Chapter 387: Heavy Sword [V5C94 - A Distance Within Reach]
The ten-odd vampire grenades exploded continuously. The little building at the center of the world-shaking firepower was swiftly leveled, so much so that there wasn’t a single intact building left within several dozen meters of it. Just like that, the back half of the manor went up in smoke.
A mass of red origin power radiance emerged amidst the explosive aftershock. It encompassed a floating human figure within, but the light was flickering like a candle in the wind that might be extinguished at a moment’s notice. Apparently, the heavily wounded Nangong Xiaofeng had managed to forcefully endure the explosion, but his defenses had taken great damage and were on the verge of collapse.
Nangong Xiaofeng had just breathed a sigh of relief when a sense of great danger suddenly arose in his heart. He looked up to find an extremely handsome youth standing atop a nearby broken wall and slashing down at him from a distance.
Madman! That was Nangong Xiaofeng’s first thought.
The young man’s position was also within the range of the origin grenades, and the revolving origin power storm still hadn’t receded at this moment. His body was also full of injuries and apparently wasn’t feeling so comfortable either.
Qianye, however, appeared completely unaffected. His hands were rock steady as he hacked down with East Peak.
That sword strike was clearly a dozen or so meters away, but for some reason, Nangong Xiaofeng felt great alarm and quickly raised his origin defenses without much thought. However, he soon discovered that his red origin power glow had stopped fluctuating as though space had frozen for a split second. Immediately afterward, there was a sound of cracking glass followed by an explosive shattering.
The sword intent tore his origin defenses, and after a mere moment’s delay, the bone-penetrating chill slashed onto Nangong Xiaofeng’s body. Only at this point did he manage to react—he realized that his protective origin power had failed to completely nullify the sword strike, and that its remnant energy had managed to cut open his body.
Seeing that the long wound was continuously increasing in width and depth, Nangong Xiaofeng let out an odd cry as his body erupted with brilliant light. His origin power gushed out like the raging tides and finally broke down the sword intent completely.
It was just that he had paid a steep price for this all out move, causing fresh blood to gush out madly from his wound. Moreover, his old injury was also affected. The already healed wound was once again torn open to reveal the pulsating organs within.
Nangong Xiaofeng felt equal measures of fury and alarm. He screamed, “Who are you?!”
The might of this strike was unusually powerful and even drew upon the origin power of the void. Else it would have been impossible for him to have his defenses broken and his body injured despite the grave injuries he had sustained beforehand. Few champions, even among the lineal descendants of top-grade aristocratic families, would be able to utilize such a method.
Nangong Xiaofeng reached out to grasp his personal weapon. The young man’s origin power hadn’t even formed a vortex when he brandished his sword—apparently, he wasn’t even a champion. However, his ability to hide within the origin explosion and launch an abrupt attack proved that he was no ordinary person. This was likely a top-grade assassin one of the other noble families had sent to target him.
At this moment, East Peak’s previous strike had stirred the origin power in the vicinity and kicked up great waves in the unsettled origin storm.
Qianye hadn’t the slightest intention to talk. He stood as unmoving as the mountains and calmly put East Peak away. In a flash, the Mystic Spider Lily and Bloody Datura appeared within his hand and combined into one. Following which, two radiant wings unfurled behind his back as two bullets blasted out of the chamber, revolving around each other like the Gemini of Fate and shooting toward Nangong Xiaofeng.
Those were Black Titanium Bullets of Annihilation!
Nangong Xiaofeng let out a hysterical scream after seeing this. At this distance, he had no chance to perform an evasive maneuver. He curled up into a ball and burst out with a blinding orange radiance, squeezing out his last bit of potential. At the same time, he did his best to lean toward the side and shift the angle of his front-side.
Two black clouds exploded in the air, the darkness especially eye-catching even in the depth of the night—it was as though anything thrown in would be devoured completely. Afterward, a ball of orange flames ignited amidst the black mist and didn’t disperse for quite some time.
