Editor-san can't make it on time today, so I did a recheck on my own and published the chapter. This chapter will be replaced with an edited version as soon as it's available.Chapter 704: Meaning of Intention (Part 2) [V7C021 – In Life and In Eternal Rest]
Zhao Jundu was waiting for someone at this moment. Soon, a Zhao clan guard led a lanky young man before him.
The fourth young master said without looking up, “You work for Song Zining?”
This young man was a fairly light-hearted person. In front of Zhao Jundu, however, he felt as though a deep ocean were pressing upon him and had to adopt a respectful attitude. “This servant has been working for the seventh young master for quite a while, I just came back from Twilight Continent a while ago.”
Zhao Jundu seemed somewhat moved. He shot a glance at the man and said with a nod, “You’re quite capable to have come back alive. Speak, what news do you bring me?”
The young man leaned forward and whispered a name into Zhao Jundu’s ear.
The latter rose from his seat and nodded. “So that’s how it is, follow me.”
Moments later, several military vehicles charged out of the Zhao clan main camp. Once past the main gate, they split off and drove away in many directions. These vehicles were immediately locked onto by several shadowy figures who proceeded to tail them under the cover of the night. There were even more people in the darkness with their eyes upon the Zhao clan main camp, guarding against a diversion strategy.
It was at this moment that a beam of green light rushed out from the camp and shot toward the north. This azure radiance was much like a rainbow, traversing the sky at inconceivable speeds. Those people watching in the dark cried out in alarm. They had been guarded against all activity inside the Zhao clan camp but never imagined Zhao Jundu would play such a card. The latter had actually shot into the air without the slightest bit of concealment.
Although everyone had sensed Zhao Jundu’s departure, who could catch up to his extreme speeds? It didn’t take a lot of thinking to know that Zhao Jundu would’ve finished whatever he had set out to do by the time this news was delivered.
The fourth young master arrived in the northern parts of the city in the blink of an eye. This area was already close to the periphery, not so far away from the city walls.
By the time that azure light faded, Zhao Jundu had landed with that young man in tow and occupied a certain crossroad.
The two had just landed when hundreds of soldiers rushed over from the other end of the street. This squad was made up of rare elites from the military. They were all expressionless and practically spilling murderous intent. One could see at a glance that these were all veterans who had killed their way out of mountains of corpses and oceans of blood. Unlike men from the aristocratic private armies, these soldiers were decorated with the insignias of the imperial military. Apparently, they were direct subordinates of the military, and there were also some hailing from the elite corps.
A hundred soldiers led by two champions, one of them a major general, made for a fairly generous lineup. They were surging with killing intent as they marched along the street. After charging halfway through the street, however, the major general raised his right hand and brought the entire squad to an urgent stop.
The order to halt was simply too urgent—some of the weaker soldiers couldn’t control their momentum and crashed into the ones in front before coming to a stop.
That major general began to sweat as he stared at the distant Zhao Jundu. “We’re on a mission to hunt a vampire spy. We hope General Jundu will let us pass.”
Zhao Jundu said calmly. “What a coincidence, I’m also here to capture a vampire traitor.”
The major general was startled. “You’re going to capture Qianye? General Jundu, please don’t joke…”
He hadn’t even finished his words when his expression changed drastically. Zhao Jundu’s gaze—filled with a sudden killing intent—felt like a sharp knife on his vitals. The officer sensed a chill run through his entire body, almost as though he were hanging on the verge of life and death. He was so nervous that he couldn’t even speak.
Zhao Jundu stroked the rifle in his hand. “What do you think you are that I would joke with you? A general might have that qualification, but you? Heh.”
The major general’s face turned red, but he couldn’t find the right words to retort. He was very much certain that Zhao Jundu was filled with killing intent just now. Perhaps the intent wasn’t directed at him, but provoking the fourth young noble was definitely not a wise move. At this moment, Indomitable was in utter chaos, with all those who had gone after Qianye suffering grave casualties. There would be no proof if Zhao Jundu were to kill them and push the blame onto Qianye.
It was at this moment that Qianye walked out of a nearby street. He wasn’t surprised to find the imperial soldiers on his trail but was startled upon seeing Zhao Jundu.
Qianye’s eyes turned azure as he tightened his grip on East Peak. Dark golden blood energy appeared around him once more, and several invisible threads of blood stretched out in every direction. Zhao Jundu had been kind to Qianye in the past, but there was no way he could help him at this point—at least not openly. In fact, seizing Qianye on the spot was the most beneficial course of action for the Zhao clan.
At this moment, Qianye wasn’t willing to fight against Zhao Jundu at all. A victory against the latter wasn’t certain even in his peak condition, to speak nothing of his current wound-riddled state. Hence, Qianye was prepared to use Spatial Flash right off the bat and leave the battlefield. This was the last time he could activate this ability, after which, he would have to kill his way out of the city step by step. Nonetheless, there was no more time to think about all these things.
Zhao Jundu took aim immediately after seeing his brother. His movements flowed naturally—there was a clear rhythm to it, yet it was also inconceivably fast, and the muzzle was already at Qianye’s forehead before anyone could react.
The moment this projectile left the firing chamber, an azure resplendence ripped through the night and a deep suppressive might filled the entire area, leaving everyone below the champion level trembling uncontrollably.
