Chapter 61: Encirclement and Annihilation (1)
Volume 3 – The Place Where My Heart Feels At Peace, Chapter 61: Encirclement and Annihilation (1)
Qianye was passing through the forest when he suddenly came to a stop and surveyed his surroundings.
Night had descended. The dense forest was almost pitch black in color. The treetops of the forest were too thick for moonlight to penetrate, allowing only a few silvery pillars of light to illuminate the grassy ground. Cold and stillness filled every corner of his surroundings, blotting out even the sounds of animals and insects. It was so quiet it was a little scary.
Qianye picked up the faint scent of danger, but he wasn’t sure where it came from. Was it a powerful dark race? Or was it the Zhao household summoning its allies to its aid? In this area, both were very real possibilities to contend with.
The Zhao household bodyguard who was following behind him all the way was acting extremely strangely as well. Although Qianye had attempted to turn back and chase down his opponent a couple of times, the bodyguard had very uncharacteristically avoided any sort of conflict. Instead, he took a circuitous route and move far, far away from Qianye, waiting until Qianye had continued on his way again before he continued to follow him unhurriedly. All of his actions made Qianye feel more and more wary.
Qianye put away Eagleshot and grabbed Twin Flowers in his hands instead. They were the better weapon for close combat compared to Eagleshot in this type of environment. Then, he inserted two military knives into the Twin Flowers’ slots, bent his body, and sprinted towards the edge of the Zhao household’s territory.
Qianye charged out of the forest and ran towards a pile of rocks not far away. Right now an extreme premonition of danger was assaulting his senses like sharp blade cutting against his skin, and it made him toss all notions of observation or misdirection behind his head and focus on running as quickly as possible with all his might.
He had just ran a hundred meters when weak light suddenly entered his vision. It was the light of an origin bullet just six to seven hundred meters away from him! It was the best possible range for sniping!
There was a rumble, and all sounds vanished except a strange, deep hiss that resounded sharply in his ears. Every blood energy—even the gold and purple colored blood energy—had burst out of his heart or departed the ability runes, circulating wildly throughout his entire body.
Touched by the hands of death, the power of Qianye’s vampire vision was brought out in full. Time suddenly slowed, and he turned his head slowly while the color of blood appeared from his pupils. The world covered by gathering darkness abruptly brightened, and the origin bullet flying towards him suddenly looked crystal clear in his vision.
When the origin bullet had flown halfway across the ground, there was yet another flash from another direction. There was actually more than one sniper in this place!
Qianye didn’t keep his gaze transfixed at the two origin bullets flying slowly towards him. Instead, he took the opportunity to scan his surroundings while the slowdown of time was still in effect. He spotted several odd sceneries that were none other than people getting up on their feet!
Qianye was done calculating the trajectory of the incoming bullets when a wave of exhaustion suddenly came over him. Then, he exited the state of time slowdown just like that.
Suddenly, he took a horizontal step and twisted his body sideways, and the two powerful origin bullets slipped past his body with millimeters to spare! One of the origin bullet left behind a trail that licked his left arm like a tongue of flame, leaving behind a black scorch mark on his fighter uniform. But that was all. It wasn’t able to penetrate the defensive web inside the clothing at all.
Ye Mulan, one of the snipers who fired the shot, felt her mouth open wide. She couldn’t believe her eyes at all! Her opponent had actually dodged not one, but two origin bullets at this distance with just a simple maneuver! This ability should only exist on a Champion!
It took her an entire second before she finally recovered from her shock and accepted the reality before her. However, this one second was all Qianye needed to grab Eagleshot and fire a shot at her without even looking at her direction. Then, he utilized Eagleshot’s powerful recoil to fly backwards before he continued to run away.
Ye Mulan felt like she had ran into a ghost yet again. The origin bullet had traversed several hundred meters of distance only to fly dead center between her brows.
