Chapter 394: Arrogant Lord Ma

Chapter 394: The Overbearing Lord Ma

Beneath the rocky vault that never saw the light of day, corpses and bullet casings littered the ground in a chaotic swell. The short, fierce rasp of grinding iron armor echoed as crimson droplets splashed through the air, shattered by the cold, biting gleam of blades.

The blood within Mizumura Goto pumped like a surging engine, waves of heat rising from his kidneys to assault his mind. His temples bulged sharply on either side, and the brilliance in his eyes was so fierce it seemed almost physical, sharp beyond measure.

Across from him, Li Jun bore a hideous gash upon his back. Blood welled from beneath the shattered armor plates, dyeing half his body a deep, ruined crimson.

At his feet lay the severed body of Chu Ke, cut clean in two at the waist. Li Jun kept his gaze lowered slightly before fixing a cold, piercing stare upon the trembling red demon before him.

Li Jun knew well that the man was not shaking from fear, but from an excitement so volatile he could no longer control his own flesh.

"Aaargh!"

Mizumura Goto broke the brief, agonizing stalemate. Brandishing his blade, he lunged once more. The pupils of Li Jun’s eyes narrowed instantly, and without a shred of hesitation, he threw his stride forward to meet the charge.

Two streaks of wretched, freezing light collided, erupting in a sharp, metallic shriek that belonged only to the clash of lethal steel.

Mizumura Goto’s vision blurred. Li Jun had reversed his grip on his blade, shifting his frame to slip deep inside Goto’s wide-open guard. In that single instant, all seven of Goto's mortal souls recoiled in terror. It was already too late to kick or pull away. Mizumura Goto could only grit his teeth and throw the entirety of his strength into swinging his tachi, its edge—already jagged and nicked from their previous clashes—hacking heavily into Li Jun’s shoulder.

At the exact same moment, he felt a piercing, bone-chilling cold sink deep into his own abdomen.

Pfft!

The corner of Li Jun’s eye twitched. The saw-like edge of the blade tore through the armor on his shoulder, ripping past the skin patterned with blue veins to lodge itself deep within the crevices of his bone. The violent, marrow-deep agony shot straight into his brain.

Mizumura Goto fared no better. A line of blood stretched horizontally across his waist. Had the reaction of his crimson Mohist armor, the Fiery Tiger, not been swift enough to reinforce the abdominal plates the very instant the blade made contact, he would have shared Chu Ke’s fate—rent in two at the waist, dying on the spot.

Neither man had any intention of retreating after the trade of wounds. Blade locked against blade, fist chased after fist. The groan of warping steel blended seamlessly with the dull, heavy thuds of knuckles smashing into raw meat.

"Aaargh!"

Mizumura Goto roared like a tiger once more, the eyes beneath his demon mask utterly flooded with blood, a ghastly and horrifying sight. The strength in his hands surged yet again as he threw a fist directly into the side of Li Jun’s face.

Blindsided by the heavy strike, Li Jun’s head snapped backward. A shattered tooth flew out amidst a spray of blood, and his body involuntarily stumbled back two steps. Yet before he could even steady his footing, the tachi was already whistling down toward his face.

Crack!

Two mechanical arms extended from Li Jun’s back. Lord Ma crossed his limbs, using his arm bones as a shield to block the descending trajectory of the blade.

Naturally, the crimson Mohist Fiery Tiger was not about to idle by. The armor's wrists flipped upward, exposing the dark, menacing muzzles of firearms aimed directly at Li Jun’s chest.

At such close proximity, even with Li Jun’s current formidable physique, he would be unable to withstand the merciless washing of a torrential volley of bullets.

It all unfolded in the span of a spark striking flint. With the gunfire about to erupt, life and death hung by a single thread.

Li Jun’s retreating left foot slammed heavily onto the ground, the internal strength within his body surging forth like a mountain torrent.

The Dragon-and-Tiger Devourer!

The Chonglou Technique, Bloom!

"Old Ma, let go!"

The single red optical eye flickered violently. Following a sudden flash of intuition, Lord Ma yanked his two mechanical arms away, his armor plates scraping against the tachi’s edge to unleash a brilliant cascade of blinding sparks.

