Chapter 24: Ripples of Killing Intent

"Bang!!!"

Ye Mingqiu did not retreat but advanced instead, sweeping his bronze war spear upward. A deafening clash of metal erupted instantly, ringing so loudly it made the ears of the nearby cavalry horses ache.

Terrifying force surged from the copper battle-axe. Despite Ye Mingqiu’s strength stat of 22.5, he was pushed onto the back foot, forced to take a step back.

-29

A massive damage figure floated across his data panel. Ye Mingqiu’s expression shifted to shock, his mind racing: *A skill! This boss actually has a skill!*

It was normal for a boss to have skills, but for a boss in an initial trial—a leader-tier boss commanding a group of elites, backed by ten thousand soldiers of standard rank and team-wide buffs—to possess an active combat skill was absurd.

[Notification: The Black-Armored General used "Mountain Fall." Strength check failed. Stun duration halved. You will be stunned for 0.75 seconds.]

[Notification: Your crowd control resistance check passed. You have resisted the stun effect.]

Ye Mingqiu smiled. His "Unparalleled" passive boosted his strength resistance by 50%, and his "Heroic" passive increased effect resistance. The "Mountain Fall" skill, which should have shattered his defense and stunned him for a full 1.5 seconds, now failed to produce any effect at all.

He feigned a stun, deliberately leaving an opening. The Black-Armored General pursued with lightning speed, his diagonal slash of the copper battle-axe seemingly poised to sever Ye Mingqiu’s head in the next instant.

Yet at that critical juncture, Ye Mingqiu suddenly exerted force, dodging the axe at an incredibly subtle angle. The sharp edge left a thin scratch on his neck, but he had evaded it. Simultaneously, his bronze spear countered from a lethal, unexpected angle.

*Pierced through the throat.*

The Black-Armored General’s eyes widened, blood bubbling from the corners of his mouth. He stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how this man had recovered from his "Mountain Fall" so quickly, but before he could process it, his life flickered out.

"Not a bad opponent."

Ye Mingqiu retracted his bronze spear, shaking off the droplets of blood. If not for his "Heroic" resistance and his own reflexive speed, he would never have slain the general so easily.

The mounted general had high mobility, and his heavy armor could mitigate significant damage, but Ye Mingqiu had struck the throat—the most vulnerable point. Without armor protection, a single piercing strike meant death.

It was nothing more than a gamble of life and death: bet on his reflexes, and if he lost, he died; win, and the Black-Armored General died.

But if he hadn't gambled, being hunted by cavalry with legion buffs while ten thousand soldiers loomed nearby would have meant certain death for him anyway.

Ye Mingqiu turned his gaze, his black cloak whipping in the gale. His blood-stained bronze armor reflected an eerie light. As the final rays of the setting sun vanished, darkness gradually engulfed the world.

The elite cavalry circling him maneuvered and shifted; in their fleeting, intersecting glances, one could see the terror and unease in each other’s eyes.

"Are you afraid?" Ye Mingqiu whispered.

He realized he had changed. From the beginning, when he had fought with every ounce of effort and used the threat of death to force himself to keep going, forgetting the discomfort of killing his first enemy—to now, where his body acted on instinct, wielding his spear to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.

*Tang Ruobing... I think I’ve become stronger... Stronger... yes, stronger...*

"Heh... Hahaha... Hahahahaha!"

Ye Mingqiu suddenly began to laugh wildly. His laughter grew louder, the surging spirit of the battlefield blending with the bloodlust to erupt into a tangible killing intent that swept through the area like a storm.

[Notification: You have comprehended Killing Intent Wave.]

Killing Intent Wave (Active/Passive)
Grade: ★★
Active Effect: Release killing intent to launch a mental attack on surrounding enemies, dealing (Spirit x 1) mental damage and forming a mental deterrence effect.
Passive Effects:
1. Mental Suppression: The higher your spirit attribute compared to the enemy, the higher the mental damage.
2. Killing Will: Each unit killed accumulates "Killing Will." The stronger the Killing Will, the more potent the mental deterrence. Accumulate enough to level up the skill.

"Killing Intent Wave!"

Ye Mingqiu shattered the earth beneath him and charged once more. His bronze spear became a dancing dragon, piercing through elite cavalrymen stunned by his aura. The bloodthirsty spear tip danced, using a mist of blood to bid farewell to the last shred of twilight.

*I understand now. I am a madman. To maximize my gains, I choose the high-risk path of frontal assault. To kill the Black-Armored General as quickly as possible, I gambled my life...*

*I might feel fear, but deep down, there is also excitement, because this makes me feel truly alive. Since I am this kind of person...*

*Choosing to fight ten thousand alone... that’s only logical, isn't it?*

Ye Mingqiu grinned and charged, wielding his bronze spear as he carved a path through the leaderless army, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, slaughtering in every direction.

"Release the arrows!!"

A shrill command rang out from the Zhou army’s formation. Countless bows shuddered in unison, and a rain of arrows obscured the sky, descending upon the man charging alone against an army of ten thousand.

Three thousand heavy bows vibrated simultaneously. The arrow storm blotted out the heavens, but Ye Mingqiu only shielded his vital points. A multitude of arrows struck his bronze armor, creating a sound like a torrential downpour of clanging metal.

The sound of horse hooves rolled like thunder. Hundreds of war chariots crushed the earth, charging recklessly.

Ye Mingqiu laughed wildly, rushing headlong into the chariot formation. The moment he brushed past the first chariot, he pierced the driver’s body with his bronze spear and swept the shaft to snap the axle. He kicked the out-of-control chariot into the enemy ranks, inciting a chorus of wails and screams.

...

A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting silver light over the earth.

On the vast, endless battlefield, corpses lay everywhere. The man in bronze armor wiped the blood from his face and pulled his boots from the gore, the leather stained a deep crimson.

[Survival Time: 9:15:46]

"Sigh, only nine hours survived. Still fifteen more to go. Survival... is truly difficult," Ye Mingqiu lamented.

He reached into the Spirit Realm system space, pulled out a piece of dried meat, and began to chew. After fighting for so long, he was hungry. He had obtained the food from treasure chests; opening them often yielded a pile of useless items, dried meat included.

Besides the meat, there were iron scraps, blood crystals, spirit points, cloth garments, pickled vegetables, and a variety of other things. Though they seemed useless, if he were to go hungry later, being trapped in the Spirit Realm without food would be disastrous, so it was best to keep some supplies.

It was a pity that no silver-tier chest had dropped after killing that leader-tier boss; there had only been a bronze-tier one. Ye Mingqiu had been opening them all at once after the battle, so he couldn't even tell which one it was.

It didn't matter; he would just open them all together.

[Batch opening in progress...]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: 2,543 Spirit Points]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Blood Crystal]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Riding Mastery (Skill Book)]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Class Transfer Scroll - Heavy Armored Warrior. Use to complete class transfer immediately.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Bronze Goblet]

...