Those were the flames of origin power. Unless it burned out on its own, even pouring out entire rivers and lakes wouldn’t extinguish it. Even Qianye didn’t dare charge in hastily. After the flames finally died down, Nangong Xiaofeng was already nowhere to be found. Indistinct howls of pain could be heard in the distance, and it was moving farther away at a rapid pace.
Qianye sighed. Judging from the voice, it was already too late to chase after him. Nangong Xiaofeng was indeed powerful and even such methods couldn’t kill him, but two badly charred limbs could be seen falling through the air, barely recognizable as an arm and a leg. Apparently, Nangong Xiaofeng had also paid a hefty price to block the two Black Titanium Bullets of Annihilation.
Top-grade aristocratic families naturally had secret techniques to regenerate lost limbs. However, disregarding the colossal price, the new limbs would be extremely weak and completely incomparable to the repeatedly tempered main body.
After being wounded to such a degree, Nangong Xiaofeng would need more than half a year of recuperation. Furthermore, even if he did recover, his strength would see a sharp decline and even his life accomplishments might be affected. It was quite likely that the Nangong family’s number one genius had been destroyed.
Just as Qianye was feeling resentful, a furious roar was heard from behind. “Which bastard dares act so atrociously in the Yishui Nangong Family’s domain?!”
At this time, the shockwaves from the explosion had finally died down. The Nangong family warriors previously suppressed by the origin power storm began to emerge from their hiding places one by one. Most of them hadn’t seen Qianye’s short exchange with Nangong Xiaofeng and wasn’t clear as to the situation.
In the wake of this explosive shout, the ruins of a half-collapsed house nearby was blasted apart and out rushed a man. The man was in his fifties and shrouded in concentrated origin power fluctuations. An origin vortex could be seen clearly as he rose into the air, condensed his power, and assumed combat stance. He was actually a champion.
In the face of such an opponent, Qianye immediately hurled three origin grenades without further words. The Nangong family champion cried out in alarm and dropped rapidly onto the ground. The three origin grenades were of human make, however, the champion wasn’t an exceedingly powerful expert either and would definitely suffer if he received the impact forcefully.
With his rich combat experience, the man managed to adapt swiftly and avoid the brunt of the explosive impact. He had just landed on the ground but, upon looking up, found Qianye charging straight through the explosive flames to arrive above him.
He was so astonished that he couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw East Peak fly toward him and could only raise his blade to block.
A light screech rang out as East Peak swept past the man’s arm and dagger. Soon afterward, a head was sent flying into the air.
After killing the champion with a single slash, there was no one else in the manor who could last one round against Qianye. At this moment, the entire base was in chaos. The origin power fluctuations from the previous explosion had just calmed down when raging flames began to rise.
Another backpack filled with grenades appeared in Qianye’s hand. All of them were ordinary grenades, but it was a powerful weapon against buildings and ordinary soldiers.
Rumbles rose and fell in quick succession, and after one bag was emptied, there was yet another. The Nangong family’s base which they had built over the years with painstaking efforts thus went up in raging flames. Hundreds of elite soldiers were buried together with the collapsing architecture within this infernal sea.
Nangong family’s northwestern forces on Evernight Continent were thus uprooted. Not to mention the enormous costs involved in rebuilding the base, it would be quite difficult to even find a suitable location and amass sufficient manpower.
Qianye turned and left—the sea of raging flames behind him lit up the dark night as though it were day.
Before long, Qianye had climbed up a nearby mountain peak. He took out his pocket watch and found that there was still some time until the appointed hour. He thus sat down, silently lit up a cigarette, and inhaled deeply.
He was somewhat regretful about allowing Nangong Xiaofeng to escape, but, in truth, it was almost impossible for Qianye to take down a person like Nangong Xiaofeng at the moment. It wouldn’t have gone so smoothly had he not ambushed the man by staying within the explosion radius.
There were sure to be some lucky survivors within the base, but Qianye couldn’t bother to kill the little fish one by one. After meeting Nangong Xiofeng face to face like this, the Nangong family would surely discover that it was his doing and soon come to exact revenge.
However, there was no fear in Qianye’s heart—only a raging, inextinguishable inferno.
