Chapter 205
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Dead (5)
The Heavenly Annihilation Division had utterly erased Sabi Valley from the world, not leaving behind a single blade of grass. Not even a single roof tile... They had wiped away every trace that Sabi Valley had ever existed.
And yet, there was only one thing they had searched for with eyes ablaze.
The Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands!
The Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands were also known as the One Kill Sword.
It was the supreme sword among killing blades.
The Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands were so formidable that they could immediately take their place among the Heavenly Annihilation Division's three great ultimate arts.
The reason the Heavenly Annihilation Division had so thoroughly demolished Sabi Valley was to uproot the Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands completely.
How had such a deadly technique ended up in Zhuge Soso's hands?
In any case, Jaja had encountered a formidable foe. An opponent on par with Vanguard facing Mian Smallkill.
Zhuge Soso was Vanguard, while Jaja was Vanguard, Hanbi, and Fox all in one.
Zhuge Soso was showing in advance the battle that would unfold. Find the way through this, she was saying.
'Strike!'
Jaja threw her entire body wide open.
Whether it was a slashing sword or a thrusting sword... the moment the blade pierced the flesh, the attacker froze for a split second.
Froze? Not quite stopped, but stiffened momentarily. A flinch, perhaps? A moment of rigidity.
She aimed for that instant.
Of course, the moment she was struck by the sword, she would flinch too. No, the one being pierced would be even more disoriented than the stabber. In the extremity of agony, the mind blanks out. The head empties, the body locks up rigid... and in that moment, the only possible counter was a reflexive action. The sole movement etched into the body through endless repetition.
Screeeeech!
Sword strikes filled the air.
Sword gleams, sword auras, sword trails dazzled the eyes in chaos.
Jaja ignored the entire scene unfolding before her. She focused on one point alone: Zhuge Soso's throat.
A white throat!
The line of her neck stood out clearly. Even the fine hairs on it seemed visible.
She didn't look at Zhuge Soso's face. Nor her body. Only the white throat. In that instant!
Thud!
Zhuge Soso's sword exploded.
There was no time to think where it had hit. Pain raged through her body, but she gritted her teeth and endured. If she let herself get swept away by the pain, she wouldn't land the final counter.
'The throat!'
She eyed the white throat. She thrust her strike toward it.
Splat!
The sword, fueled by all her strength, pierced the throat. Before her eyes, a spray of red blood bloomed wide.
'Got her!'
Only then did Jaja's face show satisfaction. No, as she released the fully gathered qi, a smile naturally formed.
Thud! Crash!
Jaja collapsed roughly.
"Hah! Hak!"
Zhuge Soso gasped for breath.
How could she kill Jaja? She was a comrade and friend that Four Thousand Four had barely saved. How could she?
This was just a spar.
But it wasn't a safe one. A single moment's mistake could bring death in this deadly exchange.
They attacked with full power.
No room for changing moves at the last second. Since it was full sincerity, she couldn't pull back her qi. The only option was to release the sword.
Of course, even releasing it wouldn't guarantee safety, given the momentum.
There was nothing to be done about that.
Whether Jaja was hit by the flung sword or dodged it was up to her luck.
But there was another problem. The instant Zhuge Soso released her sword, she would be defenseless against Jaja's counter.
Jaja would definitely counterattack.
Zhuge Soso wasn't a fool. When Jaja exposed her whole body to the sword, it meant she was prepared for that much herself. A strike unleashed while taking the sword hit—a mutual destruction sure-kill blow.
If she didn't strike Jaja properly, the chance of that sure-kill exploding grew even higher.
Yet Zhuge Soso had released her sword.
Even with Jaja's sure-kill aimed at her throat... she had thrown it, embracing death.
Whoosh!
Jaja's sword grazed past her throat.
It stung.
Jaja's strike had missed, but it had thinly sliced the skin as it passed.
A drop of blood welled up. Red blood trickled down her white neck.
She looked at Four Thousand Four.
"How much did you interfere?"
Four Thousand Four stood with arms crossed.
He hadn't moved at all. His eyes still bulged wide, his body tense with anticipation. No different from when he'd been watching the fight.
Yet Zhuge Soso was certain he had intervened. Otherwise, Jaja's sword would have pierced her throat. And the sword she'd thrown would have embedded in Jaja's heart.
Both swords had missed.
The one she'd thrown had lodged in Jaja's side. The hilt still trembled faintly, residual qi lingering.
She'd tried her best to throw it aside, but the margin had been razor-thin.
Her intent to avoid slicing Jaja had failed spectacularly. She hadn't expected the qi-infused sword to fly like an arrow. Well, she had, but thought there'd be just enough space to miss vital flesh.
Her sword had flown straight for the heart without fail.
It had aimed there from the start, so nothing odd, but even after releasing it, it shot for the heart.
Now it was Jaja's choice; she had to evade.
But she hadn't. For some reason, she'd unleashed her sure-kill instead.
