Bai Zihan challenged the four assassins with full confidence, which only made them angrier.
Not to mention that he already killed one of their comrades.
As for fear? There was no fear—because against ordinary people, unless they were caught off guard like the one who had been killed, they could easily win.
Minister Duan’s guard yelled angrily.
“Arrogant!”
He assumed that Bai Zihan would be trembling in fear after knowing his real power but still he was as arrogant as ever.
“Do you think you can win just because you managed to defeat me once?”
He thought he knew why Bai Zihan was so confident. It was because of his ignorance that he didn’t understand what he was facing.
“You had a good time beating me when I couldn’t use Qi, but now I have no such restriction. You’ll regret everything you have done!”
Previously, he didn’t use Qi—not only because he had to conceal it, but it was also because he didn’t think he would lose.
But he ended up losing instantly against Bai Zihan, wounding his pride and getting humiliated completely.
Not to mention the endless insults he had to endure from Minister Duan.
Although his mission was to kill Princess Feilian, killing Bai Zihan was far more important to him.
Luckily, Bai Zihan was protecting the Princess, and they had to kill him before they could get to her.
He couldn’t be happier.
Now that he can use Qi, he didn’t think taking care of Bai Zihan would be difficult since he was 10 times stronger than when he couldn’t use Qi.
He signaled his companions and everyone knew that it was time to strike.
SWISH!
The assassins charged without hesitation, splitting up and surrounding Bai Zihan from all directions—two from the front, and two from the sides.
Despite their overconfidence, it seemed like they weren’t going to underestimate and let the prey escape.
“DIE!”
Their shouts were filled with bloodlust, each of them aiming for a vital point—heart, throat, spine.
Princess Feilian gasped, instinctively reaching for her dagger, even though she knew she wouldn’t make it in time.
She could only watch helplessly as the blades closed in on Bai Zihan, their cold gleam promising certain death.
“NO!”
*****
At the same time, soldiers were fighting hard and keeping the Demonic Beasts at bay.
With the Demonic Beasts number dwindling, they didn’t pose much danger to the soldiers.
Just then, they also heard and saw the group of assassins whose target was definitely the Princess.
“Everyone, our princess is in danger. Those who had taken care of the Demonic Beast, immediately came with me to protect her!”
The soldiers got ready to protect the Princess.
Previously, many of them were in the list of people who were dissatisfied with the princess.
Immature and unqualified!
That is what they thought.
She didn’t make the right decision and it cost the lives of many of their comrades.
Of course, they understood that there wasn’t much that the Princess could do about Demonic Beasts, still there were things which would have turned out for the better if Princess Feilian had done something.
There were also rumors about her being the ally of other cities and helping them take over the city after taking advantage of the situation that they are in.
But today, they had seen the truth.
The weapon which was made and gave them power to stand up to the Demonic Beasts.
The refugees who helped them by killing lots of Demonic Beasts.
Every decision seems to head towards the victory for the Ironmist.
So, they can’t afford to lose her!
However, just as they were about to make their way towards the Princess, a powerful aura spread through the battlefield.
ROOOOOAAAAR!
A guttural, earth-shaking roar echoed across the battlefield, followed by a thunderous crash.
Soldiers on the wall, who had just caught sight of the Princess being surrounded, turned to rush to her aid—only to freeze in horror.
From the northern quadrant of the wall, a section had collapsed into rubble.
Standing amidst the wreckage was a massive beast covered in stone-like scales, each as tough as steel. Its hulking form towered over the others, easily three times the size of the already terrifying Demonic Beasts below.
Its presence alone made the air feel heavy.
There was no mistake, it was a Third Grade Demonic Beast!
Bang! Bang!
“B-Bullets aren’t working!”
Sure enough, dozens of bullets struck its hide—and bounced off harmlessly, leaving nothing but faint scratches.
It took roughly one to three bullets to kill Grade-1 demonic beasts, depending on what type of Demonic Beast it was and where it got hit.
It wook around 10 bullets by hitting at the weakness of Grade-2 Demonic Beasts.
Bai Zihan already thought that Gun and Bullet limitation was for dealing with Grade-2 and less beings.
Stronger than that, it was almost useless.
Unless of course, the gun and bullets were made up of special materials and refined.
But Ironmist neither had the resources nor the ability to create such guns.
Right now, with the gun they have, it is almost useless even if one were to hit its weak part.
It ignored it like an ant hitting him.
The beast barreled forward, smashing a squad of defenders into paste with a swing of its claws.
Behind it, dozens more Demonic Beasts surged through the breach it had made, pouring into the city like a black tide.
Panic erupted.
The defenders on the wall were in chaos, split between rushing to defend the Princess and trying to stop the oncoming wave.
But they were too far away from the princess.
The choice was clear.
They had to stay and fight with the Grade-3 Demonic Beasts.
Otherwise, if the Grade-3 passes through, it would go straight to the Princess.
So, without dealing with a Grade-3 Demonic beast, it was useless to rescue the Princess.
Not to mention that Bai Zihan was there and they hoped that he would be able to protect her.
Most of the defenders now have their eyes on the Grade-3 Demonic Beasts which has become greatly disadvantageous to them.
Guns, their best weapon, were useless.
Swords?
Even more useless as one couldn’t even hit him before being killed by the Grade-3 Demonic Beasts.
