Hidden Shadow – CH 186

Chapter One-Hundred-Eighty-Six: Battle!

The formation dissipated, and the group realized they were in a narrow, dead-end alley. Only a single corpse remained, snow seeping in through the cracks in the walls.

Chu Dingjiang’s mental energy was no longer restrained.

After three hours of continuous fighting, the remaining members were all in a sorry state. Of the seven, only Chu Dingjiang was slightly better off, while An Jiu and Sun Dixian were the most severely injured.

An Jiu had lost too much blood, and Sun Dixian showed signs of depletion of her internal energy.

“My Lord,” Sun Dixian said, her eyes blurry with tears, looking at Chu Dingjiang, “I cannot hold on any longer. Please do not worry about me.”

She was gambling, gambling that Chu Dingjiang would not abandon her! Because An Jiu also looked like she was about to die, and Chu Dingjiang clearly would not abandon her. If he left her behind, the others would lose faith in him.

Before Chu Dingjiang could speak, An Jiu opened her eyes and looked at him. “I also think she’s about to die. A person who has lost their will will only be a burden. Let’s throw her away!”

Her tone was as if she were throwing away trash.

Sun Dixian gritted her teeth secretly, but her tone remained weak. She looked at An Jiu pitifully and said, “I think my sister is also at her last gasp. Let’s keep each other company.”

“Who do you think you are?” An Jiu did not even look at her, coldly replying, “I am perfectly healthy. My fate is not for a useless person to decide.”

Hearing such sharp words, Chu Dingjiang suddenly felt particularly pleased. He reached out and gently patted the back of her head. “How can you talk like that? We’ve come this far side by side, practically sharing life and death. At this point, we should stand together!”

His words were reproachful, but everyone could hear the gentleness in his tone.

An Jiu glanced at him sideways and looked away.

After resting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chu Dingjiang glanced at the sky outside. “It’s getting late. We must leave before dawn. Let’s move out.”

This was a residential area, next to a privately owned dock. To outsiders, it seemed like legitimate business, but once the bloodshed was discovered at dawn, they would immediately become wanted criminals.

Being detained by the local government while on a mission was a sign of incompetence; the Konghe Army would not care.

The group stood up, checked their equipment, and followed Chu Dingjiang out.

Lou Mingyue handed the blue-fire crossbow to An Jiu. “You should keep this with you.”

An Jiu’s arm had been damaged by the gu poison. Although the pain was nothing to her, it was still worse than a healthy arm. With the crossbow, movement would be much easier.

Sun Dixian remained silent, quietly approaching Qiu Yuntong as they moved. Qiu Yuntong’s martial arts skills were not high, but he was riddled with poisons, making him a formidable opponent even against eighth or ninth-level masters. Sun Dixian had only survived the misty formation because she was with him.

On the eve of dawn, darkness enveloped the world, with snow falling heavily, dense as a curtain.

The group followed Chu Dingjiang out of the narrow alley.

As they stepped out of the alley, a sudden barrage of arrows rained down.

The dense clusters of arrows gleamed coldly in the night. Their pupils dilated as they watched the snow-covered curtain of arrows approach!

Chu Dingjiang suddenly unleashed his inner energy. The arrow rain shattered with a deafening roar, the broken arrows cascading down from the sky.

The group followed Chu Dingjiang; the arrow rain was unable to halt their advance.

The others, realizing this, ceased firing.

Dozens of black-clad men blocked the narrow street. This was likely because the formation here had been altered or damaged. When An Jiu arrived, her mental power could already detect an area of ​​six or seven zhang around her. To her alarm, the lowest level among the dozens of people before her was at least seventh-level! They were probably like the assassins who had wiped out the Mei family. They had all used drugs to boost their internal energy, but these people now seemed to have a sharp glint in their eyes, and their internal energy appeared remarkably stable, making them far more troublesome than those “Half-Baked” individuals!

The two sides faced off for two breaths. With a command from Chu Dingjiang, the crossbows in Sui Yuntong and An Jiu’s hands instantly erupted with dazzling blue light.

Three figures from the Piaomiao Mountain Mansion blurred, dodging the crossbow bolts, and, in the blink of an eye, closed in on An Jiu and Sui Yuntong, attempting to seize the bolts.

Chu Dingjiang forced the two back several steps with a palm strike.

The assassins seized the opportunity to swarm forward, five or six surrounding Chu Dingjiang, separating him from the other six.

Li Qingzhi’s eyes were bloodshot, his muscles bulging as if they were about to burst. He roared, “Damn it, when did so many eighth and ninth-tier assassins appear?!”

Lou Mingyue’s lips were tightly pressed together, her entire body radiating murderous intent. Each sword strike was more ruthless than the last, driven by a deep-seated, irreconcilable blood feud!

Sun Dixian had only exchanged two blows with one assassin before she was already struggling, forced to retreat step by step. Fortunately, she was back-to-back with Qiu Yuntong, receiving some protection and managing not to fall immediately.

The most difficult situation was undoubtedly for An Jiu and Sui Yuntong. Armed with blue-fire crossbows, they became the primary targets of the assassins. However, Sui Yuntong’s strength was not high, and An Jiu had previously suffered severe injuries, almost instantly cornering them.

An Jiu’s face was pale, her brows furrowed. Each crossbow only contained ten arrows; Lou Mingyue had already used one, leaving nine. Now, trapped in this desperate situation, when was the time to use them? In a flash of inspiration, An Jiu grabbed her crossbow and fired indiscriminately at anyone she saw. In an instant, a blinding light shot into the sky, seemingly illuminating the heavens.

Blood exploded, propelled into the air by the force, the blood mist staining the drifting snowflakes red, creating a crimson curtain of snow.

The crossbow’s power was so great that even Qiu Yuntong and the others nearby were thrown several meters away, spitting out blood.

Blood stained her eyes, causing An Jiu to suddenly lose control of her emotions.

Her crossbow bolts were exhausted. Facing the relentless surge of attackers, An Jiu abandoned the crossbow and drew her twin swords from her back to fight at close range!

Her killing intent was palpable, its oppressive force sending chills down the spines of those around her.

This group of assassins from Piaomiao Mountain Mansion had become several times stronger than before, but the price was that they had lost their autonomy; their sole objective was to kill the intruders! Despite this, their throats tightened as they looked at the woman before them, who seemed to have crawled out of a sea of ​​blood.

Her mental instability had pushed An Jiu’s physical potential to its limit, making her mental strength unprecedentedly powerful.

Now, only one word occupied her eyes and mind—kill!

Only killing could bring liberation; only killing could bring relief!

The assassins from Piaomiao Mountain Mansion, finding their crossbows exhausted, were surrounded by six or seven more.

More than ten men simultaneously attacked with their swords.

An Jiu crouched slightly, pushed off with her feet, and moved like an eagle about to soar into the sky, her twin swords sweeping across the surroundings with chilling killing intent.

One man’s longsword approached her chest, but An Jiu swayed, dodging the blade, and charged straight at him, a smirk playing on her lips, before slicing his throat with her sword.

Before the man could react, his sword was still thrusting forward as instructed.

An Jiu spun around, her twin swords cleaving him in two.

She stared at the black-clad man opposite her, grinned, revealing her snow-white teeth, which were instantly stained red by the spray of blood.

“Ah—” Sui Yuntong witnessed An Jiu’s battle, and seeing people approaching from all sides, she grabbed her crossbow and began firing wildly.