379: Death Prelude of Handover

During the chase, Zhuang Bifan no longer cared about Shen Bei, who had fallen behind.

He only knew that if Heaven-Shaking Slave wasn't killed, both of them would die.

There was no time to drag Shen Bei and run.

He could only chase after him on his own.

But even so, Zhuang Bifan still lost Heaven-Shaking Slave near the cableway.

Fortunately, Zhuang Bifan was not to be trifled with.

After observing the terrain, he knew that if Heaven-Shaking Slave ran any further, it would only be the cliffs and precipices of the valley.

Without the enhancement of strength, jumping down would mean certain death.

Even with his toes, he could tell that the path ahead was a dead end.

Then, Zhuang Bifan put himself in Heaven-Shaking Slave's shoes: if he were Heaven-Shaking Slave, what would his next move be?

A bold idea formed in Zhuang Bifan's mind.

That was to circle back, capture Shen Bei, and kill a lone target first!

As soon as this idea emerged, Zhuang Bifan knew Heaven-Shaking Slave's likely route for circling back.

It was the cableway!

So, Zhuang Bifan no longer blindly searched for Heaven-Shaking Slave, but instead climbed up a large tree below the cableway.

Just as he reached the top of the tree trunk, below the cableway,

It was exactly as Zhuang Bifan had expected.

Heaven-Shaking Slave's figure appeared in the white mist, carrying an iron chain he had acquired from somewhere, circling back towards the direction where Shen Bei might appear.

The next moment, Zhuang Bifan pulled out a dagger from the mirror.

On the cableway, a stool was already quite impractical as a weapon.

A dagger, however, was a Sharp Weapon.

And as a Military, close-combat dagger skills were essential.

Seizing the opportunity, just as Heaven-Shaking Slave ran over Zhuang Bifan's head,

Zhuang Bifan stepped on a branch, leaped out from the dense mist, and his left knee struck Heaven-Shaking Slave's back of the head.

Heaven-Shaking Slave's reaction was also extremely fast.

He immediately sensed the abnormality behind him, the impact of the Qi current, which was blended with the chilling rain, allowed Heaven-Shaking Slave to perceive the approximate direction of his opponent's attack.

He pounced like a cat on a field mouse, using the elasticity of the cableway to spring forward, launching himself into mid-air like a cannonball.

The iron chain he held in his hand, with the twisting of his body in the air, whipped out with a 'shua la' sound.

With a 'hu la' sound, Zhuang Bifan's body twisted, sweeping past the spot where Heaven-Shaking Slave had jumped, a fierce knee strike missing its target, and with inertia, he was heading towards Heaven-Shaking Slave's 'sin whip' which could tear off countless pieces of flesh if it hit someone's back.

Zhuang Bifan's sharp prismatic blade had actually been drawn from behind earlier; he intended to use the opponent's brief moment of dizziness after his knee hit Heaven-Shaking Slave's back of the head to stab the blade into his collarbone.

However, Heaven-Shaking Slave made a timely defensive counterattack, and the sharp prismatic blade, like a crane's beak fighting a poisonous snake, clashed with the incredibly powerful steel whip.

"Dang lang," a string of tiny sparks burst forth, only to be instantly extinguished by the drizzling rain, turning into a wisp of watery smoke.

Zhuang Bifan used the recoil from the close-quarters combat to dissipate his momentum, straddling the fluctuating and bouncing cableway with his legs.

Heaven-Shaking Slave, however, with the fall of his powerful body, crushed several damp, decaying cableway wooden planks with a 'hua la' sound, and he plummeted downwards like a giant rock.

However, Heaven-Shaking Slave's movements were as swift as lightning, his bones and muscles as flexible as vines; his reaction speed was extremely fast, and he hooked onto the hemp rope net at the bottom of the cableway, his Physical Body thus avoiding falling together with the broken wooden pieces into the deep abyss beneath the Wang Tian Tree.

Zhuang Bifan stomped his left foot downwards, and the guard rope on one side of the cableway rebounded with force like a rubber band, flinging his entire body diagonally down the cableway like a hanging python shaking its head.

