Infinite Hunter

There are countless skeletons...

The firelight illuminated a pile of bones, and who knew how many more lay in the darkness. Cheng Yijiu half-crouched, turning over the bones with his sword—they were undoubtedly human bones, for he had already seen the marks left on them. He knew the marks clearly; they were signs of gnaws, and the bones had not been boiled. Furthermore, the width and depth of the marks showed that they were undoubtedly the work of some ferocious beast.

"But the canine teeth aren't very developed..." Cheng Yijiu examined a shoulder blade intently. The bite marks on the edge suggested, from his experience as a beast, that this beast was omnivorous, its teeth more like a human's than those of a ferocious beast with large canines. Cheng Yijiu drew his sword, a torch in his left hand, his sword in his right, his feet clacking on bones as he slowly walked deeper into the second-floor platform.

Of course, he was also roughly estimating the number of skeletons here, "Hey, it's not just human bones, there are also quite a few horse bones and... dog bones? This one looks like a mastiff? These monsters are more ferocious than packs of military mastiffs?" There are war dogs in the army these days, and these ferocious and loyal dogs are still very useful in guarding and attacking lightly armed enemy troops.

Chapter XIII

Within the pile of skulls, a creature resembling an oversized earthworm emerged—proportionally much thicker and shorter than an earthworm, with three distinct black claws arranged in a triangular V-shape on what might have been its head. Its exposed body was four or five meters long, over a meter in diameter. Its skin was still red in the firelight, but it didn't appear to have any mucus covering its surface; instead, bristles were faintly visible.

This thing looked dangerous, perhaps a local variant of the Mongolian worm. Cheng Yijiu slowly swung the torch back and forth, but the monster's head didn't move. "No vision? No infrared vision? This thing relies on hearing and touch, right?" Cheng Yijiu lifted a skeleton with his foot and moved it lightly, sending it flying and falling to the ground. The monster suddenly turned and sprang out like lightning.

Cheng Yijiu could clearly see that the bottom of the monster did not move much, but instead the whole body stretched like a rubber band, and the head suddenly expanded, opened its barrel-shaped mouth, and spit out an indescribable mass of something that directly wrapped up a pile of bones on the ground, including the skull, and then took it back and swallowed it - all these actions happened within one tenth of a second, and if Cheng Yijiu did not have amazing dynamic vision, he really couldn't see it clearly.

There was no telling how many worms there were in this pile of bones. Cheng Yijiu slowly squatted down, wanting to see if he could ignite the bones—but this was simply wishful thinking, as the bones weren't yet ignitable. At this moment, the worm's head began to swell again, opening its mouth wide and spitting out the bones it had swallowed. Cheng Yijiu saw an opportunity and charged forward like lightning, stepping right next to the worm and entering its attack range.

With a swipe of the sword, Cheng Yijiu's torch fell as he charged forward, but the flame, so easily extinguished, still provided light. He grasped the sword with both hands and slashed down with force. The impact felt like slashing a tire, with a recoil. The muscles in his arms bulged as he thrust his sword downward, severing the worm from its head a meter back.

"What tough muscles!" Just looking at the length of the projectile, you can tell how strong this muscle is. After being cut off, it sprayed out really thick body fluids, but Cheng Yijiu quickly retreated and didn't get stained at all. The head was also jumping on the ground, and the broken body was also swinging around. In the end, Cheng Yijiu realized that this thing was actually just a "head". The pile of skulls not far away was slowly rising, and those bones fell down in a mess.

Cheng Yijiu had already picked up a torch from the ground. He smelled a strange odor brought by the change in the terrain, so he swung the torch far away—aiming it in a certain direction. The torch tumbled, drawing a graceful arc in the sky, and landed in a place Cheng Yijiu knew from the wind—flames rose, and the blazing flames directly illuminated the entire platform.

It was a depression on the platform, filled with a black, viscous liquid—Cheng Yijiu knew what the smell was; it was hydrocarbons, one of the specialties of this place: oil. Where did the oil come from? Cheng Yijiu didn't know, but all he knew was that this thing illuminated the entire platform. Now, the monster on the platform was clearly visible—to Cheng Yijiu, it felt like an oversized... starfish.

He couldn't tell whether the high arch in the middle was the body or the head, but the parts sticking out, including the one he had just cut off, were definitely the "feet" of the starfish. There were four more of these things, and they were constantly approaching. However, two of them were difficult to turn around. Cheng Yijiu quickly retreated, retreated a few steps, and watched the monster wriggle towards him. "Could this be the culprit that caused the destruction of thousands of troops? Obviously, it's impossible."

