Azure Heaven Saber

Chapter 55 - 55 43 A Gentle Stab

?Chapter 55: Chapter 43: A Gentle Stab Chapter 55: Chapter 43: A Gentle Stab Feng Yin was crystal clear.

There were four Bronze Badge assassins from the Heavenly Judge, hot on the trail, in relentless pursuit; Ma Sanqian fled all the way, though unsettled, but always managed to dodge dangers deftly. What does that indicate?

Obviously, he still had strength to spare, still had hidden ability, ready to deal with the Bronze Badge assassins that could spring out at any time.

This was an experience tempered by a veteran of the Jianghu.

No matter the circumstances, always reserve a trump card for yourself.

When this trump card shows up, that’s the real moment of desperate struggle.

At such a time, Feng Yin naturally won’t make a move.

He just follows from a distance, neither too fast nor too slow, neither too close nor too far.

Close enough to see the situation clearly, yet far enough not to be left behind.

The surroundings were plunged into deep night.

Feng Yin believed he was by no means the only one following this plan.

So he took extra care, never making a sound, hiding himself as best he could.

The pursuit and battle were still ongoing, in a moment’s notice they had travelled several hundred feet, the battlegroup was getting closer and closer to the city gate.

Outside the city gate was a vast wilderness!

It looked like the dragon was about to return to the sea, the tiger to the mountains.

With escape up ahead, Ma Sanqian was not slacking off, but rather became more alert and guarded.

Once out of the city walls, the sky was wide and the earth spacious. He could choose a direction, use his vitality to escape, and be confident of surviving.

But the crux lies in this stretch of the journey.

Only after actually walking this deciding stretch of survival would he truly escape!

He had been on the run for quite some time. Watching over him were definitely not just these four Bronze Badge assassins; inevitably there would be more Bronze Badge assassins lurking nearby, seizing the opportunity to strike.

All the old Jianghus knew that the time just before dawn was the darkest.

Ma Sanqian couldn’t help feeling regretful. He was simply too greedy.

If it wasn’t for the need to tidy up his property at home, to liquidate everything, he would probably be in the wilderness by now…

“Ma Sanqian! You dare to try and escape the city?!”

While he was lost in thought, a thunderous shout resonated.

Two gleaming lights were flaring, one left and one right, in the night sky ahead.

The murderous intent was clear, a pincer attack from both sides.

Behind him, flickering lights shot up into the night sky, it was the light of the Heavenly Judgment.

This was the Heavenly Judge assassins announcing their identities.

The city gate guards had been on high alert, but upon seeing these flickering lights, the leader promptly let out a sigh of relief.

“Everyone, back to sleep, this is the Heavenly Judge on a mission; it’s a Jianghu affair, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

The soldiers responded in chorus, then without saying a word, all went back.

Ma Sanqian could almost swear; since when did the assassins’ identity token become the official passage permit?

Would it kill you to lend a helping hand?

The moment they saw the assassins, they went back to sleep. Were they still the guards of the Great Qin?

What happened to the legendary discipline of the Qin Army?!

Those two assassins who had been secretly following decided to strike now rather than let Ma Sanqian escape the city, where things would only become more difficult, possibly even leading to a reversal of attack and defense. Otherwise, they would not have shown their hand at this point.

Otherwise, with their patience, every Bronze assassin had been tailing him for who knows how long, just a bit of time wouldn’t matter).

At this moment, the twin blades worked perfectly together, one on the left, one on the right, one above, one below, abruptly illuminating the whole night sky.

Although the two assassins had never cooperated before and had started the attack on their own initiative, their cooperation was tacit, like a natural pairing.

They formed a pincer attack from the front and rear with the four Bronze Badge assassins that had been pursued from behind, their power rising explosively.

Six assassins working perfectly together, giving it their all.

Ma Sanqian tried his best to dodge, but the dense hidden weapons from behind had almost enveloped all his dodging space.

With the continuous clangs, while the weapons knocked down various hidden weapons, they themselves had to dodge, tuck in their abdomen, twist their waist, lean back, sidestep, and retreat… doing everything they could to dodge the joint attack of these two blades.

“Ah!”

A terrible scream was heard.

With a hiss, a knife cut through Ma Sanqian’s right thigh at a tricky angle, blood gushed out, the smell of blood filled the atmosphere.

“Great hit!”

The spirits of the five assassins were lifted.

“Damn it!”

Ma Sanqian cried out in pain, and instinctively his right leg jerked back. The assassin who had inflicted the wound knew the principle of not pushing his luck. Immediately after landing the hit, he retreated as fast as he could, the blood sparkling on his blade. Thick, fresh blood was scattered around with the swing of the knife, flashing a bewitching, hazy red in the night sky.

This was the first time the bronze assassins had drawn blood.

“Wounded me and thought you could leave?!”

Ma Sanqian laughed harshly, and suddenly shot out a long rope from his iron whip. It flashed and twisted around like a serpent, and at the last possible moment, it circled the assassin’s neck.

This assassin was also resolute. He immediately dropped his knife and grabbed the rope with both hands.

This was a correct approach, holding the rope with both hands to restrain its Qi channeling. This would render its rear end unable to exert force and unable to create the lethal chokehold.

But the moment the rope circled his neck, the assassin let out a scream, his face turned white.

A circular sting on his neck. The rope was full of tiny thorns, and in an instant, they pierced the skin, and sent a numbing, tingling sensation throughout the body.

His vision turned black instantly.

“It’s poisoned!”

His heart sank, his eyes showed despair.

Poison on both hands and neck, in such a battle, there’s virtually no hope.

In his eyes there was an unspeakable terror.

