"Kill—!!!"
Ji Ye charged out of the hall with his shield raised.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A dense barrage of crossbow bolts slammed into the round shield, the immense impact numbing the web between his thumb and forefinger. Yet his feet never stopped. With Triple Brute Force unleashed to its fullest, every step cracked the bluestone slabs beneath him.
"Stop him!"
Standing behind the shield wall, the deputy commander gave the order coldly.
Two rows of heavily armored infantry raised their great shields, their spears standing like a forest and sealing off every path. This was the Iron Wall Formation, designed specifically to counter martial arts experts.
"Get out of my way!!"
Rather than slowing down, Ji Ye accelerated and crashed toward them. Just before he struck the forest of spears, he suddenly hurled the round shield in his hand.
"Whoosh—"
Spinning with terrifying momentum, the round shield flew out, slicing straight into the gap between two great shields and smashing one shieldman's knee.
A tiny breach appeared in the formation.
Ji Ye seized that fleeting opening and threw his entire body into it.
"Splat!"
Two spears pierced his abdomen and left shoulder. Yet the iron-like skin granted by the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield, combined with his tightly packed muscles, forcibly trapped the spearheads, keeping them from reaching his organs.
"Die!"
Ignoring the spears lodged in him, Ji Ye swept his Wild Goose Feather Saber sideways.
A head flew into the air.
He carved his way into the crowd.
At this distance, the spears had lost their usefulness. Ji Ye was like a ferocious tiger charging into a flock of sheep, even if those sheep wore iron armor.
He slashed with his saber, smashed with his fists, and bit with his teeth.
Every blow was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.
"Madman! He's a madman!"
The surrounding soldiers were terrified. They had seen men willing to risk their lives, but never one whose guts were spilling out while he stuffed them back in and kept killing.
Ji Ye no longer knew how many wounds he had suffered.
His iron-like skin had long been torn to pieces. Three broken arrows were embedded in his body, and a saber wound ran across his back, deep enough to expose bone.
Yet he continued forward.
His target was that deputy commander.
That deputy commander who had stood high above him and pronounced his death sentence.
"Stop him! Stop him now!"
The deputy commander finally panicked. He drew his sword and retreated again and again.
"Do you think you can run?"
Ji Ye grinned, his face smeared with blood. He suddenly threw the broken saber in his hand.
"Clang!"
A personal guard blocked the strike for the deputy commander, but the tremendous force sent the guard flying backward and knocked the deputy commander down.
Ji Ye pounced.
Without a weapon, he used his hands.
Straddling the deputy commander, he clamped both hands around the man's throat.
"For your merits... all my brothers... died..."
Ji Ye's voice was hoarse, like the wailing of a ghost.
"Crack."
The deputy commander's neck bones shattered amid a grinding sound that set teeth on edge.
"Insolence!"
Just then, an explosive shout burst forth like thunder.
A white figure descended from the sky.
It was Qin Wuji.
At last, he had made his move.
This Third Young Master Qin was not merely a commander; he was also an expert who had hidden his true strength well.
"Shing!"
Sword light flashed like snow.
It was so fast that Ji Ye had no time to react.
All he felt was a chill in his chest.
Qin Wuji's longsword had already pierced his heart, its tip emerging from his back without a trace of blood.
"Organ Tempering... peak..."
Ji Ye looked at the handsome yet icy face so close before him, feeling his heart stop beating.
Qin Wuji's strike had not merely pierced his heart. A stream of chilling Internal Strength had instantly shattered his heart meridians as well.
"In your next life, remember to be a smarter man."
Qin Wuji spoke blandly, pulled out his longsword, and kicked Ji Ye away.
Ji Ye fell onto his back.
He looked at the pitch-black night sky, at the flames filling the heavens.
Pockmarked was dead. Black Bear was dead. The brothers of the Assault Camp were all dead.
He was dead too.
But he had no regrets.
Because he had seen that fleeting trace of... apprehension in Qin Wuji's eyes.
"Cough..."
Ji Ye spat out his final mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his organs.
His vision began to blur, and darkness surged in like a tide.
In this life, he had killed men, saved men, defended a city, and raised a rebellion.
Though he had still been a chess piece.
This chess piece had broken two fingers of the one moving the pieces.
"SSS..."
Ji Ye's consciousness dissipated into the darkness.
[Host vital signs have ceased.] [Soul fluctuation confirmed.] [Reincarnation settlement begins...] [Current world: Great Liang Dynasty (No. 098 · Micro World)] [Survival time: Six months (Second Life)] [Identity: Constable / City Defense General / Assault Camp Centurion] [Achievements: 1. Violence Against Violence: Destroyed the Black Tiger Gang and killed a Peak Skin Tempering Realm martial artist. 2. Flesh and Blood of a Lone City: Defeated many with few, severely wounded the Barbarian vanguard, and defeated Hulei, the Organ Tempering commander-in-chief. 3. The Dream of the Powerful Shattered: Breached Zhao Family Fortress (though he made a wedding dress for another). 4. Rebel Minister: Attempted to assassinate Border Army Captain Qin Wuji (failed).] [Cause of death: Heart pierced by the sword of North Guard Army Captain Qin Wuji.] [Overall evaluation: S (You were a sharp blade. You cut through your enemies' bones, but also wounded your master's hand. Your courage was admirable, but your ending had long been fated. You changed the fate of Black Stone County, yet failed to change your own fate.)] [Based on the S-grade evaluation, you have gained one chance to draw a "Purple Rare" talent.] [Drawing talent...] [Talent obtained: ???]
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