Night Without End
Chapter 93 - 59: As Time Goes By_2

Chapter 93: Chapter 59: As Time Goes By_2

The bandit leader was extremely angry, but lying on the ground, he didn’t dare to utter a word. Unless the Golden Thief himself showed up, no one would dare to ignore Old Golden Chicken.

The next moment, Old Golden Chicken stepped forward with his large long legs, his claws shattering the rocks in the snow, bringing with him a howling wind that whipped up a flurry of snowflakes as he pounced towards Qin Ming, savage and fierce, almost teleporting, arriving right up close.

The Purple Lightning Beast grew tense, almost turning around to flee.

Qin Ming clenched his long spear and thrust it outwards, creating dozens of spear silhouettes, like a coiling dragon spiraling in flight, baring teeth and claws, ready to tear apart the ferocious raptor in front of him.

Old Golden Chicken caught the spear tip with his huge golden beak with a clang, then swung his head fiercely, snapping off the spear tip with a crack.

At the same time, one of its bare wing-like arms, like a human using the Splitting Palm technique, came chopping down towards Qin Ming and his mount.

The Purple Lightning Beast showed no hesitation, bumping upwards with Qin Ming on its back, using him as a cushion to protect itself, dreading the Old Golden Chicken’s blow and not wanting to be hit.

Qin Ming was also ready to block Old Golden Chicken’s wing-arm, wanting to gauge its strength, but the Purple Lightning Beast was using him to shield itself, which angered Qin Ming. He slapped the back of the Purple Lightning Beast, causing it to squeal miserably and become dispirited, while Qin Ming’s other hand met the wing-arm.

Whether it was Qin Ming’s palm or Old Golden Chicken’s wing-arm, both were infused with Heavenly Light, and with a loud bang, the collision of the two was like two giant beasts ramming into each other.

The Purple Lightning Beast couldn’t withstand such immense force, crashing into a huge ancient tree, then staggered and wobbled unsteadily.

Qin Ming jumped off its back, threatening it, "See this? I’m keeping this broken gun for you. If you dare to run, I guarantee I can throw it accurately enough to pin it to your body."

He then looked across, seeing a bloody mark appear on Old Golden Chicken’s wing-arm, blood seeping out.

Qin Ming had a measure now; he could battle the Old Golden Chicken.

Generally speaking, except for rare Alien Species, a creature mutated five times would have strength comparable to a human who had undergone five rebirths.

Old Golden Chicken possessed over three thousand jins of strength, comparable to Qin Ming’s.

The bandit leader and the other three dying mountain bandits on the ground were all stunned by this mysterious young man, who could actually shock Old Golden Chicken with his power!

After its bald wing-arm bled, Old Golden Chicken, furious, charged at Qin Ming with its two long legs, raising a pair of wing-arms as if they were large sabers, swooping down to attack.

"You’ve really trained, huh!" Qin Ming confirmed to himself.

The bandit leader lying on the ground was well aware that Old Golden Chicken had been taught by a Golden Thief, possessing extraordinary heritage and strong Combat Skill.

In an instant, Old Golden Chicken swung its wing-arms repeatedly, releasing fierce Heavenly Light, chopping through the air, and creating bursts of wind and thunder.

Qin Ming was calm, Heavenly Light Force bursting forth, clashing directly with those knife-like wing-arms.

Both being Two-legged Beasts, and wielding their upper limbs, Old Golden Chicken indeed demonstrated the Combat Skills taught by the Golden Thief vividly, very formidable.

But in the end, as an Alien Species, the Heavenly Light spurred by its racial traits could not withstand Qin Ming’s amalgamated Heavenly Light Force.

A popping sound was heard as the Nail Strength from Qin Ming’s palm blew a bloody hole through Old Golden Chicken’s wing-arm, the area instantly becoming a bloody mess.

Then, Qin Ming harnessed his newly integrated Cutting Force, his palm slicing like a blade, chopping off part of the large claw that Old Golden Chicken had brazenly lunged over with, aiming to sneak attack.

Old Golden Chicken cried out, bobbing its head in Golden Chicken’s chaotic nodding, employing actual combat techniques, its golden beak pecking towards Qin Ming’s forehead. If an ordinary person were pecked, his frontal bone would shatter, and his head would rupture.

Qin Ming, protected by Heavenly Light Force, didn’t want to be pecked in the head by Old Golden Chicken. His right palm blocked like lightning, his fingers glowing, the combined Mang Power and Nail Strength bursting forth. Amidst the sonorous clash, five finger holes appeared on Old Golden Chicken’s beak.

Next, he employed Sticky Force, with a snap, grabbed and pulled off half of Old Golden Chicken’s beak.

At this point, the few mountain bandits on the ground felt hopelessness. Even Old Golden Chicken, who had mutated five times, was no match for the mysterious strong man, and their fate of being wiped out was sealed.

