America: John Wick 1924

Chapter 2 Battle Priest, have you ever heard of him?
The skinny guy and the others exchanged glances, then burst into laughter in unison.

Tall Guy: "I thought you were going to pull out a rifle, but it's just a knife!"

Fatty: "Just as I thought! The Qingchong are a bunch of pests living outside the civilized world! They only know how to use such outdated weapons!"

Shorty: "Damn it, if only I still had my pistol. I really want to show this Qing bug the power of a 'civilized weapon'!"

Skinny guy: "Hey! Qingchong, before you show off, open your eyes wide and look carefully! There are four of us here!"

While they were laughing loudly, they all reached out and pulled at the corners of Li Yu's eyes, making them appear as slits, openly humiliating him.

Li Yu took out a knife, but it did nothing to deter the skinny man and his men.

The difference in numbers gives the latter a huge psychological advantage.

Four against one... They were convinced they had the upper hand!
The veteran glanced at Li Yu, then at the four people opposite him, a resolute expression on his face:

“…Hey, Chinese…no, pastor, you’d better run! I’ll handle these four bastards. You’re still young, don’t risk your life by being reckless.”

Upon hearing this, the fat man revealed an exaggerated smile:

"Hey! Did you hear that? This legless cripple said he'll take on the four of us by himself!"

Another burst of laughter followed.

The veteran ignored the men's taunts and silently gripped his cane tighter.

Suddenly, a large hand stretched out horizontally, blocking the old soldier's path.

"Old soldier, thank you for your kindness."

As Li Yu spoke, he gestured to the veteran, indicating that he should sit down.

Then he began reciting famous verses from the Bible:

“‘I have donned my sword, and will display the dignity and majesty of a hero.’”

“‘Those who seek my life and seek to destroy it shall go to the deepest depths of hell. They shall be killed by the sword and become food for wild dogs.’”

Li Yu's chanting made the skinny man's face darken:

"Hmph, just a worm, trying to read the Bible like a human! Does he think he's a priest just because he's wearing a priest's robe? Guys, let's go! Let's teach this guy a lesson!"

At his command, the four men stepped forward simultaneously, pressing down on Li Yu like a high wall.

Although they were marching together, their formation was a mess because they didn't coordinate with each other at all.

The tall guy was too far ahead, while the skinny guy was too far behind.

Looking at the tall man who had become a "protrusion", Li Yu curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a meaningful smile.

Seeing this, the tall man frowned and subconsciously questioned:
"Hey, Qingchong, what are you laughing at?"

Li Yu raised his gaze and stared intently at the tall man, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"The corpse is talking."

Just as he finished speaking—

call!
The hem of the priest's robe fluttered high, much like a battle flag unfurling in the wind!
He charged straight at Gao Lao like a swallow, his right arm holding the knife snapping open like a broken bowstring, drawing the knife from its sheath!

In a split second, the blade traced a graceful arc in mid-air, sweeping towards the tall man.

Faced with Li Yu's lightning-fast strike, Gao Lao was completely unable to react.

He could only watch helplessly as a "silver snake" sprang from its sheath, as the silvery-white light of the blade filled his field of vision—

call out!
The blade flashed diagonally across the field.

As if he had been subjected to a "time-stopping spell," the tall man froze in place.

The next second, as Li Yu passed by him—with a soft hiss—his upper and lower body were dislocated.

His lower body remained "standing," while his upper body slowly slid down to the ground along the clean cut.

After killing the tall man with a single blow, Li Yu turned to face the fat man and the short man.

In the next instant, his body once again became a blur, his arms transformed into wings, and his entire body soared into the air, moving with ghostly speed.

The gruesome death of the tall man caused the remaining three to change their expressions.

Seeing Li Yu rapidly approaching, the fat man and the short man yelled and instinctively swung their baseball bats at Li Yu.

However, Li Yu had already vanished from his spot—they had only hit his afterimage.

When Li Yu reappeared, he was already behind the fat man and the short man, leaving two flashes of light behind him.

Li Yu didn't even glance at the two men, turning his head to look at the skinny man—in that instant, the fat man and the short man behind him were already spitting blood, collapsing to the ground one after the other.

In just five seconds, only the skinny man remained standing... His eyes widened, his cheeks drained of color, and his expression was dominated by intense horror.

Pat, pat, pat, pat...

This time, Li Yu didn't run fast. Instead, he approached the skinny man slowly, making "pat-pat" sounds with his footsteps.

At this moment, to the skinny man, the footsteps sounded like "death approaching"!

"You, don't come over here!!"

The skinny man gripped the baseball bat tightly, holding it in front of him to separate himself from Li Yu, as if doing so would make him feel safe.

His hands were shaking so badly that the baseball bat in his palm looked like a live fish trying to leap out.

Li Yu ignored his "warning" and continued to approach without expression.

"Damn Qingwu!!"

The skinny guy, looking flustered, raised his baseball bat high above his head, ready to deliver a painful blow to Li Yu.

Although this stance makes it easy to exert force, it also leaves his ribs completely exposed.

In a split second, Li Yu crouched low, aimed at the skinny man's left armpit, and sped away.

His running speed far exceeded the skinny guy's swing speed.

