Jiang Han had actually anticipated the appearance of Jiang Xiong and the others.
He had killed Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao. He knew it couldn't be hidden for long and would be exposed sooner or later. He originally thought Jiang Long would personally lead a search party, which would quickly alert the Third Elder. To his surprise, only Jiang Xiong's group of four had come.
This actually made him feel a little fortunate. The sooner this matter was discovered, the faster the clan would send people to hunt him down.
He desperately needed time to rapidly increase his combat strength, so naturally, the longer he could delay, the better.
"Not a single one of these four can be allowed to escape!"
His mind raced as he scanned the four men, looking for his first target. In the end, he locked onto Jiang Xiong. He was the strongest of the four; once he was dealt with, the remaining three would be much easier to handle.
"Why waste so many words on him? Let's just take him down!"
A savage grin appeared on Jiang Xie's face as he strode forward, saber in hand.
Jiang Xiong and Jiang She exchanged a look. Jiang Xiong shouted in a low voice, "Attack together!"
With that, Jiang Xiong and Jiang She moved in unison. They brandished their longswords in a few flourishes and lunged at Jiang Han from two different directions.
Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao were both at the Purple Mansion 6th Level, yet they had vanished so bizarrely?
Adding to that, Jiang Han's father, Jiang Henshui, had been a once-in-a-century genius. Jiang Xiong might look like a rough man, but he was very cautious. He was like a lion hunting a rabbit, using his full strength from the very beginning.
As he rapidly closed in, he yelled, "Jiang Han, don't blame us for being ruthless. You brought this upon yourself!"
Almost at the same time, the last man, Jiang Hou, also moved. The four of them attacked Jiang Han simultaneously from different directions.
Jiang Han stood his ground, unmoving, as if he were scared stiff.
Seeing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Jiang Xiong's mind. *Am I being too cautious? With the four of us attacking together, is there any chance he could escape?*
"Hah!"
Jiang Xiong's longsword was already close to Jiang Han's body. Mystic Power flared in his hand as he viciously thrust the sword toward Jiang Han's left shoulder.
From the other directions, Jiang Xie's horse-chopping saber slashed viciously at Jiang Han's back, Jiang She's longsword stabbed toward his right shoulder, and Jiang Hou's longsword sealed off all his lower escape routes.
The four hadn't struck at the exact same moment, but their attacks arrived almost simultaneously. Their coordination was perfect. It was clear this wasn't the first time they had fought together; they had abundant combat experience.
"Er..."
"Hmm?"
In the next instant, all four of them were slightly stunned. A deep sense of unease inexplicably welled up within Jiang Xiong and Jiang She, who were facing Jiang Han directly. This story is hosted at g.com.
Because Jiang Han hadn't moved from the very beginning, not even lifting the battle saber in his hand. Just before their weapons made solid contact, they even saw a hint of mockery on his face.
Something shocking happened!
When their weapons struck Jiang Han, they met no resistance at all. His body was like a paper effigy, easily pierced through.
"Something's wrong!"
Jiang She roared at once. He saw Jiang Han's body, like an illusory flower reflected in water, slowly dissipate before their eyes and vanish into thin air...
The pupils of all four men contracted. Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang She saw the glint of a saber flash behind Jiang Xiong. A look of terror crossed his face as he bellowed, "Brother Xiong, watch out!"
Even without Jiang Hu's warning, Jiang Xiong had already felt the whistle of a blade cutting through the air behind him. At this life-or-death moment, he reacted with incredible speed.
He lunged forward, simultaneously twisting his waist with all his might, and swung his longsword upward from below.
It had to be said, Jiang Xiong's reaction was undeniably fast. As long as he could block this strike from Jiang Han, Jiang She and Jiang Xie would immediately come to his aid. He would then have ample time to evade any follow-up attacks.
*Clang!*
A long, narrow battle saber chopped down heavily, colliding with Jiang Xiong's longsword.
What Jiang Xiong never expected was—
An immense, berserk force surged from the battle saber, two or three times stronger than his own. A sharp pain shot through the web of his thumb, and his longsword was sent flying. The saber's momentum didn't slow in the slightest as it hacked heavily into his chest.
Jiang Xiong's response had been flawless. The problem was, he had completely misjudged the power of this strike!
"Ah!"
A blood-curdling scream rang out. Jiang Han had activated his Berserk Power Divine Ability, increasing the force of his strike fivefold. The blow disemboweled Jiang Xiong.
"..."
Staring at Jiang Xiong on the ground—his chest torn open by a massive gash, his ribs and internal organs shattered, twitching in a pool of his own blood—Jiang She and the other two were completely dumbfounded.
For a moment, all three forgot to attack. They could only watch as Jiang Xiong, who had died a gruesome death, slowly stopped breathing. Terror was etched on their faces, which had instantly turned deathly pale.
Jiang Xiong was their cousin, a man they had grown up with. To see him killed right before their eyes, and in such a horrific manner, was something they couldn't accept.
"How is this possible?"
"Isn't Jiang Han only at the Purple Mansion 5th Level? How could he kill Brother Xiong, who's at the Purple Mansion 7th Level, in a single strike?"
"How did he suddenly teleport behind Brother Xiong?"
They were stunned, but Jiang Han was not. His gaze swept to Jiang Xie. Mystic Power flared, and the killing intent in his eyes surged once more as he swiftly swung his saber.
Jiang Xie turned his head and saw the flash of the blade. He hastily dodged the attack with a clumsy roll and roared, "What are you standing there for? Attack together!"
"I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"Kill!"
The men launched their fiercest attacks at Jiang Han.
But...
As their attacks struck Jiang Han's body, the bizarre phenomenon occurred again.
Jiang Han's figure once again slowly dissipated. Not far away, behind Jiang Xie, Jiang Han's form abruptly appeared, striking out with a swift and ferocious slash.
*Thwack!*
Jiang Xie was sent flying by Jiang Han's strike, his miserable state a mirror image of Jiang Xiong's...
"A ghost! He's a ghost..."
If the first time had been a coincidence, then Jiang Han's consecutive use of the Phantom Shift Divine Ability completely terrified Jiang She and Jiang Hou.
They had clearly hit Jiang Han, yet he would instantly appear somewhere else while the image of him they'd struck slowly faded away. Such a bizarre thing was simply unheard of.
This made Jiang Hou's blood run cold, scaring him half to death.
He let out a couple of screams, threw down his sword, and suddenly turned to flee for his life, sprinting away without a second thought.
Once Jiang Hou ran, Jiang She panicked too. He glanced at Jiang Xie, who was lying in a pool of blood and clearly not going to survive, gritted his teeth, and also turned to flee.
*Swoosh!*
Suddenly, a figure materialized before him, followed by the flash of a saber.
Caught off guard, how could Jiang She possibly react in time? Jiang Han's saber smashed directly onto his head, and he died without even having time to scream.
"Trying to run?!"
Jiang Han's eyes were bloodshot with killing intent as he rapidly pursued Jiang Hou.
He had killed three people today, and all his secrets were exposed. He absolutely could not let a single one get away. If Jiang Hou escaped, what awaited him would be an endless hunt by the experts of the Jiang Family
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