Chapter 84 - 82: Duel of the Two Dragons
"Old servant!" Xiao Shuyun exclaimed, immediately noticing the familiar corpse held by the intruder.
Wasn’t that her third brother Xiao Yanli’s old family servant?
Unexpectedly, he hadn’t yet retired, but was killed at the mansion tonight!
"Huh?" Luo Haolin casually discarded the corpse, scanning the courtyard’s occupants.
Originally, he just wanted to find a random place to hide from the pursuers and then plan his next move.
But unexpectedly, he stumbled into this place, facing so many people staring back at him.
The Patrol Guard left by Song Changming had already immediately set up their crossbows, locking onto this dangerous person.
Other guest guards quickly drew their weapons, their expressions tense.
No need to think much, anyone daring to intrude into the Xiao Mansion and causing such a commotion wasn’t an ordinary person.
Luo Haolin clutched his chest, coughing up blood, with wounds left from intense battles on his waist, abdomen, shoulder, and back, all quite severe.
His gaze finally landed on Xiao Shuyun, who was being protected by all.
Though he didn’t know the identity of the Xiao family’s fourth lady, seeing her protected like this suggested her status in the Xiao Mansion was indeed special.
"To be safe, I’ll take you hostage first!"
If he wasn’t injured, he wouldn’t have bothered, but now, Luo Haolin couldn’t help but consider finding a useful hostage, possibly as a life-saving token for his escape.
Having made up his mind, he swiftly moved towards Xiao Shuyun’s position, sword in hand.
"Release the arrows!" Liang Zhao Long commanded loudly, taking charge of the entire Patrol Guard in Song Changming’s absence.
Crossbow strings twanged, and dozens of crossbow arrows shot out.
Luo Haolin paid no heed to the threat of these arrows, swiftly leaping and diving to dodge them all, crossing more than ten meters before landing.
The surrounding guest guards rushed forward, brandishing various weapons.
"Hmph, a bunch of worthless rabble!" Luo Haolin sneered, sweeping his sword out.
With a sweep of the blade, he slashed across the necks of three guards, causing blood to spray out like a sprinkler.
The remaining nearby guests who evaded the attack were startled, feeling like they had just escaped from the gates of hell.
Compared to the previous battle in the side courtyard, the forces under Xiao Shuyun were far inferior.
Most guests were young martial artists who hadn’t yet matured, their battle strength limited, unable to withstand Luo Haolin’s blade.
In an instant, both guests and Xiao family guards suffered heavy casualties, Luo Haolin easily breaking through the siege, approaching Xiao Shuyun in the pavilion.
"Miss!" Two maids drew their swords as the last line of defense, standing in front of Xiao Shuyun.
"I once cherished beauty too, but now I’ve quit," Luo Haolin said indifferently, piercing through the last loyal guard before him, looking at the two maids.
If the situation weren’t urgent, he might have enjoyed playing, like a cat with a mouse, for fun.
But now, trapped in the Xiao Mansion, he had no such interest, his longsword like the scythe of death slicing toward the two maids.
In fact, Min’Er and Xiu’Er were not just strong among their peers, they were considered extremely powerful.
Both had reached the Third Realm in Body Refinement, with exceptional talent in swordsmanship.
If they joined forces, they could even challenge enemies whose Body Refining Cultivation exceeded theirs.
Precisely for this reason, Xiao Jingchuan entrusted them to his youngest daughter for her growth and protection.
Unfortunately, today’s opponent was too strong, even injured, Luo Haolin was far beyond their ability to handle.
The two relied on their swordsmanship talent to barely fend off a few of Luo Haolin’s strikes, but soon were in grave danger.
One of Luo Haolin’s strikes nearly severed Min’Er’s arm, while his other hand suddenly gripped Xiu’Er’s throat, about to twist it.
"Let her go!" Xiao Shuyun cried in panic, about to rush forward desperately.
Though the two were formally her maids and guards, having grown up together, the three shared deep bonds, akin to being sisters.
At this critical moment, an Official Saber suddenly spun at high speed, precisely shooting from the side towards Luo Haolin in the pavilion.
The sudden saber caught Luo Haolin a bit off guard.
Before the long saber could slice his neck, he hastily retreated several steps to dodge.
Xiu’Er gritted her teeth, taking the opportunity to strike with her sword, forcing Luo Haolin to let go, narrowly escaping with her life.
The Official Saber curved before finally pinning into the pavilion’s pillar.
Avoiding this Flying Saber, Luo Haolin then sensed another sword wind coming from behind, swiftly turning to slash out his own sword, clashing with the second saber.
A sharp metallic clashing sound rang out.
This time, Luo Haolin felt a powerful penetrating force from the blade, causing several wounds to rupture again.
The pain made him frown, glaring viciously at the attacker before him.
Another young warrior, similar in appearance with most martial artists in the courtyard.
"Damn it!" Luo Haolin gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his body, as he twisted his sword to thrust at Song Changming’s throat.
