The war rages on, and with the arrival of Dan Gu, the formidable Earthbound Dragon Cavalry, victory appears to have decisively tilted in favor of the desert marauders.
*Clop, clop, clop...* As the marauders continue their savage slaughter, a crisp, delicate set of footsteps suddenly echoes through the chaos. Soft and gentle, yet imbued with an unnerving pressure that, despite its subtlety, drowns out the clashing of steel.
The once fiery battlefield falls into a brief, eerie silence, as if time itself has paused, with not even the sound of a needle dropping to be heard.
All eyes turn towards Kino, who, with his tungsten-steel dagger in hand, strides towards Dan Gu. The infernal glow of the fires casts fleeting shadows across his face, his amber eyes flickering in the flames, occasionally flashing with a sinister gleam.
Dan Gu, seeing the small figure approach, points a crude finger at Kino and laughs boisterously, "You, challenge me?"
Kino tilts his head, staring at the towering Dan Gu with a touch of confusion in his eyes. "Is the corpse speaking?"
"Roar—ah!!!" The response to Kino comes in the form of a barbaric roar from the nomads. Dan Gu spurs his Earthbound Dragon into a ferocious charge, like a mountain crashing towards a mere insect.
At this moment, the marauders are under heavy fire from Lugo and others, unable to shift their focus to Kino, who, in their eyes, is but an ant about to be crushed beneath their feet.
Just as the Earthbound Dragon is about to collide with Kino, it suddenly vanishes without warning.
Dan Gu blinks, and in the blink of an eye, a ghostly shadow appears before him. At this range, his amber eyes lock onto Kino's gaze, and he realizes with startling clarity how exquisitely beautiful those eyes are. The delicate patterns of the iris shine faintly in the firelight, like the most precious gemstone in the world.
*Thwip!*
*Thwip!*
*Thwip!*
*Thwip!*
...
Under the blazing inferno, amber light dances along the cold edge of the blade, leaving fleeting afterimages in the air. The sound of hissing air and the gushing of blood echo in the vast sky, like a transcendent symphony beyond this world.
Kino's tungsten-steel dagger moves around Dan Gu's body in a whirlwind, like a storm, its dark gleam obscuring the very sun. The blade's sharpness pours forth relentlessly.
Tendons, fascia, femoral arteries, radial arteries, brachial arteries, cervical nerves, common carotid arteries... Blood blossoms like a radiant flower across Dan Gu's body.
Each incision strikes a vital point, with the human body's structure offering little in terms of fatty protection for these areas. A wound to any of them renders a person half-dead.
If all were wounded...
*Swish!* With the final strike, Dan Gu's meningal artery is pierced. Kino's tungsten-steel dagger cuts through the air in a crescent arc, shedding the blood clinging to its surface before falling to the ground, light as a feather, silent as a shadow.
The rider is dead. The Earthbound Dragon, startled, whinnies and flees. Dan Gu's battered corpse is left behind, blood spurting from countless wounds, staining the ground crimson, like a carpet of scarlet.
Beside the corpse, a demon smiles, untouched by a single drop of blood.
Dan Wule stands frozen, staring at his dead brother, his lips trembling as he mutters, "No... No, no, no... NO!!!"
Kino raises his tungsten-steel dagger, pointing it at Dan Wule, a smile playing at the corner of his lips, sharp as a blade, as he speaks two words: "One-on-one."
"Ah!!!" Seeing his brother slain before his eyes, Dan Wule can no longer contain his fury and charges forward on horseback.
Kino, like a ghost, moves in an instant, his dagger piercing towards Dan Wule's femoral artery with the shrill whistle of a bird's cry.
Despite his brother's giant bloodline, Dan Wule, as the leader of the marauders, is far superior in combat skills. When Dan Gu fell, Dan Wule, though enraged, noted Kino's attack style.
If there's one disadvantage Kino faces as a processor on this battlefield of cold steel, it's his predictable attack pattern.
Processors focus on extreme efficiency, targeting weak points, and usually strike directly without much variation. Master fighters, after seeing an attack once, can easily counter it.
Of course, few live to see it a second time.
*Clang!* The scimitar meets the dagger.
Dan Wule is one of the few.
His face contorts, eyes blazing with fury, "I will chop off your head and feast on your corpse!"
Kino replies, "Try it."
"Roar!" Dan Wule uses his superior strength to force Kino back. Before he can counterattack, Kino is already upon him.
In the blink of an eye, Dan Wule realizes Kino's move: the little one is too short and isn't mounted, aiming only for his thigh. Once again, the dagger targets his leg.
Dan Wule blocks the dagger with his scimitar, ready to retaliate, but Kino suddenly releases his right hand. The tungsten-steel dagger falls through the gap in the defense and, with his left hand, Kino catches it midair, drawing a crescent arc through the sky.
*Thwip!* The dagger slashes through Dan Wule's calf muscle, sending a sharp, excruciating pain coursing through him, forcing a roar from his throat.
Hearing his master's howl of pain, the warhorse becomes restless, desperate to save him. Before it can distance itself, the flash of Kino's blade strikes again.
*Thwip! Thwip!* Two piercing sounds resound as the warhorse's eyes are gouged out. The searing agony sends it into a frenzy, its legs kicking wildly, tossing Dan Wule from the saddle.
In mid-air, before Dan Wule hits the ground, Kino has already switched the dagger to his right hand, aiming for the temporal artery at his temple. If it strikes, he will meet the same fate as his brother.
But in his moment of desperation, Dan Wule manages to twist his body mid-air, seizing Kino's wrist with his left hand, using his strength to block the incoming strike.
It's over! The thought flashes through Dan Wule's mind.
His attacking hand is caught. There's no defense, no escape. His scimitar is still ready—one swing, and Kino will be cleaved in two!
*Thud.* Dan Wule crashes to the ground, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs, one hand gripping Kino's wrist, the other raising his scimitar, aiming at his slim waist.
But then, a chilling scene unfolds.
Kino silently extends his left hand, targeting Dan Wule's eye. With a slight lift of his palm, a compact crossbow is revealed, concealed beneath his sleeve.
Cowardly! Dan Wule almost spits out the curse, but before he can, the string of the crossbow twangs, and a bolt drives into his right eye.
*Thwip!*
*Ah!!!*
In a stroke of fortune, Dan Wule instinctively tilts his head, and the bolt misses his brain, exiting his eye socket instead.
Though not fatal, the agony renders him powerless to fight, and his eye is beyond saving.
The marauders never imagined that after Dan Gu's death, their most skilled fighter would fall so swiftly.
Seeing Kino preparing to finish him off, they abandon any thoughts of a fair duel and urgently kick their horses, shouting, "Save the leader!"
Lugo and his men charge forward, forming a protective circle around Kino.
After a brief skirmish, both sides, fearing further loss, hesitate, retreating and eyeing each other warily.
Dan Wule's lieutenant hoists the groaning leader onto his horse, his eyes instinctively turning towards Kino, still guarded by Lugo's men.
Upon meeting Kino's jewel-like amber gaze, a cold shiver runs through him.
With the leader gravely injured and the marauders leaderless, they must retreat to tend to him. With Kino's strength beyond measure—having slain Dan Gu and incapacitated Dan Wule—his lieutenant knows he stands no chance. He can only growl, "Retreat!"
Like the wind, they come and go, fleeing from the burning town, leaving behind only charred ruins and a city teeming with corpses.