Chapter 99 of 100
Chapter 99
9 min read2,140 words
Whether being chased by wolves or people, it's not a good feeling, especially when the pursuers include a few Level 3 to Level 4 guys. The distance gradually closing in was rapidly forcing Zhang Tie, who was nearly at Level 2, to push his limits.
Zhang Tie, carrying a mining basket, dashed past the ore collection point below the Wild Wolf Castle. A few acquaintances at the collection point, seeing Zhang Tie running so fast, quickly asked, "Zhang Tie, why are you running so fast?"
"Going to the toilet!" Zhang Tie's voice came from a distance.
Zhang Tie had just run over 50 meters when several guards from the Samira Merchant Guild arrived, chasing after him. The guards, who were relentlessly pursuing him, shouted loudly, "Catch the thief! The guy in front is a thief, catch him!"
Behind the Samira Merchant Guild guards were a group of students with a strong sense of justice, who followed the chase. A large crowd noisily rushed past the ore collection point.
"Trouble, quickly report to the temporary supervision committee's teacher, something's about to happen!" A student who was familiar with Zhang Tie, seeing the situation, quickly instructed and ran toward the Wild Wolf Castle.
Damn, is this kid a rabbit? How can he run so fast? The guards from the Samira Merchant Guild, who were chasing Zhang Tie, were increasingly alarmed. The speed at which Zhang Tie ran was astonishing, not at all like that of a student. However, no matter how fast Zhang Tie ran, the gap in strength remained. The distance between them was gradually closing, from less than 100 meters to 50 meters, and finally to about 20 meters...
Zhang Tie gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could, cursing in his heart, "Damn, when I get stronger, I'll crush you bastards." The mine entrance was just ahead, and Zhang Tie was overjoyed. He suddenly increased his speed and plunged into the mine.
Just as the guards' sinister smiles became clearer, they suddenly froze. Zhang Tie had just dived into the mine, and the guards quickly followed.
Zhang Tie had walked this mine tunnel countless times and was extremely familiar with the route. This time, he didn't even light a torch. He only extended his right hand to touch the wall, relying on his memory, and didn't slow down at all as he plunged in.
The guards who followed him into the mine lacked night vision and were unfamiliar with the terrain. After following Zhang Tie for about 20 meters, the one in the lead crashed into the wall at a corner, letting out a scream.
"Quickly find a torch, quickly find a torch, it's too dark inside, we can't see. That kid has run into the mine..."
Hearing the screams and the angry voices behind him, Zhang Tie, who had slightly slowed down, smiled coldly. "Damn, you want to play dirty? I'll make you lose more than you gain."
The mine tunnel was long, nearly a mile. After running a few hundred meters and hearing no more sounds behind him, Zhang Tie fumbled in the dark, took out a torch from his mining basket, lit it, and continued running. He ran all the way to the mining area, but didn't stop. Instead, he ran into a side tunnel next to his mining spot, extinguished the torch, and panted heavily.
At this moment, darkness was indeed the best cover.
Zhang Tie panted heavily for nearly two minutes. Once his body had mostly calmed down, he closed his eyes and focused, locking onto the mysterious archway in his mind. Then, in the darkness, Zhang Tie disappeared from the spot.
...
Inside the Black Iron Castle, it was bright and warm...
— Welcome, noble and handsome lord, to the Black Iron Castle!
The familiar dialogue box and welcome message appeared, but Zhang Tie had no mood to read it. He flipped out the mining basket on his back. Inside, there was indeed an elegant leather wallet. Zhang Tie picked it up, opened it, and casually glanced inside. The 20 golden coins and a large handful of silver coins made him laugh out loud.
He threw the wallet into the storage box, thought for a moment, and swapped the dagger in the box with the one on his waist. Then, he calmed himself and left the Black Iron Castle.
...
Ten minutes later, a large group of torches surged out of the tunnel, illuminating the usually deserted underground mine. Seeing the torches, Zhang Tie smiled coldly and continued to mine in his tunnel. A few minutes later, when the torches were about to reach his entrance, Zhang Tie put down his pickaxe, tightened the dagger at his waist, and calmly walked out of the mine with a torch in hand.
"Oh, what's going on? Why are there so many people mining today?" Zhang Tie called out, his face full of surprise.
