Madman!

Chapter 34: War Begins

The foot soldiers dragged the half-dead Lidong runner out of the alley and tossed him into the open.

"Boss!" The runner's face was a mangled mess of blood and torn flesh. The moment he spotted Wen Long, he crawled desperately toward him.

"Send a few more people to help — there's over a dozen in there. Drag them all out!" Shark Jiu tilted her head slightly.

"There are still some... two more around the bend in the alley..." Chen Wujun pointed in the direction.

One by one, bodies drenched in blood were hauled out and dumped to the side, creating a visceral tableau of carnage.

The scene reeked of violence and death.

People on both sides craned their necks to look, and a restless murmur rippled through the crowd.

Even those who hadn't known Chen Wujun before would remember his name after tonight.

Ji Xiang, Cun Bao, and Ah Hao all studied Chen Wujun from head to toe.

Though he'd wiped himself down, broad smears of dried blood still clung stubbornly to his body — marks of the brutal fight he'd just survived.Wen Long's expression was dark enough to wring water from, and he growled through clenched teeth:

"Check them — who's alive and who's dead!"

Two Lidong men hurried over to examine the bodies on the ground. Their faces shifted through a rapid succession of emotions before one of them stood, shot a furious glare at Chen Wujun, then rushed to Wen Long's side and whispered:

"Boss... only one's still breathing. The rest are all dead. Whoever did this was vicious — most of them were stabbed straight through the throat."

"Good. Very good!" Wen Long seethed, murderous fury blazing in his eyes as he looked directly at Chen Wujun for the first time.

"Of course it's good. You sent twelve men to ambush Wujun — quite the grand production. Eleven of them got put down. That's Wujun proving his worth, showing what he's capable of." Shark Jiu sneered with a mocking laugh.

Astonishment swept through the onlookers. Foot soldiers whispered to each other, then stretched their necks trying to get a better look at Chen Wujun — eager to lay eyes on the man ruthless enough to pull that off.

The expressions on some of Ji Xiang's subordinates were particularly telling.

"We'll settle this score later!" Wen Long spat coldly.

"Bring our people. We're leaving!"

"There won't be a later. I told you before — touch him, and I'd flay you alive!" Shark Jiu's lips peeled back into a dangerous, savage grin.

"Shark Jiu, you want a war?" Wen Long demanded, his face like carved ice.

"I don't want a war — you're the one who broke the rules!" Shark Jiu bared her shark-like teeth. She'd been waiting for precisely this moment.

She'd wanted to shatter the uneasy peace between them and expand her territory for a long time, but the right opportunity had never presented itself.

If she'd been the one to break their unspoken truce first, Hetu's internal factions might not have backed her.

But now it was Wen Long who'd broken the rules first.

"Besides... did you think I was just blowing hot air?"

"Tonight, I'm flaying you alive!"

Shark Jiu's face split into a feral grin. "Nobody leaves!"

Ji Xiang, Ah Hao, Cun Bao, and every foot soldier behind them reached back and drew blades from beneath their clothes.

Wen Long, standing across the divide, hadn't been able to see it, but anyone behind Shark Jiu's line could tell — every single one of her people had come armed.

When Wen Long saw the flash of steel, his face drained of color. His men shuffled with rising panic behind him.

"Cut them down!" Cun Bao roared, hefting his blade and charging forward.

Sixty or seventy fighters surged out behind Shark Jiu, blades in hand, pouring forward like a wave.

"Shark Jiu, you think I'm afraid of you?!" Wen Long bellowed.

"Get them!"

Wen Long's foot soldiers surged forward to meet them.

The two forces collided on Lung Tsun Road like two raging rivers crashing together, distinct and merciless.

"Kill!"

Cun Bao was blindingly fast. A single kick launched one man airborne, bowling over two or three behind him, and his blade carved through another two or three in rapid succession.

A staff whistled toward him from the side. Cun Bao raised his blade to block, and the impact rattled through his arm, numbing his palm, nearly knocking the weapon from his grip.

Cun Bao whipped his head around and saw a long-haired man standing a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, built like a bull.

"Niu Xiong!"

