Close-Quarters Brawl

"That shifty-eyed bastard really did lie to me..."

Lu Mingfei swung his arm, and the blade sliced precisely across the exile soldier's neck. The instant his head spun into the air, blood gushed forth, and the brass horn, never having had a chance to sound, clanged onto the floor.

He looked ahead in frustration.

The wooden walkway running along the cliff was pitifully narrow, leaving no room to maneuver.

If he had been setting up the defenses, placing two or three soldiers in the tower would have been enough to lock down this path completely.

"You people in the Lands Between are really damn devious. This isn't much better than the main gate..."

Lu Mingfei muttered as he stomped down hard.

Boom!

A swirling hurricane field appeared. Two sword-wielding exile soldiers failed to evade in time and were thrown sprawling.

Sword raised, horizontal sweep!

The Exile Knight Greatsword's edge slammed viciously into a soldier's chest. His thin armor plates groaned under the strain, caving in and cracking beneath the blow. The broken metal edges scraped together with a piercing shriek, thoroughly declaring the armor ruined.

The soldier was sent flying by the tremendous force and crashed into his companion.

Lu Mingfei used Arrow Step to rush forward, planted a foot on the soldier's chest, and drove the greatsword through his throat. The tip pierced through and nailed him directly to the floor, bringing his muddled life to a complete end.

Then he rose and delivered a vicious kick, sending the other soldier—who had just climbed up and had yet to regain his footing—straight over the cliff.

"Whoa."

He stared at the rolling clouds below the precipice. After waiting for quite a while, Lu Mingfei still heard no sound of impact.

"That's pretty deep... Sorry, buddy... If I'd known, I would've given you a quicker death..."

Thinking that the fallen soldier might still be in free fall, Lu Mingfei closed his eyes in pity. He casually took the bolts from the corpse, then continued onward.

The tower's interior had become ruins. Its labyrinthine wooden stairways were piled high with scattered barrels and crates. The residents in cloth robes, waving daggers around, posed no threat at all and were dispatched in a few strokes.

Unlike the tightly organized crossbow formation and heavy guard at the main gate, this place had only a few soldiers at the entrance. Everyone else was an ordinary resident who could barely fight. The defenses were practically nonexistent.

Lu Mingfei flicked the blood from his sword and let out a long breath.

"Looks like that's all there is to it..."

He looked around, confirmed there was nothing threatening left in the tower, then relaxed his guard. He casually rested the greatsword on his shoulder and prepared to continue onward.

However, the instant he turned around—

Clang!

A rusty shortsword slashed hard at his lower back, only to bounce off his sturdy armor and leave behind a shallow scratch.

"Holy shit!"

Lu Mingfei whirled around and saw a hunched-over resident pouncing out from the shadows, his eyes clouded and a chipped, battered dagger clutched in his hand.

"...You're playing dirty here, huh?"

Without another word, he raised his leg and kicked the man flying. The resident slammed into the wall, slid to the ground, and went completely still.

Lu Mingfei touched the spot where he had been struck. Only after confirming the armor had not been cut through did he sigh in relief.

"Good thing old man Hewg's craftsmanship is reliable..."

He shook his head, gripped the greatsword again, and swept his wary gaze across the corners.

"Looks like I still can't let my guard down."

The place was dimly lit and cluttered with junk. He truly could not afford to be careless.

Lu Mingfei wandered through the tower for quite a while, growing more confused the farther he went.

"Why is this damn place like a maze..."

He kicked aside a broken crate blocking the way. The boards cracked apart, revealing a hidden stairwell behind it.

"Hm?"

He moved the crates aside and cleared out a narrow path.

The stairs were steep and narrow. The planks creaked beneath his feet as though they could collapse at any moment. Lu Mingfei climbed carefully upward and finally came to a half-open wooden door.

By the faint light of a torch outside the door, he could vaguely make out a small room within.

"Anyone there?"

He called out.

Lu Mingfei's voice echoed twice through the empty tower before fading away.

"Figures there aren't any normal people left..."

He shook his head and prepared to take a look inside.

The moment Lu Mingfei stepped into the room, the wooden door behind him slammed shut.

A cloud of dust shook loose from the rotting doorframe.

In the darkness, Lu Mingfei's keen senses caught a trace of hoarse, sinister laughter.

It was Gostoc! That weirdo from the entrance!

But at this moment, Lu Mingfei had no time to curse him.

He swiftly pulled out a torch. The flickering light barely drove back the surrounding darkness.

This was a storage room of moderate size. The shelves were stacked with wooden barrels, though he had no idea what resources they contained. There was also a long table and several chairs.

Several oil paintings rested in a corner against the wall. One depicted a rather imposing man wearing a crown, with a thick mane of white hair like a lion's atop his head.

In another corner stood several gilded, ornate jars, while an oil painting of a Stormhawk had been swept aside.

As he surveyed the room, the dancing flames suddenly reflected a cold silver gleam from the corner.

A tall figure stood silently there, entirely clad in silver armor covered with intricate engravings. At his side was a greatsword identical to Lu Mingfei's, while he held a standard-issue greatshield in his hand.

"Hiss..."

Lu Mingfei instantly recognized that distinctive armor, and cold sweat soaked his back.

That was no common foot soldier, but an elite knight who had once followed the Storm Lord!

He instinctively tightened his grip on the greatsword.

Lu Mingfei really did not want to fight him.

Their fighting styles came from the same lineage. Although it was dual swords against sword and shield, he simply had no way to break through the other man's techniques!

That sword-and-shield knight spirit in Fringefolk Hero's Grave had nearly killed him last time!

"Senior... Doesn't my armor look familiar to you...?"

Lu Mingfei backed up two steps.

"My master was that... uh..."

However, the Exile Knight had long since lost the ability to communicate. Perhaps some memories remained, but most of them likely concerned nothing but battle and slaughter.

The metallic scrape of armor drew slowly closer.

He could only gamble that not much intelligence remained. Otherwise, Lu Mingfei truly could not beat an elite like this.

As armored boots slowly crushed the pottery shards scattered across the floor, he saw the knight's greatsword already swinging high into the air.

Clang—

Lu Mingfei raised his sword to block. The shock ran from the web between his thumb and forefinger, shot up his spine, and surged straight to his head. Driven back by the immense force, Lu Mingfei slid half a step backward.

The storage room was extremely cramped and packed with clutter.

He could not retreat any farther. One more step, and he would be pinned in the corner and beaten senseless!

Another sword strike came down.

Lu Mingfei ducked low and rolled. The wind from the blade howled over his head, and the ornate gilded jar that had stood in the corner was cleaved in two, scattering gold-plated fragments everywhere.

"Sorry, Senior!"

Lu Mingfei suddenly sprang up. His greatsword came down in a vertical chop from above, falling with the force of Mount Tai collapsing overhead and smashing brutally into the knight's iron shield.

Clang—

The explosive crash of metal striking metal shook dust loose from the storage room's beams.