Chapter 227

The mercenaries of the "Death-Spreading Sword Group" who had just been "spreading death" were facing a one-sided rout against the Evil Spirit Dog; if not for the magic caster on their side suppressing it, the number of casualties would likely have been even higher.

And at this moment!

The magic caster who had been suppressing the Evil Spirit Dog had already shifted targets; to be precise, they were now working with another magic caster to suppress the Miss Cuiye Witch.

This had been Brian's request from the start: to have Captain Feikangpa completely restrict the Miss Cuiye Witch!

"You are indeed no ordinary Evil Spirit Dog. Very well, I'll treat this as a warm-up before the real fight."

Brian's mouth curled upward as he looked at the ferocious, nearly two-meter-tall Evil Spirit Dog, his feet suddenly pushing off the ground as he charged forward.

"Flowing Water Acceleration"!

Bang—bang—

Brian's sword-swinging movements reached a higher level, pressing against the constantly lashing chains as he rapidly closed in on the Evil Spirit Dog.

"Awoo." The Evil Spirit Dog's beastly pupils narrowed; it quickly retracted the chains, winding them back around its own body, and swung its sharp claws.

Whoosh!

Brian dodged sideways, his longsword following the motion of his turn as he swung it in a slash.

Clang!

The blade collided with the bone chains and was blocked.

But immediately after, Brian used his sword tip to flick upward and press downward, his technique so masterful that the bone chains were pushed back by the force, and the sword tip easily sliced open a gash on the Evil Spirit Dog's body.

A spray of blood splattered out.

The Evil Spirit Dog let out a roar, turned rapidly, and opened its blood-red maw to bite.

Bang.

Brian pushed off with his front foot and dodged again.

The Evil Spirit Dog turned its entire body—horns, claws, bone chains, and all—into weapons, attacking fiercely and incessantly.

However!

With agile technique, Brian dodged the entire series of attacks, his footwork elegant and composed; every time he swung his longsword, he carved another wound into the Evil Spirit Dog.

In just a moment.

The Evil Spirit Dog's fur was already dyed red with blood; the opponent was clearly suppressing the Evil Spirit Dog in every aspect.

"Come back, Xiao Hei." From behind, Tang Zheng's voice drifted over.

Panting heavily, the Evil Spirit Dog, its beastly pupils bloodshot, glared fiercely at Brian.

Chain Great Whirlwind!

Thud!

The lashing chains ejected at an extraordinary speed, whipping toward the surrounding directions in an attempt to force Brian back.

Facing this high-powered attack,

Brian's gaze was like a torch; he stepped back and crouched, seemingly having anticipated this. While dodging the chain attack, he swung his longsword from bottom to top: "Die!"

Hiss—

The blade flashed with a cold glint, carving a sharp arc through the air as it slashed toward the Evil Spirit Dog with enough force to easily cut a soldier in armor in two with a single strike.

Boom!

Sparks bloomed!

A Flame Archangel rushed over and blocked in front of the Evil Spirit Dog; the longsword and the flame sword collided, emitting a crisp, loud sound.

The Flame Archangel's wings vibrated, and it was sent flying backward uncontrollably.

"Oh my, it dodged." Seeing the Evil Spirit Dog had escaped the attack range, Brian spoke with annoyance, resting his longsword on his shoulder with a contemptuous smile as he looked toward the opposite side.

At this moment, Tang Zheng had already stepped down from the carriage. Looking at the battered Evil Spirit Dog that had come to his side, he pulled a bottle of regeneration potion from his robes:

"Tsk, you're no match for him at all, Xiao Hei."

He opened the stopper and poured it over the Evil Spirit Dog, saying, "You can't handle such a technical opponent by relying on brute force alone, let alone when your strength is lower than theirs."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two Flame Archangels rushed toward Brian, one from the left and one from the right.

Brian's eyes flickered left and right, confirming the Flame Archangels' movement trajectories, his gaze landing on the wounds on the Evil Spirit Dog that were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Tch, truly worthy of an alchemist. If this were a war of attrition, you'd be an incredibly headache-inducing character."

"Then—I'll get a little serious!"

Brian sneered, his body leaning to the left as he took the initiative to meet the Flame Archangel rushing from the left.

"Rapid Slash!"

A slash like a gale was unleashed; immediately after, a pale blue light flashed over Brian's body, and his body instantly snapped back to its previous state.

"Instant Reflex!"

Another strike was unleashed!

Two slashes were completed in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a sound like tearing rags.

Bang! Bang!

The two Flame Archangels were sliced in half, dissipating into points of white light.

"Summoning two angel monsters for long-range attacks, having a beastly Evil Spirit Dog for close-quarters protection, plus regeneration potions that can heal wounds."

"Hey, this setup alone is already comparable to an elite adventurer party."

Brian's mouth curled upward, a look of disdain on his face as he raised his longsword, pointing the tip at Tang Zheng:

"Too bad you ran into me, black-haired kid. If you have no other tricks up your sleeve, then go to hell."

"Half a year ago, I watched that 'Royal Trial' in the capital." A calm voice came from behind the Evil Spirit Dog.

