"Who else?"
His voice was not loud, yet it carried the Baleful Intent tempered amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Mixed with the stench of blood, it pressed heavily upon the surroundings.
Those Northern Barbarian Soldiers, originally fierce and menacing, were forced back half a step by his gaze. The centurion's corpse on the ground, nearly torn into two pieces, was still gushing hot blood, silently proclaiming the blood-soaked youth's savagery.
Firelight flickered over half of Chen Qing's blood-smeared face. The wound at his shoulder blade was a blur of flesh and blood, white bone faintly visible, yet he stood straight as a spear, the ferocity in his eyes fiercer than a wolf's.
A brief deathly silence fell.
"Kill him! Avenge the centurion!" A Northern Barbarian Decurion came to his senses and shrieked sharply, trying to drive away his companions' fear.
Several valiant Northern Barbarian Soldiers howled and pounced again.
Chen Qing moved.
The fully integrated intent of the Black Tiger Fist flowed through his limbs and bones. He no longer confined himself to fixed saber forms. The curved saber in his hand seemed to become an extension of his arm, the claws and fangs of a vicious tiger.
With a shift of his feet, he slipped into the enemy ranks like a ghost. Saber light flashed. It was no longer mere chopping or treacherous thrusting, but a fusion of the Black Tiger Fist's fierce pouncing strikes, the simple ruthlessness of military saber techniques, and even the mountain-like solidity of the Iron Body Skill in motion!
Sshk!
The saber light swept across a Northern Barbarian Soldier's neck, raising a spray of blood. The movement was clean and decisive, like a tiger lashing its tail.
With a backhand slash, he precisely stabbed into the eye socket of another enemy trying to ambush him, vicious and tricky, like a venomous snake leaving its hole.
At the same time, he slightly turned his body and used his wounded left shoulder to take a saber slash from the side head-on!
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out! That blade failed to fully break through his flesh, leaving only a deeper pale mark and numbing the Northern Barbarian Soldier's arm from the impact!
The Iron Body Skill at Slight Accomplishment, paired with the control over blood and qi granted by the fully integrated Black Tiger Fist intent, had brought his defenses to an astonishing level.
[Killed Northern Barbarian Infantry. Gained blood and qi. Black Tiger Saber Technique proficiency +15] [Attacked. Iron Body Skill proficiency +5]
Chen Qing did not even furrow his brow. His curved saber swept back with the momentum, disemboweling the stunned Northern Barbarian Soldier!
Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep!
Alone, with a broken saber, he drove seven or eight Northern Barbarian Soldiers back step by step, leaving corpses strewn across the ground!
"Shi Tou! Hei Wa! Form up and charge out!" Chen Qing shouted harshly as he fought, without turning his head.
Shi Tou and the other three, who had been staring in stunned silence, snapped awake as if from a dream. Looking at Chen Qing's war-god-like back, their blood rushed straight to their heads.
"Follow the Squad Leader and fight our way out!" Shi Tou roared hoarsely. The four huddled close together, waving their weapons and desperately blocking the scattered arrows and enemies attempting to approach, struggling to move through the gap Chen Qing had torn open.
Chen Qing was the sharpest arrowhead! Everywhere he passed, Northern Barbarian Soldiers were either killed or wounded. He forcefully plowed a bloody path through the chaotic tide of enemies!
More and more Northern Barbarian Soldiers noticed this Fiend Star and began deliberately gathering in his direction. The arrows grew denser as well, whistling past his body and embedding themselves in the ground behind him or in unlucky Northern Barbarian Soldiers.
The pressure surged!
Chen Qing's gaze turned icy as he pushed the Black Tiger Fist's perception to its limit. His body twisted and flickered through the rain of arrows, every movement perilously close to the edge. His curved saber spun like a windmill, blocking, chopping, and thrusting, cutting down each enemy who lunged at him.
His movements became smoother and smoother. The Black Tiger Fist, the Black Tiger Saber Technique, the Iron Body Skill, and even those fragmented military combat techniques he had observed began to truly merge amid this high-intensity fight between life and death. System notifications for proficiency leaped madly, especially for the Iron Body Skill, whose proficiency rose at a staggering pace under the unending attacks.
[Black Tiger Saber Technique proficiency +12] [Iron Body Skill proficiency +8] [Black Tiger Fist proficiency +10]
"Stop him! Loose arrows! Loose arrows!" A Northern Barbarian Officer commanded himself hoarse from the rear.
