Chapter 24: Battle Song

Chapter24: Battle Song

The setting sun bled crimson, staining the horizon red.

Chaos sparked by the explosion still gripped the streets.

Terrified crowds huddled beneath eaves; many a Hunsui Paoge brother, the character *Yazi* tattooed on their necks, ran back and forth shouting, struggling to maintain an order on the verge of collapse, desperate to prevent an even deadlier stampede.

Discarded deity costumes littered the avenue; a blown-apart red dragon lay on the ground, ruthlessly devoured by raging flames.

The air hung thick with the heavy stench of gunpowder; pale ash from burning bamboo scraps swirled everywhere.

Far off, the Tianfu Garrison’s airships had already risen, crimson warning lights flashing on their hulls, yet their flight speed was agonizingly slow.

Atop a ridge of grey walls and blue tiles, Li Jun stood upon a *Dou Niu* roof beast, only then barely meeting the gaze of the ghost-masked bandit encased in an exoskeleton armor.

"So you're the new Wu Grade Nine thug the Hunsui Paoge recruited?"

The ghost-masked bandit looked Li Jun over with keen interest, his voice thick with intense excitement.

Li Jun’s face flickered with surprise. "You know me?"

"Martial Dao Sequencers are a rare novelty these days. I’ve played with that bunch of trash for so long just waiting for you to show yourself."

The ghost-masked bandit radiated fighting spirit, declaring loudly: "Now that the small fry of Shudao Logistics are cleaned up, if you beat me, this cargo worth three million Great Ming Treasure Notes is yours."

Li Jun raised a hand, brushing his eyebrow. "Then let’s cut the crap. Let’s see what you’ve got."

"Hahaha, refreshing! I’ve been itching to clash with you Martial Dao Sequencers for ages."

The ghost-masked bandit suddenly roared: "Lord Ma!"

Someone else?!

Li Jun froze, his peripheral vision scanning the surroundings rapidly, but the next moment he stood stunned.

A resonant voice rang out from that pitch-black exoskeleton armor: "Here."

This exoskeleton armor... is alive?!

"Don't look like you've never seen the world. Ever heard of an Artifact Spirit?"

Blood already boiling over in his veins, the ghost-masked bandit could barely suppress his trembling excitement. "Play the Battle Song. Let’s kill him!"

"Let’s roll!"

The piercing, gold-cracking, stone-splitting wail of the *suona* erupted wildly; the high, fierce drumbeats roared like a gale howling across mountains and seas, making one's scalp tingle.

At that very instant, the blood-light of the setting sun unleashed its most blazing afterglow before sinking into the distant mountains!

In that split second, a fierce wind surged atop the roof ridge!

The ghost-masked bandit had already lunged soundlessly, the short blade in his hand savagely chopping toward Li Jun’s neck.

This exoskeleton armor differed greatly from the mechanical prosthetics of the Weapon Dao; in the exchange, Li Jun heard none of the roaring whine of fixed-point power ramping up.

It was as if the armor had fused with the bandit’s body, moving as naturally as his own limbs.

"Quite the fancy footwork."

Li Jun sneered coldly, tapping the beast’s head with his toe, his figure drifting like a dragon swimming the ridges, advancing instead of retreating against the ferocious foe.

Vicious winds clashed; beams and pillars in the eaves groaned and cracked under the unbearable strain, two silhouettes colliding in an instant.

*Bang!*

Li Jun’s left palm pressed against the bandit’s knife-wielding wrist, blocking the descending chop.

Simultaneously, his right fingers joined like a blade, thrusting diagonally at a gap in the exoskeleton at the bandit’s ribs.

Single Saber Method, Selected Technique: Buried Head Saber!

Li Jun’s physique, tempered by Eighth Grade Internal Force, had become remarkably tyrannical; his striking force exceeded a thousand catties.

Coupled with the horizontal training of the Iron Cloth Shirt, the power of his hand-blade differed little from an ordinary man stabbing with all his might.

"Old Ma!"

The ghost-masked bandit roared in fury; the originally sparse black mechanical bones shifted rapidly, forming a dense plate of armor at the landing point of Li Jun’s hand-blade in the blink of an eye.

*Clang!*

Blood burst from Li Jun’s fingertips; a clear dent also appeared on the black armor.

And it was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye!

At the same time, the black blade in the bandit’s right palm retracted into his wrist, freeing five fingers to clamp directly onto Li Jun’s left hand.

"Die for me!!"

The ghost-masked bandit, encased in armor, stomped his right foot, twisting his spine; in that single stomp and twist, his right fist, wreathed in terrifying might, smashed straight for Li Jun’s face.

This punch cannot be taken head-on!

Alarm bells rang in Li Jun’s heart; his body leaned back violently, his right toe striking the bandit’s elbow joint like lightning.

The joint struck, the bandit’s punch involuntarily skewed, barely grazing past Li Jun’s brow ridge.

The missed punch didn't make the bandit retreat or pull back rashly; instead, he drove his elbow straight down!

His reaction was fast, but Li Jun’s speed was faster!