This thing does look terrifying, but its actual combat power is definitely not enough to fight against an army. Besides, aren't there any ghouls here? At this time, a strange roar came from below. Cheng Yijiu looked back and smiled. It was indeed a monster on all fours, looking like a zombie - this was a half-rotten human corpse. The forelimbs and hind limbs had become like those of wild beasts, but the forelimbs still clearly looked like human hands.

The head lacked lips, a zombie-like head, which made its canine teeth seem particularly prominent—unfortunately, they were still human teeth. These ghouls didn't seem particularly effective in combat; the real terror might be the taint stained with poison from their claws and the stench emanating from their bodies. Cheng Yijiu abandoned the monster above; it wasn't his target, and he had no desire to confront a monster at least thirty meters in diameter alone.

The ghouls below were his target. He had gone through a long journey to find these monsters. Although he was a little curious about why so many people had died here, he decided to kill the ghouls first. The big starfish above was gradually moving down.

Skeletons cascaded down the platform like a waterfall. Cheng Yijiu leaped down and faced the ghouls directly. The monsters didn't attack him, but instead formed a semi-encirclement. From deep within the tomb, a strange hissing sound emerged. Perhaps this was the monster that had truly annihilated an entire army. The ghouls retreated, and Cheng Yijiu tried to quickly chop one down, but the owner of the hissing sound emerged incredibly quickly.

When Cheng Yijiu heard the hissing sound, he thought, "Damn, is this really a basilisk like I thought? How do I fight it?" A basilisk's eyes were fatal, and Cheng Yijiu felt unprepared for a blind fight. Especially against a basilisk, a ghoul, and that damn starfish—if it could really come down, fighting it wouldn't be a good option. He wasn't Zatoichi...

He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a giant dark green snake, no less terrifying than the python he'd killed. He couldn't see its head, but it looked terrifying. Cheng Yijiu heard the wind and immediately rolled backward, avoiding the impact and bite. "If I had known this would happen, I should have retreated and found another way to kill these things." After making up his mind, he quickly turned and ran frantically towards the exit.

With his speed, he should be able to reach the valley faster than the hissing basilisk behind him - but it was still daylight, and maybe the basilisk didn't like the sunlight?

Chapter Fourteen

Cheng Yijiu rushed out of the tomb at high speed, tumbling and nearly crashing into the opposite mountain wall. He then glanced sideways at the tomb entrance and saw that neither the ghoul nor the basilisk had emerged. The hissing stopped; the massive monster had indeed not emerged, even though the sunlight outside was not that strong and the entire area from the exit to the mountain wall was in shadow.

Cheng Yijiu stood up and scratched his cheek. "What a trouble! The real target is not that good, but other dangerous creatures are hindering my mission." He didn't want to fail at all, because he didn't want to become a disgusting monster like a ghoul. "Now I can only wait until night and see what happens."

Cheng Yijiu built a fire near the pond and climbed up the mountain wrapped in a lion skin. He hid behind a bush, half-crouched, and wrapped himself tightly in the lion skin, even his face was covered with the lion skin, and only his eyes were visible through the eye part of the lion skin.

One hour, two hours, until the moonlight was completely obscured by the mountain. The dim valley was devoid of light except for the single fire. Cheng Yijiu, nearly dozing off, finally heard a very soft clicking sound. He looked down and saw a giant snake slithering through the valley, its target the fire.

The giant snake didn't raise its head, so Cheng Yijiu wasn't worried about suddenly seeing its eyes and dying. But he figured it wasn't just seeing that would kill him, right? At least there had to be a clear eye contact. And Cheng Yijiu didn't remember seeing it killing him, it seemed the monster had to activate its own abilities. Cheng Yijiu looked at the giant snake, which was at least twenty meters long. With his night vision, he could see clearly.

The scales are as big as a palm and look very hard. The scales of this giant snake are obviously fine and dense, and there are even protrusions on the snake's head, as if the scales have formed hyperplastic horns. Although they are very short, they look quite scary, especially from the head to the back, which looks like rows of blades standing on it.

"It's not easy." Cheng Yijiu looked at the long sword in his hand. Although the blade was one and two meters long, it could easily kill a twenty-meter-long snake if used for piercing. But in this case, he would have to jump onto the head of this thing or find its heart - this monster might... no, maybe it should be the culprit who killed thousands of troops.

Cheng Yijiu watched to see if any other monsters appeared alongside the basilisk. His current interest lay in the tomb's ghouls and the unidentified starfish. What was their relationship to the basilisk? This was intriguing... were they collaborators or competitors? At least the "starfish" seemed to be immune to the basilisk's instant death ability. As for the ghouls, were they supposed to be "living things"?

