Infinite Hunter

This kind of thing had to be considered politically, and it was beyond the reach of Old Liu and Cheng Yijiu. As a bureaucrat, Old Liu didn't want to get involved, and as an outside expert, Cheng Yijiu wanted even less. "This giant snake is ridiculous. Shouldn't it be called a ghost snake?" Cheng Yijiu flipped through the more classified information Old Liu had brought. "I'm leaning towards a physical entity. I'll see if I can kill one next time."

chapter eight

Few sorcerers from Southeast Asia dare to enter China, but if their creations go out of control, they might reach the southeastern and southwestern borders. Cheng Yijiu's plan soon found its practical application—the team received orders to deal with any unusual creatures entering my country from Yunnan. This creature was witnessed by border residents, and the cell phone photo was quite clear, showing a shiny black snake tail.

Compared to the surrounding trees, the tail is unusually thick. The photographer has disappeared, and this is a photo from a recovered phone. The southern response team is currently busy dealing with the zombies and other issues in the recently discovered Guangdong tomb, so Cheng Yijiu's team, which specializes in dealing with these types of unusual creatures, has been deployed. The high-speed train, with additional carriages, continues to the destination—because the missing person is undoubtedly beyond hope, and local patrols have been organized to prevent similar incidents.

This time, the special train was equipped with weapons. Cheng Yijiu had a gun license, so he was assigned a double-barreled hunting rifle, while the others were equipped with small-caliber military weapons. "Going into the jungle to chase something like that?" Cheng Yijiu's scalp tingled. This was not a good option. At this time, he was hoping that if he showed up, the thing would find him. At least this time, he brought a cold iron single-edged long hunting knife.

This thing was a controlled knife, and it was long enough to penetrate the monster's skin and cause severe damage—the handle and blade were nearly 40 centimeters long, making it a truly deadly weapon. With this length, coupled with Cheng Yijiu's strength, it should be enough to penetrate the giant snake's skull—probably. Of course, one could also pry off the thick snake scales first and then stab it.

The high-speed train arrived in Yunnan quickly, and the next journey was to the border by helicopter. Several people arrived at the place where the creature was last seen. "It's been several days, and the traces are starting to blur." Cheng Yijiu stepped on a high ground and looked at the remaining traces on the ground. He thought it was almost impossible to track the giant snake based on this. Because this thing was not a real snake, but something between a ghost and a snake.

The information described it this way, and Cheng Yijiu had personally witnessed a twenty-meter-long giant snake crawling out of a bathroom less than ten square meters. If they were all physical, that would be impossible. Therefore, tracking them wasn't very meaningful; the only option was to lure them out. It seemed the relevant departments had already researched how to destroy these monsters. The bullets they used were unusual. Although they couldn't be seen clearly through the shell, Cheng Yijiu could sense a heavy, mercury-like substance inside when he shook it.

This thing could cause serious damage to imps and giant snakes, and even to those terrifying apes Kunlun had discovered. Mercury bullets are inherently powerful, and if they hit a person, they could be even more terrifying than hard bullets. Cheng Yijiu's smoothbore double-barreled shotgun used mercury bullets. As for the bullets in the other small-caliber guns, they were different from his, perhaps filled with some other liquid?

"I hope this thing will come after me again, just like it did in Singapore." Cheng Yijiu didn't understand why a creature like this would chase him from Thailand to Malaysia all the way to Singapore, but now he hoped it would find him again—this time he would treat the snake or its friends to a good meal. So far, all the records have been framed within a certain range, and Cheng Yijiu said he planned to settle within that range.

"I think this thing will target me, just like in Southeast Asia," he said. "Let's prepare for an ambush." ​​The three of them were ready, and the little girl provided technical support from the rear as usual. Cheng Yijiu lay on a bed in a residential building, while the other two were in the next room—actually, the only thing separating them was a wooden board that could be broken at any time. Cheng Yijiu was half asleep, half awake, holding the shotgun and waiting.

The moon was mid-air, and drifting clouds obscured its light. For a moment, it was pitch black—there was almost no light pollution in this area to begin with, so when the moonlight vanished, it was pitch black. In the darkness, Cheng Yijiu's heart skipped a beat. A strange feeling told him, "Here it comes!" His finger pressed a small alarm button, and the same gadget next door, at Old Liu's, immediately lit up red and vibrated slightly.

All three of them were ready. The wind blew away the clouds, and moonlight once again streamed down to the earth. The ground and trees seemed to turn silver, the wind and shadows making them suddenly alive. Moonlight also shone through the windows into the house. The light was not bright, and it would never keep someone awake; it would only make them sleep more peacefully. Cheng Yijiu was very uneasy. He had already seen his goal.

