Guns and Force

On the hillside, the Purple-Robed Man, surrounded by a crowd like stars around the moon, waved his hand.

At his command, over a hundred cultists shouted and charged down the hillside, surrounding the mountain stronghold below from all directions! These cultists were clearly more elite, and the weapons in their hands were of much better quality.

"Captain Wang?"

Before the altar, several Registered Martial Masters looked at Wang Ping. "Let's withdraw."

"Withdraw?!"

Wang Ping pointed at the fallen people around them. "If we withdraw, this operation will have cost us over a hundred Overseeing Bureau Inspectors and dozens of Rank A Students from the Military Academy. How are we supposed to survive in Xingcheng for the rest of our lives?"

"Captain Wang, what do you plan to do?"

someone asked.

Wang Ping looked up at the man in purple robes on the hillside, killing intent gleaming in his eyes. "That man should be the leader of the Tranquil God Sect. If we charge over and capture him, we still have a chance to turn this battle around!"

He had great confidence in his own strength. Combined with his three teammates, he did not believe the Tranquil God Sect had the power to stop four Registered Martial Masters.

The three teammates exchanged glances and nodded.

"Fine. Let's risk it!"

"Go!"

Wang Ping took the lead, charging out first, with the other three following close behind.

The four Registered Martial Masters moved as fast as galloping horses. In the blink of an eye, they vaulted over the wooden wall of the stronghold and charged out!

The four of them rushed toward the man on the hillside who appeared to be the leader of the Tranquil God Sect.

The Purple-Robed Man watched the four martial warriors charging toward him and smiled confidently as he raised his hand. "Prepare."

As soon as he spoke, more than twenty cultists stepped forward with rifles!

The first row crouched halfway down, while the second row stood upright, their muzzles aimed at the four martial warriors charging up from below.

The rifles in these men's hands were Eagle Strike Type-II Rifles, imported from Western countries during the early stages of the Mingxin Reform. The Great Blue Dynasty's domestically produced Tiger-style Rifle had been modeled after the "Eagle Strike."

The Great Blue Dynasty had established itself through martial power. Its people were fierce and rugged. At first, armor was forbidden but blades were allowed, while crossbows were forbidden but bows were allowed.

In other words, the imperial court would not interfere if commoners privately collected swords and sabers. But if they privately stored armor, they would all be treated as rebels!

Likewise, the court did not care about people collecting bows and arrows, but privately keeping crossbows was forbidden.

Later, when the Mingxin Reform began, the Great Blue Dynasty massively introduced Western gunpowder weapons. The imperial court then raised the prohibition level on firearms to the highest level.

But after more than five hundred years as a feudal empire, the dynasty was burdened by too many accumulated abuses. The court's control over the regions steadily declined, and local powerholders, martial sects, and great clans almost all privately possessed firearms. Some could even manufacture guns themselves!

Against this backdrop, it was hardly surprising that the Tranquil God Sect had managed to obtain more than twenty Eagle Strike Type-II Rifles.

"Defend!"

Wang Ping immediately shouted when he saw this.

The four martial warriors swiftly changed their charging formation. A man carrying a round shield moved to the very front, while Wang Ping and the other two hid behind him.

The shield-bearing martial warrior let out a loud shout. A stream of pitch-black energy surged from his skin, enveloping his entire body and covering the shield in his hands as well.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

A dense burst of gunfire rang out. Some bullets struck the other man's shield and ricocheted away.

Others hit the martial warrior's body, sinking into it like stones into the sea.

He was completely unaffected, continuing his charge straight into the hail of bullets!

"Mystic Stele Force? Good."

The Purple-Robed Man standing on the hillside smiled faintly, looking not the least bit worried.

The next second, a three-meter-long Crimson Snake shot out from behind the shield-bearing man, flying toward the hillside as swiftly as an arrow loosed from its string! It was precisely the Crimson Scale Force Wang Ping had cultivated from his own Innate One Qi.

The force had taken the shape of a snake and carried astonishing heat.

Before the Crimson Snake even drew near, everyone on the hillside already felt a wave of heat sweeping over them.

The cultists in the second row instinctively fired at the Crimson Snake, but the bullets passed straight through it without affecting it in the slightest. Its speed did not diminish.

Just as the Crimson Snake came within its final ten meters of the crowd, a figure charged out.

The man was completely cloaked in black robes. He had a tall build, a mask covering his face, and a Nine Ring Broadsword in his hand.

