Chapter 16: Annihilating the Enemy

The Snow Ape was split into two with a single slash. This scene sent a chill through the hearts of Shao Chengfeng and Feng Yi'an. They instinctively retreated, once again doubting if their leader could truly handle him.

Fu Entao’s expression shifted slightly, but his offensive wasn't faltered in the slightest. Taking advantage of the opening created when Qin Ming stepped aside to evade the Snow Ape, his brilliant long saber cut through the wind and snow, slashing toward Qin Ming's waist with immense power.

Qin Ming seemed to have anticipated this move. He held his iron spear behind him with his left hand, blocking the strike with the weapon held across his back. Then, he leaped forward, using the force of Fu Entao’s fierce blow against the spear shaft to accelerate his charge.

An ordinary person wouldn't dare to do this. Even if they weren't cleaved in two on the spot, they would be injured by the shock of such powerful force, perhaps even coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Qin Ming was unharmed. With a single leap, he was already upon his target.

The hairs on the stoutly built Mountain Patroller’s neck stood on end. The boy was coming straight for him, as ferocious as a giant beast from the mountains. As Qin Ming landed, a bright blade-light swept toward him.

The patroller immediately swung his saber to retaliate, hoping to clash head-on. However, in an instant, he felt like he could no longer grip his hilt. The opponent’s strength was simply too great.

After two brief, sharp collisions, the soft flesh between his fingers was torn apart. Blood flowed freely, staining the hilt, and he no longer had the strength to hold his weapon.

Pfft!

Reflected in the light of the Fire Spring, a brilliant flash of blade-light flickered. The man's head was severed and sent flying, and his body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Qin Ming spun around abruptly. Having blocked Fu Entao's long saber with his iron spear, he now turned a murderous gaze toward Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng.

The latter two felt panic rising in their hearts. On ordinary days, they were ruthless characters with the temperaments of jackals—sinister, malicious, and cunning. But the youth before them was far too brutal. He had killed without a single word, leaving them thoroughly shaken.

A shadow of doubt also emerged in Fu Entao’s mind. This youth, whom he assumed had undergone Second Rebirth, exerted immense pressure on him. Every spear thrust and saber strike left his arms slightly numb.

At this moment, he desperately wanted to leave and flee into the dark depths of the mountain forest. However, he feared that if he showed cowardice and exposed his back, he would be subjected to a fatal, continuous assault.

Qin Ming spoke. "There were seven heads to be taken at this mountain outpost. Four have already fallen. Only the three of you are left."

Fu Entao was stunned for a moment, and then his expression darkened. This boy was counting the Golden Mastiff, the Snow Ape, and the five of them together? He viewed them as no different from those two beasts?

Shao Chengfeng and Feng Yi'an each gripped their iron spears and long sabers tightly. If anyone else had dared to belittle them like this on a normal day, they wouldn't even know how the word "death" was written.

Qin Ming intended to provoke their anger. He could sense their cowardice and suspected they were considering flight. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to catch up if Fu Entao, a practitioner of Second Rebirth, decided to run.

Sure enough, the shadow of doubt in Fu Entao’s heart was burned away by the insult. In this region, even the veteran leaders of other Mountain Patrol Teams wouldn't dare to humiliate him so.

Fu Entao had been accumulating strength for many years. He was on the verge of reaching the next level and had already begun to touch its threshold.

"Is he that Qin Ming from Twin Tree Village?" Fu Entao asked the two men behind him.

When they had discussed the Blood Bamboo Forest previously, Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng had both mentioned Qin Ming, planning to use the youth with a Golden Foundation to scout the way and then dispose of him.

"It's him," the bearded Feng Yi'an nodded.

Fu Entao nodded coldly. "Fine. We’ll wash Twin Tree Village in blood afterward—not a single man, woman, or child left alive. It’s a special period. Once the Mountain Sweeping Operation begins, it would be quite normal for an unexpectedly powerful Famed Beast to emerge from the deep mountains and slaughter a village."

His smile was frigid, carrying the scent of blood, as he slowly raised his long saber.

Qin Ming was not provoked. He specifically wanted to keep their emotions volatile so they wouldn't lose the courage to fight and flee in the short term.

He added fuel to the fire, saying, "Was I wrong about you? Crimson Cloud City pays you high salaries, and the villagers revere you, even willing to let their Fire Fields produce less just to help the Mountain Patrol Team grow Black Moon. And how do you repay them? You drain the pond to catch the fish and suck the very marrow from their bones. You want to consume every bit of Spiritual Matter in the Fire Spring for yourselves, indifferent to how many might starve in the coming year's famine. You even kill innocent villagers at will to threaten and intimidate the rest. In your eyes, those lives are worth less than a river deer, far less than your Golden Mastiff. Do you have any humanity left? Is it wrong to group you with rabid dogs and Snow Apes? You are far more dangerous than they are. Think of the late leader of the Mountain Patrol Team and the responsible patrollers in other teams. You aren't fit to be mentioned in the same breath as them."

Qin Ming spoke calmly. There was no passion or anger in his voice; it wasn't even raised.

Yet, this caused the veins on Fu Entao’s sword-hand to bulge. Without a word, he took the initiative to press forward.

Even Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng became murderous, wishing they could immediately kill this calm youth who had pierced straight into their black hearts.

Qin Ming struck first. Even holding the heavy iron spear in one hand, he could wield it as easily as his own arm. The sharp spearhead lunged out, leaving a trail of afterimages that stirred up the swirling snow. When Fu Entao tilted his head to dodge, the spearhead pierced through a larch tree as thick as a bowl behind him. With a slight flick of the spear shaft, the trunk snapped with a loud crack.