Under the moonlight, a giant snake slithered out of the shadows, seemingly segmented. Its head, larger than the window, was flat and wide. As expected, a venomous snake's triangular head, when magnified, is far larger than a python of the same size, much larger. Judging by the thickness and size of its skull, this snake must be a monster at least twenty meters long. Its movements were almost silent, its body behind its skull barely touching the ground. The shadow was only five or six meters from the bed, yet the monster seemed to be hovering in mid-air.

"Hey, say hello!" Cheng Yijiu suddenly sat up, raised his double-barreled shotgun, and without hesitation, pulled both triggers at the snake's head. Long flashes of fire erupted from the muzzle as two large-caliber bullets splattered into the snake's head. Cheng Yijiu could see the silver bullets expand and penetrate the snake's head, creating a massive wound and simultaneously starting a fire.

"This impact area practically covers the entire head," Cheng Yijiu sighed. He rolled over and leaped to the side, cocking his rifle. Two shell casings ejected, and he loaded two more rounds. Just then, the wooden planks shattered, and two men wearing night vision goggles rushed over and opened fire—with semi-automatic rifles, of course, for better accuracy. The bullets pierced the giant snake's body, leaving holes far larger than the caliber of the bullets, and the wounds burned from the outside in.

The snake began to roll, its body fading as if it were about to disappear and escape. "It doesn't have any other special abilities?" Cheng Yijiu recalled the information. It was indeed true. This creature had no special abilities besides its elusiveness. If it weren't immune to damage, it would be just a larger snake. Cheng Yijiu fired again, this time from the side, causing the snake to go limp as half its head was completely blown off.

The local police might be able to handle it, but if they can't confirm the appearance of this thing, the problem cannot be solved.

Volume: Holy War

Chapter 1 The Road to Jerusalem

The big snake finally disappeared, and the only remnant found at the site was a broken snake bone no longer than one meter long. "This is the true form of the monster created by southern witchcraft," Old Liu said after taking a look. Cheng Yijiu picked up the snake bone with a dagger and said, "This bone is very old. The surface is yellow, black and dry. These Nanyang people are really something. They created such a dangerous thing but can't control it. They are hurting others and themselves."

Thankfully, there don't seem to be any Kumantongs this time, otherwise they'd be even more difficult to deal with. "That's all, forget it. We can't control them all. Just keep them from entering our territory. The ones here are the scarier ones. Have you heard there's a giant one in Kunlun?" Old Liu added mysteriously. "Unfortunately, we've only found footprints so far. If we follow them, they'll vanish without a trace."

Cheng Yijiu had actually reviewed the latest summary. He knew about the unidentified creature's footprints found in Kunlun, and he'd seen photos of them—along with scales and reference objects. If nothing unexpected happened, this thing might be a Godzilla—the prone kind, the American Godzilla. "Geophysics and biology clearly don't support the existence of such a thing...and now we have even this ghost snake, so it wouldn't be surprising if a Godzilla appeared next."

No matter what, at least for now, thermal weapons are still effective, and Godzilla will only die if he comes out.

After three more days of staying there and finding nothing else happening, Cheng Yijiu returned home—the mission was about to begin. "Hmm, can't we bring modern firearms this time? Not even flintlocks? Not even Vulcan rifles? Oh, damn, that's too ancient?" While there was still time, Cheng Yijiu quickly began packing his equipment. He had his usual, reforged and repaired enchanted cold iron longsword and a short dagger.

He didn't bring any other weapons, but he did bring a small grindstone for sharpening his sword, a set of sword oil and rust-removing paste for cleaning, a set of chain mail, a lion skin, and a short helmet for protection. He also took the box of ointment given by Apollo, and quickly stamped some gold and silver coins from silver and gold bars, keeping them on hand as a backup. Finally, he brought some dry food and clean water, and tried to see if he could bring water purification tablets.

It turned out that everything was fine. When Cheng Yijiu walked out with these things, he checked afterwards and found that they were not left on the other side of the door. The lion skin was wrapped in a large piece of tent cloth, and the robe and chain mail were worn on his body, as well as the gauntlets and armored shoes. The short sword and dagger were inserted at his waist, and the long sword was slung over the other side. "Ghouls? Are we going to hunt such things now? This time the mission is clearly written. But where is this place?"

Cheng Yijiu didn't know where he was, because he appeared on a dusty road. He could only confirm the direction. Fortunately, some people soon appeared on the road, but these people... "Who are these people? Dirty burqas with cross marks on them, driving carriages with simple weapons in their hands, they look more like farmers." Cheng Yijiu could only understand a small part of what these people said.