He swung his saber at the Crimson Snake. The Nine Ring Broadsword radiated astonishing cold, and wherever its edge passed, the air itself condensed into frost!

Pfft—

The frost-covered blade struck the Crimson Snake. A huge cloud of white steam rose into the air, and a violent gale swept across the level ground! The masked man was knocked back several steps, but he also dispersed Wang Ping's Crimson Scale Force.

"A Force-Refining Martial Warrior?!"

Wang Ping, standing behind his companions, revealed a look of astonishment.

After a martial artist reached the Qi Transformation Stage, they could be called a martial warrior. Those who could refine Innate One Qi into a special force were Force-Refining Martial Warriors, experts among those in the Qi Transformation Stage.

Wang Ping had never expected a heretical cult to have a Force-Refining Martial Warrior. With the other party's strength, he could have easily passed the examination to become a Registered Martial Master of the imperial court. There was no need for him to throw in his lot with a minor heretical cult.

It was like taking people rabbit hunting, only for a wild wolf to leap out of the rabbit warren! As his Crimson Scale Force was dispersed, his other two companions charged out from behind the shield-bearing man, revolvers in hand, firing at the armed cultists on the hillside.

In the past, the imperial court's Registered Martial Masters might still have specially trained in archery and hidden weapons. But after the introduction of gunpowder weapons, everyone now practiced marksmanship.

Unless one was a martial artist specializing in hidden weapons, a revolver was more useful than any hidden weapon.

The two Registered Martial Masters were carrying War Halberds. These were double-barreled revolvers capable of firing two bullets at once.

The two martial warriors fired as they charged up the hillside.

They had intended to use their pistols to disrupt the armed cultists on the hillside and create an opportunity to close in. They had never expected these cultists to be utterly fearless of death. Even with guns pointed at them, they did not waver in the slightest. They calmly worked their bolts, chambered rounds, and then raised their rifles to fire.

Bang bang bang bang—

A burst of gunfire rang out. Several cultists were shot and fell to the ground, while the two Registered Martial Masters were also hit several times.

However, they wore protective clothing made from exotic-beast hide. Although it could not completely stop rifle bullets, it could reduce their impact. Combined with the defense formed by the Implants inside their bodies, the bullets were all lodged in their muscles.

As long as they were not struck in a vital spot, taking a few bullets was no serious problem.

The two Registered Martial Masters took the opportunity to vault across the final stretch and kill their way into the crowd!

It was like a tiger plunging into a flock of sheep. Every movement of the two men erupted with tremendous strength, easily breaking bones and snapping tendons as they killed the armed cultists one after another!

Just as the two men were about to charge toward the Purple-Robed Man who appeared to be the leader of the Tranquil God Sect and capture him, two more figures in black robes and masks leaped out, each moving to intercept one of the Registered Martial Masters.

The two sides soon became locked in battle.

Wang Ping, watching this from nearby, finally began to panic.

Because the two black-robed men who had suddenly appeared were also Force-Refining Martial Warriors! The wild wolves leaping from the rabbit warren were not one, but three!

The Cessation of Hostilities Bureau had records of every martial warrior and Force-Refining Martial Warrior in Xingcheng's territory and maintained close surveillance over them. That was why Wang Ping could not understand where these three Force-Refining Martial Warriors had come from.

Three Force-Refining Martial Warriors, a mage in the Spirit Transformation Stage, and so many cultists surrounding them—Wang Ping's resolve began to waver.

To deal with a minor local heretical cult like the Tranquil God Sect, which had no real foundation, the Cessation of Hostilities Bureau had dispatched four Registered Martial Masters, more than a hundred Overseeing Bureau Inspectors from the Overseeing Bureau, dozens of Rank A Students from the Military Academy, and several Special Grade Instructors with the strength of martial warriors. This was already a formation fit for a lion hunting a rabbit.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been like Mount Tai crushing an egg!

But no one had expected that a mere minor heretical cult could possess such strength.

Although a mage in the Spirit Transformation Stage could not fight a martial warrior head-on, hiding nearby and providing support could be extremely troublesome.

"Withdraw!"

Wang Ping shouted loudly.

He had finally abandoned the idea of capturing the leader of the Tranquil God Sect alive and turning the tide in a single stroke. He intended to leave with his teammates.

As for the Overseeing Bureau Inspectors and Military Academy students who had fallen unconscious inside the stronghold, they could only leave it to fate.