The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 214 - 26: Assassinating Xie Lang (Part 1)

Chapter 214: Chapter 26: Assassinating Xie Lang (Part 1)

The warm afternoon sun shone upon a narrow path through the woods, with sunlight filtering through the dense leaves and casting patches of light onto the ground.

Beside the path, a group of people were resting at that moment. The thick dust on the carriage’s axle indicated that they had traveled quite a distance.

"Milord," a lady dressed in plain blue clothes approached gracefully. Although her clothes were simple, the noble aura she radiated clearly indicated her extraordinary status.

Or rather, her once extraordinary status.

The middle-aged man, referred to as ’milord’ by the noble lady, saw her approaching yet buried his head and sighed, seemingly ashamed to face her.

The noble lady was aware of her husband’s mindset and simply sat silently by his side, keeping him company.

After a long while, the middle-aged man spoke gloomily, "In a moment, you, Zhou, and Yongsi should go ahead. I will follow shortly."

"It’s alright, milord," the noble lady held her husband’s hand, "We’ve been safe all along, there’s no need for this."

Though she spoke thus, the trembling of her hands revealed the fear in her heart. The middle-aged man held his wife’s hand, offering her a sense of security, and he sighed deeply, "I fear that there are those who will not let Xie Lang go!"

The middle-aged man was none other than Xie Lang, the former Eastern Sea Naval Commander who, several months ago, had permitted a large number of Japanese into the Central Plains. Now he was no longer the Water Army Admiral. After the incident, he was dismissed from his position. If not for Zhao Zhonglin sacrificing his life as atonement, Xie Lang would likely already be in Heavenly Prison, awaiting execution after autumn.

"I thought it was a minor issue, but who could have expected it to be a grievous crime that led to the extermination of my family? The old general has misled me!"

Xie Lang, just over forty and in the prime of his life, was at the peak of his career. As a Divine Origin Realm martial artist at the peak of his career, barring any mishaps, he could have maintained his splendid prospects for decades more.

Alas, now everything had turned to dust and his future prospects were utterly lost. Furthermore, he was about to lose even more.

A cool breeze brushed against Xie Lang’s face, bringing a slight chill.

"Murderous intent," Xie Lang suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "Be careful."

Though the murderous intent hidden in the shadows was secretive, it couldn’t escape the perception of Xie Lang, a Divine Origin Realm martial artist. In fact, if he hadn’t been in a state of despondency, he would have detected it much earlier.

Realizing it now meant that the assassins hiding in the dark had reached the moment of action.

"Thump—"

"Thump—

"Whoosh—"

······

The sound of bowstrings was unceasing, followed by the sound of crossbow arrows piercing through the air.

A dense flurry of crossbow arrows flew from the woods on both sides of the narrow path.

Xie Lang waved his large sleeves, filled with True Qi, sweeping left and right to deflect the incoming crossbow arrows and protect his wife.

"Boom—"

Unexpectedly, upon being swept away by Xie Lang’s sleeves, the crossbow arrows exploded instantly, covering Xie Lang and his wife in a multitude of fiery bursts from the exploding arrows.

These crossbow arrows were not ordinary. The crossbow was the "Divine Fire Crossbow," and the arrows were "Fierce Yang Arrows," both originating from Qing Yu’s memories of the Fire Dragon inherited from Ning Bukong. The arrows were filled with gunpowder, set to explode upon a forceful impact at the arrowhead.

The air was thick with smoke, dispersed by gusts of True Qi rising from the vicinity. Xie Lang, being a master of the Divine Origin Realm, was not one to be easily killed by such firearms.

However, Xie Lang was a Divine Origin Realm master, but the others were not. Realizing this, Xie Lang’s face drastically changed.

"Ah—" From the nearby cloud of smoke, a scream of agony could be heard.

"Zhou!" Xie Lang recognized it; it was his son’s scream.

In this escape, aside from Xie Lang and his wife, there were his son Xie Zhou, and a distant nephew, Geng Yongsi, who had been living with the Xie Family since childhood, as close to them as family.

Geng Yongsi, who had joined the military with Xie Lang, was also a fierce warrior, certainly not one to worry about being injured by the crossbow arrows. Yet, Xie Zhou, as the true descendant of an official, lived a different lifestyle. With Xie Lang occupied with military affairs all year round, he had no time to look after him; thus, although Xie Zhou knew martial arts, his skills were mediocre at best, making him a case of the proverbial apple falling far from the tree.

Anxious about his son’s condition, Xie Lang carried his wife, channeled his True Qi to protect them both, and swept away the crossbow arrows along the path as he rushed towards where Geng Yongsi and Xie Zhou were located.

In a short distance, in the blink of an eye, Xie Lang used the gusts to disperse the smoke from the explosion. Yet, the sight that met his eyes nearly split them with rage.

Xie Zhou’s right arm was completely blown off below the shoulder by the explosives in the firearm, the wound charred black, blood ongoingly streaming from it. It seemed that a "Fierce Yang Arrow" had hit right below his arm and exploded, severing the limb from his body.

"This is too much!" Witnessing the grievous state of his son, Xie Lang’s anger burned fiercely, his True Qi inadvertently shattering his hairpin.

Yet, how could it matter how furious he was? Geng Yongsi, barely managing to protect Xie Zhou, was clearly unable to assist Xie Lang in freeing his wife and child to deal with the assassins in the woods.

With two burdens to protect, even Xie Lang, capable of charging into the woods to exterminate all assassins, was forced to stay put to safeguard the lives of his family.

"Boom—"

A fierce explosive sound, far more powerful than the "Fierce Yang Arrow" shook the area. As Xie Lang once again swept away a flurry of crossbow arrows, he failed to notice a hidden Fire Dragon near him, which exploded on proximity.

The power of the Fire Dragon was not something the Fierce Yang Arrow could compare to. Caught off guard by the explosion, Xie Lang’s defenses were breached. He was relatively unharmed, but his wife was severely affected by the close-range blast residual effects, bleeding from all openings, barely clinging to life.

"My wife!!" With a lonely wolf’s howl, Xie Lang’s heart ached profoundly. Following his son’s severe injury, seeing his wife nearing death drove the already regret-tormented Xie Lang into total madness.

"Yongsi, protect your aunt and your brother."

Xie Lang finally realized that if things dragged on, his wife and child would eventually die. It was better to take a chance now to see if the assassins could break through Geng Yongsi’s defense, or whether Xie Lang could reach them first, or perhaps eliminate them all.

With a murderous air, he swept into the woods. A crazed Divine Origin Realm master was formidable. Every Exorcism Sword Guard he encountered was slain in a blink, leaving no survivors.

"Ga ga ga..." A grating laughter echoed as four blood-colored figures attacked from the trees surrounding them.

Their Floating Ribbons spread like wings, allowing them to change positions in mid-air, with eerie movement techniques akin to predatory blood-sucking bats, hunting their prey.

Yet, a Divine Origin Realm master was not mere prey to be hunted; he was more like a tiger waiting for the prey to come.

Raising a hand, flipping his palm, he killed. Effortlessly, like plucking an object from a bag, Xie Lang took the life of a Blood Bat Guard with a flip of his palm.

"Use the Forbidden Technique," shouted Blood Bat No.6.

The remaining three Blood Bat Guards simultaneously used "Blood Sacrifice to Heaven," burning their essence blood and continuously raising their True Qi.

The Blood Bat Guards, practitioners of the "Bat Blood Technique," used blood to nourish blood, which compared to ordinary martial artists, gave them much more essence blood to burn. Naturally, the effect of their forbidden technique was significantly enhanced.

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