Scourge Messenger

Chapter 307 Murong Hui

"Don't stop summoning the vengeful spirit, she can't escape!"

On the street illuminated by the demonic flames of the dragon, a three-story building was smashed open from the inside, and colorful candies poured out. A dark, ethereal figure emerged from the pile of candies. Her skin was a near-caramel brown, with a weasel-like ponytail that reached her waist. She wore a full suit of black scale armor that fit her body perfectly. With a light step and a quick leap, she landed on a lamppost on the other side of the street, like a dark, phantom image casually splashed by a god.

But the bracelets she wore with sparkling electric arcs on her hands, and the powerful force with which she casually left five deep finger marks on a lamppost, all proved that she could transform into a ferocious cheetah among hunters at any moment!

With a thunderous crash, a large iron arrow pierced through the rubble of the candy house, striking precisely where the dark-skinned beauty was. She continued leaping, using the lamppost as a springboard, when suddenly, transparent, ghostly hands appeared on her legs. She seemed to have stepped into mud mid-air, landing softly on the ground, her movement speed reduced to the absolute minimum!

"The vengeful spirit has finally ensnared her, now is the time!"

Clang! Clang! Clang! More than six large iron arrows simultaneously pierced the sky, the sound of their strings like the roar of steel bars—and indeed it was, for this was the Qi Kingdom's top-tier weapon, the [Barbarian Bull Great Bow]. The bow's base material was refined steel from a secret realm, and the bowstring was made from the thigh tendon of the third-rank demon king, the 'Barbarian Bull King.' Although not a token, only a third-rank messenger could draw the Barbarian Bull Great Bow. Combined with the large iron arrows, each arrow possessed the power of a third-rank messenger's strongest attack!
The Bull King possesses a deadly move: after focusing its gaze on an enemy, it charges forward with incredible speed and power, imbued with a profound sense of death. Anyone struck by the Bull King, even a third-tier messenger, is certain to die. The Bull Greatbow originates from the Bull King, hence each shot from it is known as the "Bull's Eye."

Once you're stared at by the [Bull's Eye], you've already stepped one foot into the gates of hell!

Even as she was being targeted, the dark-skinned beauty felt a chill run down her spine; every hair on her body screamed for her life. Even with her third-tier rare defensive artifact, she couldn't withstand six [Bull's Eye] shots—Qi Kingdom's divine weapon capable of blasting apart even steel city gates with a single blow! In the past, Ying Le led the Hundred Guards across the Central Plains, and countless third-tier powerhouses were slain by nearly a hundred Bull's Great Bows!
But dodging was impossible. The vengeful spirits, now materialized, tightly bound her legs, as if hundreds of vengeful spirits wanted to drag her into hell!

Long-range bombardment and token restrictions, though an extremely simple tactical combination, are more than enough to deal with a third-tier messenger.

At this critical moment of life and death, the dark-skinned beauty remained extremely calm. She suddenly crouched down, her index fingers flashing with electric arcs, drawing a circle to form two blue electric rings. With a flick of her wrists, the blue electric rings transformed into two crescent moons that flew out, precisely slicing through the massive iron arrows that had been launched at full speed!
Even though they managed to stop all six [Bull's Eye] shots fired simultaneously, the broken arrowheads still slammed the dark-skinned beauty against the wall. She didn't even have time to take a healing pill, because her pursuers were already standing on the ruins of the candy store, drawing their bows again. Their right hands were bleeding from the bowstrings; even for a third-tier messenger, firing [Bull's Eye] in quick succession was a deadly move that came at a heavy price!
The dark-skinned beauty spun her index finger rapidly, drawing two whistling, screaming blue arcs of electricity, launching a preemptive counterattack before the enemy could fire their arrows. The instant the blue arcs left her hand, lightning suddenly exploded, emitting a piercing, ear-piercing sound!
Killer Move: Lightning Blade!

The Lightning Blade is a top-tier killing move, not only in the Central Plains and Three Kingdoms, but also in the Four Wildernesses of the Outer Regions. It combines four core elements: the three-tiered rare treasure tokens [Thunder Punishment Bracelet], [Featherless Arrow], the secret technique Finger Softening, and the secret technique Spinning Lamp. Apart from the difficulty of forming it, it has almost no flaws. However, the difficulty of forming it is not its flaw, but the flaw of the messenger.

Because the Lightning Blade has many advantages such as long attack range, high damage, wide area of ​​effect, and additional lightning damage, any third-tier hero who faces the Dark-skinned Beauty alone will be slowly worn down by her using the Lightning Blade. She is not afraid of being ganged up on, because the lightning damage can penetrate the defensive barrier and directly cause paralysis damage to the messenger.

Such a perfect killing move has only one fatal flaw.

With a crackling sound, the Lightning Blade left only a black mark on the pursuer's special armor, without causing any paralysis damage.

"Useless." The assassin wearing the Yaksha mask spoke without emotion, as if he were a messenger of fate: "Murong Hui, you defeated all the Qi Kingdom's experts with a single Lightning Blade move. How could we not be prepared? The killing move that Master Zijie tailored for you is indeed powerful, but it is precisely because of this that you rely too much on the Lightning Blade."