With a death grip on the rope, he desperately tugged it. Despite the bark thorns piercing deep into his hand, he refused to let go.

“Die with me!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

The assassin shouted repeatedly as he tugged madly, using all his strength. His bloodshot eyes bulged out as he drew Ma Sanqian backwards. Ma Sanqian, hanging mid-air with nowhere to leverage from, was being pulled towards the assassin’s location.

He was laser-focused on one thought.

If I die, you’re not surviving either!

Having revealed his trump card, Ma Sanqian had thought he could instant-kill the opponent. Unexpectedly, the assassin of the Heavenly Judgment proved highly tenacious. Even with his life on the line, he remained composed, disrupting Ma Sanqian.

Angered, Ma Sanqian flicked his wrist, severing the rope and iron whip. With a swift movement, he struck the Bronze Badge assassin directly on the head, spraying brain matter and resulting in immediate death.

However, during the brief delay, several other assassins had managed to close in on him. Together, the five Bronze Badge assassins attacked!

Shoo, shoo, shoo…

In an instant, flickers of blood appeared one after another. Ma Sanqian was repeatedly injured with wounds appearing constantly, his roars filled with desperation.

He was like a levitating bag of blood, with droplets of blood constantly spattering out.

He desperately tried to break through and carve out a path of blood, but the five remained silent, rallying relentlessly towards him,
They didn’t give him any chances to retreat.

“Kill!”

Within moments, Ma Sanqian was pushed to reveal all his strategies. His body was like a porcupine, constantly launching all sorts of unimaginable hidden weapons.

But the five men, on guard due to the death of their fellow assassin, were clearly prepared.

The five assassins, who had never met or worked together before, were now coordinating perfectly. Distract, evade, attack and repeat; they became an unbreakable loop.

Under such flawless coordination, the balance of power became increasingly clear. Ma Sanqian’s predicament became increasingly dangerous, his defeat was imminent.

At this moment, Feng Yin was lurking atop the tall battlements, watching the battle below with a somber gaze, silently sighing.

If it’s your fate, then it is inevitable. I have wasted my efforts this time!

The situation was clear now—it wouldn’t be his turn to fight.

Of the six men currently engaged in battle, even the weakest was just as strong as him.

Even if he joined in the melee to encircle and kill Ma Sanqian, the chances of him landing the killing blow wouldn’t exceed 10%. Plus, it would draw the ire of the other Bronze Badge assassins and could possibly lead to his own death. The risks outweighed the rewards…

Just as he was contemplating withdrawing, he suddenly widened his eyes with shock.

He saw Ma Sanqian suddenly bellow, his entire body exploding with a surge of energy unlike anything before.

His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and his face was so red it seemed on the verge of bursting. Simultaneously, he spouted a mouthful of blood.

This was the lifeblood of his heart—his vital essence!

A last-ditch effort.

At this point, Ma Sanqian was fairly certain there were no more Bronze Badge assassins lurking nearby.

Because at this moment, it was the best opportunity to step into the fray. Joining the fight now meant an opportunity to assassinate him, an opportunity that could pass in a moment. Any skilled assassin wouldn’t miss out!

Since no one had shown up until now, that meant there definitely wouldn’t be any others.

So…it was finally his turn!

After all this time being battered, he could finally reveal his true ace—an irreversible trump card!

As he spewed out the essence of his blood, Ma Sanqian’s strength increased exponentially. With one swing of his mace, he threw off the weapons of the five surrounding him,
As the five staggered backwards, Ma Sanqian roared mightily, propelled himself upwards, and headed straight for the battlements.

Blood spurted from his body like a multitude of bloody pillars. Under the moonlight, he looked like a gigantic blood-colored porcupine.

Ma Sanqian dared not linger. Although this state seemed invincible, he was down to his final blow.

For Ma Sanqian, if this final blow could break through the encirclement, that would be his greatest success. Despite the fact that he could instantly kill at least two people with this blow, once it exhausted his power, he would be undoubtedly dead.

At this very moment, escaping was the first priority!

The five Bronze Badge assassins cried out together, using all their strength to deal with the sudden onslaught. Blood sprayed as they were forced to retreat, their faces filled with shock.

They hadn’t expected that Ma Sanqian still had such a trump card; such formidable strength.

They knew that had that blow focused on one or two of them, it would have surely resulted in their instant death, with no chance for survival!

At this moment, Ma Sanqian’s speed was just too fast; the power he had obtained from burning his essence was incomparable to any ordinary speed.

If they tried to pursue him, they would certainly fail. Surely they couldn’t burn their essence just for this mission, could they?

That would be too much of a loss, too unreasonable. They couldn’t possibly risk halting their martial arts progress just for the sake of Ma Sanqian.

Everyone understood this rationale. With their discouragement surging, none of them made a move and simply watched.

They watched as Ma Sanqian, roaring wildly, surged upwards seven or eight zhang, reaching the city parapet, before flying out without a moment’s pause.

“Missed by a fraction!”

All five had the same thought. It was unthinkable that they had pushed Ma Sanqian to such an extent, only for him to escape in the end.

But then, the next second…

All five had their eyes widened at the same time.

“Damn!”

This word slipped out of their mouths unfiltered, expressing their heart’s emotions without any thought. Besides this word, no other could perfectly encapsulate their feelings at that moment.

Just when Ma Sanqian was projected at his highest altitude and about to land outside the city…

From the dark battlements, a brilliant ray of light suddenly soared into the sky, illuminating the night.

Glistening under the cold moonlight.

The sword light was frigid and terrifying.

Yet, it had a touch of tenderness.

…

[What should be the title of this chapter?]