Stranger Danger

If King Slayer excelled at assassination and ambushes, and Wildland Suppression excelled at long-distance travels and raids, then Barbarian Slayer were best at frontal assaults and breaking formations.

As a result, all soldiers of Barbarian Slayer wore heavy armor. They carried a halberd on their back and a Chu saber on their waist. They were tall, muscular, and brutish like a beast. They were very much unlike your standard citizens of Chu, who were renowned for their elegant and refined appearance.

This was due to Barbarian Slayer’s tradition and their standard martial art. The large majority of Barbarian Slayers were Strangerkins, and they all practiced a martial art called the “Profound Shell Monster Making Art”. Those who cultivated this art could activate their Stranger bloodline and rapidly grow their strength.

Of course, the “Profound Shell Monster Making Art” came with huge flaws. It gave swift returns in the sense that it activated one’s Stranger bloodline and rapidly grew their strength, but it came at the cost of the practitioner’s health. Moreover, the longer one practiced the “Profound Shell Monster Making Art”, the more their Stranger bloodline would be activated, and the easier it was for them to lose control. It was common for a soldier of Barbarian Slayer to suffer a bloodline backlash and ultimately transform into a Stranger.

This was why everyone in Barbarian Slayer was unusually tall, muscular, and violent. This was also why Barbarian Slayer was notorious for their bloodthirstiness and formidability. Aggressive and fearless, their infamy was known throughout Nanjiang. If one were to judge the four armies based on their ferocity and resilience alone, then Barbarian Slayer was absolutely the top of the group.

However, their greatest strength was also their greatest weakness. Those affected by their Stranger bloodline were excessively irritable, warlike, and bloodthirsty. They were easily the most undisciplined and rule-disregarding troops out of the entire Nanjiang Pacification Army.

This was why the soldiers of Barbarian Slayer were scattered haphazardly throughout the forest and marching at differing paces. If not for the equipment they were wearing, one could be forgiven into thinking that they were a band of mountain bandits instead of soldiers. They painted a stark contrast compared to King Slayer and Wildland Suppression.

Ding dong…

It was at this moment a qin began playing from the forest, crisp and melodious.

The great general of Barbarian Slayer, Kou Pingshan, took notice of the strange sound and immediately raised his arm. His voice was loud like a tiger’s roar.

As warlike, bloodthirsty and undisciplined as the troops of Barbarian Slayer was, they were extremely afraid and respectful of Kui Pingshan. They immediately stopped in their tracks as he commanded.

“Zhang Kai, go find out where that music is coming from,” Kui Pingshan ordered.

“As you command, general.”

A man behind Kui Pingshan saluted him before waving, “You lot, follow me.”

Twenty or so people fell in line and followed Zhang Kai toward the origin of the music.

Just a dozen or so breaths later, Kui Pingshan frowned as a thought flashed through his mind: It’s a trap.

It was because he suddenly lost contact with Zhang Shan and his men, and the qin music wasn’t interrupted in the slightest.

“Alert!”

Kui Pingshan roared, and all Barbarian Slayer soldiers swiftly gathered in one place and gripped their sabers, watching their surroundings carefully.

Kui Pingshan released his spirit and tried to identify the origin of the qin music, but strangely, it was as if it had sprung out of nowhere. There was neither a thread he could follow nor a source he could identify.

“Pofeng, stay here and keep watch.”

Kui Pingshan’s brow was furrowed into an expression of violence as he gruffed impatiently, “Pojiang, follow me. We’re going to find out who is the charlatan trying to play tricks on us.”

Kui Pingshan then strode ahead without waiting for his men.

“As you command.”

Pofeng and Pojiang responded in unison before one man stayed behind, and the other assembled about three hundred men and followed closely behind Kui Pingshan. ṚÃℕƟ฿Ёș

No one was surprised by Kui Pingshan’s decision, nor did they try to stop him.

