Chapter 597: The duck that was almost in my mouth flew away [Seeking monthly votes]
Why not?
He practically yelled as he replied.
Xu Quan was furious at his lord's shamelessness. Not only did he strike first, but he also blatantly tried to steal his military merits and head!
He would have jumped up and down if it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, but his hurried rebuttal made him seem more guilty: "A real man doesn't have the word 'can't' in his life!" Regardless of the consequences, he was determined to win over his target before his lord could steal her away.
Previously, Xu Quan had been somewhat dismissive, but now he was completely serious, his expression focused, his killing intent surging, and he stopped spouting nonsense. Outsiders wouldn't notice much change, but his opponent, the enemy general/martial artist, felt a significant increase in pressure. Xu Quan's martial prowess was already higher than his, his fighting style was more effective at countering his, and he also had the full support of the Literary Spirit...
The gap between the two was thus widened.
What caught him even more off guard was Xu Quan's other skill: one moment he was wielding a spear, the next a long axe, displaying eighteen different weapon techniques. His moves were unpredictable and his attacks were cunning and treacherous, making them impossible to defend against.
Under normal circumstances, a martial artist will specialize in one weapon, such as Bai Su's twin swords, Lu Ji's heavy hammer, or Zhao Wei's spear, focusing on mastering it. Only when they have extra energy will they slightly learn about common battlefield weapons such as spears, halberds, bows, and arrows to deal with special situations.
Being a jack-of-all-trades is not as good as mastering one.
Mastering a weapon requires a great deal of energy, and human energy is limited. Even if one wants to master multiple weapons, it's something one would only do when they're older, have reached a plateau in their martial arts, and have plenty of free time. Learning more weapons means having more secret weapons to rely on. Someone like Xu Quan, who does this at such a young age, is one in a million martial arts masters.
Undoubtedly, his shrewd maneuvers completely disrupted the enemy generals' rhythm, leaving them wide open and giving Xu Quan a perfect opportunity.
The next strike will be fatal!
Xu Quan seemed to foresee the moment when the tip of his spear would smoothly pierce the opponent's heart, but as soon as he made his move, he sensed something was wrong.
The spear tip pierced through the person.
But the one who was pierced was a lowly soldier in cloth armor.
The other person's blood-stained face still showed signs of shock.
Xu Quan: "..."
He was also quite surprised.
Xu Quan holstered his gun: "Where is he?"
He's about to get his hands on such a large head!
Xu Quan looked around but couldn't see the target anywhere. It didn't seem like the target was planning a sneak attack; it seemed to have vanished into thin air.
He remained on the spot, alert for several breaths.
They only stopped when they were sure the other party was truly gone.
Although the clash of martial energy from his battle with the enemy generals had cleared a space, preventing any lowly soldiers from daring to get close and launch a sneak attack, he couldn't just stand there dumbfounded waiting for the enemy to appear. Frustrated and looking utterly annoyed, he picked up his spear and vented his anger on a lowly soldier.
This unit was already a demoralized and depleted force, and then Shen Tang ambushed and killed their commander, leaving them without their leader and commander. This caused their already scattered formation to completely collapse. Unable to mount a fighting force, they could only sit and wait for their doom.
The remaining enemy troops scattered and fled.
The battle between the two sides quickly came to an end.
At this moment, Shen Tang used the blade of his sword to lift the blood-stained head of the enemy general, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and leaned over to watch Xu Quan's spectacle.
With hands on hips and a smile, he asked, "Wen Shi, where's that man's head?"
Xu Quan's face turned pale and then flushed as he was questioned.
It took him a long time to finally manage to utter a sentence.
"They've escaped!"
The cooked duck actually flew away!
Frustrating!
He had no idea how the other party had flown! Without warning! He hadn't detected any unusual fluctuations in literary or martial energy, and had no chance to intercept. Xu Quan was considered experienced among the younger generation, but he had never seen anything like it. It was truly bizarre!
"You can run away in this situation?"
Shen Tang's question was like a knife to Xu Quan's heart.
"It is because this humble general is incompetent." If someone runs away, they run away; if someone is less skilled, they are less skilled. Martial arts masters only care about their battle record and strength.
