Asura in Arknights

"Don't let him escape!!"

Despite Li Ang's unexpected speed, even amidst Zhou Xiaowei's vigorous shouts, they still demonstrated the qualities expected of professional soldiers from Yan.

Two dazzlingly bright flares were launched into the sky, replacing the sun, which was obscured by dark clouds, and becoming the only source of light here.

Even if they couldn't pinpoint Li Ang's location immediately, the crossbowmen still had their own methods. They split into three groups and fired in sequence at the area directly in front of them.

This time, they switched to explosive arrows, the most powerful of all special arrows. Although the military equipment of different countries varies, explosive arrows are cheap, easy to use, and very simple to make, and are equipped by almost all countries.

The dense explosions instantly covered most of the area in front of the army formation, and some arrows flew to more distant locations to prevent the enemy from escaping from there.

If it were an Originium Arts like invisibility, it would be instantly revealed by these explosions. Unfortunately, the mobilization was somewhat rushed this time, and the accompanying Celestial Masters were unable to arrive in time. Otherwise, with their help, even if a mere enemy had wings, he wouldn't be able to escape their encirclement, and they would even have a good chance of capturing him alive.

However... what they didn't expect was that Li Ang's magic wasn't invisibility; it was just pure speed, and Li Ang had no intention of escaping from here.

The distance of over a hundred meters was traversed in an instant, and Li Ang could already see the rain-soaked faces of the soldiers holding long swords.

Ultimately, these soldiers were just following orders. Li Ang had no grudge against them, nor was he a bloodthirsty maniac. There was no need for him to exterminate them all.

Otherwise, he could have easily inflicted heavy casualties on the soldiers in the army formation by simply standing still and using a single wave sword technique.

Before the soldier could react, Li Ang grabbed his armor, lifted him up, and then, like bowling, threw him into the densest part of the crowd.

The next instant, those people were knocked over by the friendly forces thrown by Li Ang. They were wearing armor, and although their lives were not in danger, they were bound to have a few broken bones.

The soldiers around them reacted and drew their longswords. At this distance, the crossbows were completely useless. If an explosive crossbow bolt were fired, not to mention whether it could hurt their enemies, the surrounding friendly forces would definitely suffer heavy casualties.

However, as soon as they raised their longswords, before they even had a chance to take a step forward, a bone-chilling cold pierced their souls. Even the rain falling from the sky seemed to turn into liquid nitrogen, freezing their bodies through their armor.

Most people lose control of their bodies in an instant, and those who are more determined become incredibly sluggish and pose no threat whatsoever.

Ignoring the soldiers who had lost their fighting ability, Li Ang charged straight toward Prefect Gouwu and Colonel Zhou, who were hiding behind the army formation.

There were soldiers on the road who tried to stop him with knives, but Li Ang didn't hold back and broke their arms without mercy.

The real world isn't a game; there aren't any strange switches on a human's neck that would knock them unconscious with a single chop.

If you were to deliver a swift chop, it's more likely to kill the person outright.

Breaking an arm may be a bit brutal, but it's the simplest way to avoid taking their lives. Because of Originium Arts, medical technology in Terra is very advanced, and minor injuries like fractures can be completely healed in just two or three days.

Li Ang didn't demonstrate any special abilities; he was just fast and strong.

Even so, this power is something they can hardly comprehend.

Grandmaster...

Upon witnessing this scene, the two words popped into the mind of Prefect Gouwu: he had underestimated his opponent.

The hastily assembled troops were fine for dealing with ordinary bandits, but they were clearly no match for a martial arts master.

Prefect Gouwu was only thinking about not letting this traitor escape, but he never expected that the traitor would have such power.

Didn't he only manage to injure the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review through a sneak attack? How can he possess such strength? A grandmaster at this age... how is that possible?

However, before Prefect Gouwu could think further, the traitor had already broken through the soldiers' defenses and rushed to within a meter of Prefect Gouwu.

