Cynthia's first shot was a regular bullet, intended to break through defenses; subsequent shots were mixed with Weird-Breaking Projectile.
"Damn..." Naimuer never expected that her junior would attack without hesitation.
He darted behind a tree and drew his pistol. "Don't move!"
"You're asking for death!" the Knight roared, his body flashing away swiftly.
However, of the three shots Cynthia fired, two bullets still hit him, one of which was Weird-Breaking Projectile.
However, his movement was not affected, and he leaped forward.
In the dim darkness of the night, a gleaming blade flashed swiftly towards Cynthia.
In Naimuer's eyes, the Knight's reaction was too fast, and his move was extremely decisive.
He originally intended to fire in support of his fellow student from his hometown, but he was used to using his right hand, and now his right arm was injured.
His left hand is much less proficient, making it difficult for it to be of much use in a fight that tests reaction time.
But Cynthia reacted quickly enough, dodging behind a tree as thick as a bowl and shouting, "Attack!"
Her words were a reminder to Wu Youren, because she knew very well what kind of fears the young man from Jin.
In Liang, warriors of Knight and above not only enjoy considerable privileges but are also strictly protected by law.
She dared to fire because, as a student of Red Pine Martial Academy, she was carrying out a mission to protect the Martial Academy's assets.
Even if Ke Li doesn't come back, she has the Mirage Sea Alliance to back her up, so she's not afraid of not having a place to seek justice.
However, Wu Youren was from the Jin, and was already subject to certain discrimination. Furthermore, he dared to defy his superiors and attack the Knight of the Liang, making the outcome difficult to predict.
Only when she issues an order can she take responsibility for the other party's actions.
However, before Wu Youren could react, the Knight's blade flashed and severed the tree where she was hiding.
But just as he chopped down the tree, a slight cracking sound came from it.
The next moment, a thick white fog filled the sky, emitting a pungent smell.
"Close your eyes!" Cynthia had already darted away diagonally, shouting at Naimuer as she did so.
She had just asked the other person to leave the dangerous area, but even that wasn't entirely safe.
"Lime powder!" Fortunately, Naimuer was quite knowledgeable; seeing this, he scrambled away in a flash, yelling, "Damn it!"
It's no wonder he sighed; in Liang, using lime in fights is not uncommon, but that's something only street thugs would do.
Even in the history of national wars, there has almost never been a precedent for using lime in large-scale battles; the lime in the army was used for other purposes.
The fact that martial artists use lime in combat, especially since it's used by students from the Martial Academy —I wonder what Red Pine's instructors would think.
The key issue isn't the use of lime packets, but rather the sheer scale of their application...
The Knight's Battle Qi effectively blocked the lime from getting into his eyes, but his vision was affected.
He quickly held his breath, but it was too late; he only felt a burning sensation in his trachea.
"Damn it!" he roared, then quickly shut his mouth, closed his eyes, and rushed out.
In a daze, his foot was tripped by something, and then something fell down and silently covered him.
It was a huge net!
"You're asking for death!" The Knight realized what he had encountered.
As a martial artist who spends most of his time mingling in society, it's impossible that he's unaware of these despicable tactics.
Wherever lime is present, you might encounter it by setting traps, using nets, or poisoning...
He was puzzled. How could the prestigious Red Pine Martial Academy resort to such underhanded tactics?
"Poison!" Just as he was gritting his teeth in hatred, he realized this possibility and suddenly shuddered.
"Wait!" he couldn't help but shout, "I have something to say!"
However, at this moment, Cynthia had already arrived in front of the Jin boy, stretched out her hand, and coldly said, "Give it to me!"
She was clearly a little angry. She had already given the order to act, Naimuer was having trouble operating the equipment, why wasn't she going to take action?
Wu Youren handed over a small round ball, about half the size of his palm, without saying a word.
Cynthia took it and, without thinking, gave it a hard squeeze.
"Boom!" A violent explosion rang out, not far from the Knight!
Unfortunately, the Knight was staggering and fleeing in this direction.
He was hit head-on by the shockwave.
He was already exhausted, and the impact caused him to tumble and fall to the ground, where he remained motionless.
However, Naimuer, who staggered a couple of steps from the shockwave, warned, "Be careful, it might be a trap!"
The explosion was quite powerful; if it had hit the center, even Knight would have been severely injured, if not killed.
However, Wu Youren set up a limited number of traps and even fewer explosive devices, only a few points.
Naimuer wasn't sure what state this person was in when they arrived, so he promptly issued a warning—this person was on the verge of exploding.
Cynthia didn't rush closer, but instead looked at Wu Youren, "I highly suspect that this person has been corrupted by the Weird Qi."
The young man from Jin shook his head decisively, "I can't go forward for testing; I'm not qualified."
