The Card Apprentice

Boundary Kill!

All that could be seen were those tiny light beams falling from the sky without any boost. They were like sharks that caught the scent of blood, as they dashed wildly toward these guards! The light beams which were as thin as musical strings had become a chilly weapon at this moment!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The light beams quickly passed through the body and caused blood to bloom like flowers. They came in all directions and without missing an inch. Any resistance against this attack was for naught. In the blink of an eye, light beams flooded these guards and riddled them with thousands of wounds. Among these seemingly jumbled light beams, there was murderous intent hidden. Some of them acted like hunters lurking in wolf packs, dealing a precise deathblow when the chance arises! The throat, heart, and head were their main aims to attack.

These guards were seasoned masters, but in the presence of these layers of light curtains, they could not strike back!

They roared and rushed towards Chen Mu, but the reality was cruel. A guard let out his unwillingness by yelling and tossed the wooden spear in his hand as hard as he could! The wooden spear penetrated the layers of light curtains with an astonishing might. It seemed as if it was about to shoot through Chen Mu!

All that could be seen was Chen Mu slightly lifting his left hand, which was wearing the Power Glove, before flicking his five fingers—stopping the sudden attack with five thin energy lines!

Crack!

The wooden spear splintered after being hit by the five thin energy lines of the Power Gloves, scattering into wood chips all around. Other guards witnessed this and roared before tossing out the weapons in their hands!

Chen Mu’s brow furrowed, and with an extremely rapid hand movement, he flicked the fingers in his right hand continuously. Then, there was a sudden increase in the illumination of the starry sky. The light beams were thicker than an arm as they oscillated at high speed and garotted!

In this Black and White Boundary, everything was ruthlessly triturated except for Chen Mu! All the weapons had been grounded into dust and all of the enemies into tiny cubes of meat!

The light beams dissipated gradually and serenity returned to the night. Yet, the grated human flesh and stumps all around reminded people of what had happened here just now!

Chen Mu sighed. When meeting with an enemy that was difficult to deal with, it was more convenient for him to use cards. His eyes somehow cast themselves onto Hazak and Zara. Both of them were engaged in a fierce battle.

Hazak remained exceptionally calm regardless of whether he was scratching, picking, or stabbing. The mahogany wooden spear in his hand would let out AirWave Blades! His movements were not fast, and every motion was distinct, yet, it was this precise movement that blocked Zara’s boisterous attacks!

The frequency of Zara’s attacks was extremely high; the Painted Graphistemma in her hand was like an extension of her body. Her speed was as fast as lightning, and a virtual shadow could only be seen revolving around Hazak.

Every time the grave Painted Graphistemma intersected with the dense AirWave Blade, an explosion sound would be produced! Both of them were especially careful as they knew that if such an intense attack hit them, they would be dead!

Chen Mu felt slightly relieved. Although Zara’s speed increased, she was still behaving methodically. On the contrary, Hazak felt stress under the situation where Zara increased the vigor of her attack unceasingly. The calmness on his face had gradually disappeared and turned into one that was grave and alert.

The Soft Golden Vine wandered around Hazak like four golden-colored lightning, bringing him a tremendous sense of pressure. Although the colorful tail feather silk of the Spotted Peacock was not fast, it was light and even carried with it a slow and relaxed feeling. Hazak dare not even slightly neglect it. For someone with ample battle experience, he naturally understood that the more beautiful things were, the more dangerous they would be! He inadvertently took a glimpse at the ground flesh lying all over the floor in front of Chen Mu, and his expression couldn’t help but change for the worse!

The frequency of Zara’s attack was getting faster and faster, and the energy was getting stronger and stronger. These had pressed him to the point that he almost suffocated! He never expected that the man who came along with Zara would be so powerful! He knew the strength of his guards well and had initially planned to slow down Zara himself. Afterward, when the guards have finished off that man, they would act together to seize Zara. But things have developed entirely beyond his expectations! He was also a decisive man and knew that his plan had failed.

The wooden spear shook!

Sizzle!

The endless whistling sound, the countless air awls shot towards Zara like raindrops. As for him, his figure moved back without the slightest hesitation!

This caught Chen Mu’s eyes as with just a tremble of the wooden spear it released such an intense and vast amount of air awls. Hazak indeed had profound attainments in the aspect of Airskills! However, Chen Mu didn’t have any intention to take action. As he had battled by Zara’s side for two years, he was clear about her strength. In terms of dealing with sudden crafty tricks, no one could beat her!

As expected, Hazak let out a suffocated sound followed by a stagger!

