Chapter 492: Gu Dong vs Qing Hong Yan
“Throw your axes!” Fu Zhao roared, drawing a throwing axe from his waist and hurling it with all his might.
The cavalry behind him followed suit.
A volley of axes ignited mid-air without flame, spinning like torches as they hurtled toward Qing Hong Yan.
He dodged swiftly, only a few axes striking his raised forearm.
With clanging metallic clashes, the axes fell limply to the ground.
“Damn it, damn it!” Qing Hong Yan seethed with rage.
He clearly hadn't intended to attack Fu Zhao, yet the latter had dared to be so insolent as to initiate an assault!
Qing Hong Yan respected Teng Dong Lang, but he had no particular regard for the Axe Gang leader.
Much less for Fu Zhao, who was merely the leader's son.
Stung by the provocation, Qing Hong Yan's eyes reddened, a vein bulging on his forehead.
“I'm not your enemy! I wanted to spare you, yet you dare challenge me? You dare insult me?!” Rage surged through Qing Hong Yan's mind like a tidal wave.
Gritting his teeth, he murmured a chant:
“When rage burns within my heart; I shall keep my mind's lake calm as a mirror; Gather inner composure as solid as ice.”
Through the chant, a cool sensation materialized, like a spring welling up in his fiery heart, dousing much of his fury.
Qing Hong Yan soared skyward, then descended upon the densest cluster of merchants, bringing death to these unfortunate souls.
“Follow me!” Fu Zhao bellowed, leading the cavalry squad to charge once more at Qing Hong Yan.
The elder behind the cavalry watched in horror and screeched in his mind, “Young gang leader! Are you mad? Provoking a gold level opponent again and again?”
But there was no choice. The elder had to follow the charge.
The Axe Gang's morale soared as Qing Hong Yan deliberately evaded their charge.
The elder desperately wanted to call out but now was not the moment.
Seeing this reckless horde charging once more, another vein bulged on Qing Hong Yan's forehead.
He swiftly murmured incantations, forcing himself to endure.
“Let not rage cloud my mind; I shall rise above like ice and snow; Unshaken by the world's petty words.”
He dodged the encircling Fire Axe Cavalry once more, targeting only the fleeing merchants and their laden carts.
Watching his brutal slaughter, even the Axe Gang members felt a chill.
“Young gang leader!” roared the elder.
Many others kept glancing at Fu Zhao, their eyes silently urging him to “know when to quit.”
Fu Zhao sensed the shifting mood. Truth be told, the brutal methods displayed by Qing Hong Yan had him trembling inside.
“But I cannot retreat!”
"I refuse to believe Father is dead! He has the power of three gold level experts on his side."
"But accidents happen. He might be gravely wounded or trapped by some ambush. That's why he hasn't returned yet."
"Father bound himself to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps through a magic contract. He may have broken free of that bond, but I can't gamble on it!"
“If he's gravely wounded now and I deliberately abandon protecting the caravan, the magic contract will activate. Father could die from his injuries because of my retreat!”
Fu Zhao's gaze was unwavering. He had reasons he couldn't back down.
He had to protect the caravan at all costs.
Leading the Fire Axe Cavalry, he charged once more at Qing Hong Yan.
A third vein pulsed across Qing Hong Yan's forehead. His eyes blazed scarlet as murderous intent surged to his brow.
Gritting his teeth until they ached, every muscle trembling, he chanted:
“Embarking on the journey of the soul; I part the dust of this world's vanity; From the depths of my soul, I chant a melody... a melody... of serenity and light... Ah!”
He exploded.
Red-Eye was pushed to the brink, shattering his limits.
He threw his head back and let out a deafening roar. Vast gold battle qi erupted from him without restraint, unleashing a storm that crushed everything in its path.
“Damn it!” The Axe Gang members trembled in terror.
After his roar, Qing Hong Yan's face twisted with savage intent as he fixed his gaze on Fu Zhao and the others.
He extended his palm; its center aimed squarely at the Fire Axe Cavalry.
His hand was unlike any ordinary palm, bearing five fleshy pads positioned at the bases of each finger.
This was the physiological structure of a snow rabbitman.
But his palms differ from those of ordinary snow rabbitmen, his five pads have been modified, each replaced by a gemstone: red, blue, green, yellow, and purple.
Gem Ray!
In the next instant, the gems erupted with blinding brilliance, each firing a laser beam of distinct color.
The lasers swept through the Axe Gang members with lightning speed.
When Fu Zhao finally registered what had happened, he frantically scanned his surroundings.
The next instant, his mouth gaped open, eyes wide with terror.
Right beside him, the Fire Axe Cavalrymen were either sliced in half, incinerated into flames, or frozen solid into ice blocks, many met gruesome deaths.
This was merely the first wave of attack. The Axe Gang's hard-earned cavalry squadron had already suffered thirty percent casualties!
"Retreat! This isn't just any ordinary gold level!" Fu Zhao's heart pounded in terror as he truly grasped the enemy's power. He urgently commanded his cavalry to turn and flee toward Blood Kin City.
He was finally retreating.
But Qing Hong Yan had already lost his sense of reasoning. Soaring skyward, he then dove down in a steep plunge.
