Chapter 22: Annihilation! Agate!

Chapter 22: Annihilation! Agate! (Please keep following! Monthly Vote needed!)

In short, the situation had become a deadlock.

After their initial clash, Randolph pulled back and gritted his teeth. "Mr. Jiang, there's a misunderstanding. Why don't we stop and talk?"

"There's nothing to discuss with you!" Master Jiang snapped, his tone ironclad. "This is Hanxia Territory. You mercenaries from the Glorious Legion appearing here—do I need to spell out your purpose? Dare to assassinate my nephew? Then leave your bones here forever!"

Swirling his Supreme Spear, Master Jiang charged forward like a man possessed, determined to fight until one of them fell.

Perched in the canopy of a phoenix tree, Jiang Zhe watched the aerial battle unfold. With his current neural reaction speed, he could barely make out two blurred streaks—like twin meteors—colliding, separating, and crashing together again and again across the sky.

His uncle was deliberately pinning down Randolph to prevent him from striking at Jiang Zhe. Even in his Black God Suit, Jiang Zhe knew he couldn't survive a single casual blow from a Councilor-Class Champion.

If Randolph attacked, Jiang Zhe had already planned his escape—like Luo Feng diving into bedrock layers. While Stellar-Level warriors could drill underground in Black God Suits, subterranean domains gave Mentalists far more maneuverability.

Suddenly, Jiang Zhe shifted focus. Two figures approached rapidly from the northwest—bounding across rooftops toward his position. Their trajectory was unmistakable. They had ways to track him.

"Two War God Ranks?"

Jiang Zhe licked his dry lips, eyes sharpening. Ten Annihilation Throwing Daggers slipped from his belt pouch, embedding silently into the ground near the tree pit. They tunneled through soil, positioning themselves beneath potential landing zones.

"Ha! Kazong, look at that fool hiding there, too scared to run", barked Yanpu, the bald black War God Rank. "But running won't save him from us. With Deputy Captain keeping that Legislator busy, our job's already done."

"Right", grinned Kazong, the furrow-haired War God Rank. "My son's already a Junior Warrior General. With that Agate, he'll surpass me soon!"

"Later", Kazong snapped. "Save the celebration for after we kill this brat. Crushing prodigies feels... delicious."

They dropped from a thirty-meter rooftop. Jiang Zhe calculated their landing spots perfectly. He burst from the tree canopy, feigning panic as he fled down the street.

"Where do you think you're running, worm? Die!" Yanpu roared, hurling his two-handed greatsword with a hundred tons of force. His face twisted in cruel anticipation of cleaving his target.

Jiang Zhe heard the sonic boom behind him—the signature "Decisive Strike" he'd baited so easily. The Black God Suit, hidden beneath his S-Rank Combat Suit, hugged his body like a second skin.

Tenfold power—activate!

In a thousandth of a second, Jiang Zhe twisted, his Long Spear lashing backward in a "Looking Moon Over Shoulder" strike. The spearhead cracked against the sword like thunder.

Jiang Zhe's superior strength won. The weightless greatsword flew off, vanishing into a skyscraper.

"What? Is he a War God Rank? How?!" Kazong gasped.

The two War Gods landed with seismic thuds, still reeling from the impossible exchange. But Jiang Zhe gave them no time to think.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ten silver streaks erupted from the ground like lightning—five times supersonic. Even War God Ranks couldn't dodge all five Annihilation Throwing Daggers. Yanpu, the weaker of the two, took three hits: a dagger tore through his left neck, another shredded his arm, and a final one pierced his brainstem, tearing off his skullcap.

Kazong fared slightly better—dodging two, blocking two, but the last sheared through his ribs. As his severed arm flew, Jiang Zhe sent another dagger into Kazong's screaming mouth, obliterating his head.

Disciple Sixth Stage Mentalist—equivalent to apprentice seventh-stage combat power (2x Genetic), amplified 8x through Psychic Boost. Another effortless victory against higher-ranked opponents—the specialty of Mentalists.

Above, the two Legislator-class warriors paused mid-battle, watching the carnage below.

Randolph's heart sank. That monster—barely a month into training, already slaughtering War God Ranks? A Mentalist? He recoiled, shouting, "Stop! I'll pay compensation! I'll name my employer!"

"No need!" Master Jiang roared. "Your death is the only acceptable payment!" He lunged again, Supreme Spear blazing.

The clash had long since transcended mere vengeance for Jiang Zhe.

Master Jiang’s bloodlust intensified with every strike.

After all, he was no refined scholar—his rise to fame had been paved with the skulls of opponents shattered by his Supreme Spear.

As a Legislator’s inaugural battle, he yearned to slay another Legislator. Such was the obsession of this murder-enthralled martial artist.

Earlier that day, others had criticized Jiang Zhe for his excessive killer instinct… but truth be told, this entire family had its own dark quirks.

The clash of Yanpu’s door-sized greatsword and the Supreme Spear erupted again!

“You want to kill me? You’re not good enough!” Randolph still sounded confident.

“Not good enough? Then how about me joining the party?”

Suddenly, from beneath Randolph’s position, a shadow erupted from the earth. A frigid chill instantly engulfed the battlefield.

“Ice? Are you Jiang Lie?!”

“Damn it! Almost forgot about you… What exactly are you scheming?!”

Randolph finally lost his composure, sensing death’s approach. He roared defiantly, “No Legislator has ever fallen in human infighting! If you dare set this precedent, First Councilor Hong will never let you live!”

“Cease this madness—it benefits us both!”

Even as he shouted, Randolph swung his greatsword to intercept Elder Jiang’s sudden ambush with the Eight-Treasure Alligator Dragon Lance.

