Chapter 818 The Death of Dark Soul (First Update)
Dark Soul's power was both fast and ruthless; although it lacked a longbow, it was still much faster than ordinary hidden weapons.
The archer noticed the expert's actions; the arrow, seemingly aimed at the eunuch beside him, would actually also injure him.
But the arrow was too fast!
There's no escaping it!
The archer froze in place, stunned.
Gu Jiao grabbed him and darted to the side!
Two arrows shot past the roof where the two had been crouching, carrying terrifying force, and embedded themselves in the eaves behind, shearing a piece off the eaves!
The archer swallowed hard at the sight, unable to imagine that if it hadn't been for the eunuch's quick reaction, it would have been his head that was chopped off.
Dark Soul's main objective was to rescue Han Shi. The two arrows he just shot were both a warning to Gu Jiao and a way to buy time for his own rescue.
He stopped arguing with Gu Jiao and, with Han Shi under the escort of Han Fu and others, broke through the encirclement.
Gu Jiao wouldn't let him leave so easily!
The three-year-long internal strife in the dream was instigated by the Han family, but Dark Soul also played a significant role. Many aristocratic families attempted to assassinate the Han family, but all of them failed because of Dark Soul's obstruction.
To kill the Han family, we must first deal with Dark Soul!
Gu Jiao grabbed the longbow: "Give me the quiver!"
"Yes!" The archer immediately handed the quiver on his back to Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao grabbed the quiver and quickly ran from the rooftop in the direction where Han Shi and An Hun had left.
The archer suddenly realized, "Wait, what did I mean by saying 'yes'?"
He's just a lowly eunuch, how could I possibly obey his orders?
And he obediently handed over his bow and arrows?
Hey—watch your step!
Damn it!
What he really meant was—Give it back to me, grandpa!
Why does it change when it's almost on the tip of your tongue?
On the ground, large armies from the Commandant's Office and the Wang family poured in continuously. It was not easy for An Hun to lead Han Shi. Once he used his lightness skill to take off, he was exposed to Gu Jiao like a live target.
At first, An Hun did not realize how accurate Gu Jiao's archery was. Unexpectedly, when he used his lightness skill to move for the first time, Gu Jiao shot an arrow through his sleeve!
Anhun frowned and suddenly struck Gu Jiao with a palm before she could fire her second arrow.
Gu Jiao had anticipated his retaliation, and immediately dodged after firing the first arrow, without firing a second one.
That's what I mean by anticipating your prediction.
Gu Jiao rolled on the rooftop, seemingly dodging, but in reality, she secretly drew back her bowstring. The instant she knelt down on one knee to steady herself, the arrow in her hand left the bowstring and suddenly struck one of Han's trusted men!
He screamed and fell to the ground. The guards from the Imperial Guards in front of him turned around at the sound and realized that the man was holding a sword and had clearly intended to ambush them.
He glanced at the little eunuch on the roof who had saved his life, nodded gratefully, and then threw himself even more vigorously into the fight against the enemy.
Gu Jiao continued her pursuit of Dark Soul.
In terms of martial arts, Gu Jiao, who had not yet recovered her full strength, was no match for An Hun. However, Gu Jiao's archery skills were superb, and even the powerful An Hun was suppressed by Gu Jiao's archery skills.
This was something Dark Soul hadn't anticipated.
I thought he was just a rising star among the Black Wind Camp cavalry, but I never expected him to be a naturally gifted archer.
This kid... seems born for the battlefield!
Dark Soul stopped jumping up and becoming a live target for Gu Jiao; he led the Han family and fought his way out from the ground.
If Gu Jiao can't kill him, she'll kill Han's trusted confidants.
As Han Fu fought, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong. However, when he turned around, all of Han family's trusted confidants surrounding him had been shot dead!
Han Fu's first reaction was, "Are the Wang family's archers really that good? If I had known, the Han family should have kept the archery battalion under their control back then!"
However, the next second he discovered that the person who shot so many of Han family's trusted men was not an archer from the Wang family, but the little eunuch who escorted the king into the palace!
Sweat dripped down, washing away the disguise on Gu Jiao's face.
Han Fu noticed the red birthmark on her left cheek, and his eyes widened in surprise: "Xiao Liulang!"
As a confidant of the Han family, he was furious at the new commander who had taken over the Black Wind Camp. He had not only seen the person in person during the selection process, but had also seen Gu Jiao's portrait in private.
This kid is a nightmare for the Han family!