More arrows descended upon Chen Qing and the four behind him like a swarm of locusts.
Chen Qing fiercely kicked up a battered shield from the ground, grabbed it with his left hand, protected his head and chest, and continued slashing with his curved saber in his right.
Thud, thud, thud! Arrows densely embedded themselves in the shield, jolting open the wound on his left arm and sending blood streaming down.
"Squad Leader!" Shi Tou cried out.
"Shut up! Stay close!" Chen Qing growled. He slammed the shield forward, knocking over a charging Northern Barbarian Soldier. At the same time, his curved saber strangely thrust out from beneath the shield, piercing another enemy's lower abdomen.
He was like a hard reef, standing firm in the black tide, carving out a small space for the four behind him to catch their breath.
But individual bravery ultimately had its limits on a battlefield of thousands upon thousands.
More and more Northern Barbarian Soldiers gathered around them. Among them appeared experts with clearly stronger auras, clad in finer iron armor. Wounds kept accumulating on Chen Qing's body. Though none were fatal, his blood and qi were steadily being consumed.
At this rate, he would be worn to death sooner or later!
Chen Qing swept his gaze across the chaotic battlefield. In the distance, flames soared into the sky in the direction of the main camp, and the sounds of battle shook the earth. It had clearly fallen into a bitter fight as well. Hoping for reinforcements was impossible.
They had to break out! Charge toward the edge of the camp!
He suddenly drew a deep breath. The fully integrated Black Tiger Fist intent within him and the blood and qi of the Iron Body Skill at Slight Accomplishment resonated and compressed with unprecedented frenzy! A tragic, resolute aura that sought to tear everything apart rose once more, even stronger than when he had killed the centurion!
He no longer held back!
"Roar—!"
A true roar, like that of a primordial vicious tiger, exploded from his chest! It was not loud, yet it carried a savage might that shook the soul, freezing the movements of the charging Northern Barbarian Soldiers all around him!
Black Tiger Fist Intent—Tiger Roaring in the Forest!
Seizing the chance, Chen Qing hurled the broken curved saber in his hand. It shot out like lightning and pierced through a Northern Barbarian Officer's throat! At the same time, he stomped hard against the ground and hurled his entire body toward the densest part of the enemy formation!
No longer was it nimble skirmishing, but the most savage, most direct collision!
His fists were hammers; his elbows struck, his knees drove, his shoulders rammed, his head smashed! Every part of his body became a weapon! The fully integrated Black Tiger Fist intent allowed him to wield tremendous power with every gesture, even without a weapon!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of bones shattering and screams rang without end! Like a humanoid beast, he forcibly crashed open a gap in the human wall formed by the Northern Barbarian Soldiers!
"Go!"
He roared at the four behind him without looking back, while he himself firmly blocked the gap, beating back the Northern Barbarian Soldiers trying to close it again and again.
Shi Tou and the other three looked at Chen Qing's back, like a man drenched in blood yet still standing with his spine straight, and their eyes instantly reddened.
"Go!" Shi Tou gritted his teeth. Dragging the still-hesitant Hei Wa and Gou Sheng, supporting Tie Dan whose leg had been struck by an arrow, he desperately rushed through the gap torn open with flesh and blood, plunging without looking back into the darkness and chaos farther outside.
Seeing that the four had escaped, Chen Qing felt slightly relieved. Alone against the surging enemies, the pressure on him doubled.
Arrows once again came densely flying toward him. He wielded a spear seized from an enemy to block and dodge, but he ultimately could not evade them all.
Pff! A barbed arrow pierced through his thigh, carrying a spray of blood with it.
Chen Qing staggered, his movements slowing for an instant.
And that instant was enough!
A heavy iron mace, carrying a vicious wind, slammed brutally into the center of his back!
"Puh—!"
Chen Qing's vision went black. He spewed out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his spine were about to break! The blood-and-qi defense of the Iron Body Skill was instantly shattered by more than half!
[Received a heavy blow. Iron Body Skill proficiency +25! Blood and qi greatly depleted!]
He fell forward and rolled into the burning ruins of a tent. Flames instantly swallowed his figure.
"Is he dead?"
"He'll burn to death even if he isn't!"
"What a pity. He was a tough bone..."
