In the remote and dense forest near Bai Shui City in Chuzhou County, a frail figure with his back against a thick tree trunk sat with his legs wide apart.
The owner of the figure was surprisingly a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old.
His facial features were ordinary, but he was exceptionally pale, wearing a set of burlap clothing that was slightly too large for him, not quite fitting. Next to him lay a gleaming steel sword casually placed,
its hilt stained with some black blood.
The boy's shoulder was wrapped around several times with a colorless cloth band, through which flecks of blood faintly spread.
With his eyelids closed, the boy leaned against the tree motionless, as if in a light slumber.
Suddenly, a light "rustling" sound emanated from the nearby forest and quickly approached the boy's location.
Instantly, the boy's eyes opened, and he sprang to his feet, his toes nimbly flicking to the side.
With a "thud,"
the steel sword flew into the air and landed steadily in his palm.
After casting a deep look towards the direction of the sound, the boy didn't hesitate to leap in the opposite direction, swiftly diving into the forest behind him and vanishing without a trace.
A moment later, a group of warriors clad in thick black armor walked out of the forest in a formation.
There were only about twenty of these armored soldiers, but each was tall and fierce, clearly seasoned war veterans.
No sooner had they emerged from the woods than they stood straight and motionless at a low command.
At the same time, a young warrior with a determined face hurried forward a few steps and crouched at the spot where the boy had been resting. He sifted quickly through the surface soil with his hands, then immediately stood up.
"Wang Junwei, the fugitive hasn't been gone long. If we pursue now, we might still have a chance to catch up," reported the armored soldier to a bald giant who was the only one not wearing a black helm.
Although the others were already quite tall, they looked considerably shorter next to the nearly two-zhang-high bald giant—a sight akin to children standing before an adult.
"Humph, no need. This time, we have laid a net in heaven and earth. No matter how cunning this kid is, he cannot escape with wings. Over there, Captain Situ has been waiting for a long time. We just need to conserve our strength and slowly make our way there," the giant grunted, glanced in the direction the boy had fled, and spoke.
"Sir, this person is a major criminal designated by the government. If caught, it would be a great achievement. Are we really going to just hand it over to Captain Situ and his men?" the armored soldier asked, obviously hesitant upon hearing the order.
"Great achievement? That depends on whether Situ has the capability. If we move slower, we might just reap the benefits without any effort," the giant touched his bald head and said expressionlessly.
"What does the sir mean by that? Captain Situ has even more hands than us. No matter if the kid knows some fighting techniques, how could he possibly hold out for long over there?" the young warrior was somewhat astonished.
"Yu Xin, you haven't been with me for a short time and you've shown bravery in battle. But if you were surrounded by the county's officers, how many could you face and still escape with your life?" the giant didn't directly answer the young warrior's question, but posed one with deep implications instead.
"If it's just ordinary officers, I should be able to handle seven or eight without a problem. But once it exceeds more than ten, there would be serious risk to my life," the young warrior said, slightly startled, yet cautiously replied.
"Seven or eight! Hehe, since the bounty was issued, the number of officers who have died at this kid's hands has far exceeded that number by ten times," the bald giant chuckled darkly.
"How is that possible? Those county officers are trained professionals, not easily killed by an ordinary person," the young warrior exclaimed in disbelief.
"He escaped from the Fierce Island, and even though he's a bit young, to accomplish these feats isn't too outrageous. That place is specifically for detaining the most vicious criminals. The inmates of the island all have their specialties, not to be underestimated," the bald giant replied coldly.
"What, an escapee from Fierce Island?"
The young warrior gasped in shock but then suddenly remembered something and hastily asked,
"I've also heard about Fierce Island sinking overnight. Weren't they saying that all prisoners drowned with it? How could someone escape from there? That's the infamous Dead Sea where, as they say, except for special ebony boats, no other ships can float."
"I'm not sure about that, only that apart from this kid, more than a dozen others also escaped the Dead Sea. If one of them hadn't been inadvertently caught and revealed this information under torture, the imperial court would still be unaware. We resident Black Tiger Guards wouldn't have been mobilized otherwise. Regardless, the boy we're after is probably the weakest among those escapees. Even though he's laid false trails and delayed us for nearly half a month, if he were to face me directly, there'd be only one way out for him," the giant shook his head, then, patting the black spear on his back, confidently stated.
