But the next instant, a figure blocked his way.
Lin Qian stopped abruptly and recognized who it was.
Xu Nanzhi!
She wasn't wearing armor, just a blue dress, and holding an ordinary iron sword.
"You are... Xu Nanzhi?"
Lin Qian asked.
His intuition, that of First Rank top-tier expert, made him sense a strong sense of danger emanating from the woman before him, as if a sharp sword were held to his throat!
An opponent who could give him this feeling could only be First Rank master. Therefore, Lin Qian guessed Xu Nanzhi's identity.
"You had no intention to kill."
Xu Nanzhi's gentle voice cut through the chaotic battlefield and clearly reached Lin Qian's ears, "Step back."
Lin Qian pursed his lips, glanced at Zhigang again, and shook his head.
"Please!"
He strode forward.
Xu Nanzhi sighed softly and drew her sword.
In the morning light, on the battlefield where blood and flesh were flying everywhere.
Guns and swords clashed!
159 Traits upgraded, mowing down enemies in the midst of battle!
Lin Qian's gun and Xu Nanzhi's sword clashed repeatedly.
The two figures moved in rapid succession, their spears flashing like whirlpools and their swords gleaming like flowing water!
Lin Qian wielded his spear like a windmill, creating gusts of wind. Grass and dirt on the ground were churned into tiny ribbons of wind that swirled around him.
Xu Nanzhi's feet seemed to tread on waves, always remaining outside of Lin Qian's spear stance. Every now and then, a flash of sword light would precisely disrupt Lin Qian's spear stance.
Lin Qian's left shoulder was still injured, and the more fiercely he thrust the spear, the more aggravated the injury.
After a dozen or so moves, his left arm began to feel heavy, and his spear stance was no longer as perfect.
Xu Nanzhi did not rush to attack. Instead, she quickly circled around Lin Qian, her sword flashing up and down. She always managed to strike the spear shaft just when the opponent's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated.
Lin Qian's gunmanship gradually became chaotic!
"You're injured; you're no match for me."
Xu Nanzhi's voice came again.
In the midst of the deafening battle cries, her voice sounded like she was diagnosing a patient.
Lin Qian remained silent, only continuing to fire his gun, switching from offense to defense.
Previously, Instructor Lin had always been primarily offensive in his fights, displaying unparalleled ferocity. Now, however, he switched to a defensive stance, transforming from hardness to softness, like the boundless ocean, absorbing and neutralizing all attacks!
Although he was ultimately wounded and defeated in the battle Yi Prefecture City, he gained some insights after experiencing Wu Shuangren -Yang combined Cloud Tiger Seven Kills.
During the more than one month he spent recovering from his injury, the inconvenience of using a gun actually made him realize the importance of defense, which he had previously overlooked.
Xu Nanzhi frowned slightly; the opponent before her was more troublesome than she had anticipated!
On the other side, Wu Shuangren, facing the combined attack of the two, actually gained the upper hand.
When he fought Yan Xiaobing, he mainly focused on defense, and after a few moves, he would immediately use the opponent's force to his advantage and switch targets to Match for One Person.
Against Zhigang, he focused on offense, targeting his opponent's injured right arm with every move!
Zhigang was already inconvenienced by having only one arm, and with Wu Shuangren's deliberate targeting, his staff movements became slower and slower, revealing more and more openings in his defenses.
Finally, Wu Shuangren seized an opportunity. He slashed at his opponent's staff with his sword, feigning to use the force to turn his attack on Yan Xiaobing; but his body was suddenly pulled back as if by an invisible thread, and he charged at Zhigang again!
At this moment, Yan Xiaobing had already attacked from the side, his spear thrusting straight at Wu Shuangren's back.
Wu Shuangren didn't dodge. He turned to the side, letting the spear tip pierce his back, denting the armor plates of the infantryman's armor!
Using the momentum, he accelerated towards Zhigang, brandishing his long-handled broadsword and clashing head-on with the opponent's monk's staff.
Zhigang's staff was cleaved in two, leaving his chest wide open. Wu Shuangren swiftly parried the blow, the blade striking Zhigang's chest, shattering his armor and sending metal fragments flying!
Zhigang was thrown backwards like a door panel being slammed open, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
Yan Xiaobing was shocked. He hadn't expected that Wu Shuangren would rather be stabbed by him than not seriously Zhigang!