They spoke French, a French with lots of dialect and slang, completely different from Cheng Yijiu's French. "Damn it! Can I buy a language pack?" Cheng Yijiu was also in a dilemma. These people also saw Cheng Yijiu on the roadside. His appearance was seen by the farmers. They shouted "Saracens" and approached Cheng Yijiu with weapons drawn. Cheng Yijiu knew what they meant. Isn't it the name used by medieval Europe to refer to the ethnic groups in the Middle East and Asia Minor?

With his black hair and pale skin, Cheng Yijiu certainly looked more like a Saracen—though he didn't think so himself. However, with these men approaching him with pitchforks and flails, it seemed like a bad time to start explaining. Cheng Yijiu immediately drew his longsword from his waist. The cold iron two-handed broadsword gleamed with a cold light, and the battle began the next moment. These men were indeed peasants, their combat skills were poor, and their coordination was practically nonexistent.

The men were disrupting each other, so Cheng Yijiu took a few steps back—someone had already smashed his companion's skull... Screams and curses rang out—all directed at his companions. Only then did Cheng Yijiu step forward. He used the strong blade and guard of his sword to perform a disarming technique. In the midst of the magnificent sword waltz, the weapons in the hands of the farmers fell to the ground.

Cheng Yijiu dropped the sword in his hand. In front of him were the farmers with bloody heads - it was not Cheng Yijiu's doing, it was all their own fault. "Where are you going?" Cheng Yijiu said in fluent French. The farmers' expressions became very awed. Although they were already very scared, Cheng Yijiu's tone now should have made them think that this was the court French spoken by the nobles.

To the French peasants, the lord of the land was out of their reach. Furthermore, the "Saracen" before them was a skilled swordsman, most likely a noble lord. So, these people started shouting, "Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" As they spoke, they became increasingly excited. "Holy War! Jerusalem!" Cheng Yijiu looked at these guys, "Crusaders? Are you Crusaders? Where is this place?"

The farmers didn't know either, but they were proud to be called Crusaders. All they knew was that by following this road, they could reach Jerusalem and join the holy war. But how far was Jerusalem? They still didn't know. Cheng Yijiu could only shake his head. He didn't know where to find the ghouls, but the timeframe for this mission seemed long, so he deduced that they wouldn't be able to find such monsters until they reached Jerusalem.

The ghouls Cheng Yijiu remembered were the kind from Warcraft II. What were real ghouls like? It was hard to say. Cheng Yijiu was confident in himself. His abilities had reached peak human form, even surpassing them, reaching the level of large cats. Consequently, his swordsmanship had reached a level almost untouchable by humans—smoothing the rhythms of one-sixty-fourth and one-half beats with ease, like a metronome.

This was the cat sword, a sword technique that would strain your muscles if you tried it at all. And it was also about cutting circles, like a piece of music, a function. Cheng Yijiu finally decided to go with these farmers, which would make things easier for him. After he recited a short passage from the Bible in Latin, these farmers treated him with the same respect they would give to a priest. He only knew a few verses from the Bible, but that was already better than most village priests.

Many farmers came to Cheng Yijiu for counseling. Since he had nothing else to do, Cheng Yijiu also helped them solve some of their psychological problems and adjudicated some of their disputes. With his 21st-century knowledge, it wasn't difficult to resolve these issues...

Chapter 2 Sir Knight

Unexpectedly, these actions earned Cheng Yijiu the reputation of a "fair" and "wise" knight. Cheng Yijiu invented a false name, Titus, and so the peasants now called him "Master Titus." Many peasants joined him along the way, men, women, and children alike. They didn't even reach the Adriatic coast before finally reaching Durres and the Crusaders' starting point, Constantinople.

By this time, Cheng Yijiu, also known as Master Titus, had discovered that the group of French farmers had swelled to approximately four thousand, including farmers from the Holy Roman Empire and northern Italy. In short, they were a true mob. Apart from their piety towards God, they possessed nothing else and were truly "villains" through and through.

Because they were so short of supplies, they had to rely on looting along the way to survive. Who did they rob? Of course, the local farmers or Jews. Among these people were also many hermits and country priests. Cheng Yijiu had no way to control these people and he didn't want to control them, which made him a good arbitrator.

As long as he didn't make any suggestions, he'd be safe in this position—he'd have plenty of food and drink, and his daily routine was mostly just riding in his car, which was much easier. He didn't have to fight, and even the bandits on the road had to be watched carefully—after all, religious fanaticism did have a certain combat bonus.

Cheng Yijiu didn't see any supernatural beings along the way, but since they were hunting ghouls, such things definitely existed. It was just that he was lucky now, or they were rare. Aside from his weapons, Cheng Yijiu didn't reveal anything else, and he was also considered a knight - this was confirmed by several priests and hermit masters.