The Spring Embroidery Blade, enwreathed in raging flames, struck like a bolt of lightning—aggressive and volatile as wildfire—thrusting out from the gap between Lord Ma’s arms!

Clang!

The two long blades, battered and tormented throughout the grueling battle, shattered simultaneously. Broken shards of steel shot outward through the air. One fragment flew straight toward the corner where Ke Yi lay curled up, burying itself into the rock wall right against his temple.

Debris rattled down, covering his head and face. Ke Yi shook like a sieve, sweat pouring from him like rain, his eyes a complex soup of bitter regret and paralyzing terror.

An ambush that had seemed so assuredly within their grasp had degenerated into this nightmare. Even Chu Ke, who had promised him boundless wealth and fortune, was now nothing more than a cold corpse.

The sheer ferocity of this Jinyiwei officer had been carved indelibly into his mind, acting like an invisible hand squeezing his heart, rendering his breathing shallow and agonizingly difficult.

Bitter regret filled Ke Yi's mouth: "How did it ever come to this..."

In stark contrast to his despair, Mizumura Goto’s face remained a mask of ruthless savagery. Abandoning the hilt of his broken blade without a moment's hesitation, he surged forward. His right hand curved into a claw, fingers hooked like talons as he gouged directly for Li Jun’s eyes.

Yet his fingertips only scraped the air over the single eye that was currently broadcasting the thumping, resonant sound of war drums.

"Goto, fall back!"

The Fiery Tiger's warning came a fraction of a second too late. The moment Mizumura Goto dropped his blade, Li Jun had already lowered his spine. The gravel beneath his boots was ground into fine white powder by the sheer force exhaled from his stance as he leaped forward like a low-slung tiger.

Li Jun closed the distance at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. Sinking his shoulders and dropping his elbows, pulling in his chest and arching his back, his right fist—sheathed in brass knuckles—drove heavily into the region of Mizumura Goto’s kidney at his waist!

"Pfft!"

The force of the Baji Quan hit like a wild horse rearing its hooves. The bone-splintering, tendon-shredding energy bypassed the surface to strike straight into the internal organs. Accompanied by the crisp sound of fracturing bone, a mouthful of warm blood sprayed from Mizumura Goto’s tightly locked lips.

"Aaargh!!"

Mizumura Goto’s bloodshot eyes bulged outward, nearly filling the eyeholes of his demon mask.

His arms became locked with Li Jun’s, his ten fingers wrapping around the fists clad in brass knuckles as the two men locked themselves in a brutal test of raw strength!

The Chonglou Technique, Collapse!

The internal technique ran to its absolute, unreserved limit, and Li Jun’s strength instantly ascended to an entirely new tier.

Conversely, Mizumura Goto’s kidney had just suffered a devastating blow, drastically weakening the martial discipline that allowed him to forget pain and defy death.

As one waxed and the other waned, the outcome of the struggle was decided in a heartbeat. The bones in Mizumura Goto’s wrists emitted an overloaded, groaning crack.

Right at that moment, a sudden flash of crimson light burst forth.

The hand-blade of the Fiery Tiger rose from behind Mizumura Goto, thrusting straight toward Li Jun’s face!

Rip!!

A dark shadow intercepted the strike just before Li Jun’s brow. Once again, it was Lord Ma throwing up a hand to intervene at the eleventh hour.

Armor plates flew apart as the crimson hand-blade impaled itself directly into Lord Ma’s palm.

"Motherfucker, come take me on alone!"

Lord Ma roared in fury. Exploding outward like a dispersing black cloud, he actively detached himself from Li Jun’s body, his two hands tightly gripping the Fiery Tiger’s arm as he dragged it away.

Mizumura Goto’s frame swayed violently, his straining arms trembling under the sudden shift in balance, low growls tearing from his throat. The interference from the separation clearly rattled him.

Seeing no other choice, the Fiery Tiger detached itself completely, and the two Rank Six Mohist armors crashed into the distance, tangled in a furious struggle.

"You even altered your own appearance to look like those pirate bastards. You ancestral-forgetting piece of trash! Master Ma is going to clean house on behalf of the Bright Ghost Realm today!"

