Chapter 90 Chapter 89 Breaking Out of the Siege
Zhang Boren watched as George retrieved his weapon and recalled his exquisite swordsmanship from earlier. It was quite possible that he could escape, and then he would have to give an account to the benevolent master. Zhang Boren’s gaze fell on Jima, the slender girl beside George. With her agile movements, she seemed to be utterly useless and a burden.
He immediately waved his sword and ordered, “Chop that black-haired girl!”
Originally, Zhang Boren did not want to completely offend George, but fearing the big muscle men would hesitate, he gave George a chance to escape.
Upon hearing the order, the big muscular men immediately gripped their axe spears with both hands and attacked Jima, at least three axe spears aiming for her face, either stabbing or slashing.
Jima was so frightened that her hair seemed to stand on end. Based on her combat experience, she knew that the three axe spears in front of her were already enough to bring her down. She first bent down to avoid an axe spear that could split her in half, took a step forward, rose on her toes, bent her waist to evade a thrust, and then leaned to the side as one axe spear, influenced by her “superb charm,” missed slightly, almost grazing her forehead before burying itself in the dirt at her toes.
Before Jima could regain her balance, the axe spear that had missed swung around and slammed into her waist. She stumbled and fell to the ground, and just managed to catch herself with one hand to avoid falling completely. Before she could get up, she caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision of even more axe spears being raised. The white axe blades reflected the midday sun, and in that moment, her mind was clear; she could only desperately amplify her “superb charm” and pray for good luck.
“Bang!”
George swept his sword, severing the long handles of several axe spears and striking the remaining one, breaking its handle in the process.
However, the crisis was not over. Two axe spears lunged at Jima’s head and chest, blocking her escape routes, and she had just gotten back up.
George sidestepped and slammed into Jima, taking the brunt of the two axe spears that stabbed into his side. They failed to penetrate his breastplate, but the force left two deep dents. Although they didn’t pierce his armor, the impact was considerable, causing George to wince in pain and momentarily freeze.
Zhang Boren’s red flame sword traced a fire arc in the air and struck him brutally under his arm. This was where the breastplate and shoulder armor intersected, a weak point.
The scorching blade penetrated, embedding itself into flesh and blood, and then it was pulled out, steam rising from the blood in the flames.
George felt the pain and endured it. He turned around and slashed at Zhang Boren, his sword glowing white, exuding an unstoppable majesty.
“Saintly Slash!”
But Zhang Boren was prepared; he raised his shield, and the massive sword struck the edge of the shield. The shield tilted, deflecting the sword, which grazed Zhang Boren’s robe, leaving a long mark.
George used one hand glowing with white light to press against the wound on his shoulder, using the thick part of his armor to block the axe spear strikes, desperately closing in on Zhang Boren, determined to injure him.
But Zhang Boren was not in a hurry to settle the score with him. He took a few steps back and let the big muscle men move forward, pressing George to reveal his weaknesses.
He was a cautious person. He noted that George’s swordsmanship was exquisite; even with his own rich experience, he could see through George’s sword attacks; when an attack came, he not only neutralized it but could also launch a counterattack—one sword could deal with two.
Yet, no matter how exquisite the swordsmanship, there were times when facing numerous axe spears when vulnerabilities could be exploited, especially with a burden by his side.
The former demon king, Jima, now reduced to a burden, crawled away under the big muscle men after being knocked down by George. She took advantage of the long weapons of the big muscle men to stay close and survive.
Relying on her “superb charm” and agility, she avoided at least three axe spear strikes. After rolling, she dodged another thrust, but the shattered stones hit her cheek painfully. She looked up at the sky and saw seven clouds representing various desires, with only the light green cloud symbolizing rage being the largest.
The big muscle men, not very bright, were sure to get easily angered!
Jima immediately pointed her thumb at the light green cloud, and just as she did, a big foot kicked out at her. Unlike the excessively long axe spear, the kick was much faster. Although her “superb charm” diverted the foot somewhat, it still struck her shoulder, sending her rolling across the ground and crashing into another pillar-like leg.
A heavy foot landed on her chest as Jima saw a large hand drawing a dagger, lunging toward her face. The owner of the large hand was already affected by “rage,” with veins bulging on his forehead.
“Save me!”
Jima shouted, continuing to gesture with her thumb toward the light green cloud.
The tip of the dagger magnified in her pupil. Suddenly, a white light appeared, morphing into a human shape, and George’s sword materialized, cutting off the hand holding the dagger. At that moment, flames illuminated behind him, and George quickly turned to face the enemy, blocking Zhang Boren’s sword.
However, the situation reversed again; Jima could not avoid being hit forever.
If this continued, either George would be injured protecting her, or she would be the first to be injured fatally.
In a moment of panic, Jima shouted, “Taunt monster!”
She was so anxious that she shouted some familiar terms from when she played World of Warcraft.
Fortunately, George kept a clear mind amidst the fierce battle. Although he did not understand Jima’s intention, he chose to trust her and shouted back in mockery:
“You can’t beat me, a bunch of cannon fodder!”
The words hit the ears of the big muscle men like a dagger, piercing deeply. Like a spark dropped into gasoline, it ignited their anger; due to their fleshly modifications, they were already mentally inferior. Each one roared like a red-eyed bull at the sight of the fluttering red cloth and charged at George.
