Chapter 55: Encounter
Volume 2 – Bloom of the Other Shore Flower, Chapter 55: Encounter
Ignoring the fact that Wei Potian and his men were only rank four on average, even if they were all rank seven or eight, they would still be nothing in the face of an expert of this level.
A series of rapid footsteps suddenly echoed from a nearby street. Soon enough, a group of expeditionary troops burst out into the open. The military officer at the front of that group immediately cried out in surprise when he saw the mysterious man burning with black flames. “A member of the dark races!”
The rest of the expeditionary soldiers didn’t need their officer to tell them what do do. They raised their guns and aimed them at the mysterious man. Meanwhile, the officer himself drew his origin gun and frantically injected origin power into it to shorten the charging process as much as possible.
The masked man let out a heavy sigh. His smooth, metal mask actually transformed into a look of great pity as the sword in his hand seemed to flicker through the air. Not even Qianye could say for sure if that unusually long sword had actually moved. A faint black line had been drawn in the air. It appeared to move slow, but it was actually moving extremely fast. It swept through the waists of all the expeditionary soldiers!
In that moment, every expeditionary soldier stopped moving. The officer looked down at himself and saw his arms falling away from his body. His origin gun had been cut in half and his upper body fell below his waist!
A dozen or so expeditionary soldiers instantly lost their lives! The cuts on their bodies were all smooth like mirrors and as black as charcoal. No bits of flesh or drops of blood burst from the wounds.
The masked man turned his gaze to the group of Broken Winged Angel youths once again. He suddenly let out a soft chuckle and asked, “Are you fishing for someone? Well… you definitely got a fish, but it seems that I’m so big that all your bait will go to waste. So long, little fellows!”
His sword flickered once more, and yet another black line flew toward the Broken Winged Angel rookies!
That very instant, all the rookies felt the threat of death. However, under the tremendous pressure the masked man exuded since the beginning, they couldn’t even draw their weapons.
At that critical moment, Wei Potian suddenly let out a booming roar.
“Thousand Mountains!” He cried, his aura surging into the air and actually pushing back the masked man’s pressure!
Wei Potian took a great step forward and stood right in front of his companions. He then crossed his arms so they were in front of his head and chest, and a brownish-yellow origin power enveloped his entire body. He was actually planning to block the blow head on!
Thousand Mountains was undoubtedly secret art among the imperial aristocratic families because Wei Potian, despite only being rank four, was able to emit his origin power outside his body. In spite of this, he still had absolutely no chance of blocking the masked man’s black sword aura. If a Wei Family senior expert stood in his place, they might’ve stood a chance.
However, with Wei Potian’s Thousand Mountains in the way, his companions behind him now had a tiny hope of surviving. With luck, one or two of them might be able to escape the deadly sword aura. By this point, two of the Broken Winged Angel rookies were finally able to move. Instead of trying to escape first, they grabbed at the military-issue guns and swords in the holsters and sheaths at their waists.
The man let out a soft exclamation of admiration that seemed to be directed at Wei Potian. Even his mask turned into a smiling face. The sword in his hand flickered once more, and the black sword aura flying toward the Broken Winged Angel rookies contracted and expanded as it descended upon Wei Potian’s head like a venomous dragon!
Death loomed over Wei Potian, making his short hair stand on end, yet he let out a mad roar that caused the light of origin power around him to shine even brighter. The masked man had obviously manipulated his sword aura to give him a gap through which he could escape, but Wei Potian simply refused to move out of the way!
The black sword aura instantly sped up and slashed down at Wei Potian!
A soft crack resounded through the air.
A platinum-gloved hand appeared out of nowhere and caught that sword aura!
The hand tightened around the black sword aura and twisted, crushing the mysterious man’s attack just like that! A tall soldier with a posture that was ramrod straight appeared before Wei Potian and the others.
The man had a handsome face with soft features. White patterns adorned his black uniform, which was obviously the uniform of the Broken Winged Angels. He wore epaulets on his shoulders, both of which were adorned with olive leaves surrounding five platinum stars.
