Volcanic Age

"Agk!"

The night streets of Zhengzhou instantly became a battlefield.

The powerless residents locked their doors and held their breath while those who could fight even the slightest bit prepared for a battle.

"They're using arrows!"

Thwip!

An arrow flew from the rooftops. In the darkness, the arrows were nearly invisible, making them almost impossible to block.

Moreover, because the alleys were narrow, the arrows' accuracy was deadly. Even blindly fired arrows almost always hit their target.

"Lift the Feather Shields and block them!"

The Feather Shield was a type of shield made of a light material like feathers and bamboo and was ideal for blocking arrows once or twice.[/ref]Traditionally, it's a very large feather. It has a double meaning. The quote goes, 'In the hands of a warrior, it is a shield; in the hands of a scholar, it is an aid for the dance.'[/ref]

Jiang Nengchu stepped on one of his subordinate's shoulders and jumped, landing lightly on a rooftop. Several of his subordinates followed behind him.

"The Tough Bastard!" the archer on the rooftop shouted in surprise.

"You idiot!" Jiang Nengchu spat.

The archer should have nocked an arrow on his bow instead of standing in shock. But if he had such judgment, he would've been too skilled to remain in the Xia Wu Sect.

Jiang Nengchu stepped on the roof tiles and slashed the neck of the archer with his sword.

Blood splattered on his face, but he didn't care. Instead, he grabbed the archer's bow and nocked an arrow on its string.

Swish!

The arrow flew straight and hit another archer on the shoulder.

"Agh!"

As the archer screamed and fell, Jiang Nengchu's expression showed that he wasn't satisfied.

As expected, it's hard to shoot when it's hard to see.

He had aimed for the archer's chest but missed.

"Deal with the archers first!"

ROAR!!!

The Xia Wu Sect members, aided by Jiang Nengchu's skills, ran forward. As they climbed up the roof tiles, they stole the archers' bows like their leader had. As the arrows raining down from above stopped, the Xia Wu Sect members below shouted and advanced again.

"Damn it. Shit!"

Viper Sword, who had been watching from afar, cursed.

He had boasted of being undefeated with this tactic.

In the first place, there were very few within the Xia Wu Sect who understood tactics. Most were neither clever nor literate.

It was highly unlikely that a lowly person who could only use their fists would have experience participating in battle as a tactician or a soldier. Most of the time, the Black Hand's fights were resolved by numbers, ambushes, hostages, or poison.

Frankly, it would be amazing if the Black Hand members actually fought without giving up, risking their lives to win. Most of them would run away the moment they thought they were going to lose. The Viper Sword had only been able to control such instinctive reactions with fear, barely managing to use half-baked strategies with his somewhat useful brain to survive.

If there had been a true strategist who could give proper advice to the Xia Wu Sect, it wouldn't have been ranked at the bottom of the murim to begin with.

Even with that considered, this was the first time the Viper Sword's tactics had failed.

The Tough Bastard proved himself to be a man who could use his wits just like the Viper Sword.

"Hmph, you dare make me swallow shit?"

The corners of the Viper Sword's mouth twisted into a grimace-like smile. However, that smile didn't extend to his eyes, which were burning with rage.

"Prepare the spears! Don't let those bastards escape the alley! The rest of you, watch out for attacks from above while we prepare for an attack!"

"H-hyungnim! What should we do with the injured?"

"Are you really asking me that right now?"

The Viper Sword's eyes grew even more fierce.

"Unless you can't move, you better go out and fight. I'll cut off the heads of all the bastards who run away with my own hands."

Yes, Jiang Nengchu was no ordinary man, but the Viper Sword was no different.

Even though his tactics that had been undefeated in Zhengzhou collapsed, he didn't panic and just focused on commanding.

In particular, his idea of using long spears to hold the line was brilliant.

Since the alley was so narrow and winding, their attackers had no choice but to line up only one or two at a time and advance.

Using long spears, they blocked off the entrance, giving Jiang Nengchu a hard time.

Noticing this, Jiang Nengchu sent his men up to the roof to try to stop them. However, the Viper Sword responded in kind with men holding swords and sabers.

It was a fierce battle where one couldn't see even an inch ahead.

***

A pigeon flew into the dark night sky. Even its pure white feathers melted into the night. As if mocking the humans who had hidden themselves, the pigeon passed through the night streets of Zhengzhou and entered a magnificent pavilion.

"Hohoho."

A lady covered in decadent attire laughed loudly. In her hand was a piece of paper handed to her by a messenger.

The eyes of the Murderous Harlot, the one who ruled the south of the night streets of Zhengzhou, narrowed into crescent moons.

"The Tough Bastard is attacking the Viper Sword? I didn't like that rotten bastard anyway, how incredible! Hohoho!"

The Murderous Harlot had mastered the art of seduction, stealing the essence of men to build up her qi and maintain her beauty. In addition, since she had mastered the Disguise Art, she looked like she was in her early thirties, but she was actually a granny in her sixties.

However, teasing her about that aloud would result in suffering far worse than death, so no one dared to mention it.

There were a few exceptions to that—the other two of Zhengzhou's ruling three, the Arsenic Pig and the Viper Sword.

The Arsenic Pig avoided her completely, repulsed by the idea of ever being sexually attracted to such a hag, while the Viper Sword openly mocked her.

"Although I wanted to be the one to tear him to pieces with my own hands, I…"

The Xia Wu Sect Master had forbidden the three from fighting, so none of them could act freely. If it hadn't been for that restriction, she would have taken action sooner.

Fortunately, that didn't mean they had to help the bastards they didn't like.

The Xia Wu Sect Master had no interest in fighting outsiders.

If the Viper Sword really was defeated and weakened like this, he would be abandoned without hesitation and replaced with another talented person. Unfortunately, that hadn't happened yet.