The two had bad blood between them already. The sight of his old enemy made Cun Bao abandon everything else, and the two locked into a vicious duel.

Ah Hao, meanwhile, clashed with one of Wen Long's New Arts experts.

Chen Wujun watched from a distance. The carnage before him sent blood pounding through his veins.

But he didn't charge in.

He had no strength left.

And he didn't dare put any force through his left wrist.

Even with medicinal salve, it would need days to heal.

He glanced sideways at Shark Jiu. Her eyes were bright, the corners of her mouth turned up — she was relishing the chaos and bloodshed.

The crash of blades against staves rang out without pause, punctuated by screams and groans of pain, yet not a soul retreated.

Shark Jiu's people had come prepared; Wen Long's forces had double the numbers.

Bodies slick with blood dropped to the ground at irregular intervals.

Chen Wujun's gaze settled on Wen Long and several conspicuous fighters scattered through the melee. Wen Long stood steady at the center, while those elite fighters moved with a speed, power, and reaction time that no ordinary foot soldier could match. Regular runners couldn't even slow them down — they cut through the ranks like hot knives through butter.

Chen Wujun estimated their magnetic field enhancement was above forty percent — Resonance Phase New Arts practitioners whose physical capabilities were several times beyond a normal person's, with reaction speeds that left ordinary men in the dust.

That was precisely why the elites on both sides paired off against each other.

Below them were lesser New Arts practitioners — even those at the mere perception level with enhancement below twenty-five percent were a clear cut above ordinary foot soldiers. And those past the twenty-five percent threshold in the Initial Construction Phase had physical abilities double that of a normal person.

These were the real backbone of any fighting force.

Of Shark Jiu's hundred-plus fighters, the thirty-odd New Arts practitioners formed the true core.

Chen Wujun's ambush earlier tonight had included three New Arts practitioners among the assailants, and they'd been far more troublesome than the regular thugs.

Still, even New Arts practitioners had to stay cautious in a chaotic melee like this — one moment of carelessness and a flurry of wild blades could end them.

Only Resonance Phase practitioners with enhancement above forty percent, whose neural pathways had begun optimization, could truly move through a brawl like this with ease, cutting through enemies like paper.

'This is the value of talent. When I have my own operations and my own power base someday, I'll need to cultivate plenty of experts too!' Chen Wujun watched the swirling battle ahead while the thought crystallized in his mind.

But seeing that even Shark Jiu only had fighters of that caliber in Ji Xiang, Cun Bao, and Ah Hao, he knew such elites weren't easy to develop.

Five minutes later, war cries erupted from alleys on both flanks. Dozens of fighters carrying blades poured out from both sides, converging on Wen Long's men.

Leading the charge was Flower Boy Rong.

This fresh force drove in from the flank like a steel wedge. With Flower Boy Rong at the point smashing through everything in his path, Lidong's lines instantly dissolved into chaos, and their men began to scatter.

That was when Shark Jiu moved.

Her foot slammed the ground, and she launched herself toward the crowd like a bullet.

"Wen Long!"

Chen Wujun instantly locked his full attention on her. Shark Jiu plunged into the mass of fighters, and every Lidong runner who stood in her way was sent flying at the slightest touch.

She wasn't using Wolf Fist. She fought with palms and elbows.

A blood-crazed Lidong runner swung his blade at her. Shark Jiu pivoted on one foot and materialized behind him, driving her elbow backward into his body. The man rocketed off his feet.

Wen Long watched her approach through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

"Shark Jiu!"

Wen Long exploded forward with a single step, the stone beneath his foot shattering with a thunderous crack. His fist hurtled toward Shark Jiu with terrifying velocity.

Just from the stance behind that punch, Chen Wujun's eyebrows shot up.

'That punch carries at least five hundred kilograms of force!'

Even from dozens of meters away, he could feel the sheer menace of that blow. Blocking it head-on would be impossible.

Shark Jiu twisted her body, ducking beneath the fist and slipping to Wen Long's flank. Simultaneously, her hand whipped toward his chin like a steel lash.

The strike cracked through the air like a whip.

Wen Long snapped his upper body backward, and Shark Jiu's lash cut through empty air. But her hand flowed seamlessly downward into a claw, raking straight toward his face.

