Su Mu stood before the Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command, a flicker of embarrassment on his face.
The Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command lay on his back, his breathing deep. Aside from the initial two wounds, he had no other injuries.
In other words, Su Mu's entire set of the Submerging Wave Saber Technique hadn't landed a single successful strike.
Then again, that wasn't entirely true. If not for his tiger-like offensive, the Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command might have charged right out of the smoke's range.
All in all, brandishing his saber hadn't been a complete waste.
'This smoke from Pink Wolf Du Qian is truly incredible. It can even knock out a successful Body Tempering Martial Artist. A shame Du Qian is already dead. Every one of these smoke bombs I use is one less I'll ever have.'
Su Mu thought with some regret.
He had only gotten five smoke bombs from Du Qian's body in total. To deal with this second-in-command, he had already used four.
Now, he only had one left.
Without the formula for the smoke, once this last one was used, Pink Wolf Du Qian's unique art would vanish from the world forever.
Pushing aside these regretful thoughts, Su Mu's gaze fell upon the body of the Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command.
Despite his usual composure, a flicker of excitement still flashed in his eyes.
A Body Tempering Martial Artist... the second-in-command of the Black Dragon Stronghold...
Ranked much higher than Du Qian on the wanted list. This head had to be worth at least two hundred taels of silver.
With this in mind, Su Mu didn't hesitate. He brought his long saber down, aiming directly for the neck of the Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command.
The sensation of cutting through thick cowhide traveled up from his hands. Su Mu used all his strength, hacking halfway through the man's neck in one go.
The excruciating pain jolted the second-in-command from his stupor.
His body suddenly convulsed, his eyes flying wide open.
Su Mu subconsciously took a step back.
Blood gushed from the second-in-command's neck like a fountain. He clawed at it futilely a couple of times before his breathing gradually ceased.
Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, filled with indignation.
He could never have imagined that he would one day die at the hands of a mere mortal who had not yet undergone Quenching Body.
Only after confirming the second-in-command was well and truly dead did Su Mu finally breathe a sigh of relief.
'As expected of a vicious man who has mastered Quenching Body. So damn hard to kill.'
People like him had tough skin and dense muscles. An ordinary person could slash them with a saber and might not even inflict a serious injury.
It was only because the second-in-command had been knocked out by the smoke. Otherwise, even if Su Mu's saber skills were perfected, killing him would have been utterly impossible.
"Is this Quenching Body?"
Su Mu muttered to himself, a look of anticipation in his eyes. He hadn't known before, but now he had truly witnessed the power of a Martial Artist.
'Once I've trained the Submerging Wave Saber Technique to Perfection, I must find a way to get my hands on a Body Tempering Technique to cultivate.'
Su Mu made a silent resolve.
He crouched before the second-in-command's corpse and began the next step in the process: looting the body!
After a moment of searching, a look of disappointment spread across Su Mu's face.
The Black Dragon Stronghold's second-in-command had nothing on him.
He felt just like he had in his past life when playing a game—after painstakingly killing a major boss, it dropped no loot at all!
But on second thought, it made sense.
This was Black Dragon Stronghold territory. The second-in-command had never considered the possibility of defeat, so of course he wouldn't carry anything cumbersome into battle.
All his good stuff was probably hidden back at the stronghold.
Su Mu glanced around.
He was a bit disoriented now and had no idea where the Black Dragon Stronghold's main camp was. Even if he wanted to take the opportunity to sneak in and make a haul, it was impossible.
'I wonder how the others are doing. Did they manage to take down the Black Dragon Stronghold's chieftain?'
Su Mu looked back the way he came, his face hesitant.
Xing Zhao Fu was already dead. If he just took the second-in-command's head and went back to report, it wouldn't be considered desertion. Sima Hu Yuxing certainly wouldn't give him any trouble.
He wasn't hoping for any great merit or reward; all he wanted was to buy himself some time to develop in peace.
If he went back to the previous battlefield... it would be fine if the chieftain had been taken down, but what if he hadn't...
It had taken four smoke bombs just to deal with the second-in-command. With only one left, what could he possibly use to fight the chieftain?
His mastered Submerging Wave Saber Technique?
Without sufficient strength to back it up, even the most exquisite saber technique couldn't harm a successful Body Tempering Martial Artist.
Gritting his teeth, Su Mu hacked off the second-in-command's head and grabbed it. He also picked up the man's longspear, then turned to leave.
He had only taken two steps before he couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh! It's not that I'm trying to be a hero. It's just that I don't know the way back to Wuling City."
Su Mu muttered to himself.
As if convinced by his own lame excuse, Su Mu turned around and headed back the way he came.
His allies were still on the battlefield, along with innocent Hunters and constables.
If he just left like this, he would become the very kind of person he himself despised.
He might not have the power to change anything, but his allies hadn't abandoned him, so he wouldn't abandon them either.
...
As if ravaged by a category-nine hurricane, all the trees within a radius of several dozen feet had been toppled.
The ground was strewn with an unknown number of bodies, lying askew.
A burly, bearded man knelt on the ground, drenched in blood. The patterns on his skin were dyed red, and his chest and back bore several gruesome, bone-deep wounds with flesh peeled back.
"HAHAHAHA!"
He suddenly let out a long, loud laugh.
"Who else?!
You think you people can kill me?"
As he laughed, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He clearly couldn't even stand up anymore, yet his face remained wildly arrogant.
Not far away, Yang Jin lay on the ground, his face as pale as golden paper. His chest still rose and fell faintly, but his breathing was extremely weak.
A bitter smile touched his lips. 'Even with all this, we still couldn't kill the Black Dragon Stronghold's chieftain?'
'I hope Su Mu was able to escape the clutches of the second-in-command.'
SMACK!
Beside Yang Jin, Wei Yongfu tried to stand, but halfway up, he collapsed back to the ground.
His condition looked even more tragic, his entire body covered in countless wounds.
But his eyes, like those of a lone wolf, shone with defiance.
"You think you can annihilate my Black Dragon Stronghold with a rabble like this?"
the Black Dragon Stronghold's chieftain said arrogantly. "So what if you managed to lure me here?
My men will make short work of yours and come find me.
You will all die."
"How can you be so sure your men will win?"
Yang Jin asked, his voice weak. "Why couldn't we be the ones to win?"
"So what if you beat them? All I need is the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to recover a tenth of my strength. Killing all of you then will be child's play,"
the Black Dragon Stronghold's chieftain said dismissively. "As long as I don't die, I can re-establish the Black Dragon Stronghold anytime. But your fate is sealed—total annihilation."
"I ask you, who among you can still kill me?"
the chieftain of Black Dragon Stronghold roared with arrogance.
"Me. Can I try?"
Just then, a voice suddenly cut in.
Along with the voice, a figure emerged from the woods.
The newcomer carried a bow on his back and a saber at his side. He held a human head in one hand and a longspear in the other, a harmless smile on his handsome face.
"I'd like to see if I can kill you,"
he said, looking at the chieftain with a completely serious expression.