Chapter 894: Chapter 101: So That’s How It Is—How Dare You Deceive Me!

Only the sound of the trigger mechanisms could be heard, echoing from east to west without end, the sounds overlapping or closely following one another. It was impossible to tell how many troops were present. Soon, crossbow bolts flew like rain, piercing the air, and the entire street darkened. The dense bolts seemed to block out the sunlight.

An Zhaofeng did not dodge or evade, but instead uttered a low shout. Where his Qi Mechanism lingered, the multitude of bolts, as dense as locusts, halted in mid-air. The tails of the bolts continued to tremble, unable to advance even an inch further, creating a rare sight in the world.

An Zhaofeng then let out a long howl, tapping a crossbow bolt with his right foot, his body shot forward until he had run out of range. Only then did those dense and terrifying bolts continue to fall, their piercing sound lingering incessantly.

In the thirty years prior, among the Seven Kingdoms, the state of Han, though small, had the strongest bows and crossbows. After Qin conquered the other states, improvements were made, resulting in Qin’s crossbows being the strongest and having the farthest range in the world.

During border skirmishes, whenever they arrived at a location, regardless of the enemy numbers, the Qin Army would first launch three volleys with their strong bows and Mighty Spirit Crossbows operated by thirty men, humorously referred to as “Clearing the Field” by the townsfolk.

Once the arrows fell like rain, the Iron Cavalry charged, infantry shields were raised, Mo Blades swept clean, and the skilled military generals rode their horses left and right, seeking opportunities to slash, leaving the elite forces of other nations unable to retaliate.

Just now, An Zhaofeng had struggled mightily to withstand hundreds of elite volleys in Great Qin City by himself and was now feeling his Qi Mechanism swell uncomfortably.

Silently contemplating, if those firing the crossbows were elite Martial Soldiers or from the Great Qin’s specialized crossbow unit, he might have suffered a Qi backlash, coughing blood on the spot, increasing his desire to leave.

Upon seeing Tie Lin, Wang Anfeng knew the task was accomplished today. Originally planning to finish the act completely, he intended to block Tie Lin to prevent Qiong Qi from being too weak, getting caught not far from escape, wasting a whole day’s effort.

But after walking a few steps, he sensed something wrong behind him. Turning his head, he saw An Zhaofeng rushing towards the youth disguised as Xue Qinshuang, anxiety flared in his heart, and he turned back, shouting angrily as he ran.

This unexpected move only spurred the Commander of Troops further, his movement technique became even faster. With Tie Lin’s strength, he could only see overlapping afterimages. Ordinary martial artists and civilians had no chance of capturing him.

An Zhaofeng knew the other party always moved in pairs, their Martial Arts and Palm Techniques were extremely advanced, but the other person had no Martial Arts, making them easy to capture.

This maneuver wasn’t about doing much; it was simply to divert the ‘elder’s’ attention, buying himself time to leave.

Otherwise, once his Qi Mechanism was exhausted and he was entangled, under the Ministry of Punishment’s three to five volleys, he could withstand one round, but how could he withstand ten, a hundred rounds?

Back when Great Qin suffered from fighting one against six with insufficient supplies, being like a newly rich from prolonged poverty, they were never at ease. Every city housed an armory, storing crossbow bolts stacked like grain.

In recent years, with the nation’s strength increasing, relying on abundant resources, they directly prepared according to wartime regulations, enough to support a city’s isolated defense for three months. Three officials inspected daily, only resting peacefully seeing the grain and weapons piled like small mountains.

Even if An Zhaofeng was a real Grandmaster, being entangled by martial artists of the same level could result in being chipped away like ants devouring an elephant, leaving only a skeleton without a trace of flesh.

Moreover, with Great Qin’s established postal inns and Pillars of the State stationed in county cities, they could reach every place in the county within an hour. It was like a huge swamp, a deathtrap for even the top Jianghu fighters without exceptional means or resources.

Therefore, the thought of taking hostages to distract Wang Anfeng came up, planning to take the opportunity to leave.

With dozens of steps still between him and the youth, An Zhaofeng shouted angrily and attacked, raising his right hand and unleashing a grand momentum as if heaven itself was collapsing towards the opponent.

This was a most exquisite technique, seemingly going all out, but in truth using less than thirty percent of his Qi Mechanism, with most of his focus behind him, wary of the elder charging fiercely like a mad lion.

In his view, compared to the defense of the youth upfront, the person behind him was more troublesome, especially with that chain of consecutive palms, as if thousands of mountains collapsing, exceptionally violent, not to be underestimated. Only three palms had been exchanged previously; four were yet to be unleashed.

As he kept an eye on the distance between the elder behind and himself, An Zhaofeng suddenly felt alarm bells ring within, rapidly gaining a sharp Qi Mechanism rising ahead, causing his face to sting painfully. Hastily, he lifted his head and saw a pair of eyes shining brightly as if seeing something extraordinarily interesting.

Soon, a stabbing pain emerged.

The ‘youth’ stepped forward, lifted his hand, launching a strike that hit An Zhaofeng’s wrist. Then transforming his palm into a Sword Finger, he leaped up, directly aiming at An Zhaofeng’s heart. Caught off guard, An Zhaofeng’s Qi Mechanism defense was pierced, forcing him back suddenly.

Though the fingertips approached within several inches of his heart, the Sword Qi had already reached him earlier, causing An Zhaofeng’s heart to ache and involuntarily cough blood. Seizing the opportunity, he staggered aside, leaped onto the wall, and swung his arm, throwing down several Patrol Officers without taking their lives, merely to delay time. Instantly, he soared a hundred feet, letting out an angry howl audible for miles.

“Hahaha, so that’s how it is, so that’s how it is!”

“Not only colluding with the Ministry of Punishment’s dogs but also hiding one’s strength, the scheming depth is unmatched! Should I not die today, I’ll ensure the world knows your true faces!”

The voice was piercingly sharp, filled with blood-like fury, fading into the distance in an instant.

Wang Anfeng pressed his lips, exerting his Inner Strength, and replied loudly with the Lion’s Roar Dharma:

“A mere jumping clown, unworthy of battle! If you desire to fight, then fight; words are unnecessary. If you wish to come, I shall accompany at any time!”

An Zhaofeng, his anger boiling, let out another long howl.

Wang Anfeng’s mouth curled into a slight smile, turning to the stunned Tie Lin, pretending to be angry and unwilling, and huffed: “What a renowned capture from the Ministry of Punishment, ruining my plan. If not for you, I would have killed him today.”

“Hmph, today you outnumber me, I won’t lower myself to your level, see you later, let’s go!”

Then, displaying his movement technique, he dodged the incoming crossbow bolts, grabbed the youth’s arm, and with a leap, covered an enormous distance, sometimes borrowing the force of the fired bolts, or stepping in mid-air. In no time, they vanished without a trace.

PS: Here’s the second update of the day…3,600 words