Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Broken Saber
’Just as I thought!’
Scanning the silent darkness around him, Chu Mu’s heart sank.
During the day, even a surprise attack would ultimately beco a manhunt, given their superior numbers and the open lines of sight.
The results from earlier in the day had clearly proven this.
But here in this dense forest, it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face!
For those who spent their lives in these mountains, the ho-field advantage was absolute.
Just like now. Hit-and-run. With this kind of terrain advantage, they wouldn’t even know where the arrows were coming from. Even if they caught a glimpse of the archer, he would vanish back into the darkness, leaving no trace.
Chu Mu gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes scanning the darkness around him with a vigilance he had never felt before.
The renewed attack made one thing clear: they were on the right trail. Otherwise, there would be no reason for these obvious delaying tactics.
Before long, the Inspectors who had charged into the forest returned one by one, all empty-handed.
The dark forest remained silent, its depths unsettling and eerie.
At He Ping’s command, the team of Inspectors, who had been following the tracks in a long, single-file line, shifted back into the triangular formation they had used on their way up the mountain.
"Watch your step. Make sure you see where you’re going."
Chu Mu murmured to the Inspector beside him. While the change in formation largely prevented the front and rear from being cut off during an ambush, it also ant they were now venturing into uncharted parts of the forest.
After all, they had been following the mountain path the Qili Village villagers used to escape. The path was rugged, but at least it was a path. Others had walked it before, testing its dangers.
But these deep, old woods were a place few ever set foot, especially in this pitch-black darkness.
Chu Mu raised his Long Saber and hacked away the undergrowth blocking his path, then carefully stepped through.
Chu Mu placed each foot with extre care, testing the ground before committing his full weight.
The mountains were covered in snow, and there was no telling what lay hidden beneath it.
More than a few unlucky souls had been injured or even killed this way after entering the mountains.
"Hey, tell
this... it’s the middle of the night, we can’t see a thing. Why didn’t we just rest in the village and resu the chase in the morning?"
"We’ve been marching all day, and I’ve barely had a bite to eat..."
An Inspector nearby was muttering complaints. Chu Mu glanced over but didn’t say a word. ’He has a point,’ he thought, ’but this world rarely operates on logic.’
’I just wish this night would end.’
Once daylight ca, all their current problems would disappear.
"Brother Mu, we’ve fallen behind a bit."
Xu Yuan moved closer, pointing to a flickering light in the dense forest ahead.
"Let’s pick up the pace."
Chu Mu glanced over. Just as he was about to speak, he caught the glint of torchlight reflecting off sothing in the corner of his eye. His pupils contracted!
"Look out!"
Chu Mu bellowed, with no ti to think, and instinctively swung his sword overhead.
A familiar CLANG of impact rang out, followed by a surge of Power that traveled down the blade and into his arm. The overwhelming Power sent Chu Mu stumbling back several steps, his Long Saber nearly flying from his grasp.
"Enemy attack!"
"Soone’s here!"
The faces of the Inspectors with Chu Mu instantly turned deathly pale. So froze on the spot, bewildered. Others instinctively swung their swords at the attacker, while the rest just shouted in panic.
Chu Mu’s expression was grim. He was discovering that the Martial Arts in this world were completely unreasonable.
At least, everyone he’d seen who possessed True Martial Arts—apart from that one young boy—was terrifyingly strong.
It was the tyrannical principle of "One Force Subdues Ten Techniques" in action. A single sword strike, a single punch—it was all impossible to block!
’He was genuinely curious now. What kind of person had nothing better to do than teach Martial Arts in this backwater mountain village!’
’A tiny village of just a few dozen families had sohow produced a whole mob of incredible fighters!’
’And every single one of them feels like they could crush .’
’My Initial Glimpse Sword Technique can barely even block them!’
If he was having this much trouble, there was no hope for the other Inspectors who were just coasting.
Right before Chu Mu’s eyes, the man who had dropped from the sky, having failed to kill him in one blow, swung his blade. The young Inspector who had been frozen in place was decapitated, his body and head separating. Blood gushed like a spring, splattering all over Chu Mu!
Another Inspector lunged at the man with his sword, but the attacker simply pirouetted, effortlessly evading the cleaving blade.
He followed up with a punch. The dull THUD of the impact sounded like a tolling bell. Chu Mu saw it clearly: the man’s chest caved in by an inch where the fist landed. The Inspector spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying back nearly ten feet, crashing against a tree before tumbling to the ground. There was no doubt he was dead!
"You damn scoundrel! You’re courting death!"
Just as Chu Mu was about to bolt, a bellow from nearby made him hesitate.
The attacker’s Martial Arts were formidable, but there were also more than a few skilled fighters among the Inspectors.
’Stall for ti, or run for it?’
In the corner of his eye, a burly man in Iron Armor was charging toward them like a rampaging bull.
Chu Mu rembered him. The man was one of the Thousand Households’ personal guards, and his skills were even more frightening than Li Gang’s.
He who hesitates is lost. In an instant, Chu Mu made his decision.
He raised his Long Saber, and in a few quick steps, brought the chilling blade down on the man!
Seeing Chu Mu’s attack, the man’s expression remained unchanged. The blade he had been swinging at another Inspector changed course, flashing like a sliver of moonlight across the night sky to block Chu Mu’s strike. At the sa ti, he threw a punch at Chu Mu.
Without a mont’s hesitation, Chu Mu spun away, dodging the punch as he brought his blade around in a diagonal slash aid at the man’s neck.
"You’re courting death!"
The man snarled, his eyes now filled with killing intent as he looked at Chu Mu.
He blocked Chu Mu’s blade, then brought his own down in a vicious chop, that overwhelming Power surging forth once more.
The impact sent a searing pain through Chu Mu’s palm, but he held fast to the hilt. He let the montum carry him backward into a roll, barely managing to dissipate the Power.
His strike having failed, the man brought his sword down again without rcy. The cold steel once again aid for Chu Mu’s vital points.
Another jarring clash of blades rang out. The repeated, powerful impacts had left Chu Mu’s arm growing numb, but the enemy’s assault was relentless.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes!
On the fourth strike, the Inspector’s Saber in Chu Mu’s hand could no longer withstand the Power of the impacts and snapped in two!
The broken half of the blade fell to the snow. Chu Mu was left clutching the hilt and a jagged shard of steel, but the enemy’s blade... was still coming.
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