Chapter 169: Sword Master?

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Sword Master?

Zhang Yun wore a handsome suit, but right now, it was completely drenched in blood. Not a single drop was his own. Some had splattered from Brother Long, while the rest sprayed onto him as he hacked his way through the machete-wielding thugs.

However, in the eyes of the group by the elevator, he cut a ruthless figure—a man seemingly covered in gruesome wounds, yet still fighting a blood-soaked onslaught!

This made them both terrified and faintly hopeful.

"He’s been hacked up! He’s bleeding out!"

"He can’t hold on much longer!"

"Get him! A few more chops and he’s dead!"

They shouted to psych themselves up, but only the ones in the back were pushing forward. Since they didn’t have to face him directly, they were eager, while the thugs in the front desperately tried to hold their ground.

But the moment Zhang Yun struck down the last man near him, he flipped the script and charged straight at them!

"Fuck!"

This wave of thugs instantly panicked. The ones at the front, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, scrambled backward. The ones in the back were even worse, immediately retreating until they slammed into the elevator doors.

Someone jabbed the elevator button frantically. Fortunately, the car hadn’t descended yet, and the men at the very back desperately shoved their way inside.

As Zhang Yun charged, his foot suddenly slipped forward. Just as they joyfully thought he was about to fall, they realized his blade was already slashing across their thighs!

"Ah! Argh!"

Amidst a chorus of screams, they tried to hack at Zhang Yun, but he swiftly wove through the crowd. The machete in his hand chopped, cleaved, sliced, and severed. Everywhere he passed, massive sprays of blood erupted, soaking him even further in crimson.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

The ones who had made it inside the elevator frantically mashed the close button, desperate for the doors to shut so they could escape downwards.

But people kept trying to shove their way in, blocking the sensors. The doors simply wouldn’t close.

The first few inside plunged into despair. Watching Zhang Yun go on a killing spree right at the elevator entrance, they were trapped in the car with nowhere left to run!

"On your knees!"

When a blood-drenched Zhang Yun pointed his blade at them, the sheer domineering aura terrified the men in the elevator. They dropped their machetes and fell to their knees.

Zhang Yun stepped forward and unleashed a flurry of hacks and slashes!

"Holy shit!"

They went crazy. Didn’t kneeling mean he was supposed to spare them? He only made them kneel so it would be easier to chop them down?! Then what the hell was the point of kneeling?!

But then again... he had never promised them anything. He only said, "On your knees..."

By the time Zhang Yun stepped back out of the elevator, the edge of his machete was visibly rolled and chipped!

Between the two waves, at least twenty men lay hacked to the ground. Seeing him emerge from the elevator again, those who were still conscious desperately crawled toward the edges of the hall.

At that moment, a hand grabbed Zhang Yun’s pant leg.

"Kill... kill me..."

It was Brother Long. He was the first to be severely injured, and feeling that he had lost too much blood to survive, he wanted to end his suffering sooner rather than later.

Zhang Yun brought his blade down, severing the hand.

"When you guys were hacking people up, did you ever think about how much pain they were in? Now you want a quick death? Suffer through it slowly!"

Zhang Yun sneered. Seeing a few thugs with lighter injuries, he even walked over to deliver a few extra chops!

Right at that moment, Zhang Yun saw someone step out of a room down the corridor and slowly walk towards him, step by step.

In the dim light, it appeared to be a middle-aged man. In his hand, he held a drawn sword!

"Ruthless! Vicious!" he critiqued Zhang Yun as he approached. "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a young man this venomous. Interesting!"

Zhang Yun scoffed. "If I wasn’t ruthless, I would’ve been minced into meat paste by dozens of guys by now, wouldn’t I? Looking at you, you must be the head thug someone hired. If I hadn’t wiped them out, what use would they have for you? Would you still be getting paid the big bucks?"

"Are you saying I should thank you?" The middle-aged man drew closer, stopping just over a dozen meters away. "I see the blade in your hand is chipped and rolled. Pick up a new one. I’ll wait!"

He slowly raised the sword in his right hand, formed a sword mudra with his left, and assumed a stance.

"The man who takes your life is Fire Sword Yang Zhao!"

The middle-aged man already viewed Zhang Yun as prey certain to die, so he didn’t mind stating his name to fulfill his sense of ceremony.

"Why would I need to change my blade to kill you?"

Despite his words, Zhang Yun casually tossed his ruined machete onto the ground, turned around, and bent over to pick up another blade.

Move!

The moment Zhang Yun bent his head to pick up the blade, Fire Sword Yang Zhao launched into a rapid sprint. As his whole body leaped forward, the longsword in his hand wove a net of steel, completely sealing off Zhang Yun’s surroundings. No matter which way Zhang Yun tried to run, he would be skewered!

Top-tier 100-meter sprinters could finish in under ten seconds, but their speed wasn’t uniform. The initial launch wasn’t as fast, but as they accelerated into a sprint, they grew faster and faster. By that logic, even Yang Zhao couldn’t cross over ten meters in a single second. Therefore, he needed an excuse to make Zhang Yun swap blades. The instant Zhang Yun leaned down, he struck!

But... just like when he intimidated the thugs in the elevator, Zhang Yun was no honest boy scout either!

He purposely turned his back to pick up the blade, playing along to set a trap. He wanted his opponent to think he was defenseless, but in reality, he was hiding his movements from Yang Zhao’s line of sight!

"Why would I need to change my blade to kill you!"

That sentence hadn’t been an empty boast; Zhang Yun actually meant it! He wasn’t swapping blades; he was swapping for guns!

Zhang Yun had prepared dual pistols long ago. He had always kept them for self-defense. Now that his opponent was clearly acting like a sword-wielding Martial Arts Master, was he really supposed to clash head-on with a short machete?

So, halfway through his bend, he swiftly reached cross-body to his waist, drew his guns, and spun around—aiming!

After last night, Zhang Yun had gained more Experience. Even from over a dozen meters away, he was reasonably confident in his aim. However, hitting a rapidly moving master would have been incredibly difficult. But now, he barely even needed to aim. The sprinting, leaping Yang Zhao was already just a few meters away and closing the gap rapidly. It meant that firing blindly would still guarantee a hit!

"Fuck!"

Yang Zhao had been certain of the kill. Even if Zhang Yun picked up the blade and turned around in time, it would have been utterly useless against his Swordsmanship.

But the moment Zhang Yun turned around, Yang Zhao’s pupils contracted violently!

Holy shit, those were guns! And two of them at that!

This was going too far!

As the curse slipped from his lips, he also realized that charging forward was literally throwing himself into the line of fire. The closer he got, the bigger a target he became, and the easier it would be for the enemy to land a perfect shot!

Yang Zhao pushed his skills to their absolute limit. He forcefully twisted his waist, throwing himself into a sideways dive toward the ground! This would allow him to dodge the bullets without halting the momentum of his sword, enabling him to continue his assault on Zhang Yun’s lower body!

His reaction was indeed incredibly fast. But to execute a sideways dive and continue a strike while sprinting at top speed would still take at least half a second, wouldn’t it?

For Zhang Yun, who had already drawn his guns and turned around, all he had to do was shift his hands and adjust the angle of the barrels.

BANG!

A single shot struck Yang Zhao square in the chest, instantly draining all the power from his follow-through sword strike.

"Using a gun! Despicable!"

"I was planning to chop you to death with a blade, but you tried to sneak-attack me. You can only blame yourself." Zhang Yun kept both muzzles aimed squarely at Yang Zhao on the ground.