Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Blood Battle (Part 2)
Translator: 549690339
"Impossible!"
"Why impossible? You're their leader. Even if someone ordered you to kill me, failing to complete the mission wouldn't be fatal. But you came over, and your brother would surely die... Step back."
Shen Zhui retreated a few steps, somewhat puzzled in his heart.
From the start, when he noticed the striking resemblance between the two Ninth Rank individuals, he guessed that they might be real brothers.
He had been holding onto the idea of taking a hostage, in order to threaten the other side into sparing him.
In Shen Zhui's view, two leaders without blood ties might still weigh the pros and cons, and not let him go.
But now that it's confirmed that these two are real brothers, and the other party indeed is concerned about the safety of the hostage, why won't they let him go?
In even the most ruthless noble families, you wouldn't be executed for failing a mission, would you? Especially when your identity isn't exposed.
A Ninth Rank warrior isn't a piece of cabbage, to be so casually discarded.
"Only the Li Family or the Yang Family could dispatch such a well-trained squad, right?"
"Don't you dare... Let him go!"
"Let me go."
"You can't escape!"
"But your brother can't hold on much longer. If he bleeds a bit more, not even a god can save him."
Shen Zhui stepped back, crushing a section of a dried branch under his foot.
"Just tell me, is there room for negotiation..."
Suddenly—
"Swoosh~"
"Hmph, Hmph, Hmph!!"
"Damn it! Who shot that crossbow bolt!"
"Hold it!"
"Don't move!"
"Stay back!"
Someone from behind the crowd shot a crossbow bolt aimed at Shen Zhui's head, but it ended up not so good, hitting Ah Er instead.
Under Ah Da's furious outburst, the restless warriors behind him were suppressed again, returning to the standoff atmosphere.
Ah Da wanted to charge over several times, but Shen Zhui didn't give him the opportunity to do so. Adjusting his position, he again positioned Ah Er's body to face Ah Da, forcing Ah Da to retreat once again.
With the standoff not getting anywhere, and Ah Er starting to vomit blood again, he might not be able to hold on much longer. Ah Da's voice was getting hoarse.
His gaze suddenly fixed on one direction.
Following Ah Da's line of sight, Shen Zhui realized that there were two blurry figures on a distant hillside!
The moment Ah Da looked in that direction, an elderly voice arrived.
"Tsk, a bunch of useless things!"
Hearing the voice response, Ah Da's face showed a moment of joy, but promptly turned pale.
"The young master commands that this man must be killed at all costs! If Ah Er dies, make this man accompany him in death."
"What? No! No, Master——" Ah Da instantly fell into despair, he didn't expect such a reply.
Seeing the armed men around him start to act against his orders, Ah Da, like a wounded beast, roared.
"Is such a Master worth your loyalty?!" Shen Zhui's heart turned cold.
He finally understood why Ah Da wouldn't agree to let him go. He simply didn't dare to decide on his own.
Ah Da's eyes were filled with tears, bloodshot, and after struggling for a moment, his expression suddenly turned calm.
He lifted his long saber and charged towards Shen Zhui.
"Dammit!"
Shen Zhui cursed, twisted the ruler, destroying Ah Er's internal organs, then violently pulled it out.
"Splat~"
Blood spurted out. He kicked the dying Ah Er towards the crowd and turned to flee towards the hillside.
"Kill!"
"Kill him!"
"Shoot!"
Roars of anger echoed, attacking Shen Zhui from all directions.
Shen Zhui moved unpredictably, not moving in a straight line, running like a nimble antelope.
His luck had not run out yet; he ran uphill, making it difficult for the archers to aim accurately as they did during the ambush.
Ah Er's body provided some protection for a short time. The hurried shots scattered in disarray, heavily reducing their accuracy.
Just then, a sudden gust of autumn wind blew, causing the arrows to further miss their mark.
Even the few arrows that did hit Shen Zhui had lost their momentum and were unable to pierce his silver scale armor.
Shen Zhui's speed was astonishing. In less than a moment, he had already neared the hillside, leaving his pursuers in the dust.
"To catch the thief, first catch the king. Only by capturing that noble son will I stand a chance."
Shen Zhui's objective was clear. Despite Heyuan County being only ten miles away,
Without a horse, he would not be able to outrun his pursuers on foot. That would be a fool's errand and would only lead to quicker death.
"Looking for death! Elder Cang, kill him!" Li Ming saw Shen Zhui charging towards him and knew exactly what Shen Zhui was planning.
But Shen Zhui's intention irritated Li Ming who felt a great insult upon himself.
The perfectly laid out plan was ruined by Shen Zhui, the usually self-claimed strategist, Li Ming's heart was filled with hatred; he wanted to kill Shen Zhui right away!
"Yes, Young Master."
The elder named Cang nodded. His figure flashed without a signal, and with one step, he instantaneously covered a distance of tens of feet, appearing in front of Shen Zhui, his fist aimed at Shen Zhui's chest.
"What? So fast!" Shen Zhui's heart pounded, and he swung his iron ruler fiercely!
"Clang!"
The elder named Cang deflected the ruler with his fist turned palm.
The shock of a powerful force transmitted made the iron ruler almost fly from his hand!
This blow almost made Shen Zhui lose his grip on the iron ruler.
"This, this is... an Innate warrior!"
Just from this one exchange, Shen Zhui felt the disparity, breaking out in a cold sweat!
"Die!"
Shen Zhui operating under extreme concentration, his hand glowed as he channelled his energy. He instantly exploded ten strands of energy essence, before throwing his iron ruler at Li Ming standing not far away.
"Swish!" The iron ruler cut through the air, instantly reaching its target.
"Beast! You dare!" The elder named Cang's hair stood up. He smacked a palm on Shen Zhui's chest, then swiftly turned around.
"Zing~"
The iron ruler stopped half a metre in front of Li Ming. The ruler vibrated, making a humming sound. A large hand caught the iron ruler, but the palm was seeping blood.
Even for an Innate warrior, trying to catch a bare blade with bare hands would result in some injuries.
"I deserve to die for my negligence, almost letting this thief harm the Young Master!" The elder named Cang looked slightly flustered. If Li Ming indeed got hurt, he would not be able to atone for it even with a thousand deaths.
"Kill him! Kill him! Elder Cang, hurry!" Li Ming roared, his face pale!
Though his power was comparable to a Nineth Rank Post-Innate, he was not a warrior but a cultivator, hence his physical body was not as strong as warriors.
He had absolutely no time to react to the situation.
Realizing it all too late and seeing the ruler only half a metre away from him and the palm of Elder Cang cut opened, his heart pounded in fear!
"It's over!" Shen Zhui knelt down halfway on the grass field. Seeing his attack did not work, a tinge of unwillingness flashed across his eyes.
He was wounded from the beginning, underwent bitter fights, and exhausted a lot.
The explosion of ten strands of quintessence left his body almost drained. Coupled with a blow from an Innate warrior, he didn't even have the strength to run now.
Watching the fist of the elder named Cang growing larger in front of his eyes, Shen Zhui struggled to stand up.
He, Shen Zhui, even if he was to die, he would die standing up!
Just as Shen Zhui thought he was doomed, he only felt a gust of strong wind.
The opponent's fist stopped half a metre in front of him.
At the same time, a voice rang out.
"Elder Cang, a venerable Innate warrior, using your strength against a juvenile of Eighth Rank Post-Innate, have you lived so futilely to behave like a dog?!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone