Stranger Danger

Chapter 454: Black Water Cavalry

At the northside of the city, a squad of Hengshan soldiers wielding heavy sabers were searching for Ye Qing. Some of them were dragging their blades across the floor and sending sparks everywhere.

Maybe it was because the boredom got to him, but one soldier suddenly spoke up, “Why do you guys think Ye Qing killed Lord Chu? Did he lose his mind or something?”

“It’s either that, or he’s plain stupid. Even if he wants the guy dead, he should have done it in a no man’s land. Instead, he killed him under broad daylight. If he’s not stupid, then who is?”

“I know right? Qing Emperor Junior my ass. His nickname sounds impressive, but we know now that he’s just a brainless idiot.”

“Shut up and stay alert. Ye Qing is no ordinary warrior. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if he snuck up on you and killed you.”

“I don’t know what you’re afraid of, captain. The whole city is surrounded by our army. There is no way Ye Qing can escape us even if he has three heads and six arms.”

“Yeah, captain. You worry too much.”

“Have you already forgotten about the general’s order? Never let your guard down no matter what. Also, do you want that three-rank promotion and ten thousand silver or not? Because you are not getting that reward the way you’re acting right now.”

“You must be joking, captain. Ye Qing is stupid, but he’s not that stupid. He knows that coming to the northside of the city is suicide. Brigade One and Two lucked out big time.”

“Did they? Promotion and money are great things, but what’s the point if you’re not alive to enjoy them? The Qing Emperor Junior is hardly a girl in the Beauty Pageant Palace, soft and easy to push down.”

“I get what you’re saying, but at least they have a shot at a better life. We don’t even get that choice. If I can kill Ye Qing, I don’t even want the three-rank promotion. I just want that ten thousand silver so I can build a wonderful family with a dozen beauties.”

“You and your loins. One day, you’re gonna die on top of a woman. As for me, I want that three-rank promotion. After all, money and women come easy when you’re an official.”

“Arrest this man, captain! He just admitted that he wants to become a corrupt official!”

The captain snorted. “Alright, enough with the crap. If you really want to get rich and get promoted, then focus on the job. With the way you guys are behaving, Ye Qing could bare his neck to you, and you’re still going to miss the target.”

Despite what he said, the captain himself didn’t believe that Ye Qing would show up in the northside of the city. It just didn’t make sense.

He was wrong. Just a few seconds later, he suddenly realized that his men hadn’t responded to his words. In fact, his surroundings were completely silent. Realizing something, he abruptly gripped his saber with both hands, drove his left foot into the ground, and unleashed a mighty horizontal sweep.

“Total Decimation”

The Wolf Battalion wore heavy armor and wielded a heavy saber and a heavy shield. What they lacked in mobility, they made up with sheer destructive power and immovability. The bottom half of their saber was narrow, and the top half was broad. It was a straight blade that was several times wider and heavier than the standard heng saber and Yanling saber. It could literally split open a rock assuming the soldier knew what he was doing.

“Total Decimation” was a technique the captain had practiced thousands of times during his training. Combined with his heavy saber, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he could cut down every soul within his range like grass.

However, the attack came to an abrupt stop when the saber had just reached the halfway point. It was because the blade was caught firmly between a pair of fingers.

The technique could’ve split a rock like butter, but the fingers had caught it so easily you would think that he was holding a weightless feather, not a heavy saber.

The captain blanched again when a young, smiling face entered his vision. He also noticed his four comrades staring blankly into the distance and doing nothing like puppets.

“Ye Qing?!” The captain gulped as the last drop of blood drained away from his face.

“You got it. I can’t give you a promotion or my silver, but I can give you a flame. Here you go.”

Ye Qing snapped his fingers, and the captain’s eyes glazed over just like the rest of the soldiers. Then, he burst into flames and crumbled into a pile of ash in the blink of an eye.

“You have quite the valuable head on your shoulders, don’t you boy?” A voice full of schadenfreude suddenly rang beside his ears. “A three-rank promotion and ten thousand silver? Tsk tsk...”

“It’s not my head that’s valuable. It’s Chu Qingli’s head and the Pacification Bureau’s reputation that’s valuable.”

“By the way, what are you doing coming here? I thought you were planning to escape from Tian Yong, but instead you ran to the east, the west and now the northside of the city? Have you finally gotten tired of living or something?” The Fog Demon asked.

