novelapdf 47. Fierce Battle
47. Fierce Battle
Before the chaos created by the rolling stones and rain of arrows had subsided, amidst the billowing dust, several figures, like eagles swooping down on rabbits, plummeted down the steep cliff face, heading straight for the aristocratic masters on the official road who were trying to regain their footing.
Lin Mo took the lead, not choosing the most direct path of descent, but instead using the protruding rocks and sparse vegetation on the cliff face as cushioning points. With a few leaps and bounds, he moved with ghostly silence and incredible speed, landing precisely in the middle of the official road, blocking the path between the four leading experts and the second, most heavily damaged caravan. His landing was light and serene, leaving no trace, but the long-suppressed aura around him suddenly erupted, like a sleeping beast opening its crimson eyes.
"Form ranks! Protect the caravan!" The old man who played with the iron dantian—Elder Murong Qiu of the Murong family—was the first to react and shouted sharply. The two iron dantians in his hands instantly stopped spinning, and a powerful internal force emanated from him, attempting to stabilize the panicked hearts of those around him.
The middle-aged strongman carrying a broadsword was none other than the guest retainer of the Ouyang family, "Mountain-Splitting Blade" Mad Bear. He roared, his voice shaking the surrounding area, and his longsword was already drawn. The heavy blade carried an aura of splitting mountains and cleaving peaks, and he was the first to meet Shi Yong, who was attacking from the side. Shi Yong, wielding a heavy ghost-headed blade, fearlessly clashed head-on with him. With a loud "clang," the sound of metal clashing was deafening, and both men took half a step back, finding themselves evenly matched.
At the same time, the scholar-dressed expert, Nangong Wen, the "Flowing Cloud Fan" of the Nangong family, swiftly unfolded his folding fan. The fan surface was not paper, but a thin, gleaming steel sheet. His movements were elusive, like flowing clouds, instantly bypassing the two men facing off. The edge of his fan slashed at several ambushers trying to approach the caravan, the angle cunning and ruthless. In an instant, two ambushers collapsed to the ground, clutching their bleeding throats.
The taciturn man in black, the shadow guard of the Ximen family known as "Shadow," blended into the chaotic battlefield like a true shadow. His target was clear—the crossbowmen who were firing their crossbows. With a few flashes, he appeared eerily below the cliff, his short sword flashing like a venomous snake, silently stabbing towards the back of a crossbowman who was loading a bolt.
"Your opponent is me."
A cold voice rang in Youying's ear, causing his thrusting short sword to pause slightly. Han Li had appeared from behind the crossbow at some point, wielding a pair of fine steel short halberds, blocking his path. Han Li's gaze was sharp, his aura locked onto Youying, clearly recognizing the threat he posed.
The battlefield was instantly divided into several battle groups.
Shi Yong and Kuang Xiong were like two wild bulls, their swords clashing and exchanging powerful blows. Each collision kicked up a cloud of dust, and those with slightly weaker strength dared not approach.
With his superb lightness skills and unpredictable fan techniques, Nangong Wenping weaved through the ordinary ambushers like a tiger among sheep, constantly causing casualties in an attempt to clear a path to the crossbow array on the cliff top.
Han Li and You Ying then engaged in a silent assassination and counter-assassination duel. Their figures darted through the smoke and shadows, their short halberds and short swords sparking with danger.
The core of the battlefield, however, lies between Lin Mo and Murong Qiu.
Murong Qiu's expression was grave as he stared intently at the young man who had suddenly appeared before him. Lin Mo appeared to be no more than twenty years old, dressed plainly, even somewhat disheveled, but his eyes were terrifyingly deep, devoid of youthful restlessness and arrogance, containing only an icy killing intent and a world-weary indifference. What alarmed Murong Qiu even more was the aura emanating from the other man. Although he sensed that Lin Mo's internal energy cultivation was not at its peak, it carried a strange fluctuation that made his meridians feel subtly suppressed.
