C105 The Masked Killer
Late that night.
A blanket of ominous, dark clouds covered the night sky, as lightning zig-zagged in wild arrangements overhead. At moments, the sky alternated from brightness to darkness without anyone being able to guess its whims.
“Boom!”
From out of the darkness, a bolt of lightning illuminated from the dark clouds and struck the ground with awesome energy.
Rumble...
Sparks flew wildly from where the lightning had struck on top of the mountain rock. Where once was earth now existed a huge crater.
A storm was gathering.
Two males and two females each stood guard at the four city gates of the east, south, west, and north of Linshang County.
“Humph!”
“Word has gotten out, County Princess Wanyou has just left the city.”
“Wait a minute.”
“Is there anything wrong?”
“I just received word from one of the city gates. In that section, there was a sighting of a man and two women leaving the city under the cover of night.”
“What?”
“Go! Ride! Giddy…”
Rumble...
Rumble...
Spilling from the four different city gates, a large number of fast horses were chasing after them.
An hour later.
Three figures could be seen stepping out of the Linshang County gate from the west.
After making their exit from the city, the three shadowy figures immediately headed in the direction of the mountain range ten miles outside of the city.
“Humph! The first four groups were all imposters.”
A middle-aged man with a scar on his face could be seen snorting coldly. A trace of spine-chilling killing intent flashed dangerously in his eyes.
“As long as I can do away with that County Princess Wanyou, the Prince’s reward will be enough to last me my entire lifetime.”
“Also, I heard that County Princess Wanyou is regarded as a great beauty.”
“Hee hee…”
The scarred man gave the ten people behind a look and said, “Listen carefully, other than County Princess Wanyou, do not kill the other two people.”
“Boss, make sure after you finish enjoying that County Princess Wanyou to leave some soup for us brothers to slurp up too.”
“Yeah, boss, this will be our first time playing with a County Princess.”
“Haha…”
The scarred middle-aged man was also grinning.
“Don’t worry. With my meat to eat, there will be more than enough soup for you to drink.”
“Alright, follow me.”
Instantly, a group of over ten people started tracking the Princess and her company.
Another hour happened to pass.
Zhan Tianming, covered from head to toe in black robes, and Zongzheng Wanyou and Xiang Er, also similarly dressed in black robes, headed out of Linshang County from the east gate.
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Thunder could be heard rumbling loudly in the night sky.
Soon after, heavy rain rushed down in torrents.
Hualala...
Hualala...
The pouring rain had soaked through Zhan Tianming and the rest’s clothes, but too fixated on their journey, they didn’t have the time to pay any attention to their wet clothes and quickly left.
They opted out of riding. Going on foot instead.
Going on foot would be far quieter and less conspicuous.
After running several dozen miles, the three of them finally stopped to rest in a hidden cave.
The rainy night was freezing.
But they did not dare to light a fire to keep their weary bones warm.
With the aid of a fist-sized Moonlight Pearl, the three of them were able to have an idea of their surroundings. Under the light of the Moonlight Pearl, they could see what looked like bones scattered all over the ground.
“I don’t think we’re sharing this space with any Demonic Beasts. Let’s camp here for tonight,” Zhan Tianming said.
Actually, through the help of Little Purple, it was already made known to him that the cave was clear of any Demonic Beasts.
Because Little Purple didn’t detect the slightest scent of any demonic creatures.
Their flight had left Zongzheng Wanyou and Xiang Er exhausted. Though they were both martial masters with a strength well above Zhan Tianming’s, their energy reserves needed to be replenished after running so long in the night and rain. After that, they settled on a large stone in the cave to rest.
However, seeing Zongzheng Wanyou so despondent, if not for Xiang Er pulling her along the entire time, she probably wouldn’t have the stamina to run.
Zhan Tianming could not help but sigh.
Zhan Tianming could understand for her. After all, Zongzheng Wanyou had just lost her father. The pain was still new and fresh.
No matter the person, anybody would seem lacking in spirit after such an experience.
Clang!
Suddenly, a bright silver light lit up the dark cave.
