The Sound of a Bolt

The worst part of the situation before him wasn't that Sean was strong—stronger than Han Qingyu—but that even under such circumstances, he remained rational and shameless, refusing to grant a one-on-one chance and denying Han Qingyu any possibility of turning the tables through a desperate duel. It was shameless. Yet Han Qingyu had to admit that he actually respected such shamelessness. In truth, Han Qingyu was no upright, towering "hero" himself, even if he looked like he had done heroic things. He was just as afraid of dying and just as eager to live. Aside from bending the knee and selling out, how he survived and how he won didn't matter all that much. Having fought his way here from the ruined house, Han Qingyu's body was thoroughly exhausted. In the world of source energy, the human body was sustained by source energy, but continuous, high-intensity strain would still take a massive physical toll. If an ordinary soldier merely sprinted continuously in a source energy state, they would suffer injuries or even cough up blood, damaging muscles, bones, and internal organs. One of his specially crafted twin swords had just been knocked away. Han Qingyu had scavenged an ordinary one to make do, and it was still serviceable; the wound on his arm wasn't too severe either. Another metal block silently dissolved against his body, sending a sharp, stabbing pain through his internal organs. Han Qingyu knew he didn't have many chances left. There were fifteen men left in the enemy battle array. Setting aside the two who had been heavily wounded right at the start, Han Qingyu had only killed four up to now. To achieve that, he had exposed a move he had derived from the Rusty Sister Dimple Slash and kept hidden for a long time: "Hidden Shadow." Now, this tricky technique had been deciphered, while the standard Rusty Sister Dimple Slash—which he had unleashed over twenty times in succession at the beginning—carried a heavy toll and had failed to claim a kill. At the scene, Sean stepped aside. The remaining fifteen men in the enemy formation lunged forward together. This time it was an offensive formation: Triple Wave. It was an ordinary Azure squad offensive formation, mostly used in the final phase of slaying a Great Spike, pressing the attack like continuous, rolling waves. This time, Han Qingyu did not dodge. He stood facing the enemy formation head-on. *Fwoosh!* The majestic burst of source energy caused the surrounding air to tremble, exploding outward like tangible mist! "Be careful. He's putting his life on the line," Sean warned coldly. *Whoosh!* With no silent concealment, the dead iron straight sword Han Qingyu had scavenged flew from his right hand, spinning upward along the ground. The grass across the ground was sliced by the blade and whipped up by source energy, swept into the air before bursting apart, showering down in a dense swarm. In the instant vision was obstructed, *boom!* Han Qingyu plunged headlong into the enemy attack formation with the blade in his left hand... Plunging into the ranks could kill. Plunging into the ranks meant throwing oneself into a forest of blades. Blades of grass fell continuously. The chaotic clatter of dead iron clashing rang out, accompanied by the sound of edges slicing through flesh and bone, shrill screams, agonized groans... This scene lasted for nearly ten minutes. In the world of source energy martial combat, this was an exceptionally long engagement. Finally, the last blade of grass fluttered down... Han Qingyu's entire body recoiled backward rapidly, disengaging from the battle array. Twin blades in hand, panting heavily, he came to a stop. Blood ran down his wrists, along the blades, and dripped onto the grass bleached cool and white by the moonlight. In his current position, to Han Qingyu's left was the enemy formation, where three more had already fallen. To his right stood Sean, arms crossed at his ease. A stalemate, a brief silence. *Thud!* Suddenly, someone in the enemy ranks collapsed straight to the ground. This was the fourth newly added corpse. Then, *bang!* A gash suddenly burst open on another body. The man toppled slowly backward—the fifth. Only ten remained, more than half of them wounded. They stood there now, silently staring at the figure before them. Throughout their long lives, these men had been kept and trained by the Alphonse family. Though they had taken part in mopping up Great Spikes and carried out secret missions, they had never experienced a battle like this, nor had they ever encountered such a tenacious and terrifying opponent. "The King!" someone uttered. An apparently meaningless utterance, but in truth, it represented an acknowledgment they could not withhold. One had to remember that they had previously reacted strongly against this title, full of indignant resentment—because Alphonse was a duke. *Why is it still in English?!* Han Qingyu thought, lifting his head with a grim smile. By now, distinct streaks of blood marked his temples and cheeks, while blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth. On his body were at least seven sword wounds. Had he not avoided vital spots in every case, he would already be dead. *Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!* Sean's applause sounded in the quiet. He said, "I finally understand why the Duke is so eager to kill you. No matter whose enemy you are, he wouldn't dare let you keep growing. Especially when you might soon receive the honor of the Star of Azure. "Die here, Major Qing. The merit of the Star of Azure will still appear on your tombstone. I imagine I'll even bring flowers to your grave." Han Qingyu turned to look at him. "You can't hold on anymore," Sean said. He seemed to be right. *Pfft!