Chapter 272: Chapter 245: Overwhelming Force

His mind made up, Qin Ziwen vaulted onto the Beaked Eagle and took off at once.

The Beaked Eagle carried him as it drifted down from the sky.

The air whistled past. Through his newly acquired Aerodynamic Sensory Network, Qin Ziwen sensed powerful, invisible currents rising in the air, creating a perfect balance with the Beaked Eagle’s outstretched wings.

The Beaked Eagle barely flapped its wings, relying entirely on the air currents to drift slowly down from the sky, as silent as a falling leaf.

They landed smoothly in the target’s courtyard. Just as they neared the ground, Qin Ziwen leaped off and landed softly.

’The fact that we could enter the premises directly means the safe house function wasn’t activated. Their authority is below Level 2.’

He got to his feet and glanced around. ’Ever since becoming Extraordinary,’ he mused, ’I still haven’t found a way to advance my power quickly. My daily workouts have had minimal effect.’

His gaze swept the area before locking onto the window where he had seen the Heavy Crossbow during the day.

The window was now shut tight, and he couldn’t tell if anyone was behind it.

Qin Ziwen took a few steps forward, positioning himself in a blind spot at the corner of the wall. ’Open Node,’ he silently willed.

A blue, luminous ring—the Node—materialized out of thin air.

The space behind the ring of light rippled.

Cold Iron Armor emerged from the blue, mirror-like surface. Du Yu, clad in Zha Armor, stepped through, his Precepts Saber held loosely in his hand, its tip pointing down.

He was followed by Cao Biansheng, Qin Ziwu, and others...

The courtyard quickly filled with people.

Everyone remained silent.

Du Yu turned, his gaze falling on the adjacent three-story building.

It had once been a rental property in the Urban Village; a red guesthouse sign still hung by the entrance.

Several empty air conditioner mounting brackets clung to the exterior walls, their units long since vanished.

Qin Ziwen took two steps back. "During the day, I saw a Heavy Crossbow in the building across the way. I need a team to go and secure it."

"I’ll go," Cao Biansheng said, stepping forward. Jiang Shan glanced around and stepped forward as well.

They picked a dozen or so men and headed for the building across the way.

In this part of the Urban Village, many of the courtyard walls and building exteriors were fitted with anti-climbing spikes.

Clearly, the neighbors in this area didn’t get along.

Cao Biansheng tossed his Iron Spear to Jiang Shan, then leaped up, his hands gripping the top of the brick wall, which was lined with shards of glass.

He was wearing full-body Iron Armor, with even his palms covered in iron plates. The metal scraped against the glass with a piercing shriek as he hauled himself up, vaulted over the wall, and dropped into the courtyard.

He scanned his surroundings warily, then unbolted the gate.

The group filed inside.

Inside the courtyard stood a small, three-story building faced with white ceramic tiles.

The ground-floor windows were boarded up, sealed tight.

The only way in or out was the main sheet-metal door on the ground floor.

Cao Biansheng took back his weapon and peered over the wall at the opposite courtyard. He planned to wait for Qin Ziwen’s group to make their move before breaking down the door. Making a commotion too early could ruin their plan.

Meanwhile, Du Yu had led his men to the base of the target building.

He tilted his head back and looked up.

He saw that the building had been modified; the upper floors now had additions like observation ports and firing slits.

The ground-floor doors and windows were sealed up tight, leaving no gaps.

’A frontal assault on the door will definitely alert the people upstairs.’

’This is a three-story building, but we don’t know the internal layout or where the stairs are. If we break in on the ground floor, the occupants upstairs are sure to notice. The terrain in this Urban Village is complex—they might manage to escape.’

Qin Ziwen gave the Beaked Eagle a look. The great bird swooped down, grabbed Du Yu in its talons, and flew him directly to the roof.

At the edge of the roof, Du Yu peered over and gave a hand signal, indicating he was in position.

Seeing this, Qin Ziwen waved his hand.

Two men behind him pushed a Car-Mounted Crossbow forward, its thick, heavy Crossbow Arrow aimed squarely at the main door.

"Fire."

The Crossbow Wagon bucked violently, recoiling half a foot.

The Crossbow Arrow shot out in a blur.

"BOOM!!!"

The sheet-metal door exploded inward, sending shrapnel flying. The sound, like a crack of thunder, shattered the silence of the Urban Village night.

In the courtyard across the way, Cao Biansheng heard the explosion, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Break down the door!"

...

"BAM!"

A door was kicked open.

A figure scrambled into the bedroom.

"Lord Xiao, we’re under attack! They’re storming the building!"

Awakened by the commotion, Tang Xiao’s expression remained calm. He grabbed his clothes from a nearby rack. "Take some men and hold them off. Buy me some time."

Tang Xiao stepped into the hallway. All the doors on the floor flew open.

Some of his men rushed downstairs to intercept the attackers, while others fell in behind Tang Xiao.

Tang Xiao retreated upstairs with five of his most trusted men.

They reached the top of the stairs, the door to the roof just ahead.

One of his men rushed forward to open the door, his hand barely touching the knob.

"BANG!!!"

The entire wooden door, frame and all, exploded inward!

Splinters, chunks of wood, and the shattered lock bolt flew like shrapnel. The man behind the door didn’t even have time to grunt as a flash of a blade struck him, sending him flying backward. He slammed hard against the wall at the landing before sliding limply to the floor.

He left a long, bloody smear on the wall.

The dust had not yet settled.

A tall, masked figure stepped over the threshold, his saber held low, its edge dripping with blood.

Du Yu raised his eyes to Tang Xiao and his men on the landing below, their faces frozen in shock.

"This way is blocked."

With a flick of his wrist, he flung the blood from his blade.

His Iron Armor glinted coldly in the moonlight.

A lean man behind Tang Xiao stepped forward to shield him. "Careful, Lord Xiao. This guy’s an expert."

"You’re not from around here, are you," Tang Xiao said suddenly.

Du Yu’s gaze was indifferent; he didn’t answer.

Tang Xiao continued as if talking to himself, "I know all the top fighters from the Blood Words, and you’re not one of them. Besides, that gear of yours isn’t their style.

"It seems Yang Long was right. You really did manage to sneak over here. I should have listened to him."

Downstairs, the sounds of fighting gradually faded.

The thud of heavy footsteps echoed from downstairs, growing ever closer.

Believing his stalling tactic had worked, Tang Xiao visibly relaxed.

The lean man shouted down the stairs, "Heizi! Old Zhang!"

He yelled several times, but there was no answer.

Tang Xiao’s expression flickered. Once he realized his attackers weren’t from Hongding Mansion or the Urban Village, he had guessed their numbers would be small.

’If my men downstairs could gain the upper hand and just hold them off, we’d still have a chance,’ he thought.

But the men he’d sent downstairs to intercept them... seemed to be gone.

’How could they have been so fast?!’

From the stairwell below, a group of men in Iron Armor, brandishing long sabers, charged up.

He stared at the group’s superior equipment, especially the brawny men at the front, who moved with surprising speed despite their full Iron Armor.

Tang Xiao’s face went pale. Now he understood why they had been defeated so quickly.

’That fucking full-plate armor has to weigh at least fifty or sixty pounds. To be able to sprint up a stairwell wearing that stuff, like a goddamn tank... who could possibly stop them?’

"Who’s in charge here?" Tang Xiao demanded, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below before finally landing on Qin Ziwen, who was protected in the center of the group.

It couldn’t be helped. Everyone else was wearing Zha Armor, but he was the only one in flashy Mountain Armor, making him the most conspicuous person in the crowd.

...

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