In the distance, a burst of fire suddenly flared up on the road. Chen Xu swept his gaze over the mother and daughter, who were already sound asleep. If things went wrong, he was ready to take them and jump from the car at any moment.
The driver sharply turned the wheel and veered onto a side road.
"Deputy Pavilion Master Chen, the vehicles clearing the way ahead have come under attack."
"Just drive. I'm only responsible for protecting their safety."
Hearing that, the driver secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid this newly appointed Deputy Pavilion Master would meddle with the rescue plan they had arranged long ago. They had already considered every possible situation and had more than enough ways to deal with them.
The Blood Rose Mercenary Corps was a mid-to-upper-tier mercenary corps. He believed those ragtag soldiers could never be their match.
Perhaps it would only take a few minutes to deal with this batch of enemies.
The sedan's soundproofing was excellent. The sleeping mother and daughter had no idea they were experiencing a scene that could previously only be seen in movies.
Ling Youyou lay sprawled over her mother, her little hand lightly scratching the bare calf exposed outside the blanket.
"Damn, what mercenary corps is this fierce? They brought rocket launchers into Great Abyss?" Blood Rose stared at the incoming rocket, her face turning green as she hastily jumped out of the vehicle.
Although they had been caught off guard, the members of the Blood Rose Mercenary Corps were all battle-hardened veterans. They each found cover and exchanged fire with the enemy troops.
"Captain, why do the clothes on those people look so much like Great Abyss Military Headquarters uniforms?" Bullets blasted several craters in front of Rat, frightening him so badly that he did not dare move.
At his words, Blood Rose lowered the brim of her hat and cautiously poked her head out.
Soldiers clad in dark navy uniforms gradually closed in on them under the cover of heavy fire.
"Fuck, no one told me we'd be fighting the Great Abyss Military Headquarters." Blood Rose could not help but curse. Whether in equipment or numbers, they were no match for the other side. How were they supposed to fight?
Watching her teammates fall one after another, Blood Rose turned and slipped into the forest beside the road.
Expecting mercenaries driven by profit to have any sense of brotherhood was simply too naive.
Her hair disheveled, Blood Rose shed as much unnecessary weight as possible, all so she could run faster.
Whoosh. A cold glint shot toward her.
Her pupils contracted as Blood Rose instinctively ducked aside.
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause rang out, and Blood Rose abruptly looked up.
Among the branches stood a man dressed in gaudy, flashy clothes, looking absurdly showy.
Licking his lips, the flamboyant man appeared before Blood Rose like the wind. He lifted her chin as though admiring some peerless delicacy.
"I think your blood must be delicious."
Hearing that, Blood Rose kicked toward the flamboyant man's groin, trying to use the opportunity to escape.
"Such a move isn't very likable." The flamboyant man flashed behind Blood Rose, his tongue gently licking her earlobe.
"Evil Old Ghost, stop playing around. The targets have already escaped several kilometers away." A man with his eyes tightly shut emerged from the other side of the forest.
What was astonishing was that despite traveling through the dense forest for so long with his eyes closed, not a speck of dust stained his clothes.
"Blind Old Ghost, we're both Martial Artists. Are we really going to let two helpless women escape?
Taking this job was only to whet our appetites along the way."
"Once Qianshui Commandery is breached, perhaps we'll get to taste the Martial Pavilion Master."
While the two spoke, Blood Rose pulled out the miniature pistol she carried. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the gun appeared in Evil Old Ghost's palm the next instant.
"Good little girl, you can't play with toys like this." Before Blood Rose's eyes, Evil Old Ghost kneaded the miniature pistol into a lump of scrap metal.
Despair appeared on Blood Rose's face. She had no idea where these two monsters had come from. If her mercenary corps were still around, perhaps she might have stood a chance. But now she was just an unarmed woman. How could she possibly be their opponent?
"Hurry up, deal with her, and get moving." After saying that, Blind Old Ghost headed toward the road on his own.
With their speed alone, they could not catch a car racing down the highway. He needed to requisition a vehicle.
Soon, the woman's wails came from behind him, accompanied by the constant sound of sucking.
"Who's there?" A Great Abyss soldier raised his gun and nervously stared at the rustling forest.
Within the dark forest, a pebble shot forth like a bolt of thunder, piercing through a helmet and boring into the soldier's forehead.
Before he could even shout that they were under attack, the corpse toppled to the ground.
Blind Old Ghost landed without a sound. Like a ghost, he began a massacre in the forest.
By the time the Great Abyss soldiers realized that fewer and fewer of their comrades remained, they could no longer pose any threat to him.
"Blind Old Ghost, I'm done."
Evil Old Ghost leisurely emerged from the woods. When he saw the trembling man at Blind Old Ghost's side, the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Why leave one alive?"
"The driver." Blind Old Ghost calmly uttered three words.
"Oh, he's even an officer. I wonder where you serve, sir?" Evil Old Ghost tore the stone badge from the man's chest and played with it admiringly.
After Great Abyss underwent industrialization, it also made a small reform to its Imperial Court. Among the changes was replacing the jade belts, gold belts, silver belts, and stone belts that symbolized one's status with jade badges, gold badges, silver badges, and stone badges worn on the chest.
Those of third rank and above wore jade badges, those above fifth rank wore gold badges, those above seventh rank wore silver badges, and everyone else wore stone badges.
"G-Great Abyss Peace Prefecture City Military Department."
Seeing that Evil Old Ghost still wanted to tease him a little longer, Blind Old Ghost forcefully cut off their conversation. "Enough."
Under the threat of two Martial Artists, the sole surviving officer drove a military Hummer in pursuit.
"Blood Rose Mercenary Corps? Please respond if you receive this.
Blood Rose Mercenary Corps? Please respond if you receive this.
Blood Rose Mercenary Corps? Please respond if you receive this."
After calling repeatedly without receiving any response, the driver's expression gradually turned grim. He had no choice but to consider the worst possibility: less than five hours after leaving Jinning Commandery, the Blood Rose Mercenary Corps had been completely wiped out.
There were still two guns and the corresponding ammunition in the trunk, but aside from him, no one in the car knew how to use them. As a martial artist, he understood better than anyone the helplessness and vulnerability of martial artists when facing firearms.
Even if Deputy Pavilion Master Chen was stronger than him, how could he deal with such a situation?
Flesh and blood was still flesh and blood. Against bullets with such terrifying penetrating power, even a body tempered a thousand times was as fragile as tofu.
He was not afraid of death. What he feared was failing to complete the task Ling Xiangshan had entrusted to him. He could not forget the uneasy figure of Deputy Pavilion Master Ling pacing back and forth when he left the Martial Pavilion.
Ling Xiangshan was his benefactor. When he had been at his most desperate, Ling Xiangshan had extended a helping hand without hesitation.
From then on, he had always been Ling Xiangshan's most trusted right-hand man.
In the rearview mirror, he saw the mother and daughter being jolted awake by the bumpy road. In his heart, he made a vow: even if he died, he would fulfill Deputy Pavilion Master Ling's instructions.
If they kept driving at full speed for less than another hour, they would reach Qianshui Commandery. By then, they could gain a brief respite to think of a solution.
No matter how arrogant the enemy was, would they really dare run wild in Great Abyss Commandery City?
Before you continue