Chapter 168 - 166: The Hero Battles the Evil Dragon
He continued forward, ignoring the people fleeing past him and the well-intentioned warnings not to look back.
Dong!
A wolf-headed fog beast suddenly rushed at him from the street corner.
Fierce, savage, greedy.
The essence blood of a martial artist was an absolute elixir for them.
Especially the essence blood of a strong warrior like Song Changming, which was even more potent.
Seeing Song Changming, the fog beast immediately approached him.
This fog beast emitted a dense scorch mist, its aura even more formidable.
Undoubtedly, this was a high-level fog beast!
"Be careful, my friend!"
A young man dressed as a scholar in plain clothes, standing in a corner, thought Song Changming hadn’t noticed the approaching high-level fog beast and couldn’t help but call out in warning.
Song Changming merely glanced at him, raised his hand, and seemed to casually make a slash.
The high-level fog beast leaping in the air had its forepaws and wolf head severed by Song Changming’s slash.
The high-level fog beast was killed in an instant, its body crashing to the ground.
Not a single drop of blood stained Song Changming.
The seemingly effortless slash made the scholar’s eyes light up, continuously praising.
"Such mastery, great sword skill!"
"..." Song Changming had thought the other was just a common unlucky scholar caught in the chaos of war.
But seeing the other’s calm appraisal of his sword skill, Song Changming figured he was likely someone from the Jianghu, not an ordinary scholar.
"Could you be the ’Dragon Saber’ Song Changming?" The scholar’s gaze fell on Song Changming’s dragon pattern saber, and he immediately guessed Song Changming’s identity, showing great interest.
"The city is dangerous, my friend, you should also be careful." Song Changming didn’t have time for more words, but he kindly reminded the scholar, which was a subtle acknowledgment of his identity.
"I’m not afraid, I have..." The scholar hadn’t finished speaking when the alley wall he leaned against suddenly collapsed, and several fog beasts crashed through, showing themselves.
The scholar was startled, scrambling to run out of the alley.
"Brother Song, save me!" He shouted for help, drastically different from his previously calm demeanor.
This left Song Changming puzzled for a moment, wondering what was up with this person.
From the scholar’s aura and other body refinement traces, Song Changming could tell that while he was a martial artist, his strength couldn’t exceed the Fifth Realm.
Facing a sudden attack from several fog beasts, panic was understandable.
But the drastic change in demeanor bewildered Song Changming for a second.
He had thought the man was a master, only to find out he was just feigning calmness.
Seeing the scholar approach, Song Changming didn’t dodge but he kept a cautious eye on him, his spiritual power from the Nether Sea spreading around.
One must remain vigilant, and if the other displayed any unusual behavior, he would be ready to strike without hesitation.
The fog beasts growled at Song Changming but did not dare to approach.
After all, there was a high-level fog beast’s corpse on the ground, which was enough to deter them.
Without an order from someone holding mist gold, these fog beasts knew when to advance or retreat and were not mindless.
Seeing this, Song Changming didn’t waste any time, advancing to swiftly slay the fog beasts with several slashes.
Fog beasts had high defense and strong life force, killing them in one encounter was no easy task.
Especially against high-level fog beasts, slicing through their defenses so effortlessly could only be done by extreme realm martial artists.
After killing this wave of fog beasts, Song Changming continued down the street.
"Brother Song, are you going to save someone?" The scholar asked as he followed, seeing Song Changming walking away.
The scholar quickly caught up, carrying a large wooden box on his back that occasionally thumped as it swayed, its contents unknown.
"No," Song Changming said, glancing at him.
"Not saving someone? Could it be you’re going to kill someone?" the scholar suddenly asked.
Song Changming paused and directly asked, "Why are you following me?"
The scholar scratched his head awkwardly, "You see, Brother Song, there are many fog beasts here. It’s too dangerous for me alone..."
"You should leave," Song Changming replied. "The bandit army guarding the north gate has already been killed by me."
"Heh, I didn’t leave because I predicted the real spectacle hasn’t started yet. How could I leave without witnessing it?" the scholar suddenly laughed.
"Spectacle?" Song Changming frowned slightly.
"Yes, a spectacle." The scholar rubbed his chin, though it was absent of any beard, and smiled mysteriously.
