Legend Management Bureau Chapter 33

[ … words ]

“Sister Qianqiu…” Du Yu muttered, looking at the massive horde of enemy soldiers surrounding them. “Can your Qianqiu Divine Art handle this?”

“Are you referring to the thousands of troops encircling you?” Dong Qianqiu sighed helplessly. “I am truly powerless in a battle of this scale…”

Du Yu’s mind raced as he desperately formulated a countermeasure. “Sister Qianqiu… Out of the equipment I asked for, how many did you manage to prepare?”

“I placed four Type 82-2 military hand grenades in your transmigration starter pack. As for the rocket launchers and Gatling guns you requested, they were simply too massive to bring along.”

“Four grenades… Good…” Du Yu nodded. He pondered rapidly, and a bold plan suddenly sprang to mind.

“Junior Sister!” Du Yu suddenly bellowed, startling everyone present. “Master Guiguzi sent me here to check on you, but I never expected you’d actually be in trouble!”

Down the mountain, the Zhao soldiers cursed inwardly. Zhongli Chun alone was already a massive headache; now her senior brother had shown up?

“What nonsense are you spouting…” Zhongli Chun whispered, her face etched with worry. “Are you Sun Bin or Su Qin? Even if they were here, they wouldn’t be able to handle this situation… Hurry up and leave…”

“What?! Junior Sister?! You’re asking if my cultivation base has improved?!” Du Yu ignored her entirely and continued to shout. “Aren’t you just mocking your senior brother? Ah, as a fellow immortal cultivator, my power is naturally far greater than before! Since you asked, your senior brother will just have to show off a little!”

The few infantrymen beside him were equally dumbfounded. This guy was an immortal? They hadn’t noticed a single trace of that during their entire journey here!

Du Yu stealthily rummaged through his fanny pack.

“Sister Qianqiu… how do I use this thing?” he muttered.

“Could you ask me before trying to act cool next time… this is getting a bit awkward,” Dong Qianqiu replied.

“Cut the crap and teach me already…”

“There’s a pin that looks like a key ring on top. First, squeeze the metal safety lever to hold the spring, then you can pull out that ring. Releasing the lever triggers the fuse. It will detonate five seconds after you throw it.”

“Understood.”

Du Yu glared coldly at the Zhao army below. “If you continue this siege, don’t blame me for showing no mercy! Anyone who doesn’t want to die, leave now!”

Although his words were intimidating, military orders were absolute like a mountain; the Zhao soldiers didn’t dare retreat on a whim.

“Fine… since you insist!” Du Yu roared. “Shaolin Ultimate Skill… Fire Cloud Palm!!!”

The people beside him blinked in confusion. “Shaolin? What in the world is a Shaolin?”

As the words “Fire Cloud Palm” left his lips, a small black sphere flew out from his sleeve. It hurtled straight into the ranks of the Zhao army, smacking squarely into a soldier’s face.

“Agh!” the struck soldier yelped, only feeling as though a solid chunk of iron had smashed into his nose.

Watching the grenade land right in the middle of the crowd, Du Yu couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. “Run if you want to live!!!” he shrieked.

“Run?” Before the Zhao soldiers could even comprehend his warning, the grenade blossomed in their midst.

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion rocked the battlefield.

The immense concussive force of the modern grenade instantly sent several men flying. Dozens more nearby were severely wounded by the flying shrapnel, collapsing to the ground in agonizing screams. With a single strike, Du Yu had torn a bloody, gaping hole in the Zhao army’s encirclement.

“Ah?!” The surviving Zhao soldiers turned pale with terror and scrambled backward. This technique was simply too brutal.

In the heat of the moment, Du Yu had hurled the grenade without considering the consequences. Now, staring at the dozen or so lives he had snuffed out in an instant, he froze in a daze.

“Du Yu, this is war!” Dong Qianqiu’s sharp shout snapped him out of his trance. “Their objective is to kill you, which is why you killed them. Don’t overthink it!”

Du Yu slapped his own cheek to wake himself up. Glaring down at the survivors past the pile of corpses, he roared, “I don’t want to strike again! Lift the siege, and I promise you will be spared!”

“What kind of trick was that…” Zhongli Chun was utterly bewildered as she clutched her wound. “I’ve never seen you unleash an attack that could wipe out an entire swath of people before.”

“It’s an emergency measure. I can only use this move a few times. Our top priority is getting you out of here safely!”

“No… Their target is me, not you. Your chances of escaping will be much higher if you go alone,” Zhongli Chun argued.

“Absolutely not!” Du Yu bellowed furiously. “Have you forgotten our promise? If you die here, how will you cross that river?!”

“I…” Zhongli Chun fell silent. She was deeply worried for Du Yu’s safety, but simultaneously terrified of never seeing him again.

Witnessing this scene, the Zhao soldiers beneath the mountain of corpses indeed began to edge backward. The technique the man on the peak had just unleashed was too terrifying; if they kept fighting, it would certainly end in a bloodbath.

“Fantastic… they’re retreating… Little Zhongli, let’s go!” Du Yu grabbed Zhongli Chun’s hand, ready to break through the encirclement. However, a sudden roar of battle cries echoed from the distance.

The group peered into the distance. Behind the uniform ranks of the Zhao army, banners bearing the character for ‘Qin’ suddenly rose into the air.

“The Qin army is here!!” the squad leader yelled in dismay. “We’re going to be pincered!”

“Are they reinforcements…” Zhongli Chun bit her lip. “We truly can’t escape this time, even if we grew wings…”

In the distance, the Zhao soldiers slowly parted, carving out a narrow path from back to front. A pale-faced, youthful general riding an armored warhorse trotted leisurely forward.

