Jiang Han had actually anticipated the arrival of Jiang Xiong’s group long ago.
He had killed Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao. Such a matter could not be concealed for long; it was only a matter of time before it came to light. He originally assumed Jiang Long would personally lead a search party, which would quickly alert the Third Elder. He never expected only Jiang Xiong and his three companions to show up.
This actually brought him a measure of relief. The earlier his actions were discovered, the faster the clan would dispatch forces to hunt him down.
He desperately needed time to rapidly increase his combat strength. Naturally, the longer he could stall, the better.
Not one of these four can be allowed to leave alive!
His mind raced as he swept his gaze over the group, evaluating who to strike first. Ultimately, he locked his sights on Jiang Xiong. Since he possessed the highest cultivation among them, eliminating him would make dealing with the remaining three much easier.
“Why waste breath on him? Take him down first!”
A savage grin twisted Jiang Xie’s face as he hefted his blade and closed the distance with heavy strides.
Jiang Xiong and Jiang She exchanged a look before Jiang Xiong barked, “Attack together!”
On his command, Jiang Xiong and Jiang She moved in unison. Raising their longswords, they executed a quick flourish and thrust toward Jiang Han from two different angles.
Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao were both at the sixth level of the Purple Mansion Realm, yet they had mysteriously vanished.
Furthermore, Jiang Han’s father, Jiang Henshui, had been a once-in-a-century genius in his prime. Though Jiang Xiong appeared to be a rough and boorish man, he was exceptionally cautious. Like a lion using its full strength to hunt a rabbit, he held nothing back from the very start.
As he dashed forward, he shouted, “Jiang Han, don’t blame us for being ruthless. You brought this on yourself!”
Almost at the exact same moment, the remaining cousin, Jiang Hou, sprang into action. The four men launched a simultaneous assault from four separate directions.
Jiang Han stood completely still, looking as if he had been scared stiff.
Seeing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Jiang Xiong’s mind: Am I being too cautious? With the four of us striking together, could he possibly escape?
“Haa!”
Jiang Xiong’s longsword closed in on Jiang Han’s body. His hand flared with Profound Energy as he viciously thrust the blade toward Jiang Han’s left shoulder.
From the other directions, Jiang Xie’s horse-chopping saber slashed heavily toward Jiang Han’s back. Jiang She’s longsword darted toward his right shoulder, while Jiang Hou’s blade sealed off his lower body.
Though the four did not attack at the precise exact instant, their strikes arrived simultaneously. Their coordination was flawless, proving this was not their first time fighting as a unit. They possessed ample combat experience.
“Uh…”
“Hmm?”
The next instant, all four men felt their hearts skip a beat. Jiang Xiong and Jiang She, who were facing Jiang Han directly, felt a sudden, intensely unsettling sensation.
Because Jiang Han had not moved a single inch from beginning to end-he hadn’t even raised his war blade. In the split second before their weapons struck him, they even saw a faint look of mockery touch his lips.
Something impossible happened!
When their weapons struck Jiang Han, they met zero resistance. His body tore as easily as wet paper, their blades effortlessly passing right through him.
“Something’s wrong!”
Jiang She was the first to roar. He watched as Jiang Han’s body rippled like a reflection in water, slowly dissolving into thin air right before their eyes…
The pupils of all four men contracted violently. From the corner of his eye, Jiang She caught the glint of a blade behind Jiang Xiong. His face contorted in terror as he screamed, “Brother Xiong, watch out!”
Jiang Xiong didn’t need the warning. He had already heard the hiss of a blade slicing through the air behind his back. Hovering on the line between life and death, he executed an incredibly swift maneuver.
He threw himself into a rapid forward dive. Twisting his waist violently, he swung his longsword upward in a desperate parry.
It had to be said, Jiang Xiong’s reflexes were astonishingly fast. If he could deflect this single strike, the others would immediately cover him, giving him plenty of time to evade the follow-up attack.
Clang!
A long, narrow war blade chopped heavily downward, slamming into Jiang Xiong’s longsword.
But what Jiang Xiong could never have anticipated was-
A wild, overpowering force erupted from the war blade. It was two or three times greater than his own strength. A sharp pain tore through his hand as the webbing between his thumb and forefinger split open. His longsword was violently knocked away, and the war blade continued its downward arc without losing a shred of momentum, cleaving heavily into his chest.
Jiang Xiong’s response had been flawless; his only mistake was fatally underestimating the raw power behind the strike!
“Ahhh!”
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. Having activated the Power of Frenzy divine ability, Jiang Han’s strike carried five times his normal physical strength. The blow ripped Jiang Xiong wide open from chest to stomach.
“…”
Staring at Jiang Xiong-his chest carved open by a massive trench, his ribs and internal organs shattered, twitching in a rapidly expanding pool of blood-Jiang She and the others stood frozen in shock.
For a moment, all three forgot to attack. They simply stared as Jiang Xiong breathed his last, dying a gruesome death. Utter terror seized their faces, draining every drop of color from their skin.
Jiang Xiong was their cousin; they had all grown up together. Watching him get butchered right in front of them in such a horrific manner was too much for their minds to process.
“How is this possible?”
“How did he suddenly teleport behind him?”
Jiang She and the others stared with sheer terror in their eyes, looking as though they had just seen a ghost in broad daylight.
They were stunned, but Jiang Han was not. His gaze locked onto Jiang Xie. Profound Energy flared around him, the killing intent in his eyes surging as he launched a rapid, vicious slash.
Jiang Xie snapped his head around just in time to see the flash of the blade. He hastily threw himself into an undignified roll to dodge the attack, roaring, “What are you standing around for? Attack together!”
“I’ll kill you, you little mongrel!”
“Kill!”
The three men launched their most frenzied assault yet.
But…
The moment their weapons connected with Jiang Han, the bizarre phenomenon repeated itself.
Jiang Han’s figure slowly dissipated into the air once more. A short distance away, he abruptly materialized directly behind Jiang Xie and unleashed a blindingly fast slash.
Bang!
Jiang Xie was physically launched into the air by the force of the blow, suffering the exact same grisly fate as Jiang Xiong…
“A ghost… he’s a ghost…”
If the first time had been a fluke, Jiang Han executing the Phantom Shift divine ability a second time completely shattered Jiang She and Jiang Hou’s courage.
They had clearly struck him, yet he had instantly vanished and reappeared elsewhere while his afterimage slowly faded away. Such a terrifyingly bizarre technique was completely unheard of.
A chill ran down Jiang Hou’s spine, nearly scaring his soul out of his body.
He let out two shrill cries, dropped his sword, and spun around. Without a second thought, he broke into a dead sprint, abandoning everything in a desperate bid for survival.
Seeing Jiang Hou bolt, Jiang She panicked as well. He shot a glance at Jiang Xie, who lay dying in a pool of blood, gritted his teeth, and turned to run.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a figure materialized directly in his path, followed immediately by the flash of a blade.
Caught entirely off guard, how could Jiang She possibly react in time? Jiang Han’s blade cleaved directly into his skull, killing him before a scream could even leave his throat.
“Trying to run!”
Jiang Han’s eyes were bloodshot as he bolted after Jiang Hou.
He had just slaughtered three people in a row. All his secrets were now exposed; he absolutely could not let a single one escape. If Jiang Hou made it back alive, he would be facing the endless pursuit of the Jiang Clan’s experts!