Chaotic World Book
Chapter 156 - 152: Hero in Twilight? Go to hell!

Chapter 156: Chapter 152: Hero in Twilight? Go to hell!

"Whoosh!" A broadsword light, far surpassing Zhao Changhe’s usual strength and speed, slashed towards the Lu Family elder like a blanket enveloping the sky.

The elder dodged past, already behind Zhao Changhe, his sword pointing at the back of his neck.

Zhao Changhe, in his frenzy, didn’t care whether his neck was pierced or not, he twisted and spun around, aiming to cut the elder in half at the waist!

The elder dared not meet the blow with full force, so he deflected the attack and retreated.

His swordsmanship was indeed exquisite; in the process of deflecting and retreating, his sword tip had already grazed the back of Zhao Changhe’s hand. Under normal circumstances, Zhao Changhe would have been unable to hold his blade, but at this moment, he was completely numb to it and continued his relentless assault, swirling his Big Broadsword around like a giant windmill, dominating the entire space.

The elder dared not face its edge directly again and backed away, feeling a tinge of sadness in his heart.

He himself had weakened too much, no longer possessing the Mystical Gate Ninth Layer’s strength. After all, he was a mortal, and aging meant just that; no matter how deep his Inner Strength, his body could not keep up anymore, and the intense battle had long been too much for him to handle.

Before entering this place, the two moves he exchanged with Zhao Changhe might have seemed casual, but in reality, it was because he could not afford to fight too fiercely; otherwise, he would have tried to eliminate his opponent in an instant... but he just couldn’t do it.

After entering this place, he had been assailed by dense Sword Qi from all directions. Blocking and parrying all the way to the main tomb’s entrance had already left him weakened, with his combat power not at its peak. Speaking solely of Inner, he might still be at the Ninth Layer of Inner Strength, but his physical constitution was probably worse than that of a sickly person who had never trained. How much of his combat power could he truly exert?

Looking at Zhao Changhe, the power boost from "World Without Me" was too absurd.

With such wild strength, was he really just at the Mystical Gate Five Layer? Even calling it Sixth or Seventh Layer would have few dissenters, and he was not afraid of pain or death. If he encountered such an opponent outside, it would be extremely troublesome, let alone in an environment filled with Sword Qi cutting through the air. Zhao Changhe feared nothing, allowing the countless cuts to freely do their work; could he do the same?

The very space for nimble dodging and using clever tactics against the enemy was neatly restricted, and he also had to constantly divert his attention to counter the Sword Qi.

The elder sadly realized that he could only slightly outclass this madman and that, as the fight dragged on, he was becoming weaker, possibly being driven to a disadvantage.

Twilight of a hero. His mind was full to the brim with this thought.

He couldn’t drag this out any longer; he had to end it quickly!

A flash of ruthlessness appeared in the elder’s eyes, and he suddenly made a move incomprehensible to the onlooking Sisi.

He deliberately approached the most vigorous part of Zhao Changhe’s sword momentum, no longer dodging its sharpness to look for weaknesses.

The Dragon Sparrow swooped towards his head with a screeching howl. The elder raised his sword to block, obviously unable to withstand the force of the wild power, his sword bent slightly by the strike, and he stumbled towards the main tomb’s entrance.

Zhao Changhe, in his fury, could not think but naturally followed through with his chop, vowing to kill his enemy in one fell swoop!

"Damn!" Sisi suddenly realized—the old man’s earlier unfinished business of "provoking the main tomb" had been interrupted by their arrival. He didn’t want to entangle with them anymore. Using his body as bait, he led Zhao Changhe’s wild strength to slash at the door!

Sisi had no time to warn him; Zhao Changhe’s broadsword had already reached the door. Stamping her foot in frustration, admiration also filled her heart; a dying old man who had sacrificed so much for his family was indeed respectable.

However, the mix of anger and admiration had barely arisen before it got stuck there.

Zhao Changhe’s broadsword hadn’t struck the door at all but, as if it had been anticipated, followed the elder as he quickly moved aside.

The elder: "?"

Sisi: "?"

Completely misjudging the path of the blade, how could he dodge in time now?

With great difficulty, the elder parried with his sword horizontally, and "clang!" the Dragon Sparrow struck the sword, finally splitting it in two. The elder seized the opportunity to discard his sword and withdraw, his chest already a gory mess.

Now unable to dodge the Sword Qi from all directions, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" the sounds swept past, and the elder was already cut all over.

"You..." He clutched his chest, disbelievingly looking at Zhao Changhe: "You’re sane! That madness was all an act!"

Zhao Changhe grinned: "Your grandson, or was it your great-grandson who can pretend to be mad, why can’t I?"

His eyes still bloodshot, his face fierce as ever, he bellowed: "You’re respected, yes, but you started off wrong. The greater you are, the greater the harm! Never mind whether the Sword Emperor revives, just the fact that this Evil Qi would sweep through Gusu, thinking how many people it would harm, does it concern you? You only care that your Lu Family has prepared in advance and could even use this to dominate Gusu! Do you think you’re a hero? Go to hell!"

