Chapter 960: Injury

Chapter 960: Wounded

A thunderous "Boom!" erupted, a violent explosion that shattered the entire window into jagged shards.

Though the grenade had been hurled back, it had not traveled far, and the shockwave of the blast slammed into Li Huowang with relentless force.

The sheer power of the impact sent his body flying, and as he crashed heavily against the wall, the wounds on his back—which had only just ceased bleeding—burst open anew.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on out there?!" With his ears ringing incessantly, Li Huowang reached out his right hand to brace against the floor, intending to haul himself up.

Yet, his right hand met only empty air. Li Huowang stumbled, collapsing back to the ground; something about his body was fundamentally different than before.

Lying on the floor, he lifted his right hand to look, only to discover that his five fingers had vanished, his entire arm blooming open like the barrel of a burst gun.

Miraculously, even with his hand mangled in such a state, Li Huowang felt no pain—not a single flicker of it.

Li Huowang moved. He crouched down with lightning speed, used one hand to undo his shoelace, and wrapped it tightly three inches above his mangled limb to stem the blood loss.

Having stanched the flow with one lace, he undid the second, gripping it firmly between his teeth to lash his combat knife securely to his left hand.

His injuries were grave, but Li Huowang was far more concerned with the situation outside.

The state of affairs was deeply wrong; even with the Si Ming of Baiyujing out there defending, grenades were still being tossed inside.

The intensity of the battle far exceeded his expectations. With such force, it was possible the Si Ming of Fusheng Heaven intended to annihilate them all in one fell swoop.

The best-case scenario was that Qing Wanglai and the others had simply failed to intercept them, letting a few slip through, but the worst-case scenario was that Qing Wanglai and Zhao Shuangdian had been wiped out entirely.

Li Huowang immediately braced for the worst; after all, good fortune had never once graced his life.

Yet, in another sense, this only hardened his resolve. The enemy's reaction proved that his previous actions had been correct.

Whether it was the drug factory beneath the Gobi Desert or the Si Ming he had forgotten on the sea, his actions alongside Zhao Shuangdian and the others had truly threatened them.

Li Huowang stumbled into Wu Qi’s room, seeing Yang Na just as she was grabbing the medical kit to rush out.

"Huowang! Your hand!"

"Forget the hand, listen to me! I’m going out the front. When you hear the explosion, climb out the back window, do you understand?"

The memory of Yang Na in the seawater flashed through his mind; he could not bear to see that happen again.

After speaking, Li Huowang tilted his head to press a heavy kiss against her, then dragged his broken body toward the ruined main hall.

As the ringing in his ears subsided, the sounds of the battle outside began to filter through.

Hearing the clamor, Li Huowang felt a slight relief; thank god, it wasn't the worst-case scenario after all.

The Si Ming of Fusheng Heaven had arrived, and there was no use dwelling on anything else. Li Huowang tightened his grip on his blade, steeled his heart, and rolled out into the bushes.

He quickly identified the positions of the combatants and their firing lines. Finding that most were concentrated in the bamboo grove, he lightened his steps and quietly circled behind an enemy.

Just as he was about to flank the target, Li Huowang felt his scalp prickle. He threw his body backward, narrowly dodging a bullet. "A sentry!"

Identifying the direction with blinding speed, Li Huowang didn't hesitate, lunging toward the source of the gunfire.

Before the enemy could chamber the next round, Li Huowang had already sliced off the three fingers clutching the gun.

He followed through without pause, driving his blade toward the enemy's abdomen, but the opponent seemed to anticipate his style, wearing a stab-proof vest that rendered Li Huowang’s knife useless for the moment.

In the bamboo grove, Li Huowang and his opponent grappled. Though the enemy was missing three fingers, Li Huowang was missing his right hand.

The man tried to seize the blade, but Li Huowang had it lashed to his arm; for a time, they were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Li Huowang tightened his grip on the weapon, thrusting toward the enemy's throat—a spot left exposed by the armor. But the Si Ming of Fusheng Heaven had no desire to die, and his gloved hand desperately parried the attack.

Just as the sharp edge hung in a stalemate against the man’s Adam's apple, a "squelch" sounded. A sharp blade pierced through from the back of the throat, cleaving the cartilage in two.

In the enemy's eyes of disbelief, his body went limp and collapsed to the ground.

As he fell, Yang Na appeared before Li Huowang, her face splattered with blood.

She stood there, panting, the combat knife in her hand still dripping.

Clearly, it was she who had driven the blade through the Si Ming's neck from behind, saving Li Huowang.

Yang Na steadied her nerves, looking down at the corpse with a beautiful, faint smile. "I am the Wusheng Laomu; I cannot flee. Without me, you could never kill them."

She then looked at Li Huowang and said quite naturally, "Ji Zai, don't just stand there. It's a war out there, go and help."

Hearing this, Li Huowang felt a moment of vertigo, as if Yang Na had transformed into something else entirely.

A gunshot rang out, snapping Li Huowang back to reality. He immediately pulled Yang Na to the ground. "Stay close to me!"

"Okay!" As if emboldened by Li Huowang, Yang Na felt no fear, only a surge of excitement.

Lying prone, Li Huowang began to map out the enemy's positions.

They were clearly well-prepared, having chosen their positions before the assault; every defensible point was manned, and they coordinated with one another perfectly.

It was evident the counterattack from Fusheng Heaven was massive; to destroy Baiyujing, they had deployed at least fifteen Si Ming.

The greatest trouble lay with the two Si Ming on the roof of the opposite villa.

They lay there, picking off targets with ease, while Qing Wanglai and Zhao Shuangdian struggled to return fire, leaving them in a highly passive position.

After a moment of rapid calculation, Li Huowang pulled out his phone and dialed Qing Wanglai again.

"Hey! It's me! Yang Na and I are out to help. It’s not safe inside either. At ten o'clock, create a distraction—I’ll see if I can take out those two on the roof!"

"Don't give me that shit! Sanqing! If you're so capable, why didn't you stop them from blowing up your nest in the first place!" Li Huowang snapped, hanging up the phone.