Chapter 92: Chapter 6: Misunderstanding, It’s All a Misunderstanding
The moment Su Zhou finished speaking, the other party was in an uproar.
"Leave the mountains?"
"This guy wants to go back outside the mountains? You’ve got to be kidding!"
"Did you come here just to mess with us?"
What Su Zhou thought was a perfectly normal question had provoked an extremely intense reaction from the group.
The squad, which had initially been merely wary, instantly grew tense the moment Su Zhou said "leave the mountains." They had apparently used this word to confirm their suspicions about him.
Everyone drew their blades, unsheathed their swords, and took out their weapons. Even the old man protected in the center, who didn’t look very skilled in Martial Arts, had somehow pulled out a crossbow and was aiming it nervously at him.
Su Zhou genuinely felt that if the man’s hand so much as trembled, he would let an arrow fly.
"Not surprising, though."
As for their reaction, he felt it was a bit extreme, but also quite normal. After all, in the desolate Great Snow Mountain, who wouldn’t find it suspicious to suddenly run into someone like him, armed and blocking the path?
But he had come here precisely to block their path, stir up some trouble, and ask questions. If he hadn’t brought a weapon and ran into some hot-tempered mountain bandits, wouldn’t he just be asking for it?
This was, after all, deep within the Great Snow Mountain. Having finally encountered a group that seemed to be locals, Su Zhou couldn’t possibly let them leave. Especially since he was confident his strength was superior, proactively approaching them for questioning was the most efficient method. It might have been arrogant, but after observing his surroundings and the opponents’ strength, Su Zhou felt he had every right to be.
"Everyone, calm down. I don’t want to fight you, I just want to ask for directions... all right."
At first, Su Zhou intended to try his best to de-escalate. He raised his hands and his Long Spear, waving them to show he had no hostile intentions.
But then, he saw that the group across from him showed no sign of lowering their guard or communicating. In fact, they had begun to close in and surround him.
Since it had come to this, he could only narrow his eyes and shrug helplessly. "Well, no helping it. Looks like we’ll have to fight. I figured it would come to this; it’s unavoidable."
"You’re smiling, Su Zhou," Yara retorted, pulling no punches. "You’ve been practicing your Spear Technique for the past two months until your bones ached for a fight. You couldn’t be happier."
"Nonsense. This is called ’testing the combat proficiency of the locals.’"
Su Zhou grinned, revealing eight pearly white teeth. With a flick of his wrist, the shaft of the spear in his hand trembled. As Spiritual Power poured into it, the white cloth wrapped around the spearhead instantly shredded, scattering into wisps of fabric in the air and revealing the ferocious yet sacred Cross Sacred Pattern Gunhead.
He scanned the fourteen people surrounding him and smiled. "Besides, after a fight to prove my strength and my good intentions, it’ll be easier to continue the questioning."
But at that moment, upon seeing Su Zhou reveal his Long Spear, the squad erupted.
"The mandibles and tail stinger of a Water Purifying Centipede!"
"A Demon Spear! That’s a Demon Spear!"
"This man... he really is one of the Anx Dynasty’s Dog Emperor’s Hidden Guards!"
’They recognize my weapon? Right, Wood Centipedes probably aren’t that rare around here.’ Su Zhou could tell this group must have been attacked by someone with a similar weapon before, which explained their paranoia. ’It seems the misunderstanding has deepened.’
Without another word, in the next instant, deep in the forests of the Great Snow Mountain, fourteen people drew their weapons as one. The three at the head of the squad stepped forward, swinging their blades, swords, and staves to attack from three directions simultaneously!
In an instant, the previous clamor turned to Silence. The battle began in quiet—in a true life-or-death struggle, no one wastes words except at the very beginning to intimidate an opponent and seize the initiative.
Su Zhou, on the other hand, wanted to spout a bit more nonsense. It was purely a habit from his time as an internet troll; it felt a little uncomfortable not to run his mouth before a fight.
But before he could speak, Su Zhou closed his right eye and tilted his head slightly. A Crossbow Arrow, whistling through the air, struck the right side of his forehead. The arrowhead, forged from fine steel, twisted and bent on impact before falling to the ground, leaving only a faint white mark on Su Zhou’s forehead.
Just then, the three strongest members of the squad attacked. The bald Martial Monk with the iron staff charged from the front, his ironwood staff—weighing forty or fifty jin at least—sweeping horizontally from left to right with a whistling force that resonated with Buddhist chants. The female Swordman with the thick-backed greatblade had already circled to Su Zhou’s left. She drew her blade with a sideways flick, an upward slash that unleashed a grim flash of Spiritual Energy.
Demon-Subduing Staff! Broken Water Blade!
Meanwhile, the young Swordsman had already leaped into the air. From above, he launched eight sharpened circular darts, then drew his sword and stabbed down with overwhelming Inner Strength!
The three-person joint attack seemed simple and direct, but it actually covered all directions—left, right, and above. Such coordination was clearly not achieved overnight. Even someone with greater power than all three of them combined could be cut down if caught off guard.
But in Su Zhou’s eyes, this ferocious assault looked like it was happening in slow motion.
Facing the pincer attack from his left and right, he raised his hands. His left hand formed a knife-hand, and with a flick in front of him, a sharp CRACK echoed as a gust of wind swept all the darts away. As the Qi Force surged, an arcing Qi Blade even shot towards the space between the female Swordman’s brows, forcing her to retreat and dodge.
Simultaneously, Su Zhou raised his right hand. He completely ignored the Swordsman’s downward thrust aimed at his right eye. Instead of blocking or parrying, his seven-foot greatspear struck first despite moving second, thrusting directly at the Martial Monk’s throat. Spiritual Light and Runes flickered as a translucent Qi Blade extended the spearhead by another half a chi, making it even faster.
’The Undead Demon Soldiers truly are fearless of death!’
Convinced that Su Zhou was an Undead Demon Soldier, the Martial Monk, who considered himself an ordinary mortal, had no desire to trade his life for a wound on his opponent. He swept his arms, changing his staff’s sweeping motion into a coiling one. It clung to Su Zhou’s greatspear as he tried to use brute force to press the Long Spear into the snow and disable the weapon.
