The Remnants of the Chu Gate

After the Midnight Headsman plunged into the smoke, a chorus of anguished screams rose and fell in the gloom. When the haze finally dissipated, the ground was strewn with the corpses of the Confucian disciples—and a swordsman drenched head to toe in blood.

"Incredible... Is this his true strength?" Chiyo couldn't help but marvel.

Meanwhile, Black Calis was running toward them, clutching a massive device that crackled and sparked with electricity. "The control room has been taken care of~"

Chen Shang eyed the device curiously. "What's that?"

"I dismantled the core apparatus from the control room," Black Calis replied, tugging at a cable and plugging it into the back of her head, "With this, I can keep piloting the tanks."

"As expected of you." Chen Shang nodded approvingly, then turned his gaze back to the Midnight Headsman.

Since the Headsman had breached the Confucian military factory, the entire facility was now on maximum alert. The production lines had halted, and the freight robots had vanished.

Soon, a swarm of figures dressed in white descended on flying devices from all directions, encircling the Headsman.

"I am the Grand Elder of the Confucian Sect—Master Tengyang! Was it you, thief, who trespassed upon Sage Mountain and slaughtered so many of my disciples?" The leader, an elderly man in white, stroked his grizzled beard and glared coldly at the intruder.

Behind him stood other elders of the order. Unlike the earlier disciples, these men radiated a far more dangerous aura.

"Grand Elder, are we really capable of defeating him?" one elder whispered anxiously.

"Enough nonsense!" Master Tengyang replied in a low voice, "The Sect Leader has already summoned reinforcements from two other orders. We just need to intimidate him—not fight him head-on."

With that, the elders produced their mighty scrolls, and in unison began to chant:

"Summon Heavenly Fire!"

As their incantation echoed, great ripples distorted the sky behind them. Hundreds of heavy machine guns and rocket launchers emerged from the spatial distortions, their dark muzzles trained in unison on the Midnight Headsman.

"Fire!"

At the Grand Elder's command, the floating gun barrels erupted in flashes, bullets and rockets pouring down like rain upon the Headsman.

"Wow—that's so cool!" Black Calis, watching from the sidelines, was entranced. "It's just like the Vault of O!"

"This is a favored joint technique of the Confucian elders," Chen Shang explained. "They perform wide-area 'spatial warping,' instantly teleporting weapons from the arsenal to the battlefield, then unleash a coordinated barrage on their foe."

"That's amazing! I’ve never seen such a stylish combat tactic~" Black Calis beamed with bliss, her joy nearly lifting her off the ground. "Chen, following you really leads to good things~"

"Remember to use my codename during missions," Chen Shang reminded softly.

"Sure thing, Planner~" Black Calis lowered her head and resumed manipulating her device.

After the first wave of fire, the Midnight Headsman's body was riddled with holes. Yet he did not fall; instead, dragging his self-repairing, mutilated frame, he began to advance toward the elders.

"Again!" the Confucian elders shouted, unleashing another downpour of fire from above.

"Hey... Is he really alright?" Chiyo sounded worried.

"Don't underestimate immortality~" Chen Shang replied with a smile.

Indeed, this time the Headsman did not endure the barrage directly. Instead, he broke into a furious sprint. Though the strain tore his legs open and blood gushed forth, his speed only increased, bullets whistling past but never touching him.

Like a phantom in a mist, the Midnight Headsman appeared before an elder, raised his iron sword, and struck with an unremarkable swing.

Bang—!

Instantly, the elder's robe split, and the bulletproof armor beneath shattered into pieces.

Yet the Headsman was not unharmed. The elder's armor possessed formidable rebound capability; the force of his blow shattered the Headsman's grip, black blood oozing from his hand.

Bang—!

Paying no heed to his injuries, the Headsman swung again. A deep, bone-revealing gash appeared in the elder's chest, blood spraying as he was hurled backward.

Seeing this, another elder cursed, "He's a monster!"

But in the next instant, the Headsman appeared before him and decapitated him with a single stroke.

Witnessing this ruthless tactic—wounding himself to kill the enemy—Chiyo's expression was shocked and contemplative.

"Don’t watch. You won’t be able to learn that," Chen Shang gently shielded her eyes.

Chiyo was fiercely competitive, and Chen Shang didn’t want her to lose herself trying to match the immortal’s physical prowess.

She silently brushed his hand aside, saying nothing.

Black Calis exclaimed, "Eh? A squad of over a hundred is coming up the mountain; looks like reinforcements from the Buddhist and Taoist orders."

"Can you deal with them?" Chen Shang asked.

"Piece of cake~" Black Calis smiled, her fingers flying over the device.

......

The Buddhist and Taoist reinforcements rushed up the mountain, only to find chaos everywhere. The battlefield was littered with slain Confucian disciples and dozens of smoking, apparently disabled tanks.

"The Midnight Headsman... He's actually this powerful?"

A Taoist disciple clicked his tongue.

The Headsman had previously operated as an assassin, preying only on isolated disciples. For this reason, none knew his true strength.

But now, seeing him single-handedly defeat the Confucian heavy firepower corps, his terrifying power surpassed their worst fears.

"This must be reported back."

The Buddhist and Taoist disciples reached for their communicators, preparing to contact headquarters.

At that moment, the dozens of damaged tanks suddenly moved.

Like zombies on a highway suddenly catching the scent of living flesh, the tanks in perfect unison aimed their turrets at the two orders’ reinforcements.

Then—

Boom—!

With a deafening thunder, the reinforcements barely had time to react before they were engulfed by the tanks’ cannon fire.

......

Back to the Midnight Headsman.

The elders who had tried to stop him had been nearly wiped out. In the face of such a pure monster, neither rigorous training nor advanced technology could resist.

After the carnage, only the Grand Elder, Master Tengyang, remained, his neck trapped beneath the Headsman's sword. He forced himself to composure, attempting to negotiate:

"Hea—Headsman, calm down! Whatever you want, I can give you! Let’s put down our weapons and talk this over..."

But the Headsman bared his teeth, laughing hoarsely and darkly:

"When the people of Gusu Town begged you for mercy, how they must have hoped you’d spare them a path to life~"

At these words, Master Tengyang's face contorted with terror. He stammered, "Could it be... Are you truly..."

"I remember you—leading your disciples to slaughter sixteen members of the Chu family and over forty citizens of Gusu Town. Confucian Grand Elder—Master Tengyang!"

The Headsman’s laughter was chilling. "Oh yes, my sister was murdered by your order as well."

Master Tengyang paled, panic-stricken. "I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It was the Sect Leader’s command! I had no choice! Please forgive me..."

Crack—!

Before he could finish, a thin red line appeared across his neck. Instantly, dozens more lines crisscrossed his body.

With a gruesome burst, Master Tengyang's body was cleaved into dozens of pieces, scattering like dough.

Blood rained down, but the Midnight Headsman's face showed not the slightest joy of vengeance. Instead, he turned to Chen Shang in the distance:

"Where did the Confucian Sect Leader go?"

"The hacker told me the Sect Leader was taken away by Radiated Bird Corporation long ago..." Chen Shang walked toward him, shrugging. "He sent his disciples to die, but slipped away himself."

"No matter. I’ll kill him later," the Headsman replied flatly. "Who’s next?"

"Naturally, your old friends—the Taoist order~" Chen Shang snapped his fingers.