"Kid, we finally caught you. Surrender peacefully!" One of the torch-bearers, with a bruised nose, said fiercely.
"What do you mean 'surrender peacefully'? Who the hell are you? I'm just mining here, why should I surrender?" Zhang Tie, who had just been acting surprised, suddenly changed his expression and started cursing.
Hearing Zhang Tie's words, the faces of the torch-bearers in front changed.
"Kid, still being stubborn. It was clearly you who stole my wallet. We chased you from the Wild Wolf Square to here. Are you still pretending nothing happened? Everyone here can testify for us!" Another torch-bearer said. This guy was the one who had just passed Zhang Tie at the square.
"Stole your wallet?" Zhang Tie jumped up. "I'd rather steal your mother, your grandmother, your sister, and all the women in your family. This isn't Black Flame City, and I can still report you for defamation to the temporary supervision committee!"
"Don't waste time with him, just take him down!" The guy with the broken nose said.
"Who the hell dares to touch me!" Zhang Tie immediately drew the dagger from his waist, glaring fiercely at the guys who were about to move, which startled them. Unexpectedly, Zhang Tie then changed his expression and called out to the students who had followed the guys. "Fellow students, I'm Zhang Tie, a student from No. 7 High School. These guys are trying to interfere with my trial and falsely accuse me of stealing their wallet. They even want to rough me up. If I stab them in a bit, please be my witnesses. I will be acting in self-defense. Please, which brother can quickly go to the supervision committee to help me?"
The students who had followed in were suddenly at a loss. They thought they were here to catch a thief, but why was this guy so defiant?
"Weren't you the one who stole their wallet at the square? We heard them shouting 'catch the thief' and followed them. If you didn't steal the wallet, why did you run?"
"I just had a stomachache and needed to go to the toilet. What's it to you..." Zhang Tie said calmly.
Seeing that the reality had deviated too much from the "script," the guys from the Samira Merchant Guild became anxious. One of them rushed over without a word, trying to grab Zhang Tie's shoulders to take him down.
Seeing these scoundrels dare to make a move, looking as if they were sure of themselves, Zhang Tie's eyes flashed with a cold light. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, and the dagger in his hand turned into a cold point of light, thrusting directly at the throat of the guy who was charging at him.
When Zhang Tie made his move, all the torch-bearers and the onlookers were startled. The guards from the Samira Merchant Guild were also shocked. Zhang Tie's attack was swift and decisive, aiming straight for the throat, with perfect coordination of hand, eye, and body. The simple dagger techniques and basic moves they had learned at school were executed flawlessly, filled with a fierce and brutal flavor, and a ruthless and determined momentum. This was not the kind of move a student could make, but rather that of a veteran who was used to life and death on the battlefield, where one move could mean life or death, not just victory or defeat.
When Zhang Tie made his move, the guard who was about to take him down was greatly alarmed. Zhang Tie's move reminded him of the old sergeant who had trained them when they first joined the service. Any move or combat skill in the old sergeant's hands had a momentum that could intimidate and overwhelm. The collision was instantaneous, and there was no time to change tactics. The guard barely lowered his head and leaned back, and the sharp wind from Zhang Tie's dagger just grazed his scalp...
The moment was so intense that everyone gasped...
"Be careful..."
Before the cries of the onlookers had even faded, Zhang Tie's thrusting hand did not retract. He took another lunge, and with a left hand, he delivered a hammer punch from the Iron Blood Fist technique, striking the guy's abdomen.
The hammer punch combined the force of a hammer with a punch, making it extremely powerful.
With a "Peng," the guy, who was already retreating, was hit by Zhang Tie's fierce hammer punch and flew backward, landing three meters away—right where he had started.
The entire cave was silent, with only the sizzling sound of the torches. Everyone stared at Zhang Tie in shock, as if they had seen a ghost. Among the onlookers, some rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they had seen. A mining trial student had just taken down a Level 3 guard from the merchant guild in one move. Was this a joke?
Zhang Tie was also slightly excited. In the brief moments of the confrontation, the effects of the Soul Tribulation Fruit finally showed. Not to mention other things, the dagger techniques he had learned at school seemed to have completely transformed after being honed by the Soul Tribulation Fruit. The ordinary moves in his hands were quickly turning into ruthless and practical combat skills. What he could do in the Soul Tribulation Realm, he could indeed do in reality...
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