Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Fierce Battle Under the Moon! Slashing the Marauder

The Curved Blade Martial Artist moved again. His build wasn’t imposing—in fact, he was somewhat gaunt—but he moved with ghostly speed.

The curved saber in his hand danced, its flashing blade like a waning moon. Every swing claimed another life.

"SQUISH! SQUISH!"

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight villagers collapsed into pools of their own blood, unable even to cry out in pain.

After clearing away the cannon fodder, the Martial Artist stopped. Through the flickering firelight, his gaze locked onto Su Yu, who stood in the middle of the road.

He slowly raised a hand and drew a finger across his throat in a gesture brimming with provocation.

"Kill!"

The next moment, he shot forward, his Curved Saber sweeping wide.

"CRACK!"

An awful, grinding crack echoed out. The man-high barricade erected to stop the refugees had been sliced in two by that single blow, as cleanly as if it were tofu.

The massive wooden barrier thundered to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A villager behind the barricade, scared out of his wits, scrambled to escape. He tripped over a corpse at his feet and fell flat on his face but didn’t dare look back.

The refugees, for their part, were confused. ’Who is this guy?’

’Is he one of us?’

But before they could think, the refugee leader, Brother Zhao, roared, "Haha! This master is on our side! Charge! Pillage Qingxi Village, and we’ll have food to eat!"

Hearing this, the refugees hesitated no longer. ’Who cares about the details? We’re all going to be dead in a few days anyway. Getting food is all that matters!’

Meanwhile, Wang Yuechi, who had been watching Su Yu this whole time, saw that he hadn’t left. His heart swelled with joy and gratitude.

’Su Yu hasn’t abandoned us!’

He gritted his teeth and raised his arm high. "Hold them back! With Lord Su Yu here, we can win!"

Covered in blood, Wang Yuechi roared as he led the villagers to re-form their defensive line.

The refugee leader, Brother Zhao, rallied his own people, and they clashed violently with Wang Yuechi’s group.

The battle reached a fever pitch.

The Curved Blade Martial Artist glanced at the distant Su Yu. Seeing that his opponent wasn’t rashly charging in but was instead observing him, he again made a provocative throat-slitting gesture.

When Su Yu remained unmoved, the man’s figure blurred, and in the next instant, he appeared right beside Wang Yuechi.

He swung his Curved Saber, aiming for Wang Yuechi’s neck.

Wang Yuechi’s heart seized with alarm as he hastily raised his broadsword to block.

"CLANG!"

Though he blocked the Curved Saber, the massive rebound force split the webbing of his thumb and sent his broadsword flying from his grasp. He staggered backward, his eyes filled with despair.

’So this is a Martial Artist! Even a casual strike is more than I can handle!’

"Die, old man!"

The Curved Blade Martial Artist sneered, flicking his blade around to strike at Wang Yuechi’s neck once more.

"WHIZ!"

In the nick of time, a piercing whistle cut through the air.

A Flying Locust Stone, fast as a shooting star, precisely struck the spine of the Curved Saber.

"TING!"

Sparks flew!

The blow was so powerful it knocked the Curved Saber’s trajectory off by three inches. The blade grazed past the base of Wang Yuechi’s ear, slicing off a lock of white hair and drawing a line of blood.

"You’re courting death!"

The Curved Blade Martial Artist was thoroughly enraged. He whipped his head around, his savage gaze locking onto Su Yu in the distance.

But before he could react, another Flying Locust Stone shot toward his head.

He immediately slashed out with his Curved Saber, batting the Flying Locust Stone out of the air with a loud CRACK.

"BANG!"

The next moment, the earth beneath his feet exploded as he shot forward like a cannonball, hurtling toward Su Yu with a violent aura.

His speed was astounding.

Su Yu’s expression remained as tranquil as still water.

’I’ve seen him strike several times now. I’m certain of his strength. His Qi and Blood haven’t surpassed the level of the First Acupoint, but he’s incredibly fast.’

’I can’t let him get close. I’ll use my remaining Flying Locust Stones to wear him down first!’

’Time to taste the power of a throwing technique at the Perfection Realm!’

With a flick of his wrist, his tendons snapped taut with explosive force.

"WHIZ! WHIZ!"

Two Flying Locust Stones shot out one after the other, becoming twin blurs.

It was the same Life-Buying Technique he had used to kill the two refugees with martial arts training!

But against this same attack, the Curved Blade Martial Artist’s reaction was incredibly fast. A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes as he pushed off with his feet again, instantly dodging to the left to avoid the incoming Flying Locust Stones.

But in the next instant...

"CLINK!"

The two stones collided sharply in mid-air!

Propelled by the impact, the stones, which had been flying straight, changed direction in an uncanny fashion, veering left and right in two separate arcs to cut off all his room to dodge.

