Assault

What was going on?!

Why were more than a dozen people missing?

Losing two or three people was possible, but how could they have lost ten or twenty?

"Stay sharp, something's wrong!" He immediately turned back toward the haulers and shouted, no longer even bothering to stay hidden!

But almost at the same moment.

A muffled thunderclap rang through the air.

A massive boulder weighing over five hundred jin hurtled out from a dark corner at terrifying speed, so fast that it made the air boom dully!

Then it crashed straight into the crowd!

Crack, crack, crack, crack—tendons snapped and bones shattered, as though a catapult had struck them dead-on.

Wails filled the ground. In an instant, four or five people spat blood, clearly beyond saving. Around ten more had been caught in the blast, suffering injuries great and small.

"Form up!" Lu Shan roared at once, then shot forward, charging toward where the stone had come from.

Another boulder came whistling toward them at once!

Lu Shan met it from the side. At the critical moment, he kicked out, knocking the stone off course so that it smashed into the ground.

The haulers also snapped out of their stunned state.

Then, following what Lu Shan had taught them, they formed groups of ten, while the extras stood behind them, forming a strange battle formation.

Lu Shan charged ahead and shoved aside the thin wall made of wooden planks.

Then he saw a man over eight chi tall, so powerfully built he scarcely looked human, as though his muscles had been inflated.

Lu Shan had never seen anyone so massive.

More importantly, in the faint ambient light, he vaguely made out the other man's face.

It was Li Qi.

Why was Li Qi here?!

And why had he become like this?! Wasn't he only seven chi tall? His build had only been fairly well-proportioned before. When had he become so huge?!

Li Qi, however, curled his lips when he saw Lu Shan enter. "Shan Dazhuang. Didn't expect this, did you?"

Lu Shan stared in astonishment.

Then, while the words had drawn Lu Shan's attention, Li Qi launched a surprise attack.

Like a raging bull, he slammed straight into Lu Shan and sent him flying.

But to Li Qi's surprise, the sudden ambush had actually failed!

The two burly men collided, yet Li Qi felt the point of impact turn strangely light, as if he had not truly hit anything solid.

Lu Shan, however, flew high through the air and retreated far backward, borrowing that force to carry himself away. He rolled twice more to disperse the impact, rose to his feet, and returned to the haulers' formation.

Then he looked at Li Qi.

In that flash of lightning and spark, Lu Shan had already figured it out.

More than a dozen people were missing... Li Qi had probably ambushed and captured them along the way, hadn't he?

That force just now had probably exceeded six thousand jin. Even Lu Shan himself was far inferior to it.

A technique. This was definitely a technique!

For all he knew, it might be that very one!

"Li Qi is right there! Kill him!" he roared, his voice even cracking. "Use what I taught you! We have over twenty men, and he's alone!"

Then Lu Shan took the lead in charging, bringing several dozen people rushing toward Li Qi.

As for Li Qi.

Everything was still going according to his plan.

Lu Shan had sent people to kill him tonight. That alone revealed a great deal.

So Li Qi had not hesitated to feign injury, while deliberately exposing the fact that he was still alive.

Lu Shan would never tolerate him living. He would definitely bring the Mighty Gang to kill him.

Anyone could think with their toes how much a technique involved. Ordinarily, the government could suppress the conflicts among the three sides, but with a technique hanging over their heads, the government would no longer be able to keep them in check.

Besides, the Mighty Gang had always been strong.

The Mighty Gang had always been the strongest of the three gangs, and Lu Shan had always eyed them like a tiger watching its prey, brimming with ambition.

On top of that, he had a clear head and great personal strength. Before Li Qi arrived, the Wave-Pushing Gang had suffered terribly. Even the Water-Horse Gang had not had it easy, though there were two gangs after all. When the two joined forces, they could still hold him in balance to some extent.

They had not yet been steamrolled only because the Wave-Pushing Gang could enter the water, where the Mighty Gang could do nothing to them, while the Water-Horse Gang was thick-skinned and tough. Though they lacked offensive power, they had more than enough ability to protect themselves.

After Li Qi arrived, he had exposed Lu Shan's schemes several times, which was why he had become the Wave-Pushing Gang's second-in-command.

Thus, Li Qi believed he understood very well what Lu Shan would do and what kind of person he was.

Lu Shan would not sit still and await death. He would not wait for Li Qi to slowly comprehend the Divine Will Inheritance.

He would not even wait until tomorrow, because Li Qi might flee by then.

Lu Shan would probably think that Li Qi would hide away, slowly comprehend the technique, then return after mastering it—with the capital to continue opposing him.

Therefore, Li Qi concluded that Lu Shan would definitely act decisively. While he still knew Li Qi's location, he would come straight over and kill him, lest a long night breed many dreams.

That was why Li Qi had said—strike first to gain the upper hand.

Lu Shan could act decisively. Couldn't he?

He had mastered the Ox-Strength Technique!

So he had slipped through a tributary of the Li River and infiltrated the Mighty Gang's camp ahead of time.

Originally, he had planned a night raid to decapitate Lu Shan.

But unexpectedly, he had run right into Lu Shan leading a force out to attack.

What came next followed as naturally as water flowing downhill. He secretly tailed them, and every so often, he would suddenly seize a straggler and twist off his neck.

Under the Ox-Strength Technique, it took less than a second. They could not make the slightest sound, like wringing the neck of a little chick.

He followed them for over ten minutes. He had already used the Ox-Strength Technique's second opportunity and renewed it for a third, silently killing more than a dozen people.

The third time was his last chance today, and it would only last another ten minutes.

So Li Qi decided to strike proactively here. He found two stones and seized the initiative, ambushing them and crushing another four or five to death before he was discovered!

Seeing the enemy's numbers fall from over forty to only around twenty, nearly halved, Li Qi revealed a savage smile. Two white streams burst from his nostrils, especially conspicuous in the winter air. Together with his scarlet skin, he looked utterly terrifying.

Seeing Lu Shan still dare to lead a charge at him, Li Qi launched a countercharge without the slightest hesitation!

Like a raging bull, every step he took cracked the ground beneath him, rumbling like thunder!

Where did they get the courage to charge head-on against him?

His skin was now thick and tough, impervious to blades and spears; even daggers could not pierce it. His strength was equal to one ox—six thousand eight hundred jin of brute force, enough to easily lift a small car!

By Li Qi's own estimation, that charge of his could knock down at least two layers of a tower's outer wall.

Such force, when it came thundering forward, shook the haulers before him to their very souls. They simply could not suppress the fear rising from their hearts.

Yet they suddenly realized that they could not stop their charge at all.

It was as though a rope, through some kind of formation, had bound their bodies together, forcing them into one whole. Under Lu Shan's lead, with the resolve to be smashed to pieces, they crashed toward the raging bull before them!