Chapter 180: Backstab

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Long Guxing had just kicked away the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat when sixteen Congreve Rockets flew toward him. This took him by surprise, and he wanted to dodge, but the angle at which these rockets flew was extremely tricky; Long Guxing found himself with nowhere to hide.

Long Guxing sank his Qi into his dantian and condensed his Qi into steel, a thick layer of earthy-yellow steel Qi appearing on the Eight-Sided Red Copper Hammer in his hand, making it appear unbreakable.

Then, the red copper hammer spun at high speed, its afterimages connecting like a large shield shimmering with earthy-yellow light, blocking in front of him.

"Boom—!" The Congreve Rockets collided with the large shield, causing a violent explosion with great momentum, like a thunderclap.

The explosion of the rockets formed waves of powerful circular shockwaves that slammed fiercely into the large shield.

The powerful vibrational force from the explosion of the first rocket caused the red copper hammer to vibrate violently, and this vibrational force traveled along the Mysterious Iron Chain into Long Guxing, shaking his hands intensely and splitting the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers.

Long Guxing knew he could not take it head-on, or he would certainly not be able to withstand the dozen or so explosions that followed.

Long Guxing grabbed the Mysterious Iron Chain with his right hand and shook it rapidly in a special rhythm, causing the red copper hammer that formed the shield to shake along with it.

It was like a forest blown by a strong wind; the treetops did not resist the wind head-on but swayed with it, neutralizing the force of the wind.

This special shaking of the red copper hammer was a very clever technique for unloading force, allowing the red copper hammer to retreat slightly during the rocket explosions, neutralizing a portion of the impact.

"Boom—! Boom—!" The successive explosions of the rockets filled the area around Long Guxing with smoke and flames that shot into the sky.

Although Long Guxing exerted his full strength to condense his Qi into steel to bolster the defensive power of the red copper hammer and also employed a clever technique to unload force, there were too many rockets; his two red copper hammers barely blocked the explosions of fourteen rockets, and he had to take the last two rockets head-on by himself.

At this very moment, Long Guxing was covered in cuts and bruises, his hair and beard were scorched to charcoal, and his face was pitch black, as if he had fallen into a coal pile; he looked extremely disheveled.

However, Long Guxing was worthy of being a Third-Grade High-Level Martial Artist; while his body looked ghastly, they were actually only minor injuries that did not have much impact, and he still possessed great combat strength.

"Take advantage of his illness to take his life; everyone attack together and kill Long Guxing," Meng Yifan shouted loudly.

Zhang Butou gave a loud shout, and fifty Embroidered Needles, as thin as ox hair, shot out, all flying toward Long Guxing's face.

The Zombie with two blades rushed over violently, its two curved blades flying up and down like a surging galaxy, shrouding all of Long Guxing's vital points in blade light.

The Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat Shuke moved its four hooves rapidly, circling Long Guxing quickly, and seeing an opportunity, it rushed over to bite Long Guxing's lower body.

Meng Yifan also gripped his Ghost Head Blade and rushed over quickly to join the siege on Long Guxing.

"Old Liu, you go deal with the Zombie with two blades; leave the remaining three bastards to me," Long Guxing said.

"Understood, Long Laoda." Liu Sheng stood behind Long Guxing, and the two stood back-to-back, fighting together against Meng Yifan and the others.

The battle was extremely intense, and sparks flew as Liu Sheng fought the Zombie with two blades.

The Zombie with two blades unleashed its blade technique, every strike aimed at Liu Sheng's vital points, while Liu Sheng continuously brandished his two Eight-Slashing Blades, blocking the curved blades of the Zombie with two blades.

Long Guxing focused his full attention, gripping his two Eight-Sided Red Copper Hammers, striking east and west, simultaneously dealing with the siege from Meng Yifan, Zhang Butou, and the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat; both sides fought back and forth, and neither could do anything to the other.

Just at this critical moment, the Zombie with two blades jumped up, its curved blades closing together like a large pair of scissors, strangling toward Liu Sheng's neck.

Liu Sheng did not block; instead, his body suddenly shrank, becoming half a head shorter, allowing the two curved blades of the Zombie with two blades to strike the neck of Long Guxing, who was behind him.

