Chapter 187: Powerful Sniper Kill

The morning light spread across the land. The snow-covered ground showed few traces of living creatures. In the gray, vast sky, only two large, bewildered eagles circled and soared, laboriously searching for anything that could serve as food. But the clean earth looked as if it had been washed, with not even a field mouse in sight.

About a dozen miles from Tixiang’s club, on a north-south road, one convoy after another of four-wheeled wagons was heading toward the Imperial Capital. Farmers who had risen early were busy transporting firewood, coal, stored vegetables, and various other food supplies to the Imperial Capital. The enormous Imperial Capital consumed a staggering amount daily, necessitating the farmers’ diligent daily delivery of fresh provisions.

In a small grove by the roadside, a stern man in a pale golden robe coldly issued harsh commands.

“The master is very angry. Someone must pay the price. Kill the newly appointed Clerk Official by Tixiang’s side. Kill that fallen noble, Yulian. Kill the two women Tixiang is trying to seduce.” The man glared coldly at a square formation of cavalry before him. “Those two women—their heads must be chopped off right in front of Tixiang. Is that clear?”

There were sixty cavalrymen in total. They wore light chainmail armor underneath, black Leather Armor over it, and were draped in snow-white Cloaks, appearing majestic yet exuding a chilling aura of death. They wore black iron helmets and black metal skull masks, with no visible markings anywhere on their bodies.

The man in the golden robe gave a few quiet instructions and casually waved his hand. The sixty cavalrymen immediately spurred their horses and set off briskly through the grove toward Tixiang’s club. The golden-robed man watched them coldly for a while, waiting until they had completely disappeared into the woods. Then he clasped his hands together, murmured a low incantation, and his body suddenly exploded into a puff of green smoke, vanishing without a trace.

A hissing sound arose. A strange golden snake, thin as an earthworm but over a meter long, appeared where the green smoke had dissipated. It darted forward like lightning, chasing the direction the cavalry had taken. The golden snake seemed weightless; it didn’t crawl on the ground but floated an inch above the surface.

Though the snake was so slender, its head was hideous and grotesque, the size of an adult’s fist. The ugly head was not golden but a strange bluish-black. Drops of venom continuously dripped from its mouth. Each drop left a one-meter-square patch of withered ground in the snow, corroding all the snow away and causing the black soil beneath to sink into shallow pits.

Lin Qi stretched lazily as he stepped out of the club.

Lartus and the others were still haggling. The initial cooperation between two massive forces wasn’t something easily decided. With many matters still on his mind, Lin Qi had no patience to waste time watching Lartus and Elham bicker like market vendors. He excused himself under a casual pretext, and surprisingly, Ya and Ling also requested to return to the Imperial Capital to recuperate quietly.

So the situation turned strange. It ended up that Lin Qi and Long Cheng, along with ten guards provided by Tixiang, were escorting the two women back to the city! Of course, Lin Qi’s task was only to deliver them safely to the Old Rooster Inn. After that, whether the two women jumped into a well or hung themselves had nothing to do with Lin Qi.

Swaying leisurely on horseback, followed by a carriage and ten guards, Lin Qi lowered his voice and muttered to Long Cheng, “Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss just because Tixiang got his hands on two women? That Elham is too greedy.”

Long Cheng remained silent. The matter appeared simple on the surface—wasn’t it just Tixiang spending a night of passion with two women? The issue lay in the identity of these women. They were clan daughters of the Church’s Divine Descendant Clan, bearing Divinity. Could ordinary girls or Noble ladies be compared to them? Divinity, that was Divinity!

Remembering how Lin Qi had galloped naked atop the two women, his body burning red and nearly transparent, Long Cheng felt a pang of heartache. It was Divinity. A misstep, truly a misstep. Why did he just watch the spectacle? Why didn’t he take action himself? After all, with the fool Fat Bird Kirk as the scapegoat and Tixiang as the fall guy, what would it have mattered if he had done it himself?

Two strands of Divinity! And who knew how much Lin Qi had absorbed! That was Divinity, not common vegetables from the street. An ordinary man might derive no benefit even if he lay with the two women. That was Divinity, Divinity—directly connected to the laws of heaven.

If Long Cheng had handled it personally, he would have been ten-tenths certain to perfectly absorb both strands of Divinity. But how much had Lin Qi gained? One-tenth? Two-tenths? There was no way he could absorb the Divinity completely like Long Cheng, with his exceptional talent. Absolutely impossible!

Sighing softly, Long Cheng looked at Lin Qi somewhat resentfully. “After all, they are just two young girls. Even if they acted recklessly after drinking, it was a momentary lapse. No matter what, something like this happened, and their fiancé is using it as an excuse to haggle with others—that must feel awful. Watch your words!”

Lin Qi nodded. Long Cheng might have a soft spot for women, but Lin Qi felt no such sentiment. In Lin Qi’s view, a pile of shiny Gold Coins held far more appeal than Ya and Ling. He lowered his voice again and whispered to Long Cheng, “Do me a favor. After we take them back to the Old Rooster Inn, help me kill them, alright? They are my enemies, and there’s no easier time to strike than now.”

