Chapter 625: Assassination
[V6C155 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
Qianye’s expression was serious, but he had no intention of giving chase. Although he had badly injured the werewolf count, the other party was unexpectedly powerful and had retreated with great decisiveness. He was also very fast. There was a large number of dark race soldiers remaining, and all of them were still capable of fighting. Moreover, there was bound to be a welcoming party in that direction.
Especially that origin machine gun in the werewolf count’s hand, it was a premium item above grade-seven. Qianye wouldn’t meet such a weapon head-on unless he was crazy. He shrugged, somewhat regretful that a large batch of contribution points had escaped right under his nose. This mighty count was surely a famed character in the Evernight world. Killing such a person would net him great rewards, but it also went without saying that his status on the Evernight side was the same.
After confirming that all the enemies had retreated, Qianye walked over to the routed squad and inquired, “Is everyone alright?”
The leader was a man barely in his thirties. His cultivation rank was rank twelve, and his strength was more or less in the same range. The damage to his tattered armor and clothes could hardly conceal the exquisite quality of their make—it was clear that the man was an aristocratic scion.
He stepped toward Qianye while wiping away the blood on his face. “Still alive, but as you can see, the situation isn’t good at all. We had a hundred and twenty men when we set out. In the end, we were chased back all the way until they finally managed to surround us here. We have…”
His expression grew even uglier after glancing back at the battlefield. “Sixteen left.”
This number made him so indignant that he couldn’t speak for a while. He only came to when one of his aides nudged him from behind, after which he said apologetically, “I’m Kong Fangyuan of the Kong family. I haven’t asked for this benefactor's esteemed name. We will definitely express our sincere thanks after returning to base.”
“I’m called Qianye.”
Kong Fangyuan was startled. Then his face became full of smiles as he said, “So, it’s General Qianye! I’ve long since heard of your accomplishments. Now, after personally seeing it, your combat strength is far stronger than the legends make it out to be.”
Kong Fangyuan asked after the pleasantries, “How’s that wolf? Is he dead?”
“I shot him twice but he still escaped.”
Kong Fangyuan’s expression was one of lingering trepidation. “Escaped? This… sigh… that means endless trouble later on.”
Qianye nodded with a similarly solemn expression. There might not be another opportunity like this if they were to meet again on the battlefield. No one would want to run into him since he might even be more dangerous than Eden. Eden’s combat experience could be considered quite extensive among the famed clan scions, but this werewolf count clearly lived and breathed battle.
At this point, the human warriors emerged from hiding and began cleaning up the battlefield and treating the wounded. At the same time, they gathered the bodies of the dead and removed some keepsakes from them.
The Misty Wood was a natural grave. At this point, most imperial soldiers had accepted the fate of being devoured by the purple substance after their death. After all, most combat squads weren’t capable of bringing their dead back to the base.
The living were mostly injured, and a number of them critically so. Meanwhile, there were over forty corpses in total, and there was no way to reassemble the remains of the unfortunate ones torn apart by the origin machine gun.
Qianye noticed a couple of familiar faces among the living. It was actually Lu Sha’s group. All of them were badly injured, and one of them had even turned into a corpse.
Seeing Qianye frown, Kong Fangyuan glanced back along Qianye’s line of sight and suddenly realized what the matter was. “General Lu is under our Kong family’s employ for this war. I might not have held out until now without them, nor would I be able to see General Qianye.”
Qianye looked away without making any comment. Disregarding past resentments, Lu Sha’s combat strength was indeed extraordinary. Moreover, he was well-experienced on the battlefield, especially group combat. Kong Fangyuan had great foresight and charisma, but hiring this group most likely involved a substantial amount of money.
They couldn’t remain in place for long since no one knew when the dark race would return. Although Qianye had wounded the werewolf count, there was more than just one group in the Misty Wood. Everyone could feel the pressure caused by the recent increase in Evernight forces.
In the end, both Qianye and Kong Fangyuan personally joined the cleaning and collection process. Qianye bent down and picked up a head—its face was no longer recognizable and there was no telling where the body was. There was a chain underneath the head, the charred portions of which the purple substance had started to envelop.
Qianye grabbed the necklace and dragged it out of the wiggling substance. That was a silver photo locket that could be opened up, and there was a photo of a beautiful lady inside. This love—destined never to bear fruit—felt somewhat heavy in Qianye’s hand.
Qianye gave the necklace to a junior captain of the Kong family. The latter said while receiving the necklace, “This is Xiaolei, a pretty good fellow. I thought he would be able to inherit my position later on, but now…”
There were simply too many of these cases; there were already a dozen of them here. These minuscule people led their own personal lives, lives in which they were the main characters. Their death meant the collapse of entire worlds.
At this moment, Kong Fangyuan began urging everyone to hasten their movements. They would have to leave in five minutes at most. There wasn’t enough time to clean up all the corpses. All they could do was put them in a more dignified position so that they could rest easy.
Kong Fangyuan appeared quite calm on the surface, but he was actually scared out of his wits. He didn’t want to linger a moment longer.
Qianye glanced about, but in the end, he placed that head together with the other corpses, allowing the young man to rest together with his comrades. Afterward, Qianye planned to say goodbye to Kong Fangyuan and excuse himself. Although they were going back to base all the same, Qianye was more accustomed to operating alone.
