Chapter 23: Melee in the Underground Palace (Part II)

With this in mind, An Miaotong reached for her second wheellock pistol and fired at Cao Ruobing on the ground without a moment's hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yuchong, who had just appeared completely bewildered, raised his pistol, "Violet," and aimed it directly at An Miaotong.

A sudden, overwhelming sense of danger gripped An Miaotong. Her body instinctively darted aside, causing Chen Yuchong to lose his lock on her. However, this reprieve allowed Cao Ruobing to steady himself; he gripped a short sword in each hand, adopting an impenetrable defensive stance.

Simultaneously, Yun Eleven and Yun Thirteen engaged Chen Yuchong and the giantess. To Yun Eleven, the giantess appeared intimidating but lacked agility—a mere paper tiger. He leaped high, darting forward like a bolt of lightning, his long sword thrusting directly toward the giantess’s eyes.

Though confident in his blade, believing no mortal flesh could withstand a strike infused with his profound sword energy, Yun Eleven was an experienced assassin. He did not waste time on the trivial pursuit of testing the strength of his spear against her shield. He chased only the most efficient outcomes; even against a harmless-looking old beggar, he would strike from the shadows and aim for the vitals. This direct thrust at the giantess's eyes was also a tribute to Yun Zheng’s recent victory over the Taoist Li at the relay station.

At the same time, Yun Thirteen launched an attack on Chen Yuchong, who appeared as fragile as a candle in the wind. His swordplay lacked the intricate malice of Yun Eleven’s; instead, he wielded a heavy Guandao—as one of the top twenty household guards, he had the privilege of requisitioning a weapon suited to his strength, regardless of its cost or rarity.

The Guandao, or Crescent Blade, owed its fame to a legendary warrior of history. Influenced by the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," it had become a popular symbol of strength among those who prided themselves on their martial prowess during the Ming Dynasty. Yun Thirteen raised the heavy blade high. Having swung it millions of times over countless days and nights, he knew how lightning-fast and unstoppable this cumbersome weapon could be in a downward strike. In the next moment, Chen Yuchong’s weathered head would be severed cleanly; with his skill, the strike would be precise, and blood would spray from the stump like a fountain.

A glimmer, like that of a predator seeing its prey take the bait, flashed in Chen Yuchong’s eyes.

His seemingly withered frame suddenly began to swell, and within moments, his muscles bulged. While it was true that Chen Yuchong no longer possessed any martial arts skills—whatever he had learned in his youth had long since dissipated during his years of madness and begging—this did not mean he lacked the means to protect himself.

Chen Yuchong was a scholar at heart; if he could master the intricacies of Western learning, he could certainly master the mysterious art of Gu-poisoning. He had nurtured a rare parasite within his liver—the "Drunken Immortal Gu." While it fed on blood, it preferred fine spirits. During his time exploring new directions for the Li Country Distillery, Chen had stumbled upon a byproduct of the Mao Town liquor formula: high-purity alcohol. This unexpected discovery gave him a hidden trump card.

Now, for the first time, he awakened the parasite that had fed on years of high-purity alcohol. A surge of immense heat flooded his body, instantly infusing the dying hero with boundless power. Chen Yuchong pushed off with one foot like a spring, launching himself forward, and fired "Violet" at Yun Thirteen.

Yun Thirteen blocked with his Guandao, but the immense force of the bullet sent him stumbling back several meters. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

*(If I hadn't lost a leg, my balance would be better; otherwise, I could have fired sooner, and that shot would have shattered Yun Thirteen’s entire chest,)* Chen thought. *(But that Yun Eleven, who was arrogant enough to face Kisskaby alone, will have to pay with his life today.)*

With a sharp metallic clang, An Miaotong and Cao Ruobing clashed. To be precise, Cao Ruobing had barely managed to parry her piercing dagger with his short sword. He suddenly regretted standing up.

In that heart-stopping moment, he had rolled across the ground, narrowly evading An Miaotong’s lethal strike. Realizing that movement on the ground made it difficult to target his vitals with precision, An Miaotong had opted to raise her pistol for another round of fire, only to be interrupted by Chen Yuchong’s "Violet."

However, as Cao Ruobing stood, he exposed several fatal weaknesses. Yet, this did not bother him, as he had simultaneously gained a favorable position to strike at An Miaotong’s own vitals. This would have held true had they been evenly matched, but An Miaotong’s close-quarters combat ability was truly terrifying.

She attacked again, delivering dozens of strikes in the blink of an eye. Cao Ruobing struggled to hold his ground, dodging most of the onslaught, until he felt a chilling sensation spreading across his body. As someone who killed and was often wounded, he knew exactly what this meant: his body had been carved with countless lacerations, and blood was now flowing from them in streams. He had become a man of blood.

A realization dawned on him: *I am about to be killed. The next strike will be my end.*

But the end he anticipated did not come. An Miaotong suddenly shifted her target, turning toward the giantess.

The giantess had Yun Eleven in her grasp; one hand held his head like an apple, the other gripped his feet like a strand of noodles. She was on the verge of tearing him in half. An Miaotong noticed that the giantess had undergone a dramatic transformation: her skin had turned green, her body had become even more massive, and her muscles resembled moss-covered rocks.

The giantess’s immense size was the result of absorbing excessive natural magic from the rainforest, which had also left her features as savage as a beast’s. This state, however, was merely a suppressed form. When she entered her berserker state, the surging natural magic granted her speed and strength many times greater than usual, while staining her skin a haunting, eerie green.