Qianye had opened fire without taking aim, and it was very much a running shot that was commonly seen when firing a handgun. However, his aim was still impeccable even when applied to a near two meter long sniper rifle like Eagleshot!
Because Ye Mulan was stunned for a second, she wasn’t in time to take any evasive action. However, she was quick enough to crouch on the ground and summon a shroud of faint, white frost from her body. At the same time, she tossed out the origin gun she froze right at the origin bullet flying towards her.
There was a boom, and Ye Mulan’s grade five origin gun shattered into pieces along with many ice bits. However, Qianye’s origin bullet was also knocked off course as a result.
“Chase him!” Ye Mulan gritted her teeth and yelled.
The Song household bodyguards hiding in the surroundings immediately ran towards the direction Qianye had escaped to. Ye Mulan herself had snatched a sniper rifle from a bodyguard and took a shortcut straight towards where Qianye was heading.
Qianye continuously increased his speed as he made all sorts of unpredictable evasive movements based on the terrain he was on. During this period, origin bullets would roar past his body from time to time. He only needed to cover another one hundred meters or so distance before he would reach a craggy terrain. He would have more cover once he reached there.
Qianye moved faster and faster as time went on, but it was at this moment three figures suddenly stood up from the edge of the craggy terrain! They were bodyguards from the Kong Family!
Qianye’s heart sank, but he only grew even more bold and dauntless at a critical moment! The blood energies inside his body were boiling, and his Daybreak origin power had rippled to existence to. Cycles circulated inside his body as tides slapped against the shore. Layers upon layers of power were patiently accumulated for that one moment of eruption that would shatter stones and pierce clouds.
A clear and melodious long hiss suddenly cut through the night sky, and Qianye’s speed abruptly increased even further. He almost looked like a faint shadow beneath the moon as he charged towards the enemy that was blocking his way. Qianye rammed into him forcefully without changing his actions at all!
There was a dull noise of impact, and the rank six bodyguard who stood ready for him was actually knocked a dozen or so meters into the air before he started falling! The bodyguard was already vomiting blood when he was in midair, and every bone inside his body had crumbled during the process!
That was how Qianye broke through the strongest part of the encirclement and continued to run ahead. The other Kong Family bodyguard was quick as he lifted his hand and opened fire at Qianye. Qianye immediately summoned a screen of origin light behind his back and took the blow in full. The armor behind his back shattered into several pieces and sent fragments flying all over the place.
But thanks to the origin powered shot, Qianye sped up again and swiftly escaped the Kong Family bodyguards’ shooting range. However, Qianye’s expression suddenly changed as a mouthful of blood suddenly poured out of his lips!
Qianye actually looked better after he vomited the blood. His blood energies were boiling during that critical moment of life and death just now, and now they moved to his every whim just like his Daybreak origin power. The hidden ability of his bloodline had erupted automatically almost at the same time as when he was struck by the bullet, and the heart’s blood he had spat out after suffering the injury didn’t contain any actual presence of blood power at all.
While Qianye continued to run at top speed, the armor around his waists suddenly cracked to reveal many long cuts. They were wounds left behind by the Kong Family bodyguard he sent flying to the air, but in return Qianye also gained a new backpack in his possession. He had pulled it off the Kong Family bodyguard during the instant they came into contact with each other.
Qianye passed through the craggy terrain and charged head first into a forest populated by deciduous trees. At this point he didn’t have too many directions he could choose to escape to, and he could only run swiftly into the deeper regions of the Profound Heaven Mountain Range.
The temporary escape from his plight didn’t improve Qianye’s feelings. On the contrary, his heart was only growing heavier and heavier because he could imagine exactly what was going to happen next after the close combat he went through earlier.
If two households had joined in on the intercepting troops, it was only natural that more households would join in on the party. It didn’t matter whether or not they were allies summoned by the Zhao household or opponents who wished to weaken the Yin Family’s hunting team. What mattered was that they had obviously joined hands to kill him. They had the advantage in numbers, equipment and strength, and they didn’t need to pursue him doggedly. All they needed to do was to track him down, chase him towards a certain direction and draw in the big web of encirclement when the time was right. Eventually, they would be able to corner their prey and force him into a dead end.