* Spraying a mouthful of blood that he had suppressed for so long, Han Qingyu collapsed forward. He couldn't hold on anymore. Everyone in the enemy formation breathed a sigh of relief. In that very split second, from where Han Qingyu's right shoulder dipped—pressed almost right against the back of his shoulder—a blue starlight column sword shot silently and blindingly fast toward Sean's face. Soundless. Only the tangible ripple in the air around the column sword could tell them just how powerful and desperate this all-or-nothing strike was. "..." In that instant, no one had time to utter a sound. Their eyes didn't even have time to widen. *Clang! Buzz...* After the sharp ring, a long trailing vibration spread out, shaking the air. Blocked! The medieval knightly broadsword Sean had always carried on his back now rested in his grip, held with both hands. With the edge of its blade, he had precisely intercepted the blue starlight column sword that drove straight through the air. Just a moment ago, that sword had still been slung behind him, while his hand held only an ordinary Azure standard-issue combat blade. Had he blocked with that blade, it would have shattered and he would be dead right now. But he had drawn his sword—an unbelievable drawing speed coupled with an impeccably fluid transition of movement had allowed him to block the strike. Along the blade of his medieval knightly broadsword rippled a strange metallic gleam. Han Qingyu had seen this gleam once not long ago, on the small axe Master Longchi had wielded. Thus, the two were of the same material. From ordinary dead iron weapons to specially crafted ones awarded for merit, to Jiang Chou's source-energy-infused forging craft, to top-tier weapons like the Binggu spear and the Yu clan greatsword, and further up... this was likely the finest material seen to date, second only to the blue starlight column sword. Above top-tier weapons, differences in material grade rarely produced an overwhelming advantage capable of slicing right through an opposing weapon, unless the gap in strength was overwhelmingly vast. So this sword likely belonged to Alphonse. Han Qingyu: "..." A mouthful of blood, a bellyful of curses. With all his calculation and all the acting he had done to set up this strike, it had failed. The blue starlight column sword remained thrust directly into midair. "Is this your trump card?!" With a faint look of strain on his face, Sean held his sword and asked with a trace of smugness in his eyes. Dropping the act entirely, Han Qingyu just stood there. Yet the fact remained: yes, his trump card... had been blocked. "Not long ago after the battle on Xilang Peak, I heard Azure's reporters spreading word that any female soldier who saw Major The Qing fight in person could hardly help falling in love with him... They surely don't know that Major Qing is actually so cunning." "Just to survive, that's all." Han Qingyu turned his head and gestured toward the corpses on the ground. "To survive, you've discarded far more than I have." The instant the words left his mouth— The column sword moved! Han Qingyu moved to recall the sword. Sean moved faster than Han Qingyu. Bringing his two-handed knightly broadsword down in a ferocious overhead chop, he slammed the blue starlight column sword—which had barely begun to move—heavily down into the dirt. Immediately after, *fwoosh!* With an immense explosion of source energy, Sean charged with sword raised to strike, the trajectory of his blade shifting continuously in the air. The right shoulder? No, the left shoulder. Han Qingyu hastily raised his blade horizontally to block. Even as he made the move, his heart skipped a beat: *Wrong!* *The blade is wrong.* *Crack!* The ordinary standard-issue combat blade he had just scavenged in his left hand shattered instantly under the strike. Severing the straight blade, the knightly broadsword pressed on toward Han Qingyu's shoulder. *Clang!* The edge bit about three centimeters into his shoulder before Han Qingyu's right-hand blade parried upward against it. At the same time, his entire body vaulted backward to break away. Blades clashed ten times in rapid succession, grinding and parting amid showers of sparks until the edge was ground away. Han Qingyu crashed heavily onto the ground behind him. Poised on the verge of victory, Sean suddenly twisted aside! Approaching from behind, the blue starlight column sword grazed past his back, tearing open a bloody gash. Not far behind him, the soil was churned up. Han Qingyu reached out to catch the starlight column sword and drove it immediately into the ground, barely stabilizing his posture... So... *he's still counterattacking.* At this moment, the remaining ten men in the enemy formation finally understood: had Han Qingyu not reserved this trump card to ambush Sean, at least half of them would have died during that clash just now. Could one call a man like this cunning and treacherous? Perhaps tenacious and terrifying were more fitting. This was a true, natural-born warrior. Sean was wounded. Holding every advantage, he had still ended up wounded, even if not severely. "Die!" Sean dared not give Han Qingyu another breath of respite. Exploding with speed, he raised his sword in both hands and chopped down! *Bang!* An unexpected gunshot. *Clang!* A bullet struck the blade. *Bang! Bang...* Continuous sniper rifle reports. *Clang! Clang...* Every single bullet struck Sean's blade dead-on. The impact force was small, but its advantage lay in the relentless, uninterrupted barrage. Sean could still have followed through with the strike, but the man facing him was Han Qingyu. Against an opponent like that, this slight delay, the minor deflection in trajectory, and the slight disruption to the surge of source energy effectively rendered the strike meaningless. He lowered his sword. Sean lifted his head to look behind Han Qingyu, toward the dark fields in the distance. "Number 771211, Azure Huaxia Sole Witness Legion, Wen Jifei. Dice. You actually dared to stay behind?!" *Tick, tock, tick, tock.* After two brief seconds of silence— *Clack.* From far away came the faint yet crisp, pleasant sound of a bolt cycling. That was Wen Jifei's response.