“Are you Zhong Wuyan?” The young man glanced at the small group on the hilltop, his gaze ultimately settling on her.

“Are you the commander of the Qin army?” Zhong Wuyan asked coldly.

“Indeed. I am Bai—”

Before Bai Qi could finish his sentence, Zhongli Chun vanished from her spot. In the next instant, she materialized right in front of him, launching a vicious punch at his throat from a perilous angle.

If she could claim the head of the Qin commander right here, there might still be a glimmer of hope in this battle.

Bai Qi’s expression froze. He instantly brought up his broadsword to block the strike, but the sheer force sent both him and his steed flying backward. The warhorse desperately adjusted its posture in midair, managing to land steadily with Bai Qi still in the saddle.

Du Yu gasped in shock. ‘As expected of the legendary Bai Qi,’ he thought. ‘To think he could block a sneak attack at such blinding speed.’

“Heh! Just as the rumors say.” Bai Qi rubbed his throbbing hands and let out a wry chuckle. “If I can slay someone of your caliber, I’ll be one step closer to becoming a Great General.”

As Bai Qi slowly backed away, Zhongli Chun roared, “Where do you think you’re going!”

But before she could pursue him, several Qin soldiers charged at her. They were completely different from the Zhao troops; these were clearly battle-hardened, elite bodyguards who never left Bai Qi’s side. They attacked Zhongli Chun from tricky angles. Already injured, she barely dodged their strikes before lashing out, sending a few of them flying.

“I might not be your match, but you are still going to die here today.” Bai Qi sneered, then issued a ruthless order to his subordinates. “Have the archers fire. Shoot Zhong Wuyan to death, along with the Zhao soldiers here.”

“Huh?” At first, the Zhao troops thought they had misheard, but a moment later, a massive volley of arrows blackened the distant sky.

“Look out!!” Zhongli Chun screamed, instantly throwing herself over Du Yu to shield him.

“Your Majesty!! Danger!!” The squad leader leapt up and threw himself in front of Zhongli Chun.

Before Du Yu could even react, a deafening clatter rang out, like a severe hailstorm striking the earth.

After a chaotic barrage of clatters and thuds, Du Yu slowly opened his eyes.

“Little Zhongli!!” The moment he saw Zhongli Chun sheltering him in her embrace, he cried out in horror.

“I’m fine…” Before she could even finish her sentence, Zhongli Chun coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Du Yu looked closely and saw two arrows protruding from her back. Although the squad leader had tried to act as a human shield, Zhongli Chun’s robust frame made it impossible to protect her completely.

“Squad Leader Dicong!” Du Yu finally realized that the squad leader had taken the worst of it. Guarding Zhongli Chun, his relatively small body had been pierced by dozens of arrows. Without even a chance to utter his last words, he fell backward, stiff as a board. Du Yu frantically scanned his surroundings. The infantrymen who had just fought alongside him were all dead, riddled with arrows. Even the surrounding Zhao soldiers had been slaughtered in droves.

In the distance, the Qin army’s second wave of attacks commenced. A massive formation of spearmen marched slowly toward them.

‘What do I do?! What do I do?!’ Du Yu panicked. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Bai Qi in the distance, a blazing fury igniting in his chest. As the saying went, to catch the bandits, first catch the ringleader. Casting all caution to the wind, Du Yu yanked another grenade from his pack, pulled the pin, and hurled it as far as he could at Bai Qi.

“Du Yu! You cannot kill Bai Qi!” Dong Qianqiu shouted in alarm. If the famous Qin general Bai Qi died here, the subsequent course of history would undergo catastrophic alterations.

The grenade landed right in front of Bai Qi. Although he didn’t recognize the object, a deep sense of peril washed over him. He instinctively tugged his reins, forcing his horse to rear up on its hind legs. At that exact moment, the grenade detonated. The terrifying shockwave slammed directly into the warhorse’s chest. Bai Qi was blasted through the air, while his mount was reduced to a gory mess of shredded flesh and bone.

“What kind of sorcery is this?!” Bai Qi was bewildered. How could something the size of a small pebble possess such apocalyptic force?

“Careful, Lord Bai Qi! Rumor has it that those two are immortal cultivators!”

Bai Qi scrambled up from the dirt in a miserable state. He cursed under his breath and barked, “Even immortal cultivators can bleed! Have the archers and spearmen attack in alternating waves. Today, I, Bai Qi, will slaughter immortals for all to see!”

Watching the horde of spearmen methodically closing in, Dong Qianqiu made a swift, decisive judgment. “Du Yu! Give it up! We are initiating your recall sequence immediately!”

“Now…?” Du Yu turned to look at Zhongli Chun. She was covered in wounds, with two arrows lodged deeply in her back. If he left now, she would be slaughtered in seconds.

“No, Sister Qianqiu!” Du Yu cried out, an uncharacteristic panic in his voice. “Is there really no other way? Can you use telepathy on their commander to make them retreat? Or… or can you send a few souls down to me right now…”

“Du Yu!” Dong Qianqiu snapped, a hint of anger rising in her tone. “The Legend Management Bureau will never risk an operator’s life for the protagonist of a Grade C legend!”

Gritting his teeth as he glared at the encroaching enemy forces, Du Yu instantly whipped out another hand grenade.

“Whoever steps forward dies!” Du Yu bellowed furiously, his threat successfully halting the advancing Qin soldiers in their tracks.

“Whoever stops dies!!” Bai Qi roared back, his voice thick with unyielding authority.