Sword light tore through the air with a whistle like ripping silk, sending a spray of blood slanting into the lake.
Qu Yong had lost count of how many people he had cut down that night. His sword hand had gone numb.
The night lay deep, and flames soared in the distance. On the island in the lake, the terrified members of Unknown Island scattered like headless flies. Some jumped into the icy water, some burrowed into the bushes, and still more fell beneath the sword. Bodies littered the ground, blood seeping through cracks in the rocks into the soil, gleaming a dull red beneath the firelight.
At some point, the moon had emerged from the clouds. Its deathly pale light spilled down, draping the entire island in frost.
The torches flickered, crackling as they burned. Firelight stained the dark blue-green water red, and a gust of wind sent an eerie crimson sheen rippling across its surface.
As Fan Dazhi's divine sense grew ever purer, more and more hidden outposts of Unknown Island surfaced like submerged reefs.
The two tracked and slaughtered their way from Yong'an to Gong County, from Gong County to Sishui, from Ruzhou to Xuanzhou, pursuing their enemies from land onto water. The deeper they pursued, the more alarmed they became with every kill.
This was a mysterious, sprawling organization, far more terrifying than they had imagined.
Not only Great Chen, but the Eastern Yang Kingdom, the Han Kingdom, Northern Liang, Southern Zhao, Moon Worship, and even the most remote little border kingdoms had their covert agents lying in wait.
The organization maintained a rigid hierarchy and was cold-blooded and ruthless. Their martial arts were utterly unlike those of the central lands, their moves strange and unorthodox. They excelled at concealment, stealth, escape, and assassination, and their