Without a word, Luming and his men unleashed their totemic powers, reaching peak performance in an extremely short time. An energy surge gushed out of their pores as air currents billowed around them. Even the crowd standing further away from them could feel the power flowing.
Within the ten of them, seven had already achieved advanced totemic warrior rank! The other three were weaker but worked well with the team. They contributed wherever they could, looking for the best opportunities to deliver a fatal blow.
In front of Black Bear, Maoda and Guang Yi were two advanced warriors and one middle-ranked totemic warrior. They worked seamlessly together– they’d definitely prepared for this.
Guang Yi initially wanted to help Shao Xuan but these three came for him. In a rage, he had no time to think except unsheathe his bronze sword to parry theirs.
The sound of powerful swords crashing into each other was as deafening as thunder.
Just from one hit, Guang Yi sensed that something was off. There was a dent on his sword!
When Gongjia Heng visited Flaming Horn, he had gifted them ten weapons. At the time, Guang Yi did not take one because he wasn’t used to them. Plus he wanted to let the younger ones take it. His regular weapons were fine. When he followed Shao Xuan here, Duo Kang had wanted to give his knife to Guang Yi but was turned down too. Duo Kang still had to lead his team back and it was going to be dangerous. He was with Shao Xuan and the Black Bears, there shouldn’t be serious trouble.
That was why the sword that Guang Yi wielded was just a random, mediocre sword he picked out this morning. He had heard that many people in King City had swords so he picked a random one. He wasn’t used to anything. He’d broken the wide, curved knife he was used to and hadn’t had the time to get another. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very comfortable with a sword yet.
Shao Xuan had told him that he’d ask Gongjia Heng to make an identical curved sword for him. They hadn’t met Heng yet, but there was a fight now.
His opponent’s weapons were obviously of higher quality. His regular sword might not last long. It looked like Guang Yi might not shake off his pursuers in a short period of time.
While Guang Yi sensed something was wrong, his opponents were uncomfortable too. They felt like they had bashed into a bull, the vibrations reflected from the impact had made their arms go numb. They could still feel their bones shaking.
They saw that it was the right decision to not pick this man as the weakest link. If Lubi picked this man, he might not solve this problem quickly enough. Although their opponent was not easy, the Linlu people were secretly delighted that they were right.
Black Bear and Maoda could not win their opponent within a short period of time either, they couldn’t help Shao Xuan.
Luming’s lips curled upwards. These were all within his estimations. Black Bear’s team was not an easy opponent. With enough time and weapons, these ten people still might not be able to win. However, with this plan, they believed that Lubi would be able to settle the guy with one smash using his hammer. Four minus one. Then Black Bear’s team would be left with three. The ratio would be ten to three now. If they could not fight Black Bear, then Lubi would be available to help. They could never lose this round.
On the other side. Lubi moved in a flash, his large physique was more agile than expected. Both of his thighs seemed to swell as he charged forward with the power of a cannon. He focused right on his target, ignoring everyone else.
In just a blink of an eye, Lubi was in front of Shao Xuan. He waved his large hammer, seemingly sealing off all routes around Shao Xuan. Shao Xuan was completely engulfed in the hammer’s shadow, he had nowhere to run.
The Linlu tribe had named Lubi as the prodigy of the century, he was obviously not dumb.
Clang!
The vibrations of the metal echoed across the street, its power unleashed. Everyone shuddered, for it felt like the hammer had hit right on their hearts.
With one hand on the sword handle and the other on the blade, Shao Xuan blocked the swing. Both his feet were planted into the ground. Due to the large force, the entire ground seemed to shake and then cracks that looked like spider webs started to form. In a second, pieces of rock and soil from the surface of the ground were thrown in the air.
Shao Xuan was bleeding from the skin between both his thumb and index fingers. Blood dripped on the ground. But he had blocked the hit!
He… blocked?!
There was shock in Lubi’s eyes but he did not hesitate. He swung his hammer back to attack again, swinging it directly at Shao Xuan. Like an arrow fired from a crossbow, he swung through the air between them.
The blade of the sword dazzled in the sunlight, forming an arc in the air.