At this moment, Zhuang Bifan's movements were extremely agile, moving on the wall like a gecko, on the mountain like an ape, and now on the swaying cableway, he was like a persistent butterfly unwilling to leave.

He used his right foot to hook onto the guard rope net of the cableway, his inverted body, like a Dragon chasing its prey, swiftly thrusting the gleaming, cold prismatic blade towards Heaven-Shaking Slave, who was hanging beneath the cableway.

At this moment, Heaven-Shaking Slave's arms were tightly gripping the cableway's hemp rope net, as if he was about to do a pull-up.

However, the cableway was severely dilapidated; who knew where it had become a trap of death. It looked reliable, but in reality, if one tried to climb up with force, it would make a 'hua la' sound and send them plummeting to their death.

Therefore, Heaven-Shaking Slave dared not hang by one hand on the cableway; he had to grab with both hands, giving himself an extra layer of insurance against falling to his death.

The prismatic blade in Zhuang Bifan's right hand, like a flash of electricity, pierced directly into Heaven-Shaking Slave's left ribs.

Heaven-Shaking Slave arched his waist, kicking up his feet with a 'pa' sound, his left leg obliquely pushing away Zhuang Bifan's wrist that held the blade, and his right heel forcefully striking Zhuang Bifan's chest.

Zhuang Bifan, whose left hand was originally empty, suddenly whipped out a white light, striking Heaven-Shaking Slave's kicking right leg.

Zhuang Bifan's real attack was not with the long prismatic blade in his right hand; it was as if he deliberately waited for Heaven-Shaking Slave's right leg to kick towards his chest.

Zhuang Bifan shook his specially made dagger, the prismatic blade.

The end of the dagger actually sprang out another sharp prismatic blade's hilt!

In the blink of an eye, it was swiftly pulled out by Zhuang Bifan's fingers like a strong wind.

However, the length of this prismatic blade was only half that of the other prismatic blade.

As the saying goes, long and short each have their needs; since the blade was half as short, the speed of this weapon being drawn naturally doubled.

Zhuang Bifan stabbed unexpectedly.

"E ya," only Heaven-Shaking Slave's surprised cry was heard, the anger born of pain squeezing out hoarsely from his throat.

Zhuang Bifan saw Heaven-Shaking Slave's cut left leg retract, and the long, sharp prismatic blade tightly gripped in his right hand, which was originally attacking with a feint, suddenly surged with power, transforming into a real move, horizontally slashing at Heaven-Shaking Slave's straightened left arm's triceps.

If this cut landed, it would surely slice into Heaven-Shaking Slave's bone.

Heaven-Shaking Slave hurriedly released the arm whose large muscle was about to be severed, and the entire center of gravity of his suspended body immediately shifted.

In this fleeting change, Heaven-Shaking Slave's injured right leg, again powered by his waist, kicked out, aiming directly at Zhuang Bifan's heart.

His long prismatic blade, which was attacking Heaven-Shaking Slave's arm, swished through the air beneath the violently shaking cableway, causing his upper body to lean slightly forward, perfectly facilitating Heaven-Shaking Slave's renewed right leg attack.

Zhuang Bifan knew in his heart that among the Eight Great Killers, even without Martial Skill enhancement, the destructive power of any opponent's attack was almost abnormal; if it accurately hit a vital point, it would result in either death or severe injury.

Zhuang Bifan had no time to retract his right hand and could only meet the attack with the short prismatic blade in his hand.

However, Heaven-Shaking Slave was unwilling to let his opponent stab him a second time; with a "hua la" sound of chains, a bright, white flash whipped Zhuang Bifan's right arm with a "ba" sound.

That iron chain, which had been polished by the rain to a mirror-like sheen, was no ordinary chain; it also had jagged barbs.

Instantly, the chain was covered with tiny shreds of cloth and flesh, and on Zhuang Bifan's right shoulder, countless red-date-sized flesh wounds began to ooze blood.

He was hit by Heaven-Shaking Slave's attack, which involved a right foot kick and a left-hand whip swing, taking advantage of the dodge.

These two, one with his head up, the other with his head down, one primarily attacking with his feet, the other with his arms, both wanting to kill the other, fought to a standstill for a time.