With a thunderous shout, the Dragon Sparrow rose again, aiming straight for the elder’s chest!

Just as the elder was about to retreat and dodge, a strong gust from behind assailed him, and the watching Sisi, confirming that Zhao Changhe was indeed damn sane, finally joined in the attack!

The elder, exhausted and wounded, could no longer evade such an attack. He didn’t try to dodge but let the Dragon Sparrow cut into his chest and the dagger behind stab into his back, as his broken sword suddenly flew to the side, shooting straight towards the main tomb’s door!

"Damn!" Zhao Changhe hadn’t expected this and was too late to intercept the broken sword.

The old man’s eyes flashed with ecstasy but halted abruptly.

Unbeknownst to them, Sisi had darted over and, at the moment before the sword struck, her delicate hand grasped the hilt.

The air itself seemed to freeze for an instant as Zhao Changhe’s broadsword had already chopped into the old man’s chest, splitting several ribs and nearly bisecting him.

Yet, with his dying gaze, the old man was still staring intently at the door.

In fact, his action of triggering the explosive surge of Evil Qi in the main tomb was so uncertain in outcome, neither his guiding blow towards Zhao Changhe nor his last throw guaranteed the desired result. But as the tension mounted, everyone present subconsciously felt as if it all hinged on that one final moment...

The old man muttered to himself, "Just one more... just one more... you..."

Zhao Changhe and Sisi exchanged speechless looks.

But at that moment, the door suddenly began to shake violently, intensifying the barely perceptible feeling of the earth quaking and mountains swaying, making it nearly impossible to stand. The surrounding Sword Qi also ceased to buffet them, instead converging into a fierce tornado roaring towards the sky.

Overjoyed, the old man laughed loudly, "It’s done! We’ve won after all, hahaha... hahahaha!"

His laughter ended as he breathed his last.

Zhao Changhe stood with his broadsword planted in the ground, looking up at the spot where the Sword Qi was forming a tornado. Slowly he could discern the countless streaks of Sword Qi merging into an ancient sword shape, surrounded by Evil Qi and exuding a fearsome majesty, appearing ready to soar into the heavens at any moment.

Weary, he stuck his broadsword into the ground, supporting his blood-drenched body, "Could it really be successful? Have we labored in vain...?"

Sisi whispered, "Don’t rush, what he did got interrupted by us, the outcome is far off... At least, there’s no sign of the Sword Emperor’s resurrection."

Zhao Changhe gently sensed around and nodded, "I can feel the ’mood’ of the Evil Qi here. It was the old man’s ’transgression’ inside that enraged the Evil Qi, which then found some external attraction, creating an outlet for it to rush upwards. The space hasn’t collapsed; our effort wasn’t wasted."

Sisi said, "Isn’t that relatively better? At least we won’t be the first to die from a space collapse inside."

Zhao Changhe said, "The way this Sword Qi and Evil Qi have combined, it doesn’t seem like it will spread to Gusu, perhaps just rising to the Sword Pond? As long as the people outside can contain this concentrated Sword Qi..."

Sisi sighed, "It seems so, but there are two problems."

"What?"

"First, if Maitreya arrives, the Tang family might be finished. Who will restrain this Sword Qi then, Maitreya?"

"..."

"Second..." Sisi’s voice seemed strained through clenched teeth, "If the space hasn’t collapsed and only the Sword Qi is escaping... how do we leave this place?"

Zhao Changhe stood up straight, taking a deep breath, "Since it’s just an ancient sword shape surrounded by Evil Qi... when it shoots upwards, can’t we just hitch a ride?"

Sisi’s eyes widened, "Are you insane! The concentrated bloodthirsty Evil Qi alone could destroy any life that approaches it... ah..."

"Yeah, most creatures probably can’t approach such intense concentrations of Evil Qi, but that’s exactly what I’ve been training for." Zhao Changhe spread his arms, "As long as you dare to hide in my arms, I dare to take you out of here."

Sisi felt this was the most misguided thing she had done in her life... From beginning to end, she had only been searching for the so-called treasure of Evil Qi, but she ended up being lured into a dead end with no exit, tangled in a senseless fight, gaining nothing and now needing to be held.

Where’s the treasure? What am I even here for?

Zhao Changhe seemed to read her thoughts and whispered, "The entrance is now clear, and the exit might be opened by this Sword Qi... As long as we don’t die this time, can’t we come back later?"

Sisi said, "Later either the Maitreya Sect will ravage this place, or you and the Tang family will control it, and simply kick me out."

Zhao Changhe gave a slight smile, "This place belongs to you as much as to anyone. Even if Tang Wanju comes, if she dares not to share the spoils with you, I’ll turn against her."

"What good is you turning against her? Who are you... The Tang family might cast you out as well, idiot..." Sisi muttered, but finally said no more, carefully moved closer, and huddled in his bloodied embrace.

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky as the ancient sword shape finally became solid, then amidst swirling blood and wrath, it rocketed into the sky.

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PS: There will be more tonight. It’s the last day of February; seeking the last wave of monthly tickets~