Clang!
The impact of metal on metal almost pierced the crowd’s eardrums. The ripples in the air were visible, as if one’s vision was distorted.
Shao Xuan’s sword had blocked a direct hit by the hammer!
Just to block his swing, Shao Xuan took a few steps back, transferring the terrifying power into the ground beneath him. The cracked ground could not bear the pressure anymore. Consecutive explosions sounded beneath his feet, little holes and mountains of rubble formed. Many pieces of rock flew in the air.
The wounds on his hand split open once again, the cut extending from the skin between his thumb and index finger, to his wrist. The blood was especially eye-catching against the golden sword, now dripping onto the ground.
He blocked… again?!
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
Lubi wasn’t just surprised now— he was afraid!
He didn’t know that after all their planning to choose the weakest link, this guy turned out to be terrifying! Compared to himself, this guy looked so weak, how could he have blocked two of his hits?!
Lubi looked at the young man only a hammer’s length away from him. Blazing totemic patterns appeared on his body.
This was not a Black Bear trader!
Then who was he?
Lubi saw his opponent grin. Within that grin was violence and threat, he felt the hair on his back standing. Chills pierced through his spine into his head.
Before he could react, a huge force travelled through his hammer’s handle. He could not do anything other than plant his feet into the ground harder.
The power resisting against his hammer skyrocketed, he had no time to prepare.
Fight it!
He must fight it!
Oh no!
Crackles came from the ground underneath him, extending behind him.
And then he was stepping backwards.
Lubi could not withstand the force, his opponent was forcing him back!
His eyebrows twitched, disbelief filled his eyes. Both his arms supporting the hammer felt incredibly sore.
However, the force was still increasing.
The totemic power within Shao Xuan rose like a manic force. Ever since his trip to Gongjia Mountain, he had noticed how tumultuous his powers could be.
Stronger, stronger!
Power! More power!
The power flowing through his muscles, veins, bones and even his blood were all unleashed, exploding into a mighty strike.
Shao Xuan’s glare grew sharper and sharper. Lubi dared not look straight into them.
Lubi’s muscles were all shaking. He wanted to block the force but could not. He was now falling back quicker. His two feet, initially planted into the ground, were now sliding backwards uncontrollably.
Pieces of rubble flew behind his heels, he was now like a bull ploughing a deep trench in the fields. Lubi felt a burning in his heels from all the friction.
He felt like he wasn’t up against a human, it was a monster he had awakened. This monster had released all inhibitions, roaring in his face.
Everyone else was frozen like statues.
Other than the ones dodging behind Lubi, the audience was frozen in a position, eyes bulging out of their heads.
When his strength reached the peak, his arms tensed and he flipped the hammer up in the air using his blade. The reached one hand out to catch the hammer.
A sharp pain travelled through Lubi’s arms, both shoulders cracked as they were snapped out of their joints. His hands were now empty.
He hadn’t even done much and his opponent had already taken his hammer!
Lubi wanted to get the hammer back but he saw a flash and felt a blade coming. The blade was about to chop off his head in a second. He had no choice but to step back to avoid it.
Shao Xuan retracted his sword. He tried the weight of the hammer in one hand. Since it was custom-made for Lubi, the handle was thick. It was just right for Lubi’s fingers but for Shao Xuan, his fingers could not wrap around the entire handle. Though he could still weild it.
Shao Xuan looked at the panting Lubi, who was still in shock. Then, without sparing Lubis’ dignity, he swung the hammer.
The explosions from the fight had attracted many people.
There was a fight, of course more people would come to watch.
“So who’s fighting who?” someone asked.
“One side’s the Lu family, the other side… Who’s that guy? The kid with the totemic patterns doesn’t look like he’s from the Black Bear party.”
“You’re talking about the Lu family? The ones from Linlu tribe, new to King City?” someone asked excitedly.
“Linlu tribe? I heard Lubi wields a large hammer. Is the guy with the hammer the legendary Lubi?”
The other person paused for a moment. “...No, Lubi… is the guy who’s being chased by the other guy with the hammer.”