Far off in the distance shock filled, Qianye yet again. The man was a major general of the imperial corps, a Broken Winged Angel major general no less! But he looked like he had yet to even reach his thirties.
This young major general wore a pair of platinum gloves, and his head was lush with long platinum hair. In fact, even his pupils were platinum! It was impossible to forget such extraordinary features after seeing them for the first time.
Qianye clearly remembered that this man was none other than the military officer responsible for recruiting new blood for the Broken Winged Angels back at Xiangyang. However, he had only been a brigadier general back then. Qianye hadn’t thought that he would become a major general so soon. The speed at which he rose through the ranks of the military was so fast that, even in the Empire’s capital where strength was valued above all else, it was rare. In an elite corp like the Broken Winged Angels, the ability to command was just the second most important factor. A soldier’s military rank was mainly determined by a person’s own strength.
Every general of the Empire was, at the very least, a Champion rank expert.
The mysterious masked man sheathed his sword and somehow floated a huge distance backward even though he hadn’t moved his feet at all.
“Bai Longjia!” he exclaimed in a low tone.
Bai Longjia crossed his arms in front of his chest, rubbing them together slightly. The sound of metal against metal actually resounded from the movement. He stared at the masked man standing opposite from him and sneered, “A human-faced arachne trying to kill a group of rookies? Your actions shame the spider queen herself!”
The masked man snorted and suddenly said, “Bai Longjia, don’t think that I have no idea what you’re planning. You’re just using those little kids to lure me out into the open, aren’t you? Do you really think I’m as stupid as you humans?”
Bai Longjia’s expression changed as he suddenly looked to his right. Layers of white mist had suddenly risen in that direction, and a handsome large-bodied golden-haired man walked out of it. The ground trembled with every step he took!
It was William!
Qianye’s heartbeat skipped a beat at the sudden realization.
He had known that William was no ordinary person from the beginning, but it was only now that he understood that this formidable man from the Summit of Peaks was a true Champion rank expert! It appeared that, during the night he met William in the wasteland, he truly had crossed the line between life and death and returned.
A harsh glimmer of light erupted from Bai Longjia’s eyes as he stared closely at the golden-haired man walking toward him. Emphasizing every single word, he exclaimed, “The Summit of Peaks! Are you William?”
William’s face cracked into a bright, sunny smile, and his bluish-gray eyes looked translucent, as if flowing with light under the night sky. His voice resounded through the air, its deep timber seemingly resonating with the pulse of the world.
“It is I. I heard that the Bai Family produced quite the impressive group of youths this generation and that you, Bai Longjia, are among them. This is the perfect opportunity for me ascertain if that is true! That being said, it would be nice if I could check out your sister’s abilities too.”
A vacant look replaced the sharpness in Bai Longjia’s eyes. His voice lost all hint of emotion as he gradually lowered his voice until it became monotone, robotically saying, “If my sister were here, not a single one of you foolish clowns would be able to leave here alive, let alone make such utterly irrational boasts!”
A serious expression spread across William’s face when he saw Bai Longjia’s appearance. He stopped mid-stride and said, “I’d only find out after fighting her, right?”
Bai Longjia apathetically said, “You’ll have to go through me first!”
He turned around and yelled, “Potian, take them away to the camp of the expeditionary army.”
Wei Potian hesitated for a second, but ultimately shouted, “Yes, sir!”
“Let’s go!” he yelled to the youths behind him. “We must not become a burden to the general!”
The youths ran away at full speed.
Bai Longjia took a step to the side, and his figure suddenly appeared about a dozen of meters away from where he stood earlier. He now stood in the middle of the street, barring the path of both William and the human-faced arachne. He slowly spread his arms apart, and a pair of pristine white wings suddenly extended from his back. They flapped up and down in a lifelike manner.
William inhaled deeply as the figure of a giant golden wolf several meters tall suddenly appeared behind him! Like a night wolf praising the moon, he let out a long howl then charged at Bai Longjia with boundless might!