Several beams of light appeared on the other party's hand, forming something resembling a rune in his palm. Then, he struck the chest of Prefect Gouwu with his palm.

The expected pain did not come. Prefect Gouwu only felt a light pat on his chest before the light from the traitor's hand completely entered his body.

What did you do to me??

Prefect Gouwu looked at Li Ang with a look of horror, and groped his chest a few times with his hands.

Naturally, he didn't notice any changes in himself, but the light he had seen earlier was not an illusion.

"It's nothing, just a small gift," Li Ang said with a kind smile.

Then, Li Ang knocked down Captain Zhou, who was about to fight him, with two punches, and also struck him in the chest with a palm.

After imprinting the wave pattern into the bodies of the two people, Li Ang did not intend to stay there any longer.

Regardless of which of them is the mole in the organization, with the imprints on their bodies, Li Ang could kill them both in an instant.

As for removing the imprint... frankly speaking, it's almost impossible.

The Terrans' bodies naturally contain a lot of Originium particles, and Leon's mark has been completely integrated into these particles. Even if you were to grind them to dust, you would not be able to remove the mark from their bodies.

Watching Li Ang strut away, Prefect Gouwu and Captain Zhou, who was lying on the ground, looked at each other in bewilderment.

A moment later, they were brought back to reality by the soldiers on the ground who were constantly groaning.

"What...did he do to us?" Prefect Gouwu asked tentatively.

"...Who knows, but it's definitely not a good thing." Captain Zhou got up from the ground with a gloomy expression.

"Could he be trying to scare us? I don't feel any physical problems." Prefect Gou Wu considered this possibility.

Are you willing to bet?

Lieutenant Zhou only said those four words, and he shut him up.

"He's the traitor who assassinated the Minister of Justice, why do you think he'd let us go?"

Prefect Gouwu gave an awkward smile and then fell silent.

However, he couldn't help but have some doubts. Although the thief was ruthless, none of the fallen soldiers were injured or killed. This was definitely not a coincidence.

So... that guy was deliberately holding back? But why? Shouldn't he have been slaughtering everyone in sight?

Moreover, his accomplice, the very young-looking Caprini girl, had also disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where she was hiding.

Realizing that something was amiss, Prefect Gouwu suddenly felt as if he had been used as a pawn. However, he did not reveal his suspicions. Instead, he suppressed his doubts and said apologetically to Captain Zhou in front of him, "I'm sorry, Captain Zhou. This time, I didn't think things through and dragged you into this as well."

He apologized, but Prefect Gouwu made no promises. He was in a position of prefecture, so he couldn't give others something to talk about over something like this.

Lieutenant Zhou snorted coldly and said nothing more. He then gathered his men and carried the wounded soldiers away from the area.

However, before leaving, he seemingly casually said to Prefect Gouwu, "Prefect, the thief has already escaped. You must be careful about the safety of the Minister of Justice from now on."

"Don't worry, I already moved Lord Tingwei out of the clinic before we set off," said Prefect Gouwu, stroking his beard with a smile.

"That puts my mind at ease, Your Excellency. I shall take my leave now." Captain Zhou clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Take care of yourself."

In the instant Zhou Xiaowei turned around, no one noticed the fleeting ruthlessness in his eyes.

Damn it... it still crashed.

Where did these grandmasters of that age come from?

Chapter Thirty-Six: Whereabouts

On the other hand, Li Ang was naturally unaware of the shady dealings between the two.

After imprinting the wave pattern into the two people's bodies, Li Ang left this place of trouble without hesitation.

However, he has no immediate plans to leave Gouwu City.

Jingzhe's fate is still unknown. If he leaves like this, what will he do next? Moreover, once Prefect Gouwu reports his identity information, if Jingzhe doesn't help him clear his name, won't Li Ang be wanted by the entire Great Yan?