“Boom!”
Another bolt of lightning struck down from the stormy skies.
The flash of lightning illuminated a part of the cave right in time to see a masked killer flying like a meteor heading straight in the direction of Zongzheng Wanyou with murderous intent.
Suddenly!
Seeing the unexpected villain, Zhan Tianming’s face changed.
Assassin?
Why didn’t Bajie notice that an assassin was approaching?
Zhan Tianming had no time to ponder why as he charged forth out of reflex to meet the attacker full-on.
Nine Dragons Step!
“Hundred Beasts Extermination!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Zhan Tianming threw out a powerful punch, the force nearly knocking down the killer.
At this very time, Xiang Er went into fighting mode, positioning her body in front of Zongzheng Wanyou in order to shield Zongzheng Wanyou from any on-coming attack.
Although Zongzheng Wanyou outranked Xiang Er in strength, the pain of losing her father made her useless.
She appeared in a complete daze.
Facing the killer’s surprise attack, she was unprepared for what came next.
The masked killer’s eyes was extremely sharp.
Instantly, he could discern that even if he would be able to get past Zhan Tianming’s attack, he would have trouble getting to Zongzheng Wanyou who was being protected by Xiang Er.
Seeing no other way but forward, his body spun in the air as his sword pierced the air towards Zhan Tianming.
Clang!
The sword hummed with energy as it flashed with a silver light from within.
Seeing that the killer’s gaze was now focused on him, Zhan Tianming was relieved.
To add to that, he could see that the assassin was aiming for his heart.
"Humph! He’s going straight for my heart.”
As Zhan Tianming snorted to himself, he did not bother to dodge the attack at all. With a shake of his hand, his hand formed into a fist and the True Qi was quickly launched.
“Proud Dragon Repents!”
BOOM!
His palm made direct contact with the assassin’s chest.
The shadow of the dragon shone with a bright light.
Little did the masked assassin know that Zhan Tianming would use such a method to exchange blows. However, a sharp glint came to his attention and he instantly knew his next move.
He swiftly maneuvered the sword in his hand.
With a sword pierced through his opponent's heart, he would have no trouble killing Zhan Tianming.
But just as his sword was going straight for the kill...
Suddenly!
The masked killer was overwhelmed with a bad feeling.
Flash!
Swish!
The sword in his hand shook and his whole body spun from its power. The sword’s Qi shot out from the blade and hit the ground, causing the masked assassin’s body to strangely levitate towards the ceiling of the cave.
Rumble...
Zhan Tianming struck the air with his palm in retaliation, causing the Draconis Radix technique to shake the mountainous rocks around them.
“What a strong expert movement technique.”
Zhan Tianming could not help but be shocked by what happened next.
After moving out of the way of Zhan Tianming’s blow, the masked assassin’s lengthy sword made contact with the cave’s stone surface. Ding!
The impact of the sword seemed to have merged with the darkness.
“Master, watch out!”
Little Purple’s voice urgently sounded out, and at the same time, it was working to get itself out of the space within the War Pet.
“Humph! You dare to touch my master? You’re asking for death!”
“Purple Light Flash Kill!”
Swish!
Immediately, Little Purple turned into a ray of purple light and shot straight into the sky.
Pfft!
The violet light pierced through his body, causing the masked assassin to cry out in pain. In a flash, his figure instantly materialized in front of Zhan Tianming.
This time, the masked assassin’s whereabouts were made clear.
A bloody wound was now apparent on the masked assassin’s forehead.
He only had half of his HP.
This was his chance!
“Flying Dragon In The Sky!”
With the slightest movement of his feet, Zhan Tianming unfurled his Nine Dragons Step and leaped fully into the air. Immediately, the golden attribute True Qi was activated and transitioned into a dancing golden Divine Dragon. Instantly, it leaped out of Zhan Tianming’s body in one powerful burst right out of his right palm before striking out at the masked assassin.
“Roar!”
The shadow of the dragon shot out in the direction of the masked killer.
The Dragon Roar’s voice sounded out with pride.