Xu Quan made no attempt to defend himself.
Shen Tang stopped joking: "You can't be blamed for this. People don't just disappear into thin air. Judging from the situation, it must be the other party's scholar who's causing trouble."
Liao Jia came over with a red umbrella.
"It must be a 'transplantation' by enemy literati."
After the battle began, Shen Tang withdrew from the shelter from the rain.
He was prepared to avoid getting soaked.
Xu Quan: "Impossible, I didn't feel anything at the time..."
If he senses something is wrong, he won't let the other party have their way.
"Didn't you notice the rain has lessened?" Liao Jia pointed to the sky, gesturing for Xu Quan to look up. "When the rain was heavier earlier, did you notice the hidden literary energy in the rain? That's why we couldn't detect when the other side used their incantation to save that general."
From the very beginning, I was enveloped in the other person's refined and cultured aura.
It would be difficult for Xu Quan to discover this.
"Enemy scribes?"
"Why was this person not spotted during the confrontation?"
Liao Jia couldn't answer this question either.
I guess they've retreated somewhere to save their lives?
But the seriously injured eighth-class passenger and the mysterious scholar whose background was unknown... Liao Jia glanced sideways and saw that his lord was quite composed, showing no anger, and instead smiled and said, "At least we've regained some face this time, and slapped Qiu Wenyan hard. If we don't retaliate and teach him a lesson, he'll really think the grain that I, Shen Youli, bought for free is delicious! I'll choke him to death!"
Is the new grain tasty?
Each grain was stained with the blood of his generals!
The thought of the common people who perished in the fires of Nanyu County filled her with rage. Tonight was just the beginning; in a couple of days, she would lead her troops to raze Sibao County to the ground! Shen Tang turned to Liao Jia and said, "Shao Mei, take stock of the battlefield casualties."
As the sun rose in the east, the rain subsided.
Finally, it turned into a gentle drizzle.
The post-war cleanup was also coming to an end.
Hiding under the stolen red umbrella, Shen Tang took a couple of bites of the homemade flatbread to fill his stomach. Seeing that Xu Quan wasn't in high spirits, he shared one with him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with the typical bandit's swagger: "We'll never lack battles in the future, and we'll have plenty of heads!"
Xu Quan remained silent.
"A real man doesn't live a hundred years without the word 'can't'!" Shen Tang disliked the cumbersome and heavy armor, so he had already taken off half of it and used the helmet as a temporary stool. He stretched out his legs wide and even used the heels of his boots to play with puddles.
Xu Quan: "..."
He just needs to be quiet now _(:з)∠)_
I need to take some time to reflect on last night's defeat.
Sometimes, the lord is even more talkative than him.
Just as he finished complaining to himself, he saw Qi Shan walking over.
Upon seeing Shen Tang's appearance, the latter's previously kind expression immediately turned hostile, just like everyone else's: "My lord."
His voice was low and hoarse.
Shen Tang suddenly shivered, the devilish whisper from Qi Shan not long ago echoing in her mind—
[Sink! Young! Pear!]
It had been a long time since Qi Shan had called her by her full name.
"Hehe, Yuanliang."
She chose to play dumb.
Trying to get away with being cute.
Qi Shan, who had been holding his breath just a second ago, sighed helplessly the next moment and said, "Does my lord know where we went wrong last night?"
Even the mighty lion and tiger should never tie their own hands and feet.
This is no different from crippling oneself.
Shen Tang is brave enough to admit her mistakes and correct them.
Feigning pitifulness, he pointed his sword to the sky and swore in a resounding tone: "I was wrong, Yuanliang. I shouldn't have deliberately delayed in order to play a little longer. Next time, I will definitely respect my opponent and not dare to be careless in the slightest. Please forgive me this time."
Qi Shan: "..."
Shen Tang noticed that his face had darkened further.
She asked cautiously, "Is...something wrong?"
Qi Shan gritted his teeth: "No, it is a blessing for your future opponents that my lord has such awareness. There is nothing wrong with that."
(ω)
Yuanliang's telepathic message refers to the three characters "Shen Youli".
The impact is roughly equivalent to your homeroom teacher/parent calling you by your full name... that's pretty scary.
(End of this chapter)
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