Night without Borders

Chapter 24: A Gift
Six people walked out from the slope on the other side of the valley entrance. Four of them were wearing black armor. Their equipment was very sophisticated, far superior to the standard armor of the mountain patrol team.

The armor of the other two was very ordinary and worn out, and they looked like locals. One of them whistled, and suddenly three very strong birds of prey ran out of the dense forest, with fluffy yellow-brown feathers and strong legs running very fast.

Qin Ming recognized that this was a mutant creature bred in Jinjiling, and yesterday he had seen the three people in front of him riding free-range chickens across the mountains and forests.

"Brother, you are quite skilled. You stood alone at the valley entrance and killed the blood snake. You are really brave and decisive." One of the young men wearing sophisticated armor spoke.

Qin Ming ignored him because the man was still holding a bow in his hand and had wanted to shoot him with an iron arrow a moment ago.

"I'm sorry for what I did just now. I was impulsive and wanted to test your skills. I did offend you."

Qin Ming looked at the young man holding the bow and said, "Do you believe these words yourself?"

"Hey, from your voice, you seem young. You have already been reborn at such a young age. Your future is limitless." The young man was surprised and stared at Qin Ming's face covered by a black scarf.

He knew very well that a teenager with such achievements in such a remote area must be extremely talented.

The young man put away the black bow. He felt that the young man in front of him was a talented person. He said, "Brother, I was indeed reckless earlier. It was mainly because my eldest brother was injured in the mountains and urgently needed spiritual objects to nourish his body. I was too concerned and panicked, so I attacked you in a hurry."

Qin Ming was unmoved, and in a moment of desperation, he shot and killed others? This explanation was pale and powerless, nothing more than that he was cold-blooded by nature and didn't care about the lives of others at all.

He quickly put the blood snake on the ground into the animal skin bag and said, "Since it is a misunderstanding, can I leave now?"

"Brother, don't worry, maybe we can become friends. Maybe you don't know that we are from Chixia City..." The young man's intention to win over was obvious.

Qin Ming did not say anything, but silently observed the group of people. The young man who was called "big brother" by the young man seemed to be in real health and his face was a little blue and dark.

His heart moved slightly, the dark skin color looked quite familiar. When he fell into the crack in the ground, he was in a similar condition to this person and fell seriously ill.

The young man smiled and said, "Brother, look, the misunderstanding has been resolved. We do need spiritual creatures now, but the blood snake you hunted is not for nothing. I would like to ask you to join us, and I will definitely compensate you in the future."

Qin Ming really wanted to slap him in the face. Did he want him to hand over the spiritual object and then work for them?

Seeing that he did not receive an enthusiastic response, the young man inadvertently touched the hilt of the knife with his right hand, while the others also moved away.

Qin Ming saw this and said, "This is not Chixia City. There is no one else watching. You don't have to be so hypocritical. I just want to ask, now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, can I leave?"

The young man's face turned cold, and his words became concise. He said, "You are shameless!"

Qin Ming tore off the two layers of armor on his body to reduce the burden for fear of affecting his speed, and then he put the animal skin bag on his back and tied it up quickly.

He looked at the long sword in his hand. There was a gap when he cut the blood snake, and the tips of several iron spears were also damaged, which showed how hard the red scales of the blood snake were.

Those men had cold expressions, some drew their swords from their backs, some held longbows in their hands, etc. Now that they had fallen out, they were ready to fight.

Only the young man with a dark blue face did not move. He looked at the direction of the dense forest in the distance and said, "You didn't rush to escape. So you were waiting for another blood snake to come back, so that it could attack indiscriminately and indirectly help you deal with us? Well, I admit that I really need these blood snakes and will not let them escape back to the valley."

At this time, a red cloud appeared in the dense forest. The fiery red snake came back, but it did not keep chasing it. After all, it was freezing cold and it would become slow to move if it stayed that way for too long.

Seeing that he had seen through his plan, Qin Ming no longer concealed his intention and threw the iron spear in his hand out at high speed. Several people nearby had been on guard, either hiding behind trees or preparing to block with weapons.

But they found that it was not aimed at them at all. With a puff sound, three iron spears pierced into the bodies of three free-range chickens, causing large amounts of blood.

Just then the blood snake was not far away. When it saw a group of people blocking the road, it immediately stood up and attacked without fear.

The young man with a dark blue face said, "You guys deal with the young man, I'll kill this blood snake, the more spiritual creatures the better."

"Brother, are you okay?" The young man who had been speaking earlier was worried that something might happen to him.

The young man drew out a long sword and responded, "I took the initiative to enter a special node to explore. It's not an accidental injury. I can still bear this level at the moment."

When Qin Ming saw the blood snake coming, he began to attack almost like crazy. Without any hesitation, he turned around and fled, rushing towards the predetermined route.