That old fellow Zhang Daoling has already gone to the front lines. By the time the news reaches his ears, it will probably be too late. So Li Ang's only way out now is to find the seriously injured Jingzhe. Anyway, with Xi's help, it's very convenient for him to take anything he wants with him now.

The heavy rain is expected to continue for several more days. Li Ang must find Jingzhe's whereabouts during this time. Otherwise, without the cover of the rain, it will not be so easy for him to move around in Gouwu City.

However, it won't take that long to find the Awakening of Insects.

Avoiding most people, Li Ang found a secluded alley and went straight in.

With the heavy rain washing away the rain, he didn't need to worry about leaving any traces.

Hiding in the alley, Li Ang released the restrictions on his senses. Gradually, the entire Gouwu City was enveloped by his senses, and he began to search for Jingzhe's whereabouts inch by inch.

Li Ang had already memorized the aura of Jingzhe. The first place he looked for was several clinics in the city. Since Jingzhe was seriously injured, she would definitely have to be sent there for treatment.

However, after searching, Li Ang did not find Jingzhe's whereabouts in the clinic, but only found a trace of her aura, proving that she had indeed been there.

However, Li Ang was not discouraged. Given Jingzhe's identity, after receiving initial treatment here, she would definitely be transferred to a safer place. Moreover, now that he, the number one murderer, had escaped from the army's encirclement, Jingzhe needed to be transferred as soon as possible.

This place only looks like ancient times; communication wasn't as backward as it actually was in ancient times.

Afterwards, Li Ang focused his search on the core city, government offices, and military garrisons, but to no avail. It seems that the prefect of Gouwu was thinking that the fewer people who knew about it, the better, and did not place Jingzhe in such a heavily guarded place.

"This is getting a bit troublesome..."

With a sigh, Li Ang continued searching Gouwu City. Even if he searched the entire city, it would only take a day.

Of course, this is all on the premise that the Jingzhe solar term is not moved again within such a short period of time.

As Li Ang continued to explore Gouwu City, his understanding of the city deepened, which greatly benefited his subsequent planning of actions.

Gouwu City was one of the earliest mobile cities in the Yan Kingdom. Although it has been expanded several times, it still retains the ancient appearance of the Yan Kingdom. Although there are tall buildings, they are not very common.

Therefore, there are very few cameras on the streets here. Instead, there are various surveillance spells. It's hard to say which is better. Cameras are simple and cheap, and ordinary people can use them. Although surveillance spells require sorcerers, that is, the Celestial Masters of the Great Yan Dynasty, to operate them, surveillance spells are unmatched by cameras in terms of concealment, range, and accuracy.

Only a country like Yan, with its large population and abundant talent for Originium Arts, could employ such methods. Other countries simply don't have that many people. This alone demonstrates just how powerful Yan is. This difference, from nothing to something, can only be mitigated by contracting the incurable disease, Oripathy.

However, Yan Kingdom's arrangement provided Li Ang with a lot of convenience. He didn't have a good way to deal with mechanical cameras, so he could only avoid the monitoring range. But if he wanted to deal with this kind of Originium-powered magic, it would be a piece of cake.

With just a little manipulation of the surrounding Originium particles, Li Ang could render these monitoring spells blind, making it very easy for him to do whatever he wanted.

After searching for about four or five hours, the sun had set and the rain had subsided a little, and Li Ang finally found the whereabouts of Jingzhe.

The prefect of Gouwu hid Jingzhe very well, in a secluded place in the lower structure area. But this was pointless, unless he sent Jingzhe out of Gouwu or moved her to a new location every one or two hours, she would be found by Li Ang sooner or later.

However, it remains to be seen how many times a seriously injured person can withstand such a turbulent journey.

Through his senses, Li Ang was able to "see" Jingzhe lying in her hospital bed from afar.

She was very weak, and there was a hideous wound on her side. After treatment, she was out of danger, but it would take some time to recover.