In short, until the basilisk viciously destroyed the campfire, Cheng Yijiu didn't notice the appearance of the ghouls or starfish. "Really want to kill this basilisk?" Cheng Yijiu was also in a dilemma. A little noise didn't matter. After all, basilisks are also snakes, and their hearing has always been a mess. Cheng Yijiu pondered this problem and finally made up his mind.

But since he couldn't do it tonight, Cheng Yijiu decided to spend the entire next day setting the trap. It was a simple rolling stone trap—just a bit more laborious. Cheng Yijiu sat upright and fell into a deep sleep. The snake below could do whatever it wanted. It didn't seem to notice Cheng Yijiu and was now crawling back.

At daybreak, Cheng Yijiu climbed to the top of the mountain to find a rock that was large enough. Next, he had to rely on his own strength to grind it into a stone bullet that could roll. Considering the length and thickness of the snake, the diameter of these stone balls had to be at least one meter. It would be a bit difficult to rely on the cold iron sword in his hand, so Cheng Yijiu used another large stone.

This guy had taken off his clothes, which were in the way, especially those that hindered heat dissipation, and only wore the lion skin to prevent the stones from rubbing against his skin. Now he looked like Hercules. Cheng Yijiu was lifting a rock, about one-third the size of a man—of course, he couldn't lift a boulder half the height of a man. It wasn't that Cheng Yijiu couldn't lift it, but he felt it was unnecessary. In the sunlight, he felt as if his strength was endless.

He cut and polished three stones half a man's height, roughly shaping them into spheres. He used a small stone to hold the stones in place. Next, Cheng Yijiu prepared to dig a trench—something that would slightly constrain the stones' trajectory; otherwise, with its uneven surface, who knows where they'd roll. The trench didn't need to be too deep; a rough groove would suffice.

After finishing all this, it was still daylight. Cheng Yijiu stood in the pond to wash himself, then smeared Apollo's ointment all over himself, put on the lion skin, and took his sword. He would light a fire in the valley again. When the snake came out again, he would push the rock down to give it a good beating. After all, the mountains on both sides were hundreds of meters high, and the weight and kinetic energy were enough to give the snake a good beating.

Cheng Yijiu was also stretching his muscles. No matter what the outcome of the Stone Battle was, he would definitely give the snake a fatal blow. Only then could he calmly look for the zombies to kill them - if they were not dead yet, he hoped they were not dead yet... He prayed and waited for dark.

Just like last night, Cheng Yijiu waited until around 11 PM before noticing the snake had moved, still heading towards the fire. "What does it eat to survive?" Cheng Yijiu now had time to ponder this. He watched the snake approach the fire, unable to turn around anytime soon, so he pulled out the small stone from under the first stone ball.

At night, the rumbling sound of rolling stones echoed in the valley, so loud that even Cheng Yijiu could feel the vibrations beneath his feet. The giant snake even raised its front body, its yellow eyes gazing around. Cheng Yijiu suppressed his gaze and didn't look specifically at the monster's head. The stone hit the snake's body halfway, and it actually bounced slightly before impact.

The heavy crash couldn't mask the snake monster's massive scream. Its body was deformed where it had been struck by the stones, and poisonous blood flowed from the broken scales. Cheng Yijiu believed that the ribs and muscles below were a mess, and even its internal organs were probably ruptured. Cheng Yijiu ran to the second stone ball and pulled out the small stone.

The second boulder rushed down with a rumbling sound. When this boulder was halfway down, it bounced up. Cheng Yijiu sighed, "Damn it, this is going too far!"

Chapter 15

It turned out that Cheng Yijiu had made a mistake. He had miscalculated the stone's trajectory—"Ouch!" As the stone's parabola began to fall, seemingly on a larger scale, Cheng Yijiu's mood fluctuated wildly, even for just a few seconds. The stone had landed right on the snake's neck. The basilisk's vision was much better than that of an average snake, so it noticed the stone in motion.

But its body couldn't support it. With a body that size, it certainly couldn't move at lightning speed. So it was hit, and Cheng Yijiu, who was above it, cheered—this blow was quite heavy, causing far more damage than the previous impact. Putting aside the location issue, the kinetic energy of the rebound and fall alone was far greater than the simple impact just now. Cheng Yijiu immediately ran over and placed the third rolling stone.

The third stone also hit the snake's midsection accurately. Because of its highest position and longest trajectory, a third of the stone was embedded in the snake's body. Cheng Yijiu rushed down with great joy, covering his head with the lion skin and staring at the snake's midsection. Although the second stone bullet had caused serious damage to the snake from above, the head was already difficult to move.

