Volume One, Chapter 18: Ten Consecutive Slayings

The howling wind cut through the air, carrying a blizzard that veiled the world in white.

Liu Wu led thirty of his personal guards charging into the woods, the poison-tipped arrows in their hands gleaming with an eerie green light, trembling slightly in the freezing gale.

"Liu Wu, today is the day you die!"

Zhang Muyang stood on the slope, the Cold Feather Blade resting on his shoulder. Beneath his feet, the vines he stepped upon creaked and groaned—the trigger for the trap he had laid.

"Just you?" Liu Wu sneered, his voice laced with contempt. "A mere corporal who just crawled his way up, you think you’re qualified to challenge me?"

With a furious roar, Liu Wu drew his bow. The arrow tore through the air with a shrill whistle. His guards followed suit, a dozen poisoned shafts carving arcs through the blizzard, weaving a deadly net.

But the storm was too fierce. The thick, goose-down snowflakes blinded them, and the arrows veered off course before they had traveled three yards, thudding uselessly into tree trunks, their shafts still vibrating.

"Charge! Ten taels of silver to whoever kills him!"

Liu Wu swung his sword forward, and the guards rushed in, shouting ferociously.

*Now!*

Zhang Muyang slashed through the vines at his feet.

The snowbank on the slope suddenly erupted. Twelve sharpened logs tumbled down, shattering thick tree trunks like kindling. One guard barely had time to raise his shield before a log pierced his chest, pinning him to a pine tree behind him. Amidst the chorus of screams, three unlucky souls tumbled into a camouflaged pit, where sharpened bamboo stakes impaled their feet, turning the bottom of the pit into a pool of blood.

"Fire!"

Zhang Muyang gave the enemy no room to breathe, signaling the youths hidden in the shadows to strike. A dozen arrows pierced the air; men fell, others scrambled to raise their shields, and chaos erupted.

"Kill!"

Zhang Muyang raised the Cold Feather Blade high and charged down the slope. The blade caught the snow-glare, carving a cold, sharp arc. Su Ying and Zhang Xiaobei followed close behind, a resolute torrent crashing into the shattered ranks of the guards.

*The God-Slayer Sword Technique!*

The youths’ blades were blindingly fast. Every strike was a whistling, unadorned blow—the fruit of countless days of blood and sweat. Hack, pierce, slash; each move sought a vital point. Within a single exchange, three guards were cut down, their hot blood steaming as it hit the snow.

"Zhang Muyang! I’ll kill you!" Liu Wu’s eyes were bloodshot. He charged forward, his scale armor glinting with a cold, intimidating light.

"Try to survive one blow from me first!"

Zhang Muyang surged forward, his feet slamming into the frozen earth with such force that the ground cracked. He moved like a wild bull charging a mountain, his Cold Feather Blade becoming the bull’s horn, driving forward with unstoppable momentum to meet Liu Wu’s sword.

Liu Wu’s eyes flashed with disdain. A corporal’s strength was at most five hundred pounds, while he was a veteran of the Heavy-Shu rank, possessing eight hundred pounds of force, plus the protection of his armor. He flicked his wrist, angling his blade to deflect the strike, intending to step in and finish Zhang Muyang off.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal striking metal exploded through the forest, deafening. Liu Wu felt a massive force travel up his blade, shattering the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, blood dripping onto the snow. He stared in horror at his own blade; a deep notch had been carved into the edge.

How was this possible?

In that moment of hesitation, Zhang Muyang closed the distance and delivered a kick that landed solidly on Liu Wu’s chest. The scale armor absorbed most of the impact, but the brute force sent Liu Wu stumbling back, crashing onto the snow.

Before he could rise, the Cold Feather Blade rested against his neck, the icy steel biting into his skin.

"Stop! I have captured Liu Wu!" Zhang Muyang’s voice cut through the carnage.

The guards were already at their breaking point. Four had fallen in the first volley, six had been lost to the traps, and five more had died in the charge. Of the thirty, fewer than ten remained, all wounded, their faces pale with terror.

Su Ying moved like a phantom, her blade whispering through the air. As an expert of the Bone-Refining rank, her strength reached sixteen hundred pounds. To her, the guards’ swords were toys; with a single strike, she shattered their shields and cleaved them in two. Blood splattered her face, blending with her frozen skin, her eyes as cold as ice.

Zhang Xiaobei and the others finished off the stragglers. Terrified, the remaining guards dropped their weapons.

"Zhang Muyang! You dare?" Liu Wu struggled to lift his head, teeth gritted. "We are men of Commander Wei. Kill us, and you won’t live to see another day!"

"Threatening me?" Zhang Muyang chuckled, his wrist flicking the Cold Feather Blade.

*Squelch!*

The blade didn't hit Liu Wu, but instead decapitated the guard beside him. Blood sprayed like a fountain, covering Liu Wu’s face.

"You dare—"

"Do you want to see if I dare?"

Ignoring him, Zhang Muyang struck again, cutting down another. The frost-like patterns on the blade seemed to glow brighter, as if greedily drinking the blood.

"Kneel!" Zhang Muyang commanded coldly. "Drag the rest over. Kneel!"

The guards, already broken, were kicked to their knees in the snow, trembling violently. Zhang Muyang walked slowly toward them. One cut, then another. Each strike was precise, delivered to the neck with no wasted motion. Blood splattered his face, but he didn't even blink, as if he were simply chopping firewood.

One, two, three... he stopped only after the tenth guard lay in a pool of blood.

[Ding!] The system prompt echoed in his mind:

[Cold Feather Blade Bloodthirst Progress: 10/100]
[God-Slayer Technique Proficiency: 15/100]
[Unlocked Trait: "Frost Blade" (The blade condenses cold air, slowing enemy wound healing.)]
[Next Stage: Drink the blood of fifty men to unlock "Blood Rage Slash."]

Liu Wu and the final two guards were beyond fear, their lips trembling, unable to even weep. They had never imagined a mere corporal would be this insane—executing the Commander’s personal guards in front of a squad leader.

"Corporal Zhang, spare me! I’ll do anything!" one guard begged, tears and snot freezing on his face.

"Don't worry," Zhang Muyang said with a cold smile, bringing the hilt of his blade down on the back of Liu Wu’s head. Liu Wu collapsed, unconscious.

"Search them!" Zhang Muyang ordered. "Take every coin and every ration. Leave nothing behind!"

The youths swarmed the bodies, finding over thirty taels of silver, thousands of copper coins, dried meat, and even jade pendants. Zhang Xiaobei pulled a command plate and two oil-paper packets from Liu Wu’s robes.

"Brother Muyang, what are these? They smell like herbs..."

Zhang Muyang sniffed them, his eyes lighting up. "Bone-Strengthening Powder. It’s made from herbs and beast bone dust. It strengthens the bones."

He tossed the powder to the youths. "Use it to break through."

Su Ying kicked the unconscious Liu Wu. "Why keep this trash alive? Just kill him."

"Wei Wentong wants to frame me for colluding with the enemy, but what if I turn the tables on him?" Zhang Muyang weighed the command plate in his hand and pointed to the bodies and the enemy blades. "So many 'bandits' wearing the armor of the Border-Guarding Army and carrying North Yan swords—what do you think the Captain will say when he sees this?"

Su Ying’s eyes shone. "You mean..."

"Let's return to Sifang County. I want to see how Wei Wentong explains this!"

"Right!"

The youths loaded the bodies onto a sled, tied Liu Wu securely, and turned back toward the county seat.