Chapter 132: Chapter 132
Wu Qiu immediately took one pill each for herself and Shi Dong. Their bodies, crushed by fear and despair, once again surged with strength. Seeing that they both knew what to do, the little girl walked toward the Masked Soldiers, shouting loudly, “If you dare get up again after I’ve beaten you down, then you can only die!”
“You brat, don’t be so arrogant! Let me, Tong Lei, deal with you!”
A squad leader spurred his horse toward the little girl. He seemed to possess a Token that could instantly drive his mount to its maximum speed. In just five or six steps, the horse was already at full gallop, as though it could crush everything in its path!
Seeing that crossbow bolts could not harm the little girl, the squad leader, Tong Lei, naturally realized she was a Messenger possessing a Defensive Token. Thus, his strike was utterly unreserved. The long spear in his right hand was already prepared; even if the little girl tried to dodge, he could still pierce her through with its tip!
The horses used by the Masked Soldiers were all tall and powerful. Once mounted, the soldiers stood nearly nine feet high. With both horse and rider armored, their charge resembled a war chariot. Compared to that, the little girl’s body was frail and small. Even the long sword in her hand, nearly as tall as she was, looked like a mere toothpick in contrast.
Faced with such a fierce offensive, the little girl did not evade. Instead, she took the initiative to meet it head-on. But since she had a Defensive Token, she would not be trampled into pulp—at worst, she would be knocked flying… Wu Qiu and Shi Dong could not help but narrow their eyes, unable to bear watching what seemed like a moth throwing itself into the flame.
Just as the two were about to collide, the little girl suddenly leapt up. Her long sword sliced through the air like a hot knife through tofu. In an instant, the warhorse—armor, head, and all—was cleaved apart. The sword’s momentum did not stop there; it struck precisely at Tong Lei’s neck, knocking him clean off his horse and slamming him heavily into the ground!
If not for his Masked Helmet Token, that strike alone would have taken Tong Lei’s head. Even so, he was in unbearable pain—his head spinning, and vomit flowed out through the slits of his mask.
“It cut through refined iron armor with one strike—could it be the power of a Rare Longsword?”
“How can someone so young already be a Messenger? Could she not be a child, but a dwarf instead?”
The Masked Soldiers’ attention was all drawn to the Rare Longsword, while within the battlefield, the expressions of Medicine Master Wen and Helan Que subtly changed—hers to excitement, his to grimness.
Though neither took their eyes off their duel, both instantly sensed the little girl’s true strength: a Second-Stage Messenger!
The surge of Vital Energy and Blood that erupted from her just now was undeniably at Second-Stage level. With both a Defensive Token and a Rare Longsword, even the two Second-Stage Tooth Generals following Helan Que likely were no match for her!
Indeed, it was so. Surrounded and attacked from all directions by the Masked Soldiers, the little girl displayed combat techniques far beyond her apparent age. Her small frame made her a hard target, and she moved with agile precision, cutting down soldiers and horses alike with ease.
The air was filled with the sounds of battle—screams, roars, neighs. The maids following her were splattered again and again with hot blood as the Masked Soldiers and their mounts fell around them.
The little girl never neglected their safety. Any soldier who dared strike toward the maids found the blue glow on her sword flare blindingly bright, her speed so fast she became an afterimage. One thrust, and the Masked Soldier’s throat was pierced—his Masked Helmet and all.
“Impossible! How could the Masked Helmet not withstand it—” Thıs text ıs hosted at novel·fire·net
“She’s a Second-Stage Messenger! Her sword too—a Second-Stage Rare!”
In the span of just a few paces, over a dozen headless warhorses had collapsed. Boiling horse blood soaked the dirt road, and Wu Qiu and Shi Dong stepped as though walking on a crimson carpet. Watching the little girl carve a bloody path ahead, they felt as if trapped in a dream—they even began to suspect that this young girl might be the incarnation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, for nothing else could explain how she could be so young, yet so powerful.
The Masked Soldiers rode ahead to string their steel crossbows, preparing for ranged combat.
Their warhorses, trembling in fear, refused to approach her—and neither did they.
The little girl meant what she said: anyone who rose again after being felled by her was immediately struck down, their throats pierced, blood flooding their masks and bubbling through the holes. Though called Masked Soldiers and squad leaders, outside their military town they carried at most one or two Tokens—common First-Stage ones. How could they contend with a Second-Stage Messenger?
The two Tooth Generals hesitated on the periphery. Their horses had already been slain, and they knew that if they dared face her head-on, that blazing thrust of hers would surely be meant for them.
As the personal guards of the Lord of Heyang Commandery, their Defensive Tokens were of Rare grade—but could they truly block a Second-Stage Rare Longsword? They dared not be sure. Safer, they thought, to wear her down from afar with crossbows.
Yet the little girl had her own solution. Taking Wu Qiu and Shi Dong, she entered the nearby woods, cutting through the thickets with her sword to clear a path.
