Chapter 433: A Fair Duel

She didn't even interrupt the other party, just quietly listened to Prophet Moses' self‑important victory declaration.

"... So we don't need to engage in any fair duel with you."

Prophet Moses' voice rose slightly with excitement: "The moment you agreed to a duel, the outcome was already decided. We will kill you, the top person of Dong Da Qu, here using the safest method, the fastest speed, and our numerical advantage."

"Your vehicle, your special gear, and even everything in your territory… will become precious spoils of our Xi Da Qu alliance."

"Now, do you feel a hint of regret? For your gullibility, and for your arrogance?"

Outside the encirclement, faint cheers and whistles from other Xi Da Qu players could be heard, filled with mockery and malice.

Cheng Shuili truly didn't understand what this guy was putting on.

Such harsh words need to be spoken with pressure to have impact, but Prophet Moses, knowing time was short, spoke hastily and lost all vigor, even adding a touch of absurdity.

Before speaking, Cheng Shuili chuckled, not for any other reason—purely because the other side's move was truly hilarious.

She openly opened the car door and stepped out.

Wearing a cloak, she had this confidence.

As soon as Cheng Shuili appeared, she became the focus of the entire scene.

Heads poked out from the vehicles surrounding her, their gazes either curious, hostile, contemptuous, or tinged with fear.

A standard "kieh-kieh" sound came from the speaker.

Cheng Shuili froze for a moment before realizing that guy was laughing; she wasn't sure if it was a translation glitch from the system or if Prophet Moses himself made that sound.

But regardless, it matched his accelerated speaking speed.

Cheng Shuili: "Pfft."

Cheng Shuili's sudden laugh caused the originally tense and hostile atmosphere to freeze instantly.

Prophet Moses' smug expression froze on his face, and the mocking smiles of the onlookers also froze at the corners of their mouths.

They had anticipated the reaction of this top person of Dong Da Qu.

Anger, fear, resentment, attempts at negotiation, even despair…

They never imagined she would laugh.

This laugh carried no hysteria, no forced composure, only a pure amusement at seeing something ridiculous.

It was as if the meticulously arranged killing game they had set up, which to them seemed extremely dangerous and symbolized the inevitable death of Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji, appeared to the besieged person as a clumsy, laughable farce.

"What are you laughing at?" Prophet Moses' voice sank, tinged with irritation at being slighted: "Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji, recognize your situation! You're already surrounded!"

Cheng Shuili ignored him, not even glancing at the heads poking out around her or the weapons aimed at her.

She nonchalantly stretched her slightly stiff neck and shoulders from sitting too long, the movement as casual as if she were in her own backyard.

Then she lifted her eyes to look at the speaker: "Regret? Arrogance? You, who dare not even show your face, also have the right to say these things?"

Cheng Shuili's clear voice: "Besides, I just think you people of Xi Da Qu need to go back and really study your harsh‑talk lessons."

She shook her head, feigning ignorance: "Besides, are you in a hurry? You speak like you're calling out dish names, with no sense of pressure at all—really pathetic."

"You…!"

Prophet Moses flushed with anger, unable to utter a word, when a low voice sounded from the speaker:

"Boss! We're running out of time—if we don't act now, this merged‑zone test will end!"

This reminder was absolutely well‑meaning, but to Prophet Moses it felt like the loudest slap, striking his face and shattering all his bluster and pretentious profundity.

Prophet Moses' face reddened to the point of almost bleeding; ashamed and angry, he no longer cared about his image, discarded all useless talk, and shouted furiously: "Everyone! Aim at her——"

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Shuili was faster.

The Piercing Cloud Arrow was instantly released, a blazing white beam of light shooting up from Cheng Shuili's palm, a piercing whistle echoing across the wilderness, instantly drowning out all other noise.

The light was so dazzling that the surrounding Xi Da Qu players instinctively narrowed their eyes, causing their aiming motions to unconsciously lag half a beat.

"What is that?!"

"A signal flare? Is she calling for reinforcements?!"

"What joke? Where would reinforcements come from on the highway?"

"We're running out of time—hurry up and attack!"

Prophet Moses' inner alarm blared, and he roared: "Don't worry about that thing—kill her!"

Too bad, it was too late.