"As expected, these people dared not kill Jingzhe,"

Putting aside Jingzhe's master, who is the head of the Celestial Master's Mansion, her own identity is also quite astonishing. Although the specifics are unknown, Jingzhe's Qilin clan is a noble family in Yan Kingdom, second only to the royal family. If Jingzhe dies, things will be very serious.

Even if it's a sneak attack on Jingzhe like this, leaving her unconscious, it's already an act of completely breaking off relations.

Could it be that... those people were only one step away from success, and only needed to delay for a little longer to achieve their goal, which is why they ruthlessly attacked and severely injured Jingzhe?

This is not good news.

He slowly exhaled, and the vast senses receded back into Li Ang's body like a tide, after which he fell into deep thought.

How to get in and take Jingzhe away is not a problem at all. Not to mention that he can block all monitoring spells, Li Ang can force his way in.

But the problem is, how can we ensure the survival of Jingzhe?

Jingzhe's life is now out of danger thanks to the support of medical staff and a large amount of professional equipment. If Li Ang had just taken her away like that, there would have been a high chance of an accident along the way.

The frustrating thing is that none of the three of them—Leon, Adele, and Xi—know how to use Originium Arts for healing; at most, they can only treat minor injuries.

If only Xuancheng were here... I wonder where Jingzhe's most capable subordinate has gone. Although his talisman skills are not particularly powerful, they are very comprehensive, including many talismans with healing effects.

When they parted ways at Longmen, Xuancheng left them with a lot of talismans. These talismans were not used in Sagaki City and are now in their bags. However, Li Ang is not sure if these can cure Jingzhe.

"There is."

After thinking for a while, Li Ang suddenly had an idea.

It was already evening, and with rain falling, no one had noticed the alley where Li Ang was hiding after half a day.

Li Ang simply untied the two scrolls on his back, opened the one that Xi and Adele had entered, and with a slight sway, disappeared into it.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Pack it up and take it away

Upon entering the world of the painting, Li Ang felt as if he had arrived at a misty mountain, which was very similar to the mountain he had seen in his dream that day.

Xi was also a very attached person to her home. Even the temporary residence in this painting was decorated exactly like the one on Gray Qi Mountain. Several thatched houses stood on a clearing near the peak. One of them was Xi's residence, while the rest were warehouses for storing her paintings.

However... it's also possible that this is Xi's real residence, and those few thatched huts on Gray Mountain are just a cover.

As soon as Li Ang entered the world of the painting, before he could even stand up straight, he saw two figures rush out of the thatched hut.

They waited anxiously for several hours in the world within the painting, but still received no news of Li Ang. If Xi hadn't had a way to ascertain the general situation outside the painting world and determine that Li Ang hadn't met with any mishap, they probably wouldn't have been able to stay any longer and would have rushed out of the painting world long ago.

Now that they have finally met Li Ang again, the two naturally exchanged pleasantries, asking what had happened to them after entering the world of the painting and whether they had encountered any danger.

"There is no danger. They don't know my true strength, and they don't even know about Xi's existence. The people surrounding the courtyard are just a group of ordinary soldiers, not even a Celestial Master."

If there are sorcerers present, their diverse and unusual Originium Arts might cause Leon some trouble.

"Moreover, through them I also confirmed something," Li Ang shook his head and said with a sense of helplessness, "Jingzhe was ambushed and seriously injured after leaving home, and is still unconscious. We became the prime suspects as soon as we arrived in Gouwu City, and we don't know who pinned this on us, which has almost confirmed the crime."

To say it was intentional targeting is not necessarily true. It's probably just that Li Ang and his group were newcomers with no powerful backers, and they were working under the Dali Temple, making them Jingzhe's subordinates. So they simply framed him. That's why Prefect Gouwu brought so few people to surround and suppress him. These few people were obviously more than enough to deal with a Dali Sizhi.

After figuring all this out, Li Ang couldn't help but feel a little depressed, and began to curse Jingzhe in his heart.