In fact, it was only because they discovered that Cheng Yijiu could actually recognize Latin, and could interpret and recite some Bibles - in those days, there were still many nobles who could not read. Someone like Cheng Yijiu who at least knew French and Latin and could speak a little German must be a high-level intellectual from the church, and could also be a knight.

"The Adriatic Sea is truly beautiful. If we were to follow the coastal highway, I think a few boats would make it faster," Cheng Yijiu thought. He sat cross-legged behind the cart, letting the old horse pull the cart along, rocking forward. The black bread of that era wasn't fermented, so it tasted sour and hard—it was a limitation; otherwise, it should have been fermented with beer yeast.

The problem was that it was mixed with sawdust, even a lot of unsifted small stones and sand, and bugs were perfectly normal. The bread was served with pickled pork fat, which would have been considered a delicacy—if it weren't for the lack of spices giving it a strange smell, and the pig hadn't been castrated.

The rest was corned beef, which could be used as a weapon, and salted pork, which was similar. Cheng Yijiu had to rely on his compressed biscuits for a quick fix, and he drank filtered and boiled water, but instead of using water purification tablets, he used crushed charcoal to filter the water before boiling it.

Cheng Yijiu didn't want to get sick from drinking the water and die. Dysentery and cholera were deadly these days. He also applied Apollo's ointment daily, purely to avoid mosquito bites, as malaria would be fatal. The Mediterranean coast, and later the Marmara Sea coast and Asia Minor, had been inhabited by humans since ancient times, and these diseases had always existed.

We had already left the coastline and were on the road to Constantinople. Along the way were Byzantine farms. We didn't dare continue looting here, as we would be killed by the Byzantine army. Fortunately, we could buy them with money. These farmers had some savings from robbing Jews before.

There are almost seven or eight thousand people in this group, and no one knows the exact number. There are more than ten factions in it. Cheng Yijiu has not found any supernatural creatures so far - of course, it is more likely that dark supernatural creatures have already hunted them, but there are too many people and too diverse, and no one knows if anyone is missing.

If there really were werewolves, even if they dragged someone away every night, no one would know for ten days or half a month. And Cheng Yijiu wouldn't have known there were werewolves dragging people away unless he ran into them face to face. So, if a "magic" vampire or something were to capture someone, Cheng Yijiu wouldn't have been able to tell who was captured among the tens of thousands of people.

Fortunately, we will arrive in Constantinople soon.

Once there, he would probably separate from these people. Now he could look for legends of ghouls in Constantinople and ask the local elders where to find these monsters. If he wanted to go to Jerusalem, then he could go to Jerusalem. However, Cheng Yijiu looked at his pocket and said, "If I want to continue, I'm afraid I'll have to find a job."

His name was Titus now. If he said he was from Gaul or the Holy Roman Empire... he'd probably be exposed. After all, there were many knights and nobles near Jerusalem these days, and asking them casually would expose his true identity. Forget it, he decided to say he was from the more distant Albion. After the Lionheart arrived, he wouldn't be able to tell how many knights and nobles there were in the British Isles, so he should be able to successfully impersonate him.

Cheng Yijiu still had some money, and before it ran out, he had to find out the whereabouts of the ghoul. Unfortunately, he couldn't enter the Royal Library, and after impersonating the oracle and mumbling to the priests to deceive them, only one person said he had heard of such monsters in Asia Minor, and they were all in Saracen lands. "This is a disaster from God!" the old man said, shaking his fist.

Cheng Yijiu decided to go to Jerusalem, this time alone. After using his last remaining money to buy a carriage and an old horse, he simply loaded it with beans and "food for human consumption" and set off—still a thousand kilometers away. As for the farmers who wanted to join his army—the first few batches of farmers who had followed him had expressed this desire, but Cheng Yijiu had told them that he would be waiting for them in Jerusalem.

Cheng Yijiu, who was traveling alone, finally ran into the monster he had been thinking about.

It was night, and the road was already crowded. The thousand-kilometer route was dotted with places offering food and lodging to pilgrims. After walking ten or twenty kilometers, there was always a village or town, or even a place where merchants gathered, offering food and lodging. Cheng Yijiu, on his first trip, had missed it and was forced to camp in the wild...

Chapter 3 Encounter

This stretch of road was flanked by mountains, but there were few trees. Even if there was vegetation, it was low shrubs. Cheng Yijiu found an open space on the side of the road and parked the carriage. There were the embers of a fire, but it looked like it had been there for some time. Cheng Yijiu didn't think of starting a fire—he didn't want to destroy the few plants here. After feeding the horses food and water, he rested in the carriage.