Lord Ma’s curses echoed from his red optical lens. Stepping over a floor carpeted in shattered armor and blood, his hands deployed two short, ink-black blades as he charged directly at the large crimson armor.

The Fiery Tiger offered no reply. His right hand drew a crimson wakizashi from his left palm, his torso low and hunched like a predatory beast. He held the blade horizontally, his eyes—embedded on either side of the hood—hidden behind the steel.

Screeech...

The teeth-grating sound of metal friction rang out. Pushed back several paces by the momentum of Lord Ma’s initial charge, the Fiery Tiger suddenly pivoted his frame. Stepping aside from the brunt of the spearhead, he swung his arm down in a vicious chop, severing the black blade in Lord Ma’s left hand completely.

His spirits rallying from the successful strike, the Fiery Tiger shifted his wrist to deliver a horizontal slash, aiming to decapitate Lord Ma outright.

But in the very next second, the thunderous crack of a gunshot rolled through the underground casino.

Bang!

The hideous deer antlers protruding from the Fiery Tiger's hood were shattered by the sudden bullet, and one of his optical sensors was blown to pieces, bright blue electrical sparks dancing frantically across the ruined gap.

He retreated violently, pulling back in sheer horror. Looking across, he saw Lord Ma crouched low, a gun muzzle protruding from the back of his neck, wisps of pale blue smoke drifting from the barrel.

"You’re still a bit too green to go toe-to-toe with Master Ma!"

The long firearm, 'Zhaodan', slid out from his spine. Gripping it with his remaining single left arm, an inch-long tongue of angry flame rhythmically spit from the barrel.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets chased Fei Hu, biting at his form despite his relentless high-speed evasions, yet still carving out a series of fist-sized deep holes in his body.

Fei Hu roared in anger, his body now appearing desolate, yet he had not suffered severe injuries. What truly troubled him was the Water Village Five Dou.

The gap between sect martial arts and solitary martial arts made him even dare not glance at the even more bloody battlefield.

"Five Dou can't hold out much longer. Kill this troublesome black armor quickly!"

With his resolve set, Fei Hu raised one arm to shield his head and face, charging headlong against the howling bullet stream.

Bang! clang!

The muffled gunfire and the crisp sound of a blade cleaving through bullets echoed almost simultaneously!

Fei Hu scattered the falling embers, his blade slicing through the air, carving a fiery red light toward the nearby gun barrel!

Crack!

The 'Zhao Bao' gun barrel was severed by the blade, the cross-section smooth as a mirror. The explosive gunshot finally ceased, leaving only a lingering rumble.

The blade's residual force cleaved into Ma Wang Ye's shoulder, shattering a large patch of his armor plates.

"Die!"

Fei Hu roared, lifting his blade high, and at that moment, all his resentment toward Ma Wang Ye erupted, the killing joy igniting a thunderous resonance within his core.

Clang!

The massive recoil jolted Fei Hu's excited mind, a cold voice entering his ears.

"Do you know what my core of the black armor is? Tell you, playing with guns is just my hobby, don't take your close combat too seriously!"

Ma Wang Ye's feet sank into the ground, his right hand black blade flipping open Fei Hu's red sword, his leg armor expanding like breathing, emitting thin white currents.

"No matter who you are, you must die today!"

Fei Hu stepped back half a step, his armor flapping like wind through leaves, crackling as it moved. His red sword swept forward again.

"It seems you truly don't know Ma Wang Ye's name, next life, go browse the Yellow River Ghost Forum!"

Ma Wang Ye's toes tapped the ground, his form nearly touching the earth as he soared forward, his black blade slicing through Fei Hu's left ankle.

Clang!

Fei Hu's left leg was severed at the ankle, his body suddenly tilting left, his red sword thrusting into the ground, yet still failing to grasp the shadow circling him.

The blade approached his remaining right foot, Fei Hu, in shock, supported his red sword, leaping into the air.

"Want to run? Get down!"

A massive force seized Fei Hu's skirt, dragging him to the ground.

Amid the rising smoke, a cold light swept across his helmet's remaining single eye.

