Chapter Ninety-Seven: Those Who Stand in My Way Must Die (Part Two)
“Kill him...”
“Kill him!”
“He’s only one man. What is there to fear? Kill him!”
Under threats and enticements, the frightened soldiers shouted themselves into courage. Those with rifles opened fire, while those with blades pressed in close.
“This is more like it, hahaha. But anyone who stands in my way dies. Hahahaha!”
With a fearless roar, Qi merely spun a few flourishing arcs with his staff. The dozen guards charging at him were sent flying back in a spray of blood and flesh, while every bullet that struck his diamond armor was bounced away. He simply snatched up more than a dozen rounds and flung them out. Ordinary soldiers had no chance to dodge; red and white fluid gushed from their brows.
“Damn it. If I’d known he’d be this troublesome, I never would have gotten dragged into this mess,” Oka cursed under his breath. “You security troops, get in there too!”
His men exchanged uneasy glances, then gritted their teeth and roared as they charged.
“Kill him!”
“Anyone who stands in my way dies!”
“Anyone who stands in my way dies!”
“Anyone who stands in my way dies!”
Even the well-trained security force members could not last a single exchange against Qi. They were either knocked aside or smashed into pulp.
“Oka, how is the situation over there?” Reinforcements came rushing from the far end of the street, all of them elite security troops.
“The enemy is strong. He may be an Imperial Arms user. Everyone on this side, including my own men, has been wiped out,” Oka said darkly.
“What? If he really is an Imperial Arms user, then this is trouble. Unless another Imperial Arms user or a true master steps in, nothing will stop him. Did you figure out what his Imperial Arms is?”
“I suspect it’s some kind of power over transparent crystal, with strength enhancement as well. Otherwise his body couldn’t unleash that kind of force. And the crystal staff in his hand can change size, while a layer of crystal covers his body. Even gunfire can’t get through it.” Oka’s eyes were keen.
“Then should we intercept him?” another security captain asked.
“No interception. We can’t answer to our superiors if we let him through. Try long-range fire from a hundred meters out, or use ropes to entangle him. Let’s see if he can still act so arrogantly then,” Oka said coldly.
“Come on, then. A bunch of useless trash,” Qi shouted, quickening his pace.
“You brat, don’t get too arrogant. I’ll take you on.”
A burly figure leaped down from the rooftop and, without even checking the surroundings, charged straight at the surrounded Qi.
“Ha! Anyone who stands in my way dies!”
As the staff came crashing down, the muscular man bellowed and thrust up his gauntleted fist to meet the descending diamond rod.
Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere. The burly man did not even get a sound out before he was reduced to pulp.
“If you’re just a clown, don’t try so hard to act impressive. You’re making me waste my expression.”
“Chain him up. Long-range attack from a hundred meters!” Oka shouted.
One chain after another, along with thick hemp ropes, lashed out to ensnare the monkey-masked youth. They succeeded. The next moment, gunfire rang out from a hundred meters away, and countless sparks burst across Qi’s body. Yet the tremendous impact did not force him back even half a step.
“Bring me something that actually counts as an attack, you worthless lot!” Qi roared like a god of war. He flung out more bullets, and at a hundred meters’ distance there was nowhere to escape his killing range. And because the ropes bound him, each step he took dragged the security men on the far ends of the ropes forward as well.
How boring.
With a violent tug, he hauled the guards at the other ends of the ropes toward him and ended their lives without hesitation.
“This is far too dull,” Qi shouted. His figure suddenly accelerated, and anyone who stood in his path was swept away and smashed to death by a single stroke of the staff.
At last, several captains could no longer hold back. Faces grim, they rushed toward the youth. If they could not stop him, the end would not necessarily be as simple as death.
Their heavy, full-force strikes landed squarely on the boy, but to their terror, the crystal defense proved far beyond anything they had imagined. The youth did not budge at all and continued forward.
His staff swept out. The three captains hurriedly retreated; with the staff’s length and speed, they should have been able to evade it.
But when the staff inexplicably lengthened by a foot, all three captains changed color.
“What?”
“Bad!”
“Damn it!”
The diamond staff howled past, and it was about to burst the head of the first security captain when, at the critical instant, a long blade slipped in through a narrow gap and barely held the diamond staff for an instant.
The diamond staff then scraped along the blade and passed by the tip of the dazed security captain’s nose. Cold sweat poured down his face.
The blade’s owner borrowed the force, somersaulted several times in midair, and landed steadily on the ground.
Qi returned to his slow, deliberate stride and studied the owner of the blade.
The long blade was not held in the hand at all, but mounted to the arm. On a villainous face sat a disgusting, irritating smile.
“So what if you’re an Imperial Arms user? Watch me turn you into a human stick.”
“Your face irritates me. Therefore, anyone who stands in my way dies.”
The words had barely left his mouth when three more men sprang out from the side, their expressions just as irritating to Qi.
“Demonic Staff Technique: Piercing the Dragon’s Heart.”
The diamond staff shot forth like a dragon and lightning, the tip tinged with a thread of red. Without warning, it drove straight into the chest of the blade-wielding man, whose smile froze on his face.
“I already said it. If you’re this weak, don’t come out here pretending to be impressive.”
He glanced at the three men who had stopped in place, then accelerated onward.
Those who were going to come out had basically already done so. Those who were not going to come out, no matter how long he waited, still would not come. There was no point in walking slowly anymore.
...
“Should we go help? If we kill him, we’ll get a lot of experience points.”
Three men stood atop a luxurious building.
A robust old man, a thin youth, and a burly giant. The one who had spoken was the giant.
“General Esdeath has gone north to wage war, and the Three Beasts have been left here to hold the fort. We should not go looking for trouble,” said the sturdy old man, gazing at the chaotic battlefield with narrowed eyes. “That boy is very strong. I’m afraid only General Bude could defeat him.”
“With the general’s strength, she should be back soon. By then, we Three Beasts will be able to...”
...
“General, the enemy has already broken through half the distance. Should we go out and intercept him?” At the gate of the imperial palace, General Bude stood there like a guardian deity.
“No need. Our duty is to defend the imperial palace and protect His Majesty. As long as the enemy has not reached the gates of the palace, we cannot move. We may be falling into a trap meant to lure us away.”
...
Like a storm of destruction, he cut a swath through the center of the street. The fallen enemies already numbered more than a hundred, and among them were not a few who considered themselves experts.
Qi gradually slowed his pace. Ahead of him stood several dozen men blocking the way, each imposing in presence, all renowned masters in the capital. This was the second-to-last line of defense assembled to stop the youth’s advance.