For one, it was because Kui Pingshan had a short fuse and did not like being snubbed. Two, Kui Pingshan had always preferred to take matters into his own hands rather than relying on subordinates. And finally, Kui Pingshan was powerful, and the three hundred men accompanying him were his personal guard. No harm could possibly come to him.

Kui Pingshan took long strides and seemed inattentive at best, when in reality he was highly focused. Those watching closely would realize that his pupils had turned bluish green at some point. Long fur was growing out of his ears and making him look like a tiger as well. In fact, his ears could rotate left and right on their own and listen to every sound.

Kui Pingshan possessed the bloodline of the Evil Suppressing White Tiger, a Disaster-class Stranger who looked like a massive white tiger with bluish green eyes. Its eyes could spot something from fifty kilometers away, and its ears could supposedly catch sounds coming from five hundred kilometers away. A king of beasts who was impervious to all evils, the Stranger came to be known as the Evil Suppressing White Tiger.

Obviously, Kui Pingshan’s powers were nowhere as strong as the true Evil Suppressing White Tiger. Even so, he could see tens of kilometers away and listen to sounds coming from fifty kilometers away in every direction.

Thanks to his bloodline, Kui Pingshan could always predict what the enemy was doing and take the necessary measures to gain the upper hand.

This time though, Kui Pingshan failed to find anything.

He neither discovered the origin of the music nor detected anything amiss.

The qin was still playing.

Kui Pingshan did not notice that, as time passed, faint wisps of mist began rising from the forest. Unlike your usual mist, the mist seemed to be seeping out the surrounding plants. It was also bluish gray in color. It wasn’t easy to notice due to how thin the mist was and how dark the area was.

Beside him, Wan Pojiang suddenly said with a frown, “General, something doesn’t feel right.”

“You don’t fucking say?!” Kui Pingshan burst out yelling.

Wan Pojiang revealed his thoughts directly, “That’s not what I mean. I remember this particular forest, and it’s not a big forest at all. However, we still haven’t reached a clearing despite having walked in a straight line for quite some time.”

“Hmm?” Kui Pingshan’s expression grew increasingly severe as he listened to Wan Pojiang’s explanation.

“General, the music changed!” It was at this moment that Wan Pojiang’s eyebrows knitted. What was a calm, soothing music before suddenly increased in tempo and grew murderous and passionate.

“We’re heading back.”

Although Kui Pingshan still couldn’t detect anything amiss, the music’s sudden change was giving him a bad feeling as well—literally, as in his Evil Suppressing White Tiger bloodline was warning him of danger. That was why he did not hesitate to turn back.

“Argh!”

They had just turned around when suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout the whole forest. Kui Pingshan’s face immediately turned as black as tar, “Fuck. Let’s run.”

Meanwhile, the Barbarian Slayer Army had somehow devolved into chaos. The blood was running like a river, and every man and woman was fighting as if their lives depended on it.

They weren’t fighting an enemy though. No, they were fighting against themselves.

The large majority of the soldiers sported bloodshot eyes and Stranger characteristics. They were attacking and killing each other as if the other person was their sworn enemy. Only those with high cultivation, strong will, or both were unaffected by the madness that had taken over the army.

“STOP IT NOW!”

Duan Pofeng sucked in a deep breath and let out a furious roar, shocking most soldiers into stillness via his Great Trueman aura.

Those who were still in control of themselves hurried forward to stop those who were still fighting against themselves as well.

To be honest, Duan Pofeng had no idea what happened. One moment it was fine, and the next his soldiers suddenly began killing each other as if they were possessed.

Technically, he knew why they were fighting. It was clear that the troops were suffering from a bloodline backlash and lost their minds as a result. But why? And how?

Sure, the soldiers of Barbarian Slayer did have a higher chance than most to suffer a bloodline backlash because they practiced the “Profound Shell Monster Making Art” and possessed a higher degree of activated bloodline. Even so, it made no sense for hundreds, even thousands of them to suddenly lose their shit at the same time.

Something isn’t right about this!

There was no time to think though. While most of the men were still cowed, Duan Pofeng produced a kalasa with a shoot of willow branch resting on the mouth.

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