Chapter 74: None Dare Respond
“Me?”
Chen Linchuan looked at Jiang Ten charging toward him and couldn’t help but sneer. “So I was underestimated after all.”
Though he spoke with disdain, Chen Linchuan’s expression was extremely grave.
No matter how arrogant one might be, seeing Jiang Ten slay Zhou Ye while surrounded by the crowd would make anyone face such a terrifying opponent with utmost caution.
In the past, Chen Linchuan had read in historical records about warriors seizing enemy generals’ heads amidst thousands of troops, and he always believed those were merely Messengers overwhelming ordinary mortals. Between equally matched strengths, how could such disparity exist? But starting today, he might need to change his old beliefs.
“Jiang Ten, if you had grown further, perhaps you could have become the one-against-ten-thousand of the Liang Kingdom!” Chen Linchuan swung his greatsword to counter Jiang Ten’s assault. “But you no longer have that chance. You’re too arrogant, arrogant to the point this world has no place left to hold you.”
“You stand against the Court, against the noble clans—everyone on this land is your enemy!”
“If this is the result you desire, then die satisfied!”
Chen Linchuan attempted to shake Jiang Ten’s resolve with words, trying to provoke her into refuting him, so as to buy time until the Legendary Token expired. However, Jiang Ten remained as silent as a gravestone, her hands steady as a mountain, her blade swift as lightning. Even the calmest warrior Chen Linchuan had ever seen would appear immature and impulsive before her.
His spirit energy was nearly depleted. Chen Linchuan stepped back and drew out a Spirit Jade from the storage token—
Crack!
Jiang Ten’s blade light fell. Though it didn’t pierce through the Heartguard Mirror’s shield, the Power of Calamity was enough to shatter the Spirit Jade!
At that moment, Chen Linchuan knew he was in danger.
Unlike Zhou Ye, he had to wield his greatsword with both hands, so the act of retrieving a Spirit Jade was extremely conspicuous. Jiang Ten, who had been watching him closely, wouldn’t give him such an opening. He could no longer stall for time using Spirit Jade and defensive tokens as he did earlier.
Half his spirit energy remained. Jiang Ten’s Legendary Token seemed to have a quarter of its time left. What came next—
Would be a clash between life and death.
Jie Zilong noticed that Chen Linchuan had changed his combat style—no longer playing it safe, but charging forward with fierce determination to engage Jiang Ten directly. A brief thought told him the reason, and he called out, “Chen Linchuan, I’ll create an opening for you—”
“There’s no such opening,” said Chen Linchuan. “Jiang Ten won’t give us that kind of chance. Running would only bring shame and is utterly meaningless.”
"Honestly, we've already lost all our dignity. A group of Third-Stage Messengers forced to such a state." He couldn't help but sigh. "Don’t worry, I’m the steel fortress of the Chen Family—how could I possibly fall here?"
Chen Linchuan was not exaggerating. Unlike the others, his token Long River Greatsword inherently possessed a defensive effect. The fiercer his attacks, the less damage he took from enemies—bearing an uncanny similarity to Jiang Ten’s blade light. He had always been the type to balance offense and defense. It was only because of the terrifying aura Jiang Ten exuded when she activated her Legendary Token that Chen Linchuan, unaware of the details, had prioritized defense.
Now that his fighting spirit had been ignited by Jiang Ten, Chen Linchuan only grew more fluid in battle. He even felt the long-immovable bottleneck beginning to crack, as his greatsword technique approached a new peak. Indeed, battling countless lesser foes could never compare to clashing with a true expert.
Judging by the current situation, Jiang Ten’s Legendary Token would expire before his spirit energy ran dry. Chen Linchuan believed that as long as he fought steadily, Jiang Ten would have no chance at all.
However, he wasn’t the only one improving during the fight.
After battling a Third-Stage Messenger for so long, and with the comprehension granted by the Woodland Kin, Jiang Ten’s blade technique finally underwent a qualitative transformation. Her blade suddenly split into three shadows, and the blade light likewise divided into three segments, instantly shattering the remaining half of Chen Linchuan’s Heartguard Mirror barrier!
"Shadow-Split Blade!"
"A secret technique!"
