Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 96: Chapter 85: Dare to Go Big

The blonde woman’s strike was timed perfectly, her movement stealthy and silent. An ordinary Martial Artist, even if they sensed it, would have no way to dodge.

But Wan Ze’s ears twitched. His senses were so sharp he could perceive the slightest disturbance nearby, a feat beyond any normal person.

Without hesitation, he vanished in a flash.

SWISH!

’He’s gone?!’

The blonde woman’s heart sank, a chill running straight up her spine.

Only now did she truly understand what the burly man had felt when he faced Wan Ze.

’What kind of Body Technique is this?’

’It’s not just ridiculously fast—the terrifying part is the near-zero-latency burst of speed. It defies all logic!’

’Is this guy even human?!’

The woman’s expression twisted, but she was an experienced assassin. Knowing she couldn’t afford to freeze up, she gritted her teeth and blindly chased forward, relying on a vague sense of his direction.

Suddenly, a large shadow seemed to flash before her. Startled, she had no time for a closer look. Relying purely on instincts honed through life-and-death battles, she flicked her wrist, slashing her short blade toward where the shadow had appeared!

But Wan Ze had already closed the distance, using his astonishing forward momentum.

The instant he was upon her, his body contorted with impossible flexibility, forcefully ”squeezing” inside the arc of her swinging blade until they were practically chest to chest.

He could even clearly feel the soft, full sensation of her chest being compressed against him.

But Wan Ze, completely oblivious to the moment, wrapped his arms around her. His left hand seized her knife wrist, while his right locked onto her waist and ribs.

The blonde woman felt her waist tighten as immense Power surged through her. Her feet left the ground; Wan Ze had bodily lifted her clean off the floor by her waist!

’Not good!’ Her heart pounded in terror. Suspended in midair, she had no leverage.

Enduring the sharp pain in her waist, she struggled desperately with her right hand, trying to reverse her grip and stab the short blade into Wan Ze’s eyes, which were just inches away!

CRACK!

Wan Ze’s five fingers, clamped around her wrist, suddenly tightened. Without a hint of mercy, he instantly crushed her wrist bone.

The woman finally screamed in agony as the short blade fell from her grasp.

In midair, Wan Ze twisted his waist and hips, using the momentum of the lift to whip-kick the falling blade.

The blade instantly buried itself in the chest of a nearby gunman who was just raising his weapon to aim. The massive force sent the gunman’s corpse flying backward, knocking over several of his comrades and causing chaos.

「At the same time.」

The blonde woman, reeling from the pain, was swung around like a scarecrow by Wan Ze, just like the burly man before her.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The blonde woman felt the world spin. The intense centrifugal force made it feel like her Five Viscera and Six Bowels were being rearranged. Her vision went black, her ears rang, and all her struggles and fighting techniques became a joke in the face of such brutish Power.

CRACK!

Wan Ze’s arms crossed as he gave a sudden, violent twist.

The blonde woman hadn’t even recovered from her dizziness before her neck was twisted at an impossible angle. All her struggles ceased.

Wan Ze casually tossed the corpse aside.

Thirty meters away, the man in black who was locked in a fierce battle with Zhai Jia saw this happen. His expression darkened. ’What a foolish woman! I told her not to act on her own!’

He raised his hand.

With a BANG, he blocked Zhai Jia’s arm. Deciding not to continue the fight, he took a step back and ordered without turning his head, ”Everyone, retreat!”

’Retreat?’

Wan Ze and Zhai Jia glanced at each other at almost the same time, both understanding the other’s thoughts.

’Who said you could retreat?’

”KILL!!!”

The two of them pounced simultaneously.

The man in black frowned, a hint of impatience on his face. He chose to stay behind, telling the other gunmen beside him, ”You all retreat. I’ll cover you!”

He spoke without a shred of doubt.

As if Zhai Jia had no chance of stopping him.

Zhai Jia laughed in anger, his attacks growing even fiercer. ”You’re pretty confident, aren’t you, you big oaf? How about a bet?”

The man in black’s indifferent expression didn’t change in the slightest. ”Foolish brat! What’s the bet?” he said arrogantly.

”I’ll bet... that none of you are getting away today!” As Zhai Jia spoke, his fists and palms flew, forcing the man in black onto the defensive.

