The snow ape was split in two with a single strike. This shocking scene sent chills down Shao Chengfeng and Feng Yian's spines, making them involuntarily step back. They couldn't help but wonder if their leader could really handle this.
Fu Entao's expression changed slightly, but his attack was not affected at all. He took advantage of the opening that Qin Ming revealed while dodging the snow ape, swinging his shining long knife through the wind and snow with immense force.
Qin Ming seemed to have anticipated this. He raised his left hand, holding a gun behind him, and then leaped forward, using the heavy blow from Fu Entao's fierce strike on the iron spear to accelerate his charge.
Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to do this, as even if they weren’t killed instantly, they would still be injured by such overwhelming force, possibly even coughing up blood.
But Qin Ming was fine, and he quickly closed in on his target.
The burly mountain patroller felt his hair stand on end; the opponent was charging straight at him, fierce like a giant beast from the mountains. As he landed, the bright blade of the knife came slicing through the air toward him.
He immediately swung his knife to counterattack, wanting to clash blades with his opponent. However, in an instant, he felt he could barely hold onto the knife handle; the opponent's strength was too great.
After a brief and intense exchange, the flesh between his fingers was crushed, blood flowing freely and staining the knife handle. He was no longer able to hold the knife.
With a thud, under the glow of the fire spring, a bright flash of the knife cut through the air, and his head was severed, his body collapsing to the ground.
Qin Ming quickly turned around, blocking Fu Entao's long knife with his iron spear, then glaring fiercely at Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng.
The two behind him panicked. Usually, they were ruthless, with a nature as fierce as wolves, using underhanded tactics. But this young man was too brutal, coming straight in to kill without a word, making them feel uneasy.
Fu Entao also felt a shadow in his heart. This second-year newcomer was putting a lot of pressure on him; every gunshot and knife strike sent a slight numbness through his arms.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to flee into the dark depths of the forest, but he was afraid that if he showed fear, he would leave his back exposed to the opponent, falling victim to a deadly follow-up attack.
Qin Ming spoke, "There are seven heads waiting to be taken from the stronghold on the mountain. Four have already been taken, and only you three are left."
Fu Entao was taken aback, and then his face darkened. This young man was counting them along with the golden lion and the snow ape, equating them to mere beasts?
Shao Chengfeng and Feng Yian tightened their grips on their weapons. If anyone dared to belittle them like this on a normal day, they would surely be in for a fight.
Qin Ming wanted to provoke them because he sensed their hesitation, perhaps even thoughts of fleeing. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to catch up to the second-year newcomer Fu Entao.
Sure enough, the shadow in Fu Entao's heart was stirred away. In this area, even the veteran leaders of other patrol teams wouldn’t dare to insult him like this.
Fu Entao had accumulated years of experience, hoping to rise to a higher level, and he was almost touching the threshold.
"Is he that Qin Ming from Shuangshu Village?" Fu Entao asked the two behind him.
Earlier, when they talked about the Blood Bamboo Forest, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng had mentioned Qin Ming, wanting to use this golden-rooted youth to scout ahead and eliminate him.
"That's him," the bearded Feng Yian nodded.
After nodding, Fu Entao coldly said, "Alright, let's go back and wash Shuangshu Village in blood, leaving no man, woman, or child alive. In this special phase, after the sweep of the mountains begins, if a 'famous beast' unexpectedly appears in the deep mountains and slaughters the village, it would be considered normal."
He revealed a cold smile, one that seemed to carry a bloody scent, and slowly raised his long knife.
Qin Ming was not angered. He wanted to stir their emotions, so they wouldn’t lose their fighting spirit and flee in a short time.
He added fuel to the fire, saying, "Didn’t I just say your actions are wrong? The people in Chixia City give you high salaries, and the villagers admire you. They’d rather see a decline in the harvest than not help the patrol team plant the Black Moon.
What have you done? You’ve drained the resources, stripped them bare, and you want to devour all the spiritual energy in the fire spring without caring about the famine that will starve so many next year. You even casually kill innocent villagers to threaten and intimidate them.
In your eyes, those lives are worth less than a deer, far less than the golden lion you raise. Do you still have any humanity left? Is it wrong to compare you to vicious dogs and snow apes?
You are far more harmful than they are. Think about the late leaders of the patrol team and the responsible patrollers from other teams; you are not worthy to be compared to them."
Qin Ming spoke calmly, without raising his voice or showing anger.
But this made Fu Entao's hand gripping the knife show veins. He said nothing and forced himself forward.
Even Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng became filled with killing intent, eager to eliminate this calm yet piercingly direct young man.
Qin Ming took the initiative to strike first, wielding the heavy iron spear with ease. The sharp tip darted out, creating afterimages, stirring up the falling snow. As Fu Entao turned his head to dodge, the spear pierced through a thick larch tree behind him, and with a slight twist, Qin Ming snapped the trunk with a crack.
Then, he swung his chopping knife in one smooth motion.