It was better not to look at the head if possible. Seeing that the serpent monster was doomed, what was the point of being killed by a single glare at the last moment? Cheng Yijiu rushed directly to the snake's midsection. The serpent monster's blood was also highly poisonous. Now that the monster was twisting and turning, the splattered blood had corroded the entire valley, causing white smoke to rise. It wasn't very corrosive, but it was very volatile. The white smoke was poisonous.

The ointment prevented the poison, so Cheng Yijiu was completely unharmed. He slashed into the scales on the snake's body with his sword - now it was no longer as indestructible as it seemed, and dozens of scales were quickly pried off by Cheng Yijiu's sword. Then he swung his sword and prepared to cut the thing in two - no matter how strong the vitality of the snake monster was, it would not be possible for each end to regenerate into two snake monsters after being cut in two, right?

Cheng Yijiu's lion hide and the exposed, anointed chest were smeared with the serpent's blood, which flowed down his fur and skin, leaving him no trace of it. His terrifying strength allowed him to quickly sever the snake's body, which was nearly two meters in diameter. Even the hard bones couldn't withstand his sharp blade. After severing the snake's body, Cheng Yijiu didn't bother to cut off its head—time was his best ally. He let the tenacious serpent die on its own.

Cheng Yijiu quickly ran to the side, climbed up the ridge, and walked along it until he reached the side of the pond. He then went down the mountain to wash himself. There must be a hidden river leading out of this place. He stood under the stream, letting the water wash away the blood. The lion skin was waterproof, so he only needed to shake it to remove the blood beads. Then he just had to wait for daybreak. The snake monster was still making noises, and he didn't know if it would be dead by daybreak.

Cheng Yijiu decided to cross the ridge to rest. This was for safety reasons, just in case there was anything else. He was awakened by the sun in the sky. After waking up, Cheng Yijiu crossed the ridge first and carefully looked at the two halves of the giant snake below. The smell in the valley was not pleasant - the temperature in this damn place was always high, and the large amount of snake blood that had flowed out last night had already begun to rot and deteriorate.

As for the basilisk, its front half was now motionless. From this angle, Cheng Yijiu wasn't sure if it was dead or not. These "lower" animals were quite resilient. There were at least one case where a severed venomous snake's head could still bite and inject venom, causing casualties. The basilisk was especially outstanding, arguably the strongest venomous snake, so it was likely no less capable in this regard.

Therefore, Cheng Yijiu had no intention of trying it right now. He didn't need the spoils from the basilisk anyway. The people in this world might want the basilisk's skin, fangs, and most importantly, its eyes and brain as ingredients for some kind of magic, but Cheng Yijiu didn't need that. She just needed to kill the ghouls. "It's just a matter of killing ghouls, but now I have to kill the basilisk. If I didn't have so much strength, I'd probably be in trouble by now. I don't even know if the hut will help me in the end."

Cheng Yijiu paid no attention to the basilisk. He rushed directly into the tomb, determined to kill the ghoul. He didn't care whether the basilisk lived or died. The man in the lion skin rushed into the tomb. He looked around and saw that the starfish might still be there. But where did the ghouls and snakes come from? He could only carry a torch deeper. He saw a huge hole in the floor and a dark space below.

"This place doesn't seem so simple..." Cheng Yijiu looked back at the stone coffins. Logically, this should be a fairly obvious above-ground tomb, so why is there a large space underground? And judging by the situation, there might still be quite a few dead bodies inside. Fortunately, as Cheng Yijiu wandered above with a torch, footsteps could be heard, and pairs of ghouls' yellow, light-like eyes appeared in the tomb below.

Then, a swarm of them emerged. Cheng Yijiu looked at the firelight reflected from above—yes, the oil above was still burning, and the tomb was much hotter than before. Cheng Yijiu simply covered himself with a lion skin and a pair of cowhide shorts to protect the crotch. He wore nothing more than a pair of sandals to protect his toes, and with a longsword in hand, he charged directly at the first ghoul.

Ghouls were dangerous in groups, but a single one posed no threat at all—these creatures were even worse than werewolves, fit only for corpses. But they stunk. Cheng Yijiu retreated as quickly as he rushed forward. These ghouls were essentially terrifying biological weapons, designed to destroy the sense of smell and cause people to stagger and eventually pass out.

