Don't Be a Deathsworn in Your Next Life!

At the magnificent sight of arrows raining across the sky, smiles spread across the faces of all the escorts and Bounty Hunters.

An extra inch of reach meant an extra inch of strength.

Close-range attacks could never be as safe as attacking from afar.

In their eyes, this volley would leave at least half these rebels dead or wounded!

Their preparations could only be called thorough. They had even brought bows and crossbows, weapons that could kill from a distance.

They were determined to claim that twenty-thousand-tael bounty!

But the next moment, they were dumbstruck.

Somehow, shield after shield had appeared in front of Ning Que.

This unexpected turn also left Yin Jiuyou, Qi Shanhe, and the others stunned.

They had already braced themselves to get hurt!

Even someone with powers that reached the heavens would have to bleed and suffer injuries under such a dense rain of arrows.

Yet shields had appeared before their eyes.

"Raise the shields! Defend yourselves!"

Ning Que shouted.

With no time to think, Yin Jiuyou and the others hurriedly raised the shields to block the thick barrage of arrows.

Ning Que quickly took Zhuge Qing behind a shield as well.

Clang! Clatter!

Arrows slammed into the shields with heavy thuds.

Every violent impact forced the person holding the shield a step backward.

Knowing this, Ning Que continued shouting, "Everyone, form a circle! Close in toward the center!"

Hearing him, everyone immediately began edging inward toward one another.

Just like that, they gathered together, forming a watertight Iron Barrel Formation.

Not a single arrow could get through.

The escorts were left dumbfounded.

Where had those shields come from?

Splurt!

But there was no time to dwell on it. With shields in hand, Yin Jiuyou and the others fought even more fiercely.

One saber stroke killed an archer on the spot.

The bows and crossbows failed to turn the tide for them. Instead, their position grew even more precarious.

"There's no other way! We have to fight them head-on!"

"Kill Miss Zhuge first!"

At that roar, the crowd surged forward, intending to seize Zhuge Qing first and use her as a hostage to hold these rebels in check.

But with Ning Que there, that was impossible.

Swish!

Ning Que slashed out with the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique, as though countless copies of Dawn Breeze, Waning Moon had appeared.

A long arc of saber energy sliced open the chests of an entire row of men, sending blood spraying.

Yin Jiuyou's black saber had also become a soul-reaping specter on the battlefield. He watched a throng of escorts charge toward him.

As though throwing a javelin, Yin Jiuyou hurled his black saber straight at them.

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

Wherever the saber passed, men were skewered together like candied hawthorns on a stick.

The black saber embedded itself in the city wall with a thud, its hilt still humming as the force dissipated.

The sight made the corners of many escorts' eyes twitch, and they instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Even though Zhuge Jingcheng had raised the bounty to twenty thousand taels, facing such ruthless men still filled them with fear from the bottom of their hearts.

"Hurry and notify the Provincial Governor! Otherwise, more men won't do any good!"

At last, someone grew afraid.

The heads of the three great escort agencies were dead, and so were the Yin Lotus Cult's Holy Maiden and Holy Mother.

There were still skilled fighters among those left, but they clearly weren't enough.

The people from the Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries were dwindling, while on Ning Que's side, there were only a few men wounded and bleeding.

That made their scalps prickle all the more.

Were these people even human?

Before long, someone reported the situation to Zhuge Jingcheng.

After hearing it, Zhuge Jingcheng's face grew so dark it could have been wrung out like a sodden cloth. "A bunch of useless fools! So many men, and they still can't take down a mere hundred!"

But Zhuge Jingcheng was in no hurry to make a decision. Instead, he looked at the officer beside him. "How has Flowing Sand reacted outside the city?"

"Reporting to the Provincial Governor, there are no signs of an assault on the city yet! Flowing Sand's letter is also being rushed to the Capital City by mounted courier..."

"..."

Zhuge Jingcheng fell silent for a moment, then looked at the taciturn young man beside him.

He simply stood there quietly, without a word.

No one had even noticed him.

He was Black Qilin, an orphan Zhuge Jingcheng had taken in years ago.

Afterward, Zhuge Jingcheng had trained him as an assassin.

He was called an assassin, but in truth, he was a deathsworn.

The kind who would die for Zhuge Jingcheng when necessary.

"Qilin, disguise yourself and kill the young man leading them!"

"Everything hinges on this! If you fail, open the city gates!"

Black Qilin nodded and soon vanished.

Seeing this, Zhuge Jingcheng breathed a sigh of relief.

With Black Qilin on the job, he could rest easy.

Their attention turned once again to Flowing Sand's army outside the city.

Compared with those inside the city, Flowing Sand's army was clearly far more cause for vigilance.

The heavy snow howled. This June snowstorm had finally reached its peak!

The pungent stench of blood filled the air. Even Zhuge Qing's face was spattered with blood.

Ning Que had shown her this Dynasty's true face.

If you didn't want to be killed, you could only kill others.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a blurred figure lunged at Zhuge Qing.

She already felt the chill, but her body would not move, as though she had been shackled in place.

That sinister chill made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cavern, freezing even her soul.

At the critical moment, Ning Que swept his saber across.

Amid the flashing blades, the blurred figure nimbly dodged.

A flicker of surprise first appeared in Ning Que's eyes, then his expression gradually turned grave.

He let go of Zhuge Qing and gripped Dawn Breeze, Waning Moon in both hands.

"It's Qilin!"

Zhuge Qing's lovely face was deathly pale. "He's the strongest fighter under my father, and his deathsworn!"

Ning Que said nothing, merely raising his blade and charging.

The two became streaking shadows, crossing each other in a flash.

Crack!

The razor-sharp saber edge tore through the air.

Black Qilin's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively tried to retreat.

But it was already too late!

Rip!

Black Qilin's arm was severed along with his sleeve.

The severed arm fell into the snow, and blood stained the whole patch crimson.

Despite the agony of losing an arm, Black Qilin did not utter a sound.

He merely clutched his bloody stump and stared fixedly at Ning Que.

His breath misting in the air, Ning Que looked at him and said, "Don't be a deathsworn in your next life. Live properly as an ordinary person."

With that, he swung his saber down.

Flashing steel was reflected in Black Qilin's pupils, and his chest heaved.

He was terrified, but he did not retreat.

In this life, he was a deathsworn.

But in his next life, he wanted to be someone who could live in the sunlight.

"Stop! Mr. Ning!"

At the critical moment, Zhuge Qing stepped in front of him. "Don't kill him! He was very good to me when I was little!"

Swish!

The saber edge stopped less than a centimeter from Black Qilin's neck. Just a little farther, and it would pierce his throat.

"Go."

Ning Que spoke to Black Qilin.

"..."

Black Qilin remained silent for a moment, then picked up his severed arm and vanished.

"How many more people have to die before this gate opens...?"

Gazing at Qingzhou City's towering gate, Ning Que murmured to himself.

"Soon. We'll be able to get out soon."

"The Provincial Governor of Qingzhou can't hold out much longer..."

Yin Jiuyou spoke between heavy breaths.

He was bleeding too.