Assault

What's going on?!

How are there over a dozen people missing?

Losing two or three is possible, but how could ten or twenty people just vanish?

"Stay sharp, something's wrong!" He immediately turned to look at the trackers and shouted, no longer even bothering to stay hidden.

But almost at the same time.

A dull thunderclap sounded in the air.

A boulder weighing over five hundred jin came flying from a dark corner at terrifying speed, so fast that the air let out a muffled roar!

Then it crashed straight into the crowd!

Crack after crack of breaking bones and snapping sinews, like a catapult had scored a direct hit.

Wails filled the air. In an instant, four or five people spat blood, clearly beyond saving, while about ten more were caught in the blast, bearing wounds large and small.

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

And right away, another stone came whistling in!

Lu Shan met it from the side. At the last possible moment, he kicked it, deflecting it sideways so it smashed into the ground.

The trackers snapped out of their stunned stupor as well.

Then, following what Lu Shan had taught them, they grouped ten to a squad, with the extras standing behind, forming a strange formation.

Lu Shan, meanwhile, rushed over and shoved aside a thin wall of wooden planks.

Then he saw a man over eight chi tall, so burly he didn't look human—more like muscles pumped full of air.

He'd never seen anyone so massive.

But the main thing was, through the faint ambient light, he could vaguely make out the man's face.

It was Li Qi.

What was Li Qi doing here?!

And how had he turned into this?! Wasn't he only seven chi tall? His build had been average—when did he become so brawny?!

As for Li Qi, seeing Lu Shan come in, he curled his lips and said, "Shan Dazhuang, didn't see this coming, did you?"

Lu Shan was stunned.

Then, while the other was distracted by his words, Li Qi launched a sneak attack.

He charged like a mad bull and sent Lu Shan flying.

But to Li Qi's surprise, the sudden ambush didn't work!

The two burly men collided, but Li Qi felt the point of impact was light and airy, as if he hadn't hit solidly at all.

Yet Lu Shan flew high and far, using the force to retreat, rolling twice more to shed the momentum before standing up and returning to the tracker formation.

Then he looked at Li Qi.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Shan had already figured out the situation.

Over a dozen people missing... probably snatched by Li Qi in ambushes along the way, right?

That force just now must have been over six thousand jin—far beyond even his own.

Sorcery, this was definitely sorcery!

And odds were, it was from his own technique!

"Li Qi is right there! Kill him!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking. "Use what I taught you! There are over twenty of us, and only one of him!"

Then Lu Shan led the charge, rushing at Li Qi with dozens of men.

As for Li Qi's side.

Everything was still going according to his plan.

Lu Shan had sent people to kill him tonight—that already said plenty.

So he had no hesitation in faking an injury, but deliberately revealed that he was still alive.

Lu Shan wouldn't tolerate him living. He would definitely bring the Mighty Gang to attack.

A single sorcery technique—anyone could guess how much was at stake. Normally, the authorities could keep the three sides' conflicts in check, but with a sorcery technique hanging over their heads, the government couldn't hold things together anymore.

Besides, the Mighty Gang had always been the strongest.

The Mighty Gang had always been the strongest of the three. Lu Shan had always been watching with a hungry, ambitious eye.

Add to that his clear head and personal strength—before Li Qi arrived, the Wave-Pushing Gang had a rough time, and even the Water-Horse Gang wasn't comfortable. But with two gangs joining forces, they could still balance things out somewhat.

The only reason they hadn't been steamrolled was that the Wave-Pushing Gang could enter the water. Once in the water, the Mighty Gang couldn't touch them, while the Water-Horse Gang was thick-skinned and tough—lacking offensive power, but more than capable of defending themselves.

After Li Qi arrived, he saw through Lu Shan's schemes several times, which was how he became the Wave-Pushing Gang's second-in-command.

So Li Qi felt he had a solid grasp of what Lu Shan would do and how he thought.

Lu Shan wouldn't sit idle and wait for him to slowly comprehend the Divine Will Inheritance.

He wouldn't even wait until the next day, because by then Li Qi might have already fled.

Lu Shan would probably think that he would hide himself away, slowly comprehending techniques, and only return once he had learned them, giving him the capital to continue opposing him.

Therefore, Li Qi was certain that Lu Shan would act decisively, striking directly while he still knew his location, to avoid any delays that might breed trouble.

And so, Li Qi's plan came to be—strike first to gain the upper hand.

Lu Shan could act decisively? Couldn't he?

He had mastered the Ox-Strength Technique!

Thus, he had long since infiltrated the Mighty Gang's camp through a branch of the Li River.

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

But unexpectedly, he had run straight into Lu Shan leading a sortie.

What followed was only natural: he crept along behind them, every so often grabbing a straggler and twisting off their neck.

Under the Ox-Strength Technique, it took less than a second, and not a sound escaped—like wringing a chick's neck.

He followed for over ten minutes, using the technique a second time and renewing it for a third, silently killing over a dozen men.

The third time was his last chance today, and also his last ten minutes.

So Li Qi decided to strike out on his own here. He found two rocks, made the first move, and smashed four or five more with a Sneak Attack before he was discovered!

Watching the enemy shrink from over forty men to just over twenty, nearly halved, Li Qi bared a ferocious grin. Two white pillars of breath shot from his nostrils, stark against the winter air, and paired with his flushed skin, he looked utterly terrifying.

Seeing Lu Shan still daring to charge at the head, Li Qi didn't hesitate to launch a counter-charge!

Like a wild ox, every step he took cracked the ground, rumbling loudly!

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

Right now, his skin was thick, impervious to blades—even a dagger couldn't pierce it—and his strength was that of a single ox, a full six thousand eight hundred catties of brute force, enough to easily lift a small car!

In Li Qi's own perception, he felt that this single charge could at least knock off two layers of tower plaster.

With such force, his wild rush shook the hearts of the boat trackers before him, unable to suppress their terror.

But suddenly, they realized their own charge couldn't stop.

It was as if a rope, through some formation, had tethered their bodies, forcing them into a single unit. Under Lu Shan's lead, they crashed toward the wild ox before them with the spirit of smashing themselves to pieces!