66 Invasion 14

The old man in purple's face grew pale as he scrutinized the features of the decapitated head before him. It was obvious to the silent Second Ducal Prince that he had no difficulty recognizing it to have belonged to Ye Hongge, the expert who had assailed the camp's wall earlier.

Li Sanlang, however, was still careful to keep his guard up. Nu Yuanqing, the woman in green, was still somewhat of a mystery to him, and he wasn't certain if he could trust her to make a move, if this Luo Qingke tried to dash into the camp.

After all, there was a chance that the old man would try to take a hostage, to get himself out of this highly disadvantageous situation.

And Li Sanlang knew that he would be the man's first target, if that was the case!

But Luo Qingke surprised him by chuckling, as he shook his head at the gory remains at his feet. "It seems we have miscalculated. Or rather, we had underestimated your abilities, Lady Xie. We had believed that you were merely someone who had touched on the lower boundaries of a Martial Master. But clearly, you are more formidable than what we had thought.

"It seems we shall have to take that into account, if we should move against you again. Say, in another ten years or so? I would pledge non-interference from my Purple Serpent Sect for a decade, in recompense for our ... mistake in underestimating the Marquis of Changqing City."

Xie Nianxue's laughter was enough of a slap in the face to make the old man take two steps back, and her smile was mocking and dismissive as she looked his way again.

"Luo Qingke, ah, Luo Qingke. Do you think I would let you go? What makes you believe that I would care about good relations with your Purple Serpent Sect? Especially after I have already killed Ye Hongge? It wouldn't stop you from reporting to the Autumn Leaf Red Pavilion, to coax them into attacking me instead?

"Since I have slaughtered one of you, I do not mind killing you both."

The old man in the now tattered purple robe looked a little unsteady at her declaration. But he managed to keep a pained smile on his face. "Ah! It seems I cannot deceive the esteemed Lady Xie Nianxue. You are as sharp as the tales say. How about if I promise that the Purple Serpent Sect will not interfere with the Succession in the Kingdom? In perpetuity, of course. And to recompense the Marquis with say, a million pieces of gold?"

"Still trying to bargain for your life, Luo Qingke? You need not waste your time. Besides, the ten year truce that you propose will only hold your Purple Serpent Sect back, doesn't it? Do you think me a fool? What of your allies? What of the other groups in the North?"

Her face hardened abruptly, as she fixed him with a glare that was enough to make her own grandson's blood freeze in his veins. "Don't make me laugh, Luo Qingke. Take a note of the date today, you fool. Next year, it will be the anniversary of your death!"

Luo Qingke's face grew dark as soon as she started speaking, and Li Sanlang could see that the old man's eyes were already darting this way and that, as though he was looking for a suitable direction to run.

"Looking for a place to escape? Or are you thinking of dashing into the camp, so that you can take a hostage? Unfortunately for you, my son is a good distance away, at the South Gate of the same, fending off the horde that you had enticed here. Or what is left of them. Did you really think that these Barbarians are a match for our trained soldiers?"

Then she smiled again, and waved her left hand in front of her once more. A familiar black-garbed corpse appeared at once, slamming into the dirt-covered snow at her feet. Li Changhai looked at it in surprise. That was the fellow who had attacked Qin Feng earlier, wasn't it? When he was attempting the second Trial? Why was she showing off this old man's body now?

"Or are you hoping that Fu Langqi is going to show himself now? To help you escape? Did you really think that we would miss him?" came her words then, making things clear. So, he was another card, that Luo Qingke had hidden away in the woods?

Luo Qingke's mouth fell open as his eyes grew wide, staring at the body that had just appeared before him in disbelief. Li Sanlang could see the remnants of the old man's purple sleeves flutter slightly, as though he was quivering where he stood.

Nor was he the only one who saw that reaction. Xie Nianxue was quick to spot, and to exploit the lapse shown by her opponent. Her right hand flashed, and a wave of Golden Lightning Qi flooded the space between her and her target, washing towards Luo Qingke like a storm!

It only took him a moment to react, crying out as he lifted both of his hands to fend off the attack that was headed straight for him. But he was still a little too slow, and the flood of gold-colored qi splashed onto him, throwing him backwards!

Nu Yuanqing was certainly not about to let the chance go. She lifted her sword and charged right for the old man, launching an awe-inspiring attack straight at his back!

"Four Seasons Sword! Curtain of Summer Rain!"

By then, the old man appeared to have managed to ward off the lightning, but it was obvious, even to Li Changhai, that the effort had drained him.

Which left him at a disadvantage, when he turned and tried to send a series of punches at the cloud of sword qi that Nu Yuanqing was hurling his way. There were sharp sounds then, as the sword qi and his metal gauntlets clashed in the space in front of him. And Li Sanlang could tell that he was already at the end of his strength!

The trail of blood trickling from his mouth and from his nostrils made it obvious that he had suffered rather massive injuries, forcibly drawing out his strength like that, to defend against the Four Seasons Sword attack.

Then, all at once, before anyone could react to the clash of sword and fist, Xie Nianxue had suddenly appeared right behind the old man! And all it took was one simple palm-strike to the back of his skull, before he even realized that she was there. A loud cracking sound resounded in the space before the camp's shattered wall, and Luo Qingke perished at once!

* * *