Chapter 685: Slaughter (II)

“It’s said that Thunderleg and Deficient Leg’s methods were part of the same whole to begin with,” coughed the old Xu duke from his position over the sea as he looked at Thunderleg. “Your grudge with Deficient Leg spanned many years and we killed him for you. Why don’t you thank us with the Thunderleg secret art?”

“Your son died such a pathetic death!”

It was Li Hao’s first time seeing Thunderleg. This was a wretched, disheveled old man who jumped up and down like a flea. His laughter grated on the ear.

“Old duke, no, old marquis! Come and lick your granddaddy’s feet! I’ll give you the secret art if you lick it well!” Thunderleg spewed an endless stream of obscenities.

The old duke didn’t lose his temper, he simply let loose with both fire and water abilities. Great waves reared out of the sea and churned in the four directions like dragons. Flames exploded within the fire, lighting up Skystar Sea in a particularly resplendent fashion.

Thunderleg quickly backed away, his haste proving unable to conceal the fact that he was on the backfoot. His injuries immediately deepened and he spat out a mouthful of blood. There were too many powerhouses present! There was no sign to be seen of the Yama heavyweight yet, but even so, there were already six Arcanus visible on the scene.

Yama’s representative soon showed himself. Someone stood in front of Yuan Shuo the moment he appeared. This person was different from typical Yama members as he held himself with an urbane manner. He looked like a scholar and chuckled softly, “The Five Styles King is here! The Chu River King greets you!”

The Chu River King of the ten court masters!

“I thought it would be Yama himself coming for me.” Yuan Shuo rolled his eyes. “But a kid’s come instead. Does he not think enough of me?”

“I should be enough,” laughed the Chu River King. “The Five Styles King is strong, but that was twenty years ago. No one would dare say they would be able to take you down then. I wouldn’t, the head of Yama wouldn’t. But it is twenty years later, isn’t it?”

Seven Arcanus had shown themselves, there seemed to be no more coming from Silver Moon’s martial world. Fighting had already broken out in some places, whereas conversation flowed in others. Yuan Shuo, for instance, chatted casually with the Chu River King. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

......

Inside the city.

Hu Xiao looked for a bit and then at Li Hao. “Anyone else?” He smiled, then looked at Hou Xiaochen. “There are seven Arcanus out there. Is that a big enough present? The inclusion of us five makes for twelve total. Does that show sufficient respect to Silver Moon’s martial world?

“No one refutes that all martial masters hail from Silver Moon. There is nothing we can say about that. Therefore, we made thorough preparations in order to send you on your way to the underworld. We knew that you would come!”

Hou Xiaochen laughed, his presence deepening. “Minister Hu, I have to say, you really do think highly of us!” he replied with gratification. “That’s just as well—I am lucky enough to see Thunderleg today. I’ve chased after him for twenty years, but he hides so quickly that I’ve never been able to catch sight of him. Today is the day!”

That Thunderleg hadn’t shown himself before this had much to do with Hou Xiaochen. Or rather, with the Silver Moon Guards.

Hou Xiaochen really had tried to arrest Thunderleg for twenty years. The man had accidentally killed a lot of spectators when he fought an opponent. Hou Xiaochen had chased him down ever since that day, but his quarry vanished without a trace. To think that they would meet today!

Not all Silver Moon martial masters were kind souls. There were also those who did evil. Most of them had died, but a few were alive. Someone such as Thunderleg was a villain in Hou Xiaochen’s eyes.

Off in the distance, Thunderleg’s lascivious laughter echoed beneath the heavens as he fought the old duke. He seemed to know that Hou Xiaochen would be discussing him, so he roared with laughter despite not hearing what Hou Xiaochen was saying.

“Come get me, Hou Xiaochen, Huang Yu! Hahaha, can’t get me, can you? Do you know where I’ve been for the last twenty years? You have no idea!

“Don’t lose your marbles when I tell you! I’ve gotten nine wives and sired twenty-eight children these years! I’m a landlord in Near River and am rolling in money. Life is so damn good!

“I ran off to Near River when you guys wanted to get me. Hahaha, you can’t~ get~ me! Fan Chang of Near River knew my identity and protected me all this time. Hehehe, so~ damn good. If I don’t die this time, I’ll go to Great Li. Keep trying to get me!”

Thunderleg brayed with laughter, but he was also receiving quite a beating. The old duke only needed to deploy a few simple techniques to throw the martial master back while vomiting blood. The gap between their strength was noticeable; Thunderleg was likely just a bit stronger than a metamorphosis.

Sky Sword and the three Arcanus were locked in a standstill. In the other battlefields, only Huang Yu held a slight upper hand against the lord of Buddha Mountain. But was this really everyone?

Li Hao looked back and suddenly said, “It’s a surprise to me that the three great organizations have sent five Arcanus. I thought you would call upon the pirates instead, such as the North Sea pirates. I have his grandson, but the North Sea King isn’t here? And where’s Director Hou’s old boss, the Steppe Prince?”

Those were the strong foes of his imagination. But it was Red Moon who unexpectedly sent three Arcanus! Li Hao had thought that Ying Hongyue would either not send anyone, or just send one to watch the show. Three at once was rather surprising.