Wu Shuangren turned around, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't stop his blade and continued to slash at Yan Xiaobing.
Yan Xiaobing raised his gun to parry, and the two exchanged blows for several rounds. Yan Xiaobing's marksmanship gradually became somewhat chaotic.
Despite Wu Shuangren's wounded left shoulder, his recent gunshot wound to the back, and his internal injuries, Yan Xiaobing had absolutely no confidence in defeating the young man before him.
The injuries do not appear to have had any effect on the person!
This is absolutely unreasonable!
Liang An was entangled with Xu Yu and couldn't get away, Lin Qian was also stopped by Xu Nanzhi who suddenly appeared, Zhigang was seriously injured, and Yan Xiaobing didn't think he could defeat Wu Shuangren one-on-one.
He suddenly activated his qi and blood, his face flushed red, and his strength surged. He forced Wu Shuangren back with a single spear thrust and turned to run quickly towards the rear of the formation.
"Superior!"
Yan Xiaobing shouted.
His dozens of personal guards had been keeping watch on the perimeter, engaging in combat with Wu Shuangren's personal guards while keeping most of their attention on this side.
Seeing their commander retreat, all the personal guards immediately swarmed forward and surrounded Wu Shuangren to kill him!
Wu Shuangren paused for a moment, looking somewhat tired.
Injuries certainly affect him. If he's in good form, he can defeat an opponent more quickly; but if he's injured, he has to pay a higher price.
But he was willing to risk injury to clear Zhigang from the battlefield before engaging in a one-on-one duel with Yan Xiaobing, all in order to defeat this newly emerged First Rate expert.
[Match for One Person] Only needs to defeat one more First Rate expert to level up!
Wu Shuangren had already anticipated this after killing Ciwen.
This time, he risked leading his troops to cover the evacuation of the people of Linwen County, and he was confident that he could do a good job.
Our greatest asset isn't the Yi Province Militia we've only been practicing together for less than half a month, but the soon-to-be-upgraded [Match for One Person]!
This was something he couldn't explain to others; he couldn't tell Guo Jiwang or anyone else where his almost arrogant confidence came from.
Having suffered a defeat in Yi Province, Mount Liang is making a comeback this time, and they will surely send even more new First Rate masters.
After Wu Shuangren met Yan Xiaobing on that hillside with three hundred cavalry yesterday, he knew that he had at least a 50% better chance of winning this battle!
Now we'll see how much of Traits boost the second upgrade will bring.
Wu Shuangren stood still, looking up at the four characters that had turned completely sky blue, like a sapphire that had been thoroughly cleaned.
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, because he now knew the effects of the second upgrade of [Match for One Person].
Dozens of heavily armored and skilled guards surrounded and attacked.
One of the fastest swordsmen charged forward and swung his blade. Wu Shuangren looked up and could clearly see the entire trajectory of the opponent's sword strike.
From the power generated by the right shoulder, to the rotation of the waist, and then to every inch of the arc the blade traces...
Everything was clearly reflected in Wu Shuangren's mind!
He can predict the distance his opponent's left foot will step out, and he can anticipate how his opponent will change tactics in the next instant.
He suddenly shifted half a step to the right, and the blade that was about to strike grazed his shoulder armor, missing its mark.
Before the swordsman could recover and change his stance, Wu Shuangren -handled broadsword had already pierced into his opponent's ribs.
The force of this strike wasn't strong, but its precision was terrifying. The tip of the blade pierced right through the gap in the nail and into the opponent's flesh!
The swordsman coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Wu Shuangren did not finish him off, but instead stepped forward, turned around, and slashed at the next enemy.
One man thrust a gun at his face, Wu Shuangren tilted his head, letting the spear tip graz his helmet. His Mo Dao then plunged into the man's wrist, making it appear as if the man had offered his wrist up willingly.
Wu Shuangren used extremely light force, and with a single flick, he severed the tendons in the opponent's hand using the opponent's strength.
The other person loosened their grip, the gun fell to the ground, and they screamed in pain, clutching their wrist.
Wu Shuangren passed the man and continued forward, then struck the man behind her in the temple with the hilt of her knife. The man was also charging forward at the same time, and the combined force caused him to groan, fall backward, and immediately lose consciousness.
Another person charged at him with a shield, but Wu Shuangren dodged it, managing to avoid the incoming shield and tripping the person with his foot.
