, if they didn’t aim for the head but just the person, they were quite handy. The sharp bolts, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, easily harvested the archers one by one.

Most importantly, after each person shot one bolt, they would hand the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow to the people behind them to reload. And they themselves would pick up a new Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow to shoot. In this way, the interval time between crossbow shots was greatly reduced. In just a few short breaths, more than ten bandits were pierced by crossbow bolts and fell down wailing in pain.

The other side’s scattered arrow counterattacks were either blocked by the heavy shields or flicked away by Lei Qing’s Ice Flame. Under such a disadvantageous situation, the bandits were already scared out of their wits. They retreated one after another out of the Juyi Hall; no one wanted to stay here and be a living target. Even those few bandit leaders who had been clamoring that they must avenge the Boss dared not shout anymore, lest they become the target of everyone’s attacks.

Seeing this situation, Lei Qing also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the bandits were united enough and strictly disciplined, and if seventy or eighty of them had charged together at the start, then Lei Qing and his group, even if they could have blocked it, would have suffered heavy losses.

Unfortunately, bandits were just bandits; they were not a regular army with strict military discipline.

Jiang Yu and his group were also extremely excited. A mere dozen or so people, penetrating deep into Fierce Tiger Ridge, killing Backing Tiger Zhao Guang right in front of everyone, and forcing all the bandits to retreat—what a magnificent feat was this? Satisfying, truly satisfying.

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