Cheng Yijiu could only try to counterattack the ghouls, using narrow terrain, such as coffins, to separate them. He stepped back, placing several stone coffins diagonally in front of him. This would naturally separate the incoming ghouls, leaving only one or two within striking range. Cheng Yijiu prepared himself, but suddenly he felt a chill on his back, a sense of death suddenly gripping him.

Something, something extremely terrifying was coming, and it was right behind him. The deep feeling of disgust and hatred made Cheng Yijiu feel as if he was soaked in ice water.

Chapter 16

Cheng Yijiu rolled up at top speed and charged directly into the ghouls ahead. Relying on the invulnerability of his lion hide, he knocked over a group of ghouls and rushed to the other side of the coffin room, where he turned slightly to observe. A heavy blow struck from behind him. From the sounds of broken bones and roaring, it seemed several ghouls had been affected, killed. All Cheng Yijiu saw was blood, a considerable amount on the ground, and a broken, dark red cross-section before him.

That was the upper half of the basilisk's body. Remarkably, the monster hadn't died, having crawled all the way to the lair. Apparently, its goal was revenge on Cheng Yijiu—perhaps the monster had remembered him from the first time he descended into the tomb. Now, this half snake was crawling, trying to get closer. Cheng Yijiu actually did accidentally see the monster's eyes, but he didn't die or turn to stone. He figured it might be because he had averted his eyes in time...

"Maybe this thing really can't hold on any longer!" Cheng Yijiu gritted his teeth, wanting to see if he could chop off the snake monster's head. The monster wasn't as swift and agile now. The massive bleeding from losing half its body would have been enough to kill it, so it was a miracle it was still holding on. Cheng Yijiu threw himself at the stake, flipping over the coffin with one hand and charging directly at the burly snake.

The snake was indeed near death. Its movements were slow, otherwise it would have struck Cheng Yijiu immediately. He avoided the snake's sight and thrust his sword hard—just behind the giant snake's triangular head. He then vigorously swung the sword up and down, widening the wound inside and out. "It's the spine." The blade struck a solid structure, and Cheng Yijiu yanked it out, ready to strike from above.

At this point, ghouls were already charging at him, but Cheng Yijiu ignored them, letting them pounce on the lion hide on his back. Ghouls were practically harmless to him—without sharp teeth or claws, and with little strength, how could they possibly break through his lion hide? Aside from his own Stinking Cloud spell, there was no other threat, and Cheng Yijiu could still rely on Apollo's ointment to withstand it.

The most urgent task was to kill the damned basilisk. Cheng Yijiu leaped up, hacked away at the snake's skin, and finally severed its spine. The basilisk froze once more, and Cheng Yijiu swung his sword to shake off the ghouls on its back. He then chopped one off with a swing of his sword... He leaned against the basilisk's body, swinging his sword against the incoming ghouls. From this position, he didn't have to worry about the basilisk turning its head to attack, as it was too close to find the right angle.

Cheng Yijiu held his breath, slashing down three or four ghouls before charging forward recklessly. Apollo's ointment had its limits; if he continued, he might faint or even die. As for the basilisk, if it wasn't dead, would it strike back now that it had given up space? Nothing could compare to... "It stinks!" Cheng Yijiu sprinted frantically, reaching a spot where fresh, unpolluted air might be found before he expired.

He then took a controlled, small breath and sighed, "Very good!" before gasping for air. His eyes were already blurry from lack of oxygen. He had left at least four ghoul corpses behind him, but there was no door. Cheng Yijiu was a little confused. Why hadn't the door appeared after he had killed all the ghouls? But it wasn't a big deal. He could try to kill all the ghouls here first and see.

After taking a long breath, Cheng Yijiu charged in again, "Kill two or three each time. After five times at most, all the zombies in here should be dead."

That was exactly what happened. He had killed all the ghouls, but the basilisk remained motionless, apparently completely dead. However, the door still did not appear.

Cheng Yijiu sighed, piled the corpses of the ghouls together, and set them ablaze. The blazing flames dispelled much of the foul odor. Amidst the flickering flames, Cheng Yijiu used a dagger to dig out the eyes of the stricken basilisk. The eyeballs were the size of basketballs, orange-yellow with black vertical stripes. Looking at them for any longer would give you a heart attack. The two fangs on its upper jaw were also removed.

This could be considered as spoils of war. Since the door was not open, Cheng Yijiu could only take these spoils and leave. The horse did not run far, but was still wandering outside the valley - there was vegetation here so it would not starve to death. Next, Cheng Yijiu had a thought: could he use these spoils to upgrade his weapons? "Such big eyeballs and such long fangs, how can I use them? I'm not a magician, and I don't know how to enchant them."