Murong Hui's heart sank. She had realized that their strange attire was very unusual when they were attacked. It was like the "Thunder-Absorbing Glue" described by her ancestors. It was very elastic and soft, and almost completely non-conductive. It was the greatest nemesis of the Murong family's thunder system.

However, the Central Plains Secret Realm does not produce Thunder-Absorbing Glue at all; it is only found in the Outer East Sea. But if caravans can travel between the Central Plains and the East Sea, the profit from any other goods is ten times higher than that of Thunder-Absorbing Glue. No normal person would buy Thunder-Absorbing Glue.

But all of these people were wearing soft armor made of lightning-resistant glue...

They even prepared a 'vengeful spirit guide'—a token that restricts movement—something that was not produced in the Central Plains during the Three Kingdoms period…

There were a total of seven third-tier assassins, although not all of them were elite third-tier assassins...

The Qi state produces ten Great Bull Bows a year, and almost all of them end up in the Baibao Imperial Guards directly under Ying Le's jurisdiction. They actually have six of them...

Even though this wasn't the first time Murong Hui had been assassinated, she was still shocked by the scale of their operation. This was definitely not a trap that could be set up by just one or two forces; there must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator behind it all.

But Murong Hui, a mere third-level messenger and the head of the small Murong family, has only one value that could be exploited by a Foundation Establishment True Person: she is the granddaughter of True Person Zi Jie!
Before the second volley of [Bull's Eye], Murong Hui ruthlessly crushed a jade pendant. This was a rare jade pendant that could increase defensive barriers and reduce damage; crushing it would instantly remove all negative status effects. The vengeful spirits binding her legs immediately vanished. With a swift movement, Murong Hui transformed into a phantom, covering a distance of more than ten steps, causing all six large iron arrows to miss their mark.

The Yaksha assassin suddenly pointed in another direction: "Second floor, 270 paces, volley fire."

Clang! Clang! Clang! Six [Bull's Eye] shots blasted together, followed by a fleeting scream in the distance. The two-story building was completely blasted apart. The Yaksha assassin showed no emotion, as if he had accomplished a trivial task, and continued to lead six archers in pursuit of Murong Hui.

Although Murong Hui had already escaped nearly fifty paces, he felt no sense of relief. The Yaksha assassin's actions could only prove two things: he possessed reconnaissance tokens, allowing him to accurately report the location of others hiding in the distance; and he was unafraid of leaks, declaring that anyone who dared to interfere would die, and that they would hunt down Murong Hui even if it meant breaking through the Demon Gathering Grounds!
They not only want to kill themselves, but also want the whole world to know about it!
They were here to provoke Master Zi Jie! In a flash, Murong Hui understood their intentions and immediately turned into a wild dog, running away as fast as she could. This was no longer just about her; it concerned the Murong family's ancestor, and she had no right to risk her life... Besides, she didn't want to die!

Before long, when Murong Hui's legs were once again entangled by the vengeful spirits, the arrow rain attack of [Bull's Eye] immediately followed her like a shadow. Murong Hui could only use her lightning sword to intercept the iron arrows. As long as the distance was far enough, intercepting flying arrows was not difficult for her.

After unleashing the Lightning Blade for the sixth time, Murong Hui felt a chill run through her body; she knew her spiritual and physical strength were nearly exhausted. The Lightning Blade was, after all, a combined killing move of two tokens and two secret techniques, so even with minimal consumption, it wouldn't be a significant loss.

She had never tried unleashing so many Lightning Blades in a row before. Although it could only be used to block the rain of arrows now, the output of the Lightning Blade was extremely terrifying. Moreover, the attack damage was inversely proportional to the attack range. Increasing the attack range turned it into a group attack, while decreasing the attack range turned it into a single-target critical damage. Unless it was a third-tier Demon King, three Lightning Blades were enough to eliminate most enemies.

But even drawing the Great Bull Bow is a heavy burden for a third-tier messenger, so why can they continue firing in volleys? Murong Hui squinted and saw that the archers' right hands were cut by the bowstrings, bleeding profusely to the bone, and their right arm muscles were also lacerated, clearly indicating they were overburdened. Yet they still drew the bowstrings without hesitation, as if their right hands didn't belong to them.

Liang Kingdom's Five-Stone Powder!
The three kingdoms of the Central Plains each had their own strengths in utilizing the resources of the secret realms. The Zhou Kingdom was unparalleled in forging technology, the Qi Kingdom was vast and rich in resources, and the Liang Kingdom was famous for its elixirs. The Liang Kingdom's Five-Stone Powder could completely block out pain, and unless one was crippled, even the most severe injuries would not affect combat power.

This stuff is incredibly useful for conquering secret realms. Even if one is severely injured in the process, the messenger's superior health and vitality allow for a few months of rest and recovery. However, often conquering a secret realm simply requires a burst of fearless, relentless energy. Therefore, Five-Stone Powder is a secret resource of the Liang Kingdom, much like the Vajra Armor of the Zhou Kingdom, and it's almost never circulated outside. These assassins… could they be a joint bet by Foundation Establishment cultivators from multiple kingdoms?
Murong Hui's mind raced. She took out another jade pendant, crushed it to dispel the vengeful spirits, and while fleeing, she took out a blood-replenishing pill and a hundred jades to replenish her strength.