Lay hay and sheepskin underneath, then cover yourself with the lion skin and cloth. This will isolate the cold air from the ground, making it much warmer than sleeping on the ground. The moon was still very round tonight. Cheng Yijiu slept until midnight, and suddenly his heart beat and he woke up. He heard a sound, a sound that was very clear in this quiet and cold night. "Footsteps?" Cheng Yijiu had already grasped the hilt of his sword under the lion skin.

He wasn't wearing any armor, not even chain mail, but the lion skin was fine. Cheng Yijiu soundlessly dug his foot into the leather of the lion's skin at the back paw—it was originally tied together at the waist. Because Cheng Yijiu wasn't wearing shoes, stepping barefoot in this area—if he stepped on a sharp stone, it would be very disadvantageous in battle. Most people couldn't hear the footsteps, but Cheng Yijiu did.

As the footsteps drew closer, Cheng Yijiu could hear the old horse snorting and its hooves clacking against the ground. Amidst these sounds, Cheng Yijiu also heard breathing. Judging by the breathing, the person making the noises was likely quite large. What could it be? A Syrian brown bear? Cheng Yijiu immediately rose from the carriage, dismounted, threw on the lion skin, and unsheathed his sword.

The creature that had made the noise sped up, and Cheng Yijiu's horse grew increasingly frantic, soon leaping out. "This is truly beyond my expectations," Cheng Yijiu was astonished. He saw a giant wolf rising from its own body. This was exactly the kind of wolf-man he'd seen in France and other places, and it was the strongest of them all. Under the moonlight, the normally brown fur shone with a silvery glow. Even Cheng Yijiu couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful beast!"

Cheng Yijiu himself was no less impressive. He stood about five feet tall, draped in a golden lion hide with a thick mane that shone silver in the moonlight. He held a long sword, his aura no less impressive than the three-foot-tall werewolf. The werewolf flexed the muscles around his lips, baring his teeth. His massive, sharp fangs were fully exposed, and he let out a long howl before lunging forward.

Cheng Yijiu wouldn't let him have a chance to destroy his carriage, so he bent down and sprinted, then slashed diagonally. After the sword flashed, Cheng Yijiu used his left foot as the axis, pivoting along the slashing motion, and thrust upward with both hands. The werewolf had originally attacked with its claws, but he hadn't expected Cheng Yijiu to take the initiative, and with unexpected speed, so he made a slight mistake in judging the distance.

A claw strike missed, its impact on the lion's hide ineffective. Instead, he received a vicious slash across his arm, a wound a finger deep and extending from his elbow to his shoulder. Then, he was stabbed in the side. Luckily, the tip of the sword was deflected by his ribs, avoiding his lungs, but at the cost of a broken rib. After one round of attack and defense, Cheng Yijiu exhaled and prepared for another.

Werewolves can be considered warriors with natural weapons. Their primary attacks are three-point attacks, and their clawed blades can be used as short swords. They only need to pay special attention to their bite. Cheng Yijiu was somewhat confident against such a warrior—protected by the lion's hide. The magic-breaking power of cold iron might not be as strong against a werewolf as silver, but it could still be considered "real damage." At least until now, the werewolf's wounds hadn't healed at all and were still bleeding.

The edges of the wound also bore traces of burns. The werewolf now looked at Cheng Yijiu with a more cautious expression. It wasn't surprising that werewolves possessed rationality; after all, they were terrifying dark creatures, not mindless, inferior beings. Cheng Yijiu flung his lion skin and took the initiative to attack. His swordsmanship was a European swordsmanship style that had yet to be refined in this world, combined with his own breakthroughs, making it incredibly sharp.

He used the strong blade to block the werewolf's claws, then twisted it to absorb the force, and the sharp front of the sword created one wound after another that was difficult to heal on the werewolf. However, the werewolf's claws could not penetrate the protection of the lion skin. The few attacks that successfully attacked Cheng Yijiu were also deflected by the ointment applied to the man's body. The wounds caused by the wolf's claws were sealed by the ointment, which sealed the wounds and made Cheng Yijiu almost unaffected.

The blood flowing from the werewolf has formed a pool of blood here. Cheng Yijiu's sword skills, as smooth as a waltz, have created many puncture wounds on the werewolf. Now the werewolf is showing signs of decline, and the werewolf's eyes have begun to wander, "This guy is going to escape." Cheng Yijiu has no intention of stopping the werewolf's escape. The werewolf still has at least 70% of its combat power. If he really fights to the death, he can burst out twice the strength. Cheng Yijiu does not want to look for zombies while recovering from his injuries.

