193: Raven leader? Then I'll kill you!

Yamamoto Taro's blade was fast.

This strike condensed the essence of thirty years of dedicated swordsmanship; even an ordinary Yellow Realm expert would find it difficult to evade.

However... Ye Chen stood his ground, not moving an inch.

He even tilted his head slightly, as if admiring the trajectory of the blade.

It wasn't until the edge was less than three inches from his throat that... suddenly!

Ye Chen's right hand reached out.

There were no afterimages!

There was no whistling wind!

It was just a simple lift of his hand.

Clang—!

That Tachi was actually! Actually! Actually! Firmly pinched by the blade between Ye Chen's thumb and index finger!

Its forward momentum came to a dead stop!

Yamamoto Taro's charging figure jerked to a halt, his pupils shrinking abruptly, his face written with utter horror!

His full-strength strike was actually... caught by someone with two fingers?!

How is this possible?!

He tried to pull the sword back, only to find the blade was as if cast in iron pliers, completely immovable!

Ye Chen's fingers weren't even gripping hard; he held it casually, yet that invisible force made Yamamoto Taro feel as if he were wrestling with an entire mountain!

“A blade is not meant to be used like this.”

Ye Chen spoke indifferently, his right wrist giving a gentle shake.

A surge of clever force traveled up the length of the blade!

Yamamoto Taro felt a violent shock in the webbing of his thumb; an irresistible spiral force transferred through, numbing his fingers, and the Tachi flew from his hand!

The next second!

Ye Chen's wrist, still pinching the blade, flicked, reversing the hilt and thrusting it forward in one fluid motion.

Puchi—!

The Tachi pierced into Yamamoto Taro's abdomen, passing straight through his body!

The tip of the blade emerged from his back, accompanied by a spray of warm blood!

“Ugh...”

Yamamoto Taro let out a muffled groan, his eyes bulging as he looked down in disbelief at the hilt buried in his stomach.

Agony surged like a tide, and his strength drained away rapidly.

He opened his mouth to say something, but only a large mouthful of blood gushed out.

Ye Chen released his grip on the blade.

Yamamoto Taro's body swayed as he staggered back two steps, his hands clutching futilely at the hilt in his abdomen, not daring to pull it out.

“Mr. Yamamoto!”

The faces of the remaining Japanese Warriors changed drastically as they cried out in shock.

They never imagined that the strongest among them, Yamamoto Taro, would be disarmed and killed by his own blade in a single exchange!

Inside the banquet hall.

All the guests were stunned!

Each one held their breath, eyes wide and round!

Catching bullets with bare hands was already ridiculous enough, but now he had snatched a blade barehanded and instantly killed a Japanese Warrior who looked so formidable?

This Ye Chen... is he a man or a ghost?!

Chen Wenxuan trembled all over, seemingly forgetting the pain of the gunshot wound in his leg, left only with boundless terror.

That Japanese Warrior was a peerless expert his father spent ten million dollars to hire every year.

But he never expected... that in front of Ye Chen, he would be so fragile, killed in a single counter-move???

Ye Chen didn't even look at Yamamoto Taro; he simply raised his right foot and gave a light kick forward.

“Bang.”

Yamamoto Taro's body flew out like a tattered sack, crashing into a long table filled with drinks, shattering glasses and splashing liquor everywhere.

He slumped in the wreckage, twitched twice, and then fell silent.

Ye Chen bent down, picked up the blood-stained Tachi from the floor, and weighed it in his hand.

“Too light, too brittle, flashy but impractical.”

“Is this all you've got?”

He shook his head, looking very disappointed.

“I thought I could at least stretch my muscles a bit, but... my expectations were in vain.”

“Baka yaro!”

“Kill him! Avenge Lord Yamamoto!!!”

The remaining seven Japanese Warriors were completely enraged by Ye Chen's contemptuous attitude, killing intent erupting in their eyes as they roared in unison!

“Clang! Clang! Clang—!!!”

Seven Tachis were unsheathed simultaneously, their cold light illuminating the banquet hall!

The seven figures blurred together, instantly forming a combined attack formation as they lunged at Ye Chen from different directions!

The blade light wove a web of death, sealing off all of Ye Chen's room to evade!

Japanese Swordsmanship Combined Technique—Seven Kills Formation!

These seven had clearly coordinated for years, possessing perfect chemistry!

And that was indeed the case.

Faced with their combined technique... even an early-stage Xuan Realm powerhouse caught in this formation would likely be flustered and find it hard to escape.

Facing this overwhelming web of blades, Ye Chen only gave a soft sigh.

“Quite a few tricks.”

“Unfortunately...”

He paused, and his figure vanished from the spot like a phantom!

No, not vanished!

He was so fast that he left afterimages in the eyes of ordinary people!

“Squelch!”

The sound of a blade cutting into flesh rang out clearly.

