Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

Then,

A cold blade pierced his ribs at an angle, precisely penetrating his lung.

The cultist opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Because Shen Chu's other hand had already covered his mouth and nose.

A moment later, another wisp of smoke rose!

[Progress of Fragrance Extraction from All Beings: 15/100]

Immediately afterwards, Shen Chu began to clean up the battlefield. In addition to actively killing Red Lotus Cult members, he also finished off those who were no longer able to fight.

[Progress of Fragrance Absorption from All Beings: ......]

As the numbers on the system panel continued to rise, Shen Chu, who had hated kill-stealing in his previous life, finally experienced the joy of stealing kills!

During the battle, Xu Zhibao gradually sensed that something was wrong.

He has already killed several Red Lotus cult members.

Although some of their men were injured, thankfully no one died.

Logically, the number of enemies should decrease as they are killed, and the number of corpses lying on the ground should increase.

But when he glanced at the battlefield, he noticed that although the number of Red Lotus Sect members had decreased, there were very few corpses lying on the ground.

Those he had personally chopped down should have been lying on the spot, but now there were only two or three corpses on the ground around him; the rest had vanished without a trace.

just like……

It's as if someone is secretly "collecting his body"!

Xu Zhibao was filled with doubts, but the enemy before him did not allow him to be distracted. He could only suppress his doubts and continue to fight.

The dark-faced leader stood at the back of the crowd, watching the battle unfold in the courtyard, his expression growing increasingly grim.

He had assumed that with a surprise attack, smoke bombs, and numerical superiority, he could end the battle quickly.

But the constable on the other side was really good at fighting; he blocked most of the attacks by himself!

Even more strangely, he always felt that his own people seemed to be decreasing without him realizing it!

More than twenty people rushed in, but now it seems that only a dozen or so cultists are still fighting in the courtyard!

What about the rest?

There should be a body if someone dies, right?

Where did the body go?

An ominous premonition welled up in his heart, but the arrow had already been released, and there was no time for him to back down.

He gritted his teeth, leaped up from behind the crowd, drew the gleaming silver sword from his waist, and personally charged into the battle!

Shen Chu continued to move silently in the darkness, and he dealt with two more isolated cult members.

The absorption progress of 【Fragrance of All Beings】 has reached 30/100.

Just as he was preparing to look for his next target, he suddenly saw a tall figure leap up and pounce straight toward Xu Zhibao.

The black-faced leader actually got involved himself!

Shen Chu immediately stopped and hid in the shadow of a pillar, her gaze fixed on the tall figure.

Xu Zhibao was about to slash at a Red Lotus Cult member with his knife when he suddenly felt a flash of cold light. Reacting quickly, he immediately raised his knife to block.

clang!!!

What incredible strength!

Xu Zhibao's pupils dilated involuntarily, and he took several steps back!

The one who attacked was the black-faced leader!

He struck with his sword, forcing Xu Zhibao back, and then used the force of the recoil to leap back several steps, landing in the center of the courtyard.

He then shouted sternly, "Get behind me, all of you!"

Upon hearing the sound, the remaining followers stopped and scrambled back behind the black-faced leader, panting and gathering in a small group.

The dark-faced leader's eyes flashed like lightning as he quickly scanned the figures around him.

Of the twenty or thirty brothers he originally brought, only fifteen or sixteen stood behind him at most.

Almost half gone!

The black-faced leader's heart sank.

He clearly remembered that there were twenty or thirty people when they rushed in. Even if some people died in the battle, their bodies should be lying on the ground.

But when he looked around, there were only five or six corpses lying haphazardly in the courtyard.

What about the remaining ten or so people? Did they just vanish into thin air?

His gaze swept across the darkness, but he found nothing unusual.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and a faint smoke. Everything seemed so normal, yet there was an indescribable eeriness about it.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his unease, and said in a low voice to the followers behind him, "Pay attention! Something's not right here. Be careful and look out for each other. Clear out the rest of the people in the courtyard first, and I'll deal with that constable!"

The believers responded.

Although they were a little scared, they dared not disobey their leader's orders, so they gripped their weapons tightly and pressed towards the yamen runners and guards.

Xu Zhibao stood with his sword drawn, his gaze coldly fixed on the black-faced leader.

He wiped the blood splattered on his face, a cold smile playing on his lips: "The Red Lotus Sect's reach is truly extensive, daring to rob even the goods of the Qingyang County government. Aren't you afraid that the Xu Family Escort Agency and the Qingyang County government will join forces and chop your claws off one by one?"

Upon hearing this, the dark-faced leader let out a low laugh, a laugh filled with undisguised mockery:

"Xu Family Escort Agency? You mean those Xu Family Escorts you arranged to be stationed in the back?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhibao's expression immediately changed.

The dark-faced leader slowly twirled the long sword in his hand, his tone quite mocking: "You don't need to wait. Your few Xu family bodyguards were already dealt with by us long before you even arrived at this post station!"

Xu Zhibao's pupils suddenly contracted, and his grip on the knife hilt tightened even more.

Bathed in moonlight, his expression shifted between light and shadow. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke:

"What did you do to them?"

"What's wrong?"

The dark-faced leader tilted his head, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

"What do you think? They won't listen to reason and insist on fighting us, so we'll just have to send them on their way. Speaking of which, the Xu family has quite a backbone. Even as they breathed their last, they were still shouting something like 'The Xu Family Escort Agency will not let you get away with this.' Tsk tsk tsk, how touching."

Xu Zhibao did not speak again.

He simply adjusted his grip on the knife slowly, took a deep breath, and then...

His eyes changed completely at that moment.

If he was just a dutiful constable before, he was now more like an enraged beast, exuding a dangerous aura.

"Do you know?"

Xu Zhibao's voice was eerily calm at this moment.

"I originally just wanted to finish this job peacefully and didn't want to cause any trouble, but what you just said has made me change my mind."

The dark-faced leader sneered, the long sword in his hand gleaming with a chilling light in the moonlight:

"Oh? Then I'd like to see what you can do to me!"

Before the words were even finished, the two of them moved at the same time!

Xu Zhibao took the initiative, pushing off with his feet and leaping across several meters like an arrow!