Very soon, Qianye was going to face unprecedented danger. If a long range sniper had their activity area reduced, they would lose their mobility and become no different from a normal warrior. Moreover, every bodyguard in those households and aristocratic families were at a higher rank than him.
Right now, Qianye’s mind was incredibly calm. After he had escaped the most dangerous area, he maintained an even running speed while observing the surrounding terrain at the same time and selecting the battlefields he wished to fight on. Even now, he never thought that someone would come and save him. Only one thought dominated his mind, and that was to drag a sufficient number of people with him to death if he were to die in this battle!
Qianye quickly chose a region where mountains and valleys intersected each other. Cragged rocks and caves were everywhere, and greeneries were overgrown. Moreover, there were groups of horned wolves living in the area. They were an intimidating power that no one could ignore, especially when these wild beasts who were rank six on average were grouped together.
Behind and around Qianye, the number of pursuers quickly exceeded twenty even as more and more lone wolves from landowning households had caught the news and came over close by.
An aristocratic bodyguard was running through the forest when suddenly, a pitch black thread suddenly wrapped around his neck and pulled him into the air.
The bodyguard’s eyes bulged as his legs kicked futilely in struggle. Air entered and exited his mouth roughly, but he wasn’t able to let out any sound at all. The thread dug deep into his neck and pulled him all the way to the treetop. There, a slim and handsome man dressed in black clothes stood as he stared at his victim with blood red pupils that were full of smiles!
The bodyguard looked he could faint from shock. He never imagined that he would run into a higher bloodsucker at this place! However, the Blood Knight had already pounced forwards and bit him right at the throat!
A moment later, the Blood Knight put on the bodyguard’s clothes and inspected all of the bodyguard’s gear. Then, he shrugged his shoulders and said to himself, “I can’t believe a mere bodyguard could possess such amazing equipment. These human aristocratic families sure do possess a great wealth of resources; they’re almost as rich as our Sacred Blood Clan!”
The Blood Knight discarded the bodyguard who had turned into a dried corpse deep inside the treetop. Then, he jumped down from the tree and chased leisurely in the direction Qianye had escaped to. After so many days of hiding and observations, and combining all his findings with the intel he obtained earlier, he had more or less figured out how this spring hunt was done. As long as he continued to follow that human who was being chased down by his kin, he would most likely find the target he was seeking.
Right now, Qianye was sitting on a lush treetop himself as he slowly smoothened his breathing and carelessly stopping the blood that was dripping from his waist. Then, he bandaged the wound tightly and tidied his equipment for a bit, equipping both Twin Flowers and Eagleshot with physical origin bullets. Once he was done, he took out some food from the Kong Family bodyguard’s backpack and began to eat slowly.
Qianye lay against the tree trunk and closed his eyes slightly, but Ye Mulan’s face appeared before his eyes instead of the usual darkness. During the instant he had counterattacked with Eagleshot, his attacker’s face had became clear thanks to his night vision. The first group of people who intercepted him were also dressed in Song household clothes.
Qianye’s heart twitched once strongly as if it was gripped by an invisible hand.
He exhaled softly and calmly recalled the strength of the pursuers he had already exchanged “greetings” with and pondered on how to deal with them in the next encounter. However, the biggest threat of them all was actually Song Zining.
Qianye clearly remembered Song Zining’s splendid record and conduct. To him, there was no one more dangerous than this peer of his who knew very well what his fighting style was. However, Qianye’s instinct had not played its part this time and failed to capture any signs of Song Zining around him.
The greatest threat was one that couldn’t be detected. The blade of death might very well emerge from darkness in the next moment.
The Song household’s hunting team had already shown up. So where are you, Zining?