The origin bullet passed between Qianye and Nighteye. It flew a mere finger’s breadth from either of them but ultimately didn’t connect. Instead, it blasted a nearby three-storeyed building apart. One could imagine just how powerful this shot was. The bullet turned into a beam of azure light which obliterated the entire building, leaving only a few supporting pillars. The brilliance didn’t stop there, either, and went on to shave off the ground floor of every building in the street block!
Having lost its supporting structure, that three-storeyed house suddenly collapsed. The upper two floors of this building, along with a belfry, smashed into the military squad and buried several people in the rubble.
The two champions managed to evade in time. They cried out in shock and anger, “General Jundu, what’s the meaning of this?!”
Zhao Jundu replied indifferently, “A slip of the hand.”
The major general felt his chest tighten, and he almost vomited blood. How could the number one genius of the empire slip up? This excuse was simply too absurd.”
The other brigadier general dug out a couple of people from the debris but was startled when he reached the bottommost person.
This colonel had been struck square in the chest by a copper bell, causing his entire thorax to cave in. Apparently, he was so intimidated by Zhao Jundu’s shot that he had failed to circulate his origin defenses in time.
The brigadier general recalled that this colonel was called Gu Liyu. The man’s strength was mediocre at best, but he was full of cunning and schemes, a favorite subordinate of Li Fengshui. Now that the general had died, it would depend on his luck whether or not he could make a comeback in the military—there were simply too many sub-champion fellows like him. For now, at the very least, this brigadier general had no intention of blaming Zhao Jundu for this “accidental injury.”
It would seem the major general was also of the same mind; he only shot a brief glance at Gu Liyu and paid no more attention to the man. The most important thing right now was Qianye. However, Zhao Jundu’s stance was unclear—had that “slip of the hand” come for him instead, the one lying on the ground would be him and not Gu Liyu.
Qianye exclaimed in surprise as his gaze fell upon Gu Liyu. He hadn’t forgotten this man who was his archenemy back in the year. Who would’ve thought they would meet again under such circumstances? Judging from the situation, however, it would seem Gu Liyu was here to hunt him down. It was also very likely that he was involved in Nighteye’s capture.
Qianye raised East Peak and flicked the blade’s edge with his finger. The heavy sword emitted a long hum akin to the cry of a dragon. This reverberating sound resonated with the bell on Gu Liyu’s chest, which soon erupted with a deafening toll.
Gu Liyu screamed in agony as he spat out a stream of blood and shattered internal organs. The man turned deathly pale and fell limp to the ground. Apparently, his innards had been crushed and even the imperial family’s secret medicines wouldn’t be able to save him.
The major general was livid. “Qianye, you dare kill an imperial officer! Your crime is unpardonable! You won’t escape the empire’s pursuit no matter where you run!”
Qianye sneered, “Officer? I even killed a general just now. I don’t mind adding another major general to the list if you keep chasing me.”
Only then did that major general recall how Li Fengshui had died in Qianye’s hands and realized the difficult situation he was in. The way Qianye had killed Gu Liyu was so unfathomable that he couldn’t figure out its profundities at all. This could only mean one thing—Qianye’s understanding of techniques and secret arts was far above his own.
However, there was a life-saving straw in the field. The major general cried out, “General Jundu!”
Zhao Jundu wasn’t careless regarding this matter. He aimed Qianye once more and gradually unleashed his killing intent. Qianye frowned somewhat because he could clearly sense that the murderous intent was aimed at him. He stepped sideways instinctively and passed between Zhao Jundu and the military pursuers on the other end of the street.
Azure light flickered as several bullets left the chamber in quick succession. However, Qianye’s silhouette flashed about haphazardly and evaded all the projectiles.
“Slipped.”
“Dammit.”
“My bad.”
Seemingly frustrated at missing, Zhao Jundu’s attacks grew increasingly powerful with each shot fired. The green light rampaged through the area and practically leveled half the street block. The flowing brilliance almost shot through that brigadier general, who dropped promptly to the ground in fright and didn’t dare move anymore.
By the time Zhao Jundu lowered his gun, the entire place was in shambles and Qianye was nowhere to be found.
That major general was livid. He stared coldly at Zhao Jundu and said, “General Jundu, you colluded with the rebel and allowed him to escape. What punishment does this deserve?”
“Punishment?” Zhao Jundu’s smiled disappeared and was quickly replaced by a frigid, murderous will. He raised his gun all of a sudden, and an origin bullet whistled out! In a flash of green light, a large part of the major general’s torso vanished into thin air.
“Y-you actually…” The major general pointed at Zhao Jundu with a shocked expression. Even on his deathbed, he had never anticipated a fatal attack from Zhao Jundu.
The nearby brigadier general turned pale and cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. “General Jundu, t-this…”
Zhao Jundu said coldly, “This person harbors unfathomable motives and has been executed for falsely accusing a superior. Humph! This general merely had a slip of the hand. How can I allow treacherous people to make thoughtless remarks about me?”
“This…” The brigadier general didn’t dare say anything. Another word and a certain brigadier general might very well be added to the list of executed people. He could only curse inwardly about how he hadn’t seen any slip of the hand just now.
Zhao Jundu snorted, “If I don’t kill a few, some people will really think the entire military is theirs to do as they wish!”
