Chapter 7

In a secluded forest near Baisui City in Chuzhou County of the Great Xuan Kingdom, a thin figure leaned against a thick tree trunk, sitting with his legs spread wide.

The figure turned out to be a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old.

He had ordinary features, but his face was abnormally pale. His coarse clothes were a bit too large and ill-fitting, and a shiny steel sword was casually placed beside him.

The hilt of the sword was stained with some black blood.

One of the boy's shoulders was wrapped several times with a piece of fabric whose color was indiscernible, with a few drops of blood seeping through.

The boy's eyelids were closed, and his body remained motionless against the tree trunk, as if he were taking a nap.

Suddenly, a faint "rustling" sound came from the dense forest, quickly approaching the boy's position.

The boy immediately opened his eyes, flipped over, and skillfully kicked his foot to the side.

With a "bang," the steel sword soared into the air and landed steadily in his palm.

After a deep glance in the direction of the sound, the boy hesitated for no more than a moment before leaping in the opposite direction, disappearing into the dense forest in a few bounds.

A short while later, a group of heavily armored warriors emerged from the forest, divided into several groups.

There were only about twenty of these warriors, but each was tall and fierce, clearly seasoned veterans of many battles.

As soon as they emerged from the forest, they stood still at the command of a low shout.

At the same time, a young warrior with a determined face hurried forward a few steps, crouched down where the boy had been resting, and quickly examined the nearby soil. He then immediately stood up.

"Captain Wang, the fugitive hasn't been gone long. If we chase him now, we might still have a chance to catch him," the warrior reported to the only man without a black helmet, a bald giant.

Although the other warriors were already quite tall, they were still noticeably shorter than the nearly two-zhang-tall giant, like children standing before an adult.

"Hmph, no need. This time, we've set up a dragnet across several cities. No matter how cunning this boy is, he can't escape. Captain Situ is already waiting on the other side. We just need to conserve our strength and move slowly," the giant grunted, glancing in the direction the boy had fled.

"Sir, this is a notorious criminal wanted by the county. Capturing him would be a great achievement. Are you really going to let Captain Situ and his men have it?" the warrior was taken aback, hesitating.

"Great achievement? We'll see if Captain Situ has the ability. If we move a bit slower, we might just reap the benefits," the giant stroked his bald head and said expressionlessly.

"What do you mean, sir? Captain Situ has more men than we do. Even if the boy knows some combat techniques, how long could he possibly hold out?" the young warrior was surprised.

"Yu Xin, you've been with me for a while and are quite brave. If you were surrounded by county constables, how many could you face and still escape?" the giant asked meaningfully, instead of answering directly.

"Ordinary constables? I could handle seven or eight without a problem, but if it exceeds ten, my life would be in danger," the young warrior replied cautiously.

"Seven or eight! Heh, since the warrant was issued, the number of constables killed by this boy has already exceeded this number by tenfold," the giant chuckled, then said grimly.

"How is that possible! Those constables are specially trained. Even if they can't match us Black Guards, they're not easy to kill," the young warrior exclaimed, his face full of disbelief.

"He escaped from the Savage Island. Even though he's young, it's not too surprising that he can do these things. Savage Island is a place for the most vicious criminals. The prisoners there are all highly skilled and not to be underestimated," the giant said coldly.

"What? A fugitive from Savage Island!"

The young warrior gasped, then remembered something and asked urgently:

"I've heard that Savage Island sank overnight, and all the prisoners sank with it. How could anyone escape? That's the notorious Dead Sea, where only specially made black wood boats can float."

"I don't know the details, but I know that besides this boy, over a dozen others also escaped from the Dead Sea. If it weren't for one of them being captured and interrogated, the court might still be unaware. We Black Guards wouldn't have been mobilized. In any case, the boy we're chasing is the weakest of the escapees. Although he's been delaying for over half a month, if we encounter him face-to-face, he's as good as dead," the giant shook his head, patted the black spear on his back, and said confidently.

"Of course. Who doesn't know that you rank among the top hundred warriors in Chuzhou County?" the young warrior said respectfully.

"Enough flattery! We should get moving. Let's go!" the giant waved his large hand and said bluntly.

The young warrior stiffened and responded, returning to the other warriors.

The entire group immediately set off again, one by one disappearing into the forest.

After a short while, when the warriors emerged from the forest and reached a small open grassland, the scene before them stunned everyone.

The originally green grass was mostly dyed red with blood.

Among the blood, the bodies of warriors in black armor lay scattered, their faces twisted in fear and horror, as if they had seen something unimaginable before they died.

At their throats, there were all thumb-sized blood holes, from which blood gushed out.

"There are thirty bodies. They seem to be Captain Situ's men. But Captain Situ himself is not among them," the young warrior named Yu Xin, his face pale, stepped out of the formation, quickly examined the bodies, and reported to the giant, his expression showing a hint of unease.

The giant's face darkened. After listening, he looked toward the other side of the grassland, then strode over.

The other warriors followed without hesitation, but they were all on high alert.

The giant's figure moved swiftly, and in a moment, he stood before a tall tree. His gaze swept the ground below, and his expression turned grim.

At the base of the tree, a middle-aged man in black armor, his face sallow, was impaled through the throat by a steel sword, pinned to the tree trunk a foot off the ground.

Nearby, a pale silver longsword was embedded in the soil.

The middle-aged man's hands were tightly gripping the sword, his fingers broken, his eyes wide open, and his breath long gone.

...

Liu Ming was leaping through the forest, his entire body aching, and even the silver longsword he held felt heavy.

Although he had used the sword techniques he had practiced for five or six years to kill so many enemies, the ferocity of these warriors far exceeded his expectations.

Even after he had killed all the warriors using guerrilla tactics, the leading captain continued to pursue him relentlessly.

He was forced to use a secret technique he had learned on the island to unleash his physical potential, at the cost of aggravating his old injuries, to barely kill the captain.

The consequences of this action left his young body overexerted and struggling to bear the burden.

Liu Ming glanced at his shoulder, where the bandages, originally wrapped in several layers, were now soaked in blood, and a searing pain occasionally shot through.

Even with his resilient nature and the lingering effects of the physical potential technique, he was still struggling.

The Black Guards were indeed the elite local forces of the Great Xuan Kingdom, far superior to the ordinary constables he had encountered before.

He now hoped that the slaughter would instill fear in the other Black Guards, preventing them from pursuing him too closely.

If he could just wait a day or two, the aftereffects of the "Breath Holding Technique" he had used would subside, and he could escape by jumping into a nearby river.

He was young, but he had indeed learned several rare and obscure techniques on Savage Island.

If not for these, even with the protection he had received on the island, how could a child have survived for seven or eight years in such a brutal place?

Thinking of this, Liu Ming's mind immediately conjured the image of a scarred giant, whose fierce appearance made his heart warm.

Suddenly, Liu Ming's expression changed. His body, which had been leaping forward, twisted sharply, and he curled into a ball, flying to the side.

At the same time, a series of "whoosh" sounds came from the forest ahead.

Dozens of half-foot-long crossbow bolts shot out from the dense forest, flashing past the boy's body and embedding themselves in the gray tree trunk behind him.

The crossbow bolts were made of fine steel, their bodies cold and gleaming, most of them buried deep in the tree, trembling slightly with a low hum.

"Who's there?"

The boy rolled into a nearby bush, holding the silver longsword in front of him, his expression cold as he shouted into the forest.

"Your skills are impressive, no wonder you've managed to evade the Black Guards for so long. But now that you've encountered us, you're as good as dead," a sharp woman's voice came from ahead, and a man and a woman emerged from behind a large tree.