Jie Zilong and Shang Yue cried out in unison, disbelief all over their faces.
Secret Technique: Shadow-Split Blade—one of the strongest secret techniques for Blade Messengers. Its effect was brutal yet practical: it turned a single attack into three!
But a secret technique... many Second-Stage Messengers might never master one in their entire lives. Even for the two of them, it had taken years of instruction from their family elders after their Second Job Change to learn such techniques, and it had cost them no less than three years.
And Jiang Ten had only just undergone her Second Job Change today!
Any secret technique could greatly amplify the power of a token. With this insight, Jiang Ten had already gained the qualification to kill a Third-Stage Messenger!
Once the Heartguard Mirror shattered, it would take at least five seconds to reform. When Chen Linchuan saw Jiang Ten's triple-shadow blade, he knew one of his feet had stepped into the underworld.
Death.
Am I going to die?
All the sounds from the outside world disappeared. It felt as if only black, white, and the blood-red image of Jiang Ten remained in this world. Chen Linchuan could hear his own heavy breathing, the thumping of his heart, the flow of blood through his veins, even the sound of his hands gripping the sword hilt.
His mind was void of fear, void of the shame of being defeated by a ‘weaker’ opponent, void of the unwillingness a ‘stronger’ one might feel—only the moments and seconds of him wielding the greatsword over decades remained.
He recalled a supreme greatsword secret technique that was rumored to be passed down from the outer regions—neutralizing enemy attacks by striking at the weakest point of their trajectory, even throwing them off balance or forcing them to drop their weapon. He had practiced it once, but always considered it pure fantasy. After all, the greatsword was the most unwieldy of weapons. How could it possibly achieve such precision?
But now, he believed he could do it.
He could do it.
He had to do it!
Chen Linchuan took a deep breath, dragging his greatsword upward in a sweeping slash toward Jiang Ten! If all went as expected, Jiang Ten’s long blade would clash with the greatsword—whether she lost balance or her blade was knocked away, Chen Linchuan would have enough time to reform the Heartguard Mirror!
Secret Technique: Mutual-Kill Slash!
He had succeeded. Under the immense threat of death, he had comprehended a new secret technique, pushing his potential to its utmost limit!
But at that moment, Jiang Ten leapt into the air, narrowly evading the greatsword’s Mutual-Kill Slash.
Because after using the Legendary Token, she had seldom dodged attacks—so much so that Chen Linchuan had forgotten… she was the Battle Champion who had rendered them helpless relying on dodging alone!
"A last-minute technique like that… how could it ever work on me?"
Jiang Ten stepped lightly onto the blade of the greatsword, as graceful as a flying swallow.
She swung the Bingzi Pepper Forest downward in a slash, and Chen Linchuan’s headless corpse crashed to the ground.
Unlike Zhou Ye’s death—if Zhou Ye had fallen like a sudden thunderclap, then Chen Linchuan's demise was like the torrential downpour that followed. It was an expected outcome, yet also a bone-chilling reality.
No one in the camp dared speak. All stared blankly at the scene, covering their mouths tightly, as though afraid of drawing Jiang Ten’s gaze and being casually cut down by her.
By now, Shang Yue and Jie Zilong were already numb. Even though the orange-red glow of the Legendary Token on Jiang Ten’s body was about to dissipate, they couldn’t summon even a shred of will to resist—much less step forward to tangle with her.
Jiang Ten ignored them and instead strode toward Qun Yushu, who was sitting on the grass to rest. In order to maintain the shared-damage state among the group, he couldn’t move far and could only watch helplessly as Jiang Ten approached.
"Now," Qun Yushu gave a bitter, feeble smile. "Can we make peace?"
Jiang Ten raised her blade and slashed down.
With a snapping sound, Qun Yushu’s right hand fell to the ground. He seemed to have a healing token, stopping the wound immediately. It was clear from his cold sweat that the pain was intense, but his expression relaxed as if he had just narrowly escaped death.
Jiang Ten gave her blade a twirl and flung it sideways, drawing a bloody line across the grass.
"Now, does anyone else wish to oppose me?"
The orange-red glow of the Legendary Token completely faded from her body, but the camp remained silent. Among the hundreds of people, not a single one spoke.
None dared respond.