So if the werewolf wanted to escape, then let it. If he was really too foolish to run, then Cheng Yijiu wouldn't mind killing him, even at the cost of injury. Werewolves are always easier to kill than dragons, and Cheng Yijiu wasn't completely serious, was he? Sure enough, the werewolf suddenly turned and ran, even on all fours. Cheng Yijiu stood there, breathing a long sigh of relief. He wiped the blood off his body with hay - it was all splashed on him by the werewolf during the fight.

After wiping it clean, he went back to the car and fell asleep. This time the battle lasted less than five minutes. Cheng Yijiu did not sheath the sword, but just placed it on the hay beside him. Even if he needed to maintain it, he would have to wait until daytime. After passing a place where he could stay to rest and then maintain it, Cheng Yijiu thought, "I should say that my luck is gradually coming. It seems that I will gradually come into contact with those strange creatures. I hope to find information about the ghouls in Jerusalem..."

After that, nothing strange disturbed Cheng Yijiu's sleep. He woke a little after nine in the morning, washed up, fed the old horses that had pulled a lot, and hurried off in his carriage. On the way, he let the horses drink water and also fetched a lot of river water for himself to filter in the carriage. This time, he used water purification tablets. As he walked, he found that there were actually quite a few people on the road, and Cheng Yijiu also heard a lot of news...

Chapter 4 Conflict

"I heard a wild beast has gone berserk nearby, killing over twenty pilgrims, including a knight." This was the hottest news recently. While the road wasn't exactly peaceful, it was rare to see such a large number of casualties in such a short period of time. "It seems this werewolf went berserk after the battle, killing people madly." Cheng Yijiu's cold iron sword was enchanted with the ability to destroy dark magic, so the wounds inflicted on the werewolf would be difficult to heal.

To heal its wounds, and also to cope with the pain, the werewolf attacked humans frantically, hoping to distract itself by feeding and killing. Cheng Yijiu had no intention of continuing to hunt the werewolf, but he heard its name—Graves. The werewolf's existence had been confirmed, and it was an alpha wolf, a formidable one among alpha wolves.

What is uncertain is who this werewolf is disguised as among humans.

Now, to find this crazy werewolf, the feudal nobles and the knights participating in the Crusades were spontaneously searching for him, and Cheng Yijiu had unfortunately become a suspect. Because of his uniqueness, even if his name was Tutis and he looked like a Roman, it was useless. Most of these rude knights and nobles were illiterate, and Cheng Yijiu's claim that he could recite the Bible was useless - these bandit-like guys couldn't understand or recite it at all. They only trusted the introduction of the priests they knew in the robes of priests.

The brown-haired, smelly knight in front of him, Powell, was the one who thought Cheng Yijiu was a werewolf. This rough guy had already drawn his sword and was waving it, but Cheng Yijiu just said helplessly, "Can you at least provide some evidence? Why do you say I'm a werewolf?" Powell just roared and ordered his soldiers to surround Cheng Yijiu, "Open the package!" the guy roared.

Cheng Yijiu shook his head and opened the package to reveal a gorgeous lion skin, "Werewolf! He who puts on the wolf skin will turn into a werewolf! That's him! This damn pagan!" Cheng Yijiu was also angry, "Can you tell the difference between a lion and a wolf? Idiot!" He grabbed the lion skin. At this time, the soldiers had been frightened by their leader. When they saw Cheng Yijiu grabbing the lion skin, they thought he was going to turn into a werewolf and immediately waved their weapons to kill him.

If he were truly a werewolf, ordinary weapons would be of little use. However, a werewolf without transformation would still be vulnerable to ordinary weapons. Cheng Yijiu threw on the lion skin and swung back with his longsword. The skin blocked most of the attacks, and Cheng Yijiu, with his swift speed and reaction, disarmed several soldiers facing him. At this moment, Powell roared and charged, brandishing his armed sword, but Cheng Yijiu still didn't want to kill.

It would be fine if he didn't kill anyone, but if he did, even if he wasn't a werewolf, he'd probably be in trouble. So, considering this, Cheng Yijiu took the initiative and stepped forward, blocking the guy's blow with his longsword. With a twist of his wrist, the sword guard and the strong blade exerted force, forcing Powell's wrist to rotate outward until he could no longer hold the sword and fell to the ground. The arming sword slipped out of his hand, and the sharp tip of the sword now pointed at Powell's chin, forcing him to look up at Cheng Yijiu.

The man in the lion skin looked directly into the eyes of the illiterate knight Powell and spoke word by word, "I am not a werewolf. I even injured a werewolf a few days ago. I hope you can believe this." After that, Cheng Yijiu slowly withdrew his sword, but he continued to stare at Powell. Powell's eyes gradually became timid, and finally he picked up the sword from the ground and walked away without saying a word.