Long Cheng’s mouth fell open. He stared blankly at Lin Qi for a long time, then suddenly shook his head repeatedly as if in agony.

What sin had he committed? After toiling hard all night, all the benefits went to this kid, and now he actually wants to kill those two stunning, infinitely graceful young beauties? If last night’s events hadn’t happened, Long Cheng wouldn’t have felt any psychological pressure about Lin Qi killing the two women. But the problem was, Lin Qi had just spent a passionate night with them, and now he wants to turn around and kill them?

Although Long Cheng was despicable and shameless, even he had his limits.

Clearing his throat softly, Long Cheng looked at Lin Qi with utmost seriousness. “I never harm women. So, I can’t help you with this.” Long Cheng felt an illusion of being trapped by his own actions. How did he end up with such an unreliable young friend?

Lin Qi helplessly spread his hands. Fine, if Long Cheng wasn’t willing to act, then he would have to find a way himself. The Old Rooster Inn was the Empire’s state guesthouse, usually heavily guarded. Lin Qi couldn’t be sure if he could kill inside and escape safely. He would have to wait until Bar and Aunt Lili returned to the Imperial Capital to devise a plan. With two Celestial Knights joining forces, they should be able to smoothly eliminate Elham and his group.

Just as he was lost in thought, Long Cheng suddenly let out a clear whistle, grabbed Lin Qi, and pressed him to the ground.

Both men tumbled over simultaneously, sinking heavily into the foot-deep snow. Sharp whistling sounds, like the shrieks of Demons, came from afar. The warhorses Lin Qi and Long Cheng had been riding whinnied and fell. In that instant, at least a hundred iron Crossbow Bolts pierced their bodies.

The two strong warhorses collapsed weakly, blood splattering all over the ground.

Then the whistling sounds arose again. Over a hundred iron Crossbow Bolts shot out from the groves on both sides of the path, like a frenzied swarm of bees, aimed at the carriage behind. The ten guards sent by Tixiang didn’t even have time to draw their swords before they were hit by the bolts. They let out miserable cries and fell heavily to the ground. The potent poison on the arrows snatched their lives in the shortest time.

Iron Crossbow Bolts—these were lethal weapons only permitted for military use! Lin Qi and Long Cheng shouted in unison. Lin Qi, who now held a massive battle-axe that had appeared in his hands out of nowhere, swung it forcefully, deflecting three oncoming bolts. He rolled repeatedly on the ground, then let out a tiger-like roar and charged into the grove on one side.

Long Cheng, meanwhile, sighed deeply. He leaped into the air like a Wyvern from Eastern legends. His heavy Cloak swung out like a wall, stirring up a dark blast of Combat Qi that swept away all the bolts still heading for the carriage. Inside the carriage were Ya and Ling—how could Long Cheng let anything happen to them?

“I… I’ve really brought trouble upon myself!” Long Cheng felt like crying but had no tears. A wave of malice surged to his head; he truly wanted to kill someone to vent his anger. Initially, he just wanted to have some fun with Lin Qi, let him enjoy the spectacle. Who knew it would turn into a situation where Lin Qi remained completely unaware, and Long Cheng had to clean up the mess? How could Long Cheng face this?

Having tricked others his whole life, this was the first time Long Cheng had trapped himself. He felt a sweet taste repeatedly rising in his throat; he wanted to spit blood.

The sound of hooves thundered like booming drums. Thirty black-clad cavalrymen charged out from the groves on both sides of the path. They held oddly shaped Scimitars and let out sharp cries as they rushed over. Standing atop the carriage’s roof, Long Cheng gave a fierce grin. Purple energy shot out from his ten fingers, extending over three feet long. He was about to unleash slaughter and properly vent the frustration from last night.

Just then, Lin Qi, who had just dashed into the small grove, suddenly burst out from under a snow-covered shrub. He let out a deep, resonant roar, like a tiger hunting its prey. Moving with an afterimage, he pounced beside one cavalryman. The Magic great axe from his family’s Secret Vault made a strange sound as it tore through the air. Lin Qi mustered his Divine Power and swung the battle-axe, chopping down directly at the cavalryman’s head.

The Scimitar swept out a faint, cold light, accurately blocking the descending axe.

Lin Qi’s Combat Qi surged like a great river into the battle-axe. Intense blue light enveloped the axe’s large blade. A crisp sound rang out—the Scimitar was split in two. The great axe continued its descent without any obstruction, cleaving the cavalryman and his horse into four pieces.

Amid the horse’s whinnying, the four severed parts scattered. Lin Qi charged out from the blood rain, slamming his shoulder sideways into another cavalryman.

With a tremendous crash, the galloping warhorse, along with its rider, was sent stumbling over a dozen steps sideways by Lin Qi’s shoulder charge.