Bai Longjia clapped his hands together and pushed them outward from his chest. William unleashed a punch and he met it head on. When fist struck palm, the entire district seemed to shake from the resulting shockwave and several tall buildings suddenly rumbled and collapsed around them. Countless bloodcurdling screams resounded from the crumbling buildings and the subsequent ruins.
Bai Longjia staggered backward a few long steps and abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood. Every time his feet hit the limestone-paved street, it cracked under pressure and caved in to create multiple deep pits. William didn’t fare much better, having flown horizontally backward like a cannonball. Although he ultimately managed to steady himself after flipping through the air a couple of times, the giant golden wolf shadow behind him became distorted. A moment later, it disappeared.
However, several lines of black sword aura had flown toward Bai Longjia under the cover of the night sky. The moment they struck his wings, white feathers scattered everywhere and a fountain of blood erupted from his body! Although the wings were obviously an illusion conjured from origin power, Bai Longjia’s body reflected any damage they took.
Bai Longjia let out a fierce roar and spread his arms. Countless illusory, platinum palms instantly filled the area and crushed the lines of black sword aura near him. The human-faced arachne groaned softly as blood sprayed out of the air hole in his mask.
Even though he was facing two opponents at the same level as him, Bai Longjia stood in the middle of the street, tall and proud. He didn’t take another step backward..
The human-faced arachne suddenly sneered at him. “Did you really think those little fellows would be able to escape? I already prepared a grand welcoming party for them!”
The moment he heard this, Bai Longjia’s expression finally cracked.
Just then, while William had backed off, he happened to head toward the rooftop that Qianye was hiding on. The distance between them shrank to a few hundred meters in an instant. By this point, William had enough time to regulate his breathing and resummon the illusory golden wolf.
Yet, all of a sudden, William turned around looked at Qianye’s hiding spot.
Caught by surprise, Qianye closed his eyes just before his enemy could see him. He lay completely flat on the roof, not moving a muscle, but at the same time, he carefully channeled the Combatant Formula and exposed a tiny bit of his origin power. He was gambling on William being too caught up in a Champion rank battle to divert his attention to an insignificant rank three small fry.
As expected, William didn’t pay him any further attention after an initial sweeping glance. After that, Qianye slowly backed away and slid down the rooftop, then vanished into the night.
Meanwhile, Wei Potian ran down a long street at top speed. He suddenly came to a stop and raised his right hand to stop the young rookies following closely behind him. He examined the empty street before him cautiously.
The street was unusually quiet. Half the buildings on both sides of the street were empty to begin with, and now there wasn’t even the slightest bit of light in them. Only a few street lamps bathed the quiet street with yellow light. This scene looked unfathomably cold and desolate.
Before any of the Broken Winged Angel soldiers knew it, a shroud of thin gray mist slowly spread across the street. Black figures walked out of the mist one after another and surrounded the group of greenhorns.
A young man emerged from amidst the many black figures. He had a pale handsome face, and with just a glance, it was obvious that he was a high ranking vampire. The young vampire wore an evil smile on his face as he pointed at Wei Potian and said, “Today’s bait shall be mine!”
Wei Potian’s heart immediately sank. All of the enemies that had shown up were at least rank three vampire warriors, and this higher vampire was actually rank six. This force was definitely enough to swallow them whole.
The Broken Winged Angels were definitely elites, but the dark races had elites of their own. The descendants of those reputable clans were just as good as they were.
Although Wei Potian’s heart was heavy, he showed no fear on his face. He sneered at the vampire and exclaimed, “Yours? Aren’t you afraid that we’ll break your canine teeth?”
The young vampire’s face darkened as he stared closely at Wei Potian. Suddenly, his expression changed into an eerie smile that sent chills down Wei Potian’s spine.
“I suddenly feel as though giving you the Embrace isn’t a bad choice,” he said excitedly. “You’ll listen to my orders from now on, okay?”