Chapter 27: I want to see if I can kill you (Please follow, bookmark, and...)

Su Mu stood before the Second Chief of Black Dragon Fortress, an awkward expression flashing across his face.

The Second Chief lay flat on his back on the ground, breathing deeply. Aside from the two initial wounds, there were no other injuries on his body.

In other words, Su Mu's entire sequence of the Wave-Subduing Saber technique had failed to land a single effective blow.

Then again, that wasn't entirely accurate; if not for his frantic, tiger-like maneuvers, the Second Chief might have actually broken free from the range of the obscuring smoke.

In short, the saber technique hadn't been entirely wasted.

"This obscuring smoke from Du Qian, the Pink Wolf, is truly remarkable. It can even knock out a martial artist who has successfully tempered their body. It's a pity Du Qian is already dead; with every use, one less smoke bomb remains," Su Mu thought with a hint of regret.

He had obtained a total of five smoke bombs from Du Qian, and to deal with this Second Chief, he had already used four.

Now, he had only one left in his hand.

Without the recipe for the smoke, once this last one was gone, the Pink Wolf Du Qian's unique specialty would vanish from the world forever.

Pushing aside these regretful thoughts, Su Mu's gaze fell upon the Second Chief.

Even for someone as calm as him, a flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes.

A body-tempering martial artist... the Second Chief of Black Dragon Fortress...

His ranking on the Wanted List was significantly higher than Du Qian's. This head should be worth at least two hundred taels of silver.

With this thought in mind, Su Mu did not hesitate for a second. He swung his long saber directly at the Second Chief's neck.

The sensation of striking thick, tough hide traveled up his hand. Using his full strength, Su Mu hacked down, nearly severing half of the Second Chief's neck in one stroke.

The intense pain jolted the Second Chief awake from his stupor.

His body jerked violently, and his eyes bulged wide.

Su Mu instinctively took a step back.

Blood gushed from the Second Chief's neck like a torrent. He clawed at the wound in a futile struggle before his breath gradually ceased.

Even in death, his eyes remained wide, filled with indignation.

He could never have imagined that he would one day die at the hands of an ordinary mortal who had not yet tempered his body.

Only after confirming that the Second Chief was truly dead did Su Mu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

*As expected of a killer who has tempered his body; he was truly difficult to kill.*

Such people possessed tough skin and dense muscles; an ordinary person striking them with a blade might not even be able to inflict significant damage.

It was only because the Second Chief had been incapacitated by the smoke; otherwise, even with Su Mu's mastery of the saber, killing him would have been impossible.

"Is this what body-tempering is?"

Su Mu murmured to himself, a look of anticipation in his eyes. He hadn't known until now just how powerful a martial artist could be.

"Once I have mastered the Wave-Subduing Saber technique to perfection, I must find a way to obtain a body-tempering method to practice," Su Mu decided.

He crouched beside the Second Chief's corpse and began the next step of the process: looting!

After a period of searching, a look of disappointment appeared on Su Mu's face.

The Second Chief was unexpectedly empty-handed.

His current mood was exactly like playing a video game in his past life—working incredibly hard to kill a Great Boss, only for nothing to drop!

However, upon reflection, he understood.

This was the territory of Black Dragon Fortress. The Second Chief had never expected to lose; when heading out for combat, he naturally wouldn't carry any cumbersome items.

The good stuff was likely hidden away back in the fortress.

Su Mu looked around.

He was currently somewhat disoriented and had no idea where the Black Dragon Fortress was located. Even if he wanted to take the opportunity to sneak in and make a profit, he couldn't.

"I wonder how things are going with the others. Have they taken down the Great Chief of Black Dragon Fortress?"

Su Mu looked back toward the direction he had come from, a look of hesitation on his face.

Xing Zhaofu was dead. As long as he returned with the Second Chief's head to report, it wouldn't be considered desertion, and Sima Heyuxing certainly wouldn't make things difficult for him.

He didn't crave merit or rewards; he only wanted to secure a period of peaceful time to develop his strength.

If he returned to the battlefield now, it would be fine if the Great Chief had been captured. But if not...

He had used four smoke bombs just to deal with one Second Chief. With only one bomb left, how could he possibly face the Great Chief?

By relying on his mastered Wave-Subduing Saber technique?

Without sufficient strength to back it up, even the most exquisite saber technique could not harm a body-tempered martial artist.

Gritting his teeth, he hacked off the Second Chief's head, gripped it in his hand, picked up the Second Chief's long spear, and set off.

After only two steps, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Sigh! It's not that I'm trying to be a hero, it's just that I don't know the way back to Wuling City," Su Mu muttered to himself.

As if convinced by his own lame excuse, Su Mu turned around and headed back the way he came.

There were still his allies on the battlefield, as well as innocent hunters and constables.

If he just left like this, he would become the kind of person even he would despise.

Though he might not have the ability to change much, his allies had not abandoned him, so he would not abandon them.

***

As if ravaged by a level-nine gale, all the trees within several yards had been toppled.

Countless people lay scattered across the ground.

A burly, bearded man was kneeling on the ground, drenched in blood. The patterns on his skin were stained crimson by the gore, and there were several deep wounds on his chest and back that exposed flesh and reached the bone.

"Hahahaha!"

He suddenly let out a long, boisterous laugh.

"Who else?! Do you think you can kill me?"

As he laughed, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Even though he clearly could no longer even stand, his face remained full of arrogance.

Not far away, Yang Jin lay on the ground, his face as pale as paper. Although his chest was still slightly heaving, his breathing was extremely weak.

A bitter smile appeared on his face. *So, we still failed to kill the Great Chief of Black Dragon Fortress?*

*I hope Su Mu can escape the clutches of the Second Chief.*

*Thud!*

Beside Yang Jin, Wei Yongfu attempted to stand up, but halfway through, he collapsed back to the ground.

His condition looked even more wretched, with countless wounds covering his body.

However, his eyes were like those of a lone wolf, radiating unyielding spirit.

"With a rabble like you, you think you can wipe out my Black Dragon Fortress?"

The Great Chief of Black Dragon Fortress said arrogantly, "So what if you lured me here? My men will soon slaughter your people clean and then find their way here. You all will die."

"How can you be so sure your men will win?" Yang Jin asked in a weak voice. "Why couldn't it be us who win?"

"Even if you win, so what? It will only take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for this Fortress Chief to recover ten percent of his strength. By then, killing you all will be effortless," the Great Chief said indifferently. "As long as I do not die, I can rebuild Black Dragon Fortress at any time. Your fate is destined to be total annihilation."

"I'll ask you one more time: who else among you can kill me?" the Great Chief boasted.

"Me... can I try?"

Just then, a voice suddenly drifted over.

Along with the voice, a figure emerged from the mountain forest.

The newcomer carried a gong on his back and a saber at his waist. In one hand he held a severed head, and in the other, a long spear. A harmless smile played on his handsome face.

"I want to try and see if I can kill you," he said, looking at the Great Chief of Black Dragon Fortress with a dead serious expression.