The man staggered forward, his shield immediately tilting and knocking over a companion.
Wu Shuangren didn't waste a moment. He swung his Mo Dao from bottom to top, ripping the knife off the hand and the chin of the man who had been knocked down!
His movements weren't particularly fast, even somewhat effortless, yet every strike hit its mark, every move was perfectly timed, almost flawlessly countering the enemy's attacks.
This is the effect of the second upgrade of [Match for One Person].
After the first upgrade, the Traits improved his efficiency against enemies, but this efficiency only applied to those stronger than him.
Against opponents of similar or weaker strength, the Traits will not provide any enhancement.
The second upgrade finally Traits this weakness.
When facing an opponent weaker than oneself, one will defeat them in the most efficient way!
What is the most efficient way? Wu Shuangren had already figured it out at this moment.
Before the Traits was upgraded, he was surrounded by dozens of personal guards, the weakest of whom were at least eighth or ninth rank, and the strongest of whom were at least fifth or sixth rank. It might have been even more difficult and embarrassing than being besieged by several First Rate experts!
Furthermore, Wu Shuangren had already suffered internal injuries, and Yan Xiaobing, First Rate- tier expert, was watching him closely. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, Wu Shuangren himself was in danger.
But now, Wu Shuangren can sometimes kill or injure these personal guards with just one move!
Every move was perfectly precise, without the slightest deviation. If he could defeat his enemy with only three-tenths of his strength, he would never use more.
The most efficient way is to defeat the enemy with minimal losses and maximum speed!
At this moment, these dozens of armored guards were like a chessboard in Wu Shuangren's eyes. He no longer needed to try to overturn the chessboard as he had before. He only needed to take one move at a time and capture every single piece.
A bodyguard who had practiced martial arts such as ground-lying swordsmanship crouched low, suddenly swung the chain in his hand, almost touching the ground, and very discreetly wrapped it around Wu Shuangren's thigh.
On the battlefield, even the most skilled fighter can easily perish if their legs are entangled and they are surrounded by others!
Wu Shuangren was currently dealing with other personal guards, and [Match for One Person] was not indeed targeting this person, so his left ankle was entangled by the opponent's iron chain.
"It's done!"
Overjoyed, the man was about to call for everyone to come forward when he suddenly pulled backward, trying to disrupt Wu Shuangren's balance.
But as soon as he tightened the chain in his hand, it rattled violently and then loosened. He lost his balance and staggered backward, landing hard on his backside. When he looked up, he realized that Wu Shuangren had untied the chain wrapped around his ankle in an instant!
The guard looked astonished. Unless one had specifically practiced this type of martial art, even First Rank expert could not possibly untangle the binding chains in an instant with skillful force.
Before he could react, Wu Shuangren had already charged towards him like a god of death...
In just a few dozen breaths, Wu Shuangren broke through the encirclement, leaving the ground littered with corpses and wounded soldiers!
The remaining guards all looked at Wu Shuangren with fear in their eyes.
If Wu Shuangren were to defeat them with the irresistible speed and power of First Rank expert, they wouldn't be so afraid, because they had witnessed the difference in strength First Rank experts and could understand the gap between them.
Yet, every time Wu Shuangren fought them, his speed and strength weren't much better than theirs, but he was still able to defeat or kill them with ease.
In his presence, everyone felt that they were full of flaws, as if the martial arts skills they had painstakingly honed over the past decade were a joke!
Wu Shuangren didn't seem to be killing someone; he looked more like he was cutting grass in a field.
This fighting style created an almost suffocating pressure on everyone!
Wu Shuangren continued his attack on Yan Xiaobing, and for a moment no one stepped forward to stop him.
A young bodyguard, holding a knife, passed by Wu Shuangren and glanced at him. The knife instantly fell to the ground...
On the other side, seeing that Zhigang was seriously injured and Yan Xiaobing had taken the initiative to retreat, Lin Qian suddenly changed his stance, switching from defense to offense and thrusting three times in succession.
The first shot went straight for the throat, the second slid towards Xu Nanzhi's lower abdomen, and the third shot, like a dragon raising its head, thrust upwards towards Xu Nanzhi's chin.
The three shots were fired in one fluid motion, the gunshots forming a silver line!
He had been on the defensive, seemingly silently accumulating strength, and finally unleashed all that power in those three shots!