Chapter 289: Killing Intent! (2/2)

Before anyone could fully process what was going on, a cry of agony echoed in the air.

That clash ended swiftly.

The sword of the masked figure was knocked several zhang away. The expert from the Duke of Liu’s Residence had managed to pierce the masked figure's left chest, the tip of his sword protruding slightly from the other party's back.

However... like an incomparably sharp blade, the right hand of the masked figure had penetrated deep into the heart of the expert.

With frosty eyes, the masked figure stared down at the lifeless man before him.

Silence!

The gleeful faces on everyone's faces from before vanished in that moment, and a cold intent that threatened to freeze even their bones embraced them.

In that moment, everyone suddenly realized that they had been underestimating the reticent masked figure.

Never had they seen such a brutal fighting method before—a strong determination to slay one's opponent even if it meant suffering grievous wounds!

While the masked figure suffered severe injuries in the encounter, it was clear that he had won in this face-off. After all, he was the one standing after the clash.

Puchi!

The masked man calmly tightened his grip, crushing the other party's heart, before retracting his hand from the other party's chest. With eyes wide in disbelief, the expert from the Duke of Liu's Residence collapsed onto the ground.

”Kill him!”

After seeing this sight, the brawny man immediately charged forward with a savage expression. This time, everyone moved together

---

”Gongzi, their fight is growing more and more intense,” Old Eagle said. Even though he couldn't see anything at all, he had many birds in the surrounding relaying information regarding the situation to him, thus allowing him to create a vivid image of the scene.

”They have a lot of people, and they are heading to the northwest!”

”Our target is injured!”

”Yet another group has arrived!”

---

Old Eagle led the way through the night while filling Wang Chong in on the present situation. Even though Wang Chong had seen how Old Eagle trained his birds, he still couldn't understand the language which the latter used to communicate with them.

Along the way, some birds would suddenly appear and chirp, dance, circle the area, or flap their wings. These were nothing more than perfectly ordinary movements to Wang Chong, but in Old Eagle's view, they were a message rich with information.

Through these bird scouts, Wang Chong and Old Eagle were able to follow their target precisely.

”Hmm, to think that there would be another eagle here.” Old Eagle suddenly came to a halt.

”I was careless. Duke of Liu knew that someone would come and prepared an eagle in his residence. Gongzi, you are right. This was indeed a trap!” Old Eagle sneered. As a person who specialized in training birds, he had spent his entire life interacting with all kinds of avians. Before conducting any operation, he would always make sure to sweep through the sky to check if there were any other possible “eyes”.

This was his usual practice, and he had always made sure to do so before an operation.

Thus, Old Eagle was certain that there wasn't such an eagle in the vicinity of the Duke of Liu’s Residence before this incident.

The only possibility was that the eagle had come from the Duke of Liu’s people.

It wasn't a common practice for those in the Central Plains to rear eagles. It was extremely suspicious how they had one prepared even though the Duke of Liu Residence had been calm for many years.

Old Eagle realized that his evaluation of this matter had been wrong all along.

”There's no need to hesitate, get rid of that eagle,” Wang Chong instructed calmly.

As long as the eagle continued to watch from the sky, that masked figure wouldn't be able to get away. On top of that, it was possible that their presence might also be detected by that eagle.

”... Also, send the signal,” Wang Chong said.

”Yes, gongzi.” Chuckling, Old Eagle reached into his left sleeve and took out a small, golden bird.

Its entire body was huddled together, but its eyes were exceptionally bright. On top of that, its feathers were exceptionally tough, reminiscent of steel. With just a look, it was clear that it was no ordinary bird.

Wang Chong had been with Old Eagle for some time already, but he never knew that the latter had such a bird. It seemed like Old Eagle also had many secrets behind him.

Yi!

With a resounding call unlike that of its small stature, the golden bird flew from Old Eagle's hands. Even Wang Chong wasn't able to clearly see how it disappeared.

After releasing this bird, Wang Chong and Old Eagle continued rushing forward.