After Han Fu wounded one of the imperial guards with a single sword strike, he planned to leap across rooftops and walls to chase after Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao ignored him.
He wasn't her opponent.
Wang Xu lunged forward, blocking Han Fu with his sword: "You, surnamed Han, don't even think about escaping!"
Han Fu was tightly entangled by Wang Xu and unable to break free. The two clashed swords and soon began a bloody battle.
The Imperial Guards of the Commandant's Office, together with the archer battalion of the Wang family, almost completely overwhelmed the Imperial Guards led by Han Fu.
Gu Jiao wasn't worried about the situation in the palace. She went straight after An Hun and Han Shi in the direction they had fled.
She chased after him out of the palace, where the Black Wind King was already waiting. She grabbed the reins and nimbly leaped onto her horse.
Black Wind King chased after Dark Soul's aura at breakneck speed. Instead of plunging into the bustling streets, Dark Soul turned into a sparsely populated old street.
While it may seem like a poor hiding place, the open roads actually make it easier to escape.
When Gu Jiao chased them to the outside of an abandoned winery, both she and Black Wind King clearly sensed an unusual murderous aura.
Gu Jiao tightened the reins, and the two of them stopped in perfect unison.
It was very quiet all around; even the wind seemed to have stopped. Gu Jiao could clearly hear her own breathing and that of the Black Wind King.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the east. Gu Jiao quickly drew her bow and arrow, aimed at the east, and then shot it at a thatched roof in the southeast!
A figure suddenly flew out from behind the roof; it was none other than Dark Soul!
A hint of surprise flashed in Dark Soul's eyes: "Boy, you didn't fall for the trap! Your archery skills are truly impressive! Why don't you kneel down and kowtow to me, call me master, and I'll give up my life!"
Gu Jiao drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it on the bowstring: "I think you're the one who should be kowtowing!"
"You've been spouting nonsense, take this!"
Dark Soul spread his arms and leaped into the air, his black robe billowing in the wind, like a bloodthirsty bat, attacking Gu Jiao without mercy.
Gu Jiao sat on the horse without flinching.
A look of surprise flashed in Anhun's eyes, but he did not stop. Just as he was about to send Gu Jiao flying with a single palm strike, a fist suddenly appeared from behind Gu Jiao and met Anhun's palm strike head-on.
Dark Soul's arm went numb, his brow furrowed, and he landed outside the winery gate with a backflip.
When he saw the other person's face clearly, he snorted coldly, unsurprisingly: "It's you again!"
Long Yi stood in front of Gu Jiao, looking at him expressionlessly.
Dark Soul sneered, "You really don't remember anything, not even me." He looked at Gu Jiao and then said to Long Yi again, "Don't be fooled by these people. You and I are on the same side. I'm your senior brother. If I were you, I would obediently go back and apologize for your failed mission back then."
"Get out of my way and don't interfere. I can pretend you haven't colluded with the Zhao people all these years. I won't expose you when we get back."
Long Yi didn't move aside.
Dark Soul's eyes darkened: "Looks like you're going to have to suffer the consequences! Do you really think I can't beat you? You underestimate me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly activated the internal energy within his body.
Gu Jiao was particularly sensitive to the aura of the assassins. She could clearly feel that Dark Soul's aura was much stronger than before. How could it have improved so quickly in just a few days?
While it's true that the assassin grows stronger through repeated destruction and rebirth, the extent to which he became powerful was astonishing.
Is it related to the comfrey poisoning he suffered from in the past?
If that's the case, then Long Yi will be at a disadvantage.
In recent years, Anhun has engaged in numerous life-or-death duels to improve his skills, but Long Yi has not had such opportunities in Zhao Kingdom.
As expected, Dark Soul clearly had the upper hand in this round of confrontation.
In order to end the battle quickly, Dark Soul drew his sword, and Long Yi also drew his sword in response.
This was the first time Gu Jiao had seen Long Yi draw his sword. The two were indeed worthy of being fellow disciples, their swordsmanship was exactly the same, both focusing on fast swordsmanship. Often, before one move was even finished, another move had already followed.
Gu Jiao's eyes darted around so fast she could hardly keep up: "Such fast swordsmanship!"
Judging from the exchange of blows alone, Dark Soul had the upper hand in both moves and internal energy.
Dark Soul slashed at Long Yi's left arm with his sword. Long Yi swung his sword to block it. Dark Soul coldly said, "I have been diligently practicing martial arts all these years, thinking that if you are not dead, I will defeat you fair and square!"
After saying that, he kicked Long Yi in the stomach, but he missed and instead Long Yi drew his sword and slashed his arm.