The others naturally took action, and the young man who had shot an arrow at him earlier started shooting at him again.

Qin Ming hid in the dense forest, taking cover with various large trees. Once both sides started running, it would be difficult for the young man to continuously draw arrows from the quiver and shoot the bow without slowing down.

The man with a dark blue face was indeed very strong. Holding a long sword in his hand, he held the blood snake against his opponent and slashed it with brilliant sword light, leaving several wounds on the snake's body in an instant.

The people who went to chase Qin Ming felt relieved after looking back and seeing this scene.

Qin Ming turned left and right in the dense forest, galloping in the night along the path he had explored in advance. He had already seen that this group of people was difficult to deal with.

Among those chasing him, two had been reborn for the second time, and one of them was moving very fast, getting closer and closer to him.

Qin Ming is strong enough, but after all, he is not a true second-time reborn, and he still lacks speed.

The young man who had been talking earlier was also a second-time freshman. He fell a little behind because of a few cold attacks.

When he rushed to an area with dense trees and branches blocking the road, Qin Ming looked around carefully and chose the only area that was not blocking the road and rushed through.

Obviously, the people behind him would not swing their swords to cut the branches blocking the way, but would just follow him and chase him.

"what……"

Suddenly, the second-time reborn who was rushing in the front let out a scream, and fell to the ground in pain, his face distorted.

His right foot was pierced by an iron spear hidden in the snow. It was bleeding. The sharp tip of the spear was stained with blood and completely penetrated the instep. It looked very scary.

Qin Ming was just prepared for the worst just in case, and buried three iron spears in the area where branches blocked the road. He didn't expect that they would actually be used.

The only area that was easy to walk on was the one he had cleared by himself by breaking off nearby branches that blocked the road. However, it took luck to make the opponent fall when the iron spear was placed in the snow.

This man accidentally dodged two iron spears in a row and only stepped on them the third time. After running at such a full speed, his end was naturally miserable and his entire right foot was disabled.

When the people behind saw this scene, their pupils contracted, and they seemed to feel a sharp pain in their right feet, followed by a feeling of fear.

The young man who had been talking earlier had an ugly expression on his face and gritted his teeth as he said, "Don't run around. Follow him in his footsteps."

He was also a ruthless man. He ignored his injured companions and chased after them with a big sword in hand, gradually closing the distance with his speed advantage.

He had already seen that the opponent's speed was obviously not as fast as his, so he judged that although the opponent was also a second-time rebirth, his strength was weaker than theirs. "After all, he is a newborn from a remote small place. He does not have secret meditation techniques, Qigong, etc. Even if he is a second-time rebirth, his upper limit will not be too high." This is what he thought in his heart, and it is also the reason and confidence for him to continue chasing and killing.

Qin Ming knew that he would be caught up sooner or later, so instead of doing that, he decided to take the initiative and slow down his pace, hoping to get rid of the person who posed a threat to him first.

"Are you running away again? You shameless thing. I'll just give you a few blood snakes, which is better than losing your life." The young man walked over with a cold face.

As for the other person from Chixia City and the two people from Jinji Ridge, they had only been reborn once and were not as fast as him. They all fell behind and had not arrived yet.

Qin Ming did not answer, but rushed forward with the long-handled black gold hammer in hand. He had to fight quickly and decisively. What he feared most was the young man who was dealing with the blood snake alone. Even though he had health problems, he was still the most dangerous.

The snow in the woods exploded, and Qin Ming attacked with all his might. The first blow of the black gold hammer stunned the young man. He felt his right hand holding the sword go numb.

How could this boy, who is slower and whose physical fitness is obviously inferior to his after his second freshman year, be so strong?

Qin Ming was highly focused and gave it his all. Although the long-handled black gold hammer looked heavy, when he swung it, it was like black lightning interweaving in the night.

The young man was very strong and obviously not an easy opponent. He was much stronger than Fu Entao. After losing the first confrontation, he quickly launched a counterattack.

However, he was shocked to find that the young man from this remote place was not as unskilled as he had imagined, but obviously mastered extremely powerful fighting methods. He was almost wielding the heavy hammer in various ways. His hammer skills were amazing, and each time he could cut through the night in an incredible way, they were all highly effective killing moves.

Afterwards, he suddenly realized that this was performed according to the sword technique.

"This person is very powerful. I want to be reborn as soon as possible!" Qin Ming thought to himself, and then the black gold hammer in his hand suddenly slipped out of his hand.

With a bang, the young man felt dizzy and tears flowed. In the instant after the two weapons collided, the opponent's hand slipped, and at such a close distance, the heavy hammer hit his chin, breaking the bone on the spot.

