Chapter 427: Chapter 352: Rune [5]
His rampaging aura plummeted.
"What, can’t take it anymore? Come on, keep going! You call this a beating? It’s barely a tickle."
Iron Bear lowered his arms, his eyes bloodshot.
His clothes were in tatters, but otherwise, he was unharmed.
Hu Qi, on the other hand, had scraped and swollen knuckles, with thin streams of blood trickling down his palms.
But being forced to stand there and get pummeled like a punching bag had stoked the flames of his rage to their absolute peak.
He was waiting for the right moment.
’My opponent must be a speed-type Evolver,’ he thought. ’And it looks like he’s using some special method I don’t know about to get this incredible burst of speed.’
’But from the looks of it, he’s at his limit now.’
"Is that so?"
Hu Qi simply stared at him, his expression calm.
It was the way one looks at a dead man, and it made Iron Bear extremely uncomfortable.
Just then, a commotion erupted from the darkness in the distance.
The ruckus had clearly been loud enough to attract the attention of the nearby Rotten Leaf Gathering Place guards and the Hunting Team.
Seeing this, Iron Bear rolled his neck.
The savage grin on his face widened.
"I hope you don’t get on your knees and beg me later. I’ll... urgh..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
His massive, bear-like frame suddenly faltered, and he staggered, collapsing to one knee.
Then, he opened his mouth and vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.
In an instant, the color drained from his face, leaving it ashen white.
"What... in the world... did you do to me..."
Iron Bear struggled to speak, his words broken and halting, as if each one drained the last of his strength.
Copious amounts of blood began to seep frantically from his seven orifices and even his pores, quickly drenching his entire body and turning him into a bloody figure. The scene was horrifying.
He was clearly overcome with an unprecedented exhaustion and weakness, as if every last shred of power was being siphoned from his body.
Every muscle, every internal organ, groaned in agony, unable to bear the strain.
His once tall and sturdy frame seemed to deflate like a punctured ball, shrinking rapidly.
The bluish-black, steel-colored sheen of his skin gradually faded back to normal.
Now, he didn’t even have the strength to stand. He collapsed to the ground, a pathetic wreck.
’Just as I thought. It’s nothing more than a seemingly tough hide.’
’His internal organs, muscles, and bones are stronger than an ordinary person’s, but only by a small margin. Otherwise, his reaction speed wouldn’t be so sluggish...’
Hu Qi ignored Iron Bear’s question, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Just moments ago, after realizing the man’s defense was on par with a Martial Arts Family, he knew it would be difficult to break through with a frontal assault.
Therefore, he had used a martial arts technique akin to "striking a cow through a mountain"—a method for bypassing external defenses—and channeled a massive amount of Power directly into his opponent’s body.
When that Power reached a critical threshold within the body and burst, the resulting damage was devastating. It instantly destroyed all of Iron Bear’s ability to resist. If Hu Qi hadn’t held back, Iron Bear would have died on the spot.
Just then, the sound of dense, hurried footsteps grew closer.
It was none other than the guards and Hunting Team members from the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
There were over thirty of them, all well-built and gripping firearms, their expressions wary.
Outside, they had already found the bodies of two of their comrades and knew someone must have infiltrated the estate.
Now, upon seeing the gruesome scene inside the estate, they all froze, their eyes filled with shock and fear.
"Get him... Kill... kill him!"
Seeing his men, Iron Bear propped up his failing body and ordered with a hoarse, desperate roar.
Only then did the men recognize the pathetic, blood-soaked figure before them as their normally invincible leader.
For a moment, some of them hesitated, not daring to make a move.
After all, if their powerful leader had been beaten into such a state, the man before them had to be an Evolver at the very least. How could they possibly dare to attack?
Others, however, were too intimidated by Iron Bear’s usual authority to disobey his command.
Liu Guang was one of them.
He thought Hu Qi looked somewhat familiar but couldn’t place him at the moment.
But now, hearing Iron Bear’s command, he knew he had to act. As the trusted Guard Captain of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place, the treatment and resources he enjoyed far exceeded those of ordinary guards and Hunting Team members.
He knew perfectly well that everything he had, he owed to Iron Bear.
If something happened to Iron Bear, he would lose it all.
So, he bellowed,
"Brothers, what are you waiting for? Get him! Kill him!"
Spurred on by his cry, three or four men behind him racked the bolts on their guns, aimed at Hu Qi, and pulled the triggers without hesitation.
BANG! BANG! BANG!...
Muzzle flashes lit up the night.
Propelled by gunpowder, a hail of iron pellets shot toward Hu Qi like shooting stars, tearing through his figure and peppering the ground with countless small craters.
But Hu Qi was already gone; what they had shot was merely an afterimage.
THWACK!
The next second, Liu Guang, who was at the front of the group, felt his head snap back as if struck by a sledgehammer.
His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming hard against a nearby wall.
When he landed, his neck was twisted at a grotesque one-hundred-and-eighty-degree angle, the back of his head pressed against his own spine. He was dead before he hit the ground.
The few others who had opened fire on Hu Qi met the same fate. Their necks were snapped in an instant, and after a few twitches, their bodies went still.
Hu Qi’s figure reappeared. He looked indifferently at the remaining men and asked flatly,
"Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
The remaining twenty-some men were aghast at the sight.
They quickly realized, however, that a chance for survival was right in front of them.
With a series of THUDS, they all dropped to their knees, scrambling over each other to yell,
"We want to live! We want to live!"
"Spare us, sir!"
"It was all that damned Liu Guang! It has nothing to do with us!"
Hu Qi ignored their pleas, his gaze falling on the first man to kneel. He was a lean man who looked to be in his thirties.
He wore a pair of worn-out goggles around his neck, and his wine-red eyes glinted with cunning.
Below a high-bridged nose, his chapped lips were pressed into a thin line.
He was clearly nervous.
"What’s your name?"
Hu Qi asked.
"My name is Tong Chang, sir," the man answered respectfully.
"Very good. From now on, you will take Liu Guang’s position.
Everyone else, carry on with your duties as usual.
As for me, I’m the new leader here. Any objections?"
Hu Qi’s torch-like gaze swept over the crowd.
"We pledge our lives to follow you, Leader! We will serve you faithfully and never disobey!"
everyone shouted in unison.
At the same time, they all breathed a silent sigh of relief.
’Looks like we get to keep our lives.’
’Objections? What a joke. The bodies on the ground are still warm. What kind of objections could we possibly have?’
No one felt the least bit uncomfortable about switching sides so quickly.
In this world, the most important thing was to survive.
Obeying an entity you couldn’t possibly resist was the most natural thing in the world.
The stubborn ones had all died long ago.
Meanwhile, Tong Chang was overjoyed. He never expected this disaster to turn into a blessing.
He quickly said,
"Thank you, sir!"
"Mm, clean this place up,"
Hu Qi ordered casually.
He then found a chair and sat down to wait.
Soon, the men began cleaning up the area.
On the ground nearby, Iron Bear could only watch, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
His severe internal injuries made even speaking a struggle, leaving him utterly helpless.
"Hiss... it hurts so much! What are you doing?! Hurry up and bandage my wounds!"
"Let go of me, all of you! Get your filthy hands off me!"
"How dare you treat us like this! When the leader sees this, he’ll have your hides!"
Just then, several shrill, piercing shrieks came from inside the main building.
A moment later, three disheveled figures with long, unkempt hair and flimsy clothing were dragged out.
