pdf-ebookys Chapter 697 Massacre
Chapter 697 Massacre
Li Gang, having regained his balance, glanced at the knife in his hand, and his expression instantly turned grim.
This is no ordinary sword; it is the Black Cloud Sword, a reward bestowed upon him by the late emperor for his meritorious service in his youth. It is made of the finest materials and crafted by the most skilled artisans in the capital with painstaking effort.
For more than a decade, this Black Cloud Blade has accompanied Li Gang through countless battles, its blade stained with the blood of countless enemies, yet it has never been damaged in the slightest.
However, at this moment, a clearly visible notch appeared on the blade of the Black Cloud Blade, which shocked and angered Li Gang.
What surprised them was the power of the Crimson Flame Chicken, and what angered them was the damage to the Black Cloud Blade!
"what!"
A scream rang out, and another black-clad guard fell under Chi Yan Yi's claws. The black-clad guards brought by Li Gang were chased around like rabbits by Chi Yan Yi, completely powerless to resist. Their lives were ended by Chi Yan Yi's claws or flames every now and then.
This made Li Gang's face even more gloomy. He raised the Black Cloud Blade in his hand and frantically poured his inner energy into it.
"cut!"
The next moment, Li Gang roared and slashed out with his sword!
A visible flash of light was unleashed by Li Gang, shooting towards Crimson Flame II at an extremely fast speed.
"This is... releasing true qi!"
Zheng Qiuyan on the city wall murmured, "Releasing true qi is the mark of a third-grade martial artist."
Unlike the internal force possessed by a mid-level third-grade martial artist, internal force can only be applied to the physical body or weapons that come into contact with the physical body.
True Qi not only has greater destructive power, but it can also be released to attack enemies. This means that a martial artist who possesses True Qi has a means of ranged attack, and its destructive power far surpasses that of a mid-level martial artist.
"Giggle."
Facing the blade light that Li Gang was about to strike, Chi Yan Er showed no sign of panic. In an instant, it spread its wings and flew into the air, dodging the attack.
However, Li Gang clearly didn't just have that one strike. He then unleashed three more strikes, the blade light formed from condensed true energy shooting towards Chi Yan Er flying in the air, seemingly trying to completely block Chi Yan Er's escape routes.
Seeing that there was no way to dodge, Chi Yan Er had no choice but to take the hit head-on. He turned around in mid-air and used his hardest beak to peck at the first blade of light!
Immediately afterwards, the chicken claw stretched out and extinguished the second blade of light.
Then, Crimson Flame II retracted its enormous wings, dodging the attack of the third blade of light.
"Damn it."
Seeing that Chi Yan Er was unharmed, Li Gang cursed under his breath and was about to strike again, but Chi Yan Er did not give him the chance.
Suddenly, the two red-flame chickens opened their beaks, and a burst of blazing flames shot out, heading straight for Li Gang.
At the same time, Crimson Flame II unleashed its full speed, swooping down on Li Gang like a hawk.
While dodging the flames, Li Gang used his knife to block the continuous attacks from Crimson Flame II, inwardly groaning in despair.
This giant bird not only flies extremely fast, but it can also breathe fire, and its beak and claws are incredibly sharp, making it very difficult to deal with.
If there were only one such giant bird, Li Gang could at least hold it back, even if he couldn't kill it quickly. But there were two such giant birds.
One was entangled with him, while the other was ruthlessly reaping the lives of his men, which caused Li Gang great distress.
These subordinates were all his trusted confidants, the foundation upon which he was able to maintain his position as commander of the Black-Clad Guards. Without them, even if he could safely return to the capital, he would likely be left with no one to command him...
"You despicable beast."
Li Gang grew increasingly anxious, and his knife strikes became even more ferocious.
No matter how he swung his knife, Chi Yan Er could easily parry it with his hard beak and claws, which made Li Gang even more frantic, because his men were almost all dead.
"Zheng Qing, what are you waiting for?!"
Li Gang roared, finally remembering that his side still had Zheng Qing and the men Zheng Qing had brought.
"Lord Li has probably misunderstood!"
Zheng Qing said with a smile, "I never said I would join you in dealing with young friend Chen."
"What did you say?"
Li Gang, who had just parried the second attack from Chi Yan with a single slash, suddenly turned around and stared intently at Zheng Qing, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
"I said you misunderstood."
Zheng Qing's smile remained unchanged. "I am a close friend of Young Friend Chen. How could I possibly be his enemy!"
"!"
Li Gang was shocked. At that moment, he understood everything!
Whether it's the county magistrate Li Qingyun or the prefect Zheng Qing, they have probably already colluded with Chen Dao. From beginning to end, the only ones who truly wanted to arrest Chen Dao were the black-clad guards they brought with them!
Aren't you afraid of being punished by the imperial court?
Li Gang asked with a gloomy face, "Who is Chen Dao? He is a traitor who killed the Prince of Qing. Colluding with such people is punishable by beheading at best and extermination of nine generations of his family at worst. Even if Zheng Qing is the prefect, he will not be an exception."
"The imperial court? Ha!"
Zheng Qing's face was full of disdain. The imperial court was already too busy to take care of itself and couldn't even suppress the rebels in various prefectures. How could it have the ability to manage the affairs of Taicang Prefecture?
Moreover, if Li Gang is killed, how will the court know that Zheng Qing colluded with Chen Dao?
Seeing that Zheng Qing did not answer, Li Gang wanted to ask again, but Chi Yan Er attacked again. Li Gang had no choice but to give up questioning Zheng Qing and focus on dealing with Chi Yan Er.
Meanwhile, Chi Yan was still wreaking havoc.
The lineup brought by Li Gang was undeniably impressive, consisting of fifteen Black-Clad Guards, each at least at the sixth rank, with many even at the peak of the fourth rank and near-third rank.
With such a formidable lineup, even if they were to face an ordinary second-rank martial artist, they would at least not be at a disadvantage if they joined forces, if not win.
However, they were facing Chi Yan Yi, an extraordinary second-rank martial artist!
Crimson Flame One is a single, powerful creature with the ability to fly and control flames. The attacks of these black-clad guards simply cannot reach Crimson Flame One. Even if they manage to hit it occasionally, Crimson Flame One will block the attack with its hard claws or beak, making it impossible to harm it.
On the contrary, Chi Yan Yi's attacks often caused casualties among the Black-Clad Guards.
In less than a quarter of an hour, more than half of the Black-Clad Guards had perished. Some were burned to death by the flames of Chi Yan Yi, some were pecked to death by chicken beaks, and some were torn apart by chicken claws...
The ways of dying may differ, but the fear they bring is the same.
As the corpses of his comrades fell one after another, the black-clad guards were filled with fear.
As mid-level martial artists, there are very few things in this world that can evoke fear in them. However, when their comrades die tragically before their eyes, fear still spreads uncontrollably in their hearts.
"What is this thing, and why is it so troublesome?"
How could such a monster exist in the world?
"We are completely incapable of harming it."
"..."
Gazing at the crimson flames swirling in the sky, the black-clad guards were on the verge of collapse!
To them, the Crimson Flame One was an invincible monster; the feeling of being left to die was enough to drive anyone mad.