The Blade-Wielding Legend -
Chapter 558 - 318: Sudden Change in the Big Competition_2
Chapter 558: Chapter 318: Sudden Change in the Big Competition_2
He certainly did not want any unexpected complications.
However, eventually, people noticed the situation.
The Parrot Island Pier was already under martial law; all commoners had been driven away, so the notable figures of all three Wuchang cities were observing the battle on the docks of Wuchang City.
"Hey, what’s going on today?"
The leader of the Mule and Horse gang turned his head towards Shi Chen and said teasingly, "Shi Paitou, didn’t you swear to capture the Kui Head? Why have you fallen so far behind?"
Shi Chen’s heart trembled, but his face remained expressionless as he cursed, "Some people got stomachaches. It must have been one of you who sabotaged us, fearing that I would capture the river Kui Head."
He was old and cunning and quite adept at changing the subject.
Indeed, someone immediately expressed dissatisfaction, "Shi Paitou, you need to be careful with your words. The title of the river head is not something to accuse us of underhandedness for."
"That’s right, such tactics are something only you would use!"
"Come on, we’re all fellows of the pugilistic world. Let’s not argue..."
Although the crowd chattered and diverted the topic, Shi Chen glimpsed the Captain Bureau staff in the distance with grim faces, especially noticing their Divine Fire Guns, and felt an inexplicable nervousness.
He looked nonchalant, turning his gaze towards the crowd below and saw an old beggar holding a broken gong, which made him tremble even more.
That evening, after bringing the Fu siblings into his room, although it was a night of indulgence, he was tricked and fell victim to a Gu Curse.
This type of Gu Curse was extremely frightening; just a slight activation could cause bizarre worms to bore out of his orifices, and it was incredibly secretive.
Although he came from Changsha Prefecture and practiced Martial Arts, he was no stranger to Xiangxi Gu Technique and knew the severity of this Gu.
As long as the siblings activated it, he would be trapped in astate of not being able to live or die. Moreover, with constant surveillance, there was no chance for him to seek help to remove the Gu.
Left with no choice, he joined the Heavenly Saint Sect. The Fu siblings promised that once their plan succeeded, not only would they remove the Gu Poison but also allow him to join the rebellion and become a leader.
Of course, Shi Chen did not believe their words.
His confidence stemmed from the Pai Sect. Without the ships in his control, he would be no different from those desperate pugilistic world folk.
Thinking this, Shi Chen observed carefully, and after noticing the Fu siblings had disappeared from the crowd, his mind went into complete turmoil.
They never intended to let him live!
Once something happened, he would be the scapegoat.
He feared that then even the elder might activate the Gu worms to silence him, leaving his family to be pursued and imprisoned by the court.
Thinking of this, Shi Chen grew even more frantic, a fierce light rose in his eyes, and he clenched his waist-mounted Divine Fire Gun.
"Shi Paitou, what’s wrong?"
People nearby immediately noticed his off behavior.
Shi Chen wasted no words; his Hidden Energy erupted beneath his feet, and in two steps, he left the elevated platform, suddenly leaping up, clearing the heads of the crowd below.
At the same time, he pulled out his Divine Fire Gun and aimed it at the old beggar.
He had already tested the power of the Divine Fire Gun.
Even though it wasn’t modern firearms, it could still kill the old man.
With the Fu siblings gone, if he could just kill this man, no one would activate the Gu worms, and he could intercept the Dragon Boat, possibly salvaging the situation.
Handled properly, he could shift the blame away from himself.
At worst, he would trade his base of operations for the lives of his family.
With this thought, Shi Chen no longer hesitated and ruthlessly pulled the trigger at the old man’s head.
Click!
However, when the hammer struck, the Divine Fire Gun did not fire.
Shi Chen instantly felt a chill in his heart.
The gunpowder chamber had been dampened by the rain, failing to ignite.
Clang, clang, clang!
The old beggar was also startled and began frantically striking his broken gong.
"Ah—!"
Mid-air, Shi Chen screamed woefully and fell into the crowd.
The pain was unbearable; he frantically tore at his skin, but dense, millipede-like strange bugs had already burrowed out of his facial features and orifices, with even more burrowing into his organs, voraciously gnawing.
This pain surpassed human endurance, but he couldn’t die immediately; Shi Chen’s mournful screams nearly echoed throughout the docks.
Such a terrifying scene caused the surrounding people to retreat in fear.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Immediately, several adept Captain Bureau officers bounded forward, parted the crowd, and unsheathed their swords with a clatter.