He endured the severe pain, kept himself awake, and slashed forward with the sword. He must not retreat now and not give the opponent a chance to pick up the black gold hammer.

Obviously, he was dizzy from the blow and his consciousness was not so clear.

By the time he felt something was wrong, it was too late. Qin Ming drew out his long sword, blocked his sword, and then cut off his right arm holding the sword with one sword, and kicked him out.

Qin Ming picked up the long-handled black gold hammer on the ground, rushed over and hit him in the head with the hammer without saying anything, then took his weapon and quickly met the other three people.

……

The young man with a dark blue face killed the blood snake without any surprise. He was not conceited, his strength was indeed very strong.

Liu Huaishan led the few surviving rangers and made a comeback. After running all the way, he returned to the outside of the valley. He judged that the blood snake had consumed a lot of energy, and even if it would not be frozen in the ice and snow, it might move slowly.

So he chased back and happened to see the young man killing the blood snake outside the valley.

The scene suddenly became quiet. Liu Huaishan and others did not expect that there would be other people here, and they succeeded. It seemed that their strength was quite terrifying.

The young man threw the blood snake to the ground, looked at the people opposite him, and walked forward with his sword in hand. He had entered this area quietly and did not want the news to leak out because there were opponents here.

His current condition is not very good and he wants to keep it secret even more, so he is full of murderous intent.

"Friend, we have no ill intentions. Retreat immediately. The blood snake is yours!" Liu Huaishan shouted quickly and led his men to retreat quickly.

He felt that this person was too dangerous. If a bloody fight really broke out, they would be the ones to die, as the other party could kill them all by himself.

These patrollers were all experienced middle-aged men. They had already drawn their bows and arrows, aimed forward, defended themselves, and retreated at an accelerated speed.

The young man suddenly felt a little chest tightness. After all, exploring the special nodes hurt his body. He felt very uncomfortable. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded, letting these people leave.

He relaxed for a while before the uncomfortable feeling subsided, and then he immediately set off and chased in the direction Qin Ming fled.

Although there were snowflakes floating in the sky, they could not cover the footprints immediately. He sped all the way and soon heard screams.

There was no suspense. Qin Ming killed the two freshmen from Jinjiling and the boy from Chixia City who had only been reborn.

He took these people's weapons, turned around and rushed back, and met the second-time reborn whose right foot was pierced by the iron spear again.

When the man with a dark complexion appeared, he happened to see Qin Ming with his back to him, interrogating his people.

In an instant, the blood flow in his body accelerated and he was extremely angry. He only saw one person being tortured to confess. Where were the others? Where was his cousin? Were they all killed?
"Tell me quickly, do you have advanced Qigong?" Qin Ming squatted there, holding the seriously injured man with one hand.

At this moment, the man wanted to say something but couldn't open his mouth because his mouth had already been hit by a hammer. In fact, the other party didn't want him to speak at all!
The man who was unable to open his mouth saw the strongest man on his side appear and approach silently. His pupils contracted and he seemed to want to say something.

As a result, with a bang, he was hit by the hammer again, his eyes went dark, and he almost fainted.

The man with a dark face found that the injured man's upper body was covered in blood, and his lower body was buried in the snow. It was extremely miserable. Without hesitation, he suddenly accelerated and rushed over.

Then, he groaned and fell to the ground in the snow.

This time the young man stepped not on the iron spear, but on the big sword of his cousin.

Not long ago, Qin Ming carefully arranged this place. It looked like it had experienced the impact of a great war. Broken branches were everywhere on the ground, with only a few areas left empty.

The areas that were intentionally left empty were naturally buried with iron spears, broadswords, long knives, etc. At present, the most ideal effect has been achieved.

With a bang, he killed the man with a hammer, and then calmly faced the man whose foot was pierced by the sword.

The young man with a dark blue face is named Wang Nianzhu. He is also well-known in Chixia City. When he was first born, he could lift a tripod weighing 570 kilograms, which is considered very strong.

After his second rebirth, his arms had a strength of nearly 1,200 kilograms. He was so extraordinary, how could he not feel hatred when he was trapped here?
In particular, he thought the masked boy in front of him was just a country boy, but he ended up suffering such a serious injury.

Qin Ming stepped back and aimed his cousin Wang Nianzhu's bow and arrow at him.

"what……"

After Wang Nianzhu's foot was pierced, he had difficulty moving. Even though he was very strong and could leap up despite the pain, he was unable to maintain his original state and was shot by an arrow before long.

Not long after, Qin Ming stepped forward and shot the severely injured and dying Wang Nianzhu in the head with a long-handled black gold hammer.

"I actually got an extra blood snake. Thank you for the gift!" Qin Ming put the second big snake into the animal skin bag. Today's harvest was really huge.

(End of this chapter)