It's not impossible to sell it. I guess it can earn thousands of gold coins in the hands of someone who knows the value of it. Cheng Yijiu put the package on the side of the saddle and rode his horse, not knowing where to go for a while. "Maybe go to Jerusalem?" He embarked on his journey again. The door did not appear. Cheng Yijiu had already killed the ghouls and even killed a basilisk. The goal was achieved. On the way back, this guy unfortunately encountered a group of horse bandits who were probably Saracens. There were more than a dozen of them.

Cheng Yijiu was already feeling down, and these men were still trying to rob him. So the lion-skinned hunter spurred his warhorse—and decisively ran off. It was a joke for over a dozen people, and besides, he wasn't that good at horsemanship. Being in a bad mood made him even less inclined to fight. He was a hunter, not a soldier on the battlefield. Sword fighting was a hobby, not slashing people. As a rebel, he had a lion skin, so these bandits' archery had no effect on him.

Unfortunately, the enemy knew the terrain well, so Cheng Yijiu finally dismounted with a sigh and prepared to fight on foot. He could see the enemy outflanking him, and he could almost tell they were likely surrounded just a hundred meters away, so dismounting and fighting on foot was a good chance. "What kind of public security is this?" Dismounting, drawing his sword, Cheng Yijiu was ready for battle—since killing the basilisk, he'd noticed that his recovery speed had increased significantly, and his strength seemed to have increased significantly as well.

Perhaps the basilisk was dedicated to Apollo?

The opponent roared towards him, and Cheng Yijiu ducked and spun. He used his helicopter sword technique—the unfortunate individual who rushed forward was instantly killed. The sword's tip was only twenty centimeters long when it touched the Saracen, but even that length sliced ​​through his leather armor, slicing diagonally upward from his stomach to his back. The blood wouldn't stop flowing, and his internal organs were smoothly sliced ​​open. There was no hope...

Chapter 17

Cheng Yijiu was in a bad mood, and those horse bandits were in trouble. Cheng Yijiu, cloaked in lion skin, deserved the title of Sword Saint. After all, his master was also a European Sword Saint. His enchanted longsword was a truly terrifying weapon, and now he was even using the Sword Saint's helicopter sword technique. Originally, he was standing on the ground, and the opponent was a cavalry, so he was in a commanding position, attacking and defending from a high position. The helicopter sword technique happened to be very popular, anyway, it was a double-edged sword that rotated and cut continuously, of course, also blocking the opponent's upper and lower slashes.

And he wasn't wielding the slender, unbladed two-handed swords of martial arts competitions, but rather a wider, heavier, double-edged, real-world killing weapon. Thus, he easily parried the first bandit's slashing blow—unable to rely solely on the lion's skin, this was Cheng Yijiu's small act of perseverance. With a backhanded spin, the sharp blade, leveraging the momentum of the bandit's own warhorse, easily sliced ​​the unfortunate man's body in half, sending his internal organs careening out.

Cheng Yijiu's attacks were like a magnificent sword dance, always showcasing the beauty of circular motion. In the blink of an eye, as the swords danced, he had already killed three of the charging bandits. All were fatally wounded, but the first was still frantically trying to stuff his internal organs, not yet dying. The three men's howling filled the remaining bandits' brains like ice water, and their morale plummeted. "Champion Warrior! Champion Warrior!" they howled.

After years of contact, both the Saracens and the Franks had absorbed many of each other's customs and terminology. The term "champion" was a common one on both sides, referring to powerful knights or warriors whose exceptional martial arts skills could rival a hundred. The bandits were devastated; who could have imagined encountering a champion? A lone champion was a formidable opponent; killing him would require countless casualties.

There were only sixteen horse bandits in total, and four hadn't made it to the siege yet. Three of the twelve were already doomed. The others hesitated, circling their horses outside, afraid to charge and only attempting to shoot with their horse bows. Cheng Yijiu paid no attention to the men's arrows; he simply swung his lion skin, blocking all the arrows.

He then kicked the wailing bandit off his horse, mounted his mount, and charged back—unable to catch up on foot, the bandits were so cunning they'd kept a distance of thirty meters, shooting arrows. Cheng Yijiu spurred his horse on, stabbing one of the bandits before it could react and turn around and run. Slashing was slower than thrusting. These men wore leather or even cloth armor; chain mail was only worn by the leader, so naturally, they couldn't withstand the thrusts of Cheng Yijiu's cold iron longsword.

Cheng Yijiu chased the bandits on horseback, unconcerned with the horse's power, always pushing his steed to charge at top speed. He successfully chopped off the heads of two bandits running in the same direction, but the others eventually fled. He gathered his horses, including his own, and looted the bandits' belongings—not much in the way of gold dinars; these bastards were quite poor.

