My Brother Is Rather Straightforward

Wu Xu had never been a man of many words; his detachment and calm tone were a matter of habit. Even if you stabbed him with a knife, he would probably be just like this—look at you, and then hack you to death. In truth, having just unleashed Near-Death Surge without knowing whether he would ever wake up again once it ended, Wu Xu had probably wanted to say a few words to Qingzi—an ominous farewell, if nothing else. But when the words finally came out, all he said were two: "Don't die." *Qingzi, don't die. You still have to go home. I'll take this fight for you. I wanted to tell you to run first, but sigh, my words wouldn't work anyway.* *I'll go give it a try and see if I can hack him to death.* With those thoughts, Wu Xu lifted the plain heavy sword in his hand and looked up at Qu Zongyan. This fight was his now. A turbulent source energy surge continued to swell alongside the agonizing pain in his chest. To Qu Zongyan, Wu Xu was a war slave. Even though the strength he had just displayed stood above the top tier, he was still nothing more than a war slave. "Since when does a war slave have the right to stand before me?" Wu Xu's detachment and composure felt to Qu Zongyan like deliberate contempt and provocation. Furthermore, he dared not allow too much time for the figure behind Wu Xu to recover. Though unwilling to admit it to himself, Qu Zongyan truly did not want to face the two of them working together. "Since you want to play the hero, then die." With a flick of his wrist, the iron seal swung out from the far end of the chain. Amidst the roaring blast of surging source energy, Qu Zongyan charged forward, his chain whipping as the iron seal swept through the air, hurtling toward Wu Xu. Wu Xu countered, scooping up the Binggu Spear in a single stride to meet him head-on. The instant it clashed with the iron seal, Wu Xu suddenly veered left, his body suspended midair horizontally as he thrust the spear with one arm from beneath the chain, aiming straight for Qu Zongyan's chest. Qu Zongyan crossed his hands, locking the upward-surging spear shaft with the chain, while the iron seal swung down obliquely in front of him. Wu Xu straightened his body and raised the heavy sword in his other hand. *Clang!* Borrowing the force of the collision, he let go of the spear and spun clockwise through the air, sweeping his blade out in a slash toward Qu Zongyan's throat. Qu Zongyan ducked under it, swinging the iron seal counterclockwise. Wu Xu raised his sword to block again and was knocked back toward Qu Zongyan's flank, snatching up his spear at the same time to thrust for the throat once more... The spearhead and the iron seal collided in midair. Wu Xu was driven back, skidding over ten meters across the ground, yet he still came to a halt in front of Han Qingyu. At least in those few seconds, he appeared to have the strength to fight Qu Zongyan. But the truth was that whenever their source energy collided, Wu Xu was always the one bearing the brunt and being forced back. The enemy swarmed like hemp fibers. The iron suit pulled back the broadsword held in both hands, blood dripping from the blade. Rusty Sister turned to look at Qingzi, who stood motionless, then looked back at Wu Xu... The iron seal grazed Wu Xu's body and slammed into the ground, sending dirt and stone flying. Wu Xu was jarred backward, plunging his spear into the earth to brace himself, still standing in front of Han Qingyu. *I should go help,* Rusty Sister thought. Yet behind her were Wen Jifei and He Tangtang, and before her, separating her from Qingzi and Wu Xu, were several hundred enemies, among whom lurked a top combatant from Voyage. That man was skinny as a monkey, with Southeast Asian facial features. After the other top combatant wielding the iron rod went off to chase Zhu Jiaming, this one had turned utterly sly and underhanded, striking only from within the crowd while constantly shifting positions. Most of the time, he avoided facing Rusty Sister head-on while keeping out of the line of fire from Wen Jifei's gun. This feeling of helpless, mire-like anxiety began to drive the seventeen-year-old girl inside the cold iron suit crazy—and girls were prone to snapping anyway. "Come out!" "Come out! I'll hack you to death! I'll hack every last one of you to death!" The iron suit charged blindly through the enemy ranks, hacking left and right with the two-handed knight broadsword—slanted slashes, vertical chops—without any technique, relying purely on the source energy surge to butcher with brute force. In this manner, Rusty Sister led Wen Jifei and He Tangtang forward, carving a blood-drenched path over a hundred meters long. If one counted only the number of souls slain tonight, the girl inside that iron armor was the true god of slaughter. A Japanese-style pointed dagger thrust out through a gap in the crowd, silent and lightning-fast, stabbing toward Rusty Sister's lower back. *Bang!* Wen Jifei fired. The crowd was too dense; it was only an ordinary bullet, but it startled the dagger into retreating. "Rusty Sister, get back!" The iron suit turned its head. "I—I'm worried..." "Stick to your job. We'll make the decisions." His tone was stern. Wen Jifei glanced back at Han Qingyu, who still stood there numbly. *Is this bastard's head even clear right now?!