Invasion 11

Li Changhai realiised that he was still alive.

The first thing that recovered was his sense of hearing.

The screaming of the soldiers around him flooded Li Changhai's ears. He couldn't tell if they were crying out in anger, fear or pain. But it seemed a little muted, as though he was far away from the source of the same. He certainly could make no sense of it, lying where he was.

Not to mention the horrible ringing in his ears, and the pounding in his skull. That was the second of his senses that started working again: the sense of pain, that seemed to flood every one of his four limbs. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to just lie still, until he recovered.

Then it suddenly dawned upon him, that he was still on the battlefield! And the screams were coming from the soldiers that had been caught in that terrible blast beside him! That was enough to make him groan out loud as he forced his eyelids open once again, as he heaved himself up into a sitting position.

Something that he regretted at once, the moment that the hammering in his head intensified, and he had to shut his eyes once more, to keep himself from keeling over again.

Somehow, he managed to stay awake, and look around him. He soon spotted the glaive that Qin Feng had pushed into his hands earlier, and quickly snatched it up once more. Only to find that it had been snapped into two; the long, dark wood shaft had been shattered. Still, he held onto it. The weapon was long enough to support him, as he forced himself back onto his feet.

Then he heard it. The dull clanking sound of weapon against weapon, metal against metal. And it drew his eyes to an older man, with a head full of grey hairs, clad in long purple robe that looked as though it was tailored in the Far North. And it was clear from the bloodied iron gauntlets that covered his hands that he was the one responsible for killing the soldiers!

But who was that, fending him off?

The blood-splattered back in front of him, engaged with the purple-clad man looked familiar. And the barely recognizable robe that he wore was already tattered and stained with blood and muddy snow. But it was the way that he swung the weapon looked familiar, as if ...

Wait! Qin Feng? Was that Qin Feng?

The Second Ducal Prince's eyes went wide as he watched the young man from the Heaven Sword School dance around the grey-haired man in the purple robe, drawing his attacks. Was that really the youth that he had been in-charge of dealing with, these last few days? How was it that he could do this?

Was that the Four Seasons Sword Technique? The one that the Heaven Sword School was famous for? Or was it some other sword style?

Li Sanlang didn't know for certain. But he could tell that it was far more effective than that Iron Horse Glaive technique that he had been using earlier. The one that he had trained at for about a season. Much more impressive!

Was this the difference between what they learned in the Ducal Army and what was taught at the Heaven Sword School? Was it really as exaggerated as that?

However, Li Changhai could also see that Qin Feng was hopelessly outclassed by his opponent. The sword that he was wielding squealed and sparked , each time it clashed with the heavy metal gauntlets that protected the purple-robed man's hands. And he could see that Qin Feng was being forced back with each blow that he had to fend off.

It was clear that he wouldn't be able to do that very much longer too! Not with the injuries that he had sustained!

The young man's left upper arm was bleeding, and his top-knot had already been knocked crooked during the fight. The short army-issue sword in his right hand was quivering each time that he swung it at his opponent, whose face was dark with rage. And its edge was already uneven; it chipped each time that the weapon connected with the purple-robed old man's gauntleted hands.

From what Li Sanlang could see, it wouldn't last much longer either. And once it was shattered, would Qin Feng still be able to deal with the grey-haired man in purple?

Then, disaster!

There was a loud chime as the man in purple caught hold of Qin Feng's sword by the blade. The gauntlets covering his hands evidently protected him from the weapon's now-battered edge. A swift punch with his other hand - at the blade, rather than the young man, had snapped the weapon into two!

Leaving Qin Feng with nothing more than a foot of blade left on his sword!

Then the old man with the metal gloves kicked out, catching Qin Feng in the lower belly and sending the younger man back before he could react to the loss of his weapon. Even before he landed on the ground, the purple-robed man was attacking again, his clawed hands flying straight for Qin Feng's throat!

Suddenly, a flash of silver and steel fell from the sky, forcing the purple-clad man back!

The Second Ducal Prince gave out a cry then, almost involuntarily, as a figure dropped in from of his eyes, to stand between Qin Feng and his assailant. It took him a second look to realize that it looked like a woman, in an azure-colored robe.

"Luo Qingke!"

"Nu Yuanqing?"

Li Changhai ignored the pair, and quickly ran to Qin Feng's side. The young man was still alive, and spitting out the sand that had gotten into his mouth when he sprawled into the dirt. But his eyes were still alert, and his right hand still clutched at the broken sword's hilt.

He was staring at the pair that were now glaring at each other, ignoring the soldiers that remained in the vicinity. That is, those that were still alive. There were a great number of bodies strewn across all that the Second Ducal Prince could see, Barbarians and Third Army soldiers both.

But he could not recognize the woman that had appeared. Who was this Nu Yuanqing? And why was she helping them?

And more importantly, why had she waited until Qin Feng was beaten unconscious before she appeared?

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