The Battle Begins

By the time Liu Tian had escorted his mother and newborn sister to a safe place, quite some time had passed. The sounds of gunfire and battle had already filled the air, and only then did Liu Yun finally arrive.

"Dad, you're so slow." Liu Tian leaned against the wall. Beside him were his mother and sister, as well as Liu Wenhan, the younger brother she'd brought along, and their associates, whom he'd deliberately brought over.

Liu Tian didn't particularly trust the manor's security, so he'd chosen to keep the more important people within sight.

He was sure that, at least within reach of his tentacles, he could protect them far better than the soldiers and guards could.

"I've finally found you all. Is everyone okay?" Liu Yun had already sent his father to join the other family members and be protected elsewhere. Seeing his daughter completely unharmed—and still fast asleep, blissfully content—he breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't believe those stupid lunatics really dared to attack on a day like this. Don't worry, we're fully prepared."

"We've arranged for people to send regular updates on whether they're safe, using a code phrase that only my second brother and I know." Liu Yun tried to reassure the obviously uneasy group. "At this rate, the vanguard will arrive in less than half an hour, and the troops stationed nearby will get here within an hour. Everything is under control."

"So that means we won't have any reinforcements for at least half an hour." Liu Tian opened his mouth to pour cold water on the situation. "If I weren't here, and things went badly over there quickly enough, you'd probably only be able to collect the bodies."

"How could that be possible? You're just fearmongering!" One of the people forcibly brought over seemed deeply displeased. "Miss Wenhan, don't be afraid. The various families brought plenty of famous fighters with them. I doubt we'll even need the army's help. We might be able to kill those lunatics right here."

The man standing beside Liu Wenhan had black hair and eyes fixed on her. He was handsome, dressed in fine clothes, and even his polished appearance couldn't hide the unmistakable pallor of someone who'd overindulged. He was clearly a spoiled young man pursuing Liu Wenhan.

"Are you stupid?" Liu Tian glanced at the man who'd just spoken. "Being famous for a long time means their abilities are well known. And the strength of a group of soldiers is basically fixed, too. It's easy enough to calculate the overall fighting strength of the Liu manor."

"I think Edward may be crazy, but he isn't stupid. If he couldn't win, why would he attack now?" Liu Tian turned to his father and asked, "Dad, when you go whaling, do you go after whales you clearly can't catch?"

"No! Experienced whalers know that a whale they can't catch isn't prey—it's the hunter." Although that answer was clearly bad for morale, Liu Yun wasn't about to make his son look bad in front of so many outsiders. He gave it to them straight. "If I go after one, it means that whale is within my abilities."

"You can judge your strength at a glance, so you're not much different from whales, whose strength can be gauged from their size." Liu Tian paid no attention to Liu Wenhan's face turning deathly pale as he continued his analysis. "Since Second Uncle is so concerned about him, I believe Edward is an experienced whaler."

"I can say for certain that they shouldn't be able to handle a full-scale army. But if we're talking only about this manor and the reinforcements who might arrive within half an hour..." Liu Tian pondered. "If those famous fighters aren't hiding too much of their strength, then it'll come down to what Second Uncle can do with enough preparation."

"But before that..." Liu Tian suddenly turned to look at the wall on his left. Nearly ten fighters with battle patterns on their foreheads leaped out from the crowd. "All of you, get back. Dad, take care of them. We have guests."

As if in answer to his words, a crash rang out. A huge crack instantly appeared in the manor's thick wall, sending dust billowing everywhere.

"This is the place, right? This is the place, right?" A two-meter-tall Protein Queen, her muscles knotted and a massive iron hammer slung over her shoulder, strode out covered in blood. Seeing the crowd gathered together, she grinned savagely. "Hey, you bigwigs! Party time! Captain Edward said I should kill a third of you to get things started. Have you decided who's dying first?"

"How is this possible? How did you get past the Blazing Sun Army's defenses?" Several people in the crowd who knew how strong the guards stationed nearby were instantly turned pale. "This—this area should have been completely surrounded by the Blazing Sun Army's First Company!"

"The Blazing Sun Army? You mean these useless guys?" A small, frail creature, thin as a monkey, leaped out from the side and landed on the Great Hammer. "Too bad they were so careless. They might've caused us a lot more trouble otherwise."

As he spoke, he hurled two heads onto the ground. Their eyes were still open. "It's just that arrogant idiots like these are only capable of this much. If people like that can rise to the rank of commander, the Crimson Cloud Empire has fallen into decline."

"I'm hungry. I'm hungry." With a childlike whine, the ground began to tremble as a huge Meat Mountain lumbered inside. Fat piled over his features, making him look like a hyper-upright, enormous pig. Countless wounds revealed the fat beneath his skin. "I'm hungry and want to go back and eat. I don't want to stay here anymore. When can we go back and eat?"

As Meat Mountain spoke, brass bullets were squeezed out of his wounds and fell to the ground with a pleasant clink.

"The Protein Queen and the monkey are one thing, but how did a Meat Mountain that size get here? Did you really not get any warning?" With two sawtooth-like battle patterns appearing on his forehead, marking him as a fighter, Liu Tian turned and gestured for Liu Yun to hurry their mother, sister, cousin, and younger brother away, then asked, "Looks like whoever's in charge of traffic has plenty of problems, too..."

"..."

No one was willing to answer. The immense killing intent radiating from the three made the fighters who'd stepped forward break out in cold sweat. Their adrenaline surged.

Every instinct told them these were the toughest opponents they'd ever faced—and there were three of them.

Thank goodness we're not facing them alone!

The fighters who'd deliberately stayed among the crowd as backup, guarding the guests, couldn't help thinking that.

But even with a three-to-one advantage, how were they supposed to fight?

The few who knew each other exchanged glances. None of them felt confident...

And while they were still trying to work out a strategy, Liu Tian had already made his move.

Who was he going to fight?

The Protein Queen? The monster that looked like a monkey? Or the enormous Meat Mountain, who clearly had tremendous defensive power?

The answer came in an instant!

All three! All three!

Heavenly Martial Killing Dao. Giant Cannon Heavy Fist!

In an instant, Liu Tian threw three punches. The force of his blows enveloped all three opponents at once.

With no intention of coordinating with the others, Liu Tian laughed wildly. Before the other fighters had even settled on a strategy, he took on the attackers all by himself.