A warrior attacking from the left suddenly froze in his tracks.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at the tip of a blade that had appeared in his chest at some unknown moment, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

The Tachi in Ye Chen's hand had already pierced through his chest.

A twist of the wrist, and the blade was withdrawn.

The warrior slumped to the ground.

Ye Chen didn't stop, moving through the flashes of blades like he was taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard.

One!

Two!

Three!

The same simple movements were transformed into the most terrifying killing strikes in Ye Chen's hands.

Seven Kills Formation?

Before absolute speed, strength, and insight, it was like a toy made of paper.

In just ten short seconds.

The last warrior clutched his pierced chest, staggering back until he hit the wall and slowly slid to the floor, the light in his eyes fading rapidly.

The seven Japanese Warriors—all annihilated!

Ye Chen stopped and tossed the sword onto the ground.

Then.

He looked up toward the pale-faced Chen Wenxuan slumped on the floor.

“Young Master Chen.”

“The moment they drew their blades, they chose the path to death.”

“And you...”

“By failing to fulfill your promise, you have also chosen the path to death!”

Chen Wenxuan shook like a leaf, and a foul stench came from his crotch; he had actually wet himself in fear.

This Ye Chen... is not human at all!

He's a monster!

A devil!

A force of nature!

But before he could beg for mercy...

Ye Chen stopped looking at him, instead turning his gaze toward the depths of the banquet hall, toward the passage leading into the interior of the cruise ship.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“You've been watching for so long...”

“Isn't it time to come out?”

As his voice fell.

A slow and clear sound of clapping came from deep within the passage.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!”

An elderly man wearing a dark red Tang suit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sinister face, walked out slowly.

Behind him followed four men in black martial arts suits, their auras as deep as an abyss.

The old man's gaze was like a venomous snake as it landed on Ye Chen, a cold smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Not bad, truly not bad.”

“No wonder you managed to alarm headquarters and have ‘Dark Crow’ personally issue a clearance order.”

“Ye Chen...”

“I am the Raven Chief of Southeast Region of ‘Dark Crow’, Raven Chief of Southeast Region.”

“Today, I have come specifically to take your life.”

Ye Chen looked at Raven Chief of Southeast Region, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

“Oh?”

“You're finally willing to show yourself?”

“I've been waiting for you for a long time.”

Raven Chief of Southeast Region's sinister old eyes narrowed.

“Waiting for me?”

“Interesting... I'd like to hear what you were waiting for me to do.”

Ye Chen put his hands back into his pockets and explained indifferently.

“It's simple.”

“To slay you.”

“And while I'm at it, to let ‘Dark Crow’ and the Black Prison headquarters behind you know—”

He paused, his voice turning abruptly cold, each word like ice.

“The territory of Dragon Country is not a place where any random stray can reach in their claws.”

“Reach in one, and I'll chop it off.”

“Reach in a pair, and I'll cut them both off.”

“Until you either learn to behave or disappear entirely.”

The banquet hall fell into a dead silence.

None of the guests dared to even breathe loudly, feeling an invisible chill crawl up their spines.

Anyone with even a bit of status or position knew what Dark Crow represented... those were the core assassins of the organization!

Once targeted by them, it was almost certain death!

But this young man... facing the person in charge of Dark Crow in the Southeast Region, he still dared to be so arrogant?!

Does he even know what the words ‘Dark Crow’ represent?!

A cold sneer appeared on Raven Chief of Southeast Region's face.

“Heh... hehehe...”

“Arrogant.”

“I have lived for sixty-eight years and seen many madmen.”

“But one as arrogant as you...”

“Is truly the first.”

“Kid, do you think that because you killed a few Japanese small fry and blocked a few bullets, you truly have the right to talk big in front of me?”

“When has Dark Crow ever needed to care about someone else's opinion?!”

“Forget a mere Dragon Group Special Agent; even if the Dragon Group Leader Xuanyuan Huo were here in person, on these high seas, he wouldn't be able to protect the person Dark Crow wants dead!”

“Uncle Fu!!!” Chen Wenxuan, slumped in a pool of blood, snapped back to his senses and wailed hoarsely, “Save me! This bastard crippled my legs! He also wants to kill me!”

Raven Chief of Southeast Region glanced at the pathetic Chen Wenxuan, his brow furrowing slightly.

A useless waste who was more of a hindrance than a help.

If it weren't for the massive annual ‘tribute’ from his father Chen Tiannan and the fact that the Chen family's channels in Malaysia were still useful... he would find even looking at such trash disgusting.

But for now, Chen Wenxuan couldn't die yet.

At least, he couldn't die right under Raven Chief of Southeast Region's nose.

Raven Chief of Southeast Region withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to Chen Wenxuan who was howling like a dying dog.

He looked back at Ye Chen, his withered finger lifting slightly.

“Take him down.”

“I want him alive.”

“Headquarters is very interested in him.”