Chapter 242: Chapter 175 Shooting Dead
A long howl, unleashed by Chen Ku with his current Qi Power, echoed through the area, spanning hundreds of yards.
Instantly, after a barrage of Divine Force Crossbow bolts, everyone in the various courtyards of Medicine King Hall understood the reason behind the thunderous noise.
"Firewood Iron Shop!"
"It’s Firewood Iron Shop!"
"Firewood Iron Shop is attacking!!"
Inside Medicine King Hall, apprentices and workers in every courtyard rushed out of the large dormitory-style yards, looking outside. In the direction of the many small courtyards in the rear, where the hall’s upper echelons resided, countless plumes of dust, wood splinters, and flames were already erupting into the sky!
"The Shopkeepers’ and master craftsmen’s courtyards are under attack!" Zhang Erniu, who had shared a large dormitory room with Chen Ku in earlier years, shouted, "Hurry and help!"
Over the past half-year, as Chen Ku rapidly ascended in rank, Zhang Erniu, through diligent and unremitting practice, had also successfully transitioned to a full ’Apprentice’, earning the right to stay at Medicine King Hall.
For ordinary people like Zhang Erniu, at a time like this when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact; it was clear that this was a deadly clash between two great powers, leaving no other recourse!
In an instant, apprentices from every courtyard grabbed sticks, knives, and bows from beside the walls, swarming towards the smaller courtyards where Chen Ku and the other high-ranking members resided, ready to gather their strength and repel the enemy.
RUMBLE~~~
Amidst the rubble and dust of numerous collapsed courtyards, Yang Luochen and the three Shopkeepers stood up from the ruins.
A Divine Force Crossbow bolt had grazed Yang Luochen’s shoulder, tearing away a large piece of flesh, but he immediately turned to look at the three Shopkeepers behind him, asking, "Is everyone alright?"
Behind him, Qin Sifan, Zhang Yuanhai, and Cao Shouxiong also had various bloody scrapes, but none had been directly hit by an arrow. It seemed they had only been grazed by debris from shattered stones and wood when the crossbow bolts pierced the walls.
Cao Shouxiong quickly wiped the blood from a scratch on his face and replied, "Nothing serious, thanks to Elder Yang pushing us away at the crucial moment, otherwise..."
As it turned out, the four of them had been in a private meeting in Store Manager Qin Sifan’s courtyard all night and hadn’t been asleep.
Therefore, when Yang Luochen sensed the sound of crossbow bolts whizzing through the air from outside the courtyard, he had immediately kicked over the table, using it to shove the three men opposite him out of harm’s way. Then, he spun around and threw a lightning-fast punch towards the wall from which the arrows originated. His fist wind surged outwards, covering a radius of several yards, directly intercepting the twenty Divine Force Crossbow bolts aimed at their small courtyard.
However, the instant the bolts pierced the wall, Yang Luochen felt the terrifying force they carried. These were no ordinary assassination arrows; they were the Daji Dynasty’s most dreadful state-manufactured weapon of war—the Divine Force Crossbow!
Precisely because he hadn’t instinctively expected Divine Force Crossbow bolts, the fist wind from his punch only managed to deflect a few bolts directly in front of him; others continued onward, unaffected.
Even as a practitioner of the Five Internal Strong Realm, Yang Luochen reacted with incredible speed. He executed an exquisite movement technique to dodge most of the Divine Force Crossbow bolts. Nevertheless, one grazed his shoulder, tearing away a fist-sized chunk of flesh!
At the same time, he also heard Chen Ku’s long howl.
It’s my disciple! He’s alright!
Seeing he had only sustained a flesh wound while successfully protecting the three Shopkeepers, and then hearing Chen Ku’s vigorous howl, Yang Luochen felt a great weight lift from his heart.
But at that moment, a tragic and indignant shout echoed from the direction of the Hundred Herbs Courtyard, "Elder Nong! Elder Nong is dead!"
Hearing this, the expressions of Yang Luochen and the three Shopkeepers changed drastically. Nong Baosen, the master craftsman of the Hundred Herbs Courtyard, was also one of Medicine King Hall’s most treasured High-Level Alchemists.
"Brother Nong!" Yang Luochen roared.
He immediately scanned in all directions, his angry bellow shaking the entire Ten Li Street, "You curs from Firewood Iron Shop, get out here! Come and face me head-on! Xie Qingfeng! Get out here now!"
The Inner Qi of a Five Internal Strong master, infused into his voice, jolted awake every household along North Street of Baojiao County. Instantly, oil lamps flickered on in shops and residences, one after another. The merchants and common folk on the street ran to their windows in terror, peeking through the cracks towards Medicine King Hall, the giant power at the end of their street.
"Firewood Iron Shop and Medicine King Hall are fighting!"
"It’s a midnight war!"
"The three giants have finally erupted into a battle to the death!"
"Heavens, Baojiao County is finally about to change! Who will be the one left standing...?"
...
HUFF~
Meanwhile, on various rooftops along North Street, four or five li from Medicine King Hall, Xie Qingfeng, dressed in green, watched coldly as the Medicine King Hall courtyards collapsed under the first volley of Divine Force Crossbows. He had also heard the tragic cry from within Medicine King Hall.
Such a pity.
Xie Qingfeng’s eyes were merciless. Twenty Divine Force Crossbows had been aimed at the small courtyards where Medicine King Hall’s upper echelons resided. These were timed precisely for the dead of night, when everyone was assumed to be sound asleep. With the first volley, he estimated he could eliminate two or three of Medicine King Hall’s Fourth Realm master craftsmen, and ideally, kill Yang Luochen unnoticed in his sleep.
For this reason, he had arranged for five Divine Force Crossbows to target Yang Luochen’s courtyard specifically. These were loaded with a total of fifty bolts. Five Third Realm experts from Firewood Iron Shop aimed them, ensuring each bolt fired would carry the force of a Thousand-Jun.