"What spectacle?" Song Changming asked, continuing to walk toward Houli Street.
It’s undeniable that this scholar, with just a few words and gestures, truly piqued his curiosity.
"I know this city will suffer a disaster today, and I also know that a hero will defeat the evil dragon and save this city from chaos. Tell me, isn’t this quite the spectacle?" The scholar said with a smile.
Song Changming felt a little surprised.
"A hero fighting a dragon?"
"Yes, a hero fighting a dragon."
"How can you be so sure that the hero will come today? And be certain that he can defeat the dragon?" Song Changming continued to ask.
"Whether the hero can defeat the dragon is indeed hard to predict, but the hero, he will definitely come today." The scholar spoke confidently.
"This is the result of my divination and stargazing, it can’t be wrong."
"Divination and stargazing..." Song Changming looked at this scholar, unsure if he was a trickster or if there was some truth to it.
The art of divination and stargazing, he had heard of it.
In the past, he regarded it as a trick of the Jianghu swindlers, hard to believe there were people who could predict the future.
He didn’t believe what the scholar said.
Today, he wasn’t in the mood to continue talking to this scholar.
"If you keep following me, it will be extremely dangerous ahead, and I won’t ensure your safety." Song Changming finally reminded.
"Oh, if that’s the case, then I won’t disturb Brother Song anymore. I’ll head to Brocade Street first, if you have time to watch the show, make sure to hurry, or you might miss it."
The scholar said at last, carrying a wooden box and bidding farewell.
Song Changming temporarily put aside the scholar’s words and quickly headed to Houli Street.
Three Alleys had already been ransacked, including the Song Residence, where even the courtyard wall was broken.
Like locusts passing through, anything valuable in the house was taken away, not a single thing was left.
Then Song Changming went to the Liang Chuan Mountain residence nearby.
It was also thoroughly looted, clearly, the identity of Director Liang Chuan Mountain did not deter the plundering.
The same fate befell Lv Gang, another Director.
The only consolation was that there were no signs of slaughter or battle in the two residences, no corpses or bloodstains.
This indicated that both Liang Chuan Mountain and Lv Gang had prioritized protecting their families when they realized the battle was unavoidable.
They most likely sent their families out of the city.
After that, Song Changming went to the Zhao Residence.
No matter what, his third sister Song Yu was married into the Zhao Family. Whatever else, Song Yu’s husband Zhao Huaiming, if there’s a chance to rescue, Song Changming will do his best.
He didn’t want to see Song Yu become a widow early, crying daily, and Zhao Huaiming had always been good to him and the Song Family, worth saving.
In a small alley on the street, the Zhao family members, both old and young, and several of Zhao Dezhi’s wives were there.
"How long must we stay in this stinking place..." a young concubine complained, holding a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth.
She was used to being a mistress in the Zhao family and always traveled in sedan chairs. Being forced to walk in an alley like today made her uncomfortable.
Zhao Huaiming ignored her, his expression serious as he cautiously observed the situation on the street.
He had been instructed by Zhao Dezhi to rush back to hide with the family.
Initially, he wanted to escape the city, but unfortunately missed the best time. Now all four city gates were guarded by the Bandit Army, leaving him no way to escape.
Thinking of this, Zhao Huaiming wondered if his father regretted refusing to leave with Song Changming earlier.
Anyway, he felt slightly relieved.
Fortunately, he trusted Song Changming’s words and entrusted Song Yu and his children to him early on.
Even if he perished in the city, at least his wife and children were alive, which was a blessing.
Many are worse off in the city.
The concubine wanted to continue complaining, but suddenly a Fog Beast in the form of a giant python appeared over the wall, swallowing half her body.
Screams erupted.
The servants with machetes, seeing the attacking giant python Fog Beast, couldn’t summon any courage to lift their blades to save anyone.
The python’s head, peering over the wall, was too enormous and terrifying.
The concubine was swallowed whole, seemingly without effort.
Zhao Huaiming’s expression changed, he had no choice but to hasten the group’s retreat.
He knew how troublesome these Fog Beasts were.
With his strength, not to mention killing the Fog Beast, even breaking its defenses was impossible. The only option upon encountering one was to flee.
...