"Now, it's my turn."
His voice was not loud, yet it was like a cold wind scraping across bone in the depths of winter, making the hearts of those Northern Barbarian Soldiers suddenly tighten.
Chen Qing was utterly unlike how he had been during the earlier skirmish. Beneath his shattered iron armor, his dark skin, streaked with blackish-red patterns, faintly writhed as though living things were crawling underneath. A thin blackish-red sheen covered his ring-pommel saber, like fresh blood that had yet to dry, eerily unnatural beneath the firelight. Most terrifying of all were his eyes—cold, dead still, yet burning with an almost crazed thirst for slaughter.
The fully integrated saber intent of the Black Tiger Saber Technique merged with the fist intent, and when he activated the mutated Fierce Tiger Iron Body, his entire being gave off an inhumanly vicious, baleful aura.
"Stop putting on an act! Kill him!" A Northern Barbarian Soldier wielding a curved saber forcibly suppressed the dread in his heart and roared, charging first. The others came to their senses as well and attacked at the same time!
Yet in Chen Qing's perception, their movements seemed to have slowed by half a beat.
Chen Qing moved.
There were no elaborate moves, only the simplest and most direct advancing straight chop!
The ring-pommel saber tore through the air. The blackish-red Killing Intent along its edge abruptly thickened, vaguely taking the form of a distorted, roaring tiger head! Before the blade arrived, that tragic and violent intent had already crashed into them!
"Roar—!"
It was not a real sound, but a strange howl born from saber intent and Killing Intent shaking the air!
The savage soldier with the curved saber bore the brunt of it. He only felt an indescribably vicious aura crashing into his face, as if an invisible hand had clutched his heart. His breath caught, and his movements involuntarily slowed by a fraction.
That fraction was enough!
Slash!
Like a hot knife through butter, the ring-pommel saber cleaved down from the top of his head and continued straight through, splitting his entire body in two! Blood and organs splashed everywhere!
[Killed a Northern Barbarian Soldier. Obtained qi, blood, and Killing Intent. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +15!]
Chen Qing did not stop. His saber momentum did not relent as he used the force of the chop to spin sharply! The ring-pommel saber carved a shrill arc through the air!
Black Tiger Saber Technique—Fierce Tiger Whirlwind! It carried the tragic ferocity of the Fierce Tiger Iron Body and the tyrannical dominance of Black Tiger Fist intent!
Of the other two Northern Barbarian Soldiers attacking from the sides, one had his spear severed by the saber light, along with the arm holding it! The other tried to block with his curved saber, only for it to be knocked flying. The blade flashed across his neck, and a head wearing an expression of shock shot into the sky!
[Black Tiger Saber Technique proficiency +18!] [Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +10!]
In the blink of an eye, three skilled Northern Barbarian Soldiers at the late Skin Refining Realm had died!
The last savage soldier, wielding a short axe, had just reached Chen Qing's back. Before his axe could fall, he saw his three companions instantly die in such gruesome fashion. Frightened out of his wits, he turned to flee.
How could Chen Qing let him escape? Without even looking, he flung his ring-pommel saber behind him with a backhand throw!
Whoosh—!
As though it had been given life, the ring-pommel saber shot through the air with a shrill whistle and a streak of blackish-red Killing Intent. It pierced precisely through the savage soldier's back and burst out through his chest in a spray of blood, pinning him firmly to the ground!
[Killed...]
Silence.
Within a radius of more than a dozen paces around Chen Qing, a brief dead silence descended.
Whether they were Northern Barbarian Soldiers still trying to flood through the breach or Great Yan defenders desperately resisting, all were stunned by the sight of four savage soldiers being slaughtered like melons and vegetables in a flash of lightning.
That was no longer martial valor. It was the power of a demon!
"Ghost... he's a ghost!" Some Northern Barbarian Soldier was the first to break down and scream before turning to run.
Fear spread like a plague. The Northern Barbarian vanguard, once incomparably fierce, had been stripped of all courage by Chen Qing alone with a single saber and began to collapse backward!
"Kill! Drive them out!" The colonel in charge of the western defenses finally reacted. Seizing this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, he roared himself hoarse.
Their morale soaring, the Great Yan defenders charged back as if they had been injected with chicken blood, howling as they went. They actually forced the Northern Barbarian Soldiers who had entered through the breach back out, temporarily stabilizing the defensive line!
Chen Qing stood where he was, breathing heavily. The successive bursts of intense exertion, especially that final saber throw, had nearly drained more than half his strength. The vicious aura within his body also began to stir faintly, and the prickling pain of backlash crept in.
