Chapter 41: The War Wolf Head

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Chapter 41: The Wolf Head's End

A sharp intake of breath echoed across the arena.

To instantly kill Haomeng, the third-strongest expert of the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps and an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, with a single sword strike was a feat that even their leader, Mu She, could not accomplish without resorting to his ultimate lethal techniques.

High up in the sky, standing upon the back of a giant eagle, the Little Fairy stared blankly at the scene below. Although she had already believed herself to be estimating Xiao Se's strength quite highly, she never expected him to obliterate Haomeng in a single blow.

Following the brief moment of stupefaction came a wave of profound relief. She had already prepared herself for the worst; had Xiao Se shown signs of defeat, she was ready to defy all reason and unleash her ultimate, trunk-bottom poison to slaughter everyone present just to rescue him.

Staring with a ferocious expression at Haomeng's headless corpse, from which blood continued to pour onto the ground, Mu She felt his eyes split with rage. Having spent his life licking blood from the edge of a blade, Mu She could naturally tell from that fleeting clash that Xiao Se had not yet advanced to a Dou Shi, currently resting at around the level of a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. Yet, this very Nine-Star Dou Zhe had instantly slain his capable subordinate Haomeng, who was renowned for his formidable defense. Most importantly, the opponent had seemingly accomplished this with a casual sweep of his sword, without even exerting his full strength.

"Damn it, how on earth did he pull that off?" Muttering a low curse, Mu She's gaze suddenly locked onto the purple longsword engraved with peculiar runes in Xiao Se's hand, his eyes burning with boundless greed.

Immediately roaring at his men, he shouted, "Don't panic, everyone! That brat is at most a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. He only managed to kill Haomeng because of that purple sword in his hand! As long as we avoid touching that sword, killing him will be as easy as slaughtering dogs!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Hearing this, the crowd of mercenaries erupted into a clamor.

One malicious glance after another was cast toward Xiao Se.

Yet, as they currently focused their entire body and mind upon Xiao Se, they completely ignored the deadly peril descending from the skies above.

Looking with indifferent eyes at the mercenaries closing in around him, Xiao Se gave a cold, detached smile. It was true that in killing Haomeng, he had relied on the magic sword's razor-sharp ability to cut through iron as if it were mud, but he had not borrowed an ounce of outside force to land that clean slash across Haomeng's neck.

"Kill him!" Gan Mu, standing beside Mu She, did not rush forward recklessly; instead, he waved his long spear and commanded his subordinates to charge.

"Kill! Kill!" The chaotic cries of battle, laced with lingering fear, drowned out all other sounds. Suddenly, from the high heavens, over a dozen crossbow bolts came whistling through the air with a crisp piercing sound, hurtling directly toward the backs of Gan Mu and Mu She.

The sound of the air being torn apart was masked by the mercenaries' battle cries, leaving Gan Mu completely unaware. Of the two, only Mu She, having broken through to the Dou Shi realm, sensed the threat through sheer instinct. Dodging to the side, he yelled at Gan Mu, "You idiot, get out of the way!"

Gan Mu blinked in confusion, not understanding what was happening. The next second, with several crisp swooshes, seven or eight crossbow bolts pierced straight through his back and out his chest.

"How... how is this possible?" Gan Mu stared in disbelief at the blood-stained crossbow bolts protruding from the ground in front of him, then lowered his gaze to his own mangled, bloodied chest. With his eyes filled with extreme resentment and reluctance, he collapsed into a pool of blood.

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"Ah! The Second Commander is dead!" A terrified scream suddenly pierced the air. The mercenaries who had been besieging Xiao Se, already thrown into disarray, scattered instantly in all directions like startled birds and beasts.

Glancing first at the crossbow bolts embedded where he had been standing just moments before, and then at Gan Mu, who lay dead in a pool of blood with his chest pierced, a bead of cold sweat rolled down Mu She's temple. Had he hesitated for even a single second earlier, caught completely off guard, even with his Dou Shi cultivation he likely would have ended up either dead or severely crippled.