At the beginning, Ye Qing purposely showed his face at the east side of the city. Then, he ran to the south. He thought Ye Qing was luring the Hengshan Army away so he would encounter less opposition when he made his great escape, but once again he purposely revealed himself to his enemies. Finally, he ran all the way to the north before the Hengshan Army could form an encirclement. Just what the hell was he thinking?

“It’s difficult for me to explain it in a way that you can understand,” Ye Qing said indifferently.

“I can tell you’re insulting me, boy!” The Fog Demon bubbled with displeasure. “You’re gonna regret it when I turn my back on you!”

“You don’t have a back,” Ye Qing retorted before asking, “Are you done controlling the four men yet? We’re wasting time here.”

“Are you kidding me? I might not be fully recovered, but it’s child’s play for me to control a couple of Vessel Augmentors,” The Fog Demon scoffed. “Speaking of which, why the hell am I controlling a bunch of useless trash? Why didn’t we just kill them and dispose of the body?”

Ye Qing replied calmly, “I have use for them, of course.”

Ye Qing began stripping off the captain’s heavy armor. Once he donned the armor, he morphed his body and assumed the man’s appearance.

“Ohh! I get it now! You’re planning to disguise yourself as a member of the Hengshan Army, infiltrate their headquarters, and slip through the northern gate!”

The Fog Demon exclaimed in realization, “That’s why you showed yourself in the east and south side of the city earlier! You wanted to trick them into thinking that you’re planning to escape through the eastern or southern gate and draw the majority of their forces to those locations. They wouldn’t think that you would dare to leave through the northern gate, so this is your opportunity to leave through the northern gate while they are undermanned!”

“If you say so,” Ye Qing replied smilingly but didn’t confirm the Fog Demon’s theory.

“You can’t hide your plans from me! I’m the Fog Demon of the Nine Nethers!” The Fog Demon declared proudly before a question hit him. “But wait, why are you subverting this squad when you can just disguise yourself and infiltrate their base alone? It would be easier, and it would be less likely for you to expose yourself, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. The Hengshan Army usually operates in a five-man squad, and they are never apart from each other barring exceptional circumstances. This is the iron law of the Hengshan Army. Had I operated alone, they would most likely notice that something is amiss,” Ye Qing explained. This was why he killed only the captain and left the other four soldiers alive.

At first, he was able to slip past multiple companies with his movement art, his ability to change his appearance, and his ability to conceal his aura with ease. He was hoping that Plan A—getting out of Tian Yong before the Hengshan Army or the Harmony King’s men could react—would work.

Unfortunately, he quickly found that he had underestimated the Hengshan Army’s control over Tian Yong. In less than half a teatime, they had set up all sorts of roadblocks in various key locations. They carefully vetted everyone who passed through these roadblocks and started a city-wide search at the same time.

This meant that it was impossible to leave Tian Yong city via normal means. He would have to find some other way. Currently, his Plan B was to masquerade as a member of the Hengshan Army and escape from right under their noses.

“Let’s go. Just make them follow me and don’t try anything. Leave the acting to me.”

After he was ready, Ye Qing openly appeared on the street and walked toward the northern gate. To avoid drawing suspicion, he pretended to search the surrounding area thoroughly before moving onto the next area. Slowly but surely, he was able to get closer to his destination while passing through several roadblocks unhindered.

“Halt! Which brigade do you belong to?”

Ye Qing had just passed through a roadblock when a guard of cavalrymen showed up and blocked his path. They numbered around one hundred and twenty five men.

The cavalrymen wore heavy armor with leopard heads on the shoulder area, and their faces were covered by masks. The Scale Horses they rode were also covered in thick, black-colored scale armor. Sparks flew when their hoofs smashed against the floor.

The Scale Horse was a Red-class Stranger that was shaped like a horse, but instead of fur, they were covered in thick scale armor that were shaped like fish scales. In terms of toughness, the scales could rival that of metal. It galloped as swift as the wind, and it was one of the rare Strangers that could be tamed.

That said, the success rate of taming a Scale Horse was mind-bogglingly low, so low that the Black Water Cavalry of the Leopard Battalion was the only brigade in the entire Hengshan Army that had Scale Horses as mounts.

The Black Water Cavalry was given its name because they wore black armor, wore black masks, and rode the black Scale Horses. When they mounted a charge, it was like a tide of black water washing over the land and dyeing everything black. Hence the name.

Clearly, the guard of cavalrymen before him belonged to the Black Water Cavalry.

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