Immediately after, his Wood-cutting Saber slashed out in turn.

In an instant, the air between them was filled with layers of blade-light. Their exchange was extremely perilous, and large swaths of the forest collapsed wherever they passed. Their destructive power was staggering.

As they fought near the Fire Spring, a large wooden hut exploded into splinters under their clashing blades.

Fu Entao, nearly two meters tall, had initially been imposing, but now he was gasping for breath. White mist rose from his naturally curly hair. He was shaken; he was exhausted, his arms were numb from the impacts, yet his opponent remained as ferocious as ever.

If not for his superior speed, he would have surely fallen by now.

He sensed that there was something wrong with the youth's speed, which clued him in to his own advantage. At that moment, his opportunity arrived. As Qin Ming thrust his spear and swung his saber, Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng erupted with full power and struck simultaneously.

Clang!

An ear-piercing screech of metal against metal erupted. Qin Ming used his Wood-cutting Saber to parry Shao Chengfeng’s iron spear, then quickly used the back of the blade to knock away Feng Yi'an’s long saber.

At that moment, Fu Entao acted like a human tiger. Ferocious and formidable, his hair flying in the wind and snow, his eyes became incredibly sharp. Gripping his saber with both hands, he unleashed slash after slash, exerting every ounce of his strength.

He noticed that when Qin Ming fought with the iron spear in one hand, his strength was no longer as immense as before. He seemed to be on the verge of being suppressed.

He roared, "Go all out and surround him!"

Qin Ming used his Wood-cutting Saber to handle the other two, while the iron spear in his left hand was being pressed down by Fu Entao’s continuous slashes. He looked to be in a precarious position.

In several dangerous exchanges, he even opted for a "mutual injury" style of fighting, ignoring Fu Entao's incoming saber to thrust his own spearhead forward, forcing the man to retreat.

Fu Entao wore a cruel smile. When it came to ruthlessness, whom did he have to fear? He suddenly lunged forward, caring only to protect his vital organs while swinging his brilliant long saber down in a vertical cleave toward Qin Ming.

Simultaneously, sneers appeared on the faces of Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng. Coordinating perfectly, they blocked all of Qin Ming's paths of retreat, their saber and spear rising together to force Qin Ming to use his Wood-cutting Saber solely for defense.

Qin Ming could not retreat, nor did he have time to dodge Fu Entao’s saber. Without hesitation, he chose to charge forward. It was too late to raise his spear high, so its trajectory remained unchanged. With a squelch, the spearhead pierced through Fu Entao’s thigh, skewering it completely.

Though Fu Entao’s face twitched, he became even more cold-blooded. In this exchange of injuries, he only lost the use of a leg, but his overhead slash would cleave the boy in two.

At the critical moment, while his right hand's Wood-cutting Saber was still occupied with the other two, Qin Ming abandoned his iron spear and raised his left arm to hard-block the sharp long saber.

Fu Entao let out a disdainful sneer. At this rate, he would cut through both the arm and the man.

Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng also began to smile. No one knew better than they how terrifying a downward strike from their two-meter-tall leader was. They could already envision the bloody scene.

However, a vibrating clang rang out, accompanied by the ear-grating screech of grinding metal. The outcome was entirely different from what they had imagined.

The outer garment on Qin Ming’s arm shredded, revealing the specialized armor of the Mountain Patrol Team. Furthermore, he was wearing more than one layer.

While this armor wasn't as high-quality as Fu Entao’s, Qin Ming was wearing three layers of it. It was enough to stop the blade.

If it hadn't been for the fact that it would be too cumbersome, Qin Ming might have worn the armor of all four men he had killed at the bottom of the mountain.

With a thud, Fu Entao landed and stumbled. His thigh was skewered, the iron spear had yet to be pulled out, and blood was gushing out. He could no longer stand firmly.

Feng Yi'an turned and fled without the slightest hesitation. He was decisive; he knew the entire patrol team was about to be wiped out.

Shao Chengfeng also realized that the youth's earlier display of weakness had been an intentional lure. He immediately began to flee as well.

Qin Ming snatched an iron javelin from the ground and leaped into the air. He threw it with all his might while mid-air. At such close range, his aim was perfect. The iron javelin flew with extreme speed, plunging downward and piercing through Feng Yi'an’s back with a sickening crunch, pinning him to the ground!

"Ah...!" he screamed in agony. He wouldn't die immediately, but he was trapped, unable to break free.

The moment Qin Ming landed, he gave chase to the other man. His speed was slightly inferior to Fu Entao’s, but catching up to Shao Chengfeng was far too easy.

Shao Chengfeng refused to wait for death. He turned and swung his iron spear in a desperate resistance, but it was futile. His right arm was severed by Qin Ming’s blade.

The iron spear fell to the ground. Qin Ming picked it up and, without mercy, used it to pin Shao Chengfeng to the spot as well. The ground was instantly stained with blood.

Qin Ming stood in the center of the clearing and said, "If none of you had tried to run and we had simply fought to the death right here, I think I would have finished you all off long ago. During the fight, I had to divide my attention, fearing that one of you might escape. Even if only one got away, it would mean the failure of my operation."

"You..." Fu Entao used his long saber as a crutch, so enraged he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He thought the boy was boasting.

"Clashing blades with you was indeed tiring while I was distracted. However, I only recently underwent Rebirth, so it's understandable," Qin Ming said, reflecting on the battle.

"What?!" Fu Entao’s expression froze, and his heart trembled. He couldn't believe the boy had only just become a Reborn. He could not accept such a reality.

"You really haven't reached Second Rebirth yet." Feng Yi'an spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and laughed miserably. He knew it was truly over; they had encountered an inconceivable monster.