The scene instantly fell silent. Liu Huaishan and the others hadn't expected someone else to be here, someone who had not only succeeded in killing the blood snake but also appeared immensely powerful.
The young man tossed the blood snake to the ground and began walking forward with his sword in hand, eyeing the group opposite him. He had originally entered this region in secret, hoping to avoid drawing attention because he knew his opponents were nearby.
Now, in his weakened condition, he wanted even more to keep things quiet. And so, his killing intent surged.
"Friend, we mean no harm! We'll leave right away; the blood snake is yours!" Liu Huaishan shouted quickly and began retreating with his men. He could tell this person was extremely dangerous. If it came down to a fight, they'd be the ones dying. The young man could likely slaughter them all single-handedly.
The experienced patrolmen, all seasoned middle-aged veterans, nocked their arrows and aimed ahead, backing away defensively.
The young man suddenly felt tightness in his chest. Exploring the special node had indeed injured his body, and now he was very uncomfortable. After taking a deep breath and nodding, he allowed them to leave.
Once he had rested a bit and the discomfort faded, he immediately set off again, chasing in the direction Qin Ming had fled. Though snow was falling from the sky, it hadn't yet covered the tracks. He raced through the forest, and soon, he heard screaming.
There was no suspense. Qin Ming had killed the two first-rebirthers from Golden Rooster Ridge, as well as the youth from Chixia City who had only reborn once.
Now carrying their weapons, Qin Ming doubled back and soon encountered the second rebirther who had earlier been impaled through the foot by the hidden iron spear.
When the blue-faced youth appeared, he saw Qin Ming with his back to him, interrogating one of his people. In that instant, his blood surged with fury. He saw only one of his men still alive and being questioned. Where were the others? Where was his cousin? Had they all been killed?
"Hurry up and answer me. Do you or don't you have advanced Qi cultivation techniques?" Qin Ming squatted beside the badly wounded man, gripping him with one hand.
The man tried to speak but couldn't as his mouth had already been struck with a hammer. Qin Ming clearly had no intention of letting him talk.
When the injured man saw their strongest member silently approaching, his pupils contracted, and he seemed to want to signal something. Wham! Another hammer blow. His vision went black, and he nearly lost consciousness.
The blue-faced youth saw that the wounded man's upper body was covered in blood, and his lower half was buried in the snow in an utterly miserable state. Without hesitation, he accelerated and charged forward.
Then—ugh!—he let out a muffled groan and collapsed into the snow. He hadn't stepped on an iron spear this time, but rather his cousin's great sword.
Just earlier, Qin Ming had carefully set up the area. The ground looked like it had just seen a fierce battle, with broken branches scattered everywhere, except for a few clear paths.
And those cleared areas were precisely where Qin Ming had buried iron spears, great swords, longswords, and more. Judging by the result, the setup had worked perfectly.
Bang! Qin Ming ended the life of the previous captive with a hammer strike, then calmly faced the man whose foot had been impaled by the great sword.
The blue-faced youth was named Wang Nianzhu, and he was somewhat well-known in Chixia City. During his first rebirth, he could lift five hundred and seventy pounds, which was considered quite strong.
After his second rebirth, the strength in his arms neared a thousand and two hundred pounds. With such exceptional ability, how could he not be filled with rage after falling into this trap?
Especially since he had dismissed the masked youth before him as a mere country bumpkin, only to now suffer such a crushing defeat.
Qin Ming stepped back and raised the bow he had taken from Wang Nianzhu's cousin, aiming it directly at him.
"Ahhh…!" Wang Nianzhu, his foot pierced, could barely move. Even though he was extremely strong and could still leap while bearing the pain, he could no longer fight in peak conditions. It wasn't long before he was struck by an arrow.
Soon after, Qin Ming approached and, with his long-handled black-steel warhammer, crushed the critically wounded Wang Nianzhu's head.
"Didn't expect to get an extra blood snake today. Thanks for the gift!" Qin Ming said as he stuffed the second giant snake into his hide bag. Today's harvest had been truly incredible.