Chapter 125: How Despicable, I Love It | Thanks to the Silver Grand Patron, White Clothes Stained with Frost Y

The most ruthless element was not the blade of the barbarian, but the gaze of the white-haired wolf-barbarian priest. Or rather, the formidable mental power concealed within that sinister look.

When the barbarian leader had struck earlier, Xiao Nan had deflected the force, half-withstanding it and half using the momentum to evade, escaping without significant injury. Ever since obtaining the body code of the Bear Barbarian, Xiao Nan’s physique was far from as fragile as it appeared; it was even a level superior to that of the average wolf-beast barbarian. His bones were like iron, his skin and flesh like wood and stone, and even his internal organs were hardly human anymore. Though his strength was inferior when he took that sudden blow, he managed to endure it by redirecting the force.

However, as he made his final escape, the white-haired wolf-priest launched a mental attack, stabbing into his mind like a sharp awl and manifesting a vicious wolf head within his consciousness. A roar erupted... Xiao Nan’s spirit faltered, and his internal energy nearly collapsed. That was why he had been nearly driven into the ground by the leader’s strike. Fortunately, at the last moment, the bronze mirror flickered, dispelling the lupine phantom. His spirit regained its composure, reaching a state of absolute stillness. He drew upon the momentum to pull away, simultaneously knocking aside several barbarians to break free from the ensuing onslaught.

Though it takes time to recount, this sequence of events—full of twists and life-or-death peril—occurred in less than half a second. Deep in Xiao Nan's eyes, a heavy shadow flickered. He knew that guerrilla tactics were no longer effective. Before him was the overwhelming force of the barbarian leader, to his side was the priest casting cold spells from the shadows, and behind them waited a large pack of wolf-barbarians, watching with predatory intent. Once the chaotic situation settled and they organized into a coordinated pincer, he would have no chance of survival.

"I have to take the risk. This strike is do-or-die." A flash of madness crossed Xiao Nan’s eyes. In his previous life, he had served in the military from a young age, surviving countless situations deemed impossible. He had grown stronger with every battle, eventually becoming a "blood thorn" that struck terror into his enemies. He had relied not just on his wits, but on a stout heart. The greater the crisis, the more excited and fanatical he became. Cold on the outside, burning within.

His gaze swept over the three human captives who were still groaning weakly after being pierced. Xiao Nan took a deep breath; blood flushed his face, and his body swelled with a series of cracking sounds. Thick, bulging veins appeared on his exposed skin. He held his sword across his chest, leaned slightly forward, and opened his mouth to roar...

"Kill!"

This time, Xiao Nan mobilized his entire mental capacity. Combined with the bronze mirror’s ability to suppress evil and break illusions, he seized the initiative. As the leader’s movements faltered, Xiao Nan stomped his left foot heavily, sending mud and stones flying. His figure transformed into a speeding arrow. The rushing wind whipped his long hair, stretching it out like a flag. The sword’s edge erupted in a brilliant, shimmering light, like thunder in a spring night. It was a strike that startled the dragons and snakes, turning the very grass to ash. This blow was aimed directly at the center of the barbarian leader’s brow.

The barbarian leader, having seen Xiao Nan escape his previous strike with only minor injuries, felt a flicker of caution. In his eyes, this was merely a slightly stronger insect; if you couldn't crush it in one go, you just did it twice. The opponent was slippery and cunning, and through a momentary lapse, several of his subordinates had already died. However, since he had committed himself to the attack, this insect would have no more chances. Seeing Xiao Nan’s sword pierce forward like a flash of lightning, a sneer crossed his face. The gap between those who had cultivated battle aura and those who had not was as vast as the heavens and the earth. He could not fathom why his opponent would choose a frontal assault instead of slinking away. Did he truly think he could block a strike of such power?

The barbarian leader had no intention of blocking. He wielded a broad blade as wide as a door, and with a mere flick, it whistled through the air, the wind roaring like a tide. As the blade turned, a crimson glow flared, pulling a long, blood-like ribbon of light as he swept it horizontally toward Xiao Nan. It seemed destined to cleave Xiao Nan and his blade in two.

"You’ve been tricked," Xiao Nan sneered, indifferent to whether the brute understood him. Having baited the barbarian leader into a full-force attack, he abandoned his headlong momentum, his sword technique suddenly softening. He tucked his chin, hunched his waist, and darted back, hugging the ground. His footwork was as nimble as a snake and as fluid as a fish. Amidst the confusion, his movements were dazzling.

Of course, evasion was not the goal—the attack was. As Xiao Nan’s body shrank and surged, he darted behind two closing barbarians, his arms sweeping forward with heavy, powerful strikes.

*Thud! Thud!*

Two dull, thunderous echoes rang out. Stunned by Xiao Nan’s mental sonic attack and then caught off guard by his sudden position, the two barbarians were sent flying into the air before they could react. They flew straight into the path of their leader’s blade.

"How despicable—I love it!" Wang Yuanzhi, watching from before the camp’s monitor, was so tense that he suddenly shouted, startling everyone nearby. To act without constraint, to be ruthless and shameless against an enemy, and to create possibility out of the impossible—this was the mark of a great general. His eyes shone; he had even guessed Xiao Nan's next move: a strike at the heart. As the highest commander of the Yuanjiang military, how could he fail to see the key to this death trap? It was not the mob of barbarians, nor the third-rank leader with his battle aura. It was that low-profile wolf-barbarian priest hiding in the back. Having fought the barbarians for so long and witnessed the power of their gods, Wang knew exactly how troublesome magic-wielding units were. Their attacks might not be direct, but their crowd-control capabilities were top-tier. If he didn't kill that one, no matter how much Xiao Nan struggled, he would be like a grasshopper in late autumn—he wouldn't last long.

Xiao Nan had swept the two hulking barbarians forward like balls, and as they were about to be cleaved in two by the leader’s crimson blade, the fierce light of the sword faltered and stopped. This was only natural. Occupying a position of total advantage, the barbarian leader would have to be insane to slaughter his own kin. Retracting a strike wouldn't kill him, after all.

Immediately afterward, he wished he had just cut them down. A lean figure emerged from behind the two tribesmen, hugging the ground and darting forward like a rabbit, brushing past the leader’s left arm and ribs. The movement was so light and swift that there was no time to intercept it.

"No!" He roared, turning to pursue, his great blade dancing in a sphere of light. But it was already too late. All that could be seen was a thin, thread-like sword mark. In that moment, the wind stood still, the insects ceased their chirping... Within a radius of several yards, both the barbarian priest and the barbarian leader felt as if they were trapped in a thick, viscous quagmire, struggling to move.