He walked slowly with his horse, ready to sell the captured warhorse when he reached the town. Until now, no door had appeared, making Cheng Yijiu very anxious.

He had just sold his warhorse in town when he turned back and saw a recruitment notice. In the square, municipal officials were reading aloud the notice, recruiting professional warriors to join the army. Indeed, Saladin was going to attack the Holy City, or the Crusaders would attack him too. This war was already inevitable, and recruiting mercenaries was perfectly normal.

These people are professional warriors, and they can be recruited as cannon fodder. Cheng Yijiu has no interest in this kind of recruitment order. He came here to hunt, not to help Saladin or anyone else fight. He just wants to return to Jerusalem. Maybe the end of the mission will be there. However, now, as he listened, he felt something was wrong. "It's already difficult to enter? The front line is blocked? What the hell!"

It seemed that entering Jerusalem would be difficult. For Cheng Yijiu, sneaking in alone should be possible, but it would be very troublesome. As for being recruited as a soldier under Saladin to enter Jerusalem? Cheng Yijiu felt that if he thought so, he must have a hole in his head.

How could recruiting soldiers during the medieval Crusades be so gentle? Cheng Yijiu was truly naive on this point. Immediately, ferocious soldiers descended upon the taverns—Saracens also drank—as well as inns, inns, and even the marketplace, to "persuade" able-bodied men to join the army. Even Saladin, known for his generosity, was not immune to such conscription.

Cheng Yijiu was quite unlucky to be noticed—he was tall, and he was leading a handsome-looking warhorse, with a long sword slung from the saddle, a habit used by the Franks. Fortunately, Cheng Yijiu had rolled up the lion skin and wrapped it on the saddle. He was now wearing no armor, just a simple Saracen outfit. His appearance was not Frankish either; the Saracens knew that he was from the East.

But it didn't matter. There were Franks serving in Saladin's army, and this man, who was obviously not Frankish, could certainly join the Saracen army. So the Saracens immediately set their sights on Cheng Yijiu. Cheng Yijiu certainly sensed these anomalies, but he couldn't just draw his sword and fight, could he? Even if he was known as a sword master and wore a lion skin again, he probably couldn't slaughter an entire town and kill thousands of Saracen soldiers.

A Saracen soldier looked closely at Cheng Yijiu's face, then suddenly screamed and told the others, and the conscripted men all started to act as if they were facing a formidable enemy. "Champion Warrior!" The leading officer started shouting in their language, but seeing that Cheng Yijiu didn't seem to understand, he switched to Latin. "Champion Warrior?" The bandits Cheng Yijiu had heard shouting before didn't use Latin, so he only realized now, "Me?"

He had a rough idea of ​​what a champion warrior was, but the question was, how could he be a champion warrior? Cheng Yijiu simply found it a bit amusing. The officer also pushed aside his soldiers and saluted. It must be said that the Saracens were much more polite than the Franks. The officer meant to invite Cheng Yijiu to the tent of the local chieftain, who was willing to hire him for a high price...

Chapter 18

The chieftain lived not in a tent but in a luxurious palace, with a large central pool and separate rooms. It epitomized the Franks' vision of the luxurious lifestyle of an Eastern prince. When Cheng Yijiu was introduced, he refused to surrender his weapons, creating a momentary stalemate. However, the chieftain, with his hooked nose and long beard, stepped forward and, surrounded by heavy guards, met Cheng Yijiu.

"Are you truly a champion warrior?" the chief asked curiously. "If so, I'll offer you a salary of forty gold coins a week." Cheng Yijiu wanted to say he had no interest in joining a faction to fight, and that such a move was too dangerous. But now it seemed the offer was irresistible, so he accepted. The other party said they would send two warriors to test him with training swords—this made Cheng Yijiu feel that the chief was a decent person.

Cheng Yijiu, of course, didn't wear a lion's skin. He chose a Frankish longsword of similar length, while his opponent wielded a scimitar. Cheng Yijiu casually assumed a stance, facing the two Saracen warriors head-on. The two men moved away, one facing Cheng Yijiu directly while the other began circling, attempting to attack him from the side. Cheng Yijiu quickly launched an attack, launching four consecutive sword square slashes.

Four swift blows quickly knocked down the unfortunate warrior in front of him. Cheng Yijiu then spun around and struck the second warrior, who had moved to the side and quickly attacked, seeing the situation was getting worse. They were left bruised and their weapons were knocked away, all in a mere three seconds. Cheng Yijiu sheathed his sword and stood up. If he had used a real weapon, he might have chosen a different tactic, but now he had proven himself worthy of being called a champion warrior.

