Era of Mist

Without a sound, the head of the man holding the RPG suddenly exploded. It flew into pieces, a shower of gore splattering across the ground as if it had been instantly crushed.

The man beside him froze for a moment. Only then did he hear it—a uniquely powerful and soul-shaking gunshot, roaring in from the distance.

A hypersonic round!

“Quick, grab the RPG! Fire it now!”

Another man instinctively reached for the fallen launcher, but in the next instant, his head also exploded, shattering as cleanly as a large cracker.

“Dammit, it’s a Divine Gunman!”

The man in the suit cried out and dove for cover, careful not to expose himself to the direction of the gunfire. The others panicked as well, each one scrambling to find a safe position.

BANG! Another head exploded. The remaining men scrambled over one another, rushing for better cover.

The man in the suit’s face was a mask of panic, and he gritted his teeth. ‘Why is there a Divine Gunman of this caliber here?’

In the direction of the gunshots, atop a distant, old signal tower, a slender figure was perched with a massive sniper rifle.

BANG—

With every shot, the muzzle flashed with a starburst of light, and the powerful recoil kicked up a ring-shaped shockwave. The tremendous force traveled through the stock and into the shooter, but the figure in the red and black leather suit seemed completely unfazed by it.

One shot. Two shots. Three shots.

The magazine only held three rounds.

Eject the magazine. Slap in a new one. Aim again.

‘They’ve grouped up nicely now.’

The Divine Gunman muttered to herself. Then, one shot. KABOOM! A fireball erupted in the distant factory. This time, she hadn’t targeted the gunner, but had directly detonated the RPG.

‘Now that’s an effect worthy of my costs.’

Two shots. Three shots.

KABOOM! KABOOM! Two more explosions erupted, sending severed limbs flying. It didn’t matter where they hid; even behind steel-plate walls, the rounds pierced through effortlessly.

The New Rangyi didn’t have many heavy weapons like RPGs. With those three shots, their entire plan of attack was thrown into utter chaos.

The Divine Gunman lowered her rifle and picked up a spotting scope. The night wind rustled her black hair. Through its lens, she could see that the massive convoy led by Ah Fei, Ah D, and Wang Dafu had arrived. Wang Dafu was a decisive man. Seeing the factory had descended into chaos, he immediately ordered an all-out assault, hoping to at least draw some enemy forces away from Shi Tiexin and create an opportunity for him in the confusion.

For a moment, the air was filled with the fierce crackle and pop of gunfire. But in the eyes of this Divine Gunman, it was like watching a large-scale brawl between amateurs. Chaotic, disorganized, and riddled with openings.

Just six shots had completely changed the entire situation.

‘Just remember, you owe me one.’

The Divine Shooter lowered the spotting scope, a slow, beautiful smile gracing her lips. She didn’t fire again. Instead, she quickly packed up her rifle and gear, then began to climb down the signal tower.

WHOOSH. The Divine Shooter landed gracefully on a black and red motorcycle. With a roar of its engine, she sped off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. In the opposite direction, the old factory had completely descended into a chaotic free-for-all.

The New Rangyi’s siege had turned into a desperate defense against the Daxing counter-attack.

The New Rangyi were well-equipped, with every man armed, but they were in a panic. The threat of the Divine Shooter felt like a knife at their backs, preventing them from fighting at full capacity. They had no idea she was already gone.

The Daxing forces had numbers and momentum on their side, but they were short on firearms. Compared to the New Rangyi, who were almost all equipped with submachine guns, Daxing’s men were mostly armed with small pistols.

As the two sides were locked in a heated firefight, the New Rangyi had no time to spare for the man they had just been besieging.

CLANG! On the second-floor catwalk, a large section of the iron-grate flooring was suddenly thrown aside, and a massive figure vaulted up through the opening.

THUD. He landed on one knee, his body drenched in blood. Blood poured from a gash on his forehead, and his entire form was covered in wounds.

But his presence, his aura—it was that of a flood dragon breaking its chains, a ferocious tiger bursting from its cage.

Glancing toward the Divine Gunman’s position, Shi Tiexin had no idea who had helped him, but he vowed to repay the favor one day. ‘But for now,’ he thought, ‘it’s time to settle some scores!’

WHOOSH! Shi Tiexin charged forward.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three consecutive shots, and the heads of three enemies with their backs to him instantly exploded.

Someone charged around a corner, and Shi Tiexin pounced. His left hand shot out, grabbing the man’s neck. CRACK! He snapped it with ease. At the same time, hoisting the corpse as a shield, he let out a roar and charged forward. The muzzle of his pistol extended past the side of the body’s neck, its sights rapidly locking onto every enemy that appeared in his vision.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Headshot, headshot, headshot! All of them were headshots!

This baptism of blood and fire had finally taken Shi Tiexin’s marksmanship from the shooting range to the battlefield, from theory to reality, from practice to lethal application. Aided by his ‘Gun Sense +1’ attribute, Shi Tiexin’s skill with a pistol truly began to shine, and he started his transformation into a Divine Gunman at pistol range.

He was deadly accurate within fifty meters, and within thirty-five, he couldn’t miss. Not a single bullet was wasted!

THWAP! THWAP! THWAP! The human shield was quickly torn to shreds, and the magazine in his USP ran dry. An enemy howled and charged at him. Shi Tiexin violently hurled the corpse in his hands, and with a heavy THUD, knocked an enemy wielding a Samurai Sword to the ground.

Bending down, he snatched up a fallen submachine gun. Shi Tiexin aimed it at the factory entrance and let loose a wild spray of bullets.

“RAAAAAAAGH!!”

‘Full-auto feels amazing!’

RAT-A-TAT-TAT! The clip was empty in an instant. ‘The results,’ he noted, ‘aren’t even as good as what I did with the pistol.’

Still, the wild spray had suppressed the enemies at the main gate, buying him more time. CLICK-CLACK. He reloaded his magazine with phantom-like speed. Shi Tiexin raised his pistol and fired twice. BANG! BANG! As if guided by a divine hand, the two shots blew out two key locks, and the factory gate began to teeter.

“CHAAAAARGE—!!”

Ah D was the first one through.

His eyes bloodshot, he drove his Hummer like a madman, ramming it into the factory gate. With a tremendous CRASH, the gate was completely torn down. Amidst a hail of bullets, Ah D charged in with no regard for his own life. The vehicle’s windows shattered instantly, and shrapnel struck him, causing blood to blossom on his skin, but Ah D’s heroic charge led more people to rush into the factory.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Shi Tiexin used his USP to pick off the gunmen near the gate one by one. Bodies fell like rain.

For the New Rangyi, the battle was lost.

‘Dammit, how did it come to this?’ The man in the suit’s face was ashen. He decisively turned and prepared to flee.

‘The New Rangyi is just a network we developed, a disposable fringe group,’ he thought. ‘Even if every last one of them dies here, with a little persuasion, another crop of “patriotic youths” will pop up, ready to slave away and die for the bigwigs behind me, all in the name of their ideals.’

‘But nothing can happen to me. A man of my importance can’t afford to fall at the hands of a bunch of country bumpkins.’

But he had only taken two steps when a black figure appeared before him.

It was the Black Warrior!

“You…”

He only managed to get out a single word before a blade flashed. The Black Warrior lunged, his sword instantly piercing the man’s abdomen.

“I told you, this is a decisive duel between Samurai. Anyone who sullies it is sullying my name, and I will cut them down.” Beneath the Black Warrior’s Celestial Dog Mask, his eyes glinted with a sinister dark light.