Chapter 90: Breaking the Momentum
Chapter 90: Breaking the Momentum
Tong Baotao saw the body flying towards him, and without hesitation, he swung his steel rods to the side, letting the corpse fly away. With unwavering courage, he strode forward, gripping his steel rod.
Tong Qianjiang, standing at the entrance, suddenly raised his hand, aiming his gun at Chen Chuan's head. Although he didn't fire, there was an unspoken sense of intimidation.
This was a silent understanding between the two brothers; when one attacked, the other provided cover.
On top of the fortress, Spider Old Seven was crawling around, deliberately making rustling noises to assert his presence and await the right moment to strike.
Chen Chuan perceived all this with his heightened senses. As Tong Baotao's figure gradually loomed larger in his vision, Chen Chuan took a step forward, moving towards him. With a swift upward slash, his longsword aimed for Tong Baotao's lower body.
To counter the pistol at a distance and the threat from behind, Chen Chuan didn't unleash his full speed. As a result, his slash was clearly visible, and with the push of the transmutation organs within his body, a surge of power transmitted to the blade.
Tong Baotao quickly pressed down on his steel rods, attempting to block the sword. He managed to block it, but to his disbelief, an explosive force emanated from the blade, causing him to lose his grip on one of the rods, which flew out of his hand. The other rod, with a sharp 'clang,' was severed in half.
The blade's gleam continued, slashing towards his chest, instantly carving a deep gash in the shell armor, exposing the inner shell tissue and cavity walls.
If this strike had penetrated deeper, even if it couldn't kill him instantly, it would have severely wounded him. But at that moment, Chen Chuan sensed a disturbance above and behind him. He swiftly retracted his sword, wrapping it around his head to deflect a poison needle aimed at the back of his head. Simultaneously, he took a quick step back, and with the momentum, his longsword slashed diagonally!
As he stepped forward, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet grazed past his head, even tugging at a strand of his hair. Yet, his gaze remained unwavering.
Tong Baotao, momentarily stunned by the shockwave, had his hands forced upwards, causing him to lean back. Just as he was about to recover, the sword slashed across his ribs.
However, the sword's momentum, after breaking through the tough outer shell, encountered a series of contracting soft forces, like countless layers of shrinking muscles with incredible biting strength. This prevented the blade from advancing further, trapping it within.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed with realization. This wasn't merely the effect of the implants; it was a technique to block and neutralize the sharp blade!
Tong Baotao's eyes gleamed with cunning. He squeezed his raised arm, and with the contraction of his muscles, the sword was firmly locked in place.
Despite his bulky appearance, Tong Baotao wasn't as reckless as he seemed. He had played a clever move, realizing that Chen Chuan's Snow Lady Sword posed the greatest threat. So, he chose to risk injury to control this weapon first.
Having the sword made all the difference; with it, they dared not approach him, but without it, the young man stood no chance against them, especially with their implanted enhancements!
Chen Chuan's gaze remained calm. Most people in this situation would be at a disadvantage, their combat strength significantly diminished without a weapon. But he was different.
He loosened his grip on the sword, took a step forward, and with a surge of power, his body moved with the force, and he thrust his palm towards Tong Baotao's face.
The palm strike seemed slow, but as Tong Baotao watched the palm grow larger in his vision, his pupils constricted, sensing an immense danger.
Tong Baotao grunted, and the clothes over his hunched back suddenly burst open, revealing two deformed long arms that emerged and blocked the strike in front of him.
Chen Chuan remained unfazed by the bizarre scene. His arm continued its forward motion, and upon contact, a soft force pushed both hands, pressing them towards Tong Baotao's cheeks.
As Chen Chuan's body's transmutation organs pushed layer by layer, this strike, if landed, would have sent a penetrating force, enough to incapacitate Tong Baotao momentarily, even if it didn't shatter his skull.
Just as the strike was about to land, Chen Chuan sensed something and turned his head to the side. A poison needle shot down from above, hitting his shoulder and bouncing off the protective vest.
With this brief respite, Tong Baotao seized the opportunity. The two deformed arms grabbed Chen Chuan's arms from behind, while his two normal arms wrapped around Chen Chuan's waist, pulling him towards himself.
Chen Chuan, ignoring the penetrating force, raised his knee to block his body from moving forward. His gaze shifted, and he tilted his head back. As the gunshot sounded from Tong Qianjiang's side, a bullet whizzed past his face. Chen Chuan used this moment to create some space, then stomped down with his raised foot, crushing Tong Baotao's ankle joint.