Wen Long threw himself backward over three meters, the glasses perched on his nose gone, his eyes wide with lingering terror.

Had he been a heartbeat slower, Shark Jiu would have gouged his eyes right out of their sockets.

But the instant Wen Long retreated, Shark Jiu was already on him, pressing forward step after relentless step.

Wen Long threw a rapid-fire barrage of punches, each one explosive with fury.

Shark Jiu's palm flicked sideways, deflecting his fist off its trajectory. Her body spun, and in a blink she was behind him, her backhand driving a palm strike toward his spine.

Wen Long felt her vanish from his sight and knew instantly he was in danger. He kicked off the ground and lunged forward, but the backhand still grazed his shoulder blade, leaving a searing burn of pain.

'Senior Sister's technique is beautiful. Her feet never show their soles — it looks like Mud-Wading Step, but different from the Snake Step used in Wolf Fist. Far more complex. She moves like a swimming dragon, plucking opponents apart like picking flowers!' Chen Wujun watched from afar, mesmerized.

After just two exchanges with Shark Jiu, Wen Long had come out worse both times. His confidence crumbled, and he didn't dare continue fighting.

By now, his men were scattering as well.

Wen Long suddenly broke sideways, clearly trying to flee.

"Running? It won't be that easy! I told you — tonight I'm flaying you alive!" Shark Jiu's cold laugh followed him as she gave chase.

Just as she was about to catch him, Wen Long planted one foot and slid the other back, wrenching himself to a dead stop. One arm swept behind him like a tiger's tail lashing out.

His other hand curled into a claw and raked toward Shark Jiu's face.

Shark Jiu was hurtling toward Wen Long with momentum carrying her forward, and the claw was upon her in an instant.

Even as the words had left her lips, Shark Jiu threw her body into a sharp backward lean. Her hand seized for Wen Long's arm while her right foot snapped straight up from below, driving toward Wen Long's throat in a silent, lethal arc.

This Phoenix Throwing into Nest kick was soundless and invisible — had it connected, it would have crushed Wen Long's windpipe on the spot.

Wen Long jerked backward to dodge the kick, and his other hand shot out in a claw aimed at Shark Jiu's foot.

If that claw connected, it would tear a strip of flesh clean off her ankle.

But Shark Jiu flipped backward, and her other leg suddenly lashed up, slamming into Wen Long's abdomen. He staggered back seven or eight steps before he could arrest his momentum, then doubled over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Shark Jiu landed from her backflip with feline grace and taunted: "You dare show off that third-rate tiger fist?"

"Retreat!" Wen Long clenched his jaw and bolted.

Shark Jiu moved to pursue, but a flash of steel cut across her path — one of Wen Long's New Arts experts had appeared from the side, bringing a blade down in a vicious arc.

Shark Jiu snapped backward just in time.

The man's single slash bought Wen Long a heartbeat's head start, and then he turned to run himself.

That momentary delay only made the killing intent in Shark Jiu's eyes burn hotter. She surged forward, closing the distance to his back in an instant, and her palm chopped toward his neck.

The Lidong New Arts expert spun with a desperate slash, but Shark Jiu twisted and pivoted into his guard, crashing into his chest. Her palm shot upward, smashing into the underside of his chin.

His entire body lifted over a meter off the ground, his neck stretching grotesquely. By the time he hit the pavement, he made no sound at all.

First, Wen Long had been routed after just a few exchanges with Shark Jiu.

Then a New Arts expert — roughly on par with Cun Bao, Ji Xiang, and Ah Hao, a man who had been cutting through the melee like an unstoppable force — was killed by Shark Jiu in a single strike.

Her power was nothing short of terrifying.

By the time Shark Jiu looked to chase Wen Long again, he had already disappeared into the distance.

The rest of Lidong's forces were scattering and fleeing in every direction.

Shark Jiu turned her gaze toward Chen Wujun. He strode quickly to her side.

"Fei, Curry — take some men and go with Wujun. Seize every one of Wen Long's gambling dens."

"Everyone else — pursue! Break them apart and take every inch of Wen Long's territory!"