Chapter 86: Wrapping Up

While facing this many attackers, Bai Lang felt he was experiencing a danger greater than when he had been besieged in Li Zicheng's army. Those six lamas were the most troublesome; although they might not be able to hit him, whenever Bai Lang launched an attack, it was always these six who bore the brunt of his assault. This technique of transferring internal force is indeed marvelous—when Bai Lang's tiger claw, which tears living people, grabbed the lama blocking him, it felt like grabbing a huge piece of old cowhide smeared with oil; the force could not be solidly applied, and naturally he could not exert tearing strength.

When he struck with fists or palms, the internal force of those lamas, who continuously rotated to meet his moves, was no small matter—they could truly block Bai Lang's internal force from the outside. And those few who wielded heavy weapons, the Tartars, were equally formidable opponents—even with the Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield, Bai Lang did not want to meet such attacks head‑on; these fellows possessed divine strength and, under the lamas' cover, still had enough time to launch a counterstrike.

The few Han traitors were actually the easiest to deal with, yet these traitors were also extremely cunning; they brandished their swords and spears wildly but rarely landed a real hit on Bai Lang, fearing he would treat them as his main target—though their shouts were loud and their movements large, making their performance look quite spectacular, sometimes even stealing the spotlight from the lamas and Tartars. The three groups cooperated well enough to truly trap this tiger, Bai Lang.

However, they could not kill this tiger in a short time, and even had to worry about the old tiger breaking free; the key to everything was protecting those six lamas, for as long as they could continue maintaining the method of freely transferring internal force, Bai Lang could not escape by killing others. Because they possessed this ability, the lamas actively entangled Bai Lang, leaving others to attack, and for a while Bai Lang truly found himself at a loss.

Bai Lang's internal force and tiger claw would be blocked, but the external martial power he unleashed was likewise difficult for those lamas to handle; even if the cowhide‑like flesh protected by internal force could stop such a heavy blow that mangles flesh and breaks bones, this force was hard to dispel and would occasionally slip out of position, at which point it came down to luck—whether someone overreached in greed for merit or simply had bad luck and got caught by Bai Lang.

The first casualty was indeed a Han traitor—this poor fellow had been sold out by his masters. The lama who had just stepped forward to meet him took Bai Lang's "Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain" strike head‑on, his whole body hit hard in the chest and driven back; his fellow brothers behind him placed both palms on him to transmit energy and help him dissipate force, but this opening was blocked by a Tartar wielding a one‑legged copper man, who roared and thrust the copper figure forward—yet the copper head, the size of a billiard ball, was seized in Bai Lang's one hand.

Is the Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield something easy to contend with? This strike, capable of piercing armor, was caught directly in Bai Lang's palm, producing a sound like a bell being struck. The next instant, Bai Lang's other hand reached straight for that Tartar—by then the lama had lost his position, and the others could not come to his aid in a moment—Tartars able to move were recoiling, while the others' attacks were harmless to Bai Lang, so he ignored them.

He only needed to watch the shield's opening.

The Tartar, too, reacted with extreme speed, grabbing the Han traitor beside him—a scholar in Ming‑dynasty attire with a pig‑tail braid—and shoved him in front of himself while discarding his weapon—life is vital, weapon and servant are not. Bai Lang would not hold back; he lunged with a claw, regardless of how the scholar's sword dance could not repel water. His claw seized the sword, emitting a grating, teeth‑aching screech, then he grabbed the scholar's chest with the sword in hand.

The blade likewise cut into this person's chest, but the fatal part was that Bai Lang's five fingers had already sunk in; just as before, he locked onto the opponent's ribs and pulled, and with a ripping sound the whole rib cage was splayed open— the scene remained gruesome. Whenever Bai Lang caused trouble, it ended up like this; he had no intention of changing it, nor could he.

The hand gripping the one‑legged copper man flipped it over, seizing its foot—then a fierce gust blew up. The Han traitor whose ribs had been pulled out instantly became a lump of minced flesh—"This weapon is not bad; I today was careless to come unarmed, and indeed I underestimated you all. Now, die!" With a weapon in hand, Bai Lang now had a decisive advantage.

The lamas' demon‑subduing pestle still had some use; with the support of internal‑force transfer it could occasionally shatter Bai Lang's golden bell shield, forcing him to hold back his full power—but now that he had the one‑legged copper man, Bai Lang could break the stalemate at once. No matter how great your internal force transfer, no matter how adept your Esoteric Buddhist cultivation at dissipating force, when faced with a heavy weapon smashing down from above you still have to kneel. Previously able to discharge the force from Bai Lang's punches and kicks, now with the one‑legged copper man added it becomes hard to dispel.

In one blow he first smashed the demon‑subduing pestle, then swept sideways to drive back the lamas, thrust forward and struck the great iron cudgel, producing a huge noise; the iron cudgel was knocked backward and slammed into the shoulder of the Tartar wielding it—his wrist could not withstand such force and fractured. The big‑bearded Tartar, tall and sturdy like a bear, had not even cried out when Bai Lang's fist arrived. This punch slammed directly into his chest, followed by a cracking sound; his armor deformed and his whole chest caved in, while a bulge protruded from his back.

He could not live; Bai Lang knew this punch had shattered the Tartar's breastbone, with the point of impact as the center, radiating outward to crush all his ribs and ruin his heart and lungs. Starting from this Tartar's fall, the encircling attack began to disintegrate. First, Bai Lang used the feint of dropping then abruptly abandoning the one‑legged copper man, shifted his body to slip past the leading lama, and instead opened the killing spree on the lama transmitting energy in the rear.

Poor them—their hands and bodies were linked in transmitting internal force, yet each had only a thin layer of protective energy on himself; Bai Lang dispatched four lamas at blinding speed—intestines torn, bellies ruined, skulls shattered, and even the human body's ruler, half a face, half a body were present. Since this lama was struck senseless, the nightmare for the others had also arrived...

It was only a dozen seconds or so; nearly everyone lay fallen before Bai Lang, deaths gruesome, and Bai Lang's clothes were torn, with several wounds—even a fractured spot. That was the Tartar's desperate strike; dying himself, he still managed to hit Bai Lang, and indeed this golden bell shield technique was truly shattered by such a heavy weapon. "Alas, my weapon still..." Bai Lang had just said that when the jade fish pendant hanging from his neck suddenly leapt up and unfolded before him, "Eh! Isn't charging supposed to take ten years? How come?"

Before he could make sense of it, a cry came from below the city tower: "Batu‑ru Ao Bai is dead!" Having just heard that, Bai Lang plunged headfirst into the circle formed by the fish.