The Tooth Generals immediately sensed danger. Once she slipped into the brush, she could crouch low and let the trees block their line of sight. Unless the Masked Soldiers followed in, they would not even see her! But if they did advance—who would dare face her thrust?
“Are you fools? Cut the legs of those two maids!” Helan Que, catching a glimpse of the scene, saw his precious bait about to be rescued. Furious, he shouted an order—only to be forced back by Medicine Master Wen in the next instant.
The Tooth Generals had thought the same, only hesitating for fear of killing the maids outright and defying Helan Que’s earlier command. Now that they had his order, their hesitation vanished. They directed the Masked Soldiers to spread out and form several firing lines, aiming at the maids’ legs from all directions.
Relying on the Vital Energy and Blood of First-Stage Messengers, the Masked Soldiers reloaded their crossbows quickly. For a moment, the little girl was forced to shield the maids again and again, slowing her pace through the brush.
It seemed the little girl and her companions were being pinned down—but Helan Que knew the hunt was already on the verge of failure: the bolts were limited! The Masked Soldiers never carried many—two quivers apiece, twenty bolts in total.
Could those bolts truly exhaust the little girl’s Spirit Energy?
Helan Que wasn’t certain—and he dared not gamble. He realized he could not afford the price of failure.
He had always overestimated Medicine Master Wen, yet even so he had underestimated the quiet daughter of the Duke of Jin. At forty-nine years old, nearly thirty her senior, his martial skill was still not superior. It was as if his decades of life had been wasted. Without his Tokens and superior Vital Energy, he might not have been able to subdue her at all!
If Medicine Master Wen escaped and turned into a Demon-Path renegade, she would start as a Third-Stage powerhouse. After a decade or two of accumulation, even reaching Foundation without a Foundation Pill was possible. Though the Demon Path was perilous and resources scarce, the thought of such an enemy was enough to keep the Helan Family sleepless.
He had to eliminate Medicine Master Wen!
Helan Que made up his mind. He suddenly withdrew from the battle circle and shouted, “Dong Cai, Li Gu! Take your men and hold Medicine Master Wen—I’ll deal with that insolent little girl!”
Us, against a Third-Stage Messenger? A cornered, near-mad Third-Stage one at that?
Dong Cai and Li Gu knew this was a mission of near-certain death. But Helan Que was their benefactor. Without him, how could they have become powerful Second-Stage Tooth Generals? They had no choice but to grit their teeth and obey.
“Helan Que, you beast who married your niece’s mother—running already!?” Medicine Master Wen roared from behind, trying to break through the encirclement. But the two Tooth Generals, fearless of death, blocked her path, tangling her in combat.
Helan Que ignored her entirely. Even words could not provoke Medicine Master Wen; why would he be swayed? Fixing his eyes on the little girl in the brush, he realized he had never seen her before. Her clothing did not resemble the styles of the Zhou Kingdom, but rather those of the Great Liang.
Who was she? How could someone so young possess such strength? And what consequences would there be if he killed her?
Countless thoughts flashed through Helan Que’s mind, but his hands did not hesitate. He gripped his spear tightly, the shaft glowing gold—it was a Third-Stage Marvel-Class Long Spear!
The Helan Family stood with Duke Chu Luoyan of Wei Kingdom. Medicine Master Wen was already their mortal enemy. If this girl had powerful origins, it was even more imperative to prevent her from allying with Wen!
Helan Que took a deep breath; muscles on his shoulders, arms, and back bulged like centipedes as his Vital Energy and Blood surged violently—he had activated a life-consuming secret art!
Secret Art: Spear Forest!
Countless spear shadows burst forth, pressing down like a forest of steel toward the little girl! This move was not only devastating but wide-ranged; even if the girl dodged, he could strike the maids behind her.
Yet the little girl did not dodge. She gripped her sword tightly and charged forward—facing the full might of a Third-Stage Messenger head-on!
Medicine Master Wen’s heart sank at the sight. From their earlier duel, she knew Helan Que’s strength. If he fully unleashed his Marvel-Class Spear with his secret art, even she would have to avoid its edge. As one of Zhou Kingdom’s top Third-Stage Messengers, his full strike was already close to the Foundation level.
Even if the little girl’s Defensive Token could block the blow—how much Spirit Energy would she have left for the rest of the battle?
In the end, it was still her own weakness. If only I had the Heaven-Reliant Sword… if only I had performed better that night… if only I…
A sharp metallic cry rang out. Helan Que suddenly staggered backward from the brush, his face filled with disbelief. As Medicine Master Wen and the Masked Soldiers looked over, everyone froze—their gazes drawn to the little girl’s hands.
More precisely, to the pair of ancient, ornate gauntlets glowing with an orange hue, carved with sacred patterns.
“Legendary Gauntlets.” Helan Que’s grip trembled, pain searing his palms. “Who are you?”
After all the words spoken, all the deaths, all the bodies left behind—they finally learned the little girl’s name:
“I am the Rabbit Heroine.”