Evil Spirits’ Abels

　　The deputy general scared the owner's family with his abrupt warning. The owner forced a smile: "Deputy General, please do not panic. We killed cattle to prepare meals for you all, so it is perfectly normal for there to be a scent of blood."

　　"You think I can't distinguish between human and cattle blood? There are a.s.sa.s.sins on the estate grounds! They've already taken lives! If you want to live, move over to the owner's side." The deputy general smashed the table apart with a thunderous slam of his hand and thundered, "Hurry!"

　　Frightened silly, the owner's family looked ghastly pale and hurriedly did as they were told, forming a big circle. They still weren't sure if the deputy general was deceiving them to demand money. Song Ou, on the other hand, woke from his drunken stupor. At the end of the day, Song Ou's internal strength wasn't all talk. He moulded energy inside him to expel the alcohol upon smelling the blood.

　　"Everybody stay calm. As long as Ou is still breathing, he will not let any harm befall your family."

　　"Pl-Please protect my family, Lord Song, Deputy General."

　　Song Ou was going to respond, but the deputy general dragged the former off by his arm.

　　"Wh-Where are you two going?"

　　"Lord Song and I know how to fight, so we're going to go check things out. If you want to live, stay put!"

　　The owner: "Our family is defenceless. If we encounter the a.s.sa.s.s-."

　　"Put a sock in it! We're going to kill them, aren't we?!" exclaimed the deputy general, dragging Song Ou out the door.

　　As soon as the deputy general pulled the door open, a ghost head broadsword came swinging down at him. The deputy general shoved Song Ou aside, and then he swiftly caught the blade between his hands. He redirected the force of the swing, pulling the a.s.sa.s.sin toward him and driving a kick forward, sending the a.s.sa.s.sin reeling back into his reinforcements behind him.

　　Frosty rain violated their faces. There were over a hundred a.s.sa.s.sins brandis.h.i.+ng sharp weapons and attired in clothing with the character "Evil" blatantly showing. The blades of those in the back were wet, but some had their clothes stained… with blood. Behind them were over a dozen corpses. In other words, they slaughtered the family servants as they came in, and the blood scent came from the servants.

　　The deputy general wasted no time, howling as he charged into the group of enemies and blew them away with his heavy blows, literally. Two a.s.sa.s.sins swung at Song Ou from his sides. He reactively slipped the swings, getting in between the two. He reached forward with one arm and backward with the other. He skilfully disarmed the two and took their broadswords for himself. Not a fan of killing indiscriminately, he decided to knock them out with the reverse side of the blade. To his surprise, he ended up slicing straight through to the other side of their necks.

　　Song Ou didn't notice their blades were curved in a peculiar way. On the reverse side, the top was blunt, but the bottom was sharp. On the customary sharp side, the top was sharp, while the bottom was blunt. The design empowered the wielder with the ability to use four varieties of techniques - not accounting for personal style. Dual wielding the way Song Ou did would grant the user eight modes of attack and defence. Based on the design, it went without saying the a.s.sa.s.sins weren't from an orthodox clan.

　　Song Ou easily took out the two a.s.sa.s.sins, for his skills were superior to them. If it was his troops who encountered them, it was unlikely they would fair well against the a.s.sa.s.sins. The realisation was scary, because the soldiers were done drinking and eating. Since they just turned in, they likely threw aside their gear. Without their gear and in their state, they would be fodder for the a.s.sa.s.sins. Therefore, regret surfaced in his mind.

　　Song Ou mused, "Was… Yiren right? No, no, she wasn't. She wasn't. If we forced ourselves to travel, we'd be in even more jeopardy if they ambushed us in the rain."

　　Brother b.a.s.t.a.r.d had no time to spare on thinking about anything besides staying alive because the next strike came.

　　"Heh, Ugly here looks as though he knows a move or two. Let's be friends!!"

　　A man donning a brocade robe launched himself through the air and toward Song Ou so vigorously that it looked as if he'd jump across forty-five metres. Of course, there was a cap to what humans were capable of. In the end, he only leapt twenty-one metres. As soon as he landed, though, he bolted and leapt again. By the third leap, he had closed the gap between himself and Song Ou.

　　"Hah! Take this!"

　　The man pulled his arm back for a crus.h.i.+ng punch, creating a vacuum where no raindrops existed or could penetrate. Song Ou judged it was impossible to block the punch head on when he felt the shockwave approaching. Song Ou took on a defensive stance from Song Clan's broadsword style, partially concealing the two blades. The technique consisted of consecutive attacks using dual broadswords, one swinging after the other. When switching techniques, the wielder could use the switch as a counter as a means of preventing wasted movement.

　　Song Ou's opponent smirked. Instead of avoiding the blades, he pulverised the paper-thin blades. Clang! Song Ou's opponent snapped both blades in a single punch! The punch was practically a second away from Song Ou's chest by the time he reacted. The punch that would've finished Song Ou ended up hitting thin air. The man threw the punch with every ounce of power he could muster. After missing his target, he felt his blood and qi roiling in his body.

　　From roughly one hundred and eighty centimetres away, Song Ou belted, "Who are you?! Do you realise you're attacking government officials in the Seven Champion Princes' territory?"

　　Song Ou had been practicing against an imaginary opponent specialising in punching styles. He believed his internal energy to be no inferior to the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Long Zaitian, but he lost when they threw hands. Song Ou lacked the experience and imposing aura behind his blows. Neither of those components could be learnt in a short span of time. Song Ou, therefore, decided to devise an escape tactic in case he ever needed it.

　　Fleeing on Wings was Brother b.a.s.t.a.r.d's ultimate creation. Using two weapons, he would bait the opponent into smas.h.i.+ng the weapons to create force travelling toward him. He would then use the momentum of that force to propel himself backwards. This time, he managed to propel himself back eighteen metres. Still, because the punch snapped the blades, Brother b.a.s.t.a.r.d was frightened for a second.

　　Song Ou's opponent was tall and stocky. His movements resembled a wild beast; he even forewent shoes, revealing his dirty feet. After missing his punch, he threw another punch forthwith. Brother b.a.s.t.a.r.d knew how powerful his opponent's punches were, but he didn't have a weapon to use his brainchild, Fleeing on Wings, again, so he was rendered panic-stricken.