Chapter 74: Fierce Battle

Jian Chen was dealing with a group of enemies on his own. The mournful cries and the bloody scene before him were already commonplace to him, leaving no impression on his state of mind.

As Jian Chen's sword continuously stabbed out, one after another member of the Cang Mang Bandit Gang fell to his blade. In the face of Jian Chen's lightning-fast sword technique, those bandits who were on par with him in strength could not even last three moves, and many were directly struck in the throat by Jian Chen.

Although Jian Chen's strength among the mercenaries could only be considered as one of the lowest, in terms of the number of bandits he had killed, no one could compare to him. In just a few breaths, over a dozen bandits had fallen to Jian Chen's sword. The silver-white Lightwind Sword in his hand was already covered in blood, turning the entire sword blood-red. Despite this, the coarse cloth clothing he wore remained clean and tidy, without a single drop of blood, unlike the other mercenaries who were drenched in blood.

Unconsciously, Jian Chen had already penetrated deep into the bandits' ranks. Within a twenty-meter radius around him, all were members of the Cang Mang Bandit Gang, with no mercenaries present. The other mercenaries were mostly fighting in groups of three or five.

"Charge!" Three bandits closest to Jian Chen shouted and charged at him, raising their weapons to strike.

Jian Chen quickly stepped forward, his movements ghostly, and in an instant, he was in front of one of the bandits. The Lightwind Sword in his hand turned into a red streak, stabbing at the bandit's throat with lightning speed.

Jian Chen was proficient in fast sword techniques, and this strike was incredibly swift. The bandit's nerves could not react in time, only seeing a red streak flash by. Then, he felt a slight numbness in his throat, followed by difficulty breathing, as if something was blocking his throat, preventing him from breathing. Immediately, fresh blood flowed from his neck, and the bandit, unable to make a sound, slowly fell backward.

In his final moments, he did not understand how he died. Perhaps he did not even realize that his throat had been pierced by Jian Chen's lightning-fast sword, as the sword was so fast that it did not give him time to react, and the thin blade did not cause intense pain when it pierced his throat.

After piercing the bandit's throat, Jian Chen did not pause. The other two bandits were already close, their weapons about to strike him.

Facing the weapons of the two bandits about to hit him, Jian Chen showed no sign of panic. His expression was calm, and he immediately pulled the Lightwind Sword from the bandit's throat. With a mysterious step, his body moved like a ghost, dodging the attacks of the two bandits. At the same time, the Lightwind Sword, now dyed red with blood, stabbed at the throat of one of the bandits at a speed that could not be seen by the naked eye.

The Lightwind Sword easily avoided the bandit's reaction, piercing deeply into his throat. As soon as it entered, Jian Chen pulled it out and immediately stabbed at the third bandit.

Each of Jian Chen's strikes was incredibly fast, so fast that they could not be seen by the naked eye. Among those of equal strength, almost no one could avoid his sword. The third bandit could not even see the sword shadow before it pierced his throat.

Killing was already a daily routine for Jian Chen. The bloody scene before him was already familiar, and it did not even make him frown. After dealing with these bandits, Jian Chen did not pause for a moment, continuing to stab at the surrounding bandits.

The battle was extremely fierce. In this life-or-death situation, no one could remain uninvolved. Even the carriage drivers, whose strength was not yet at the Saint level, gathered in groups of three or five, combining their strength to assist some of the mercenaries in attacking the isolated bandits.

The intense fighting rapidly reduced the numbers on both sides. Both bandits and mercenaries suffered heavy casualties. Everyone, except for Jian Chen, who still wore his clean coarse cloth clothing, was covered in blood, and some were completely drenched, looking like blood-soaked figures, with wounds of various sizes all over their bodies.

Although the bandits outnumbered the mercenaries, their individual strength and team coordination were far inferior to the disciplined and well-coordinated mercenaries. As the battle continued, the number of bandits who fell was much greater than that of the mercenaries. Even so, the numbers on both sides could only barely maintain a balance.

Jian Chen continued to move through the bandits alone, calmly dodging attacks from all directions. The Lightwind Sword in his hand, now completely dyed red with blood, continuously stabbed out. With each strike, it either directly hit the bandits' hearts or throats, dealing fatal blows, or left deep, bone-deep wounds on their bodies. The surrounding bandits had no way to deal with Jian Chen; they could not see his strikes, and their weapons could not even touch him. Many times, just as their weapons were about to hit him, he would narrowly dodge at the last moment, leaving the bandits unable to even touch his clothes, while more and more bandits fell to his sword.

