Qian Ye casually slapped Song Zining’s shoulder and said with a faint smile, “Of course we go together! After all, someone should serve as a human shield!”
After some playful banter, Qian shifted topics to ask, “What exactly happened earlier? The aura of a Heaven Ghost emerged so suddenly it nearly cost me dearly.”
Song Zining’s voice cooled instantly. “It must be Nangong’s scums again…” Then he concisely explained the situation as it had just transpired.
Nodding calmly, Qian inquired, “What do you plan to do next?”
Song returned with a question of his own, “What would you suggest?”
Qian’s eyes gleamed murderously: “Kill them all now.”
Song laughed out loud heartily, “How savage! That’s exactly how I like it. Problem is though, there are quite a few powerful eyes monitoring the area right now. As ordinary men without power or position, if we’re to make war, might as well pull a cloth across ourselves and pretend at dignity, hahaha!”
Qian shot him a warning glare: “Half a day—you’d better finish preparing that decency by then!”
Song wore a confident smirk, clearly unfazed as he claimed: “The ‘cloth’ I already have, brother. We can leave this moment!”
Soon enough, a convoy set out by the battered gate of Heiliu Town. It comprised seven massive armored trucks, unmistakably marked by the Dark Fire symbol and that of the Expeditionary Forces—an immediately recognizable signature in the wildlands.
These ancient leviathans, roaring with deep engine growls emitted black smoke from their two upright exhaust pipes, and now and again spewed white vapor through side valves when traversing through the jagged landscapes. Eight oversized off-road tires moved like the legs of a determined mount, bearing the weight steadily through broken terrain. Each step mimicked the slow yet mighty gait of a colossal beast, slowly trudging over the scarred earth.
These war-era monsters of transportation had once been main-stay troop carriers used by imperial legions—but they were rarely ever encountered in the Evernight territories and virtually unheard of in backwaters like Heiliu. These behemoths had only arrived with Song’s command and presence. Simply put—once people saw them around, it meant the Dark Fire unit had come to play.
Their command truck’s cab offered plenty of room, two rows deep inside—a compartment just large enough to shove several soldiers in if required, in a pinch at least.
At the wheel steered Qian Ye himself, somewhat awkwardly wrestling with the leviathan beast that stood nearly five meters tall.
The vehicle gave an abrupt shake from hitting a boulder that caused Qian to slam the steering wheel in agitation: “Haven’t driven one for a while—it feels so unnatural now.”
Song chuckled in amusement. He lit up a cigarette and handed it over to his partner: “No worries. Here’s something guaranteed to bring your senses up to full—enjoy!”
Faint tendrils spiraled up in the air around the compartment before Qian’s other companion sitting on the backseat—Nanhua—shifted uneasily.
Sniffing the air curiously he asked: “Weird tobacco flavor—are military stims in here too?”
“It’s premium stuff—it definitely contains boosters,” Song laughed.
Looking doubtful, Qian muttered back: “They still effective on your kind at that dosage?”
Song shrugged casually: “Only nostalgic comfort.”
A knock landed on the upper hatch above them.
“Stims are used for that?” came the hoarse toneless voice from atop—He Yue, cloaked again in a layered dark cloak with one arm partially cybernetic as flame leaped forth from her machine thumb. She lit the cigarette she retrieved from Song with expert ease.
A slow luxurious inhale followed as the stim hit its mark, making the assassin let loose a soft sigh of satisfaction. Military enhancers were useless for immortals like Song; yet, to hybrids like her, the effect was quite real.
Beside He Yue crouched next to a terrifying oversized rotary cannon fixed to the roof.
They pressed onwards. One full-hour of barren wastelands passed in silence without any interruptions—not because the lands were peaceful, but because every road this region had previously connected had come under siege from Nangong. No soul dared enter now.
Far ahead loomed an imposing barricade complete with guards at the entrance plus barracks alongside—this was one of the strongholds locking down the only major route to and from the town.
Qian shifted the lever into battle-ready state—no hesitation—just a deep breath before gunning the monstrous engine straight and true.
“Halt! Halt now,” screamed the commanding officer from below who leveled a warning shot followed closely by a line of rifles trained towards the vehicle.
Yet, Qian’s hands on the wheel never wavered—slamming it hard only once near the end, bringing the monster truck to a stop with a thunderous screech that left behind parallel furrows torn in the ground where its eight massive tires locked rigid. Steam erupted outward from beneath its chassis like the exhaling of some primal creature emerging from hell itself—obscuring everything in a heavy white haze just enough for the officer to tumble aside—coated now from head to toe in soot and sweat.
Despite all that inertia and impact force, He Yue upon the truck top remained motionless—completely defying any semblance of gravity.
With a smooth toss of his smoldering ember overboard, Qian leaped elegantly from the high compartment’s doorway, landing silently like leaves upon the wind beside his enemy.
Emerging now half-soaked and steaming from his protective mist, the once confident officer—now reduced to dripping wet dishevelment—shouted out a hoarse growling threat: “Let’s see whose grin will be wider when I slit your gut—!”
And so swung the heavy stock of the carbine towards Qian’s face.
This blow packed muscle trained from wars, a single strike to even touch flesh would spell broken bones in normal men.
