Chapter 48: Ambush

Qian Ye, himself, merely had a slightly quickened breath. He hadn’t drunk water or used any stimulants. After resting for a few minutes, he was as good as new, which left the rookie staring in awe.

If she hadn’t been mistaken, Qian Ye had only lit three nodes, meaning he was also at the third level of primordial force. However, his physical endurance was frightening, almost on par with the Red Scorpion Captain. Moreover, the decisive and ruthless efficiency with which he faced the vampire warriors far surpassed that of many veteran Black Scorpions.

Qian Ye sat quietly, waiting for half an hour to pass. He actually had questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, found he couldn’t utter a single word.

At this moment, he finally took a good look at the little rookie.

She was very young, with a sweet and innocent face. Her heart-shaped face held large, round eyes that sparkled like gems, radiating a naive innocence.

This girl, despite her youth, had the same level of primordial force as Qian Ye, indicating extraordinary talent in cultivation. She must have been directly recruited by the Red Scorpions, bypassing the usual assessment. The way she charged her primordial gun clearly wasn’t the typical soldier’s method. Though she didn’t have a speed advantage, the power of her two shots was impressive, likely a high-level technique from some noble family.

However, while her strength was commendable, her combat experience was severely lacking. The Red Scorpion Captain had clearly intended to sacrifice himself to hold back the vampires, allowing her to escape. But she couldn’t bear it, and impulsively returned for revenge. After defeating one vampire, she panicked under their fierce counterattack, and her second shot went wide.

Without Qian Ye, she would have become a vampire captive, and even mutual destruction would have been out of reach.

Qian Ye looked at the small rookie, sighing silently within. Not long ago, he too was a rookie, eagerly anticipating the day he would shed his inexperience and become a true Red Scorpion. The future had seemed bright, but a fated battle forever changed his destiny and the destinies of many others.

After thirty minutes, Qian Ye stood up, his face expressionless, and commanded, “One hour of maximum running, follow me!”

Qian Ye took off first, and the rookie sprang up, following him as they ran into the distance.

This time, Qian Ye ran straight, not bothering to hide their tracks. A former Red Scorpion rookie and a current small rookie, one in front and one behind, traversed the vast wasteland, heading towards the horizon.

As they ran, Qian Ye suddenly said, “Look back!”

The rookie turned and scanned, and was startled to see several vampire warriors on the hill where they had rested earlier. Her legs immediately picked up speed.

Qian Ye, however, did not accelerate. He continued at a steady pace, not even looking back.

“What if… they catch up?” the rookie panted.

“They won’t catch us; they’re already exhausted,” Qian Ye replied calmly.

She found it hard to believe, given that they were only a few kilometers apart. After a while, she looked back again and saw the vampires still standing on the hilltop, not pursuing. She felt a sense of relief, and the image of Qian Ye ahead of her grew larger in her heart.

On the hill behind them, an elderly vampire gazed at Qian Ye and the rookie running across the wasteland, his face pale and his lips devoid of color. The other vampires, cloaked in dark hoods, silently watched the two humans who dared to take a straight path through the wasteland.

The vampires gave up the chase, having expended all their energy pursuing them from the main battlefield.

“Should we pursue, sir?” a younger vampire suggested, though his tone betrayed a lack of confidence.

The elder vampire shook his head, saying, “By the time we catch them, we’ll be in human territory. The human expeditionary force is troublesome.”

The vampire warriors watched Qian Ye and the rookie disappear, then turned and vanished on the other side of the hill.

An hour later, the rookie looked back and no longer saw the vampires. She let out a sigh of relief.

Qian Ye stopped and pointed ahead, saying, “Head in that direction. Dark Blood City is a hundred kilometers away. There are imperial expeditionary forces there. Show them your identity, and they should help you get back.”

The rookie nodded vigorously, relieved to be out of danger and able to return to the Red Scorpions. Her face lit up, but she soon thought of the fallen Red Scorpion Captain, and her lower lip quivered, tears threatening to fall.