He had just gotten up when he sensed someone approach and pat his shoulder. At the same time, that person called out, “Qianye.”
The voice as unfamiliar, but it seemed to contain a type of cadence which calmed the mind and released tense emotions. Qianye suddenly felt a cold sensation at his back just as he was turning around—a blade pierced quietly through his armor and into his back.
Qianye turned back to find a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He was someone from Lu Sha’s group, the most unassuming one. His presence was so faint that Qianye might not have recognized it if he weren’t standing here.
At this moment, there was astonishment written all over the man’s face. Seeing Qianye look back, he grabbed Qianye’s shoulder with one hand and attempted to push the knife in with the other, poised to bury the blade up to its hilt.
“Why?” Qianye’s voice was cold.
The man relaxed somewhat after feeling his dagger reach the end—a sinister expression soon appeared on his face. “A major character has offered a big bounty for your life. It’s just that simple. If you want to blame something, then blame it on how you offended people you shouldn’t have!”
He pulled the dagger out somewhat, twisted the blade to a different angle, and thrust it back in. Qianye’s expression paled as he let out a muffled groan.
The man frowned. “What a thick armor! But you still have to die.”
Young Dragon was fairly strong. The man wanted to stab from a different angle, but the rotation was rather limited. Even so, he was quite sure that the injury was enough to threaten the target’s life.
That was it? He almost couldn’t believe how smooth things had gone.
Even his breathing became hurried after thinking about the massive rewards he had been promised.
Kong Fangyuan couldn’t react immediately. He stared on blankly for a moment before shouting, “What the hell are you doing?!”
Lu Sha took a step forward and blocked Kong Fangyuan’s path. “Young Master Kong, this is the will of a major character, I suggest you overlook this matter. Otherwise, your Kong family won’t handle it if that person gets angry.”
The Kong family was also an old aristocratic family. There weren’t a lot of families who could restrain them. Kong Fangyuan’s heart sank as these names flashed through his mind. His face grew stern as he shouted, “I don’t give a damn. Qianye saved all of us so I will not allow you to treat him this way. Move!”
Lu Sha didn’t step aside, however. “Young Master Kong, if you’re intent on being stubborn, us brothers will have to offend you and send you on your way.”
Kong Fangyuan’s expression was furious. “You dare?!”
Lu Sha only smiled without replying, but the answer was written clearly on his face.
Kong Fangyuan felt a sudden chill come over to him. Lu Sha’s group was cruel, ruthless, and powerful—this, he had seen along the way. His core subordinate fighting force had suffered grave casualties during the chase and could no longer suppress these evil wolves.
Kong Fangyuan struggled back and forth. The order to open fire lingered at the tip of his tongue for a long while but never escaped his lips until the very end. Lu Sha let out an evil laugh as he took a couple of steps back, his hand still on his dagger. He then turned around and roared, “Kill him quickly, what are you waiting for?”
But only an interrupted sound emerged from behind him. “Boss, save me!”
Lu Sha was greatly astonished to find his brother—who should’ve had Qianye under control—was now in a perilous situation. Qianye had half turned around to grab the man’s wrist and was moving to choke him with the other hand. In order to avoid the desperate retaliation, that person had no choice but to loosen Qianye’s shoulder and block the hand reaching for his throat.
The two thus entered a contest of strength.
That stab to the back was supposed to be lethal. Moreover, it should be fairly difficult for Qianye to exert strength in his half-turned posture. Under such circumstances, he should’ve been at a disadvantage even with a desperate counterattack. Even Lu Sha himself would rather ignite the origin grenades on his body and take the assailant down instead of counterattacking.
However, Qianye’s hand was firmly approaching the opponent’s throat. Meanwhile, the latter’s hands were trembling continuously. Two of his fingers were somewhat splayed outward, an indication that he couldn’t quite hold on to the dagger after being gripped by Qianye.
At this moment, the person contending against Qianye was feeling extremely bitter. He was actually an assassin—his place was to launch an all-out attack from the shadows. Qianye had never sensed the incoming danger both during the approach and the attack. This proved just how powerful his talents were.
He was quite capable of eliminating a sniper on the battlefield, but he was no warrior—a close-up struggle wasn’t his forte. The situation at hand was rather perilous because Qianye’s strength was unimaginable. In his eyes, even an arachne count couldn’t be any stronger.
That hand moving toward his throat seemed as though it was being driven by a steam engine—the force behind it was almost indefensible. He activated his origin power with all his might and could almost feel his origin vortex groaning from the overdraft. However, that hand was only slowed down slightly.
His blade-hand had lost all sensation, and the bones therein were emitting loud crackles—it was the sound of his bones shattering under the pressure.
He could hardly even talk at this point because he was completely suppressed by the incoming force. He feared that this breath would very likely be his last. Once Qianye’s hand reached his throat, those neck bones of his would shatter like chinaware.
He couldn’t understand. According to his experience, anyone who had suffered two stabs like this would be powerless to even struggle.
At this moment, the intense pain from his wrist had reached his arm, and he could no longer feel his palms. The hilt of the blade was still in his hand, but he had no strength to control it.
“Stop!” Seeing that something wasn’t quite right, Lu Sha roared and charged over immediately.