【Han Shou: "This elder brother of mine is indeed inconvenient to kill. To put it plainly, everyone under heaven may kill him now — everyone but the Black Cavalry army. Touch him, and how would the Duke of Sacred Might face the heroes and bold men of the world?"】
【Liu Wei: "True."】
【Han Shou: "But I too am of the Han family."】
【Liu Wei: "...?"】
【Han Shou: "What this Han means is that although it was my elder brother who opened the gates for you, everyone in Anchun County knows that it was I, Han Shou, who had designs on treating with the enemy, and that this elder brother of mine was a loyal son of Yan holding the city... Besides, how many people know that it was my brother who opened the gates tonight? So long as your side insists that Han Shou opened them, who else has the leisure to verify what lies behind it?"】
【Han Yi: "Commander Liu, do not listen to his nonsense!"】
【Liu Wei: "There is reason in what you say. But let this one ask you a question: on what grounds? Merely because the strategist has his eye on you?"】
【Han Shou: "Not enough?"】
【Liu Wei: "Not enough."】
【Han Shou: "Commander Liu came up as a greenwood brave. You ought to have no respect for a man like my elder brother. Why so unwilling now?"】
【Liu Wei: "Fair is fair. He preserved the lives of this one's own brothers. How could this one kill him?"】
【Han Shou: "The Daoist Dong must have wanted me brought back alive, and yet my elder brother wants my life. This Han has only one thing to say: if I live, he does not; if he lives, I do not."】
【Liu Wei: "I cannot kill you."】
【Han Shou: "Of course."】
【Liu Wei: "Nor can I kill him."】
【Han Shou: "Understood."】
【Liu Wei: "Then settle the business between brothers among yourselves."】
With that, Liu Wei stepped back and took up a position guarding the doorway.
The two brothers exchanged a look. Not a word was needed; the screen cut into combat.
The loading screen carried another small tip.
(Tip: Under normal conditions, each Common Trait may have only one holder at Lv9. In combat, however, the holder of a Unique Trait may briefly hold a Common Trait at Lv9 through that Unique Trait.)
Han Yi charged first. From the day Han Shou had taken up martial training, there had never once been a time when Han Yi could beat him — but Han Shou had now spent several days locked in prison, covered in wounds, badly fed and badly rested. This was an opportunity that came once in a thousand years!
【Wind Net Strike!】
Han Yi closed in front of Han Shou and began to charge. His action bar turned white, and three characters appeared at the top of the screen — presumably the name of the technique. Han Shou took a defensive stance, and while this went on the action bar did not rise.
Han Yi finished charging, and with inner breath surging he delivered a punch like a gale and a thunderclap. Han Shou found the force hard to bear; he gave ground two steps in a row before he barely steadied himself.
-7%!
【Han Shou: "Heh."】
Han Shou gave a soft laugh, stepped back twice, and began to circulate his inner breath — and the three characters that appeared at the top of the screen were, of all things, Wind Net Strike as well.
BANG!
With his action bar not yet full, Han Yi could only shift to a defensive stance and eat the blow.
-19%!
More than double the damage was not the end of it. The blow blasted Han Yi's stance apart entirely; his charge bar dropped to zero and stalled briefly, and his guard was thrown wide open. Han Shou seized the chance to strike again — not with a technique this time, but with a normal attack. Expressionless, he charged his inner breath to the full, took the opening, and drove a fist into Han Yi's throat!
A hair-raising sound of bone shattering rang out.
-100%!
【Han Shou has slain Han Yi.】
It was beyond question a killing blow. Han Yi's body went limp and dropped, without a breath left in it... But strangely, the battle did not end; the screen remained in the combat scene.
Han Shou drew his hand back, his expression unchanged.
【Liu Wei: "Fine skill."】
【Han Shou: "Commander Liu flatters me... So then — let it be said that I opened the gates. Agreed?"】
【Liu Wei: "Matters have come this far; what is there to refuse... But there are some people to be dealt with. The Han family's, you handle yourself — seeing how you killed your own brother without a moment's hesitation, I expect that will be no trouble. As for the ones here, I'll clean up on your behalf."】
【Han Shou: "Good."】
【With that, he tore a strip of cloth from his own clothes, wiped the blood from his hand, then climbed the steps to Liu Wei's side and held out the cleaned hand. "Commander Liu, we'll be working together from now on. I hope you'll look after me."】
【Liu Wei put out his hand. "The strategist thinks highly of you; you hardly need me to...?"】
Liu Wei suddenly could not speak. A gleaming dagger stood buried in the left side of his chest, over the heart... Given his standing in the Black Cavalry army, getting himself a suit of armor would have been no trouble, but he had come up in the greenwood and kept a good many bad habits, among them a dislike of wearing armor, since it interfered with his lightness arts and his suppleness... And that, it seemed, had become his death warrant.
A damage figure popped up above his head.
-9%
The Han Shou on screen plainly could not see that number. He drove the dagger in harder and said casually, "I forgot to tell you — call it a secret... That Daoist Dong, I dislike him a great deal. Always muttering mystical nonsense, just like that boy's second sister over there. The people I hate most in this life are the ones who won't say a thing plainly. Myself excepted, of course. So — I won't be joining you."
【Liu Wei's expression was calm, his voice low. "I see... Then let me tell you two secrets of my own, Han Shou... First: my heart is on the right."】
Han Shou knew he was in serious trouble halfway through the sentence, but it was already too late. Liu Wei's fist, charged to the full with inner breath, blasted clean through his chest, tearing the heart out with it and bursting it in the same blow!
-100%!
【Liu Wei: "Second... I dislike the Daoist Dong as well."】
【Han Shou swayed on his feet. "Heh... it seems I amount to no more than this."】
As the words fell he dropped, and his life was gone.
【Liu Wei has slain Han Shou.】
Calmly, Liu Wei pulled the dagger out, and with his inner breath surging he stanched the bleeding quickly. Then he took up mace and whip and walked into the cells, carrying out a slaughter of everyone who had heard and seen what they should not have heard or seen. However they begged for mercy or protested their loyalty, none of it did them any good.
Ji Zhao naturally did not escape either — but with the game systems upgraded, "Observe" could now be used in combat as well. Ji Zhao picked his moment, ran to Liu Wei's side just as one of his blows had spent its force, and used "Observe."
【Character: Liu Wei】
【Comprehension: 8+12】
【Constitution: 14+30】
【Martial Attainment: 4132】
【Common Traits: Constitution Lv5, Comprehension Lv3, Innate Lv2, Adversity Lv4, Godspeed Lv2, Duel Lv3, Peerless Lv4, Martial Might Lv3, Adversity Lv3】
【Unique Trait: None】
【Overall Rating: B-Lower】
Liu Wei came up beside Ji Zhao and brought the whip down, expressionless.
-100%!
【Liu Wei has slain Ji Zhao.】
【The character True·Ji Zhao has marked Liu Wei as "Nemesis."】