The female warrior was unaware that he had previously drawn his gun without hesitation and shot the Weird Transformation Red Pine Instructor.
But at this moment, he will neither attack nor approach.
The Knight didn't give him any unusual feelings, and... he had some other guesses he hoped to confirm with this.
Cynthia had originally intended to use him to assess the Knight's condition, but upon hearing this, she hesitated.
Then she looked at Naimuer, who shook his head repeatedly, "My Weird-Repelling Jue is destroyed, I'm sorry."
Just then, all three of their watches vibrated simultaneously, and someone sent a walkie-talkie message: "What's the situation up the mountain?"
It turned out that there were fleeing warriors who saw Naimuer and the Knight running up the mountain one after the other.
Numerous martial artists were running around like headless flies, only knowing how to rush out of the mountain.
Now, suddenly noticing that someone has rushed off in another direction, I can't help but wonder: Is there some explanation for this?
In this situation, many people are willing to blindly follow.
Most of the martial artists who had fled all the way here were already exhausted.
If you choose to go up the mountain, you'll expend a lot more energy.
But I'm a little unwilling to give up without finding out more.
We're almost out of the mountains, but it will take at least half an hour to meet the Red Pine tree!
At this point, many people find it difficult to even take one more step; they are simply gritting their teeth and persevering.
Rushing up the mountain to investigate is tiring, but if you slow down and observe, it's normal—we'll be out of the mountains soon anyway.
A few people who still had some energy were wondering whether they should go up the mountain to take a look.
Just then, a huge explosion came from the mountain, followed by countless small stones rolling down the hillside.
This unexpected turn of events startled everyone present.
Some of the martial artists who had just rushed up the mountain were cursing as they fled frantically.
However, the explosion also indicated that there was something going on up in the mountain, so someone angrily asked questions through the walkie-talkie.
They've caught their attention! Cynthia didn't answer, but looked at Naimuer, "Try shooting him twice!"
"I'm out of Weird-Breaking Projectile!" The martial artist, whose right arm was in a sling, waved his left hand repeatedly.
Cynthia narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, "We can even detect ordinary bullets!"
Naimuer immediately understood: So I'm going to have to take the blame!
However, theoretically speaking, ordinary bullets can indeed partially detect the Weird Race.
Naimuer steeled his resolve, stepped forward, and fired two shots into the Knight's head.
Blood splattered out along with brain matter, a mixture of red and white!
The Knight, trapped in the large net, kicked his legs twice and then stopped moving—he had probably just been unconscious.
"I'm not good with my left hand," Naimuer, looking at Cynthia with a panicked expression. "What should I do?"
"It was my oversight," the female warrior nodded slightly. "I'll stand by you in this matter."
"Mainly... I also need to be wary of his Weird Transformation, so it's really inconvenient for me to take action personally."
"Of course I understand," Naimuer nodded. As long as the two of them could work together, it wasn't a big deal.
The other party had previously intended to rob the students on Red Pine's mission, and ignored his advice, even attacking Cynthia without hesitation.
The Martial Academy cannot tolerate such egregious behavior!
Then he looked at the young man from Jin, his face showing obvious wariness, "Why... why hasn't this one made a move?"
They were both members of the Mirage Sea Alliance, so they could discuss many things, but since there were outsiders present, he still had to remind his junior.
"He's the one who set up the scheme," Cynthia said, not revealing Wu Youren's identity to avoid causing further trouble.
She simply stated very firmly, "We're on the same page."
But then she looked at the Jin boy, "Look, Naimuer is asking you the same question."
"I'm just like you," Wu Youren replied calmly, "Guarding against him revealing his Weird Qi!"
Upon hearing this, Cynthia immediately fell silent; she had just used the same excuse a moment ago.
But in truth, she knew very well that the young man from Jin was more qualified to say those words than she was.
Hearing this, Naimuer felt relieved, but then remembered his previous doubts, "Why did you just fire the gun?"
Cynthia asked calmly, "How many times have you seen the Weird Race?"
"I've seen plenty," Naimuer, shaking his right arm in a sling. "It's all like this now, the Weird-Repelling Jue is ruined too!"
If someone else had asked him that question, he might have gotten annoyed, but this female student... has the right to ask it that way.
After all, they are not only carrying out patrol duties, but they are also currently guarding this place intact, and they have no intention of leaving.
"I didn't intend to kill him," Cynthia answered decisively. "He's Knight; isn't it normal to test him with a gun?"
This reason is truly compelling: the Knight's death wasn't due to those three shots.
Naimuer's eyes darted around. "Have you ever wondered why he wasn't willing to run a few more steps and ask Red Pine's men for help?"
"Perhaps, is there a case against you?" Cynthia answered without hesitation, not considering it an important issue.
(Updated to include follow-up reading and voting.)