High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Slay

Their teamwork in battle became increasingly seamless.

Xu Wuyi was on defense, weathering the Priest’s most ferocious assaults with mountain-like stability. Hong Nianyi spearheaded the attack, her razor-sharp precision seeking out openings to continuously leave wounds on the Priest.

Within ten breaths, a slice of flesh was carved from the Priest’s left shoulder by Sword Gang, two ribs were shattered by Spear Force, and two of Chen Yuan’s arrows found their mark in his back.

The Breaking Gang runes continued to disrupt the circulation of his Qi and Blood, and his dark cyan Protective Gang Qi had grown noticeably dimmer.

"Damn you... damn you humans!" the Priest roared furiously, but the madness in his eyes was being replaced by a sliver of terror.

He could sense it. Individually, neither of these humans was his equal, but their teamwork was flawless.

What was more terrifying was their ironclad will to fight. There was no hesitation in their eyes—only a cold, ultimate killing intent.

’I have to break through!’

A look of grim resolve flashed in the Priest’s eyes. Ignoring the duo’s attacks, he slammed both claws with full force into the rockslide blocking his path.

His dark cyan Gang Qi coalesced into the massive, spectral head of a wolf, which roared as it smashed into the pile of rocks.

BOOM—!

The rocks shattered, and a gap was blasted open in the rockslide.

But just as the Priest was about to charge through, Xu Wuyi’s spear arrived.

The Spear Thrust was silent and without light, appearing to be nothing more than a simple jab.

Yet where the spear tip passed, the air underwent such extreme Compression that it formed a tangible barrier, and space itself seemed to solidify.

The Priest sensed the danger and tried to turn and block, but Hong Nianyi’s Sword Gang was already slashing in from the side, forcing him to use one of his claws to defend against it.

PFFT—!

The Meteor Iron Long Spear pierced the Priest’s right back, and the Dark Gold Flame surged along the shaft, exploding into his body.

The Priest shuddered violently. His Protective Gang Qi shattered completely, and he spat out a mouthful of dark red, frothy blood.

"Now!" Hong Nianyi shouted.

High up on the cliff wall, You Sicheng, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them.

He emerged from his hiding spot and began to slowly descend the cliff face.

With each step, the military-issue short knife in his left hand grew brighter as layer upon layer of runes materialized on its blade.

They were the most basic armor-piercing runes used by the military, but in his hands, these simple markings seemed to come alive, linking together to form an indescribable True Intention of slaughter.

You Sicheng’s pace was slow, but each step fell in time with some unknown rhythm.

His empty right sleeve swayed gently in the wind, but the knife in his left hand was as steady as a boulder.

The Wolfman Priest saw him, and his scarlet pupils contracted abruptly.

The Priest’s beastly instincts screamed of a fatal threat.

This human, who looked ancient and frail, radiated an aura far more dangerous than that of the two younger ones.

"Get away from me!" the Priest roared, ignoring his injuries as he swiped a claw at You Sicheng.

Before the claw even landed, the gale of force from it tore into the rocky ground.

You Sicheng didn’t dodge.

He simply continued walking. At the very instant the claw’s fierce energy was about to hit him, he gently raised the short knife in his left hand and swept it forward.

The slash was slow.

So slow that everyone could clearly see the blade’s trajectory; so slow it looked like nothing more than a casual swing from an old man.

Yet this deceptively slow slash sliced precisely into the weakest point of the claw’s attack.

HISS—

The dark cyan claw attack was split down the middle like a piece of cloth. The Sword Momentum of the slash continued onward, unabated.

The Priest tried to retreat, but Xu Wuyi’s spear had already blocked his path. Hong Nianyi’s Sword Gang pinned him from the side. Just then, another of Chen Yuan’s arrows whistled through the air, piercing the Priest’s left knee.

The Priest fell to his knees.

He watched the short knife continue its slow arc toward him, and for the first time, terror appeared in his eyes.

He wanted to burn his lifeblood, to detonate his core and take them all with him, but the Dark Gold Flame and Breaking Gang runes ravaging his insides made even that impossible.

The blade fell.

There was no earth-shattering boom, no dazzling flash of light.

Just a soft *snickt*.

Then, the Wolfman Priest’s body froze.

He looked down at his chest. A thin line had appeared there.

The line ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen. At first, it was just a faint red mark, but an instant later, it widened abruptly, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.

The Priest opened his mouth as if to speak, but all that came out was the gurgling sound of blood welling up.

The light in his eyes faded rapidly. His massive body pitched forward and slammed onto the rocky ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A brief silence fell over the canyon.

There was only the mournful cry of the wind and the occasional dying groans of Wolfman War Generals in the distance.

You Sicheng retracted his short knife, and the runes on its blade slowly faded.

His face was as pale as a sheet. He swayed on his feet, barely managing to keep his balance.

That single slash had looked simple, but it had consumed all of his Qi and Blood and Spirit. The web of his left thumb had split open, and blood dripped down the knife’s hilt.

"Old Man You!" Lin Jue slid down from a higher ledge and hurried over to support him.

"I’m fine." You Sicheng waved a hand dismissively, his voice hoarse. "It’ll take more than one slash to kill me."

Hong Nianyi and Xu Wuyi walked over.

Both of them had injuries, but none were serious.

Hong Nianyi had a bloody gash on her left arm where a claw had grazed her. The Bone Armor on Xu Wuyi’s chest was cracked, and his Qi and Blood were in disarray, but it stabilized after he circulated the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace technique for a few cycles.

"Sweep the battlefield, collect the spoils." Hong Nianyi looked at Chen Yuan. "You have five minutes."

Chen Yuan nodded and got to work immediately.

He first finished off the three surviving Wolfman War Generals, one per slash, then began to loot the Priest’s body for anything valuable.

The Bone Armor, clawed gauntlets, and Skull Crown—these were all standard-issue equipment from the Celestial Wolf Civilization. Bringing them back to the Federation would earn them a good number of merits.

Lin Jue, meanwhile, took out a scanner to record the Priest’s Energy signature and death data.

All of this was valuable intelligence the military would need.

Xu Wuyi glanced toward the canyon exit. It was blocked by the rockslide, but that wasn’t a problem for them.

"The base has probably noticed by now," he said.

Hong Nianyi nodded. "One Priest is dead. The other one will have sensed it and will most likely return to the base to take command. We don’t have time to rest. We have to move now."

Five minutes later, Chen Yuan finished packing up the spoils.

You Sicheng drank the recovery Potion Lin Jue had prepared for him. Some color returned to his face, but at best, he only had thirty percent of his combat strength left.

"Can you still walk?" Hong Nianyi asked.

You Sicheng cracked a grin, the kind of stubborn smile unique to an old soldier. "If my legs aren’t broken, I can walk."

"Good." Hong Nianyi unfolded her personal terminal and pulled up a map of the Celestial Wolf Base. "We’re sticking to the plan. Raid the base. Our objectives are to kill the remaining Priest, destroy their command system, and then clear out the three mining sectors."

She looked at the other four. "Any questions?"

"None," Xu Wuyi was the first to respond.

Chen Yuan and Lin Jue also shook their heads. You Sicheng simply tightened his grip on the short knife in his left hand.

"Move out."

The five of them didn’t linger. They quickly erased their tracks, climbed up the cliff wall on the other side of the canyon to bypass the rockslide, and advanced toward the base at full speed.