Not only that, Liu Sheng flipped his wrists, reversing his two Eight-Slashing Blades with the tips pointing backward, and stabbed them toward the kidneys on both sides of Long Guxing.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; Long Guxing was exerting his full strength to block Meng Yifan and the others, never expecting that Liu Sheng would suddenly backstab him at such a critical moment.

"Puchi!" With intent against the unsuspecting, Liu Sheng's two Eight-Slashing Blades were both condensed with steel Qi, instantly breaking through Long Guxing's protective Qi and piercing directly into Long Guxing's two kidneys; then Liu Sheng twisted his wrists violently, churning Long Guxing's two kidneys into a bloody mess.

The two curved blades of the Zombie with two blades also strangled toward Long Guxing's neck, but by this time, Long Guxing had already reacted; at the last hair-breadth moment, the Eight-Sided Red Copper Hammer in his left hand swept horizontally, blocking the two curved blades of the Zombie with two blades, while his right leg, covered in dense steel Qi, kicked out violently, sending Liu Sheng flying.

However, as Liu Sheng was kicked away, he still held the two Eight-Slashing Blades in his hands, which caused the sharp Eight-Slashing Blades to once again carve two deep, bone-reaching wounds into Long Guxing's body, blood gushing out, mixed with fragments of his already shattered kidneys.

"Kill!" Meng Yifan shouted loudly, and Zhang Butou, the Zombie with two blades, Liu Sheng, and the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat all swarmed forward to besiege the heavily wounded Long Guxing.

"Why?" Long Guxing roared in anger.

Liu Sheng's expression was somewhat complex, but he still said firmly, "You are an enemy of my master, which makes you an enemy of me, Liu Sheng; you deserve to die!"

Long Guxing was clearly stunned for a moment; when did Liu Sheng acknowledge Meng Yifan as his master? This was too absurd, but there was no time for Long Guxing to think, as Meng Yifan and the others intensified their attack.

If Long Guxing were in his prime, he might have been able to barely withstand the siege of five Third Grade Martial Artists, but now, having first been poisoned, then having withstood the explosion of sixteen rockets, and then being backstabbed by Liu Sheng with his kidneys shattered, he was now heavily wounded and could not possibly block the siege of Meng Yifan and the others.

"If I'm going to die, I'll take a few with me to the grave. Liu Sheng, you traitor, go to hell with me."

Long Guxing shouted loudly, ignoring the attacks of the others, and rushed in front of Liu Sheng; his stomach, like Jiang Tian's before, suddenly swelled up like a fully inflated balloon, preparing to perish together with Liu Sheng.

"Wailing... wailing..." Just as Long Guxing was preparing to self-destruct, Meng Yifan, holding his Ghost Head Blade, suddenly pointed it at him, and the sound of Ghost Crying Wolf Howling instantly enveloped Long Guxing.

Long Guxing was a Third-Grade High Stage Martial Artist with a firm will; he was only stunned for a moment before he shook off the interference of the Ghost Crying Wolf Howling sound.

But in a battle between experts, every second counts; at the very instant Long Guxing was stunned, Meng Yifan employed Lingbo Microsteps, his body lunging forward, and gripping the Ghost Head Blade with both hands, he performed a horizontal slash, cutting Long Guxing's neck in two with a single strike.

Long Guxing's head flew high into the air, his mouth still opening and closing in mid-air as he roared, "No... I am not reconciled... Liu Sheng, you will die a horrible death."

"Go to hell!" Meng Yifan tapped his Ghost Head Blade toward Long Guxing's head; Long Guxing's mouth opened, wanting to bite the Ghost Head Blade with his teeth, but unfortunately, Meng Yifan moved his wrist, avoiding Long Guxing's teeth and tapping directly onto Long Guxing's brow.

This strike instantly scattered the last of Long Guxing's vitality; Long Guxing died, his eyes lingering with deep-seated hatred. He hated Meng Yifan, and he hated Liu Sheng, who had backstabbed him, even more.

Long Guxing was beheaded, and the Qi gathered within his body dissipated along with him; the crisis was resolved, and Meng Yifan, Liu Sheng, and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If Long Guxing had succeeded in his self-destruction, Liu Sheng would certainly have been blown to death, and the others would have been heavily wounded if not killed.