"Who are you? And why are you an enemy of the four great families?" Murong Qiu asked in a deep voice, trying to find out the details.
Lin Mo did not answer. His answer was action.
He leaped forward like an arrow, his speed leaving only a faint afterimage. He used no fancy techniques, just a straight punch aimed at Murong Qiu's face. The wind howled, the air seemed compressed by the punch, emitting a low, booming sound.
Murong Qiu's pupils contracted slightly. Not daring to be careless, she hurled her left iron dart out with a sharp whooshing sound, aiming for Lin Mo's fist. At the same time, she held her right iron dart in front of her chest, channeling her inner strength into it, preparing to take any possible counterattacks.
"Bang!"
The iron golem collided with the fist, but instead of the sound of metal clashing, it produced a dull thud like leather being struck. The iron golem, infused with Murong Qiu's pure internal energy, was sent flying backward by Lin Mo's punch, even faster than when it came!
Murong Qiu was shocked and hurriedly dodged to the side, while simultaneously swinging his right iron dagger to block. "Clang!" The iron dagger that flew back collided violently with the iron dagger in his hand. The enormous force made his arm go numb and his blood surge.
"What bizarre power!" Murong Qiu was horrified. The opponent's internal strength did not seem particularly strong, but the power contained in his fist was extremely domineering, as if it could penetrate his internal strength defense and directly shake his meridians.
Before he could think further, Lin Mo's second attack arrived. He changed his fist into a palm, his five fingers like hooks, carrying a chilling aura, and grabbed straight for Murong Qiu's throat. Wherever the palm wind passed, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, and even the swirling dust seemed to freeze for a moment.
Murong Qiu dared not take the blow head-on. He used his feet to stomp around the target, displaying exquisite footwork to narrowly avoid the throat-locking strike. At the same time, he clasped his hands together, and with a "hum," an invisible sound wave spread out from him, attempting to disturb Lin Mo's mind.
However, Lin Mo's eyes remained unmoved, as if the disturbing sound waves were merely a gentle breeze. In his past life, as a top assassin, he had experienced countless life-or-death battles, his willpower far surpassing that of ordinary people. With the sound waves ineffective, Lin Mo's moves changed even faster, his palms flashing, sometimes fierce and unparalleled, sometimes unpredictable and cunning, forcing Murong Qiu to retreat repeatedly, barely managing to hold on thanks to his profound internal strength and seasoned experience.
On the other side, the battle between Shi Yong and Kuang Xiong had reached a fever pitch. Both were martial artists who followed a fierce and ruthless style, their fighting methods devoid of any fancy tricks, purely a clash of strength and internal energy. Every clash between the ghost-head saber and the broadsword produced a deafening roar, the saber energy crisscrossing and carving deep furrows into the ground.
"That was exhilarating! Again!" Mad Bear fought with increasing ferocity, wielding his broadsword like the wind, unleashing a "Splitting Mount Hua" move with the force of splitting the heavens and earth, slashing towards Shi Yong.
Shi Yong's tiger's mouth was already split open, and blood stained the hilt of his sword, but the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter. He roared, neither dodging nor avoiding, and raised his ghost-head sword from bottom to top, intending to take the powerful blow head-on.
"clang--!"
An even more violent collision sounded, and Shi Yong felt an irresistible force. His ghost-head knife flew out of his hand, and he was struck as if by a battering ram. He spat out blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into the rock wall beside the official road. His life or death was unknown.
"Brother Shi!" Several ambushers nearby were furious and wanted to rush to his aid, but were forced back by Mad Bear with a few casual slashes.
"You ants, how dare you block my way?" Mad Bear sneered disdainfully, raising his sword to charge towards the core battle group and support the precarious Murong Qiu.