Fei Hu weakly raised his left arm to block, accompanied by a tooth-chattering crack, the blade cut through his chest, severing his marrow, finally embedding in his side armor, rendering him immobile.

"Bones still hard."

Fei Hu, battered, let out a beast-like growl, lying on his back, futilely swinging his sword at Ma Wang Ye.

Unfortunately, this counterattack could not pose any threat.

Ma Wang Ye arrogantly raised his chin, effortlessly dodging the blade, then with a single kick to Fei Hu's chest, using the momentum to forcibly pry the blade from his armor.

Fei Hu, sliding on the ground, finally caught a breath, about to twist and jump, but was again felled by Ma Wang Ye's kick.

The blade hovered above Fei Hu's core, the bone-chilling cold making him dare no movement.

"You're definitely going to die today, both out of emotion and principle, I won't let you go. I'm not killing you now, just want to ask you one question."

Ma Wang Ye glanced at the battlefield, then slowly crouched beside Fei Hu, speaking slowly: "Why did you become a thief?"

"Who is the thief?"

"Hong Ao."

Fei Hu coldly laughed: "Why should I answer you?"

The blade fell, sinking an inch into his heart.

"Just because I'm standing now, you're lying."

His core was wounded, Fei Hu's black armor erupted in violent convulsions.

"Is Hong Ao a thief? Then does the black armor truly treat us as humans?!"

A mournful roar echoed from within the red armor, he suddenly grabbed the blade in his chest, his helmet raised high, as if staring at Ma Wang Ye.

"Don't you want to live forever in this cold body, as a so-called bright ghost, fighting for others?"

Ma Wang Ye's hand remained still, his voice as cold as ice.

"You can choose not to emerge from the bright ghost realm. Becoming a black armor is your own choice!"

"It's my choice, I don't deny it. But why, when the white armor can reshape our bodies, why does the black armor still trap us in armor? Why can't we become true humans? Why?!"

Fei Hu's roars echoed endlessly, like a storm surging back and forth.

Ma Wang Ye remained silent for a moment, then softly said: "Becoming a bright ghost from death requires a cost far beyond your imagination. To return to life is not as simple as you think. Moreover..."

Ma Wang Ye pressed his hand on Fei Hu's helmet, forcing his head back to the ground.

"If you have grievances against the black armor people, take your sword and seek your own justice, rather than following Hong Ao here, killing innocent people."

"Who's innocent? All of them are damned!"

Kah!

The blade withdrew, his fingers followed, a series of sharp sounds as Ma Wang Ye extracted Fei Hu's core.

"Indeed, you deserved it."

Ma Wang Ye shook off the liquid from his hand, stood up, and turned his head.

At this point, the battle here had ceased, two martial artists like bulls clashing, Water Village Five Dou's eyes lost their brilliance, his face pale, gasping heavily, clearly on the edge of collapse.

Li Juen's arms trembled, breaking free from Water Village Five Dou's grip, punching forward. Water Village Five Dou raised his arm to block, but it was useless, the punch easily shattered his defense, hitting his face.

Water Village Five Dou collapsed, his head struck by a hand like a sea dragon emerging, directly pinching his throat. The struggling cries were suppressed in his throat, blood flowing from his mouth.

"Cough cough cough"

Li Juen exerted force, his fingers like steel rods tightening, deeply embedded in Water Village Five Dou's neck, lifting his body.

Water Village Five Dou struggled to pull Li Juen's arm, his nails tearing his skin, blue veins bulging on his forehead due to lack of oxygen.

Seeing the throat about to be crushed, Li Juen suddenly released his grip, letting Water Village Five Dou slide from his fingers, falling to the ground, sending up some smoke.

"Didn't expect that."

Li Juen looked back at Ma Wang Ye, then at the still smoking Fei Hu, smiled: "You're pretty deep."

"Older, you know more things. The key is, I don't need your close combat usually."

Ma Wang Ye shrugged, pointing at himself with his thumb, saying: "Besides, fighting with others' knives and fists isn't very elegant. Now the old ladies in the black armor prefer men who can shoot guns, especially me, who play big guns!"

Li Juen heard this, laughed loudly: "Not bad, Ma Wang Ye, really tough!"

"Xiao Li, you are surprisingly commendable."