Dark Soul frowned, looked at the blood flowing from his left upper arm, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I was really careless."
Gu Jiao deliberately provoked him, saying, "What do you mean by being careless? You just can't beat Long Yi! What's the use of all those years of hard training? You still can't beat the amnesiac Shi Tian!"
Dark Soul was hit where it hurt, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost got hit by Long Yi's sword again.
He roared, "You brat! Shut up!"
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and said, "You can't say you can't beat them? Then you might as well not fight at all, just tuck your tail between your legs and leave obediently! Wait until you go back and train for another ten or eight years, and see if you can barely manage a draw with Long Yi? I reckon it'll still be a bit difficult!"
Dark Soul is a proud and arrogant assassin. He has lived his whole life in the shadow of Shitian. Shitian is his obsession. He cannot tolerate anyone saying that he is inferior to Shitian!
"That was twenty years ago! I am no longer a defeated general who killed the heavens!"
Dark Soul practically spat out the last words through gritted teeth. He gathered all his inner strength and thrust his sword toward Long Yi's heart.
However, he was greatly disturbed and his breathing was unstable, so Long Yi had already seen through his moves.
Long Yi swung his sword backhand and knocked the sword away!
This sword strike marked the beginning of all nightmares.
Dark Soul was completely enraged. A bloodthirsty aura filled his sinister eyes, and his aura began to change.
Gu Jiao was all too familiar with this scent.
Dark Soul... he's about to lose control!
The Imperial Advisor once said that people who have been poisoned by purple gromwell have all experienced a loss of control to some extent, usually at the brink of life and death, but there are exceptions.
Gu Jiao frowned: "Is this guy... planning to perish together with the dragon?"
Black Wind King also instinctively sensed a danger and subtly tensed all the muscles in his body.
Dark Soul suddenly pounced on Long Yi, snatched his longsword with his bare hands, and sent him flying to the ground with a palm strike!
He quickly flashed to Long Yi's side, grabbed Long Yi's collar, and punched Long Yi repeatedly!
Each of his punches carried terrifying internal force, and Gu Jiao heard the sound of bones breaking.
Long Yi was completely overwhelmed by the out-of-control Dark Soul!
Even more terrifying, whether it was due to the allure of the dark soul's aura or her own instinct for self-protection, Gu Jiao also sensed the change in Long Yi's aura.
Long Yi... is about to lose control!
Long Yi stared at An Hun with bloodshot eyes. Every punch that landed on him seemed to be prying open the shackles that were suppressing his killing intent.
Gu Jiao's eyes turned cold. She took out an arrow from behind her back, drew the bowstring taut, and shot an arrow through An Hun's thigh!
In this state, Dark Soul was nothing to worry about; he couldn't even feel the pain.
But he wouldn't allow himself to be provoked.
He threw away Long Yi and struck Gu Jiao with a palm strike from mid-air!
Black Wind King tried to take Gu Jiao away, but it was too late. Gu Jiao was hit by his palm strike and was thrown out, crashing heavily into the winery's crumbling wall.
She fell to the ground, and the wall made of giant stones collapsed with a roar, pressing down on her!
However, Gu Jiao was not buried by the collapsed wall.
Long Yi used his tall body to protect her.
Gu Jiao looked at his bloodshot eyes, and watched as the blood mist gradually dissipated: "Long Yi..."
Long Yi was panting.
He didn't lose control.
He didn't revert to the beast within him that only knew how to kill.
Long Yi carried Gu Jiao out, used his lightness skill to leap up, and gently placed Gu Jiao back on the Black Wind King's back.
He then rushed towards Dark Soul like lightning and punched Dark Soul in the chest with lightning speed!
Dark Soul had no time to dodge and was smashed to the ground!
Long Yi delivered another punch, breaking his ribs with a crack and sending the blow piercing his lung.
His breathing became rapid, and the immense pain and loss of internal energy gradually brought him back to consciousness.
He stared at Long Yi in disbelief.
Admittedly, there was a murderous aura in Long Yi's eyes, but it wasn't the kind of bloodthirsty aura that came from losing control.
……Why?
Why is this happening?
Why was he able to defeat his out-of-control self when he was sober?
"You can't... beat... me..."
Before he could finish speaking, Long Yi twisted his neck with a snap!
Dark Soul lay on the ground, his eyes wide open in death, as if he never understood how he had lost.
He didn't lose to the assassin Shitian.
He lost to a person named Long Yi.
(End of this chapter)
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