Chapter 4 Counterattack

  Dark clouds cover the sky, sparse starlight filters through the cloud layer and sprinkles down, faintly illuminating the desolate and silent wilderness.

  Hmph...

  In the midst of urgent hoofbeats, two riders galloped side by side across the desolate plain under the inky blackness of night.

  "Whoa..." A sudden tug on the reins, the pony let out a pained whinny and came to an abrupt stop.

  "Oh no, that little monkey is gone!"

  The majestic physique made the already short-legged horse look even smaller, Ayrick's powerful palms grasped the large double-handed sword, calm brown eyes slowly panned across the dark wasteland in search of Xia Zuo's figure.

  "He can't run far, he must be hiding nearby, this damn monkey... Old Bal, that useless piece of trash..."

  After years of mercenary life, they had long been accustomed to life and death, but for so many years, their fellow survivors, Aurelio still couldn't help but grit his teeth.

  "Yalick, you search from this side, I'll search from the right side, and after half an hour, we'll meet in the middle. If we still can't find that damned little monkey, I won't believe it."

  He tightened his cloak around him to ward off the cold, and with his long spear in hand, he pointed it towards the two on their left. As he mentioned Xia Zuo's name, his face involuntarily twisted into a scowl.

  Xia Sha didn't run too far and was lying still in the pile of gravel, trying to merge his body with the cold and piercing stones.

  On this vast and desolate plain, even if he could gain a temporary advantage, it would be impossible to outrun the horses, especially the sturdy ponies which, though not built for speed, were strong and had great endurance.

  He ran frantically, and it was only a matter of time before he was blocked again. Moreover, Xia Zuo had been in this world for only a few days, and on this vast expanse of rubble that looked the same everywhere, even relying on the sun's rise and fall to barely tell directions, he simply didn't know where to go.

  No water, no food, stumbling around. If he walked into the Beastman tribe, it would be better, but if he walked into human territory, the fate he would face would be even more miserable than now.

  So we must rescue those Mung Beastmen living on the gravel wasteland, at least one of them, so that there is a hope to get out.

  The original plan was best to get the key and escape with the beastman, but it's clear that won't work now, so I can only use another set of plans.

  Xia Sha's greatest advantage now is that all mercenaries think of it as a straightforward beastman, but under the rough skin of the Mang Beastman, a cunning human soul is hidden.

  In the midst of the horseshoes' clattering sound, a vague black shadow rapidly became clear in the darkness.

  Xia Sha's body crouched a bit lower, clenching the sharp fang-shaped stone in his hand, taking a deep breath and holding it as he waited for the arrival of the mercenaries.

  Alyric held the reins in one hand and his sword in the other, his calm eyes scanning the surroundings. His robust body leaned slightly forward on horseback, allowing him to react swiftly to any sudden attack.

  Xia Sha lowered his head, almost burying it in the mud to prevent the old mercenary from reacting naturally to eye contact.

  "One... two... three..." She silently counted in her mind as the sound of horseshoes almost stuck to her body passed by, Xia Zuo quietly waited for an opportunity.

  A sudden gust of wind blew up...

  "I've been waiting for you..." Yalick, on horseback, didn't panic, but instead curled up a sneer of cold laughter at the corner of his mouth. Without turning around, he swung his heavy two-handed greatsword with one hand and swiftly slashed it backwards.

  "Ding ding dang..." A dense series of crisp knocking sounds, and a number of flying gravel pelted against his back.

  Xia Sha's figure suddenly jumped out from under the horse, like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, and swung his fist towards Alik's face.

  "Despicable monkey..." With a cold sneer, the large sword that had been swung out behind him was suddenly pulled back, its broad blade whistling as it swept horizontally back in. If Xiāo Nǒ had continued to charge forward, he would have been cut in two by the sword before even reaching Yàlìkè.

  The fist that was swung open suddenly, and a handful of yellow earth instantly rose from the palm of his hand. At such a close distance, even if Yalick hastily closed his eyes, he was still blinded by the sand.

  "Damn monkey... despicable beastman..." Alek, who was hit, cursed angrily.

  Even human warriors wouldn't use such a despicable technique, let alone beastmen who revere the war god Kampas.

  The yellow sand stung his eyes, and Alick immediately let out a string of angry roars. The large sword in his hand calmly swung out several times in front of him, blocking any possible sneak attacks.

  "Haha..." Xia Zuo finally revealed a cold smile, his body suddenly flipped over, his legs clamped onto the horse's neck, his agile body suspended in mid-air, the sharp stone knife in his hand swiftly stabbed into Yalik's ankle, which was clad in leather boots.

  Blood splattered at the same time, Xia Zuo's body flew out and inserted the stone knife heavily into the neck of the pony.

  "Yah..." The pony, though gentle, had been severely injured on the nape of its neck by a blunt instrument and, in pain, suddenly jumped up and whinnied, galloping wildly like mad.

  His eyes couldn't see anything, and his ankle was pierced by a blunt instrument. Alex let out a miserable cry, and then heard the sound of his mount letting out a mournful whinny. A massive force came from under his buttocks, and his body instantly flew out uncontrollably.

  He crashed heavily to the ground, slamming into it with such force that his entire skeleton almost came apart. But Alerick hadn't forgotten that there was still a despicable Munk beastman beside him.

  Just as I was about to jump up from the ground, a whistling gust of wind came from the front, and my muscles bulged under my cloak. With both hands grasping the great sword, I struck with all my might in the direction of the sound.

  A loud "clang" sound, Alick only felt a lightness in his hand, followed by a hard and cold sensation, with great force colliding on his chest.

  "Crack...crack..." A dense, brittle sound like stir-frying beans came from the impact.