His sword thrust was incredibly fast, with cunning and lethal sword skill.
The ordinary martial artist could hardly keep up with his speed, only able to watch themselves being pierced by Luo Haolin.
However, the young man before him skillfully whirled his long saber, effortlessly deflecting the thrusting blade and even counterattacking, forcing Luo Haolin out of the pavilion.
"First, take Miss Four away from here!" Song Changming, having temporarily forced Luo Haolin back, immediately instructed the two maids.
He knew very well that although his current strength was decent and he was among the top in the Public Security Bureau’s Patrol Captains,
he was still far from the level of the person before him, not even on the same tier of strength.
Even with the opponent injured and having fought a tough battle earlier, he still had no confidence of defeating him.
It’s worth noting that in the side yard earlier, the Life taking Sword in his opponent’s hand had consecutively slain many Xiao Family experts with stronger abilities than his own.
"Patrol Captain Song, please be careful!" Min’Er expressed her concern, but knowing the importance of the situation, she led the injured Xiu’Er and Xiao Shuyun away.
"All of you, go help Patrol Captain Song!" Xiao Shuyun ordered the guards and guests under her command.
The Xiao Family guards charged forward without hesitation, while among the guests, some still obeyed Xiao Shuyun, surrounding the formidable foe.
However, some of the guests hesitated.
Luo Haolin’s strength was overwhelmingly powerful. In just a short moment, he had already killed many of them, making them feel an immense fear.
Although they worked for Miss Four of the Xiao Family and usually benefitted from her, when faced with such a terrifying enemy, their fear gradually overpowered their sense of duty.
"Damn it, if you want to die, go ahead!" one guest cursed, turning around to leave.
Seeing this, the remaining guests exchanged glances and ultimately chose to flee as well.
"These bastards!" Watching some of the guests she relied on run away, Xiao Shuyun gritted her teeth in frustration.
When this matter is over, she vowed to make those who fled regret it, showing them the heavy price of breaking one’s promises and integrity!
On the other side, Song Changming continuously executed the Soul-breaking Saber and Flying Swallow Technique, fully committing himself to the duel with this formidable opponent.
This person before him was probably the strongest foe he had faced since he began practicing martial arts, making him not dare to be even slightly careless.
The saber light flashed like a storm in the night, never ceasing.
Luo Haolin was injured, but the sword in his hand remained sharp, like an electric serpent, continuously darting through the air.
The frequency of saber and sword clashes was extremely fast, with over a dozen exchanges in the blink of an eye.
The encircling guards and guests found it difficult to intervene in the battle between the two.
Their speed couldn’t keep up with Song Changming and Luo Haolin, and forcing their way in would leave them suppressed by the sword momentum and sword momentum. If the opponent turned on them, it would only take one sword to defeat them.
Hence, they wanted to assist but felt powerless, leaving them awkwardly watching and unsure of what to do.
Of course, they weren’t entirely useless.
At least by encircling Luo Haolin with their swords, they forced him to stay alert even without taking action, which was a modest help to Song Changming.
Luo Haolin’s body refining cultivation was at least above the Sixth Realm, possibly reaching the intensity of the Seventh Realm!
He likely followed the Purifying Marrow and Forging Tendons route, with all aspects of his speed being extremely fast.
In terms of speed, Song Changming could barely keep up with the opponent, thanks to his side training in Spiritual Monkey Skill.
Fortunately, Song Changming’s high-level Flying Swallow Technique had achieved great perfection, and combined with his perfected Soul-breaking Saber, his blade skill prowess was not weaker than his opponent’s sword skill, possibly even slightly superior.
His profound blade skill allowed Song Changming to fiercely battle the opponent for dozens of rounds, with no clear winner.
As Luo Haolin’s injuries worsened and he lost more blood, his strength continued to wane.
His sword was slowing down, while Song Changming’s saber grew more vigorous with the fight.
This high-level confrontation seamlessly combined his Soul-breaking Saber and Flying Swallow Technique, executing them more naturally and powerfully, unleashing greater sword might.
It must be said, real combat indeed strengthens people.
Sometimes, the experience and gains from a high-level real combat could not be achieved through years of solitary training.
In the distance, some Xiao Family experts noticed the commotion in the courtyard and gradually approached.
Luo Haolin noticed this as well, and unavoidable anxiety rose in his heart.
Before the fight, he never imagined that with so many Xiao Family experts failing to stop him, he would now be held up by this young Patrol Guard.
"You brat! Die!"
Luo Haolin disregarded his injuries, forcefully taking a breath, bleeding as he tried to eliminate Song Changming.
Seeing himself reaching the end of the line, at this critical life-and-death moment, he had no choice but to go all out, losing the composure he had initially.
His attacks sped up even further, the sharpness of his longsword piercing through the air with a crisp bell-like sound.
Bell Sound Sword, Flying Bell Elegy!