Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 613 - 16: Death Ground

Chapter 613: Chapter 16: Death Ground

"There are countless Buddha statues here, and we can overlook your affront, but a slight punishment is necessary. Hand me the items on your wrist as compensation." The Buddha statue leader eyed Tang Zheng as if he wanted to strip him bare. "Of course, there’s no need to take the worthless trinkets inside, just give them all to me."

"What you’re doing is not extortion, it’s robbery!" Lu Fan couldn’t hold back anymore, with a flip of his hand, he was holding the Pepper Grinder, ready to blast the leader away, but Tang Zheng was faster.

"All yours!" Tang Zheng grabbed a hundred-pound leather suitcase, gathered all his strength in his right arm, and squarely slammed it onto the Buddha statue leader’s head.

The leader was momentarily hit like by a speeding truck, rolling out with a bloody face, his nose concaved.

As Li Zhixin and the others were still stunned, the 11 prisoners had already raised their guns and started shooting at the surrounding Buddha statues. These fellows cherished their lives and didn’t care about the origin of their enemies. They spoke furtively, and if there was danger, they would strike first.

The Benelli M4 spewed out buckshot, blasting numerous miniature steel balls with each booming sound. A Buddha statue was hit in the shoulder, instantly reduced to a lump of bloody flesh, with the entire arm being blown off.

The Conquerors had drawn their weapons and started shooting the moment Tang Zheng took action. In a short time, gunfire prevailed, and Tianzhu Temple was like a poke nest of wasps, with a countless number of Buddha statues leaping out of the surrounding halls towards the square.

Eighteen Buddhas also carried bullets rushing towards the Trojan Squad, ready to massacre them.

"Quick battle, quick decision." Tang Zheng fired a cannon beam, obliterating the upper body of a close Buddha statue, leaving only the legs and lower abdomen, and even the charred organs inside the abdomen were visible.

Da da da, Lu Fan shot at a Buddha statue, and the flame bullets ripped it to pieces, scattering its flesh.

"Are they also demons? Why do they have flesh and blood?" Even though Li Yulong was the boss, he hadn’t seen such a bloody scene before, his scalp going numb, but his hands didn’t stop. With every thunderous roar of the Benelli M4, a Buddha statue was hit.

Just a minute later, the gunfire ceased. Bindly, more than five hundred Buddha statues had gathered on the square, glaring at the Trojan Squad. Among them, there were three-meter-tall, beautifully decorated Buddha statues, obviously at the small BOSS level.

"Who’s making a racket in the temple?" An azure Immovable Ming King Buddha statue walked out, holding a Wisdom Sword in his left hand and a Vajra Cord in his right hand, glaring at the Trojan Squad with anger. Sparks constantly burst out from his surroundings, as if the air was combusting.

"These masters demanded too much, including both my wealth and life. I couldn’t afford it and had to resort to this." Tang Zheng had already given up the idea of going to the Great Hall to find trouble with Sun Monkey. The Buddha statues in this Trojan Horse Game were not righteous, they could even be demons in disguise. They didn’t anticipate this, and now they had to leave Tianzhu Temple quickly.

"The four ’disciples’ will definitely come out, I will ambush them on the road." Tang Zheng made up his mind, then said, "I will bear the consequences of this incident, you let them go first."

The newbies were stunned, they didn’t expect Tang Zheng to be so responsible, but the words of the demon impersonating the Immovable Ming King made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

"No, anyone who took action just now must be punished."

Li Zhixin’s eyes flashed with delight, and Tu Jinxin also chuckled, happy to see Tang Zheng’s misfortune. They hadn’t shot just now, not out of kindness, but to save bullets and to assess the situation.

"You were the ones who started to take by force, yet you make it sound so righteous. Aren’t you embarrassed?" Lu Fan changed his gun, saying, "Let’s all fight our way out together."

"STOP!" Over five hundred Buddha statues scolded in unison, each with a golden "STOP" letter being spit out of their mouths, converging in the air to form a large golden word. Then it pressed heavily down on the Trojan Squad.

Tang Zheng fired the Demon Slaying Holy Flame at it, and three buckshot hit it in succession, blasting the large gold word into mottled fragments, raining down like rain.

The Buddha statues were both shocked and angry, about to make a move to kill Tang Zheng.

The Immovable Ming King´s gaze hardened, looking at Tang Zheng, "Alright, I’ll give you a chance. One-on-one duel. If you win, you can come and go as you please in this temple. If you lose, you leave your life and wealth behind!"

"Tang Zheng, don’t agree to him." As soon as Li Yulong heard these conditions, he anxiously advised, "There’s no way we newbies can beat the Buddha statues!" The other prisoners were also indignant, begging Tang Zheng with a lot of noise.

"Shut up." Tang Zheng yelled, suppressing the noise, then looked at the Immovable Ming King, "No, there are too many rounds. Let’s have a five-match series, best-of-three. If we win, we leave. If we lose, we’ll compensate with these gold bars."