The collision of weapons sent a shockwave through his blade, making Randolph’s expression contort violently.

“How?! I’m wearing the Black God Suit… What multiplier are you using for your strength?!”

Elder Jiang’s voice turned frosty. “Take that question to hell with you!”

With a twist of his wrist, his long spear whirled. Using the technique of “four ounces displacing a thousand jin,” he sent Randolph’s greatsword flying.

Then, faster than lightning, he thrust his Domain-Level Piercing Strike at peak power.

Sudden coldness suffused heaven and earth, freezing Randolph in place like a trapped animal as the spearpoint loomed larger.

“Thankfully I’ve got Black God—”

The thought died midstream. Excruciating pain and a piercing sensation through his chest left Randolph gaping in disbelief.

The Eight-Treasure Alligator Dragon Lance had pierced clean through his torso!

“This… What?! My Black God Suit…!”

“Everyone who’s seen this happen before is already dead. You’ll share their fate.” Elder Jiang withdrew his spear, speaking softly as he did.

“Holy shit!”

Witnessing this, Jiang Zhe couldn’t help but curse.

His grandfather and elder uncle might not understand the metal classifications within the Universe, nor grasp what this meant, but Jiang Zhe knew perfectly well.

Only the highest F-grade metals could scratch the Black God Suit. Even third-tier Mental Strength Weapons couldn’t breach it.

Third Councilor “Frost Emperor” had once been trapped by the Skyfaring Needle within his own Black God Suit.

The status of this Alloy Long Spear in Jiang Zhe’s mind rose significantly.

Randolph’s heart shattered. After only a few ragged breaths, his eyes dulled lifelessly. Elder Jiang retrieved his spear, letting the corpse plummet from the sky.

Catching the body midair, Elder Jiang flew toward Jiang Zhe, dropping the corpse before him. Using his spear, he slit open the combat suit to begin searching.

“Grandfather, check the inner lining on his right rib—there’s a hidden pocket,” Jiang Zhe advised, scanning with Mental Energy.

Elder Jiang located the spot, pulling out a test tube as thick as a pinky finger, ten centimeters long, containing a third-filled portion of jade-green viscous liquid.

“Grandfather, what’s this?” Jiang Zhe already had suspicions.

“Agate. Three portions here. The two War God Ranks you killed definitely have similar stashes. Combined, that’s five portions. Market value—150 billion. Actual cost? Probably less than half that.”

Five portions of Agate?!

Jiang Zhe suddenly viewed the black African corpse on the ground with much warmer eyes. This Legislator was practically an international benefactor!

Before he could scan the other two War God corpses with Mental Energy, he noticed his uncle already approaching with two test tubes in hand.

Master Jiang’s voice turned grave. “Agate—exclusive to our Hanxia Kingdom. Every portion’s movement gets recorded. Five portions together? This quantity demands explanations from Jia Yi and the Wang Clan!”

“Jia Yi’s got his own pressures too,” Elder Jiang sighed, then made two calls on his Communication Watch.

The first call informed someone to wrap things up.

The recipient seemed to be none other than Jia Yi himself—the one recently denounced by Master Jiang. This matter clearly involved deeper power struggles.

Jiang Zhe suddenly understood. The ability to pinpoint locations through Communication Watch signals wasn’t something ordinary factions could achieve.

His grandfather only cryptically mentioned fragments about this.

After the Great Campaign of Year 26, people finally caught their breath.

But rebuilding order proved no easy task.

Old aristocratic families hungered to reclaim dominance, pursuing the ideal of “outsiders commanding experts.” The new generation of martial artists, having sacrificed so much, refused to be subjugated again.

Thus began a war without gunpowder.

The old families naturally faltered step by step, though never completely eradicated.

Retreating, they abandoned martial arts for economics, transforming into economic titans that still held sway over the nation.

This assassination attempt stemmed from these factions realizing their “new patron” faced imminent collapse, prompting desperate last stands.

The second call demanded immediate payment transfer upon mission completion.

After grasping the transaction details, Jiang Zhe viewed Elder Jiang with completely new eyes.

Looking at Randolph’s corpse again, he felt pure pity.

This poor kid had been marked for death from the moment he set out. His head bought an S-Rank Alloy Weapon production line plus five Agate portions.

The bounty issuer? None other than the Glorious Legion’s commander himself!

Jiang Zhe and his uncle exchanged stunned glances—mirror images of confusion. Both had been kept entirely in the dark.

Piecing things together: The Wang Clan hired Glorious Legion to assassinate Jiang Zhe, but the Legion commander double-crossed them—selling the intel to Elder Jiang, then using the Wang Clan’s payment to hire Elder Jiang to eliminate his own ambitious vice-commander Randolph.

When the dust settled, both Jiang Clan and Glorious Legion secured brighter futures. The Wang Clan alone bore the losses in this three-way game.

Jiang Zhe inhaled sharply, marveling at humanity’s endless layers of scheming.

“After this, the Europa HR Union headquarters will probably be grinning ear to ear.”

Jiang Zhe looked surprised—how did HR Union factor into this?

Elder Jiang elaborated, “Recently, HR Union allocated more commercial resources to our Jiang Clan. Ostensibly showing respect for you and me, but actually provoking the Wang Clan into conflict with us—the spark that ignited this incident.”

“We’ve swallowed a slow-acting poison wrapped in thick sugar coating.”

“The Wang Clan, having lost one leg (ZZ), now guards their new economic limb with fanatical jealousy. Anyone daring to take a bite of their cake triggers attacks as fierce as touching a dragon’s most sensitive scale.”

“As you’ve seen, the poison’s taken effect—but we’ve successfully extracted it.”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end