162 Slave Yuan (1/2)

The story that Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang was ambushed in Rouge Forest gave rise to two completely different responses from Jade City's residents.

Some people stood on Horned Dragon Society's side and claimed that Kun Society used an underhand tactic to double up on Ye Silang, thereby causing a fair duel to degenerate into a dirty and ugly plot.

But Kun Society had no lack of supporters itself. These people believed that this was a classic tale of killer versus swordsman, where the latter became haughty and eventually succumbed to the former's plot, and it was insignificant whether or not it was two-versus-one. A killer was unscrupulous by nature, and surely Ye Silang, who lived in Jade City, should have known this would be the case.

Only a handful of people cared about the truth.

The plot was enacted at the very instant Ye Silang noticed the trail of his enemy. Gu Shenwei knew he had no way to escape and that his Lightness Skill was no match for the former's, and his only choice was to fight face-to-face. This meant that the advantage he waited painstakingly for had been for naught. Ye Silang did not look overeager at all - his patience was much better than what Gu Shenwei thought.

Clutching his sword, Ye Silang initiated an attack on his enemy hiding under a tree. He believed that victory was close at hand and a matter of time.

However, he never imagined there would be another person hiding in the forest. This person hid on a tree, and his patience was even better than the two duelists below him. He sprang into action just as Ye Silang placed his full attention on his opponent's body.

The person was also a sword user.

He was unbelievably quick, just like the black-masked assassin of Golden Roc Fort. By the time he appeared from the air, his sword had already struck his target.

If the sword was aimed at him, Gu Shenwei had no confidence he would be able to avoid it. In fact, he was completely stunned at the moment it happened.

Ye Silang, however, was able to prevent his vital parts from being struck, and even managed to retaliate with a strike.

The assassination attempt was over in a split second. The assassin, draped in a white cape, did not even land on the ground. With a thrust of his sword, he was able to generate momentum to leap back on to the trees, and quickly disappeared in a few leaps. His Lightness Skill seemed even better than Ye Silang's.

The latter, having suffered a sword blow to the chest, laid down on the snow. He would probably be dead by now if his counterblow did not manage to impale the assassin's arm.

Gu Shenwei ran forth to Ye Silang. Pulling out his knife, he peered at the swordsman who laid face up.

”You've won.” Ye Silang was still clutching his sword, but knew he was powerless and no longer a match for the youth.

Gu Shenwei was indeed the winner, and if only he sank his knife into the opponent and walked out of Rouge Forest with his sliced head, nobody would have suspected that the victory was undeserved. ”I didn't win.”

He carried the latter out of the forest, to the surprise of everyone.

The first person who could not understand the situation was Shangguan Ru. ”Why didn't you kill him? How can you even think about saving him?”

”I want to find out who the assassin is. Having fought against him, Ye Silang will be of use in the future.”

Shangguan Ru was even more mystified. ”Who cares who he is? He was helping us anyway.”

”That's what I'm worried about.” Gu Shenwei's oversuspicious mind was growing. He did not believe that someone would help him without reason, and thus he needed to find out the truth. ”We are the killers. The ones who should be hiding in the dark are you and me. This assassin...”

”Could he be sent from the castle?” Shangguan Ru frowned. The thing she hated most was her parents secretly sending people to aid her - she wanted to make it entirely on her own.

Gu Shenwei shook his head assertively. If it was someone from Stone Castle, it would be Tenth Young Master who was protected. The assassin would certainly not have interfered in the duel between a killer and a swordsman.

There was another reason why he did not kill Ye Silang, which he only revealed to Maid Lotus. ”It would have been a waste to kill an exceptional master like him.”

Maid Lotus was the only person who could understand the meaning of this sentence anyway. Death Scripture relied on successive battles to be advanced to a higher level - a master like Ye Silang was of the greatest use to the killer's sword practice.

Above all, because he was still alive, the duel was postponed for an indefinite period.

The people who thought the duel would end the war between the two societies would quickly be disappointed. Because of the ceaseless quarrels regarding who won, who lost, who played fair, and who played dirty, the war resumed on the morrow of the duel. The machetemen fought brazenly on the streets in broad daylight, and when evening arrived, both sides dispatched assassins to assassinate each other's members.

Shangguan Ru remained dissatisfied that Gu Shenwei did not take the opportunity to kill Ye Silang. To appease her and regain her trust, he made plans for an important assassination.

The target was the Machete God, known as the team's treasure, who Horned Dragon Society had spent half a month to handpick.

His real name was Huang Shi'an, and he was part of the bright young generation which emerged from Soldiers Camp. After more than half a year in Jade City, he remained a nobody and could not even find someone who appreciated him. All this changed when he made his mark in the Machete God Contest.

His machete technique was unconventional but not particularly aesthetic. Defense was his specialty; at the start of a contest, he often concealed his strength and took backward steps until he figured out his opponent, at which time he would deliver a single winning blow.

Gu Shenwei had seen this Machete God's performance in a tournament and felt that his reputation was certainly deserved. However, Tuo Nengya, who watched the performance beside him, had a different opinion. ”There's no problem with his machete skills, but something's wrong with his personality.”

Huang Shi'an's weakness was that his heart was not ruthless enough. Throughout the competition to become the Machete God, he did not kill a single person, and would stop fighting upon making contact with the opponent. Several times, he merely knocked off his opponent's weapon.

He was a handsome-looking and good-natured young man, and his amiable and cheerful personality made him more popular than Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang. Prior to entering Stone Castle, Gu Shenwei would have, like the majority of people, regarded Huang Shi'an as an idol. However, the latter was only an assassination target to him at present.

Huang Shi'an was considered a team's treasure and rarely participated in fights between the two societies. Initially, he was kept safe in North City, but after Marquis Gao's assassination, Horned Dragon Society assigned him to South City, where he carried out garrison activities at the society's machetemen stronghold.