That Night, Fleet as a Shadow

At an absolute numerical disadvantage, in the impending chaotic clash, their goal was to do everything possible to protect the vulnerable on Ah Jing's behalf, freeing Ah Jing, Ah Xi, and the iron armor to fight without restraint. Black Tooth was now a top combat power himself, so he knew full well how terribly a fighter's capabilities were diminished when burdened with protecting someone against the terrifying speed of top-tier source energy combatants. Weighed from the perspectives of attack and defense, the source energy world was fundamentally offensive. Here, the spear was eternally superior to the shield. No matter how formidable a person's defense, they could never withstand the full-force thrust of a top-tier weapon. In this instant, the three-hundred-man array was formed. Even someone emotional like Rusty Sister, or steeped in underworld bravado like He Tangtang, was deeply moved. Han Qingyu, meanwhile, felt a mix of shame and helplessness... *To be honest, in the beginning, I just wanted to use you all to make some money. Sigh. Why did it have to come to this...?* he thought. *Whoosh!* The whistle of a slicing blade broke his train of thought. Yet it did not come from the Black Hand battle formations opposite or on their flanks; the ambush struck from within the crowd, where Black Hand men were concealed. In that instant, they charged at the rear of the three-hundred-man array. However—*shaa!* The iron armor flashed behind the formation, the combat blade held level as she swept past... Under the crushing impact of absolute speed and power, a row of more than ten ambushers collapsed backward to the ground. Words could hardly describe the sensation of a massive block of heavy metal hurtling past at breakneck speed. Her red cloak trailed a rainbow streak, the slipstream throwing Lubi Azha off balance so that he could only stand there, stunned. "Sister... Zhe," Rusty Sister said. She felt deeply guilty right now, but had no time to express it. "Don't worry, Rusty Sister," Zhe Qiuhong said softly, smiling with a nod, before taking the initiative to step inside the three-hundred-man array. At the same time, Wu Xu completed a thrusting charge and fell back, ushering Wen Jifei and an utterly reluctant He Tangtang into the formation. Of course, He Tangtang immediately took a secondary link position. He had originally wanted to seize the primary link position from Black Tooth, but Black Tooth had said, "I'm a top combat power." *...I've stabbed a top combat power's kidney before,* He Tangtang thought resentfully. Then Wu Xu and Rusty Sister turned and moved toward either flank... stopping to form three points along an arc with Han Qingyu. Three people pinned down the restless crowds on three sides. *Whoosh!* An iron arm swung lightly back, her red cloak whipping through the air as, under the tilted gazes of the onlookers, it flew back into the battle array. Rusty Sister said, "Sister Zhe, hold this for me, please. I'm afraid of tearing it." "Will do," Zhe Qiuhong replied. To the left front of the three-hundred-man array, the dark-gold iron armor, having shed her crimson exterior, stood tall and unyielding, one hand leveling her blade. Stream Vanguard was never sentimental. They did not indulge in back-and-forth politeness or tearful melodrama. Now that the three-hundred-man array had stepped forward, this was their best available move. Freeing themselves to fight, the more fiercely the three of them struck, the safer the defensive array would be, and the greater their chances of survival. Besides, Black Tooth was a top combat power, Tangtang was formidable in actual combat, and there might be people in the ranks whose strengths they didn't know yet who were far from weak. "Watch out for the super," a girl's voice called from within the formation. Han Qingyu recognized that voice. Without turning around, he gave a nod. Then he suddenly said, "My Prince... please." The words came out of nowhere, and Ah Jing didn't even look back, leaving many in the crowd utterly baffled. Yet among them, a figure who had long since melted into the crowd and was currently stooping low to creep toward the rear suddenly froze. *Your uncle, he actually said 'please.'* Zhu Jiaming straightened up, cursing inwardly. *Can a bastard like you even say 'please'?* *Please? I could die, dammit!* *There are so fucking many of them, plus a super, flanked by four very strong top-tiers. These are supers and top-tiers forged in the bloodbaths of the City of Iniquity...* This battle was at least twice as perilous as the clash against Qu Zongyan. *And this time Wu Xu is a weakling.* Zhu Jiaming naturally knew how pivotal Wu Xu had been in that previous battle. *Come to think of it, no matter what condition Wu Xu is in, whenever Han the Snake faces a fight to the death, the person he trusts most is always him.* Zhu Jiaming finished grumbling through his calculations. Meanwhile, the chaotic melee in the rear had already broken out, violent clashes ringing incessantly. No matter how one weighed this, the whole thing looked like an absolute disaster waiting to happen. He definitely ought to slip away. Yet as the Prince took a step, he found it unexpectedly difficult. *I'm afraid slipping away won't get me out cleanly either, leaving me all on my own... Right, I still need to use Han the Snake to find the Bones of Eternal Life. He has at least eight or nine of them on him... Who gives a damn if they die? I just need to protect the Bones of Eternal Life.* *That's it. No wonder I thought, how could I possibly hesitate? Turns out it was because of this.* Having convinced himself, Zhu Jiaming braced himself, spun back around, drew his blade, and called out, "Oh, coming." In the chaotic fray, no one caught his voice. The price paid was that clay-yellow figures fell one after another in the melee... The Prince circled the defensive array, striking from the flanks. He was a top-tier, and a formidable one at that. Midst the melee, *boom!