"That’s okay, but we get to pick the contestants randomly." The Immovable Ming King thought for a moment, glanced over, roughly estimating their strengths, and suggested, "The spoils of the deceased belong to us."

Tang Zheng frowned. He had planned to find five cannon fodders to send to their deaths. After all, the Buddha statues were not foolish, they knew to pick the soft ones, but once it involved the spoils of war, they might provoke their greed and target the Conquerors.

"Alright, I retreat a step, I will not pick the pregnant woman and the child." The Immovable Ming King waved his hand, "Don’t hesitate anymore, or I might change my mind."

"Add her and I’ll agree." Tang Zheng pointed at Ma Huilan, and once Immovable Ming King agreed, he turned to the newcomers, "Survival of the fittest is your test now. Kill them, and you’ll earn points that can be used to exchange whatever you want later."

"Aren’t pregnant women and children human? Why are they exempt?" A triangular-eyed prisoner spoke, shamelessly, "And that woman, why is she an exception too?"

Tang Zheng ignored him. The bald prisoner, seeing that no one sided with him, backed down. His eyes fluttered around as he contemplated strategies.

"I didn’t touch any Buddha statues, can I avoid the single combat?" Tu Jinxin wasn’t all brawn; he daringly suggested something for his own benefit.

"No need." The Immovable Ming King waved his hand, and more than 500 bodies retreated, giving way to the empty space.

"I didn’t either!" Li Zhixin shouted, fearing to be targeted. Upon seeing their consent, he immediately felt a wave of relief wash over him. He failed to notice the menacing glares from the prisoners. Had the timing been right, they would have certainly killed the two.

"Who’s going first?" Immovable Ming King asked gracefully.

"I will." One of the Buddha statues stepped forward, crossed his arms, casting a cold gaze at the Trojan Squad and pointing at a bald prisoner, "Call out the one who is most wicked to meet his doom!"

"Alright, I’ll meet you." The bald prisoner provoked, filling his Benelli M4 with bullets and ready to walk out.

"Wait." Tang Zheng called to him, walked past him, took out three shotguns and threw them over, whispering in his ear, "You may not have time to load, take a few more."

"Thank you." The bald prisoner eyed Tang Zheng’s Demon Slaying Holy Flame, but ultimately didn’t ask to borrow it.

"Do you have any family at home? Any unresolved matters?" Tang Zheng wasn’t here just to hand out guns.

"I have a wife, but after three years in prison, she must’ve run off with someone else. All that’s left is my old mother." With his vicious demeanor faded down, talking about personal matters, a hint of regret shadowed on his usually ruthless face. If he could, he would certainly want to live a different life.

"Tell me your address. I’ll cover your mother’s living expenses, ensuring she lives well and has someone to care for her." Tang Zheng studied the bald prisoner’s eyes, softly speaking. Vulnerability was an opportunity for manipulation.

"What do you want me to do?" The bald prisoner stared back at Tang Zheng. Even the most rustic characters are tainted after several years in prison.

"If you win, I’ll keep my promise. You saw my money; if you lose, you won’t survive anyway. I hope you can charge into the group of Buddha statues and self-destruct." Tang Zheng’s voice was calm. Hearing this, Li Yulong, who was nearby, shivered. He, too, feared he would agree if put in the situation, fearing there was no other choice.

"Fine, hope you keep your word." The bald prisoner immediately gave out his home address and his mother’s name.

"Open your mouth, I’ll embed a detonator in your teeth. Bite hard, and you’ll explode." Dantai was an expert at blowing things up and naturally took on the task.

Seeing the bald prisoner strap on a belt full of bombs, the others’ faces drained of color, gasping in surprise.

"Say a few words to them." Tang Zheng patted his shoulder, "Try to come back alive."

"What’s there to say? They’re just my prison buddies, no sort of friendship there." The bald prisoner strode towards the center of the square. In this moment, he resembled a heroic martyr.

"If he says a few words, it could shake their emotions, making it easier for us to stir them up later." Dantai didn’t care about the bald prisoner’s life; all he wanted was victory.

The bald prisoner stared rigidly at the Buddha statue five meters away and reloaded the shotgun with a click.

"Begin." Immovable Ming King’s voice barely faded when the Buddha statue lunged out. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of the bald prisoner, landing a punch bright with golden light.

"Die." The bald prisoner screamed ruthlessly, pulling the trigger repeatedly. The Benelli M4 was semi-automatic, saving loading time and allowing him to suppress the opponent with a continuous barrage of bullets.

Bang, bang, bang, the small steel pellets scattered chaotically, immediately enveloping the Buddha statue.

"Break!" The Buddha statue roared, shaking its body like a snake shedding its skin, the mud covering its body instantly broke apart into nail-sized particles, spraying forward and colliding with the small steel pellets, resulting in large, explosive bursts.

As expected, the bald prisoner didn’t have time to reload, he dropped the shotgun, ran towards the group of Buddha statues while grabbing another shotgun to shoot back. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)