The bandit leader sighed. After all, Old Golden Chicken was a "mortal species" without the powerful Dharma to unleash Heavenly Light of a mighty race. Even though it had accumulated a robust Heavenly Light, it was no match for that man.

In the end, Old Golden Chicken did not fight desperately; instead, it leaped up and returned to the Wutong Nest. Its body erupted with blinding light, letting out a loud cry of the Golden Chicken.

It was not resigned to defeat, seeking one last attempt, with its blood boiling to initiate the sixth mutation, aspiring to elevate its own level of life.

In the end, its last golden feather burned to ash, its body shattered, blood gushing out, utterly defeated, dying within the Wutong Nest.

Qin Ming hadn’t expected it to be so resolute, and said, "Neither human nor beast, even a Golden Chicken is this unyielding."

However, when he passed by the Wutong Nest, Qin Ming didn’t feel any sympathy for the Old Golden Chicken anymore. Inside the large iron tray where it stored its food, there were actually human arms, not yet completely eaten.

To show his appreciation for its unyielding spirit, Qin Ming originally wanted to give it a "stomach burial"; after all, this was a creature that had mutated five times, and he had never enjoyed such a high-level ingredient before.

Now he could only wave his hand, summoning the Purple Lightning Beast, and said, "Eat it if you want, consider it a reward. Although the Old Golden Chicken is not a spiritual creature, consuming it will still benefit you somewhat."

The Purple Lightning Beast held its head high, full of pride, showing disdain and contempt on its face, actually refusing to eat.

"Suit yourself!" Qin Ming turned around, holding the broken long spear, and amidst the unwilling roars of the mountain bandits, he dealt with them one by one.

"Who are you really, sent by the new city lord, or a Mountain Guardian recruited by the outsiders?" In the last moments, the bandit leader roared with all his might.

Qin Ming did not respond, treating him like a weed, piercing through his skull with the spear’s tip, then quickly cleaned up the battlefield.

He was quite dissatisfied, because he saw a pile of armor, weapons, and bows and arrows in the stockpile of the mountain stronghold, obviously prepared for recruiting new members.

This meant that Jinji Ridge had spent a great deal of money, yet these were spoils of war that he could not take with him.

"My Day Gold!" Qin Ming sighed.

In the end, he searched the area, tidied up the remains of the dead, and gathered a total of forty-seven pieces of Day Gold, along with some Night Silver.

Naturally, this was a considerable sum of money, far surpassing the valuables found on the bodies of Wang Nianzhu, Huang Jingde, and others. But this was Jinji Ridge, the stronghold of the bandits, making the haul seem rather meager.

Fortunately, he found three books here, one of which bore the crystallized blood, sweat, and tears of its predecessors; he sensed strong emotional fluctuations from it.

Qin Ming immediately smiled; such a secret book was far more precious than Day Gold!

While he was searching for spoils of war on the mountain, two mountain bandits returning from drinking and reveling in a nearby town turned pale with fear; they vaguely heard the leader’s roar, which seemed desperate.

The two sobered up immediately, darted into the dense forest, and found a small wooden hut. Someone was supposed to be guarding this place, monitoring the movements on the mountain path, but now it had been left unattended for several days.

However, someone came daily to feed the few raptors here; if Jinji Ridge was attacked, they could release these birds to seek help from the outside.

"Sending a message to the elders of the Golden Thief will definitely be too late, distant water cannot quench the immediate thirst, better to seek help from the Sanyan Sect!"

Soon after, twenty miles away in Qing Song Town, the leadership of the Sanyan Sect looked grave. Someone had launched a night raid on Jinji Ridge, and the people there were seeking their help.

"Something big has happened, get ready!"

They began to mobilize quickly.

Qin Ming lingered on the mountain for a long time, scouring every nook and cranny. He could no longer find anything valuable and finally rode down the mountain on the Purple Lightning Beast.

"Take me on another trip, to Qing Song Town!" He felt that since he had made a move today, he might as well do away with the Sanyan Sect, which also posed a not insignificant threat to the locality.

Mainly, because he had felt no difficulty in singlehandedly flattening Jinji Ridge.

"Tonight I promise to let you return to the mountain. Move quickly, take that short path. Speed is of the essence in warfare!" Qin Ming had done his homework before coming and had studied this area.

However, by the time he arrived at Qing Song Town, the Sanyan Sect’s stronghold was quiet, devoid of people, all members having withdrawn.

In the distant dense forest, some followers discussed, "I thought we were going to support Jinji Ridge, but I didn’t expect the higher-ups to have us run away!"

Qin Ming was disappointed and left Qing Song Town by the main road. At the town’s exit, he saw from afar four people approaching: two men clad in golden armor and among the two women, one was actually wearing a Feather Robe, clearly outsiders.

"Mistress!" the maid called out.

"It seems it really is him," the woman in the Feather Robe whispered softly.