Chapter 26: A Slightly Soiled Hem, Fury Unleashed

"Let go of the Chief."

"Damn it!"

"Brothers, quick, help the Chief!"

The Second and Third Chiefs exchanged glances, seeing the panic in each other’s eyes. With no time to think, they shouted to their subordinates. Leading a group of men, they broke through the encirclement and charged toward Lu Yuan.

This wasn't because of any deep bond of brotherhood; on the contrary, their relationship with the Chief was purely one of mutual benefit. The Chief came from a prestigious family and possessed vast resources; these bandits had only broken through to the Fifth Grade realm by relying on those resources. Most importantly, the Chief was the strongest in Black Mountain Stronghold. If he died, their own fates would likely be just as grim.

Therefore, the Chief could not die. At least, not before they managed to escape.

"Let go of the Chief!"

"Black Wind Blade Technique, Thirteenth Form: Gale Severing the Mountain!"

The Second Chief unleashed countless strikes at Lu Yuan. The blade light transformed into a tornado, covering a vast area. Wherever it passed, it was like a storm sweeping through, leaving not a single blade of grass behind. Such was the terrifying power of the Fifth Grade.

"Black Wind Blade Technique, Ultimate Strike: Black Wind Devours the Moon."

The Third Chief had derived a move unique to himself from the Black Wind Blade Technique. This strike condensed all of his essence, energy, and spirit—it was his most powerful blow. The blade light swirled like a black cyclone, consuming everything in its path.

From the left and the right, two black-and-white tornadoes formed by blade light surged toward Lu Yuan.

"Hmph. Showy nonsense."

Lu Yuan sneered, unmoved. He hadn't given the attacks of these two so-called Fifth Grade warriors a second thought.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

"Chief Constable, dodge!"

Several people shouted at Lu Yuan below, their eyes full of worry. Was their Chief Constable about to suffer a defeat? Given his abilities, dodging should be easy. After all, this was their Chief Constable—the man who moved like a ghost, coming and going as he pleased throughout Wangyou County. How could he not dodge this?

"Don't capsize in the gutter, Big Brother!"

"Emmm, stay calm. Mere Fifth Graders don't have the power to hurt our Chief Constable." Constable Sun looked entirely unfazed. Only those who truly knew Lu Yuan could appreciate his terrifying nature. Even the Third Grade warrior Qingchenzi, back in the day, had exhausted every means available and still failed to wound him.

Defeat? Impossible.

*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*

Inside the storm of blade light, miserable wails rang out continuously. When the storm finally dissipated, Lu Yuan remained completely unscathed. If anything, the aura surrounding him had grown even more intense. The deep red flames covering his body shimmered with faint golden light. While the power of these two Fifth Grade warriors' strongest attacks wasn't much to speak of, they had managed to accumulate quite a bit of Fury for him.

"Not bad. That felt good."

"If only the force had been a little stronger." Lu Yuan said slowly, addressing the two of them.

"Impossible! You took our strongest strikes head-on—how can you be unharmed?"

"And if you're unharmed, whose screams were those just now?"

The pair were shocked, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Lu Yuan.

"Whose? Why, his, of course." Lu Yuan lifted the unconscious Chief, Han Shan, with one hand and dangled him in front of them.

Poor Han Shan. After being smashed dozens of times by Lu Yuan, he had barely been clinging to life, only to be subjected to a thousand cuts by his own subordinates' strongest attacks. *Tsk.* How truly miserable.

"Chief!"

"You're despicable! You actually used our Chief as a human shield!"

"You beast!"

"Is this the style of the righteous path?" The two pointed at Lu Yuan, roaring in grief and indignation.

"The righteous path? Has your brain been squeezed by a door? Don't you see this uniform? I am a constable—I work for the government. Idiots, take this punch!"

Lu Yuan tossed Han Shan aside and threw a punch forward.

"Ultimate Strike: Rage-Fueled Bombardment!"

The deep red flames covering his body flared violently the moment he threw the punch. Infinite power was concentrated into that single blow.

*BOOM!*

As the punch landed, the world roared and the earth trembled. The terrifying destructive force turned the area for a kilometer ahead into ruins. The Second Chief, the Third Chief, and the other bandits within the range—even some greedy players who hadn't managed to escape—were all reduced to pulp.

[Ahhh, what is this skill? I was just standing on the edge, how did this hit me too?]

[Too brutal. I got one-shotted by that punch.]

[My brother is so unlucky. His leg just grazed the edge, and he took full damage.]

[This is ridiculous, it's not scientific at all! By rights, shouldn't my brother just have lost a leg? Why did he get sent back to the respawn point?]

[Your brother took the full damage. How could he not die?]

[The punch dealt 99,999 damage. Good lord, that damage is longer than my life bar, and it's true damage that ignores defense. This is just too damn ridiculous.]

[Even if you just graze it, the leftover damage is enough to kill you.]

[This NPC is a bit broken. Can the officials step in and nerf him? Such a strong NPC—the Demonic path players are in luck.]

[You don't know how lucky you are until it's gone.]

[Hungry? Have a punch.jpg]

[This NPC is ridiculously strong, and his skills are both cool and powerful. I wonder if he takes apprentices? I want to learn that skill where he glows with red flames.]

[Skills might be temporary, but being cool is forever.]

[Wise words. Have a punch.]

[He doesn't take apprentices, I've already asked. Besides, based on the information I have, this Lu Yuan doesn't know martial arts. His skills are innate—they are the legendary, one-in-a-million combat-type talent skills.]

[Combat-type talent skill? That really is one in a million. There are barely any players with talent skills, and most of them are support-types.]

[Talent skills can be dropped as loot. The officials said so themselves—talent skills are rare, but there's a high probability of them dropping if you kill an NPC who possesses one.]

[Let's group up and farm him.]

[You're so tough, why don't you go do it?]

[He'll kill you with one punch.]

[Look at the fate of those two bosses—Level 50s, and they were gone in one punch.]

[Don't bully the youth for being poor, brothers.]

...

"Second Chief, Third Chief..."

"Chief..."

The surviving bandits looked at the Chief, whose life or death was uncertain, and the Second and Third Chiefs, who had been reduced to fly ash along with countless brothers. The fear in their hearts could no longer be suppressed. They stopped caring about orders and turned to run.

They wouldn't fight anymore. They couldn't fight. This Wangyou County was impossible to conquer. This Lu Yuan was a monster. They were no match for him at all.

"Running?"

"Too late."

Lu Yuan watched the fleeing bandits, leaped high into the air, and landed behind them. He threw a punch. The bandits he struck were instantly reduced to blood mist.

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

"Ahhh..."

A five-hit combo. It looked unremarkable, but in reality, every punch landed. Those hit were either missing limbs or, in the worst cases, reduced to a pile of gore on the spot. It was incredibly cruel.

"Hey, good opportunity."

"Time to steal the kill!"

...