“Aren’t the Silver Moon martial masters not fully present yet either?” Hu Xiao said meaningfully. There was still Earthturner Sword, Light Sword, and Laughter to consider. These people weren’t here yet.

“Fair enough!” Li Hao nodded with understanding.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Hu Xiao laughed at Li Hao. “Because of your brashness, Li Hao, such are the consequences. Don’t you regret what you’ve done?”

As opposed to outright killing someone, it was more devastating to condemn their thoughts and motivation. He seemed to want to see Li Hao mentally collapse. Look at the horrific results of your actions!

Many Silver Moon martial masters may not be able to leave Skystar City alive this time!

He Yong snorted by Li Hao’s side and sent his blood qi racing to the heavens. “You think so little of Silver Moon martial masters huh, old fart? Let’s see how many we can kill today!” He promptly shouted at the battlefields out of the city, “You’re so trash, Northern First! You and Tyrant Blade can together can only fight one of them? How are you worthy of being called Northern Fist?”

“It’s not like we have a choice!” Northern Fist shouted back, blood at the corner of his mouth. “How are we to match Arcanus if we don’t break our supernatural locks? Kiddo there stirs up trouble left and right, but we’re the ones who have to put our lives on the line for it. I just told him last time to keep a lower profile and follow the rules more!”

......

As they chatted and insulted each other through the air, Li Hao looked down at the ground. He seemed to be contemplating something or regretting something.

Hu Xiao ignored him and raised an eyebrow at the shoreline. “Are Earthturner Sword and Light Sword really not coming?” Plainly, he was still waiting for them.

He wasn’t the only one, the Arcanus by the sea didn’t seem to have used their full strength yet. They were waiting for those martial masters to arrive. They seemed to be concerned that if they killed those already on the scene, that would scare off the remaining two.

BOOM!

A streak of sword light filled the surroundings as two swords struck in unison. The skies overturned and the sea seemed to be upside down. Two people walked through the sky and Earthturner Sword broke through the void with a sword. A person rose from the bottom of the sea after a loud impact. He was dressed in yellow robes and appeared quite stately.

“Sharp senses, Hong Yitang!” he couldn’t help but laugh. “I wanted to go to you after you killed General Qian Feng. I can save a trip now!”

He looked at Earthturner Sword, then at Light Sword. The two looked rather bedraggled and were panting heavily, as if they’d made it only through rushing long distance.

“It’s always you, Steppe Prince!” Hong Yitang breathed out gently. “You were present in the unrest of the three northern provinces, you were there at the battle of the North Sea, and you were at the founding of the Skystar Guards.

“You’re a very annoying guy and the nosiest out of the nine princes!”

“It’s not that I’m nosy.” A smile appeared on the Steppe Prince’s majestic face. “It’s that you Silver Moon martial masters have always plagued the world since the ancient times. All disturbances beneath the heavens come from the north!”

......

Hu Xiao heaved a long exhale. They were here! He’d waited so long because he’d been concerned about scaring these two away. Now that they were here, he could be at ease. Earthturner Sword and Light Sword rounded out the Silver Moon martial master contingent.

Once this operation concluded, the vast Silver Moon martial world would be empty. There would still be a few renowned martial masters left, but not that many. Laughter may very well be Director General Zhao Shuguang. Kong Jie would be another one of their stronger powerhouses.

Neither of the two needed to be guarded against!

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

As for how the two Swords had rushed here so quickly, that was to the ministries’ credit. They’d even arranged for helicopters to escort the two to the royal city! Indeed, they’d done so blatantly because they were worried that the two wouldn’t make it in time!

It was best that they did.

Meanwhile, Li Hao sighed to himself.

I made the deadline a mere three days later so that you guys wouldn’t come. Why did you still rush here?

Silver Moon martial masters were such fools at times. This wasn’t Silver Moon, it was Skystar City. But what could he do since they were already here?

Hou Xiaochen’s spear was out in the open and a pair of gossamer gloves had manifested on Yu Luocha’s hands. They brimmed with a stern killing intent. There was no need for further words now. Someone made their move in the next second!

BOOM!

Metal and wood energy intersected as an overwhelming presence flared from the commander of the Skystar Army. He sprinted for Hou Xiaochen, also wielding a spear. He brought it down with an explosion of arcane abilities!

Two currents of domineering mysterious power met. Hou Xiaochen roared and stabbed his spear forward. The Flaming Phoenix Spear lit up the skies and cracked the earth.

Bam!

Part of the city walls collapsed. Nobles scattered in all directions. Li Hao’s plan to behead them was over.

Both He Yong and Yu Luocha made their moves. In the void, peak Nova Qin Lian hesitated, then set her jaw and charged forward with her sword at a nearby metamorphosis!

However, the gap between the two sides was too great. If anyone was hoping for Silver Moon martial masters on the outside to help, they would be dismayed by the results. The explosions on the outskirts grew in volume as Sky Sword was also in the field!

There seemed to be only one sword in the world. His frosty voice trailed upon the wind, “How are you three pieces of shit qualified to stand in my way?”

Bam!

His longsword shook, forcing three shocked Arcanus back. How was Sky Sword this strong? He was too strong!