It wasn't a big or flashy battle, but the danger of it was as great as any other.
Zhao Wei was forced onto the defensive as he was outnumbered two to one. It wasn't easy being able to hold the two hired warriors off, but luckily he could tell he had more fighting experience than them.
This was his advantage, but this advantage lessened every second the battle continued on. Not only were his enemies' attacks getting sharper and more powerful, they were also slowly becoming more coordinated.
Bringing his blade up, Zhao Wei knocked away one of the assassin's saber. But he was forced to quickly jump back as a dagger appeared right there just where he used to stand. He couldn't stay on the defensive for too long, else he would be drained of stamina too quickly.
Taking in a deep breath, he held his blade up and gave a quick thrust. Cutting in between the two warriors, he charged at the level seven one and began a flurry of attacks.
Parrying, thrusting, and slashing, he continuously pushed back the assassin in order to keep him away from his partner. Just then however, he heard a shout right beside him.
"Gilded Wind Slash!"
There was no time to figure out what was happening as he twisted his wrist around and intercepted the attack. An incredibly sharp air current crashed into him, pushing him back a few meters away. He pushed the spiritual force in his dantian around and used it to strengthen his arms. Giving him just barely enough strength to stop the technique.
Jumping back he released an attack of his own, "Heavenly Dragon Claw!"
His sword swiped through the air three times, releasing a beam that shone with a green luster. The beams formed a claw like shape and flew toward his assailant at impossible speed. Both of the assassins were within range of the attack so they both had to bring their blades up to block it. But even though they stopped it, three bleeding cut marks could be clearly seen across their chest.
Even though there were two opponents and one of them was at the same stage as he was, Zhao Wei wasn't intimidated by them. He had been in the eighth level of Qi refinement for a long time and was just on the brink of breaking through to the ninth level. Meanwhile he knew the assassin that was also at the eighth level had just broken through recently.
But peak of the eighth level was still just that, the eighth level. His energy reserves were draining too quickly and he had less than fifty percent of his strength left. He was in an extremely precarious situation. And although they were weaker than him, two people was still better than one.
But he still had on last trick up his sleeves.
Holding his blade out, all of the spiritual force in his body began to rumble. Loud grinding sounds could be heard as the power within his dantian began to give off waves of undulations. And as the sounds got louder and louder, so did Zhao Wei's body get bigger and more muscular.
The two assassins felt a child creep down their spines as a name danced through their heads, "Giant Fortification".
This was a very special skil. Not even the Xue family, who had had the luck of coming across many immortal skills throughout their long history, had seen a skill like this. It was a unique and powerful skill of Zhao Wei, and was the main reason as to why he was so favored by the family head.
Its first effect was simple, an increase in strength and size. But its second effect was where things got dangerous. It would increase the user's strength by half a cultivation stage. It was useless pass foundation establishment, but before that point it was a peerless skill. Although half a cultivation stage was not a lot, someone at the peak of their stage using it was equivalent to having a breakthrough right then and there!
With a titanic roar, Zhao Wei released the full extent of his power. With this technique, he was now not just in the eight level of Qi refinement, but the ninth!
He couldn't keep this up for long though, the transformation wouldn't last long. And once it was over, the drawback would overwhelm him. So he had to finish them off quickly, else die in the process!
With a single stomp, Zhao Wei shot forward at speeds that would be impossible for him to replicate just a few seconds ago. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right next to the level seven assassin and knocked him aside using the back of his palm. And before the other one could even react, he brought out a sword and slashed down toward the level eight warrior.
The man could not dodge in time, so he brought up his blade in hopes of stopping the strike. But as the two blades made contact with each other, the assassin's saber was shattered on contact. He gave off a shout as he unleashed every bit of power he possibly could and pushed Zhao Wei back away from him.
The blast of power struck Zhao Wei directly in his chest and knocked him back. But thanks to his transformation, it did not do too much damage to him. But suddenly, he felt a sharp pain stab into his side. Looking down, he saw a shining silver blade just sticking out of his stomach.
Unfortunately, the assassin wasn't only just trying to get Zhao Wei away from himself. Now that he was a short distance back, he was in the perfect position for an ambush. The level seven assassin that he slapped away a while ago should've been incapacitated. But what Zhao Wei didn't know was that these warriors were aware of his skill and prepared themselves for it.
They definitely could not defeat him in this form, so all they had to do was buy enough time for it to wear off.
They both brought contingencies in the form of healing pills. As soon as the first assassin was slapped away, he popped down the pill and healed whatever he could.
Holding his breath and hiding his presence, he waited for the perfect time to strike.
The second Zhao Wei was knocked back, the man jumped up from his spot and shot forward. There was no hesitation as he brought his arm over and plunged the dagger directly into his leg.
Fresh blood spewed out as the point of the blade slid into Zhao Wei's calf. However, the second Zhao Wei was struck, he tended up his body and brought his fist down. Ignoring the pain, Zhao Wei gritted his teeth and brought his injured leg up simultaneously.
Using his leg to kick up the assassin, the fist he threw down slammed head first into the man's head, causing his skull to explode on impact.
The warrior didn't even have a chance to retaliate.
Zhao Wei gave off a scorning look as he grabbed the blade in his leg and yanked it out. But unfortunately things were about to get more hectic.
Because his "Giant Fortification" had just worn off!
Zhao Wei screamed as his body shrunk back to its original size and the wound on his leg was torn even wider open due to the changes going on. Feeling the sudden loss of strength, Zhao Wei collapsed down into the ground with sweat dripping down his brow like a waterfall.
His breathing was ragged and forced, while his limbs were numb. The drawback was causing his internal organs to go under immense strain, and the appearance of the assassins began to go dark and blurry..
But he couldn't lose consciousness yet, there was still another person he had to deal with. One last person to fight off!
But just as he was about to force himself up from the ground, a calm voice spoke behind him as a gentle palm clasped onto his back.
"You did pretty well holding them back for as long as you did. Don't worry, I'll handle the rest."
These were the last words Zhao Wei heard before his vision became black.