Qian Ye’s face hardened, and he barked, “Stop crying! Rookie! Any true Red Scorpion grows through countless battles. You can be weak on your first battle, but if you’re still like this on your second, it’s unforgivable! So go to Dark Blood City now, find the expeditionary force, and report back to the Red Scorpions! You have four hours, rookie!”

The rookie instinctively straightened her chest and shouted, “Yes, sir!”

Qian Ye nodded and pointed forward. The rookie took off running. One hundred kilometers in four hours meant she needed to maintain near-maximum speed. But after a few steps, she turned back, seeing Qian Ye still standing there, growing distant.

Wasn’t he coming back with her?

Qian Ye waved and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

The rookie suddenly realized: he was going to confront the vampires, to avenge the Red Scorpion Captain!

But why? This young man had no real connection to the Red Scorpions. Why was he doing this? She couldn’t figure it out, but her feet continued to run, undeterred.

Soon, she would be back with the Red Scorpions. This time, she resolved to train harder, honing her skills and courage. When she was ready, she would return to find him.

A serious question popped into her head: she didn’t even know his name!

Stopping abruptly, she turned to look back, but Qian Ye had already disappeared over the horizon.

She stood there, lost and disoriented.

Qian Ye pressed on, navigating the ravines of the wasteland with ease, and steadily increased his speed. Without the rookie to slow him down, his physical and combat advantages were fully unleashed.

An hour later, Qian Ye reached the top of a small hill, coldly observing the vampires, including the elderly one, still climbing. Standing high above them, he made no attempt to hide, openly loading two mithril primordial bullets into his gun and raising it.

The elder vampire gasped. He was a fifth-level vampire warrior, leading third-level warriors. They should have overwhelming strength against Qian Ye, yet when Qian Ye aimed his gun, the old man felt an uncontrollable fear!

From a well-known vampire clan, the elder was known for his strong danger sense. With his fifth-level strength, he shouldn’t fear two mithril bullets. If they didn’t hit a vital spot, he was confident he could survive.

The elder didn’t move, and neither did his subordinates, wary of the mithril bullets’ devastating power. Though they could attack once the human fired, the first to be hit would surely perish.

Qian Ye calmly aimed, then walked towards the vampires!

Was this human going to face them head-on? The elder vampire thought, incredulous. He had fought in hundreds of battles, a third of them against humans, and had never seen such foolishness. It was suicidal!

With no time to hesitate, the elder shouted and charged at Qian Ye. As the highest-ranking leader, he had no choice but to confront Qian Ye, a mere third-level.

But when Qian Ye aimed, the elder felt a strong warning. He saw a smile on Qian Ye’s lips, the smile of a hunter watching prey walk into a trap!

With a roar, Qian Ye’s gun fired, and a solid bullet whistled towards the elder. The elder screamed, crossing his arms to form a dark red blood shield.

The bullet shattered the shield and hit his arm, leaving a deep wound. Mithril burned the wound black.

The elder felt relieved; the injury was manageable. He pointed at Qian Ye, shouting, “Kill him!”

The vampire warriors surrounded Qian Ye, but he pulled out his gun, firing twice and downing two vampires. The gun’s close-range power lived up to its name. The two vampires were knocked down and didn’t get up.

Blood mist rose and fell, mingling with the cool, fresh blood and the spicy scent of gunpowder, like the rich, lively smell of a wet grassy field. Qian Ye drew his hand axe, facing the encircling vampires, and felt a strong, exhilarating excitement, almost trembling with anticipation!

Qian Ye craved a fierce battle, the fiercest possible!

The vampire warriors drew their swords, all gleaming with a faint bloodlight. They were clearly not just random soldiers but trained warriors from a powerful family, preferring traditional weapons to primordial guns to leverage their speed, strength, and racial abilities.

Qian Ye was quickly surrounded, but unafraid. He stomped the ground, sending a wave of energy out, and propelled himself forward like a cannonball, crashing into the vampires ahead!