"Clang!"
The crisp sound of metal colliding reverberated through the forest. The splashing sparks were especially glaring in the darkness.
The thick curved blade of the Anluo warrior barely blocked the sickle. Taking advantage of the counter-shock force, Zhao Yanke spun around and lashed out his right leg like a whip, slamming it hard against the outside of the opponent's knee.
The Anluo warrior let out a muffled groan, and his left leg gave way. But his battle-hardened physique allowed him to quickly steady himself. A fierce light flashed in his eyes as he whipped out his short knife in a cold arc.
Zhao Yanke leaned backward to avoid it. The blade just missed his nose.
In that instant, he could even smell the lingering blood on the blade.
A drop of cold sweat slid down his eyebrow bone, as if the hem of Death's robe had brushed across his throat.
But at this moment, his mind was unusually clear - like the lake surface after a torrential rain, calm enough to reflect every detail.
Don't be nervous...
Don't be nervous...
Before Zhao Yanke had even landed, he suddenly sprang into action. He keenly seized the moment when the opponent retracted his knife and rammed his right elbow forward like a striking viper, hitting the Anluo warrior's protruding Adam's apple hard.
"Cough!" The Anluo warrior staggered backward, his face flushed purple. Then Zhao Yanke gave him no chance to catch his breath. He swung his sickle horizontally again, slicing a silver arc in the moonlight.
"Pfft!"
Warm blood spurted onto Zhao Yanke's face, carrying a rusty stench.
The Anluo warrior in front of him stared wide-eyed, his bloodshot eyes rolling in disbelief.
As if unable to believe it, he trembled and raised his hand to touch his bleeding throat. Thick blood gushed out between his fingers.
Finally, this burly body crashed to the ground like a felled giant tree.
...
Wan Xin was dragging Chen Mazi and running desperately on the rugged mountain path. Suddenly, a chilling whooshing sound came from behind.
Whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh!!
Arrows came flying like shooting stars, thudding into the tree trunks behind them - the two Anluo woodcutters had caught up!
"Run!"
Wan Xin's scalp went numb, and her voice changed pitch in fright.
Fortunately, they were in the forest. Both of them were familiar with the mountain paths. With the cover of the dense forest, they dodged left and right among the intertwined tree roots and vines, and for the time being, they weren't hit.
"G...Grandma!" Chen Mazi gasped like a broken bellows but still whispered urgently in a low voice, "There's a bear trap ahead... Let's lead these two barbarians there..."
Wan Xin was out of breath, her chest burning with pain. "Okay..." She managed to squeeze out this word, but she didn't dare to stop for a moment.
The two stumbled around the rock, and Chen Mazi suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
Wan Xin followed his gaze and sure enough saw a pile of fallen leaves in front. The color was obviously darker than the surrounding area, and there were still a few fake dead branches faintly visible at the edge.
"Get around it!" Wan Xin hoarsely shouted and ran with all her might. She made a sharp turn just inches away from the trap.
The Anluo warriors behind had caught up. Their heavy footsteps and indistinct curses were clearly audible in their ears.
- They had missed their shots repeatedly and obviously gave up on shooting with their bows. But they weren't as familiar with Dayi Mountain and didn't notice anything different about the fallen leaves under their feet.
Pfft!
A chilling piercing sound suddenly rang out, followed by a heart-rending scream.
Wan Xin suddenly turned around and saw an Anluo warrior twitching in the trap like a pinned insect.
Sharp wooden spikes had penetrated his chest and thigh. Blood was gushing down the sharpened wood, and it was obvious that he was not going to survive.
"Ah!"
When the other Anluo warrior saw his comrade die, he let out a wild howl. His bloodshot eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He suddenly drew out the short knife wrapped in snake skin from his waist and lunged at them with bulging eyes!
Chen Mazi was so scared that his soul flew away. He scrambled backward on all fours but was tripped by a cluster of vines in his panic and fell heavily to the ground.
"S...Save me..." Seeing the blade slashing towards his head, all the blood in Chen Mazi's body turned cold. He closed his eyes in despair.
Bang!
A dull thud made people's hearts tremble. Chen Mazi was startled but found that his head was still intact.
He opened his eyes tremulously and saw Wan Xin standing resolutely behind the Anluo warrior, holding a rock the size of a hydrangea with both hands.
She was trembling all over, her knuckles white from exertion, but she held onto the rock tightly. There was still dark red bloodstained on the rock.
The Anluo warrior shook his head and slowly turned around.
Wan Xin was terrified, but she still gritted her teeth, raised the rock again, and smashed it down without hesitation!
Bang!
Bang bang!
One dull thud after another rang out. Even Chen Mazi couldn't bear to look and turned his face away - the sound was like hitting a ripe pumpkin with a hammer. Each sound was accompanied by a tooth-aching bone-cracking sound... But the Anluo warrior seemed not to notice.
Blood gushed out from the wound on his forehead and flowed into his eyes along his eyebrow bone. But he didn't even blink. He just bared his teeth, showing his blood-stained teeth, with a ferocious expression like a ghost.
Wan Xin let out a scream in fright. Finally, her hands lost their strength, and she could no longer hold the rock.
The Anluo warrior raised his short knife high. The cold glint stung Wan Xin's eyes...
Whoosh!
A sickle came flying through the air and was embedded in the tree trunk next to the Anluo warrior. The blade sank more than three inches into the trunk, making the whole tree tremble.
Drip...
Drip...
Blood dripped down the sickle, staining the dead leaves on the ground red.
Wan Xin looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhao Yanke kneeling on one knee in a clearing in the forest about ten steps away. His chest was heaving violently. The tiger's mouth of his right arm was split, and he still maintained the throwing posture.
The Anluo warrior slowly turned around. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Zhao Yanke.
The moment their eyes met, the Anluo warrior's neck suddenly spurted blood, and he finally fell to the ground with a "thud"!
...
Dead...
Finally dead...
Wan Xin's legs seemed to lose their strength, and she couldn't help but sit down on the ground.
The courage from before receded like a tide. Only then did she realize that her clothes were already soaked with sweat, sticking to her back in a sticky mess. A gust of wind made her shiver.
"Oh my god..."
Chen Mazi was lying limp on the ground like a stranded fish. His chest was heaving violently, and his voice was hoarse and out of tune. "These Anluo warriors are so hard to kill..."
Zhao Yanke was still kneeling on one knee about ten steps away. His chest was rising and falling slightly, but his eyes were extremely complicated. There was relief after a narrow escape, but also a kind of empty bewilderment.
At the critical moment, he threw the sickle with all his might. The blade precisely sliced across the Anluo warrior's neck, finally beheading him...
He had saved Wan Xin and Chen Mazi.
But he had killed someone...
Two people...
So this was the sound of a weapon piercing a human body.
So this was the feeling of blood splashing on one's face.
So this was what it felt like to kill someone...
Zhao Yanke's hands couldn't help but tremble.