Human Clan Defender

"Kill!"

Shen Changqing was completely immersed in slaughter. His blade, stained with blood, was no longer its original frosty white. The more he fought, the deeper his understanding of the Hundred Battles Blade Technique became. At the same time, a force of killing intent gradually coalesced, endowing his attacks with a menacing murderous aura.

WHOOSH—

A long spear struck, its powerful force making the Protective Gang Qi ripple. This force was entirely different from that of ordinary Barbarian Clan members. Shen Changqing didn't even look as he turned and slashed with his blade. The fierce blade wind burst forth, causing the complexion of a Barbarian Clan Commander of Ten Thousand to change drastically.

He wanted to retreat, but he was surrounded by Barbarians with no space to fall back. Therefore, he had no choice but to raise his long spear to block the seemingly terrifying slash.

BOOM!

The long blade descended, and the spear vibrated intensely. The Barbarian Clan Commander of Ten Thousand's hand split open; the long spear flew from his grasp and then struck him heavily, nearly breaking his bones.

Just as Shen Changqing was about to follow up with another slash, the attacks from the other Barbarians arrived. Although his Protective Gang Qi was powerful and impervious to ordinary Barbarian attacks, enduring too many would deplete it significantly. Considering this, he could only focus on dealing with the other Barbarians.

「 」

The battle continued without pause. Waves of Barbarians fell, becoming just more corpses underfoot. However, judging from their overall numbers, even though many had died, the Barbarian Clan hardly seemed to have diminished. As far as Shen Changqing could see, there were only Barbarians.

WHOOSH!

A slash cut through the air, a cold light burst forth, and several long spears snapped. Then, he blasted a palm strike onto a Barbarian. True Qi exploded, sending the Barbarian flying into several others behind him, all meeting a fate of shattered bones. Simultaneously, more attacks rained down, causing his Protective Gang Qi to dim significantly.

Indeed, ordinary Martial Artists have little effect against a large army. If trapped in a siege, it's only a matter of time before their True Qi is exhausted and they fall.

Shen Changqing remained calm. Although the Barbarian Clan Army hadn't noticeably dwindled, he felt no despair. By now, seventy to eighty percent of the robust True Qi in his Dantian had been consumed. He roughly estimated that he had killed at least two to three thousand Barbarians, if not ten thousand. The corpses littering the ground and the blood turning the earth muddy were testament to this.

However, two to three thousand Barbarians were negligible compared to an army of eighty thousand.

After slaughtering dozens more, the originally dim Protective Gang Qi finally shattered with a bang.

The shattering of his Protective Gang Qi instantly invigorated the Barbarians.

"The Protective Gang Qi is broken! Kill him!"

"Kill this Qin person!"

"Kill—"

The Barbarians, emboldened, attacked with even greater ferocity. They understood that for many Martial Artists, the Protective Gang Qi was their strongest defense. Once it shattered, a Martial Artist's demise wasn't far off.

At that moment, Shen Changqing took a jade bottle from his bosom, crushed it, grabbed the eight True Qi Pills inside, and swallowed them in one gulp. The Elixirs entered his stomach, and soon, powerful True Qi burst forth, significantly replenishing his drained Dantian. In the next breath, the shattered Protective Gang Qi rose again, freezing the smiles on the Barbarians' faces.

Amidst their astonishment, Shen Changqing struck again. A Blade Gang, over ten feet long, swept out. All Barbarians it touched exploded, and a rain of blood fell over the wilderness.

"Kill!!" Shen Changqing roared, his blood boiling, the Tiger Leopard Thunderous Roar echoing between Heaven and Earth. The Lengyue Blade, infused with powerful True Qi, trembled majestically, unleashing unprecedented sharpness.

Slice!

He took a step forward, his blade striking as if guided by instinct.

Effortlessly!

Shen Changqing moved like a fish weaving through water among the Barbarian horde, evading the torrent of attacks while his Lengyue Blade silently reaped their lives.

At this point, he had completely mastered the fourth layer of the Hundred Battles Blade Technique, which he had previously struggled to grasp. Even surrounded by tens of thousands of Barbarians packed so tightly there were no gaps, he could still navigate and slay.

During this, Shen Changqing crushed another bottle of True Qi Pills and swallowed the Elixirs.

According to Tang Hong, one True Qi Pill could replenish the entire True Qi of a mid-stage Pulse Condensation Martial Artist. Eight True Qi Pills could fully restore the True Qi of even an Innate Realm Martial Artist. However, Shen Changqing's Dantian capacity was far beyond that of an ordinary Innate Martial Artist; thus, swallowing all eight True Qi Pills only restored about thirty percent of his True Qi.

Thirty percent True Qi might seem plentiful, but it was insufficient for the fierce battles ahead. Having now consumed two consecutive bottles of True Qi Pills, along with his existing reserves, his True Qi was finally restored to around eighty percent.