Brian's sword-holding motion paused, his face expressionless: "Oh, so you recognize me? It's too late to try and build a connection or beg for mercy now."

That battle in the capital, while it had greatly increased his fame, was a humiliation in Brian's eyes.

The winner takes the honor!

As the runner-up, all the praise was nothing more than a way to further elevate that guy, Gazef.

"No."

The snow-white priest robe fluttered in the cold wind, rustling softly. Tang Zheng stepped out from behind the Evil Spirit Dog, his tone gentle and slow:

"You were just as confident before you were defeated by Gazef, weren't you, Brian?"

Snap!

Brian's gaze became incomparably cold in an instant, his entire body releasing a chilling killing intent.

"I won't be like you, getting all cocky before even defeating your opponent. As a cautionary tale, you are quite qualified." Tang Zheng shook his head, mercilessly mocking him:

"So, I'm going to use my trump card now. You suspected I had a backup plan, didn't you? Then I'll let you see it. Don't die."

Bang!

The loose sleeve of the priest robe fluttered, and a scroll was crushed.

Whoosh!

An even more dazzling and holy magical light bloomed above Tang Zheng's head. First, a bright white halo appeared, and then a massive angel, three meters tall with a slender and elegant figure, appeared in everyone's line of sight.

"Fourth Rank Angel Summoning: Principality of Peace (28lv)!"

Two pairs of bright yellow wings, one large and one small, unfurled; the slender physique left no doubt that this was an attack-type angel monster.

"Phew~, this is my strongest method."

Tang Zheng let out a heavy breath, his face showing signs of exhaustion.

"This, this... Fourth Rank..."

Brian tilted his head back, his pupils revealing a look of disbelief, goosebumps rising all over his body.

【Note: No errors in content, keep reading!】

If the two Flame Archangels from before only required him to be serious to be dealt with, then this massive angel before him...

Made Brian feel the scent of death, especially as his keen warrior's intuition was screaming warnings frantically.

The current Brian was far from reaching the level he would be at in four years, and besides, even the Brian of four years later was only "28lv."

Whoosh!

The white figure flashed before everyone's astonished eyes and had already appeared in front of Brian.

"Strike Against Evil!"

The Principality of Peace's staff-like spear weapon swung downward.

Boom!

"Too fast—"

Brian's eyes widened, barely managing to block with his sword in front of his chest; astonishing power exploded on the surface of the blade, and his body was sent flying uncontrollably.

He smashed into a shrub forest dozens of meters away, emitting a roar.

"Still a bit too weak." Tang Zheng watched the scene with a calm gaze, shaking his head imperceptibly with some disappointment.

A "28lv" Fourth Rank angel, just one level away from reaching the Heroic Realm, was already considered top-tier combat power among humans.

This angel monster alone was enough to handle most situations.

"You've been hiding for so long, it's time for you to come out." Tang Zheng swept a cold gaze over the corpses on the ground around them.

Whoosh!

The Principality of Peace flew back above Tang Zheng's head, a dazzling holy light released from its spear-staff:

"Holy Light!"

A soft, pure light, not particularly intense, spread rapidly toward the surroundings; the shadows of the mercenary corpses lying on the ground began to elongate.

Among them.

Centered on Tang Zheng, among the many seemingly messy corpses, the shadows of eight did not change.

Under the illumination of the Holy Light, the assassins who were equipped with magic items and possessed magic effects similar to invisibility instead reflected faint human silhouettes.

"We've been discovered!"

"Move!"

In an instant, a cold voice without emotional fluctuation rang out.

The eight human silhouettes had their cloaks shake, simultaneously revealing their forms as they turned into eight black afterimages, all charging toward Tang Zheng.

"Assassins of 'Igenia'," Tang Zheng said with some disappointment.

These assassins' concealment abilities were indeed very stealthy; however, no matter how strong the concealment ability, it was useless in front of Tang Zheng's attribute panel.

As for the disappointment.

It was that these assassins were all ordinary professionals and had not mastered the high-level profession of 【Ninja】.

"I thought that leader would appear, but they only sent ordinary assassins. Am I being underestimated? Or is the bounty simply not enough?" Tang Zheng thought.

Boom!

A huge vibration suddenly rang out from behind.

The Principality of Peace, which had been hovering in the sky above, had already appeared behind Tang Zheng; just a moment ago, a figure like a meteor...

Had crashed directly into the Principality of Peace with a forceful posture.

"Did it block it?"

A young man wearing a maid outfit with a pair of rabbit ears on his head sighed upon seeing his full-force sneak attack blocked.

These animal characteristics, different from normal humans, indicated that this young man was clearly a demi-human, and a quite rare Rabbit-man at that.

"Strike Against..."

The Principality of Peace swung its spear-staff, just preparing to launch an attack.

The Rabbit-man lightly tapped the ground with his feet, and with just a light leap, he had already jumped to a position level with the head of the Principality of Peace, which was hovering in mid-air.

Bang!

A heavy whip kick landed on the head of the Principality of Peace, actually causing it to stagger.

PS: Wishing all my dear readers a Happy New Year, good health, and all the best!

(End of chapter)