Chapter 229

Yan Liqiang concealed himself among the tall bushes in silence, half squatting on the ground . He slowly regulated his breathing while he recovered his stamina . His eyes shone brilliantly like a cheetah’s, and he was saving his strength as he waited for something to happen . . .

More than half an hour had passed since Yan Liqiang had hidden himself in the plains .

The Blackwind Bandit, who was searching the plains, was slowly making his way toward Yan Liqiang’s hiding spot .

He searched directly and violently . He would take one step at a time and cautiously scan the bushes with his scimitar in hand . Whenever he found a place that could possibly hide a person, he’d sweep his scimitar across, sending blades of grass and leaves flying like a lawnmower . He slashed the weeds so mercilessly that they ended up being only about a foot tall off the ground . . .

Over the half-hour, traces of light had started appearing in the dark eastern sky . Daybreak was the coldest time in this wilderness .

Yan Liqiang could almost see a layer of frost forming on the leaves and blades of grass in front of his eyes . . .

Swoosh . . . ! A strange noise rang out not far from Yan Liqiang . It was then followed by footsteps and the sounds of huge patches of grasses and leaves being cut . Yan Liqiang could hear the footsteps drawing closer to where he was hiding . . .

Coming . . . He’s coming…!

Yan Liqiang tightly gripped the dagger he was holding . Since he had been holding it in his hands for a long time, the handle was already drenched in his sweat . Aside from the slightly wet sensation, it didn’t really affect Yan Liqiang .

As the footsteps and the noise of grass being cut drew closer, Yan Liqiang could almost hear the Blackwind Bandit’s labored breathing .

The Blackwind Bandit had yet to sniff Yan Liqiang out over the past half an hour so he had used up quite a bit of stamina . Most importantly, he was starting to get irritated . Perhaps he was even starting to doubt if Yan Liqiang was hiding among the plains, or maybe he had used some sort of trick they didn’t know and had gone down to the ravine . . .

The other Blackwind Bandit was only less than two hundred meters away . If he didn’t wish to be attacked from both sides, he would have to finish the battle within ten seconds as soon as he made his first move . If he still couldn’t kill this Blackwind Bandit within ten seconds, then he would most likely be dead when the ten seconds were up .

Yan Liqiang once again reminded himself internally before he finally prepared to take action .

… . . .

A pair of black pants, less than two meters away, came into Yan Liqiang’s view . As soon as he saw the black figure, Yan Liqiang finally moved . Instead of making violent movements, he merely tugged on the black string he had in his hand . He had removed the black string from his shirt earlier and tied it around the trunks of some bushes about a meter away . He even draped his clothes over some weeds behind the bushes . During a pitch black night like this, it would look as if a person were crouching there at first glance .

Yan Liqiang tugged on the black string, making the bushes slightly shake as though something was hiding behind them . When the bushes shook, Yan Liqiang’s clothes were exposed .

Upon seeing the bushes moving and catching a glimpse of clothing on it, how would the Blackwind Bandit respond under such circumstances?

The Blackwind Bandit instinctively turned toward that direction without even thinking . With a loud yell, he immediately swept across the bushes with the scimitar in his hand . The blade gleamed coldy and it noisily slashed through the air . The power and reaction speed of his swipe was suddenly a few times stronger compared to when he was cutting down weeds during his search .

Blades of grass flew in all directions . The shiny scimitar in his hands didn’t only cut the weeds, but it also split Yan Liqiang’s clothes in two…

The moment the Blackwind Bandit slashed toward the target set up by Yan Liqiang with his scimitar, Yan Liqiang immediately sprung up powerfully from the bushes he was hiding in . Like a bolt of lightning, the dagger in his hand came down violently on the Blackwind Bandit’s back .

As expected, the Blackwind Bandit possessed extraordinary strength . Feeling something was off behind him when his blade was met with air, he propelled himself forward without even thinking or turning his head around . He simultaneously swung his scimitar behind him . . .

However, it was a shame that he had underestimated Yan Liqiang .

Yan Liqiang only tugged on the bushes to attract his attention which would create an opportunity for him to strike . Even Yan Liqiang jumping on him was a feint to delude him into responding incorrectly . . .

Two consecutive mistakes were enough to decide a winner in this fight, because his opponent would never expect Yan Liqiang to have another killing move .

His killing move wasn’t the dagger he struck out with, but the shortsword he was holding in his other hand .

The shortsword was the Black Scale he had received from Lu Peien as a gift back in Pingxi City some time ago .

The Black Scale was a dark, ordinary-looking and swarthy blade that was non-reflective . Yet, it was so sharp that it could cut through steel like mud . Penetrating armor and breaking weapons would only require a simple turn of a hand . Yan Liqiang had always kept the shortsword on him for self-protection . He had never taken it out or showed it to anyone either . Now was the right time to put the Black Scale to good use .

As proven by the facts, even a Supreme Martial Warrior expert, a level higher than Yan Liqiang, had committed two errors in a row that might cost his life . Therefore, cultivation realms didn’t necessarily mean everything . Most often, a person’s judgment, reflex, insight, mind, or environmental factors could affect the outcome of a battle .

When the Blackwind Bandit propelled himself forward and ran out of strength, the Black Scale silently came flying from Yan Liqiang’s right hand like a black snake . It was impaled on that Blackwind Bandit’s back, and the sword tip protruded from his chest .

As soon as the Blackwind Bandit faltered, he coughed up a mouthful of blood .

After Yan Liqiang blocked off the Blackwind Bandit’s attack from behind, he pounced forward like a ferocious tiger . Only at this moment, the dagger in his hand turned into a real murder weapon .

A cold icy gleam flashed across the grass . The Blackwind Bandit’s head was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s dagger and blood splattered everywhere . When the head was flying in midair, the Blackwind Bandit still had a look of disbelief in his eyes . . .

Yan Liqiang gripped the handle of the Black Scale with his right hand again . To pull it out, he kicked the Blackwind Bandit’s back and the headless corpse instantly crashed to the ground .

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and looked at the Blackwind Bandit who was rushing toward him from a distance . With a dagger in his hand and a shortsword in the other, Yan Liqiang stopped running and charged at him head-on at him with an angry yell .

Both parties clashed against each other on the plains like two stray wolves in battle . . .

Yan Liqiang swung the dagger in his hand first, but it was knocked out of his hand by the Blackwind Bandit . Right after that, the scimitar in the Blackwind Bandit’s hands came swinging toward Yan Liqiang like a moon . . .