Cheng Yijiu, wearing a lion skin, exuded an aura like the blazing sun. He was also covered in Apollo's ointment, even though he was only wearing a shirt and the lion skin. It was still very hot in this place, but after applying the ointment, Cheng Yijiu could feel a coolness. The sun would not burn him, and he would not get sunburned. This was one of Apollo's blessings. He would never get sunburned.

Cheng Yijiu was not disturbed any further, but after he left the inn, he was unsurprisingly surrounded by several cavalrymen, a dozen infantrymen, and two knights. Cheng Yijiu sighed. The two knights before him were both wearing helmets and lowering their visors, but Powell was not among them. "I told you, I'm not a werewolf," Cheng Yijiu tried to convince himself, but the other party's voice only intensified his anger.

"Capture him and take him to the dungeon for a slow trial. Werewolves are very cunning," a knight ordered. Cheng Yijiu would never allow himself to be imprisoned in a dungeon, so he immediately donned the lion skin, casually placed his front and back paws on it, drew his sword, and began to fight. A circle of idlers gathered farther away, watching. They believed it was impossible for someone to escape alone while surrounded by cavalry, infantry, and knights.

All they want is to bet on how long it will take for this guy to be caught.

Cheng Yijiu was the last to arrive, and the surrounding infantry, brandishing axes, swords, and shields, squeezed his space, but his sword had reached the target first—directly knocking the sword out of the soldier's hand. Cheng Yijiu was still thinking of holding back. He didn't want to become a wanted criminal because of the loss of life—this place was still halfway to Jerusalem, and becoming a wanted criminal would be a big trouble.

Cheng Yijiu, draped in a lion's skin, used his shoulder to knock the shield aside. Due to nutritional deficiencies, these Frankish soldiers were all shorter and heavier than Cheng Yijiu, and many knights were 5'6" or 5'7". The cavalry began their attack, merciless and intent on killing Cheng Yijiu. Cheng Yijiu couldn't hold back. Swords clashed, and a single strike tore through the horse's neck. The horse fell sideways, pinning down one of the cavalry's legs.

Cheng Yijiu turned back to attack the infantrymen, cross-thrusting them with ease, piercing the throat of the one in front of him with a single thrust. With a backhand strike, he slashed through the chest and abdomen of another—the mail armor barely protecting him. Cheng Yijiu's speed was incredibly rapid, and a single strike could kill or severely injure an opponent. However, after a few breaths, only a few infantrymen were left standing. The knight realized something was amiss and charged forward, urging his horse forward.

At this distance, the horse's speed couldn't be increased, and the lance was also ineffective, so he attacked Cheng Yijiu with the slashing blows of his armored sword. Cheng Yijiu showed no sign of letting him down, using his lion skin to protect his shoulders and back to block the slashing blows of the armored sword, while he slashed with his sword, directly opening a huge wound on the side of the knight's horse...

Chapter 5 Solution

The warhorse fell with a mournful cry, but Cheng Yijiu, clad only in the lion skin, was agile and nimble. He leaped forward and plunged his sword into the knight's neck. By the time he pulled his sword out, the knight was already dead. The knight who had given the orders also charged forward, but Cheng Yijiu had already killed two more soldiers in a single blow. His attacks were more ferocious and fierce than the soldiers had ever seen, and life and death depended on a single round of combat.

That sword technique was completely unblockable, always slipping their weapons away while taking their lives - clearly disarming them before, now it became a pure slaughter. Cheng Yijiu's swordsmanship was not just for fighting with the sword, his legs, feet, and hands were also weapons of attack, sometimes just a small stumble could allow him to easily take a life.

The soldiers retreated, and the knight who had given the order charged forward, wielding a three-headed chain hammer. Each of the three spiked hammerheads was the size of a child's fist. Even a helmet would be severely damaged by a blow from one of these things. Cheng Yijiu had a lion skin, so he didn't consider this—it was unlikely that ordinary weapons could penetrate the skin of a lion with Nemean lion bloodline. Cheng Yijiu had become reliant on this.

But Cheng Yijiu didn't expect to be hit hard by this guy. His goal was to knock this guy down. His horse was very good, which Cheng Yijiu wanted. Cheng Yijiu quickened his pace and rushed over. By the way, he suddenly lowered his shoulder and pushed a soldier who didn't escape onto his shoulder, and then crashed into the warhorse with him. The soldier was hit by Cheng Yijiu so hard that he actually lost his mind. Cheng Yijiu bent his arm and placed his palm on the man's waist and abdomen.

At the moment of impact, Cheng Yijiu exerted his strength, flinging the soldier forward and upward. He himself spun around, shielding himself with the lion skin. The impact was accompanied by the sound of broken bones, and the soldier was sent flying several meters away like a sack being torn. However, the horse also paused, and the knight's blow missed. This horse likely came with its rider to Asia Minor, and their homeland was likely in Frisia.