As if she hadn't seen Zhuge Soso release the sword.
How could this be!
A martial artist watched every detail to the last strand of flying hair, with a body honed to instinct... How could she miss that? Unless blind.
Four Thousand Four had definitely intervened.
Four Thousand Four approached and offered a towel.
"You're bleeding."
"When did you interfere?"
"You two nearly killed each other. What were you thinking, starting a fight like that?"
Four Thousand Four chided her as he pulled the sword from Jaja's body.
Squelch!
Blood spurted out.
Four Thousand Four crouched and treated the wound.
Zhuge Soso asked no more and waited for him to answer on his own.
Four Thousand Four wasn't refusing to answer. He couldn't. He had no words himself... He'd intervened in the fight but didn't know when, so he couldn't explain.
He was pondering.
Zhuge Soso picked up her sword that Four Thousand Four had removed.
Jaja's blood stained the blade. And... in the center of the sword body, there was a deep dent. Hard to comprehend, but it looked like something awl-like had stabbed it deeply.
A mark on a sword made of black iron?
Nothing short of steel could leave such a mark.
Four Thousand Four had definitely thrown a steel needle. Even she, executing the Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands, hadn't sensed it as it struck the sword and nudged it aside. From heart to side.
'He intervened after I threw the sword.'
Four Thousand Four applied golden sore medicine to Jaja's side to staunch the bleeding. And then,
Shwick!
He extracted a small steel needle from Jaja's other side.
It wasn't just her sword he'd targeted. He'd hit Jaja too. What he'd pulled from her side was unmistakably a steel needle.
Four Thousand Four toyed with the steel needle, lost in thought.
"I think I've found the way."
His words came after a long pause.
Shadowless. No shadow.
Every object in the world casts a shadow. Something without a shadow can't exist.
Shadowless meant a ghost.
The appearance of something that doesn't exist in the world.
The steel needle flew without a sound of wind. Shadowless. Invisible to the eye. Shadowless. A martial artist’s intuition surpasses sight and hearing. Yet it evaded detection. Shadowless.
Shadowless was perfect stealth.
"Impossible!"
"Impossible... but it happened. I experienced it myself."
Zhuge Soso stuck out her tongue in disbelief, and Jaja followed gravely.
Four Thousand Four's Shadowless nullified the senses.
Even after being struck, there's no sensation of attack. So one gives their all.
Jaja had felt burning pain in her side, and only then realized she'd been hit. She hadn't even known the pain originated there.
It hid even the pain.
As a result, Jaja hadn't seen Zhuge Soso.
Her incoming attack, releasing the sword, the twisting expression... Phenomena no martial artist could miss.
The pain had forced her sure-kill.
Here, Four Thousand Four intervened once more.
He had to deflect both swords. Neither could land.
Zhuge Soso's thrown sword, Jaja's thrust sword.
Deflect both. Not just push; so naturally that the sword wielders noticed nothing.
Who were the sword wielders? Mian Smallkill.
In the critical moment, move Mian Smallkill's sword a fraction. Then save Vanguard, Hanbi, Fox... all dying by the sword, but actually not.
Sounds impossible! But it works.
If Mian Smallkill fought barehanded, it wouldn't work. If punching body instead of head, no Shadowless.
Even Mian Smallkill mustn't notice his own mistake.
Another issue: Could Four Thousand Four catch Mian Smallkill's speed?
Zhuge Soso and Mian Smallkill differed greatly.
Though she'd used the One Kill Sword, Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands, it was far from what the old Sabi Valley Lord wielded. Especially in speed.
Mian Smallkill's swordplay was at least twice as fast.
Catching that speed was a problem; intervening undetected, another.
Shadowless seemed impossible in every way.
But no other path. Without risk, no saving Vanguard's group from perfect death. Rebirth through shedding old bones is painful.
"You really going to do this?"
Jaja asked.
Four Thousand Four nodded.
"Hoho! Then I guess I have no choice but to tell you. I wasn't going to, to ease your burden, but maybe saying it is better. To save even one for sure."
"What do you mean?"
Four Thousand Four looked at Jaja and asked.
"I can't sense the White Frost Horse Robe."
"......"
"If you entrust someone to me, I'll just have to watch them die. I tried moving the White Frost Horse Robe, but no matter what, I can't detect it at all. Sorry."
Jaja smiled wryly as she spoke.
Four Thousand Four's brow furrowed ever so slightly, then relaxed.
If Jaja could save no one, and Four Thousand Four only one... then two of the three must truly fight Mian Smallkill. They'd surely die, but that would make fooling him easier.
Now was time to choose. Who to save.
"Go. We really need to hurry now. Delay more, and we might arrive after the fight's over."
Zhuge Soso urged them onward.
How to save them.
Who to save.
Could they even be saved.
His Shadowless worked on her and Jaja—would it on Mian Smallkill?
No, no... First, decide who to focus on.
Who to save.
With every step, his dilemma deepened.