He walked over to the corpse of the Northern Barbarian Soldier pinned to the ground and bent down to pull out his ring-pommel saber. The blade remained cold, but its blackish-red sheen had dimmed considerably.
"Squad Leader! Are you all right?" Shi Tou and the other three rushed over. Seeing the several new wounds on Chen Qing's body that were deep enough to expose bone—especially the saber wound across his back where bone fragments were nearly visible—their voices carried a sobbing tremor.
"I won't die." Chen Qing waved a hand and swept his gaze around. The defenders were hurriedly using debris to block the breach and tending to the wounded. Countless gazes—reverence, fear, gratitude, and complicated emotions—fell upon him.
He knew that after this battle, he could no longer keep a low profile in this camp.
"Help me down," Chen Qing said to Shi Tou, fatigue in his voice. The Killing Intent was beginning to erode his mind. He needed to regulate his breathing and suppress the backlash as quickly as possible.
Shi Tou and Hei Wa hurriedly supported him from either side. Gou Sheng and Tie Dan guarded the flanks vigilantly.
As they helped Chen Qing through the crowd toward the rear, everyone they passed—whether ordinary Auxiliary Soldiers or combat troops—instinctively stepped aside, their gazes following that blood-soaked young figure.
"That's Chen Qing?"
"The Fiend Star from the Supply Camp..."
"One man held the breach and killed four Northern Barbarian savage soldiers in a row... dear mother..."
"Those wounds on him... he still didn't die like that?"
Whispers rose behind them.
Back in the small tent temporarily assigned to him, Chen Qing immediately sat cross-legged and circulated the Fierce Tiger Iron Body with all his strength. He guided the remaining qi and blood within him, bit by bit grinding away and absorbing the restless Killing Intent. Waves of agonizing pain crashed over him like the tide, yet his brow did not furrow once.
Who knew how long had passed? When he opened his eyes again, night had already fallen outside the tent. The Killing Intent within him had temporarily been suppressed, and his wounds were slowly healing, but that bone-deep chill and brutality seemed to have been branded even deeper into him.
The tent flap was lifted, and Squad Leader Zhang walked in carrying a food box and a jug of wine.
He glanced at Chen Qing's condition, set the items on the ground, then sat cross-legged opposite him. He poured two bowls of wine and pushed one toward Chen Qing.
"How do you feel?" Squad Leader Zhang asked after taking a drink.
"I'm still holding on." Chen Qing lifted the bowl and drained it in one gulp. The fiery liquid slid down his throat, bringing a trace of warmth that temporarily drove away some of the cold within him.
"The western line has been held for now. You've rendered great service today, kid." Squad Leader Zhang looked at him, his expression complicated. "The colonel personally asked about you. The reward has been doubled—one hundred taels of silver and five Blood Strengthening Pills. Also... Zhao Tie from the Vanguard Camp came looking for me again. This time, he brought an order from their colonel."
Chen Qing raised his eyes.
Squad Leader Zhang sighed. "There's no stopping it. With skills like yours, staying in the Supply Camp is a waste—and a source of trouble. The higher-ups have decided to transfer you to the Vanguard Camp as a Squad Leader."
A Squad Leader! From an Auxiliary Soldier squad leader, he would leap directly into the position of a combat troop Squad Leader, commanding ten official combat soldiers! This was practically an exceptional promotion!
Chen Qing remained silent, not surprised by the outcome. The moment he had chosen to reveal his strength and stand before that breach, he had anticipated this day.
"When do I leave?"
"Tomorrow morning." Squad Leader Zhang drained the wine in his bowl and stood. "The Vanguard Camp has more rules and more experts. It won't be as carefree as it was under me. But... there'll be more opportunities too. Stay alive. Don't die."
He reached the tent entrance, paused, and spoke without looking back. "Chen Qing, remember what I told you. Power is a blade. Hold it tight."
His footsteps gradually faded away.
Chen Qing sat alone in the tent, watching the flame of the oil lamp dance.
His days in the Supply Camp were over. Tomorrow, he would step onto a more dangerous but broader stage—the Vanguard Camp.
He clenched his fist, feeling the cold yet powerful strength between his bones.
Fierce Tiger Iron Body, along with the fully integrated Black Tiger Fist and saber techniques.
Would this blade wound himself or slaughter his enemies? That depended on him.
He picked up the wine jug, poured himself another bowl, and raised it slightly toward empty space before tilting back his head and drinking it dry.
The Vanguard Camp? Perfect. The enemies there should be more resistant to chopping.
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