Cheng Yijiu also knew that the area produced excellent war horses, and this horse was taller than the Arabian horse, so it was most likely a heavy horse from that area. The knight who had swung the empty attack tried to regain his center of gravity, because he was almost certain that the man in the lion skin would counterattack. When the knight attacked, Cheng Yijiu was on his left side, so he had to twist his body before swinging his weapon, but fortunately, his shield was on the same side.

Cheng Yijiu thrust his sword into the knight's shield. The immense force caused the twisting knight to completely lose his balance, his foot slipping out of the stirrup and falling off his horse. He was so badly hit that he almost slumped over. "I think this guy must be regretting his decision. Why do these guys have to cause trouble? Perhaps it's just their nature." Cheng Yijiu felt that this was the only explanation he could give. Perhaps they simply wanted to rob him.

It was impossible to talk nicely now. Doing so would be seen as weakness, and Cheng Yijiu was still alone. The correct way to deal with this situation—ordinary hunter Cheng Yijiu couldn't imagine that all he could do was kill the knight who harbored ill will towards him. The knight was struggling to get up. He had fallen so badly that it was unclear if he had broken any bones, but the mask was open.

Inside was the face of a middle-aged man, his beard giving him a rather barbaric look. Cheng Yijiu couldn't quite tell where these Franks came from—British? French? From the Holy Roman Empire? Or perhaps from the kingdoms and principalities of the Iberian Peninsula? It didn't matter now. Even though the knight raised a hand as if to stop Cheng Yijiu, he still struck him with his sword.

Like his colleagues, a sword pierced his throat, and blood flowed uncontrollably from the wound, mingling with pink bubbles. Soon, the knight's eyes turned gray, like dead fish. The fallen knight, Cheng Yijiu, didn't even bother to collect his belongings, and he probably had to give up a lot of things—at least the cart, as the rest wouldn't fit in a single package. Cheng Yijiu used a dagger to cut the leather belt that had been fastened to his horse, letting the leather horse armor fall to the ground.

This immediately lightened the warhorse's load considerably. Upon reaching the next campsite, Cheng Yijiu even planned to swap out his armored saddle for a lighter and more comfortable leather saddle. He quickly packed his belongings, slung them onto the horse, and, after mounting, urged the warhorse on—the horse was surprisingly obedient, which put Cheng Yijiu at ease. Galloping to the next campsite, Cheng Yijiu replenished his food and water, let the warhorse eat its beans, and then led the horse for a walk, not even removing the lion skin.

Not only did he not remove the lion skin, he also put on the shirt and the chain mail coat, the armor on his arms and legs, and even the short helmet, and then covered himself with the lion skin - thus becoming the most handsome guy within a hundred kilometers, extremely eye-catching. There was no other way. Cheng Yijiu did not want to be injured or even killed because of not wearing protective gear when he was attacked. He just wanted to send his attacker to hell.

After the black horse had been on the march for a while, Cheng Yijiu thought it was almost time, so he mounted and urged the horse to move faster, hoping to run a hundred or two hundred kilometers before the Crusaders or local nobles along the way could react. Normally, at that time, this wouldn't be a big deal. This wasn't a unified country, so naturally, there wasn't a unified government order. The knight might even have enemies.

In short, that's how the Crusaders were. Killing a newly arrived country lord was not a big deal as long as you ran away in time.

As for the ghouls, they could only settle down first. Once they were out of the way of possible pursuit, they could slowly inquire about them. This mission, like the one in Westeros, had a very short time limit. With his sword hanging by the side of his saddle, Cheng Yijiu felt a great deal more relaxed until he arrived at another campsite—a place that could already be called a city, though it probably only had fewer than 10,000 people.

What he had to do was to replace the saddle without being stolen, repair the horseshoes if possible, and finally get a good night's sleep in the inn. Of course, the less urgent need was to get some money, as he needed money to support his activities in Jerusalem.

Chapter 6 Employment

The pay for mercenary work in Jerusalem was average. Relatively speaking, the population of this place was quite large, and there weren't too many bandits looting on the trade routes. Almost all of those who came out to loot were enemy cavalry in disguise. The Franks were even more shameless because some nobles who had broken their oaths would personally lead people to loot the pagan caravans.

Naturally, there were also Saracen cavalrymen who would raid Frankish caravans, which led to a surge in mercenary activity. Consequently, the commissions were modest—there were enough of them, and most of the guards were from the caravan itself. Being a merchant these days also required good martial arts skills, and once a caravan formed, it effectively became an armed militia.