"That's natural. Who doesn't know that the sir could rank among the top hundred in the whole Chuzhou?" the young warrior said with a respectful look.
"Cut the flattery! We should be on our way. Let's go, move out!" the giant waved his fan-sized hand uncompromisingly.
The young warrior stiffened and acknowledged the order, rejoining the center of the armored soldiers.
The whole troop immediately set back into motion, one by one disappearing into the forest.
A short time later, when these warriors emerged from the forest again and reached a small open meadow, what they saw left everyone stunned.
The once lush green grassland was now largely dyed red with fresh blood.
Among the blood-red grass, numerous corpses wearing the same black armor lay scattered in all directions.
The faces of these corpses were mostly filled with ferocious fear, as if they had seen something unbelievable before they died.
At their throats, there was a thumb-sized blood hole out of nowhere, from which fresh blood gushed incessantly.
"A total of thirty corpses, Captain Situ's subordinates, seem to be all here. But Lord Situ himself is not among them."
The young armored soldier named Yu Xin turned pale as he once again stepped out of formation, quickly inspected each of these armored corpses, and then returned to report to the giant man, his expression faintly tinged with unease.
The giant man's face was somber. After listening, he looked towards the other side of the grassland and then, his figure moved as he strode over.
Seeing this, the other armored soldiers followed without hesitation, but each of them was cautious and completely on guard.
The giant man's figure flickered constantly, and in a moment, he appeared before a towering tree, sweeping his gaze below the tree, his face growing extremely ugly.
Under the tree lay a middle-aged man in black armor with withered features. He was pierced through the throat with a steel sword and pinned half a foot above the ground to the tree's trunk.
Nearby on the ground, a pale silver long knife was angled into the soil.
The middle-aged man clutched the sword's blade with both hands, his fingers all broken, his eyes wide open staring directly ahead, having long since breathed his last.
...
Liu Ming was swiftly leaping through the dense forest, feeling an indescribable soreness throughout his body, even the spoils of war he carried, a silver long blade, seemed to become heavier.
Although he had killed so many enemies in one breath using the "Sword Technique" he had practiced painstakingly for five or six years, the ferocity of these armored soldiers far exceeded his expectations.
Even though he had finished off all the armored soldiers using hit-and-run tactics, that leading officer still pursued him relentlessly to the death.
He was forced to use a secret technique he learned from the island that stimulated his body's potential. Only after paying a price, including the recurrence of old injuries, did he barely manage to kill him.
The consequence of this was that his body, not yet fully mature, was overdrawn too much and was already struggling.
As Liu Ming thought of this, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder.
He saw that the bandage, which had been wrapped in several layers around his shoulder, was completely soaked with fresh blood, and throbbing pains drilled into his heart from it intermittently.
Even with his fortitude, and with the effects of his body's potential still not worn off, it was still somewhat unbearable.
The Black Tiger Guard was indeed the elite local force of the Great Xuan Kingdom, far from comparable to the ordinary constables he had encountered before.
Now, he could only hope that the previous massacre would make the other Black Tiger Guards wary, daring not to pursue him too closely anymore.
As long as he could last another day or two, the aftereffects of the 'Breath Concealment Technique' he had used last time would settle down, and then he could jump into a nearby river and make his escape.
He was young, but he had indeed learned several rare and eccentric skills and secret techniques on that savage island.
If it weren't for that fact, even with someone's protection on the island, how could a mere child survive in such a dog-eat-dog place for seven or eight years?
The moment Liu Ming thought this, the face of a scarred giant flashed before his eyes. Although the face looked extremely fierce, it warmed his heart.
Suddenly, Liu Ming's expression changed, and he twisted his body in mid-leap, his frame instantly curling into a ball as he flew sideways into the air.
At the same time, a "whooshing" sound erupted in front of him.
More than a dozen half-foot-long crossbow bolts shot out from the dense forest ahead, skimmed past the young man's body, and fiercely pinned into a gray tree trunk behind him.
The bolts were bone-chillingly cold, obviously made of refined steel; most of the shafts were embedded directly into the tree, emitting a low hum as they trembled non-stop.
"Who is it?"
The young man rolled into a nearby bush, laid the silver long blade in front of him, and shouted coldly toward the dense forest.
"Not bad moves, no wonder you could keep hopping around under the siege of the Black Tiger Guard. But now that you've met the two of us, you've only got one path left, death," a sharp female voice came from in front, and from behind a large tree, a man and a woman emerged.