The Northern Barbarian Soldiers surrounded the blaze. Looking at the roaring flames, lingering fear filled their hearts, and none dared approach lightly.
Within the flames, Chen Qing's consciousness blurred as searing pain engulfed his entire body. He could feel his flesh charring and his life slipping away.
Was he going to die?
No!
His powerful will to survive was like the last spark, igniting the remnants of his blood and qi. The fully integrated Black Tiger Fist intent began circulating on its own, crazily absorbing and refining the vast amount of blood and qi accumulated from killing so many enemies, which had yet to be fully digested, as well as... the Battlefield Malevolent Energy and deathly aura so dense across the battlefield that they were nearly impossible to disperse!
These mixed and violent energies were forcibly unified by the Black Tiger Fist intent, rushing through his nearly dried-up meridians like magma. Wherever they passed, they brought destruction, yet also a trace of strange vitality!
Beneath his charred skin, a dark red glow faintly flowed.
Under such extreme stimulation, the circulation route of the Iron Body Skill began to undergo some sort of mutation. It no longer pursued balanced toughness, but transformed in a more extreme direction, one better suited to this Baleful Intent and destruction!
[In a near-death state. Absorbing Battlefield Malevolent Energy. Black Tiger Fist intent has mutated...] [Iron Body Skill eroded by Baleful Intent and Black Tiger Fist intent. Mutation and fusion beginning...] [Comprehended incomplete technique: Fierce Tiger Iron Body (Mortal Tier Supreme?)]
The system notifications became intermittent, filled with static.
Chen Qing suddenly opened his eyes.
The coldness and ferocity from before had vanished from those eyes. All that remained was a pure, inhuman stillness and a desire to kill, like an evil ghost from the abyss.
Slowly, he rose from the burning ashes.
Large patches of charred skin across his body cracked and fell away, revealing new flesh beneath that gleamed with a dark metallic luster, wrapped in wisps of black-red Baleful Intent. The wounds at his shoulder blade and thigh stopped bleeding beneath the black-red aura's coils, then began to slowly wriggle and heal.
He casually pulled a half-charred tent support, sharpened at one end, from the ashes and gripped it in his hand.
Then he raised his head and looked at the Northern Barbarian Soldiers outside, who were aghast beyond measure.
There was no roar, no furious shout.
He merely stepped forward and walked out of the flames.
One step, then two. He grew faster and faster, finally turning into a ghostly shadow wreathed in black-red Baleful Intent as he charged into the crowd.
The charred wooden stick in his hand became the most terrifying weapon. There were no techniques, only the simplest, most direct stabs and strikes! Every swing carried a shrill tearing sound and dense deathly Baleful Intent!
Pff! The wooden stick pierced through a Northern Barbarian Soldier's iron armor and burst out through his back!
Smack! Another Northern Barbarian Soldier's head was smashed apart like a watermelon!
He was like an evil ghost that had crawled back from hell, knowing neither pain nor exhaustion, possessing only the purest instinct to kill.
The fierceness of the Black Tiger Fist, empowered by the black-red Baleful Intent, became a tyranny that destroyed everything.
The treachery of the Black Tiger Saber Technique turned into cruelty that stopped at nothing.
The mutated Fierce Tiger Iron Body made him seem as though he wore an invisible armor of Baleful Intent. Ordinary blades could leave only shallow pale marks upon it; instead, they would be corroded by that Baleful Intent, numbing the wielder's arm.
"Ghost! He's a ghost!"
"Run!"
The courage of the Northern Barbarian Soldiers was finally utterly destroyed by this inhuman sight. With a single cry, they scattered and fled in all directions.
Chen Qing—or rather, the Chen Qing controlled by his killing instinct—did not pursue them. He merely stood where he was, leaning on the blood-dripping charred wooden stick, his chest heaving violently as the black-red Baleful Intent around him slowly writhed like a living thing.
He looked around. Beneath the firelight, corpses carpeted the ground like an asura battlefield.
From afar came the faint sound of Great Yan's army sounding its counterattack horns and battle cries. Northern Barbarian's offensive seemed to have been thwarted.
The stillness and killing desire in Chen Qing's eyes gradually receded, replaced by profound exhaustion and confusion.
He lowered his head and looked at his newly formed hands, covered in patterns of Baleful Intent, feeling the utterly different power within him, a power carrying the nature of destruction.
He had survived.
But it seemed that something had changed.
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