Fu Zhao's horse was swift, and the Fire Axe Cavalry behind him were no slackers either, dodging this assault.
But the other gang members trailing behind them suffered terribly.
Qing Hong Yan slaughtered them like chickens and ducks being butchered.
The elder bellowed for help yet could only watch as Fu Zhao and the others grew ever more distant.
"Damn it, come back and save me!" The elder was crushed by Qing Hong Yan's battle qi in his despair, his body reduced to a pile of bone fragments and flesh.
Fu Zhao glanced back hurriedly. Seeing this, a flicker of satisfaction crossed his mind: “Good. Only with this old man dead can I rest easy.”
The elder's earlier spying and the ambition he'd displayed routinely had made Fu Zhao feel threatened.
His provocation of Qing Hong Yan had another purpose: to use him as a tool to eliminate internal threats within his own gang!
He succeeded.
But Qing Hong Yan didn't let him off easily. He abandoned the scattered merchants and redirected his assault onto Fu Zhao's gang members.
The Axe Gang members, utterly demoralized, were slaughtered in droves as they fled.
“Damn it, did I screw up?”
Fu Zhao's face turned ashen as Qing Hong Yan finally intercepted him.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Qing Hong Yan, driven into a severe frenzy, had completely forgotten Fu Zhao's identity. Any living thing within his current field of vision was nothing but an eyesore, something to be eliminated.
The laser fired again, locked onto Fu Zhao.
Fu Zhao had no time to dodge, forced to watch helplessly as the laser approached.
But in the next instant, a figure abruptly materialized, interposing itself between Fu Zhao and the laser.
Boom!
After the violent explosion, the smoke and dust cleared, revealing Gu Dong finally arriving on the battlefield.
“Thank goodness I made it,” Gu Dong gasped, panting heavily, “That was no easy feat!”
“Qing Hong Yan, calm down! Listen to me... dammit.”
Qing Hong Yan ignored the warning, charging relentlessly.
Gu Dong stepped forward to intercept Qing Hong Yan, shouting to Fu Zhao, “I'm your father's friend! Get out of here! I'll hold him off!”
“T-Thank you!” Fu Zhao hurriedly thanked him, leading his dwindling cavalry in a hasty retreat from the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Qing Hong Yan and Gu Dong clashed fiercely through their battle skills, thunderous explosions echoing as shockwaves surged between them.
After several rounds, Gu Dong found himself at a disadvantage.
Following more exchanges of offense and defense, Gu Dong's fighting spirit faltered. Bruised and battered, he muttered, “Damn it. When Qing Hong Yan goes berserk, his combat power easily ranks among the top five holy warriors!”
“Fu Zhao is gone. I've no reason to risk my life against a madman.”
Gu Dong was no match for Qing Hong Yan. Even as a holy warrior of the Dueling God, his combat prowess ranked among the kingdom's top five gold level experts.
But being a gold level meant one thing: if you couldn't win, you could still escape.
Snow Bird Harbor.
Fei She knocked on the door and saw Tripleblade looking grim and deeply troubled.
Fei She’s heart skipped a beat. He knew the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps branch was ostensibly run by Men Shi and Chi Lai, but the real puppet master behind the scenes had always been Tripleblade.
“If nothing serious happened, Tripleblade wouldn’t look like this.”
Having survived together and escaped Mystifying Monster Island, Fei She understood Tripleblade well enough.
Sure enough, Tripleblade first motioned for Fei She to sit down before handing him a report.
After reading it, Fei She leapt from his seat in shock: “What? A caravan suffered a gold level attack? All the goods are lost?”
“And this happened while the Axe Gang's young gang leader personally escorted the convoy, protected by their Fire Axe Cavalry?”
Fei She fell silent for a moment, his mind racing, “Could it be that intelligence about the Axe Gang leader's death leaked out?”
“Unlikely,” Tripleblade shook his head, “The Axe Gang suffered heavy losses in this battle, especially their Fire Axe Cavalry, only a third remain.”
"The silver lining is that most of the magic potions we transported via caravan were counterfeit. The actual losses are far less than outsiders estimate!"
After Zong Ge slew three gold level warriors, Zi Di and the others uncovered the identities of Jia Bing and Lin. After ransacking Jia Bing's alchemy lab, though they still knew nothing of the Dueling God's holy warriors, they pieced together much information.
Such vital intelligence was, of course, relayed immediately to the mercenary guild's branch in Snow Bird Harbor.
Thus, Tripleblade and Fei She were well aware of the hardships Zong Ge and Zi Di faced, as well as the survivors' current predicament.
Even though the Axe Gang had signed a magic contract with them, they could no longer be trusted.
After deliberation, they decided to establish a decoy operation. Under normal circumstances, they would pose as the primary merchant caravan, transporting massive quantities of counterfeit potions.
The genuine potions, however, would be secretly transported through channels controlled by the Li Jian Clan and the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord.
“Though the losses this time were minor, our cover has been blown,” Fei She said gravely. “If the enemy discovers our potions haven't run out and are still selling well, they'll realize we have alternative transport routes and target them more precisely.”
This was his greatest concern.