Before the skinny man could even swing his bat, he passed under his left armpit. In that instant when their sleeves met, Li Yu used the blade to brush against the skinny man's left thigh, and using the momentum of his charge, he swiftly pulled the blade from the guard to the tip in one go.

laugh!
The blade flashed, and the torso and legs were separated.

"Ahhhhhhhhh-!"

The skinny man clutched the smooth cut of his left leg and screamed in agony.

The intense pain nearly made him faint... However, he couldn't care less about screaming. Because he saw Li Yu walking slowly towards him!

Driven by his survival instinct, he quickly adopted the most humble expression he could muster, and hurriedly begged Li Yu for mercy:
"Qingchong...no, no, no! Sir, gentleman, please spare my life! Don't kill me! We meant no harm..."

call out!
Li Yu remained silent, only silently brandishing his sword and wiping away the remaining bloodstains.

Seeing the flash of silver light, the skinny man seemed to choke, his shoulders tightened, and the rest of his words fell back into his stomach.

“Excuse me, did I interrupt you? I didn’t mean to, please continue. You just said ‘we meant no harm.’”

The skinny man trembled like a leaf and dared not speak again.

"What? Are you done talking? Okay, now it's my turn to speak."

Li Yu moved to stand in front of the skinny man, looking down at him expressionlessly, casting a long, huge shadow on him.

What do I look like?

The skinny man blinked repeatedly, looking puzzled, and asked in return:

"W-what?"

call out!
Li Yu raised the blade and pointed the tip at the skinny man's nose.

"what country are you from?"

The skinny man trembled even more violently, and subconsciously asked again:
"what?"

"What country are they? Do they speak English?"

The skinny guy looked like he was about to cry; his mind was practically blank, and he stupidly asked again:
"W-what?"

"Say 'what' again! You dare say 'what' again and see what happens!"

Li Yu suddenly raised his voice, his eyes flashing with cold light, and extended the cold blade in his hand, the sharp tip of the knife about to pierce the skinny man's nose.

The skinny man was startled, his mind clearing slightly, and he stammered, his voice trembling, "..."
"You, you are of Asian descent! You have black hair and black eyes! You are very young! You are very tall! You are very handsome!"

He kept spewing out all the good words he knew, like spitting out beans.

Before he could finish speaking, Li Yu coldly interrupted him:
"Do I look that cheap?"

"W-what?"

laugh!
Without hesitation, Li Yu flicked his right wrist, the blade swaying slightly, slicing off the skinny man's nose.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-!"

A brand new scream echoed through the air.

Ignoring the skinny man's shouts, Li Yu asked again, word by word:
"Am I that cheap-looking?"

The skinny man dared not delay any longer. Enduring the excruciating pain, tears welling in his eyes, he responded with all his might:

"No! No!"

"Then why did you call me 'Qingchong' and why did you pull a slit in the corner of your eye in front of me?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll never discriminate against Chinese people again! I promise God!"

"Answer me, how many Chinese have you killed so far?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed the skinny man's eyes, but upon seeing the blade so close at hand, he lost all courage to resist.

"14... Ah, no, 15, 8 men and 7 women!"

"Fifteen...that's an astonishing number. Have you read the Bible?"

The skinny man nodded quickly, looking pathetic and panicked.

"I've read it..."

“There’s a passage from the Bible that’s quite relevant to read right now: Ezekiel 25:17.”

Li Yu straightened his back slightly and adopted a solemn tone:

"Those on the path of justice are surrounded by selfish and tyrannical villains."

"Bless him with mercy and goodwill as he leads the weak through the dark Valley of Shadows."

He protected his brother and searched for lost children.

"I will kill those who attempt to poison my companions with immense hatred and boundless rage."

"When I take my revenge, they will know—I am God!"

The instant he finished speaking, Li Yu swung his blade down.

The skinny man screamed and howled until his voice cracked, his cries were heart-wrenching—the next moment after the blade flashed, his screams stopped abruptly, leaving only the muffled thud of the corpse falling to the ground.

[Ding! Recited the Bible before the battle; slew the wicked thugs and ruffians, successfully playing the role of "Holy Knight"]

["Paladin" progress: 86% → 101%]

[Paladin's level increased! Lv.1→Lv.2]

[Current progress of "Paladin": 1%]

[New Character Available: The Benevolent and Righteous]

[Gained new skill: Bullet Time Lv.B]

[Skill Description: Possesses exceptional observation and reaction skills, sufficient to anticipate an opponent's projectile trajectory and firing timing. The skill lasts for 10 seconds after activation, with a 20-second cooldown. Only effective against projectiles with an initial velocity of 600m/s or less; attacks from non-projectile targets such as punches and slashes are not affected.]

The veteran stood frozen in place, staring dumbfounded at Li Yu's retreating figure.

"You...you...are you really a pastor?"

The young priest, carrying the blood-dripping murder weapon, slowly turned around and faced the veteran.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew by, lifting the hem of the pastor's robes and making a rustling sound.

Because of the backlighting, his face was in relative shadow, with only his smile clearly visible.

"Of course I'm a pastor. It's just that I'm one of the more volatile types."

The veteran glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground and swallowed hard.
"Is it 'violence'?"

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(End of this chapter)