It barely scratched the fabric though—something strange happened— Qian’s hand reached out seemingly from thin air and caught it mid-motion in an iron grip.
“I had the feeling you meant to kill me, brother…” Qian’s tone dripping with sarcastic calmness pierced directly into the officer’s heart, leaving chills running deeper than the blade ever could.
In vain attempts afterward against iron chains of sheer might, he strained again, yet each movement was null and still—he finally burst into fury: “You damn Black City trash dare breach a barrier of the Nangong Lords?” And continued threatening: “Let me go OR I’ll exterminate you and all these criminals riding with ya!”
Steppin smoothly into play now with a smile upon his face was none other than Song. He grabbed the man from behind, twisting fingers with the precision of a surgeon and an odd flick at an impossible angle until with a crack—the gun was forced to fire, leaving an angry hissing hole embedded within the truck just inches from them:
“Intended murder?” Song now echoed Qian’s words moments ago in mocking glee. “In that case, allow me to follow through properly then!”
With a sharp wrench he pivoted the officer’s own body—aligning that same rifle right against the commander’s forehead— pulled the trigger, and in the split moment that his skull blew outward from this close-range bullet—panic erupted.
From around the combat zones sudden blizzard of invisible leaves spiraled—swirling wildly, sharp as blades cutting through any who got close—those caught beneath it screamed once as they slumped—life fading quickly.
As Song engaged below, Qian retrieved his weapon—Mandala of Death and launched two explosive shots—each bullet aimed straight upwards and landed perfectly on two nearby guard towers, piercing right through the metallic armor effortlessly and igniting their internal stockpiles before exploding. Huge fiery mushroom clouds spiraling skyward, and the sniper within? Simply blasted clean out.
A loud and sustained staccato burst followed—He Yue had engaged the mounted weapon atop with terrifying intent.
Under her deft machine-enhanced fingers, every shell seemed to have its own mind guiding itself unerringly toward the soldiers on ground—even if behind cover, not a single soul beneath could survive those accurate strikes. Heads exploded under incoming volleys and the whole blockade dissolved before them.
In the blink of an eye, it was over. When Nan rushed forward from within the smoke-filled cabin outside—nearly every opponent already lay in puddled gore, others were fleeing desperately towards the walls of the town far beyond.
But Qian cared nothing for their escape—the weak merely meant nothing against a will far their superior. His focus was locked now on the true course waiting at the heart.
One by one each mounted the vehicles again. Moving once more as a unit past the obliterated blockade towards San River territory.
Within the distant walls of cities now aware of all ruckus—movement stirred once more.
Above the rising camp of enemy forces—one single airborne corvette detached itself from cover and raced toward the convoy with cold determination.
“One ship is all?” came the grumbled voice from the rooftop gunner seat—He Yue’s.
A fierce kick into the brakes brought his metal beast into full emergency lock as Qian’s hands twisted red handles inside marked for war—mech-veins flared and the massive vehicle exhaled a hiss before the hatch in the rear popped open—with an armored vehicle of its own hidden within unveiled. It was a sleek two barrel heavy siege gun capable of rapid bursts that would be powered through the massive chassis it was connected to.
She immediately slid behind her favorite piece—hooked limbs and circuits together like a wild feral dance of death in machinery.
With precision beyond human capability, the mount tracked its targets and raised its massive bore high into the sky locking upon an enemy airship that grew ever closer.
The warship ahead came straight—low at less than one hundred and sixty feet high—and utterly confident.
Even so, this was a Nangong warship—a formidable opponent even to elite elites from Empire or Evernight realms.
Song leaned against his window holding Longshot at rest. A heavy spear capable enough of hurling anything within reach—including a warcraft itself—clear with an effortless arc.
Qian rotated “Flori” between two fingers—the dual flowers merged in an act as natural as breathing for his raw energy-fueled style. With their combined force—augmented by Prime Wings—they shredded armor plating with ease within 800 feet.
As for Nan—his only role this time was to stand on top of his moving perch fumbling at machine gun shells he barely knew to aim and shoot—not really threatening a ship worth a thousand bullets per minute.
The sound broke—like a thousand war drums in sync—the cannon’s roar echoed across desert sands shaking each soldier inside as though their insides trembled under invisible chains of terror.
She paused adjusting trajectory briefly before unleashing again—an eruption so thunderous and deadly, streams of white burning death raced like crimson claws toward this arrogant target far faster than before.
Faint wisps of burning fire crisscrossing sky, and with each precise strike came destruction as thick metal plating of corvette cracked under each impact. Propellers spun wildly—before one shattered entirely under repeated barrage.
Even amidst the chaos Song murmured in awe: “Okay okay admit it already… she’s clearly better than us boys when dealing with these.”
Qian holstered weapon, giving his partner a firm slap on the back encouragingly: “Cheer yourself—there are bigger game at stake! San river awaits.”
Hearing his next challenge, Song turned visibly annoyed: “Why isn’t Nangong Yuanwang his replacement? Seems more fitting.”
Qian gave a cold smirk with zero warmth: “Sorry Song… but you barely stand up to anything more than one casual blow from those elites.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage