Melee

Seeing that nearly everyone had arrived, a faint glint passed through Zu Hao's eyes.

It was time to add fuel to the fire.

With a slight stir of his mind, invisible, intangible psychic force quietly seeped out and precisely wrapped around the wrist of a West Depot agent closest to Fengzi, the inn waiter.

The agent had been fully on guard against the Tartars beside him when his right wrist suddenly went numb. A completely uncontrollable force drove his arm into a fierce forward swing.

The steel saber in his hand flashed coldly as it hacked straight at Fengzi, who was craning his neck to look around.

Fengzi's attention was fixed on the newly arrived Gu Shaotang and Feng Lidao. How could he have expected a West Depot man beside him to suddenly attack him?

Unable to dodge in time, he took a solid slash across the shoulder. Blood sprayed instantly, staining his filthy old fur coat red.

"Aah—!"

The shrill scream tore through the brief silence.

"You fucking bastard, you dare make a move?!"

Though Old Zhai feared the West Depot's power, seeing them attack his own men first filled him with shock and fury. He immediately roared, "Brothers, kill them!"

Hagang Tonga had long been unable to hold himself back. With an enraged roar, he swung his heavy curved blade sideways without hesitation, like a furious black bear, the weapon howling through the air!

The West Depot captain facing him was still stunned by his companion's inexplicable attack when he felt an icy chill at his neck.

"Splurt—!"

A head, along with scalding blood, soared into the air.

The headless corpse swayed once before crashing heavily to the ground.

That gruesome scene was like a spark cast into boiling oil, instantly igniting everyone's pent-up killing intent.

"Kill!!"

"Slaughter these imperial lapdogs!"

"Tartars, give us your lives!"

Roars, battle cries, and the ringing of weapons being drawn erupted at once. The tension that had been stretched to its limit finally exploded.

The two sides crashed together like surging, muddy waves!

The West Depot agents were well trained. Though startled, they did not panic, immediately forming small back-to-back groups of three. Blades and swords flashed outward in disciplined, lethal patterns.

The Tartars, meanwhile, relied on sheer ferocity, roaring as they brandished curved blades and shields, charging recklessly ahead.

Old Zhai's men carried a hodgepodge of weapons and possessed only mediocre martial arts. In an instant, they were swept into the edge of the melee. Amid screams, two or three had already fallen into pools of blood.

Zu Hao silently withdrew behind the crowd and stood in the corridor, taking in the entire slaughter.

His psychic field quietly spread out around him. Though he could not finely control everyone at once, it was enough to subtly influence the battle.

With another thought from Zu Hao, grains of sand scattered across the ground were swept up by an invisible force. Like dense hidden weapons, they shot toward several West Depot agents' faces with sharp whistles!

"Ah... my eyes!"

"Where did this sand come from?"

The agents who had been about to swing their blades were caught completely off guard. They immediately clutched their eyes and screamed, their offensive faltering.

The men under Old Zhai who were fighting them did not understand what had happened, but their instinct for survival made them seize the opportunity. Their blades fell wildly, and two more agents cried out as they collapsed.

Gu Shaotang frowned tightly as the melee suddenly erupted, but blades had no eyes, and there was no time for her to think.

A bloodshot West Depot agent thrust his saber at her.

Gu Shaotang snorted coldly. She shifted slightly aside, evading the blade, while her slender hand swept across her waist and flicked outward.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three cold flashes shot out in a triangular formation.

The hooked-tail throwing darts sank with perfect precision into the agent's throat and chest. Without making a sound, he fell backward.

Gu Shaotang struck like lightning. After several more soft whistles through the air, two nearby agents who had been besieging Tartars also fell. Each had gained a throwing knife in the brow or throat.

As for Feng Lidao, the moment the fighting began, he expertly ducked down and rolled behind an overturned square table. Trembling, he hugged his head and muttered, "Bodhisattva, bless me. Ancestors, show your power. Can't see me, can't see me..."