A faint engine sound was heard from the sky as a small airship appeared silently through the night sky. It glided through the sky like a swimming fish and arrived at the mountain peak.
The airship cabin opened, and a long cable was tossed out. Qianye leaped up, grabbed onto the cable, and hopped into the cabin with a couple of climbing movements.
In the front cockpit, Nangong Xiaoniao covered her little mouth as she gazed at the blazing fire in the distance. She was so shocked that she couldn’t speak for a while.
Qianye pushed open the door and entered at this point. He then threw himself into the chair, reached for a bottle of strong wine, and took a fierce swig. He poured all the remaining liquor in one go before he felt a little bit better.
Nangong Xiaoniao asked in a trembling voice, “How did it turn into this? Who were you trying to kill?”
Qianye sighed. “It’s Nangong Xiaofeng that bastard. Unfortunately, he escaped but not before leaving an arm and a leg. The number one character of the Nangong family is probably about to change.”
“What about that burning place?”
“One of the Nangong family’s bases. I burned it in passing.”
Nangong Xiaoniao stayed silent for a while, then said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry. I brought this trouble.”
Qianye shot her a glance. “Trouble will always come knocking. It’s only a matter of more or less.”
“But—”
Qianye stood up, pulled Nangong Xiaoniao over, and said while rubbing her hair furiously, “No buts! Drive the airship quickly! I have to go back for a midnight snack!”
“Yes, sir!” Nangong Xiaoniao reflexively stood to attention and almost performed a military salute.
Qianye leaned back into the chair and shook his head with a smile. It seemed only this kind of ordering tone was effective in making her obey.
The airship turned about nimbly and accelerated rapidly with flames spewing out of its back. Soon, it had disappeared into the boundless night.
During the flight, Nangong Xiaoniao said, “The Nangong family will definitely send their men.”
Qianye was gazing at the swift motion of the mountains and rivers below with his head placed against the cabin window. He said with a faint smile, “We’ll kill every last one that comes. If not today, then tomorrow. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just give up this estate. But, I must kill until Nangong Yuanbo pulls back.”
Within a certain residence in Blackflow City, Count Yuyang was resting with his eyes closed. It was just that he was constantly spinning the teacup in his hand—apparently, he wasn’t as calm as he seemed on the surface.
Zhao Fenglei approached and sat down across from him. “Sixth Grand Uncle, Sister Yuying has been gravely wounded. This will be quite troublesome. Before we left, grandpa told me that the foreign affairs related to the bloody battle were only secondary. The most important point was to establish the empire’s might.”
At this point, Zhao Fenglei said with a shrug, “Although I have no idea who we’re trying to impress.”
Count Yuyang opened his eyes and shot Zhao Fenglei a glance. “Elder brother cares deeply about you. It’s also the right time to let you know more things. It’s not just our Zhao clan, but the other three major clans and some high-ranking aristocratic families are all of the same thought. This establishment of might is for His Majesty to see.”
“His Majesty?!” Zhao Fenglei was astonished. He had never expected there to be such a reason behind things.
Count Yuyang’s expression was calm and looked as though he had just spoken some insignificant gossip. “Since his ascension to the throne, his Majesty has always enjoyed promoting the young. After many years of experience, the new nobility has also produced many talents.”
Zhao Fenglei’s expression shifted after hearing this. Since Count Yuyang had pointed them out intentionally, these people weren’t just ordinary young people. Most of the so-called new nobility of the imperial party had no impressive family background to speak of. Even the lineal son of a lower-ranking aristocratic family like Lin Xitang could be considered to have a fairly significant status.
Count Yuyang added, “Now that there are signs of the empire’s resurgence, His Majesty wishes to follow the example of the Martial Emperor and become a ruler of resurgence. It was just that out of three parts under the heavens, two are in the hands of the clans and aristocratic families. As such, the new nobility is somewhat helpless despite their great ambitions and are naturally unresigned.”
Zhao Fenglei had calmed down at this time. He processed Count Yuyang’s words in his head and then asked carefully, “Could it be that they’re planning a centralization of power?”