Chen Mu could see it distinctly. One blue tail feather silk of the Spotted Peacock was lurking at the ground behind Hazak quietly. The eight tail feather silks of the Spotted Peacock and four soft Golden Vine dazzled everyone. It was also due to this that Hazak did not notice that one tail feather silk of the Spotted Peacock had disappeared. Chen Mu knew that Hazak was finished!

Other than physical attacks, that blue tail feather silk of the Spotted Peacock could produce frigid temperatures. Thus, Hazak’s feet were probably completely frozen! Hazak’s complexion changed dramatically, and as he suddenly screamed, “Why has the lord of the city not taken any action yet!” He could now only place his hopes on Mose! This time, he came with the task of allying, so how could Mose let himself die at Aguda City?

Indeed, Mose’s gaze raised sharply before he outrageously gave out an order, “Do it!”

The murderous intention in Chen Mu’s eyes could be faintly seen. Just as he wanted to make a move, he suddenly stopped his hand’s movement.

“How dare you, Mose!” Hazak glared at him, and Mose’s subordinates pounced on those surviving flexters from the sword and shield sect! He instantly realized Mose’s intention, that Mose wanted to murder them to prevent them from divulging his secret!

It was precisely due to this short period of absent-mindedness that he didn’t notice that the wandering golden lightning beside him had suddenly snapped and bored into the back of his neck! Hazak’s pupils suddenly expanded right before he glared at Mose!

The staring had made Mose feel scared. Just as he wanted to say something, Hazak collapsed!

The enemy had been executed, but Zara didn’t feel joyous at all. The murderous aura had faded, and there was deep sorrow in her eyes. Chen Mu sighed in his heart, walked towards Zara, and patted her shoulder gently. Zara cried out as she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She was hugging Chen Mu while she bawled. Chen Mu had no idea how to comfort her, so he just pat her back gently.

Those flexters from the sword and shield sect didn’t have any power to resist against Mose’s guards, and a moment later, they had all been slaughtered. The battlefield permeated with a strong smell of blood. Although Chen Mu had gotten used to massacres over the past few years, he didn’t like it. Also, he didn’t want to have any interaction with this fatty at all. He could discern that this fatty Lord of the city had some aggressive ambitions.

Zara was sobbing with grief. No matter how strong she was, she was only a twenty-year-old girl. The rage and sorrow for the extermination of her whole family had long been pent-up in her heart. Now that she had a place to let it all out, she was suddenly uncontrollable. Chen Mu held Zara up gently, lifted his foot, and was about to leave.

The moment he held Zara up, her body went stiff, and the sobbing sound became a little weak. Chen Mu had not expected that she wouldn’t struggle but had instead curled up in his arms while sobbing like a kitten.

“Wait a minute, both of you!” Mose spoke in an eager tone.

* * *

Benji had been living in deep seclusion and had rarely been out since returning to the Mohadi Domain. Not only did he not take part in feasts, but he also was not the least concerned with any of those important meetings. There was a rumor out there saying Lord Benji’s mind had not recovered from his last defeat. But this couldn’t be seen on Benji’s face.

“My lord!” A voice came out from a shaded place.

“Yes?” Benji merely said this without raising his head. It seemed like he was not surprised that there was someone there.

“The precise news has been obtained. The king has found the transit windows that Wei-ah used to escape back then.”

Benji’s hand’s movement stagnated briefly. His expression remained as usual. “Alright. Did the king take any action?”

“The king has dispatched some people to examine the transit windows. It is estimated that news will return in a short while. We can’t enter the ash stratum as the king has assigned people to guard the transit windows, and so we have no idea of the situation inside.”

“Well done,” Benji praised.

“It is my duty!” The voice coming from the shadows showed no signs of change because of praise. “Also, I have gone to the area around the transit windows, and I have made some discoveries.”

“Oh, what did you find out?” Benji was interested.

“I discovered some skeletal remains of a beast.”

“Skeletons?”

“Yes. From the distribution of regions of the skeletons, it can be assumed that someone once came from the transit windows to this region to hunt beasts. We have discovered many skeletons that belong to the fierce beasts, and we estimate that they were hunted within the last two years.”

The voice coming out from the shaded place remained calm like still water, but Benji listened to it attentively.

“And, according to the analysis of these skeletons’ species, it is possible that these people came here because of Card Insertion. Also, the amount is at least one thousand.”

“Card Insertion?” Benji murmured.

Card Insertion was the technique of the Mohadi Domain. As such, the people who came via the transit windows could be the people from the Mohadi Domain. Based on the amount, the number of people on that side was not a small amount, and it was most likely that it was a small tribe.

Also, people who could be named by ‘him’ as a powerful person was not many…

Could it be…

Benji suddenly showed a strange facial expression.

The sinister gaze of Su Heiming had made the surrounding guards not dare to breathe heavily. Everyone knew that the Lord was not in a good mood. So whoever comes to grief at this moment would be courting death.