"What?!"

The Curved Blade Martial Artist’s face fell. With a furious roar, he brandished his Curved Saber in a blur of silver light, managing only to slash at the stone to his right.

"CRACK!"

The stone was knocked away.

But the one on the left slammed squarely into his face.

"THWACK!"

A dull thud rang out.

The Martial Artist’s head snapped back from the impact. Half of his face instantly swelled and turned red, and he spat out a mouthful of blood and shattered teeth.

"AGH! I’LL KILL YOU!"

He was furious. Utterly furious.

’You damn bastard! How dare you sneak attack me!’

"RRRIP!"

He ripped his shirt to shreds, revealing lean, bronze-colored muscles. Stomping a foot down hard, his speed surged again as he swept toward Su Yu like a violent gale.

Faced with an enemy charging at full tilt, Su Yu also held nothing back.

His hands became a blur as he unleashed a volley of Flying Locust Stones that rained down like a torrential storm.

"Sky-Scattering Gold!"

This time, every stone was imbued with Spiral Force, letting out a heart-stopping shriek as it flew through the air.

"THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!"

Despite the Martial Artist’s agile Body Technique, he was inevitably struck several times by such a dense barrage. The stones slammed into him, sending jolts of agony through his flesh and bone and forcing him to stagger backward.

"Bastard! You bastard!"

The Martial Artist was seething with frustration. He was a master of close-quarters combat, yet he couldn’t even touch the hem of his opponent’s clothes!

’If I could just get close,’ he fumed, ’with my Thunder Collapse Step and Eclipsing Moon Three Kills Saber Technique, I’d have your head in three moves!’

"Get over here and die!"

This time, he braced himself against the rain of Flying Locust Stones. Enduring several more injuries, he finally broke through and charged to within five paces of Su Yu, pouncing like a starving tiger.

His face was a savage mask, his gaze filled with cruelty. He raised his Curved Saber high, already picturing the satisfying moment he would cleave his enemy in two and avenge his humiliation.

Su Yu, however, thought it was a shame. ’The Flying Locust Stones are ultimately too weak. If I’d had those heavy water tungsten gold coins made and mixed them into the volley, he’d be seriously injured by now. He never would have gotten close.’

’No matter. He’s already injured. It’s enough. I can kill him now.’

"Ape Arm Star-Picking!"

Beneath the moonlight, the pitch-black blade traced a chilling arc, as if slicing through the very fabric of the night.

The slash was both sweeping and as swift as lightning—though launched second, it would strike first.

"SCHLICK!"

The sharp blade bit into flesh. Before the might of Mo Yuan, the formidable defense of a Skin Tempering Realm Martial Artist was like paper.

The man felt a sharp pain sear through his sword wrist. Blood sprayed as his Curved Saber tumbled from his grasp.

He cried out in pain, but the powerful reflexes and combat experience of a Martial Artist allowed him to react instantly. Still in mid-air, he twisted his body, caught the falling Curved Saber with his left hand, and hit the ground in a roll to evade Su Yu’s follow-up attack.

"You vicious little bastard! Die!"

He was down on one knee, his eyes filled with venom.

"Formless Waning Moon!"

The Curved Saber in his hand vibrated wildly. Using the moonlight’s reflection, it seemed to multiply into three separate blades, making it impossible to tell which was real. At the same time, he activated his Body Technique, Thunder Collapse Step, transforming into a streak of twisting lightning aimed straight at Su Yu’s throat.

This technique, combining his saber art and footwork, was his ultimate move. It was devastatingly fast and nearly impossible to defend against. He had once used it to instantly kill a Martial Artist who was close to opening his First Acupoint.

Though he was injured now and the attack was slightly weaker, it was still far beyond what an ordinary person could block.

"Swaying Forest Step!"

Su Yu, however, had never expected to kill a Martial Artist in a single exchange and was already prepared. The instant the man initiated his attack, Su Yu’s feet began to move. He executed the Swaying Forest Step, his movements like those of an ape swinging through the trees.

He had already sidestepped half a foot. The supposedly fatal blow grazed the tip of his nose, striking nothing but air.

The Curved Blade Martial Artist’s strike found only air. His old force spent and new force not yet gathered, he was left momentarily vulnerable. A chill shot through his heart.

"Die!"

Su Yu let out a low growl as his Mo Yuan drew a perfect semicircle through the air. Gripping the blade with both hands, his spine arched and then snapped forward like a great bowstring, focusing all his strength into a single point.

"Demon-slaying Mountain Splitting!"

"HSSSS!"

The heavy blade tore through the air, descending with the crushing force of a collapsing mountain.

"THWUMP!"

There was no resistance.

A head rolled to the ground as hot blood fountained like rain.

The headless corpse swayed twice before collapsing heavily to the earth.