Zu Hao's gaze was sharp as a torch as he rapidly swept across the chaotic battlefield.

Tan Luzi's sword moved in tricky, unpredictable patterns, hidden killing intent lurking amid the dancing silver tassel.

Ji Xueyong's saber techniques, on the other hand, were steady and seasoned, powerful and heavy.

Gu Shaotang's dart techniques were even more exquisite. Wrist strength, eyesight, and accuracy were all indispensable.

At the center of the battlefield, Bulu Du had already engaged Tan Luzi, the West Depot's Second Chief.

Bulu Du moved with nimble grace. Her bare feet tapped the ground as she spun and darted about, the metal ring blades on her wrists tracing fierce arcs through the air. They could block and slash at close range or be thrown to strike enemies, vicious beyond compare.

But Tan Luzi's swordsmanship was superior. His long sword struck like a venomous serpent flicking its tongue, while the silver tassel sometimes disrupted her vision and sometimes lashed at her pressure points. He forced Bulu Du back again and again, sweat beading on her skin as danger surrounded her.

Zhao Tong, the Fourth Chief, had been circling the outskirts and firing sneak arrows. Seeing an opening, he silently drew his bow and nocked arrows.

His archery was superb; he could fire two arrows at once and take a life in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, his cold arrowheads were steadily aimed at Bulu Du's heart and the back of her head.

The bowstring was drawn full, like a crescent moon.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two sharp arrows left the string and shot through the air.

They were about to pin Bulu Du dead on the spot!

Zu Hao's eyes narrowed, and his psychic force moved again. Rather than blocking them head-on, he gave their tails a slight nudge, like a breeze brushing a willow branch, causing the arrows to shift by an almost imperceptible angle.

The two arrows that should have pierced Bulu Du instead let out shrill whistles and, unbelievably, curved in slight arcs, sinking with perfect accuracy into the neck and temple of Tan Luzi, who had been attacking Bulu Du with all his strength.

"Urgh..."

Tan Luzi's body stiffened violently. The long sword clenched in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Zhao Tong in the distance, who still held his bow. His gaze was filled with disbelief and terror.

A gurgling sound came from his throat. Blood poured from the arrow wounds in his neck and temple, dyeing his clothes dark red.

Tan Luzi staggered half a step, then crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Second Chief!!"

Ji Xueyong, the Third Chief, cried out in horror, his voice ripping through the night sky.

Every West Depot agent froze, their gazes snapping toward Zhao Tong, who still held his drawn bow with a stunned expression.

The crackling torchlight clearly illuminated the lingering killing intent on his face and the sudden terror rising within him.

"Zhao Tong! You... you dared to ambush the Second Chief?!"

Ji Xueyong's eyes nearly split with rage. He suddenly turned his steel saber and pointed it directly at Zhao Tong.

He advanced step by step, killing intent around him nearly solidifying into substance.

"It wasn't me! The arrows... the arrows moved on their own..."

Zhao Tong could not defend himself. Panicked, he tried to explain.

He simply could not understand what had happened in that instant.

The bowstring had twanged and the arrows had flown, yet it was as though some invisible force had guided them. Their trajectories had twisted strangely, striking straight at Tan Luzi's vital points.

The hand holding his bow was still trembling slightly, and an icy chill suddenly rose in his heart.

"Dog traitor!"

"Traitor!"

"Avenge the Second Chief!"

The West Depot men instantly erupted into an uproar. Roars and curses exploded, completely drowning out Zhao Tong.

Several steel sabers immediately turned on him, cleaving toward him mercilessly with howling force!

This was exactly the effect Zu Hao wanted.

He remained concealed on the inn's stairway, his eyes cold as ice.

Seeing that few men remained on either side, Zu Hao expressionlessly took out a jet-black, gleaming pistol from his personal space.

He had picked it up from the Resident Evil world. It had already been disinfected and sterilized, so it was safe to use.

As the infighting in the courtyard grew ever fiercer, Zu Hao quietly raised his arm and took aim.