Qin Ke lied on the ground, shedding tears. His family was ordered to enter the jungle to find a way that could lead to the path of the Common Residential District. However, unexpectedly, the whole army was defeated. Now there were only three people left in his entire family, including him.

“Be on your way. I won’t forget the contribution of the Qin family. Star City will now be handed over to you. Please guard it well for me. I permit you to recruit card artisans yourself.” After saying this, he turned around and spoke to Zhu Heng, “Pick 20 five star cards and 500 four-star cards for him.”

Qin Ke kowtowed with all his might, “Thank you, my Lord! I will use my life to repay my Lord’s kind favors!” He thought that the Qin family would end in his hands, but unexpectedly, the Lord had given such a big reward. The cards were not a big deal, but a city had been given to him. He only needed a few years, and the prosperity of the Qin family would be just around the corner!

Su Heiming encouraged warmly, “Do your job well, and don’t let me down.”

Qin Ke stated his position on this matter again before leaving. Su Heiming’s face became sullen once Qin Ke had left. Since Eastern Wei had isolated the Five Flourishing Districts from the Common Residential District, he unceasingly assigned people to attempt opening up a path to the Common Residential District from Moon Forest Island and the Northern Reaches District. However, he underwent heavy losses every time and had gained nothing to this day.

To get people to like him, not only did he not kick away those subordinates who had suffered heavy losses; instead, he helped them to recover their vitality. Subsequently, this had made him obtain the approval of a majority of these subordinates.

“Is there anyone making trouble recently?” His tone was full of tyranny.

A slight hint of worry appeared in Zhu Heng’s eyes, “It is said that some families under the governance of the Moon Frost Island have held a secret meeting, but they found no evidence. Also, there are a few bad rumors recently.”

“What rumors?” Su Heiming asked in a deep voice.

“People are saying that the Lord occupies two major districts, is greedy, and has not attempted to make progress. Not as good as…” Zhu Heng paused.

“Not as good as?” Su Heiming’s voice was unusually calm.

Zhu Heng was stunned as he had been following Su Heiming for a long time and knew that he had triggered Su Heiming’s murderous intentions. At that moment, he could only brace himself and said, “Not as good as Tang Hanpei who was bold and had great talent.”

Su Heiming’s complexion was so dark that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it. He said calmly, “Find the ones spreading this rumor and eradicate those that are indecisive. Otherwise, they could be potentially damaging.”

Zhu Heng wanted to say something, but when he saw how firm Su Heiming was, he swallowed his words that were at the corner of his mouth, “Yes!”

Only after Zhu Heng had left did Su Heiming show signs of a headache. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t expected the situation at present. But what he didn’t expect was for this to happen so quickly. This was all because of the damn Eastern Wei! They had completely messed up his plan!

At that time, for the purpose of sweeping across Heavenly Drum Village District, as long as the opponents surrendered, he would take them under his command. This had laid a foreshadowing for the hidden dangers of this day.

As such, the various people under his control, each with different abilities, had their own intentions. Initially, according to his plan, the main forces would have been taken down the Heavenly Drum Village District. Then, with the advantage given by thunders, the Common Residential District would be eliminated. In this process, those unloyal dangers could also be slowly weeded out.

He didn’t want to incorporate himself in the battle between the other three families and Tang Hanpei. That was a to-and-fro tussle. The more intense and more prolonged their battle, the better it was to him. But he did not expect Eastern Wei’s sudden action to completely isolate the route he needed to enter the Common Residential District!

Their interior situation would become unstable very quickly when there isn’t any external battle to attract the subordinates. The distribution of the abilities of his subordinates was excessively complex. Just like a gunpowder barrel that could explode at any time, any trigger could cause this gunpowder barrel to explode. No matter how mighty he was, this problem was extremely troubling to him.

Also, the sudden emergence of Eastern Wei made him feel worried. Eastern Wei seemed to be inconspicuous, but they had begun planning all these a few years ago. In his opinion, what they want is definitely not something small. As soon as Dong Wei had finished taking control of the Common Residential District he would do a quick check on it. Although it might be challenging to check and balance it.

In the Common Residential District, the only thing that could bring trouble to Eastern Wei was Faya. But it was just a hassle. Su Heiming could see that the biggest mistake of Faya was the blurry battle strategies. They didn’t choose the Common Residential District, which was more favorable to them. Instead, they put most of their power into the war between the flourishing districts. Eastern Wei isolated the flourishing regions from the Common Residential District and launched a fatal attack against Faya, causing them to be unable to take care of both their front and back simultaneously!

Now, Su Heiming was a little regretful that he had let go of these people. Indeed, to indulge one’s enemy is to ask for trouble!