Star Gate

Chapter 75: Counterkill! (III)

The martial master’s grip was light, so very light, as if Li Hao was a porcelain object in danger of being crushed. Sunderers were enormously powerful and might very well reduce the young man’s shoulder to bone dust if they clenched too tightly.

Ghostface was as careful as he could be, but Li Hao seemed to be the opposite. He lost his balance and crashed into the other. He only wielded the strength of a mundane, but after three years of martial training, Li Hao knew that martial masters were most easily thrown off balance when they deployed their full strength. This also held true for Sunderers.

So long as he picked the right timing and disrupted the other’s breathing, it would take them some time to gather strength anew even if they suffered no harm. This was something Li Hao grasped after beating Zhou He to death.

Sunderers wouldn’t normally let another invade their personal space, especially an enemy. Ghostface, however, was more on guard against Liu Yan and Chen Jian. He didn’t care about Li Hao.

He grabbed the young man and watched the two warily. They might not be willing to leave like this.

“Liu Yan, Chen Jian, there’s no need for you to—ahem!” He coughed, needing to catch his breath after Li Hao ran into him.

Liu Yan suddenly shrieked with fury and whirled around with a dagger in hand. She lunged at the enemy with rage and disappointment. “I won’t let you achieve your goal even if it means killing Li Hao!!”

Her dagger was aimed straight at the young man!

Ghostface nearly jumped out of his skin; this couldn’t be permitted to happen! Li Hao could not die now! Not only would he fail his mission if the young man died, he would also be punished. The instructions from above were very clear. Li Hao could not die before the blue rain arrived!

That expanded the mission from capturing Li Hao to protecting him as well. At the very least, Ghostface needed to ensure his prisoner’s safety until the young man was handed over to the supernaturals.

More pressing matters at hand, Ghostface set aside the fact that Li Hao had run into him and swiftly backed away.

“Protect Li Hao!” he roared and grabbed the young man to throw him back. There were more Slayers behind them that could protect their precious merchandise. He needed to deal with these two lunatics first. He would not show them courtesy if they insisted on killing Li Hao!

Overlooked by his captor, Li Hao’s eyes glittered keenly. His hands curved into claws and internal force surged. The two were on top of each other when Ghostface raised him up. Frightened, Li Hao subconsciously flung his arms around the other’s neck.

The martial master vaguely felt the position inappropriate. It hindered his movements and would adversely affect him. When did the kid become so timid?

Something tore the next second and blood splattered Li Hao’s face!

Strength exploded out of the young man’s hands—the might of a Slayer of Tens and Twice Forged Force. His hands ripped through the martial master’s throat like they were tiger claws!

Too fast, and entirely unexpected! Ghostface was stronger than Li Hao, but his attention had been on Liu Yan and the others. He hadn’t suspected the young man of anything. It was at this moment that Li Hao ripped his throat out! There was no fear or trepidation in the young man’s eyes, just aloofness.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed everywhere!

“You…” Ghostface gasped; pain was yet to travel up his nerves. He still had strength left to smack and kill the little bastard with!

He raised his hand to punch Li Hao’s head, yet somehow, a third hand appeared from the young man! Li Hao was plainly grasping Ghostface’s throat with both hands, but a third hand grabbed the martial master’s crotch when he cocked his hand back for a punch!

This part of a man truly was… fragile, whether one was a Sunderer or Dominator!

Crunch!

It felt like something had been crushed to pieces. Acute pain overwhelmed everything; Ghostface didn’t have the strength to do anything with his upraised hand. It flopped down uselessly and he wanted to howl with the anguish of the world ending!

But his throat had been ripped out!!

“Mmph… kth….” he screamed with all his might as tears streamed down his face. Not even the mask forestalled the tears.

It was broken! Crushed! And he couldn’t even keen with agony! Pain numbed his being and his mind went blank. The young man in front of him was entirely too vicious and cruel, ripping out his throat before thoroughly crushing him down there!

The martial master wavered and fell to his knees. His hands fell limply by his side as he didn’t have the strength to do anything. They hovered protectively over his crotch—despite knowing it was a futile gesture, this was an instinctive reaction.

Tears welling in his eyes as he lifted his head, he stared fixedly at Li Hao while blood gushed out of his throat. He’d been had!

Li Hao looked on, coolly unmoved. Liu Yan came charging from behind and cleanly stabbed the dagger into Ghostface’s temples. She pulled it back out without hesitation, plunging it back in for repeated strokes!

Light extinguished in the pair of teary eyes.

Dead!