"Damn it!" Mairba, who had been continuously observing the battle, couldn't help but curse. Shen Changqing's Protective Gang Qi had already been broken, yet the man had managed to replenish his energy by swallowing an Elixir.

By now, the number of their warriors who had sacrificed themselves was not small. Although this number might seem insignificant compared to the entire Barbarian Clan Army, losing several thousand warriors just to surround and kill one man was a substantial loss. Originally, Shen Changqing's True Qi was nearly exhausted, which should have meant he was at the end of his rope. To their utter surprise, however, he was carrying Elixirs.

"There's no need to worry, Commander Mairba," the Priest reassured him. "Even if he carries Elixirs, how many can he possibly store? With the strength of our army, grinding him to death is not a problem at all."

The Priest was also very concerned about Shen Changqing's fate. After all, to some extent, the Priest Hall had already laid claim to this corpse. Even if Mairba was reluctant to hand it over, with the Priest Hall's power, acquiring the body wouldn't be much of an issue. Within the Barbarian Clan, the Priest Hall held a Transcendent status, and any Priest enjoyed high standing. For instance, although Mairba was the commander of the one hundred and twenty thousand strong army, the accompanying Priest's status wasn't much lower than his.

"Let's hope so!" Mairba said, turning to look at the Priest beside him. "Gurna, you come from the Priest Hall. I've heard the Priest Hall wields the power of curses. Are you confident you can curse this man to death?"

"No," Gurna, the Priest, promptly shook his head. "Curse techniques require an item belonging to the target. Furthermore, the stronger the Martial Artist, the harder they are to curse. With my power, even if all conditions are met, I can at most curse a Martial Artist at the Innate Outer Gang level. This man has already reached the Tiger Leopard Thunderous Roar stage; it's impossible to curse him. Unless—a High Priest takes action."

Curse techniques had many limitations and were not easy to use. Gurna had no confidence in cursing Shen Changqing, let alone succeeding; he suspected he might even die from the curse's backlash.

After explaining, Gurna added helplessly, "The Priest Hall sent me to assist you, Commander Mairba. If even you cannot deal with such a powerful enemy, there's little I can do."

"I understand," Mairba replied coldly and fell silent. He now saw that the person sent by the Priest Hall was utterly useless. It was bad enough he hadn't helped during the siege; now, he couldn't even curse one man. From start to finish, his only contribution had been divination.

However, Mairba also knew that while Gurna claimed to be assisting him, he was actually sent by the Priest Hall to supervise. Within the Barbarian Clan, imperial and divine power were not clearly separated. Mairba's lineage represented imperial power, while Gurna's belonged to the divine. The combination of these two systems had allowed the Barbarian Clan to endure.

"Bring me my bow!" Mairba suddenly ordered.

At his command, someone immediately brought forward a great bow and a golden arrow, which had been recovered by other Barbarian Clan members after the fall of Jincheng.

Holding the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other, Mairba took a couple of deep breaths. He silently circulated his True Qi, bringing his body to its current peak state. Then, he nocked the arrow and slowly drew the bowstring. As the bowstring grew taut, veins bulged on his arms like writhing dragons. The surge of True Qi sent sharp pains through his burn-damaged meridians, causing his face to twitch. Enduring the discomfort, Mairba aimed at Shen Changqing, who was still fighting amidst the army. After a long moment, he released his fingers. The golden arrow shot forth like a streak of light.

「 」

Surrounded by the army, Shen Changqing's mind suddenly jolted as a sense of foreboding washed over him. Before he could react, his Protective Gang Qi was forcibly torn apart by a powerful force, and he was heavily struck.

PFFT!

The arrow penetrated his flesh but didn't go deep; his muscles clamped firmly around it. Shen Changqing's face darkened. With his left hand, he grasped the arrow shaft and yanked it out forcefully. The arrow detached from his shoulder, and blood immediately poured out. However, not much blood flowed before the wound forcibly clotted.

At this moment, the other Barbarians' attacks arrived. Shen Changqing forcefully flung the arrow in his hand; it shot out like a streak of light, instantly piercing through more than a dozen Barbarians. Then, his Lengyue Blade swept out, snapping all incoming spears in half.

In the next breath, a formidable aura erupted from him. His long blade slashed down, tearing several Barbarians apart. As blood splattered, Shen Changqing once again took out two more bottles of True Qi Pills from his bosom and swallowed them. Instantly, the depleted True Qi in his Dantian was greatly replenished.

There aren't many True Qi Pills left! He had started with only ten bottles of True Qi Pills and had already consumed six; only four remained. Moreover, he only carried True Qi Pills; all other Elixirs had been left behind at Tianyi Tower.

Looking ahead, the Barbarians still seemed endless, as if their ranks could never be diminished no matter how many he killed.