Tong Baotao's face contorted in pain, and the grip in his hands loosened.
Li Wei's heart sank as he witnessed the unexpected turn of events. Zhang Chuan, with a swift twist of his waist, had managed to lift the towering Tong Baotao into the air and slammed him onto the ground, nearly knocking the wind out of him. Seizing the opportunity, Li Wei grabbed the handle of the Snow Lady Sword and swiftly pulled it outward before forcefully prying it inward!
Tong Baotao let out a piercing, agonizing scream. Gunshots erupted from behind, but none of them hit Li Wei, indicating that Tong Qianjiang was growing desperate.
Li Wei extracted the Snow Lady Sword and, gripping the handle, raised it high, poised to decapitate Tong Baotao below.
Fang Dawei, still recovering from the effects of the drug, had been motionless until now. He charged forward and kicked Li Wei sideways.
Li Wei twisted his wrist, and the blade, following its momentum, aimed to sever Fang Dawei's leg. But upon contact, it slid off as if encountering an incredibly slippery and resilient substance, leaving a trail of blood.
Li Wei adjusted his wrist, turning the blade inward, and thrust the handle outward, pressing it against Fang Dawei's chest. With a forward shoulder bump, he sent Fang Dawei flying sideways.
Without pausing, Li Wei harnessed his waist's power to swing the sword backward, propelling himself forward. With both hands on the hilt, he pointed the tip of the sword at Tong Baotao's throat and lunged!
Tong Qianjiang, witnessing this, shouted and grabbed a side panel from a broken box, hurling it at Li Wei.
Li Wei, unperturbed, watched as the box panel approached. As it touched his shoulder, it seemed to encounter an invisible force, shattering into countless fragments.
Amid the shower of wooden splinters, the bandits witnessed Tong Baotao, propped up by his four arms, half-sitting on the ground, his head slightly tilted back. The gleaming cold light of the longsword pierced his throat, exiting through the back of his head. His eyes rolled up, his mouth uttered only gurgling sounds, and his arms and body convulsed uncontrollably.
Tong Qianjiang's eyes reddened with rage as he screamed. Ignoring his duty to guard the fort entrance, he raised his gun and emptied its entire magazine at Li Wei. Then, grabbing a sword, he charged towards him.
Li Wei didn't wait to be gunned down. As the bullets sprayed blood, he had already retreated to the rear with a swift sword withdrawal.
Fang Dawei, at this moment, also rushing towards him, both men closing in from opposite directions.
Li Wei, observing the remaining two, swung the sword and lightly shifted his feet, retreating a few steps towards the area littered with debris.
The ground was strewn with remnants of the shattered wooden boxes—empty cans, ropes, miscellaneous tools, even severed limbs and implanted shells. Despite Fang Dawei's crew having kicked away some of the debris, it was impossible to clear it all in such a short time.
This hindrance slowed their advance, making their movements awkward and their pace sluggish.
Tong Qianjiang, especially, was in agony. Witnessing Tong Baotao's death, he was desperate to charge forward and kill Li Wei, but the obstacles frustrated him. He kicked and raged, clearing a path as he advanced.
Li Wei, serene, deftly wielded the Snow Lady Sword to clear the debris, his eyes fixed on Tong Qianjiang, who was charging forward with his sword raised for a vicious strike.
With a gentle lift of the Snow Lady Sword, Li Wei tapped Tong Qianjiang's sword with the back of his blade, causing it to crack.
In a swift wrist rotation, Li Wei transformed his sword into a spear-like stance, deflecting Tong Qianjiang's sword while sidestepping. With his shoulder and back relaxed, he thrust the sword forward with one hand, piercing the protective vest and plunging into Tong Qianjiang's abdomen.
Tong Qianjiang's movement halted, his back arching involuntarily. Fang Dawei, witnessing this, froze in his tracks.
Li Wei, with a subtle upward wrist flick, stepped forward. Tong Qianjiang, in desperation, grasped the sword blade, tiptoeing backward, retreating ten or so steps until he was almost back at the fort entrance.
Li Wei, in a swift motion, withdrew the sword, bringing the hilt to his face. With a shout, he gripped the hilt with both hands, spun, and slashed. The sword hissed as it sliced through the air, severing Tong Qianjiang's head, which flew through the fort gate, landing in the open space outside. Tong Qianjiang's headless body staggered and collapsed to the ground.
...
(End of Chapter)
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