If a Sunderer fought Liu Yan and the team head-on, they would be the ones dead with ninety-nine percent surety. Tonight, however, it was the martial master that breathed his last. This was all due to Li Hao, and it came too quickly!

The young man panicked at the sight. He’d been nose-to-nose with the martial master and bounded backward as soon as the enemy died. He flung himself toward the back, garbling, “Catch me, protect me!”

The Slayers behind them had just received orders to protect Li Hao. Although their leader suddenly dropped to his knees, their minds didn’t register what’d taken place. The Slayer out in front subconsciously reached forward to catch the young man.

Protect Li Hao!

Li Hao aimed for his savior and pulled him close, throwing his arms around the man.

“Protect me!!” he shrilled.

The man didn’t have a chance to think further before a wave of pain assaulted him. Li Hao seemed to have a death grip on his neck! Internal force surged from the young man, turning his arms into a vise.

Crunch!

A crisp sound rang out as Li Hao snapped the Slayer’s neck into two with the Bear Hug technique! He then drew his gun with his right hand and fired at the Slayer closest to him. His movements were sure and swift, first snapping one enemy’s neck, then blowing out the brains of another.

They were only one meter apart—he’d be an idiot if he missed at this range.

Bang!

There was no running from a gun! Blood spurted as a bullet drilled straight through the skull!

He killed two Slayers in the blink of an eye. Liu Yan came flying over and stabbed her dagger into the second Slayer’s throat. She pulled out another with her left hand and stabbed it into a third’s heart!

Two strokes to ensure death! The rest of the group watched with horrified eyes as one Sunderer and three Slayers died before anyone could react!

“Be careful, he…”

This had been a ten person team of nine Slayers and one Sunderer. Four were dead in the span of a breath and their strongest was among the fatalities. Of the six survivors, some were shocked beyond belief and others were so frantic they didn’t know what to do. Everything was happening so quickly!

Li Hao fired again. The enemy was too close; he didn’t want to throw himself over as it was very dangerous. It was better to use the gun first!

Bang!

As the blow connected with a target, Liu Yan whirled in with both daggers and swiftly severed another martial master’s arms. Another two were instantly crippled.

Chen Jian finally made it to the rest of the group, just as baffled as the rest of the Ghostfaces. When Li Hao spotted the portly man’s arrival, he roared, “Protect me!”

While Chen Jian stared with incomprehension, the young man grabbed eight grenades from his pockets. Their pins were strung together on a single thread; he yanked them out with a quick pull!

Threw the grenades down!

Turned and ran!

Liu Yan was poised to deliver a finishing blow to the one whose arms she’d severed. She cursed when she caught sight of the grenades out the corner of her eyes. Eight of them! She was only a Slayer, not an invincible Dominator! Neither was she a supernatural with remarkable abilities! Martial masters were also mundanes and would be blown to pieces by grenades!

Instead of turning around to run, she stepped on the closest martial master to launch herself into the air and catapult herself out.

BAM!!

A massive explosion rocked the air. Three of the remaining six were thrown around like rag dolls and died without an intact corpse to their name. The other three found themselves missing limbs when the dust settled.

The shockwave flung Liu Yan and Li Hao outward. Only Chen Jian remained on his feet since he was farther from the center of the blast. The detonation shocked him back to his senses and he grabbed Li Hao, bringing up the shield to block shrapnel.

Plink plink plink!

Rocks collided with the shield; Chen Jian was still a bit dazed by the situation. Meanwhile, Li Hao sprinted backward and jumped lightly in the ape style, grabbing a Ghostface that’d survived the blast and crept up to him!

His hands clenched tight in Black Tiger Heart Gouge and he gouged the enemy’s chest open! Blood covering his hands didn’t faze him as he propelled internal strength forward and shattered a beating heart!

Liu Yan whirled around without missing a beat and slit the throat of another martial master seeking to get away. Only one was alive now—the grenades had claimed his right leg and slowed him down, ironically resulting in prolonged survival.

Chen Jian fully snapped back to the present and roared, picking his shield up and charging forward. He smashed the last survivor’s head in with a bellow of rage!

Silence finally descended on the scene. Li Hao and Liu Yan were drenched in blood. The intensifying rain sluiced them clean, but puddles of red dotted the ground.

Three Slayers had bizarrely counter-killed one Sunderer and nine Slayers!

Liu Yan remained focused in battle and methodically landed finishing blows, ensuring their enemy’s death. She frequently glanced at Li Hao with an odd gaze as she did so!

No one could tell what she meant by it, but her eyes seemed to be suffused by an unusual fervor and enthusiasm. Li Hao had been incredible in this battle!