The Piercing Cloud Arrow is not like a signal flare that only transmits information and offers no convenient aid.

The function of the Piercing Cloud Arrow is——upon use, it instantly delivers reinforcements!

【Your leader "Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji" has used the Piercing Cloud Arrow—would you like to be instantly transported to the leader's side?】

At the moment the Piercing Cloud Arrow was fired, all members of Black Feather received this reminder!

Xinxue, standing at the front, flashed a hint of excitement and loudly reminded: "Maintain order! First team players get priority transport!"

The so‑called first team is a group of players wielding large shields.

These large shields and firearms were sent together by the Rat King; they are exactly those held by the Rat King's Guard Team.

Before the Xi Da Qu players could even react, the situation suddenly reversed!

Jet‑black large shields materialized out of nowhere around Cheng Shuili, like metal walls springing up instantly! The shields were heavy and steady, firmly protecting Cheng Shuili at the center.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Xi Da Qu players, in their haste, saw the bullets slam into the black shields, emitting dull thuds but leaving only faint white marks—utterly unable to budge them in the slightest.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Where did they come from?!"

Inside the Xi Da Qu encirclement, an uproar erupted as the original mockery and malice were instantly replaced by shock and panic.

They watched helplessly as the players wielding huge shields appeared like ghosts, swiftly forming an airtight defensive formation.

And this was only the beginning.

Immediately after, the second and third batches of Black Feather members arrived in succession via transfer!

At the moment the shield surface retracted, a pitch-black gun barrel appeared.

Immediately after, the muzzle burst into flames, an oval-shaped shell trailing smoke, emitting a piercing screech, accurately smashing into the area where Xi Da Qu players were most concentrated and where vehicles were most densely parked.

Boom!

An explosion far more violent than gunfire roared loudly!

An orange-red fireball, carrying metal shrapnel and dust, shot up into the sky; the violent shockwave flipped several nearby light vehicles outright, screams erupted and were quickly swallowed by the explosion's aftersound.

This was not an isolated case.

Black Feather's rocket launchers seemed free of cost, firing one after another; as soon as the big shield retreated, what was revealed was a player shouldering a rocket launcher!

Dragging a death-smoke trail, the single rocket precisely covered any area where Xi Da Qu players attempted to regroup or make a last stand!

Boom boom boom!

Continuous explosions completely dominated this road, firelight bursting forth in succession, thick smoke rolling upward.

Under covering fire, Black Feather's elite close-combat squad, like tigers leaving the gate, skillfully coordinated tactics to cut into the fleeing enemy mass, efficiently harvesting the remnants amidst flashing blades.

The carefully arranged encirclement of Xi Da Qu players, under this sudden, luxurious saturation artillery barrage, shattered like biscuits smashed by a heavy hammer.

Vehicles were destroyed, cover overturned, casualties heavy; even those who survived lost all will to fight, scattering like headless flies, wishing their parents had given them two fewer legs.

Amidst the chaos, Su Rui was not idle.

She didn't get off the vehicle with Cheng Shuili, but rather to operate the vehicle-mounted crossbow on Lao Da's vehicle!

Although only ten bolts, each giant bolt was like a death god's roll call.

Su Rui held her breath, eyes glued to the sight, her slender fingers steadily pressing the trigger.

Her target was not those scattered stragglers, but those attempting to reorganize, or whose vehicles were relatively intact and could be used to escape—key enemies.

Whoosh!

The first bolt, as thick as a child's arm, tore through the air with a teeth-grating screech, precisely piercing the engine hood of an armed pickup attempting to reverse and turn.

The arrowhead sank deep, completely destroying the vehicle's body.

Boom—!

The pickup instantly turned into a burning iron coffin; the explosion's fragments swept down several nearby Xi Da Qu players who had been relying on it for cover.

This terrifying scene of dual suppression by cold and hot weapons, in the eyes of those Xi Da Qu players, was nothing short of a desperate nightmare.

They had thought they were hunters, having surrounded a lone beast.

But they hadn't expected that this beast was not only strong enough to mock their formations at will, but in an instant summoned an army armed to the teeth, with firepower so fierce it was monstrous!