“Chop!”
“Kill!”
They surged forward toward George, ignoring Jima.
Jima quickly crawled away on all fours.
Zhang Boren was jostled around and yelled, “Don’t crowd! Go kill that girl!”
“Chop that iron bucket head!”
“Stab that big guy!”
“Waaaagh!”
But the big muscle men lost their sanity, responding only with angry shouts. They enveloped George.
Jima successfully escaped the crowd; although she felt like a bona fide demon king fleeing like a little mouse, she was still pleased with her cleverness. She stood up and raised her middle finger at Zhang Boren in the crowd:
“One-eyed wrinkled guy, I’ll scatter your whole family’s ashes!”
As soon as she finished speaking, an enraged Zhang Boren roared, and the crowd exploded into flames. Zhang Boren actually jumped straight up from the crowd, waving his hand as explosions erupted behind him, propelling him to leap toward Jima.
Oh my, he’s been affected by rage too!
Jima turned and ran towards the wall of the courtyard.
As Zhang Boren landed, his sword was about to sweep toward Jima. A white light dashed through the crowd, instantly stopping in front of him, transforming into a human form, and George’s sword blocked Zhang Boren’s red flame long sword. He quickly followed with an upward slash, the blade shining with white light, gliding past Zhang Boren’s shield and striking his helmet.
Zhang Boren’s helmet spun and flew high into the air, and George’s sword left a blood mark on his face. It wasn’t deep or fatal, but enough to humiliate Zhang Boren. He was shocked and angry. Seeing George raise his dual-handed sword, attempting to slash down, he quickly swung his sword, throwing a fireball toward George’s bucket helmet.
A surge of fire and flame surrounded the two, allowing Zhang Boren to retreat.
Meanwhile, the escaping Jima was about to climb over the courtyard wall. Suddenly, a large hand wrapped around her slim waist. Jima was lifted off the ground, frightened and kicking her legs wildly, flailing her arms. When she saw it was George, she calmed down, but soon felt annoyed and shouted:
“George, I have legs and arms; I can run myself!”
George ignored her, jumping over the courtyard wall. The soldiers outside glared at George, but they didn’t rush forward immediately; unlike the towering big muscle men inside the courtyard, they were just ordinary soldiers.
“Stop them!”
Zhang Boren’s commanding voice shouted out, as he donned heavy armor wrapped in flames, leaping over the courtyard wall. The big muscle men kicked open the courtyard door and rushed in.
But then, while everyone was focused on him, George covered Jima’s eyes with one hand, lifted his giant sword with the other hand adorned with the emblem of the Goddess of Dawn, and shouted, “Praise the sun!”
Blinding light erupted from the sword’s tip, instantly flooding everyone’s sight. Screams rang out as the onlookers shielded their eyes, bending down. Some soldiers dropped their weapons, and even Zhang Boren had to use his shield to cover his eyes.
When the dazzling light subsided, a deep shadow lingered in Zhang Boren’s eyes. He anxiously lowered his shield, trying to catch sight of George’s retreating figure. In such a short time, he should still be able to catch up.
But then he heard the sound of a horse neighing. Out of nowhere came a snow-white armored warhorse, galloping down the street with two riders, having already covered nearly a hundred meters.
“Bastard!”
Zhang Boren was furious, his chest heaving. Then, he found it strange that his temper seemed particularly bad today; he wiped the blood from his face, burying his doubts deep in his mind—the humiliation would be repaid.
George and Jima were almost disappearing into the street like a piece of red cloth. The big muscle men had their eyes turned red, shouting and raising their weapons, charging forward, knocking over pedestrians and kicking away anyone who stood in their way.
Zhang Boren grew angrier, yelling,
“You bunch of bastards, stop! Stop!”
The big muscle men did not listen.
In the end, Zhang Boren had to kill a man who defied military orders in the street and got into a fight with another big guy.
“These damned creatures have nothing but muscles; they don’t listen to orders at all! If they had obeyed commands, George would have been captured long ago!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His mind involuntarily wandered to unfortunate thoughts.
The benevolent master attempted to grant the underground mogul a noble title, which greatly displeased Zhang Boren. In his view, this filthy wretch of the underground sewers should stay put in the stinking ditches. Being allowed to rule the underground sewer was already a great mercy.
Yet the mogul even wanted to crawl out of the sewers, dirty and all, and sit at the banquet alongside them as equals! Why was that? In terms of contributions, he had worked diligently to assist the benevolent master for many years. When Shalin City was on the brink of disaster and still a small city, it was at the crucial moment that he endured hardships alongside the benevolent master, preventing Shalin City from being lost.
The benevolent master promised him satisfactory compensation.
Thinking of this, Zhang Boren frowned as he looked at the big muscle men; these brainless brutes couldn’t even obey a three-year-old child. Having the benevolent master allow him to command these people was the so-called compensation.
Just thinking about George escaping and then being reprimanded by the benevolent master, mocked by the mogul made him even more irritable.
A messenger riding a swift horse rushed over.
Zhang Boren suppressed his inner turmoil, saying,
“Send my orders: seal off the port, lower the city gates, and no ships are to leave the port, nor vehicles to exit the city!”
The messenger replied, “Yes!”
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