* And then Wu Xu... He had already held on for nearly ten minutes. Wen Jifei didn't understand that level of combat very well. He didn't know how long Wu Xu needed to hold out, or how long he could hold out, but right now, all hope was indeed pinned on Wu Xu. Wu Xu was fighting all alone. Across the entire valley, this side was a chaotic battlefield, while over there, Han Qingyu stood motionless and Wu Xu fought alone, except when he occasionally ended up standing very close to Qingzi. Wen Jifei bit into his own cheek until blood came, lowering the sniper rifle he had briefly aimed into the distance. He had two guns now, and he could fire at Qu Zongyan, but between the two guns, he might only have one or two shots left. Those one or two shots were precious; they had to count. He believed he could wait for that chance. ... *Boom!* The iron seal slammed directly into the Binggu Spear, and the Binggu Spear smashed into Wu Xu's chest. *Pfft.* Wu Xu spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, but using the dead iron plates on the soles of his boots, he dragged hard against the earth. He dared not let himself be launched airborne, terrified that an accidental landing behind Qingzi would leave him unable to return in time. Two deep furrows were gouged into the dirt. The instant Wu Xu came to a halt, he lunged forward, sweeping his sword in a horizontal slash that forced Qu Zongyan back. Only then did he drive his spear into the ground and stand there. His consciousness was growing dimmer and dimmer... Yet: *What is going on with this brat's source energy surge?!* What baffled and unsettled Qu Zongyan was that even though Wu Xu was clearly wounded again and again and looked weaker by the moment, his source energy surge seemed to keep climbing with every clash. To the point where every single time, in the end, he managed to drive Qu Zongyan back. "Wu Xu seems to have slashed Qu Zongyan back—look!" Rusty Sister turned her head toward Wen Jifei and He Tangtang, her voice carrying a hint of pleasant surprise, but even more confusion. Wen Jifei said nothing. Beside him, He Tangtang's gaze wavered. He knew the Near-Death Surge too, and had used it. "Near-Death Surge. The closer to death, the stronger the surge... the closer to death," he said. ... "Wu Xu, once we win, come to my house. We're short a pair of hands for work," Han Qingyu had said with a laugh. "Though running the shop probably isn't for you." The spearhead swept diagonally across the ground. Wu Xu twisted his body, bringing the sword in his right hand crashing down toward the blurry silhouette before him. "Don't. Qingzi's mom is really annoying, let me tell you. She'll nag you even if you dye your hair. Well, not that you'd ever dye your hair." Wen Jifei had chuckled to himself. "Still, my place is better. It's just me anyway, so you'd be much more comfortable there. Actually, I suggest you dye yours red, and I'll dye mine purple." Another thunderous collision knocked Wu Xu back once more. He couldn't retreat any further. The burning pain of his back scraping against the dirt gave Wu Xu a sense of distance. He pushed himself up, shook his head, and glanced back. Good, Qingzi was still there. "Plague Chicken, you have a girlfriend. Wu Xu, he has a girlfriend! Think about it, once he gets married, how awkward will it be for you at his place?! Better come with me instead. I probably won't ever manage to get a wife." He Tangtang had said girls all called him 'Uncle.' This time, as Wu Xu was knocked back, Qu Zongyan was forced back as well, stumbling before barely catching his footing. He stared in astonishment at the swaying figure ahead. "Come to my place... actually, better not. If I'm not home in the future, I'm afraid my grandpa and cousin would bully you to death." Rusty Sister had said, "You're just too easy to bully, Wu Xu." His vision was slowly turning darker and darker. *Qingzi, I probably can't kill him... and I can't go back with you guys anymore.* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* After the clash, Qu Zongyan looked down at the bloody gash on his chest. He could not understand this, just as he could not understand why Wu Xu had not fallen yet. It had been quite a while now. ... People kept falling in the chaotic melee. Skinny Monkey hid among the crowd, looking for an opportunity. Just like before, this time his target was Wen Jifei. A sudden stab of pain in his back—the sensation swelled from faint to agonizing, then faded into numbness. *I've been stabbed?* Skinny Monkey looked down at the combat blade protruding from his chest. "What... the hell is this?" Slowly, he turned his head around. A blood-drenched figure stood right behind him. "You..." *You're supposed to be over there. You're supposed to be dying.* *Are you recovered? You came all the way here to stab me?* *Even if you recovered, shouldn't you be slashing at Qu Zongyan?* Turning his eyes away from Han Qingyu's face, he glanced toward the distant battle, then looked back, his gaze still overflowing with grievance and indignation. Skinny Monkey could not comprehend why Han Qingyu would appear here to ambush him. Han Qingyu also glanced into the distance, then turned back. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he let out a faint smile. "My brother is rather straightforward. I'm different." He had smiled, but Skinny Monkey saw the look in his eyes, felt a tremor of terror, and died.