The veterans present were all knowledgeable, and there was an immediate burst of cheers. "Fifty gold coins a week!" the chief shouted. Cheng Yijiu looked at him and nodded. This was the situation. Anyway, let's see if we can get into Jerusalem first. As mercenaries, they had to provide their own weapons and armor. The local regulations were far worse than those in East Asia at the same time. Cheng Yijiu was arranged to live in a corner of the chief's palace, and two female slaves were assigned to serve him.

Compared to the Franks' food, the Saracens' food was more palatable, so Cheng Yijiu had no choice but to be patient and wait and see how long this damned mission would last. "I must have successfully hunted the ghouls, and even killed a basilisk. I guess something went wrong that I haven't been able to return yet," Cheng Yijiu thought.

The chieftain's army set out two days later, and Cheng Yijiu was among the hundreds of men. Saladin had summoned the chieftains to attack the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Among this army of over ten thousand, there were quite a few champion warriors—an honorific title that was actually quite low. Anyone who could fight two or more opponents simultaneously could claim the title of champion warrior, but only after a grand tournament could a recognized champion warrior emerge.

This kind of athletic competition was often held among both the Saracens and the Franks, so the number of champion warriors was relatively high in a large army. Cheng Yijiu, donning a lion skin, attracted considerable attention; warriors draped in such magnificent lion skins were rare. The attack on the Franks began with a siege of a castle—the castle belonging to Reynald, the Count, known for his brutality and lawlessness.

He always ignored the peace treaty and robbed Saracen merchants passing through his territory at will. Sometimes he would even leave his territory on his own initiative to plunder Saracen villages and towns. Saladin negotiated with the kingdom several times, but even the king could not stop this madman.

Therefore, this time, Saladin decided to resolve this problem once and for all. He captured the count's castle and hanged him at the gate. Outside the castle, they had already defeated Reynald, who had fled the city. Reynald had previously summoned his vassals and knights from his domain to attempt to attack Saladin's army in open battle. It must be said that although he was rough and violent, he was not lacking in courage and could even be considered a good military commander.

He attacked Saladin's army, but achieved little. Despite the overwhelming odds, Reynald managed to lead his troops back to the castle. This successful retreat alone was a testament to his military prowess. But now he was trapped within the castle—not completely, as Saladin's army had half-surrounded it. Cheng Yijiu had only observed the previous battle; his company had not participated.

This time, attacking the castle meant organizing an offensive force. The simplest approach was to draw upon champion warriors from various locations to form an elite assault team. Cheng Yijiu was unfortunate enough to be chosen. Three hundred champion warriors were selected from among Saladin's thirty thousand troops, and they would be thrust into the most dangerous battle. Cheng Yijiu lazily drank his honey water while resting and waiting. Previously, he had to let the cannon fodder charge, suppress the city walls with bows and arrows, and even use siege engines like catapults to attack the city gates.

Anyway, we will wait until the whole set of attacks is completed before we let these people get involved and make the final decision.

Cheng Yijiu spotted Reynard, clad in infantry armor, wielding a broadsword and commanding from the city walls. Sometimes, he'd even join the fray. "Known for his bravery..." Cheng Yijiu observed his battle, curling his lips. A whistle blew, signaling the assault team to engage. Cheng Yijiu requested a shield, and they charged.

The city gate was blocked, and even though it had been smashed, there were still many things blocking it from behind. Therefore, the commandos had to use the city walls—the cannon fodder soldiers could slowly clear the city gate, while the commandos could disperse the Franks from the city walls, which would speed up the process. The ladder with an iron hook was hooked onto the city wall, and Cheng Yijiu's previous champion warriors had been knocked down by the Franks using various methods while on the ladder. Now it was his turn.

Cheng Yijiu sighed and climbed the ladder, shield in hand. He held the shield against his head, the lion skin behind him. From above, he could feel the waves of impact and screams—archers on the ground provided cover. Stones hit the shield, but his strength held it, and the stones slid off the shield. Cheng Yijiu swung the lion skin in front of him, blocking the enemy's spears as he climbed the wall.

The enemy failed to push him down from the city wall...

Chapter 19

Leaping onto the city wall, Cheng Yijiu rose like a lion, flinging his shield to block the incoming soldiers. He then grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands, launching a whirlwind of slashes... a magnificent dance of blows, each side of the blade capable of killing. The soldiers wore half-armor armor and wielded mostly spears; only the truly elite soldiers and knights wielded shields and longswords.