Chapter 388: Letting You Have Three Moves

The Manzhou Tribe is a branch of the Human race, living on the northeastern frontier of Zhendan. Their numbers are not large, but every one of them is brave and skilled in battle. The Manzhou people's Shamanism worships nature, animals, and ancestors, which is very similar to Kislev.

The relationship between the Manzhou people and Zhendan is distant and fickle; during the internal strife of the Dragons and several major invasions by Chaos, they crossed the Changyuan to pillage the south, while whenever Zhendan wanted to conquer them, the cold and terrain outside the pass would protect them.

Speaking of this Hailanzhu, she was born with the mark of the Shamanic god Tengger, and at her coming-of-age ceremony, she received the recognition of the Langxian. With her extraordinary strength and capability, she quickly unified the Manzhou Eight Banners.

Hailanzhu then confidently led her troops south, and at the height of her military power, she almost captured Aomeng Pass, the easternmost of the three passes of the Changyuan. But the Governor of Weibei Liesheng, who arrived in time, used a swift and violent counterattack to make her understand what a gap in strength meant.

Having witnessed the true might of the Dragon, Hailanzhu chose to submit, and one as arrogant as Miaoying also realized the value of her and the Manzhou Tribe, taking them under her command. The Changyuan stretches for thousands of miles; even a Longnü who wields wind and thunder could not guard it alone.

"I hear your hammer is incredibly fierce; this lady would like to learn a thing or two!"

Sinuoli chuckled inwardly upon hearing this, just as he had expected. Because Hailanzhu had lived outside the pass for a long time and had no record of direct combat with top-ranked experts, her fourth-place ranking as a wildcard was derived by the Hundred-Knowing Tower through various indirect references and analyses.

Although this intelligence agency claimed its deductions were objective enough, all parties still held disputes over it. Zhendan experts felt there was no reason for a barbarian woman to ride on top of them like this, and all the Manzhou people, including Hailanzhu, thought this fourth place was still too low.

"Hahaha! I am unworthy of such high regard, young lady. However, this Storm Hammer—your small frame cannot take it. It is better not to learn, lest it harm our harmony." Sinuoli was all smiles, but the words he spoke made the Manzhou people opposite him turn livid with rage.

"How arrogant!"

"You little runt, aren't you afraid of choking on your own words!"

"Who are you trying to belittle here?"

"If you're a man, then fight a good battle; if you're a coward, then quickly step aside and give this second place to this lady!"

The subordinates cursed in their dialect, and Hailanzhu raised her willow-leaf eyebrows, pressing her hand on her waist saber as she moved toward Sinuoli. Although most of the Dwarfs could not understand their language, they still shouted and jeered just the same.

"I don't have the habit of hitting women, but if you strongly insist, it's not impossible to give you this chance. How about this: I will stand still and let you attack three times. If you can't even break my defense, then let's just call it a day."

"For real?"

"A Son of the Mountains will never break his word."

Watching Sinuoli's determined expression, two veins bulged on the hand Hailanzhu held on her saber hilt. The Dwarf opposite looked young, but according to rumors, he must be a hundred years old; he was not a frivolous fellow.

"Fine, then this lady will weigh your capabilities. Give me a sign when you're ready!"

The Saibei Sky Wolf did not build such a great reputation by relying on the indecisiveness common to women. She bit her silver teeth, took a round drum painted with the patterns of various gods from her guards, and a striking object that looked like both a hammer and a whip.

"Boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom, clatter!"

"Feet tread the earth, head touches the sky, take long strides in a continuous chain. Feet stand firm relying on the camp, raise the whip and beat the drum to invite the immortals.

"

The female shaman beat an eerie rhythm on the drum, and her feet were not idle either, jumping back and forth with exaggerated movements as if mimicking the posture of an animal, while she muttered incantations.

A moment later, the tattoos on her face seemed to come alive, beginning to twist and spread. Looking at the woman's fixed pupils, Sinuoli could clearly feel a power that did not belong to her being projected from afar.

"Is there a need to be so troublesome? I'm still waiting to settle down and eat dinner!"

Amidst the exclamations of the Humans passing by on the street, Sinuoli's height increased sharply, transforming into a giant stone statue. Such an abrupt transformation made the hearts of the Manzhou people behind Hailanzhu skip a beat.

"Whoosh!"

"Creak, creak!"

Hailanzhu took down the large bow from her back. Looking closely, the bow body seemed to be made of beast bone, and the bowstring was not an ordinary object either. She nocked a long arrow glowing with a ghostly light, gathered her Qi and focused her mind; even with borrowed external power, drawing this bow seemed very difficult.

"Swish!"

The bowstring was pulled to the full, and the arrow dragged a stream of light and a sound of tearing air straight toward Sinuoli's chest. The female general did not sit and wait for it to succeed, but kicked the ground with her long legs and moved.

"Clack! Clack!"

The power from the Shamanic gods strengthened Hailanzhu's body in many ways; her speed was extremely fast, and the distance of tens of meters was covered in an instant. The waist saber hitting his neck was almost synchronized with the arrow hitting his chest.

"Is that all you've got!"

The stone statue stood straight, laughing with a booming sound. The Heart of the Mountains armor was pulled tight against his body. The activation of two Master-class runes made the originally plain-looking black armor reveal streaks of gold thread.

"Bang!"

As soon as she felt the vibration coming back from the blade, Hailanzhu knew this strike had not succeeded. She performed a beautiful backflip to open up the distance; although Sinuoli promised to stand still, no experienced warrior would base their safety on whether an enemy kept their word.

"Sturdy enough!"

Hailanzhu's voice fluctuated between male and female. She grabbed the divine drum that had just been set aside and began to perform the shaman dance again.

"First drum ends, second drum begins, second drum rises to invite the Langxian. The old immortal is to descend from the high mountains, I, the assisting soldier, will first call open the Changyuan Pass for you.

"

"This is to have their Langxian possess her again. Good fellow, why does it feel somewhat similar to Ulric? This one is quite meddlesome!"

Watching the wolf-head phantom gradually condensing behind Hailanzhu's head, Sinuoli muttered to himself. Legend has it that every brick and stone of the Changyuan was shaped by the Azure Dragon, fired by the Torch Dragon, and blessed by the Steel Dragon. It has a certain weakening effect on alien powers; it is not so easy to invite gods from outside the pass to possess one in Nangao City.

"Ding!"

The wolf head became increasingly solid, and the momentum was also rising continuously. The onlookers attracted by this duel moved aside a large area behind Sinuoli to avoid being accidentally injured by the escaping energy. Sinuoli did not dare to be careless and applied the Steel and Oath rune to himself for extra protection.

"Take this arrow!"

She threw down the ritual implement and grabbed the long bow. The Langxian phantom lunged fiercely onto the bow; in an instant, the bow opened like a full moon, and the arrow shot like a meteor, flying straight toward the stone statue.

"Sizzle!"

The arrow transformed by the Langxian phantom struck directly on the large gemstone on the chest of the armor. The small wolf head opened its mouth wide, trying to gnaw through Sinuoli's defense.

"If your true self were here, perhaps you could say something, hmph!"

After a few breaths, this energy arrow was ultimately rootless water and gradually weakened. The stone statue smiled slightly, raised its hand, and slapped downward, striking it into fragments of light with a 'pop'.