Whether one came or ten, for Grade-3 Demonic Beasts, it was a matter of swinging its claws before it could kill them.
“Damn it! What can we even do against something like this?”
Fear began to once again take over a lot of people as the situation itself turned hopeless.
But not all were giving up.
“I have an idea!”
Hong Tao said confidently to the group of refugees.
Hong Tao explained his idea or more specifically the idea that Bai Zihan has once shared to him.
When guns were created, everyone thought that it was invincible and they didn’t need to worry about Demonic beasts.
But not Bai Zihan.
He said that it lacked real power and that even killing a Grade-2 Demonic Beasts takes so long.
He said what he knew was that if they were to encounter Grade-3 Demonic Beasts, then their gun would be almost useless.
Hong Tao, at the time, was curious but didn’t think there was a need to worry since there hasn’t been any spotting of Grade-3 Demonic Beasts.
Still, he asked curiously about what they could do if they were to encounter a Grade-3 Demonic Beasts.
Bai Zihan didn’t give them a concrete answer but said that in an ideal situation, there was a way to take care of even Grade-3 Demonic Beast.
That is, black powder in bullets is too low in quantity and therefore, if one wants to increase power, then the solution is to increase the amount of black powder.
One can ignite a large amount of black powder such that even Grade-3 Demonic Beasts would die instantly.
Of course, for that one needs to lure the monster to where the large amount of Blackpowder it kept and then need to stall him there until someone ignites the black powder.
Even if one had 10 lives, pulling this off would be almost impossible.
But Hong Tao was willing to try to do the impossible.
“Are you sure you want to do this? You might die!”
One of them said,
But Hong Tao was still full of determination without a single doubt.
“Anyways, I would have died if I hadn’t met Captain. If I can’t even do this, then my life would really have been useless.”
Hong Tao said.
There was no need to say anymore since Hong Tao had decided.
What they can do is fulfill their role and make sure that their plan works.
***
On the princess’s side, the assassins have all attacked, making sure that Bai ZIhan couldn’t escape.
For a brief moment, it looked like he was done for.
The blades slashed down—
CLANG!
A sharp metallic ring split the air.
A blinding silver arc swept across the wall like lightning, followed by a wave of Qi.
The assassins’ faces contorted in disbelief.
“Qi?!”
“That’s impossible!”
“He’s not supposed to have any cultivation!”
…
But by the time those words left their mouths, it was already too late.
SHHHHHHK!
Bai Zihan’s sword cut cleanly through the first assassin’s midsection, blood erupting like a geyser as the man collapsed in two twitching halves.
He didn’t stop.
Pivoting on one foot, Bai Zihan spun like a storm, his blade leaving behind a shimmering afterimage.
A second attacker tried to block with his dagger, but it shattered like brittle glass under the sheer force of the Qi-infused sword.
A diagonal slash opened him from shoulder to hip.
Another rushed from behind, blade aimed straight for Bai Zihan’s spine—only for Bai Zihan to twist at the last second.
His palm struck backward with a burst of Qi.
CRACK!
A surge of force exploded from his strike, shattering the attacker’s kneecap with a sickening crunch.
The man screamed and collapsed to one knee—only for Bai Zihan to whirl around and bring his sword down in a clean arc that ended his life in an instant.
The last one—Minister Duan’s guard—stood frozen, soaked in blood and trembling with wide eyes.
“You… you’re supposed to be just a mortal! You—this isn’t possible! This sword aura—this Qi! You’re lying!”
Bai Zihan turned to face him, sword casually resting on his shoulder.
Blood dripped from the blade.
Well, his body was really that of a mortal when he first came here, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t cultivate.
He had been cultivating from day one, and although this body wasn’t very talented, with his experience, Bai Zihan had at least managed to take his first step into cultivation with this body.
He was just in the Qi Refining Stage—the first stage of cultivation. Nothing to brag about.
But against assassins who could just barely use Qi and hadn’t even entered the Qi Refining Stage, it was more than enough.
Anyway, it was good that he cultivated it. Otherwise, it would’ve been a bit difficult to handle all those assassins.
He stepped forward, and with each step, his presence grew heavier.
The man staggered back in fear.
“S-Stay away! You don’t understand! Killing me means you’ll have Minister Duan’s entire faction after you!”
“Oh no,” Bai Zihan said mockingly, his grin widening.
“I am scared! Minister Duan will kill me.”
Bai Zihan mocked the little girl’s voice.
Before the man could respond—
SWISH!
Bai Zihan blurred forward and vanished from view.
A heartbeat later, a red line appeared across the assassin’s neck.
He stood there, eyes wide and mouth trembling—before his head slid off his shoulders and fell to the ground with a wet thud.
Bai Zihan exhaled and flicked his blade, sending blood scattering in an arc.
Princess Feilian stared at him like she was seeing a ghost.
“Y-You… you’re not just a commoner… You are a Cultivator!”
Princess Feilian couldn’t sense Qi or anything, but from the conversation she picked up and the power that he displayed, she understood that the person she thought was just a normal citizen of Ironmist was actually a cultivator.
To them, cultivators were like completely different species than them. Someone they revered.
Bai Zihan might have explained to her but there was no time for that.
He pointed his blood-soaked sword at the remaining Grade-3 Demonic Beasts still clawing toward the wall.
“Enough warm-up. Let’s clean this up!”