The Viper Sword had faced countless challenges so far but had still maintained his current position and had even grown stronger while boasting of his undefeated record.

It was hard to imagine the Viper Sword, who had experienced all sorts of things in his time in the Xia Wu Sect and had great cultivation, losing to the Tough Bastard.

Murderous Harlot sighed regretfully to herself, praying that the Silent Messenger could at least inflict some severe damage on the Viper Sword.

***

The members of the Black Hand were accustomed to the night. They weren't diligent enough to operate during the day, which was why all their activities took place after dark.

They usually woke up in the evenings and went to bed in the mornings.

Because of this, their night vision was quite good. Even without light, their eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and when it was too dark to see, they could still sense their surroundings.

However, not even they could sense the Phantoms' presence, let alone their existence.

"Mmm!"

The most important tenant of an assassin was secrecy, and these Phantoms excelled at it with eerie precision.

All the gatekeepers standing at the entrance to the underground arena collapsed to the ground, their breaths caught in their throats. Even the way they fell was silent, as the Phantom caught the bodies that were falling like puppets with their strings cut and gently laid them down.

The employee was speechless at what had just happened around him.

"Ah, it's just like taking a walk. How quaint."

Zhou Xuchuan walked forward, his hands clasped behind his back. There was no urgency or tension on his face.

While his expression was relaxed, his footsteps were unnatural. He walked silently as if he didn't exist at all.

Beside him, the employee followed him as if possessed by a ghost.

"Who are… agk!"

The moment he passed through the iron gate, everyone in Zhou Xuchuan's path dropped dead without a chance to fight back.

There was no way to describe it other than bizarre.

Anyone who made eye contact with Zhou Xuchuan seemed to die instantly.

The employee, terrified by this strange phenomenon, was stunned into silence as he led them onward.

H-he's a reaper!

Zhou Xuchuan didn't even touch any of them, but if they made eye contact with him, they would die.

He didn't look human at all.

"Ah, it really is incredible."

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't help but be amazed.

Unlike the employee, he could see the Phantoms' movements. Still, it was impressive to see them cut down everyone in front of them in an instant.

It made sense, considering their enemies were from the Xia Wu Sect, thus Third Class at best.

As they descended about a zhang, a loud roar echoed from below, growing louder with every step.

The employee, who had been standing in a daze, finally snapped back to reality and gulped.

"I-it's right ahead."

As they turned down the stairwell, a bright light greeted them, dispelling the darkness.

"AHHH!!!"

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"

"Do you know how much I bet on you?!"

A mix of curses and screams filled the air. The employee was startled by the eardrum-piercing sound.

Zhou Xuchuan, on the other hand, remained unfazed, his expression indifferent as he clenched his fists.

A vast open space came into view, different from the path he had taken to get here. It was large enough to accommodate a thousand people.

A ramp extended down from where Zhou Xuchuan and the employee stood, leading down into a flat area. There, a wall divided the region into sections, drawing an outline like a street market.

Starting from where people were brawling, there were various arenas. From cockfighting and dogfighting all the way to gladiator matches.

There were spectator seats attached to the walls that divided the areas as people watched and cheered.

"With all this noise, I don't think anyone would be able to hear me even if I shouted."

Zhou Xuchuan smiled bitterly. He never imagined that there would be this many people. Initially, he wanted to shout and tell everyone unrelated to the matter to leave, but considering what was going on, that was no longer an option.

"How do I distinguish the Arsenic Pig and his gang from these people?"

"Y-you'll know who the Arsenic Pig is when you see him and his subordinates have pig noses as decorations on their weapons."

"You've done well."

He dug into his pockets and took out a silver tael, handing it over to the employee. Considering he had risked his life to guide them here, Zhou Xuchuan gave him a generous reward.

"You don't need to guide us anymore, so go back. I don't sense any movement from where we just came from, so there shouldn't be anyone else there."

"T-thank you!"

The employee bowed deeply and ran away without looking back.

Leaving behind the ten Phantoms, including Little Ghost, Zhou Xuchuan gave his next order in a low, sinister tone.

"Kill everyone in the Arcensic Pig's gang other than that Pig himself. And don't spare anyone who bares their fangs at you."

"We have received your orders," the emotionless voices harmonized.

Zhou Xuchuan leaped into the air, flying forward.

"Huh?"

A guard standing at the end of the ramp leading down into the arena sensed something and widened his eyes in confusion.

He spotted Zhou Xuchuan approaching and thought, What is this?

But Zhou Xuchuan was already within arm's length.

Before the guard could register what was happening, a light shot out of Zhou Xuchuan's sleeve and flew out like an arrow.

To be precise, it really wasn't a light that had shot out, but a dagger that sliced through the air and struck the guard squarely between the eyebrows.

"What the hell, you dog b—"

As another guard waiting behind made his move, an old man with wrinkles passed by him.

Squelch!

"Ugh!"

A thin line of blood was drawn on his dirty neck. Soon, blood spurted out like a fountain, creating a bloody mist.

"...?"

The people wandering around the outskirts began to question what was going on. Their minds struggled to process the situation unfolding before their very eyes. Zhou Xuchuan, who had appeared in front of them without warning, effortlessly sliced through their necks.

It was as easy as taking a walk as he smoothly made his way through the crowd.

Various people followed behind him and dispersed into the crowd, too.

"U… ugh…"

Just before any screams could escape, the Phantoms' moved in sync, their gazes sweeping across the crowd to identify their next targets.

"AGH!!!"

The screams that sounded were quickly drowned out by the cheers, as the Xia Wu Sect members with pig noses decorating their scabbards splattered blood everywhere.

"Wash your throat and wait for me, Arsenic Pig."

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