Chapter 47: A Lavish Battle!
Splurt!
On the Dou Qi Continent, it was rare to find someone like Jiang Lin wearing full-body armor. The broken blade easily pierced Peso's neck, cleanly severing his carotid artery.
Gurgle…
Peso's pupils dilated. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that spilled out was a torrent of blood. He tried to resist, but the more he struggled, the faster the blood gushed from his throat and mouth. His strength quickly faded, and in Jiang Lin's arms, he slipped into unconsciousness—approaching death.
Surrounded by dazzling wildfire, Jiang Lin—his armor shattered, soaked in blood, shards from the self-destructed Flameburst Cleave Armor Sword embedded in his body—held the dying Peso in his arms. Then, he looked back at the stunned one-star Da Dou Shi, Yan Hu.
Yan Hu stood amid blazing trees and glinting metal shards, eyes filled with lasting shock as he stared at Jiang Lin, battered in broken black armor.
The battle between these two blacksmiths had exceeded anything Yan Hu could've imagined.
Mid-tier Yellow-Rank battle bow: damaged.High-tier Yellow-Rank battle weapon Flameburst Cleave Armor Sword: exploded.Two mid-tier Yellow-Rank melee weapons: shattered.Mid-tier Yellow-Rank battle armor Black Knight: largely destroyed.Mid-tier Yellow-Rank inner armor Diamond Softmail: partially damaged.And even the mid-tier Yellow-Rank shield Peso had summoned at the end bore a deep gash and had lost much durability.
This single fight had consumed more Dou Equipment than Yan Hu—a one-star Da Dou Shi—could fathom. At the same level, battle gear was often more valuable than pills. This battle between a Dou Zhe and a Dou Shi was like two lunatics throwing 3rd- and 4th-grade medicinal pills at each other to the death.
Peso, even in death, likely never understood how Jiang Lin—allegedly just a low-tier Yellow-Rank blacksmith—could possess so many mid- and high-tier Yellow-Rank weapons. He had thought he was well-prepared, skilled in microcombat, and yet he still died by Jiang Lin's unreasonable hand.
In the end, all Peso could do was lament fate's unfairness. Jiang Lin was too lucky. The legacy of that Xuan-Rank blacksmith must've given him a mountain of backup gear!
Until his final breath, Peso refused to believe Jiang Lin had crafted all that equipment himself.
"You win."
Under the flickering firelight, Yan Hu looked up at the reddish night sky, then turned and began descending the mountain.
"Better go now. The Tier 3 beasts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range are coming. They'll extinguish the fire—and eliminate what they see as the culprits."
He ignored Jiang Lin and left. As he passed the three heavily injured Dou Shi—shattered by the Flameburst Cleave Armor Sword—he gave them a cold glance and said only, "Fend for yourselves," before walking away without looking back.
"Captain Yan, save us!"
"Please, don't leave us behind!"
The three surviving Dou Shi stumbled after him, crying out.
Jiang Lin looked from their retreating backs to the peacefully dead Peso in his arms, eyes glinting. It was clear now—within the Beast Mercenary Group, there were two factions. Yan Hu hadn't ordered the attack, and none of the men he brought had fought Jiang Lin.
ROAR!
Suddenly, a terrifying beast cry echoed through the forest. Violent wind blades descended from the sky, slicing through burning trees. Simultaneously, blue Dou Qi beams shot into the red sky, forming dense clouds. A cool mountain wind brushed Jiang Lin's battered Black Knight armor, clearing his mind.
Swish swish swish…
A light drizzle soon fell across the dry forest.
Raindrops slid over the damaged armor. Somewhere in the woods, Jiang Lin stood holding a corpse in a princess carry, gazing up at the rainy sky. Overhead, a massive shadow with a wingspan over ten meters circled in the clouds.
A Tier 4 Magical Beast—Gale Winged Drake.
As expected, setting fire to a mountain was the fastest way to speedrun death, no matter the world.
ROAR!
The drake shrieked. Countless wind blades rained down, shredding trees and turning the forest into splinters. Blood and limbs flew. Every human who hadn't escaped the outskirts of the mountain range was now within the drake's hunting zone.
Then, the Gale Winged Drake soared upward. At the highest peak, it looked coldly toward a small plain outside the mountains—Qingshan Town. It stared for a while… then turned and flew into the depths of the mountain range.
As a Tier 4 beast, it had high intelligence. Massacring a human town would bring endless trouble. Humans, beasts, and other races had maintained an unspoken balance for millennia: high-level beings do not slaughter common folk.
It was a rare understanding.
Jiang Lin stood silently in the rain for a moment, then carried Peso's body and dragged his exhausted frame toward Peach Blossom Valley.
Coo?
Inside the valley, the Blue Eagle—sheltering under a canopy—hurried over when it saw Jiang Lin's figure. Smelling blood, it immediately jumped back, cooing nervously.
Jiang Lin glanced at the rope still around the eagle's neck. Good—still intact. A well-behaved little coo.
"Go play somewhere else."
He pushed the bird aside, then, fighting fatigue, brought the corpse to a pre-dug alchemy pool. He stripped Peso of his gear, pressed a soul-inscribed hide to his forehead, and tossed the body in. Then he dumped in various herbs and powdered minerals. He meant to stir it—but he was just too tired.
"You… yeah, you. Use your claw to stir it."
Jiang Lin mimed the motion to the eagle, not caring if it understood. He left Peso's gear untouched and staggered off to a cave, sealing it with a rock door so the eagle wouldn't suddenly turn evil and attack him.
Thud!
Finally, Jiang Lin collapsed inside and fell unconscious.
Outside, the Blue Eagle cocked its head in confusion, watching him disappear into the cave. It looked at the bubbling alchemy pool… then at its leash. It had tried to walk forward, but the rope stretched taut—too far to reach.
But could something so minor stop the mighty Blue Eagle?
Lowering its head and shaking it carefully, the bird slipped the rope loose. With quick steps, it trotted to the pool and peered inside. The bubbling liquid and bandaged corpse made it pause.
After a moment, it picked up a stick, stirred the pool a few times, and even flipped Peso over—how rude to leave someone belly-up!
Finished, the eagle returned to its shelter. Then, it thought for a second, went back, picked up the rope, and slipped it back around its neck.
A good bird knows how to be flexible—hard or soft, large or small, proud or humble.
The Blue Eagle, proud of its impeccable self-discipline, beamed in satisfaction.
(Xiao Yi Xian's Blue Eagle, "Lan Ying," had high intelligence in the original story, but since she was more laid-back, it didn't grow much. With Jiang Lin, however, it gets more resources—and greater potential.)
(END CHAPTER)
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