  "Eight broken ribs..." This was Alex's last consciousness, without even feeling the pain, he forever fell into darkness.

  There was a giant stone slab the size of a person pressed down on Alick's already somewhat deformed body, and Xia Zuo, who was still panting heavily, didn't let up, throwing dozens more large and small stones one after another, until Alick under the giant stone was battered into a bloody pulp, almost unrecognizable as human.

  "Damn it... How come I never realized before... I'm actually quite good at this... Huh... huh..."

  Gasping for breath, Xia Zuo calmed the turmoil in his heart. In his original world, he was just an ordinary white-collar worker who went to work on time every day. Although he had once dreamed of being a hero, punching tigers and dragons, his daily life was actually very dull. When had he ever encountered something so exciting?

  I was so tense when I ambushed Bal in the tent that I even forgot what it felt like to be tense.

  But now is the real sense of killing, not only no legendary fear, tension, nausea, but Xia Zuo feels himself calm and terrifying when taking action, his blood boiling with excitement, as if waiting for a battle.

  Like a born warrior, there is an indescribable sense of exhilaration in the moment when the enemy is killed.

  Although the fight was only a brief moment, it contained Xia Zuo's careful calculation. From the beginning, he had never planned to fight Alyssa head-on.

  With his ordinary physique, even if he's far superior to what he was before, fighting a mercenary who walks on the edge of a knife would be no different from seeking death.

  The evening breeze blew gently, and Xia Zuo's sleek body involuntarily shivered. The crude animal hide that was originally wrapped around his waist had been cut into tatters by Alick at the very beginning, wrapping a stone inside.

  Xia Sha hastened forward, moved away the stones on Yalik's body and examined his spoils of war.

  "How disgusting..."

  The corpse on the ground had long since lost its human form, Xia Zuo's face was filled with disgust, and he had completely forgotten that this person ended up like this because of him.

  His massive two-handed sword had been smashed by the boulder, but his leather armor was still intact, merely battered by the rocks. His cloak was stained with blood, but at least it would keep him warm; in his pouch, which was soaked with dark ale and impossible to tell what color it originally was, there were a few silver coins and copper pieces scattered about, and fortunately, he still had half a waterskin and several large biscuits stuck together.

  "It's really... poor devil..." The battle had ended, and Xia Zuo only then felt the chill. The icy evening wind pierced through his unguarded body, freezing him to the point of shivering uncontrollably. He hastily stripped the clothes and shoes from the corpse and put them on himself.

  What about pants?

  Heaven knows what kind of illness these mercenaries who hang out in bars every day might have, and Xia Zuo didn't want to risk his own happiness downstairs.

  Without hesitation, he stuffed food, water, and his wallet into his bosom, and under the cover of his wide cloak, Xia Zuo now looked no different from an ordinary human boy.

  He inadvertently glanced at the broken sword on the ground, which was discarded by him earliest. Xia Zuo couldn't help but pause for a moment, and then a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  "It seems I'll have to freeze for a while longer..." Xia Zuo muttered to himself, stroking his cloak with a cold smile.

  A mangled corpse, the heavy smell of blood spreading with the evening wind, but Xia Zuo didn't leave in a hurry, instead he busied himself beside the body.

  At the same time, a group of mercenaries carefully guarded the camp.

  A silver light flashed rapidly from the darkness towards the camp, and a group of mercenaries with serious and tense expressions finally relaxed their faces slightly.

  "What the hell, who can tell me what's going on and why the signal is being released!"

  Ying Guang rushed into the camp, revealing a furious and anxious expression on Gre's face. He had originally thought that the camp was under attack and hurried back, but what he saw was clearly different from what he had imagined.

  "Captain... that little monkey... the little monkey... ran away..." Gregor cautiously stepped forward, the captain's angry face only made him more nervous, and he stuttered out an explanation.

  "What...?!"

  A thunderous roar, Glay was like a male lion whose food had been snatched away, his eyes burning with fierce anger, this is over a thousand gold coins, you bastards.

  "Barr... old Barr... you damn bastard... get out here..." Not seeing his own reflection, Grey assumed that Old Barr was too ashamed to face him and immediately roared with anger. So many people couldn't even keep an eye on a scrawny little monkey, he wanted to beat the crap out of this bastard.

  "Team leader... Old Bal is dead..." Grigori said in a low, mosquito-like voice "It was that little monkey who did it..."

  "What?" Gray exclaimed in surprise, hardly believing his ears, looking around at the bowed heads, the angry expression on his face gradually subsiding. "Where is he now?"

  Grigio pointed to the tent with his head hung in shame.

  Grey strode forward, pushing open the flap of the tent and gazing inside at the mercenary troops luxuriously washing themselves with water, their clothes neat and tidy, lying quietly in the tent like old Bal.

  "Damn old bastard, this is the only clean day in his life..." The tiger's eyes gleamed slightly, but Gray didn't go in. He muttered a curse and turned back with big strides.

  "Greg, that monkey ran in which direction? I'll skin him alive with my own hands!" Even if it's worth thousands of gold coins, he'd still want to slaughter the beast with his own hands as a funeral offering for his old buddy.

  Calm eyes, words, the anger hidden beneath that calmness made Grigio involuntarily shiver, and subconsciously pointed in the direction of Xia Zuo's escape.

  "Take care of the rest of those beasts..." A cold phrase was left behind, and a silver glow once again appeared on Grey's body, transforming into a flowing light that quickly disappeared into the dark night.

  P.S. New book uploaded, feeling nervous, please give me points, votes and collections. If the article is still worth reading, please support your brother, thank you three times on March 3rd!