With those words, most of the onlookers who had drawn their blades and formed battle arrays thinking a hunting team had appeared began to hesitate. Some hurriedly sheathed their weapons.
That was one of the four super factions! Moreover, since this was a turf dispute between factions, it naturally had nothing to do with them anymore.
As for the people "accidentally killed" by Black Hand in the melee just now, they were already dead, or at least grievously wounded.
...This was not a city where people stepped up to right wrongs out of righteousness. Even a common man's reckless fury was a rarity here.
Just then, the night wind carried the faint whistling of source energy apparatuses. From deep within the desert on both flanks, shadowy masses of personnel suddenly circled around.
At a visual estimate, there were at least a thousand of them.
Counted together with those already on the scene, and whatever portion might still be hiding beneath the sand, Black Hand had mobilized in full force.
By head count alone, the super faction Black Hand was actually outnumbered by the Azure Dragon Gang, fielding only about half their size at roughly fifteen hundred men. But in terms of overall combat strength, they were unquestionably far ahead.
What was more, the present situation was one where Black Hand was organized and prepared, with their forces gathered right here on the field, whereas no one even knew where the Azure Dragon Gang's members were.
The Azure Dragon Gang currently possessed perhaps seventy-nine top combat powers. In sheer numbers—at least on the surface—they held more top-tiers than any other faction in the city. No one could comprehend how they had assembled so many in such a short time.
Yet compared to the four renowned top combat powers under Black Hand...
Well, on this point, the Azure Dragon Gang actually seemed stronger.
After all, Ah Jing of the Azure Dragon Gang had just held off a synchronized pincer attack by fifth and eighth on the assassin rankings all by himself. Besides him, they also had Corpse Man Weize, not to mention a dragon-head boss whose combat strength remained impossible to assess.
But what about a super?!
A super faction was a super faction not because of its scale. In reality, all four super factions in the City of Iniquity maintained troop counts of only about fifteen hundred to two thousand. They were more elite, but that wasn't what truly mattered. What mattered was that they possessed a super.
In the world of source energy, the tier difference in high-end martial might was an absolute advantage. Theodore of Black Hand had held his seat among the Four Supers for more than a decade.
"With Black Hand setting up such a grand layout tonight..."
"Theodore is definitely here as well."
"Which means... it's a fight to the death."
The hushed murmurs in the crowd gradually swelled into a noisy clamor.
As the Black Hand forces on both flanks completed their encirclement, the noise died down once more. Bystanders sheathed their blades and began to pull back, opening up some space.
Across the desert ground:
On three sides stood Black Hand's battle arrays—at least twelve hundred men, uniformly clad in khaki combat uniforms, blades bristling like a forest.
On the fourth side stood a quiet crowd of thousands.
And isolated in the center, divided into a group of three, a group of two, and a group of one, six people stood alone.
Six of them...
*That bastard of a young prince,* Wen Jifei cursed silently under his breath.
At the same time, Lubi Azha had not put his blade away. He turned his head toward Uncle Shiliang... who was looking back at him.
"What do you want to say?" Uncle Shiliang asked expressionlessly.
"We're Azure Dragon Gang," Lubi Azha said.
"Yeah," Uncle Shiliang said with a smile. "Afraid? By rights, I ought to tell you to hide. You're still young, and you won't be much help anyway. But your uncle can't teach you to be that kind of person."
"Mm!" Lubi Azha glanced back at that red cloak, then turned and said, "Uncle, I'm not afraid. How does that old Huaxia saying go? After eighteen send-offs, you're a fine hero again, right, Uncle?"
"...Good enough!" Uncle Shiliang nodded with a chuckle. "Get ready to lend a hand."
*Ah Jing really is Major The Qing!* For this Huaxia veteran, his earlier conviction had only solidified.
More than twenty years. A man destined never to return to the Sole Witness Legion in this lifetime could actually fight alongside one of Huaxia's stars...
In battle, there was no retreat.
The veteran's hand gripping his blade trembled slightly, just like a greenhorn stepping onto the battlefield for the first time.
Memories of charging in formation flashed through his mind. In those images of him in a legion combat uniform, his face had still been young... full of heroic spirit back then, yearning with all his heart to return.
In truth, Xu Shiliang and Lubi Azha were not the only Azure Dragon Gang members who had come to watch the fireworks tonight. There were easily two or three hundred scattered throughout the crowd, unorganized and dispersed across every corner.
Among them was even a newly minted top combat power named Black Tooth.
More than half a year ago, Black Tooth had wagered his own life and those of the forty-three brothers under him, gambling on Ah Jing's group of five hiding their combat strength. It had been the most pivotal gamble of his life, and they had won, clawing their way up from the bottom rung.
Ever since, Black Tooth had resolved never to gamble like that again. In his eyes, no one could stay lucky forever, and no one could stake their life on the line over and over.
"But a situation like today's can't be counted as a gamble, you understand? The people who carved out what we have today together are standing right there. We have to do this."
In the crowd, Black Tooth spoke in a low voice to the brothers around him.
His brothers nodded without saying much. But each of them knew full well what comrades like Ah Jing and Iron Armor had done, and what they meant to them.
Their relationship was never one of bowing heads in subservience. The foundation and territory of the Azure Dragon Gang had been carved out shoulder to shoulder by over a dozen hopeless, cornered wild squads under the lead of people like Boss Dao and Ah Jing.
Over the past half year, they had lived a completely different life—in terms of material resources and practical matters, as well as dignity. Over this past half year, they had taken pride in Ah Jing time and time again, basking in his reflected glory. Over this past half year, they had grown close with Ah Jing, Little Chicken, Old Tang, and the young prince, sharing drinks and roughhousing in jest...
In the next moment, a stir began to ripple through the quiet crowd.
On one side, the uncle and nephew pair of Xu Shiliang and Lubi Azha stepped forward. On another, Black Tooth led a dozen-plus brothers forward.
The stir grew louder, as people from the crowd continually surged toward both groups, joining their ranks and marching forward together.
"Lynne, what are you doing?!" Jenna cried in panic, gripping Lynne's arm with all her might.
Lynne pulled against her grip twice and turned her head.
"Don't you hate him?" Jenna blurted out.
"I do... but we're Azure Dragon Gang too," Lynne said. Tugging her arm free, she drew her blade and strode forward.
Jenna hurried after her. "Fine... then how about we run back to notify Boss Dao?"
She stood on tiptoe to peer ahead, pointing off to the side. "We can circle back along the shore."
"Given the intelligence network in the City of Iniquity, do you really think we need to run and deliver the news when so many Black Hand men left the city, showed up here, and set up a scene like this outside the walls?"
Lynne paused and glanced back at her. She didn't pull Jenna along with her.
"...Fine. Though if you ask me, you're just looking for an excuse to admit you still like him."
Jenna grumbled. Her fiery temper flared up; throwing caution to the wind, she drew her blade as well, caught up, and marched ahead.
In the end, the two columns converged, gathering into a formation of around three hundred people.
When they stepped out abruptly from the crowd, eyes from all directions converged upon them—from the onlookers behind them, and from the Black Hand battle arrays surrounding them on three sides...
Even Ah Jing and his companions looked over.
Their gazes met. Black Tooth grinned at them and called out, "Send those three brothers over here."
He was referring to the three who needed protection. Knowing their own limitations, this was the only thing they could do in this battle—and even then, they likely wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
With that, Black Tooth raised the blade in his right hand high.
Behind him, the Azure Dragon Gang deployed into the over-strength defensive array of the Sole Witness Legion that they drilled daily. A resonant *hum* shook the air in unison.
"Azure Dragon Gang, engage!"
Chapter 491