However, the moment he took a step, an extremely sharp killing intent locked onto him. Mad Bear abruptly turned his head and saw that the young man who had been fighting Elder Murong had somehow managed to create a palm strike that was aimed at him from a distance. The palm strike was initially silent, but it suddenly erupted as it approached him, chilling to the bone, as if it could freeze one's blood.
Mad Bear dared not be careless. He slashed horizontally with his broadsword, attempting to disperse the palm wind. As the blade made contact with the palm wind, Mad Bear felt a chilling aura spread up the blade, instantly stiffening and numbing his entire arm, causing his movements to falter.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Lin Mo had already broken free from Murong Qiu's entanglement, and with lightning speed, he appeared in front of the mad bear in an instant.
"Your opponent has changed." Lin Mo's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.
Mad Bear was both shocked and furious. He hadn't expected this young man to be so troublesome, managing to distract himself while fighting Murong Qiu, and even managing to inflict a hidden loss on him with a single blow. He forcefully channeled his inner strength to dispel the chill in his arm, and with a roar, he slashed at Lin Mo with all his might.
Faced with this fierce strike, Lin Mo neither dodged nor evaded. He pointed his right hand like a sword, with a faint gray-black aura swirling around his fingertips, and precisely struck the spine of the broadsword.
"Ding!"
A soft yet extremely crisp sound.
Mad Bear felt an incredibly sharp force emanating from the blade, piercing his meridians like a needle, causing the internal energy he had gathered on the blade to dissipate abruptly. At the same time, the grayish-black energy spread along the point of contact, instantly turning his right hand holding the blade black, and rapidly spreading towards his arm, bringing with it a strong sense of decay and death.
"Poison? No! It's...corpse energy?!" Mad Bear was horrified and tried to let go and retreat, but found that his entire right arm had lost all feeling.
Lin Mo released a burst of energy from his fingertips.
"Snap!"
The broadsword, crafted from high-quality steel, snapped in two at the point of impact! The break was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been instantly severed by something extremely sharp.
As the knife broke, Lin Mo's left palm silently struck the bear's chest.
"puff--"
The bear was struck as if by lightning; its eyes bulged out, and its massive body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, blood spurting from its mouth tracing a gruesome arc in the air. It landed heavily, a large crater in its chest, clearly beyond saving.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. From Lin Mo breaking free from Murong Qiu to instantly severely injuring and killing the Mad Bear, only a few breaths had passed.
Murong Qiu, who was about to rush forward to attack Lin Mo, abruptly stopped in his tracks, his face filled with disbelief and shock. The Ouyang family's guest elder, Mad Bear, renowned for his strength, had actually been so cleanly and decisively killed by an unknown young man?
Nangong Wen and Youying were also startled by the sudden turn of events, their movements momentarily slowed. Han Li seized the opportunity, his short halberd flashing like a venomous dragon, slashing a deep, bone-revealing gash across Youying's arm. Youying groaned and retreated rapidly, disappearing into the shadows to temporarily avoid the attack.
Nangong Wen waved his folding fan, forcing back several ambushers who were surrounding him, and retreated to Murong Qiu's side with a grim expression. The situation on the battlefield had been instantly reversed because of Lin Mo's earth-shattering move!
On the official road, only Murong Qiu, Nangong Wen, and the injured You Ying remained standing among the experts from the four great families. On the ambush side, although they had also suffered heavy losses, with Shi Yong seriously injured, their core fighters Lin Mo and Han Li were still alive, and their morale was high.
Lin Mo stood alone in the arena, the corpse of a raging bear beneath his feet, surrounded by the scattered bodies of镖师 (bodyguards) and ambushers, their blood staining the yellow earth. He was slightly out of breath; the continuous bursts of energy had taken a toll on his internal strength, especially when he used the mysterious power within his meridians, which had placed a tremendous burden on his body. Yet, the icy coldness and killing intent in his eyes grew ever more intense.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the ashen-faced Murong Qiu and Nangong Wen, finally settling on the several heavily guarded caravans.
"Next, it's your turn."