Li Jun’s left wrist twisted and shook, breaking free of the clamp and simultaneously locking onto the bandit’s wrist.

Borrowing the force to launch himself up, he dodged the descending elbow, a flying knee driving into the bandit’s temple.

*Bang!*

The ghost-masked bandit’s figure blasted backward, plowing a gully several meters long through the roof tiles, countless blue tiles crushed to dust beneath his feet.

At this moment, the murderous *suona* melody had only just peaked.

Amidst sound waves that set blood racing, the very roof beast Li Jun had stood upon exploded into dust simultaneously.

"Only fighting you Martial Dao Sequencers is thrilling enough!"

The ghost-masked bandit glanced at the terrifying dent in his cheek armor, his fighting spirit scorching hot.

Li Jun’s eyes were like a deep abyss, his body radiating a bone-chilling coldness utterly opposite to his opponent. "You have four minutes left to run for your life."

"Four minutes is plenty to beat you to death!"

Neither man was the type to dilly-dally; since violence could settle it, why waste words?

Loser scram, winner takes all!

The lower the Sequence, the more brutal the brawl; no soaring over eaves or plucking leaves to fly flowers here, only fist to flesh, blade to blood.

They collided again; the ghost-masked bandit’s style grew even more savage.

Countless rigid, overbearing fist styles flowed effortlessly in his hands, even mixed with exceedingly rare wrestling techniques, exploiting the advantages of Mimicry Martial Arts to the absolute limit.

Bolstered by the exoskeleton armor, his fists, feet, knees, and elbows were all lethal weapons; for a time, he actually pressed Li Jun firmly into the disadvantage.

A hundred meters above ground, the roof ridge thundered with dull booms, the ferocity even drowning out the piercing *suona*.

Li Jun pushed the Eight Trigrams Swimming Body Step and Iron Cloth Shirt to their limits, desperately holding the line against the bandit’s tidal onslaught.

He looked wretched, barely coping, yet the cold light in his eyes hadn't dimmed a shred—if anything, it grew sharper.

"He is not in the same sequence as Kuang Qingyun and Huzhong!"

"The foundation of the Soldier's Path is the mechanical heart; whether it is Kuang Qingyun's Strength Shaman or Huzhong's Thunder Division Heavenly Soldier, they both emphasize and reinforce a specific aspect of ability."

"Yet his exoskeleton armor enhances the wearer's physical capabilities across all parameters, with no singular specialization, but also no glaring vulnerabilities."

"It is just like... a Martial Nine who possesses physical fortitude but is utterly devoid of internal energy!"

The opponent had used an exoskeleton mech to forcibly simulate a Martial Nine, and moreover, had flawlessly compensated for the various flaws inherent in mimicked martial arts!

As this realization dawned upon him, Li Jun could not help but feel astonished by the faceless robber's ingenious concept.

"And yet... a greedy heart is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, an inept artist painting a tiger only to end up with a dog! No matter how precisely you simulate it, you are still no Martial Nine!"

The aura enveloping Li Jun shifted abruptly, the savage thug's malice he had suppressed deep within for so long erupting toward the heavens like a tranquil lake suddenly churning into terrifying, monstrous waves.

He no longer evaded the furious storm of fist shadows hurtling toward him, instead channeling the entirety of his internal energy into his Iron Cloth Shirt, settling into a rooted stance poised for a direct, brutal exchange of blows!

No vulnerabilities? Then I will beat a vulnerability right out of you!

"Kid, watch yourself!"

The consciousness parasitic within the exoskeleton armor detected the shift in Li Jun, projecting a warning voice.

"To hell with it!"

The faceless robber paid no heed whatsoever, roaring madly as he threw himself into stance to trade blows head-on with Li Jun.

Engaged in an all-out offensive, the two men instantly resembled a dragon and a tiger locked in combat, drawing blood with every strike.

As fists and feet collided, blood began to flow from both their bodies, yet their eyes grew only more vicious, both tapping into the boiling, relentless cruelty inherent in their very bones.

At this moment, neither would yield an inch.

Bang!

In yet another collision of fist and elbow, the sleeve of Li Jun's right arm exploded into shreds of cotton, the exposed skin swelling into a deep purple bruise.

The black armor encasing the faceless robber's fist was likewise bent and deformed!

It appeared to be a mutual destruction, but the fierce light in Li Jun's eyes suddenly flared brilliantly, his lips curling into a tyrannical smile!

He saw it with absolute clarity: this time, the black mechanical armor on the faceless robber did not recover, but instead revealed a distinct, gaping crack!

You have reached your limit.

But I have not yet reached mine!

In that exact split second, the spine along Li Jun's back shifted like a great python turning, and a tempestuous power exploded without reservation; completely disregarding the shadow of the fist descending upon his head, he kicked out with supreme arrogance toward the faceless robber's head!

Thud!

The faceless robber flew backward, smashing half of a tiled eave into ruins.

The demon mask was nearly shattered to pieces, exposing a blood-stained young face and a pair of eyes burning with unbridled intensity.