Rocket launchers swept the ground, giant crossbow bolts picked off targets, plus those silent, stone-like, impregnable black shields, and behind them the clearance squads deploying like precision killing machines…

This was hardly a fight between players; it was more like a modern regular army delivering a dimensional crushing blow to a rabble.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

"What the ** are these players? This firepower must be an NPC regular army, right?!"

"Monsters! Everyone in Dong Da Qu is a monster!"

"Where's the Prophet?! Where's the Alliance?! Help!!"

"Where is our leader?"

Amidst the chaos, someone tried to find the mainstay, only to discover that their own Lao Da's vehicle had long vanished.

Prophet Moxi had disappeared at some unknown time; perhaps he saw the situation turning bad and slipped away early, or perhaps he had already been sent heavenward by some unknown shell.

Defeat collapsed like a mountain.

Black Feather's warriors gave the enemy no chance to catch their breath.

Without command, without organization, Xi Da Qu players collapsed completely.

The engines of the surviving vehicles roared madly, attempting to flee this road turned purgatory, yet often, at the moment of turning or accelerating, they were ended by a howling rocket or an icy giant bolt.

Cheng Shuili stood in place, not moving an inch.

Before her, the black shield formation stood like the most loyal bastion, keeping stray bullets and clamor outside.

She merely watched calmly this one-sided crushing.

Firelight illuminated her clear eyes, within which there was not the slightest ripple.

Three minutes.

From the Piercing Cloud Arrow's launch to the complete silence of gunfire, only three minutes passed.

Even before this cross-region test ended, Black Feather's side had already completely finished the battle.

Gun smoke had not yet cleared, the smell of blood mingling with the scent of burning burnt stuff permeated the air.

The formerly noisy road was now a scene of wreckage, burning debris, scattered weapons, and player corpses not yet respawned, silently recounting the brief but brutal battle just past.

Black Feather's warriors had ceased firing and pursuit, everyone assuming a defensive stance, awaiting the end of this cross-region test.

Only when the cross-region test's countdown reached zero did all the tense Black Feather players finally let out a breath.

Gun smoke, blood, the smell of burning burnt stuff, together with the real feel of the ground beneath their feet, all became blurred and distant in an instant.

A halo began to envelop each person's body, the ripples of spatial distortion silently undulating.

The cross-region test ended, and the road should now shift.

Cheng Shuili finally glanced at this wrecked road battlefield, and at the debris traces being swiftly cleared by the system.

Her face showed little expression; she merely gave a slight nod to the black shield warriors standing solemnly beside her, and to Xinxue and others who had just lowered their rocket launchers and were now looking her way.

The next second, the scene flowed.

The halo faded, the distortion ripples settled.

All the battlefield's noise and chaos, as if wiped away instantly by an invisible hand.

On the wilderness road, the biting wind poured into the ears, carrying the scent of grass and dust.

Cheng Shuili stood in place, slightly narrowing her eyes to adapt to this abrupt tranquility.

Just a moment ago, the silent Black Shield Warriors like mountains still surrounded her, those flame-spewing rocket launchers, those roaring assault close-combat squads—all had vanished.

It seemed that the brief, bloody battle just now, a completely one-sided massacre, was merely a high-fidelity hallucination that she and Su Rui had jointly experienced.

The bodily sensations were real.

A faint hint of burnt smell still lingered in her nasal passages, and her eardrums faintly echoed the aftermath of the explosion.

Cheng Shuili Qing Qing inhaled a breath, then slowly exhaled.

She turned her head.

Her vehicle sat quietly a few meters away; in the cockpit, Su Rui still held the posture of aiming the crossbow, her back slightly bent, hands loosely clasped, eyes wide open, as if she had not yet fully come back from the sudden scene switch.

Her face still bore a trace of the hunter's focus and coldness that had not yet faded from locking onto a target.

Their gazes met in midair.

Su Rui blinked, blinked again, then suddenly relaxed her body, letting out a long "hah" of breath, that breath carrying the lingering fear of having survived, as well as a hint of incredulous excitement.

"Boss…" her voice a little hoarse, she cleared her throat before continuing, "Is it over?"

She gestured at the empty road around her, "Where are the Black Feather members?"

"They should have returned to their own roads." Cheng Shuili's voice calm, she walked over and opened the vehicle door, "The joint zone test is over; everyone just goes back to their own roads."

She had just sat back in the vehicle when the private chat reminder chimed.