* Up ahead, Wu Xu slammed heavily into the ground from a collision with Fonseca, ranked fifth on the assassin rankings... In an instant, dozens of blades slashed toward him from three sides. Wu Xu bounced up swiftly, retaliating as he grazed past the edges of the blades. He was fighting the hardest battle of them all. *Give him the Binggu Spear! He's at least fifty percent weaker with a sword—why hasn't he gone to get the spear yet?! And while you're at it, grab a greatsword for me... And what about your own column swords?!* Zhu Jiaming felt a flare of panic, glancing toward Han Qingyu. *Are you saving them to ambush someone again?* *No, that's not it.* On the battlefield right now, Han Qingyu was fighting two against one, contending with two top combat powers. More than six hundred meters separated him from their car, filled with dense layers of clay-yellow combat uniforms. Under these conditions, if the two column swords came over, none of the other wooden cases could be brought along... So Han Qinglou had to go over there himself! Faced with the relentless assault of two top-tiers, he was biding his time for the right moment. ... In the City of Iniquity, Boss Dao stood tall, sweeping his gaze across the leaders of the various bands before him. Outside the doors, the Azure Dragon Gang's three thousand combatants were assembling. "Everyone already knows what's happened. The enemy is Black Hand, a super faction..." Boss Dao said. "They're saying Ah Jing really is that 'The King.' So could this be a personal feud with Azure? If we get dragged into it..." Gu Zhazha voiced his hesitation, only to quickly realize that clusters of glares had locked onto him. *Bullshit. If he weren't The King, I wouldn't have even come to your side,* Slog, who was also standing in the hall, thought to himself in secret. *This is a godsend—an opportunity to link up with the Huaxia Sole Witness Legion, get it? You dumbass. Back when I just ran over to take a look, even Marshal Hua came out in person. His weight is something none of you understand...* He didn't speak aloud. Old Hugh spoke up, roaring angrily, "Gu Zhazha, you bastard! Your old habits acting up again?!" That Gu Zhazha was a wretched scoundrel was something everyone present knew full well. "It's fine. Once the fighting starts, he won't chicken out. The guy's just a miserable jerk, nothing we can do about it," Leader Storm said with a grin. After half a year in the Azure Dragon Gang, this foreigner had even learned the Huaxian slang for "chickening out." "In that case..." He Guang turned to Boss Dao. These words had to come from the dragonhead himself. "I don't give a damn about Azure, personal feuds, hidden agendas, or 'The King.' When I met him, he was Ah Jing. When he stood up alone to fight Weize to the death, he was also Ah Jing... So no matter what anyone says, he's Ah Jing of our Azure Dragon Gang. My, Dao Dali's, little brother." As Boss Dao said this, Weize was already growing impatient, glancing repeatedly toward the doorway. He had fought a battle against Ah Jing, fought a battle against the iron armor, and been extorted by that female doctor so that he owed a mountain of debt, but he had never fought alongside them against an enemy. "And Ah Xi, Xiao Ji, Old Tang, and that little girl inside the iron armor..." Boss Dao counted them off. "I have to go save them. I have to go hack Theodore to death." His tone was not vehement, but Boss Dao of the Azure Dragon Gang drew his blade. "Yes!" Every leader in the hall drew their blade, shouting in unison. "Then we'd better notify the other factions immediately, especially the other three supers..." Gu Zhazha said, holding up his blade. "Maybe one of them will realize this is their chance to wipe out a rival? Or at least be willing to loot while the house is burning? Heh, we're far poorer than Black Hand." Gu Zhazha truly was a scoundrel. Everyone burst out laughing as they turned together. ...Dozens of trucks tore into the desert at mad speed under the night sky. Three thousand men of the Azure Dragon Gang abandoned their homes, bringing all their gear, and charged toward the battlefield. At the same time, runners arranged by Gu Zhazha knocked on the doors of the Hall of Definitive Kills and the city's major factions, reporting the situation: that Black Hand had mobilized in full force... and notifying them: The Azure Dragon Gang has formally declared war on the super faction Black Hand. ... At that very moment, on the desert battlefield, the observing crowd fell completely silent; even some of the clay-yellow figures froze in shock. They were witnessing what might be the fastest movement they had ever seen in their lives. People had once said that the burst of speed in the Third District half a year ago was unbelievable. Yet anyone who had witnessed that scene knew that this time was even faster. Ah Jing of the Azure Dragon Gang held his combat blade in a reverse grip and carved a gash along Pierre's waist, before shooting through the air like a flying shuttle... Plumes of sand detonated all along his path. Across the span of six hundred meters, men constantly burst from beneath the earth with blades drawn. And then, nearly every person along that straight line was killed or gravely wounded, tossed aside like stalks of wheat parting to both flanks. The figure reached the other end. *Boom!* A rugged, angular black van flipped violently into the air, churning up a massive plume of sand. Then—*bang!* It was kicked away, flying back through the air across hundreds of meters. Before the van even touched the ground, the figure behind had already caught up, wrenched open the door, swept an arm inside, spun rapidly midair, and whipped his arm forward... *Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!* Simultaneously, about six wooden cases broke through the air, shooting forth in separate trajectories... expanding in everyone's vision. Likely because the explosive burst of speed carried such overwhelming momentum, the wooden cases shattered and blew apart on their own midair. Transforming into an array of weapons hurtling through the sky.