As more and more bandits died at Jian Chen's hands, the surrounding bandits gradually realized his strength and began to intentionally keep their distance. After all, in a situation where they were clearly outmatched, no one wanted to die needlessly.

"Sir, you have impressive skills. Let me test you." At this moment, a deep voice reached Jian Chen's ears. As soon as the words were spoken, a pale green light shot towards Jian Chen at incredible speed.

Feeling the speed of the pale green light and the powerful energy it emitted, Jian Chen's expression changed. From the force of this attack alone, he could tell that the attacker was extremely powerful, so powerful that he did not dare to confront him head-on. Otherwise, this single attack could injure him.

The pale green light was extremely fast, reaching Jian Chen in an instant. At the same time, Jian Chen's expression became extremely serious, and he immediately controlled his body to dodge to the side.

The pale green light almost grazed Jian Chen's shoulder and struck the ground with a loud "boom," creating a deep pit.

Jian Chen quickly retreated, immediately putting some distance between himself and the attacker. In a blink, he was over fifteen meters away. When he stopped, he looked up. Despite the darkness, with the help of the distant fires and his keen eyesight, he could clearly see the person opposite him.

The person was a middle-aged man, around thirty to forty years old. He was of average build, not particularly muscular, and his face was unremarkable. Wearing a simple cloth robe, he looked like an ordinary person. If it weren't for the large guandao in his right hand, which was taller than him and emitting a faint green glow, he would have looked like a completely ordinary civilian, with nothing to draw attention to him.

As Jian Chen observed the middle-aged man, the man's calm gaze was also assessing him. He said, "Your skills are impressive. Your opponent should be me." The middle-aged man's voice was very calm, his gaze fixed on Jian Chen, as if he were the only person in the world, showing no concern for the surrounding cries of battle.

Jian Chen's gaze shifted, observing the surroundings. The middle-aged man clearly had a high status among the bandits. As soon as he appeared, the bandits within a certain range of Jian Chen all kept their distance. Despite the many bandits around Jian Chen, when they saw the middle-aged man facing him, they all hesitated to approach, instead seeking out other mercenaries to fight.

Jian Chen's expression became serious. He knew that this battle would be the first life-or-death struggle he had faced since coming to this world. Despite his extensive combat experience and confidence in being unmatched at his level, he had little confidence in defeating the middle-aged man. From the force of the middle-aged man's attack, Jian Chen could tell that the man's strength far exceeded his own, and he possessed wind-attribute holy power, making him no slower than Jian Chen.

The middle-aged man's gaze remained fixed on Jian Chen as he slowly picked up the large guandao, which was slightly taller than him. The guandao was surrounded by a faint green glow, and a gentle breeze swirled around his body.

Noticing the middle-aged man's movements, Jian Chen's spirit became highly focused. Even with his mastery of the mysterious steps, he did not dare to be careless when facing an opponent who was much stronger than him and possessed wind-attribute holy power, which made him especially fast.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the middle-aged man let out a loud shout, took a step, and charged at Jian Chen. His speed was extremely fast, and in a blink, he was in front of Jian Chen. The guandao glowed with a bright green light, and a green blade of light, moving too fast to be seen, aimed for Jian Chen's neck.

Jian Chen's head tilted slightly, and the guandao almost grazed his head. After the blade of light passed, a few strands of black hair slowly fell from the air.

At the same time, Jian Chen's body suddenly crouched, and he took a large step forward, leaning his body forward to close the distance between himself and the middle-aged man. The Lightwind Sword formed a blood-red streak, stabbing at the middle-aged man's heart with lightning speed.

Facing an opponent much stronger than himself, this strike was all-out, with no holding back. The speed of this strike was almost at the limit of what Jian Chen could achieve. In an instant, the tip of the Lightwind Sword had reached the middle-aged man's chest, and the sword energy at the tip was about to pierce his body.

Seeing the sword tip that had reached his chest in an instant, the middle-aged man's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with disbelief. However, his reaction was also very quick. At this critical moment, powerful holy power burst from his body, forming a strong shockwave that impacted the Lightwind Sword that had reached his chest. At the same time, a part of his holy power formed a thin but very solid protective barrier around his body.