Seeing the situation turning against him, the old beggar tried to flee, but after only a couple of steps, flying arrows pierced his legs, pinning him to the ground.
"It’s Gu Worms!"
Leaders from various factions also looked up one after another.
Some people knew about this type of spell, but shook their heads after just one glance.
"There’s no saving him!"
On the ground, Shi Chen’s eardrums and eyes had been gnawed through by the Gu Worms, blood spurted from his mouth, his voice had been torn apart, and he could not let out a scream—only twisting frantically.
This scene chilled everyone to the bone.
Someone couldn’t bear to watch and wanted to put Shi Chen out of his misery, but considering the situation, acting now might lead to suspicions of silencing.
Moreover, Shi Chen had offended many in the past, which led everyone to turn their heads away.
Cheng Jue was also by the riverside and paid no attention but immediately stood up and shouted, "Send a message, stop the Pai Sect’s boats!"
On the high platform along the riverside, a garrison soldier immediately waved a colorful flag.
At this moment, the river not only had dragon boats racing but also had naval warships with Martial Monks from the Law Enforcement Hall stationed.
Although the race was about to determine the winner, there was still some distance to Parrot Island Pier, enough to intercept the Pai Sect’s dragon boat.
Thud, thud, thud!
The battle drums sounded, and the naval warships immediately moved forward, blocking the path of many dragon boats. Several experts leaped into the air, soaring from one boat to another, heading towards the Pai Sect’s dragon boat.
On Parrot Island Pier, several figures suddenly appeared, clad in official attire, even including two elderly eunuchs, and each emitted a ferocious aura.
They were experts sent from the Prince Mansion to maintain control.
"What are you doing!"
The men on the Pai Sect’s boat also realized something was wrong.
However, several ferocious members of the Heavenly Saint Sect immediately stood up, punching and kicking, throwing the people around them into the water.
"We’ve been spotted, act now!"
These zealots, as Death Soldiers, watching the approaching experts, immediately ripped up the wooden planks under their feet and lit the fuse with a flint.
The fuse was extremely short and ignited instantly.
Boom!
Suddenly, the river was ablaze with sparks like thunder.
The gunpowder on the boat was mixed with "coal spirit" and "red saltpeter," both part of a new formula for gunpowder.
Not only that, a large quantity of phosphorus grease was also placed around.
For a moment, flames soared into the sky on the river, and even the people on the shore could see it clearly.
The leaping experts, like ants, were directly hit by the shockwave of the explosion, blood spewing from their mouths as they were blown back.
The Heavenly Saint Sect demons naturally perished instantly, but the remaining dragon boats also suffered.
The violent explosion stirred up huge waves, and immediately several dragon boats capsized, throwing the men into the river.
Phosphorus grease splashed all around, although the dragon boats didn’t sink, they caught fire. Many men covered in phosphorus screamed in the water, flailing desperately as if stuck to their bodies, unable to shake it off.
The divine statues of Emperor Guan on the dragon boats also fell into the river one by one and vanished in a blink of an eye.
The sight cooled Cheng Jue’s heart.
On Parrot Island Pier, a huge magic platform had been erected. Yu Lanshan, disheveled, manipulated five huge Yin Yang Eight Trigrams mirrors atop the platform, ideally suited for the Four Symbols Feng Shui Formation.
As the statues of Emperor Guan sank, the central Eight Trigrams mirror began to slowly spin, also driving the other mirrors.
Yu Lanshan’s face went pale. He bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood on the mirror. Then, pressing his hands on the mirror, he yelled, "What’s going on? Quick, salvage the statues of Emperor Guan, continue the race, at least half must reach Parrot Island!"
Prince Wuchang was also there, his expression dark. Hearing this, he said, "Make them act quickly!"
He had many arrangements on this side and hadn’t expected something to go awry halfway.
The news was immediately relayed. At this moment, Cheng Jue couldn’t worry about where the error occurred and immediately gathered skilled experts in the water to salvage from the river.
However, with the deep water of the Yangtze River, filled with silt and strong undercurrents, even those with good swimming skills couldn’t find anything in a short while.
The people on the shore were in chaos, various rumors spreading rapidly, soon reaching the city.
Inside the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce courtyard, everyone naturally had also heard.
"Is there trouble?"
Wang Daoxuan furrowed his brows and immediately said, "Brother Lu, go to the pier immediately and find Master Cheng Jue..."
"Remember, you need to hear a sentence personally from Prince Wuchang."
"What sentence?"
"Tuo Dragon, is also a dragon..."
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