"Bastards, stop right there!" Mu She roared at the fleeing mercenaries, his gaze fixed on Xiao Se with eyes so wide they threatened to split.

Hearing Mu Mu's—Mu She's roar, the surrounding mercenaries abruptly halted their flight, regrouped, and stood by Mu She's side, casting fearful glances at Xiao Se.

"Brat, you're truly despicable, resorting to sneak attacks from the shadows!" Mu She raised his spiked broadsword and pointed it at Xiao Se, his voice dripping with extreme fury and venom.

Xiao Se was not surprised that the Little Fairy's Zhuge Godly Crossbow had failed to kill Mu She. He smiled, shrugged with complete composure, and replied calmly, "You were the one attempting to gang up on me, so why shouldn't I keep a few cards up my sleeve? When it comes to being despicable, you're the grandmaster—I'm merely your student!"

"Lads, watch out for hidden arrows! Today, I'm going to carve him alive!" At this point, Mu She had been completely blinded by rage. With two of his capable commanders killed in succession, he had completely lost his composure.

"Screeech!"

Just at that moment, a piercing shrieking cry echoed from the sky. A massive blue eagle figure plummeted downward, trailing vast quantities of white powder. In the blink of an eye, the entire courtyard was engulfed in the white dust. Except for Xiao Se, who had preemptively dealt with a few blocking mercenaries and retreated outside the courtyard gates, everyone below, including Mu She, was left coughing and covered in gray dust.

A trace of the powder entered Mu She's nose, and he instantly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Dou Qi surged violently from within his body, and the medicinal effects of the white powder were instantly suppressed.

Regaining his sobriety, Mu She roared furiously, "This powder is poisonous! Fall back immediately!"

Unfortunately, his warning came too late. Aside from him, everyone else had been tainted by the white powder, foaming at the mouth as they collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Seeing that the mercenaries on the ground were not in mortal danger, Mu She let out a sigh of relief. Gripping his broadsword, he leaped into the air, cleared the courtyard gate, and charged directly at Xiao Se with deep-yellow Dou Qi blazing around him.

"Brat, today I swear I'm going to skin you alive!"

"Hmph, utterly ignorant." Seeing Mu She dive down with a downward slash, Xiao Se let out a cold hoot, a mocking smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. Gripping the magic sword firmly, he struck back to gain the initiative, sweeping horizontally with a terrifying gale-force momentum.

The broadsword and the magic sword collided, sending a burst of fierce sparks and a piercing metallic screech echoing outward.

The next instant, both figures recoiled backward more than ten meters simultaneously. Their weapons dragged along the ground, gouging out two long trenches before they finally managed to halt their momentum.

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The first exchange ended in a dead heat.

"This brat actually possesses such strength!" Having failed to crush Xiao Se with a fully powered strike, Mu She was inwardly shaken to his core, though he maintained a calm exterior.

His gaze remained locked onto Xiao Se—or more precisely, upon the magic sword in Xiao Se's hands. In his eyes, this bizarrely shaped, peculiar sword not only cut iron like mud, but it also likely possessed the ability to amplify its wielder's combat power.

Otherwise, it was impossible for a mere Nine-Star Dou Zhe to withstand a full-strength blow from a Dou Shi.

Strictly speaking, Mu She was not entirely wrong; the magic sword indeed granted immense buffs to its master, making killing enemies above one's rank as easy as eating and drinking—he simply had no idea that Xiao Se had not even drawn upon the magic sword's true power yet.

Xiao Se was likewise somewhat surprised by Mu She's strength. The technique he had just used was a sword-parrying stance from the Sword Techniques of Qin's Moon, capable of defusing the vast majority of an opponent's attacking force. It was one of the few pure defense sword techniques in existence.

Yet it still hadn't completely neutralized the blow; his blood was currently churning violently within him, and his arm felt slightly numb from the sheer magnitude of Mu She's force.

After a brief pause, the two clashed once more, longsword and broadsword colliding incessantly with a flurry of flying sparks.

Gradually, Mu She realized that Xiao Se's sword techniques were growing increasingly fierce and ingenious, while their destructive power seemed to have grown a notch stronger as well.

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