The Battle of Bianliang

Bianliang had been ravaged by endless Taotie, with countless civilians dead. Yet not a single corpse could be seen on the streets.

Xiao Hen raced across rooftop after rooftop, scaling walls and vaulting over eaves as he sped forward.

He knew the civilians' bodies had all been devoured by the Taotie. Everywhere he looked along the way was ruin. The capital, Bianliang, had fallen completely.

Roar!

A Taotie spotted Xiao Hen. With a howl, the vocal system at the back of its head vibrated, releasing sound waves beyond human hearing. The waves spread out, and the nearby Taotie answered one after another before turning and charging toward him, forming an encirclement.

"Courting death!"

Xiao Hen opened his right hand, and a long rifle appeared in it. Without even aiming, relying entirely on his senses, he fired. The eye beneath the left armpit of the Taotie lunging from the opposite rooftop shattered, spraying green fluid. It collapsed and did not rise again. It was dead.

"Now that I know their weakness, these Taotie are like zombies. They're not that hard to deal with!"

Holding his rifle, Xiao Hen crossed eaves and buildings. Just as he neared the imperial palace, he was stopped once more by the Taotie rushing over.

Roar!

Roar, roar...

This wave of Taotie was terrifyingly numerous. Xiao Hen looked up and made a rough estimate. Several hundred Taotie had surrounded him.

"Several hundred. I still have enough ammunition. No problem." Xiao Hen first checked his ammunition reserves. Then he took out a Machine Gun with his left hand and replaced the rifle in his right with another, faster-firing Machine Gun. With a Machine Gun in each hand, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "Begin, Taotie. Enjoy the Taotie feast I've prepared for you!"

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Rat-a-tat-tat...

The Machine Guns fired at an extremely high rate, tens of thousands of rounds per minute. Under Xiao Hen's control, very few bullets were wasted. Most struck the Taotie, and one after another, they sprayed green blood and fell with miserable cries, never to rise again.

Roar!

One Taotie finally broke through Xiao Hen's barrage. It suddenly leaped forward like a fish, pouncing at him and preparing to kill him with a single swipe. But it discovered that the Machine Gun in Xiao Hen's right hand had vanished, replaced by a long sword.

Xiao Hen flicked his right hand. The sword became a flash of moonlight that vanished in an instant. The lunging Taotie had already been severed into head and body, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Pathetically weak!" Xiao Hen's left hand did not stop. Amid the sweeping fire of the Machine Gun, the several hundred Taotie were completely wiped out.

With one kick, he sent the Taotie corpse blocking his path flying. Xiao Hen continued toward the imperial palace, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder how strong the Taotie Guards are. And how strong is the King of Taotie?"

Before the palace hall, a group of Taotie Guards protected the King of Taotie in a circle. Countless Taotie fed the King of Taotie, while the Taotie Guards raised the protective wings atop their heads to shield their king as it ate.

A Taotie covered in Black Powder rushed into the encirclement with a mouthful of pork, preparing to feed its king.

On a tower dozens of meters away, Lin Mei and William watched the Taotie below with tense expressions.

"The Taotie are feeding. They won't attack at a time like this. Kill the Beast King quickly! This is our last chance!"

Advisor Wang shouted as he raised his weapon to fend off the charging Taotie. Lin Mei and William gritted their teeth and made their decision. They quickly climbed the tower, rushing toward the top.

"This window. Hurry. You have to hit it and ignite that Black Powder. This is our last chance." Lin Mei pressed her lips together, her expression grave as she watched the scene outside.

"Leave it to me." William came to the window and took out an arrow. A torch was tied to it, meant to ignite the Black Powder on the Taotie beside the Beast King.

It has to hit. It has to hit! Lin Mei prayed silently.

William focused his gaze and calmed his heart. A glint flashed in his eyes. He released the arrow, which shot from the bowstring as a streak of black light. In an instant, it reached the Beast King. It was just about to strike the Black Powder, but unfortunately...

Unfortunately, the Taotie Guards' senses were extremely sharp, and their defenses were airtight. They forcibly blocked the arrow.

"Damn it!" William gritted his teeth in regret. Lin Mei sighed inwardly as well, clenching both fists as she shot the Beast King an unwilling glare.

The Beast King suddenly raised its head and stared viciously at the tower. The signaling organ atop its head trembled. Every Taotie that received the signal immediately began converging on the tower, attacking it madly in an attempt to kill Lin Mei and William.

"This is bad!" Lin Mei inwardly cursed. She said to William, "Keep going up. We still have a chance!"

"Alright!" William nodded. "I can kill it! I definitely can!"

"Go!"

The two continued upward and finally reached the top floor.

At the top-floor window, both wore solemn expressions. They knew this was their final chance. If they failed again, they might die in the jaws of the Taotie, while the entire Central Plains—perhaps even the entire world—would be destroyed by the Taotie.

"Are you ready?" Lin Mei asked in a low voice.

"No problem." William drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The flame at its tip flickered faintly, but that tiny flame represented the hope of all humanity. This moment was incredibly important.

"Begin!" Lin Mei aimed and suddenly threw the object in her hand. It was a magnet.

William clenched his teeth, his gaze exceptionally grave as he stared down below. He immediately seized the opportunity and released the arrow. Working with the magnet, it shot downward at high speed.

In the original Plot, at such a critical moment, the magnet played an extremely important role. It immobilized the Taotie Guards, allowing the arrow to pass directly through a gap and enter the protective circle. Even though the Taotie Beast King bit the arrow apart at the crucial moment, it still could not change the outcome.

However, what happened now differed somewhat from the movie. Perhaps it had something to do with Xiao Hen taking the green crystal from the Taotie's place of origin. At this moment, the King of Taotie seemed to be under some unknown influence, and its perception of danger had become even more terrifying.

Before William's arrow arrived, it commanded all the Taotie Guards to arrange their defenses with extraordinary tightness.

This arrow failed. Its force was tremendous, piercing directly into the top of a Taotie Guard's head. After a brief period of stiffness, the Taotie Guard broke free from the magnet's restraining effect and lunged out.

Boom!

The explosive attached to the arrow detonated, blasting it into chunks of flesh.

Roar!

The Taotie Beast King roared. It stopped feeding and ordered all the Taotie to besiege the tower where Lin Mei and William were.

"It's over. Completely over!" Lin Mei shook her head in despair and glared at William resentfully.

William also wore a sorrowful expression, but could only say, "I did my best."

"What do we do now?"

"We can't escape..."

On a distant rooftop, a figure suddenly appeared. He glanced in their direction and said strangely, "Huh? This doesn't match the original Plot. William actually failed..."

"Could it be because of me?"

"Perfect. King of Taotie, let me test you out!"

Xiao Hen looked at the Taotie Beast King among the Taotie Guards. He took the only sniper rifle from his Storage Space and aimed at the Taotie Beast King within the tightly guarded formation, lining up the crosshairs with the Beast King through a gap.

"Goodbye, Taotie Beast King!"

Xiao Hen pulled the trigger. A golden bullet blasted from the barrel at many times the speed of sound, tearing through the air with endless force as it shot toward the Taotie Beast King.

You know... just read between the lines!