Too Brutal

"Kill!"

Lin Changkong's face was impassive. Without a single word of nonsense, a thought crossed his mind and he struck at once, flashing to the side of the thug dragging the girl away.

With a rise and fall of his blade, a head hit the ground.

In his view, any words at a time like this were nonsense.

Only killing could stop killing!

If talking was so efficient, then why the hell cultivate?

After lopping off one head, Lin Changkong swung several more times in succession. In the blink of an eye, several heads had already flown up, and the seven or eight thugs around him were slaughtered to the last.

Hong Ye and Zhou Yue were still on horseback. Seeing this, their pupils contracted as they were deeply shaken by Lin Changkong's decisiveness and ruthlessness.

No one had expected Lin Changkong to be so resolute, much less that his first move would be this vicious.

And without saying a word, he had simply attacked and killed!

Yet in only an instant, they understood that given the situation before them, Lin Changkong's approach was undoubtedly the most effective—and the most efficient.

That woman could have had both hands chopped off by the butcher's blade at any moment, or even lost her life, while they would still have acted like sect disciples, shouting for them to stop. They might even have wanted to reason with them first, throw out some threats.

First seize the moral high ground, then condemn the other side, and only then attack with a clear conscience.

But if they had finished all that, the woman and child would probably already have been dead.

What they faced now were vicious criminals, things without a shred of humanity. Why the hell would they talk reason or morality with them!

"Who are you people? How dare you ruin my business!"

The thug leader flew into a rage and rose from his chair. Spiritual energy burst forth from his body—he was clearly also an expert of the Qi Gathering Realm.

Judging from his aura, he was probably at the Qi Gathering Third or Fourth Level. He was nothing within the Heavenly Fire Sect, but to commoners outside the sect with no cultivation or only weak cultivation, he was an invincible existence.

Lin Changkong's face was as cold as ice. He did not answer at all. Having killed seven or eight men, he turned and charged straight at the thug leader upon hearing his voice.

The thug leader was enraged. Drawing a heavy saber, he slashed at Lin Changkong.

"Bang!"

Lin Changkong slashed with his blade. The saber in the thug leader's hand shattered on impact, breaking into fragments. Then a scorching sensation surged through his arm as Lin Changkong's blade pressed forward and severed his right hand—the arm flew through the air.

Before he even had time to scream, the blade flashed again and cut off his other hand.

He staggered backward in panic, but the moment he moved, another scorching blade aura fell upon his legs, cleanly severing both of them.

The upper half of his body immediately collapsed into a pool of blood, and the terror in his heart became raging waves and stormy seas.

Then he saw a crimson tombstone descend from the sky, slapping down onto his mangled half-body with a smack, covering him from head to waist.

With a thunderous blast, Lin Changkong swung the Crimson Flame Saber flat and smashed the thug leader into minced meat with a single blow.

From beginning to end, it had taken no more than a single breath. The thug leader had not even had time to scream before changing from one person into "a puddle" of person.

Lin Changkong rose with his blade in hand and straightened his back. With a flick of his wrist, the blazing aura evaporated the blood staining the blade.

When he turned back, the gangs of thugs surrounding the Black Water Town civilians were all trembling with fear, their eyes quivering as they looked at him.

Then they scattered like a swarm, turning tail and running for their lives.

At that moment, the thugs who had just been laughing wildly and holding other people's lives and deaths in their hands had all become terrified rats crossing the street.

An expert of the Qi Gathering Realm was an unreachable existence in their eyes.

Yet such an expert had been severed limb from limb by one man on the spot, then smashed into "a puddle" with one blow.

It was far too brutal!

Even Hong Ye and Zhou Yue felt their hearts pounding wildly.

This junior brother of ours... really had some skill!

But the two quickly came to their senses. Seeing the thugs fleeing in panic, so frightened by Lin Changkong that they nearly pissed themselves, they immediately spurred their horses in pursuit. In an instant, sword light flashed, and one thug after another fell.

The two women were also sharp and decisive in their attacks, but they were not as violent as Lin Changkong. They almost always pierced the chest or throat with a single sword thrust, ensuring only that their targets died.

But Lin Changkong was different. Blade in hand, he gave chase; with every rise and fall of his saber, either heads fell to the ground or bodies were cleaved at the waist.

Anyone he caught died without an intact corpse!

Yet Lin Changkong did not feel the slightest pity. These people were things without any humanity. Talking humanity to such things was itself an insult to humanity.

The best destination for this sort of trash was death!

The three of them went on a killing spree, like tigers entering a flock of sheep. Their opponents had no power to fight back and were soon nearly all killed.

But Lin Changkong had not lost his reason. When only three men remained, he stopped and also blocked Zhou Yue, who wanted to kill every last one of them.

Zhou Yue found it strange. "Junior Brother Lin, why are you stopping me? Scum like this should be exterminated completely."

Lin Changkong said, "They do deserve to die. But if we kill them all now, where will we find the Flood Dragon Gang's lair and wipe them out in one sweep?"

Zhou Yue was stunned, only then understanding Lin Changkong's intention.

They only knew that the Flood Dragon Gang ran rampant through this region. They truly did not know the exact location of its lair. Lin Changkong had clearly kept these three men alive so he could force the Flood Dragon Gang's precise location out of them.

Although Lin Changkong had struck first and been the most brutal, he had not lost his head. On the contrary, he had considered everything thoroughly.

Zhou Yue's favorable impression of this junior brother immediately soared.

"As expected of my junior brother. You really think things through."

She raised a thumb and said with great pride.

Lin Changkong: "..."

Are you praising me, or trying to praise yourself?

Hong Ye was steadier. She dismounted and walked before the crowd, saying, "Don't be afraid, everyone. We are disciples of the Heavenly Fire Sect, here to exterminate the Flood Dragon Gang.

"I'm sorry. We came too late and allowed everyone to suffer."

Black Water Town was under the protection of the Heavenly Fire Sect. Hong Ye herself valued loyalty and righteousness and possessed a strong sense of justice, so naturally she could not bear to see such a thing happen.

Upon hearing that they were from the Heavenly Fire Sect, the people of Black Water Town finally relaxed, then began pouring out their grievances.

Hong Ye first stopped the bleeding of the woman whose tongue had been cut out. After comforting her, she gave her a considerable amount of silver.

Only after asking did they learn that such incidents had already happened many times.

Not only had the Flood Dragon Gang's people taken turns plundering them, they had also killed many townspeople. Women, children, and the elderly alike were never spared. They ran rampant and committed endless atrocities, leaving the townspeople in unspeakable misery.

After hearing this, Hong Ye was filled with righteous indignation and immediately said, "Rest assured, everyone. We will certainly exterminate the Flood Dragon Gang and give you an answer!"

After comforting the crowd, the three mounted up again and ordered the three remaining thugs to lead them to the Flood Dragon Gang's lair.

They also learned the Flood Dragon Gang's approximate strength from the three men. Their strongest member was Gang Leader Zhao Heilong, at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level. Next were the second-in-command Shi Heihu and the third-in-command Zhang Heibao, both at the Qi Gathering Seventh Level.

These three also had several experts of the Qi Gathering Realm beneath them, though the men did not know exactly how many.

Other than that, they were basically just a rabble.

"One Qi Gathering Eighth Level, two Qi Gathering Seventh Levels, plus a pack of little lackeys. They're nothing. Let's go—kill them until not a single piece of armor remains!"

Still burning with anger, Zhou Yue radiated killing intent as she charged out first on horseback.