”You’re very confident?” The man in black blocked another heavy punch, his arm tingling slightly, but he remained dismissive. ”But your confidence, in my eyes, is equally foolish.”

”Ah Ze, I’ll take this big oaf! You handle the rest!” Zhai Jia shouted over his shoulder to Wan Ze, his back still to him. His arms slammed into the man in black’s, creating a sound like a clap of thunder.

”Right!”

Wan Ze answered with a single word, his body already shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Seeing Wan Ze in hot pursuit, one of the retreating gunmen, a courageous sort, broke away from the group. He turned to meet the charge, trying to cover their retreat, and lunged forward with a series of rising kicks.

Wan Ze had no intention of dodging.

His forward momentum didn’t slow; it increased.

With his qi and blood surging, he brought an iron fist smashing down directly onto the incoming leg.

BANG!

CRACK!

The airborne leg was shattered at the joint. The man let out a pained scream.

But before the sound could fully escape his lips, Wan Ze’s other fist smashed into his throat, turning it into a bloody pulp.

Without a second glance, Wan Ze charged into the fleeing group of gunmen like a tiger among sheep.

Fists, elbows, knees, shoulders!

Any part of his body that could kill an enemy became a deadly weapon!

”Damn it all!” The man in black caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye. His cold arrogance finally vanished, his face changed, and he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

He didn’t dare continue tangling with Zhai Jia.

’If this goes on any longer,’

’our squad will be completely wiped out.’

’What good would I be then, a general with no army!’

His thoughts raced. He executed a feint, forcibly pushing Zhai Jia back, and turned to go after Wan Ze.

But in the blink of an eye, Zhai Jia was on him again.

”Why are you running? You came all this way to kill me, didn’t you? Your chance is right in front of you. Come on, kill me!” Zhai Jia sneered, his hands moving just as fast, launching a series of killing blows aimed straight at the man’s throat.

If any of those attacks landed, not even a god could save him.

The man in black was forced to turn back and block. His face was grim as he deflected Zhai Jia’s assault and spoke in a low voice, ”Friend, how about we stop here? We each take a step back, pretend this never happened, and I’ll let you go!”

”Hah!”

Hearing this, Zhai Jia laughed in fury, as if he’d just heard the world’s greatest joke.

He stomped his foot, making the ground tremble slightly. Twisting his waist and hips to generate Power, he channeled all his body’s Strength, section by section, into his right fist. A plain but immensely powerful Mountain-Breaking Cannon shot toward the man in black’s chin.

”Pretend it never happened? You think you can just call it quits now that you see you can’t win? You’ve got some fucking nerve!”

The wind from the fist stung his skin. The man in black knew he couldn’t take this punch head-on. He dodged in a flash, narrowly avoiding the blow. He thrust out a hand, palm flat, and his fingers, long as half a chopstick, suddenly struck out like a cobra, jabbing toward Zhai Jia’s eyes with lightning speed.

His fingertips whistled through the air, carrying a sinister Power.

But another sudden scream from behind him rattled his focus.

It was this momentary opening that Zhai Jia seized.

In a battle between experts, victory and defeat are often decided in a hair’s breadth!

His attacking right fist smoothly transitioned into a downward pressing palm, blocking the man’s eye-jab.

SWISH! He threw out a diagonal kick, striking the man in black’s right knee joint.

With a loud CRACK, the man in black roared as his body crumpled, falling to the ground with a THUD.

Zhai Jia pressed his advantage, killing intent naked in his eyes. He stepped forward, ready to deliver the final blow and finish this formidable enemy.

But a crazed, desperate look flashed in the man’s eyes. Ignoring his severely injured knee, he let out a hoarse roar.

Before the sound even faded, he slammed both hands on the ground. Using his hands and his still-functional left leg in unison, he scrambled backward like an ape, launching himself several meters away with a SWOOSH in a bizarre fashion!

”What the fuck?”

Zhai Jia was stunned.

’Is this guy a man or a dog?’

’He’s faster on all fours than I am on two feet!’

’What a talent!’

He tried to give chase, but the man was incredibly fast. He didn’t even care about his subordinates anymore, abandoning all dignity to scramble away on the ground, heading straight for the cliff edge by the road ahead.

”Ah Ze, I’m going after him!”

Zhai Jia still wasn’t about to let him go and quickly gave chase.