It's not surprising that the Yaksha assassin was involved. As the most beloved granddaughter of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Murong Hui possessed life-saving methods far beyond the comprehension of ordinary third-tier cultivators. She likely carried more than five rare and precious items; in a normal encounter, even ten third-tier cultivators of the same level might not be able to subdue her. However, this assassination attempt was a deadly trap planned for three years. All her methods had been deciphered; her fate was sealed the moment she entered the Demon Gathering Land, this prison.

There's no way anyone in the Demon Gathering Land could help her. Even if others wanted to meddle, a single volley from [Bull's Eye] would be enough to crush any unexpected events.

She can buy time, but she can't change her fate.

When Murong Hui crushed the third jade pendant, even though she was never inferior to anyone in her life, she couldn't help but feel a trace of despair. She only had four jade pendants left, and if things continued like this, she would eventually be pinned to the ground by the rain of arrows from the [Bull's Eye].

Her death isn't important; what's important is that it doesn't implicate Master Zijie... No, she's important too! She just came to the Demon Gathering Land for fun, how could she suddenly be dying! Can't she just not come next time?

Just then, Murong Hui saw a stone pillar piercing the sky not far away. Around the pillar were large areas of bubbling yellow mud swamps. Outside the swamps were two skeletal flying dragons. However, the demons in this secret realm would not react as long as you did not attack them, so there was no need to pay attention to them.

She was familiar with the stone pillars; they were found all over the Demon Gathering Land, but usually there was a stone chair at the base… Where was the stone chair? And there shouldn't be a swamp around it…

But now was not the time to think about such trivial matters. Murong Hui leaped up and immediately climbed to the back of the stone pillar, seizing the time to rest and replenish supplies, completely unafraid of the assassins' barrage of arrows.

Having traveled to the Demon Gathering Land multiple times, Murong Hui naturally understood some of the hidden characteristics of this secret realm. Some structures were indestructible; no matter how high the damage, not a trace could be left. For example, the huge skeletal wheel in the distance, the evil flame dragon in the sky, and the stone pillar before her. With the stone pillar blocking her way, she could minimize the threat of the Great Bull Bow.

What's even more ingenious is that a huge mud pit suddenly appears beneath the stone pillar. Stepping into it will undoubtedly greatly reduce movement speed, so if the assassin wants to cover all shooting angles, she can only spread out outside the mud pit... This might be her chance to take them down one by one!
Seeing the terrain of the stone pillar and the mud pit, the Yaksha assassin realized Murong Hui's intention. He made a gesture, and the six archers were divided into three teams. This way, no matter which side of the stone pillar Murong Hui hid on, there would be at least four archers who could aim. Even if Murong Hui wanted to defeat them one by one, he would have to deal with two archers at the same time. Moreover, there was the Yaksha assassin providing support from the middle.

Murong Hui's heart sank when she saw his arrangement. Even with such a huge advantage, the Yaksha assassin did not underestimate his opponent in the slightest, and did not waste any words, always maintaining the highest level of vigilance.

You should know that she had repeatedly shown weakness to the enemy along the way and had almost no intention of fighting back. Moreover, she was not bragging, but in the Qi country, apart from that mad emperor and his stupid niece, she was the most beautiful. In her disheveled escape, she became even more pitiful and weak. But these assassins did not waver at all, and their eyes were only filled with killing intent... Who exactly sent these guys to kill them?
But no matter what, she had to make a move; waiting any longer would only lead to her doom!
Just then, Murong Hui felt the stone pillar vibrate, and strange sounds came from it, as if something was sliding down the pillar. She looked up and vaguely saw a white thing sliding down the pillar...falling...crashing down?
Murong Hui glanced at the yellow mud swamp below and had a very bad feeling.

and many more! ?
Without hesitation, she pushed off the stone pillar with her toes and shot forward. The archers, thinking she was about to attack, immediately drew their swords to prepare for battle, but Murong Hui simply swept past them, attempting to escape.

But it's too late.

With a deafening, crackling explosion that sounded like diarrhea, the stone chair crashed heavily into the yellow mud swamp. Dozens of tons of yellow mud surged up, creating a massive mud wave that felt like a rain of excrement was falling from the sky, splashing everyone, including Murong Hui, with mud all over them!
Murong Hui was drenched, especially her unguarded face, half of which was covered in yellow mud. She even had to wipe it off before she could open her eyes. The pungent smell almost made her faint. She suddenly paused, looking at the yellow mud on her body, then at the archer's yellow mud in front of her, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

She crouched down, and the rare boots on her legs burst with golden light. She then jumped up and performed a handstand, her right foot drawing a crescent-shaped blade of light that sliced ​​the still-stunned archer in two!

If this yellow mud gets splashed on you, the defensive barrier will become completely ineffective!
(End of this chapter)