In an instant, the two were locked in a dangerous exchange of blades, with trees falling in their wake, causing massive destruction.
When they reached near the fire spring, a loud boom sounded as a large wooden house exploded under their knife strikes.
Fu Entao, who stood nearly two meters tall and had once been intimidating, was now panting heavily, white mist rising from his naturally curly hair. He was alarmed; he was extremely fatigued, his arms numb from the impact, while his opponent remained as fierce as ever.
If he hadn’t been fast enough, he would have already been defeated.
He sensed something; the opponent's speed seemed off, and he realized his own advantage. Just then, he saw his chance. While Qin Ming was attacking with his spear and knife, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng suddenly unleashed their full power and attacked.
"Clang!"
The sharp sound of metal clashing erupted as Qin Ming blocked Shao Chengfeng's iron spear with his chopping knife and quickly deflected Feng Yian's long knife with the back of his blade.
At this moment, Fu Entao resembled a human-shaped tiger, incredibly fierce, with his hair flying in the wind and snow. His eyes became extremely sharp as he gripped the long knife, striking down one blow after another with all his might.
He noticed that when Qin Ming held the iron spear to defend, he was no longer as strong as before; it seemed he was being suppressed.
He shouted, "Let’s all go all out and surround him!"
Qin Ming was using his chopping knife to fend off the other two, while Fu Entao pressed down on his left arm with his long knife, making it look precarious.
In several perilous exchanges, he chose to fight to a standstill, allowing Fu Entao's long knife to strike while his spear still thrust forward, forcing the opponent to retreat.
Fu Entao revealed a cold smile; who was he afraid of? He leaped forward, avoiding the vital points of his upper body, swinging his bright long knife down at Qin Ming.
At the same time, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng both grinned, coordinating perfectly to block all of Qin Ming's escape routes. Their long knives and iron spears came together, forcing Qin Ming to use his chopping knife solely for defense.
Qin Ming couldn't retreat and had no time to dodge Fu Entao's long knife. At that moment, he hesitated not at all and chose to accelerate forward. He couldn’t raise his spear in time; the tip of the spear struck Fu Entao's thigh with a thud, completely piercing through.
Though Fu Entao's face twitched, he became even colder. This exchange of injuries meant he had only wounded one leg, but his long knife could still cleave his opponent in two.
In a critical moment, Qin Ming's right hand continued to fend off the other two, abandoning the iron spear, raising his left arm to withstand the sharp long knife.
Fu Entao scoffed coldly; with that, he could chop off both the arm and the person together.
Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng also laughed. No one knew better than them how terrifying a downward strike from a two-meter-tall leader could be. They could almost see the bloody scene in their minds.
However, with a clang, a vibrating sound accompanied by a harsh metallic scrape rang out, and things turned out completely different from what they had imagined.
Qin Ming's outer clothing tore, revealing armor unique to the patrol team members, and he was wearing more than one layer.
Although this armor wasn’t as fine as Fu Entao's, Qin Ming had on three layers, which was enough to block that knife.
If he hadn’t found it too heavy, he might have worn the armor of the four he had killed at the foot of the mountain.
With a thud, Fu Entao stumbled as he landed, his thigh pierced, the iron spear still stuck inside, blood flowing profusely, and he could no longer stand.
Feng Yian turned and fled without hesitation, decisively. He knew the entire patrol team was likely to be wiped out.
Shao Chengfeng also realized that the earlier slump of this young man was just a deliberate ruse; he immediately fled as well.
Qin Ming picked up an iron spear from the ground and leaped up, throwing it with all his might. At such a close distance, it was a sure hit. The iron spear flew out rapidly, piercing through Feng Yian's back and pinning him to the ground!
"Ah..." He cried out in pain, unable to escape for a moment.
As Qin Ming landed, he chased after the other person. His speed was slightly less than Fu Entao's, but catching up to Shao Chengfeng was too easy.
Shao Chengfeng couldn’t just stand there and wait for death. He turned and fiercely swung his iron spear in resistance, but it was futile; Qin Ming chopped off his right arm.
The iron spear fell to the ground, and Qin Ming picked it up without mercy, quickly pinning Shao Chengfeng to the ground with it, leaving a bloody scene.
Qin Ming stood in the center and said, "If you all hadn't fled and instead fought to the death right here, I would have likely dealt with you long ago. During the process, I had to split my attention, fearing that one of you would escape. Even if just one got away, it would mean my mission failed."
"You..." Fu Entao leaned on his long knife, almost spitting blood from anger, thinking he was speaking arrogantly.
"Fighting you while being distracted was indeed difficult, but I just became a newcomer not long ago, which is understandable," Qin Ming reflected on the battle.
"What?!" Fu Entao's expression froze, his heart trembling. He couldn’t believe the opponent had just become a newcomer; he couldn’t accept this fact.
"You really haven't become a second-year newcomer yet," Feng Yian spat out a mouthful of blood, laughing bitterly. He knew it was all over, having encountered such an incredible monster.