Wan Ze didn’t even hear what he was saying. He had only one thought in his mind... Kill!

Smash the outstretched arm, smash the throat before him...

He clamped one hand on the last man’s shoulder and, amidst the man’s frantic pleas for mercy, grabbed his head with his right hand and slammed it brutally into the ground!

THUD!

Everything suddenly went quiet.

Wan Ze gasped for breath. Even though he was built like iron, his limbs now felt weak, as if he could barely lift them. He could only manage the most basic movements.

He collapsed onto the ground.

Ignoring the blood all around him.

Gasping for air.

After recovering some Physical Strength, he came to his senses and picked up a nearby gun. He didn’t know if it had any bullets, but he held it anyway. At the very least, it could be used to intimidate someone.

’It’s over!’

’It’s finally over!’

This was probably the longest battle he’d fought since he started practicing martial arts.

The blonde woman’s body lay at his feet, her back to him, motionless. Dozens of corpses were strewn about, and blood had stained nearly the entire clearing red.

The pungent smell of blood was everywhere.

Wan Ze circulated his Breathing Technique, racing against time to recover his Physical Strength.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached from the distance.

He immediately grew vigilant.

Seeing it was Zhai Jia, he finally relaxed.

”Did you get him?”

”He got away. Fucker was like a demon monkey. He jumped straight off the cliff. I thought he was committing suicide, but the bastard actually managed to run all the way down the nearly vertical cliff face. His speed was insane. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.” Zhai Jia clicked his tongue in amazement. ”Truly, the world is full of wonders.”

As he spoke,

he noticed Wan Ze sitting on the ground, not responding. His expression changed, and he rushed forward. ”Are you okay?”

”I’m fine. Just exhausted. I’ll be okay after a rest.” Wan Ze waved a hand, not wanting to talk.

Hearing this, Zhai Jia looked around and couldn’t help but be flabbergasted.

This group had at least thirty people. Aside from the ones he had shot, Wan Ze had personally killed basically eighty percent of the rest.

’The most crucial part is!’

’Ah Ze doesn’t even know how to use a gun!’

’It was all close-quarters combat, a brawl of brute force!’

’Holy shit!’

Even he had to give a thumbs-up for that track record.

’But... if Master ever finds out about this, he’ll probably beat me to death, right?’

Zhai Jia didn’t dare hesitate. He hurried forward, hoisted Wan Ze onto his back, and started walking toward the car. ”I’ll carry you to the car. Let’s get out of here first.”

”The car... can it still drive?” Wan Ze asked from his back.

”These guys have shitty aim. They didn’t even manage to pop the tires, so we’re lucky. But the car body has a dozen holes... it’ll be a drafty ride.”

Zhai Jia stuffed Wan Ze into the passenger seat, then circled the car for a careful inspection. He found his communicator in the grass and brushed the dust off it.

Only then did he realize Liu Zhengming had called him no fewer than twenty times.

Just as he was processing this,

the guy called again.

CLICK!

He answered.

Liu Zhengming didn’t sound happy at all. Instead, his tone was icy. ”Who is this!”

He had imagined scenes of Wan Ze and Zhai Jia being killed and assumed the person on the line was one of their attackers.

However—

”Call me Daddy!” Zhai Jia snapped.

Liu Zhengming was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. ”I fucking knew you were a cockroach, you little punk! You can’t be killed! What about Wan Ze? Is he okay?”

”Cut the crap. What the hell is going on? If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer, I’m bringing people to smash up your command post today!” Zhai Jia showed him no respect.

’I was just doing you a favor, trying to rack up some merit, and you turn out to be completely useless! Worse, you brought me all this trouble!’

Liu Zhengming knew he was in the wrong and lowered his voice. ”There’s a traitor. I already know who it is. The question is, do you dare to kill them?”

”Fuck! You’re not gonna kill them yourself? You want me to do it? You’re not even trying to hide that you want me to take the fall, are you?” Zhai Jia exploded in anger.

Liu Zhengming was silent for a moment before saying, ”I’ll kill the top dog. If the higher-ups really come asking questions, I don’t care if I have to shed this skin! But I can’t handle the dogs he keeps by his side. A Refining Viscera master. Do you dare to kill one?”

”Stop wasting my time! Give me the address!”