"Ah, dog official, pay with your life!" the man roared. His blade flashed, and he became a streak of light. His body instantly shrank to less than three feet, man and blade skimming the ground as he cut in low—this was how he avoided the crossbow bolts.
He was an expert, a dead warrior. At such a moment, he advanced instead of retreating. Liu Zhan saw it all clearly, yet merely shook his head slightly.
"Die, bandit!" A Hundred-Household Officer stepped forward, roaring as he raised a hand and swept it down. Military orders were as unshakable as mountains: advance, never retreat. The armored soldiers pressed forward.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The clash of metal erupted. A heart-piercing scream rang out as a body flew backward. Three or four armored soldiers were struck by the blade and sent tumbling, but almost at the same instant, the soldiers' long sabers came down.
"Puff, puff, puff!" Three long sabers hacked and thrust into the man from three different angles, meeting within his body with a dull metallic collision.
His charge came to a halt. His eyes opened wide, as though he wanted to say something, but the moment he moved, blood burst forth like a fountain, and he collapsed to the ground.
Ma Shunde merely sneered. Clearly, he had expected something like this long ago.
Hard-hearted as Liu Zhan was, even he felt a chill in his heart.
This was how the authorities operated. Whether it was "better to kill the wrong one than let the guilty escape" or "military orders are as unshakable as mountains; advance, never retreat," these were the greatest weapons against lone heroes and wanderers of the martial world.
The same principle still applied: the authorities did not care about lives. Even the greatest expert under heaven would struggle