Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 83 Ambush in the Dense Forest: The Black Snake Assassin

The woods were quiet for a moment. Then came the sound of footsteps crunching through dry branches, coming from all directions.

"Hahaha, Lin Chen, you didn't expect this, did you! We've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Laughter came from the left hillside, a rough, hoarse sound like sandpaper grinding against sheet metal. A man with a scarred face leaped out from behind the bushes, landing steadily on the ground, the gravel beneath his feet clattering. He wore a black nightsuit, the fabric matte and non-reflective. He carried a dagger with seven copper rings on its back, which jingled as he moved. The blade was wide, gleaming with a dark red light, like a block of iron soaked in blood.

"Young Master Qin spent a million to buy your head, and today you're not getting away!" Scarface slung his ghost-head knife over his shoulder, tilted his head, and looked at Lin Chen with the eyes of someone looking at a dead man.

A dozen or so men in black jumped out from behind him, all dressed in black night clothes, their faces covered with black cloth, only their eyes visible. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their positions spread out, blocking all escape routes in all directions. The short knives in their hands gleamed blue, their tips pointing downwards, ready to pounce at any moment.

Leng Feng's gaze was fixed on the ghost-head knife in Scarface's hand. He frowned, recognizing the mark on the knife—a twisted black snake was engraved on the hilt, its head pointing towards the blade.

"The Black Serpent Organization." Leng Feng's voice was as cold as ice. He held his sword horizontally in front of him, the tip aimed at Scarface. "Three years ago, you robbed a transport convoy from the Northwest Military Region. Twelve brothers, all dead. Their corpses were covered in knife wounds like these."

"Oh? So you're just some lackeys from the military." Scarface chuckled, taking the ghost-headed sword from his shoulder and twirling it in his hand. "Perfect, I'll send you all on your way today. Saves me an extra trip."

Lin Chen didn't give him a chance to continue rambling.

"Ling'er, hide behind me." After saying this, he rushed out.

The moment the Star Sword was drawn, a silver light exploded through the forest. Lin Chen, using his Star Chasing Step, appeared before the two men in black in a flash. Before they could react, the sword had already slashed across their throats. The blade was too fast; the wounds were thin and shallow, and blood only spurted out a second later. The two men clutched their throats and fell to the ground, their short knives clattering twice.

The remaining men in black came to their senses and surrounded him.

Leng Feng also rushed out. His fighting style was completely different from Lin Chen's. The military knife in his hands seemed to have eyes; every strike was aimed straight for vital organs—throat, heart, kidneys, femoral artery. There were no fancy movements, no unnecessary flourishes, and even the blade barely flashed, yet every strike brought someone down. He plunged his knife into the chest of a man in black, pulling it out with a spurt of blood. He then twisted his body and elbowed another man in the temple, causing the man to go limp.

Chu Fan quickly pulled several array flags from his backpack and planted them in the ground. He squatted down, his hands forming hand seals, his ten fingers rapidly changing shapes. Golden runes lit up the flags, their patterns flickering as if breathing.

"Trapped formation! Rise!"

The eight array flags simultaneously emitted a buzzing sound, and eight golden pillars of light rose from the ground. A thin light curtain, like an inverted bell, connected the pillars, enveloping the three men in black. The three men slashed and crashed wildly inside, but their blades only created ripples when they struck the light curtain; they couldn't break through it at all.

"burst!"

Chu Fan bit his tongue, and a drop of blood fell onto the array plate in his palm. Golden light blazed brightly within the trapping array, then suddenly contracted—with a deafening boom, the golden light exploded, and the three men in black didn't even have time to scream before being blasted to pieces. Blood and flesh splattered onto the light barrier, then slid down, pooling into a dark red puddle on the ground.

Su Ling'er wasn't idle either. She took out several Blazing Flame Pills from her medicine box, pulled out the safety pins, and threw them forcefully. The Blazing Flame Pills traced arcs in the air before landing in the area with the most men in black.

"Try me out!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fireballs exploded one after another, flames shooting skyward and igniting the surrounding bushes. Several men in black had their clothes set ablaze, rolled on the ground screaming, and after a few attempts to extinguish the fire, they quickly went still. The air was thick with the pungent smell of burnt flesh, mixed with the stench of blood and gunpowder, so acrid it made one want to vomit.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, more than half of the dozen or so men in black had fallen.

Scarface stood there watching his men fall one by one, the smile vanishing from his face. His expression darkened, and the murderous glint in his eyes intensified. He took the ghost-headed sword from his shoulder, gripped the hilt with both hands, and the dark red blood-red light on the blade grew stronger.

"A bunch of useless trash." He spat on the ground. "I still have to take action myself."

Before he could finish speaking, he was launched into the air.

The ghost-headed saber descended with a thick, bloody aura, a foul and pungent smell as if it had been soaking in blood for centuries. Lin Chen raised his sword to parry, and the clash of swords produced a deafening roar, sending sparks flying.

Ding ding ding—

Scarface's strength was astonishing. Each cut felt like a mountain collapsing, and Lin Chen's arm went numb from the impact, his hand throbbing with pain. He staggered back three steps, his heels carving three shallow furrows in the gravel.

Early stage of the Transformation Realm. Lin Chen quickly made a judgment in his mind. This person was not an ordinary member of the Black Serpent Organization; he was at least a leader.

"Kid, you've got some skills." Scarface grinned maliciously, increasing the pressure in his hand. "But you're still going to die today! Black Serpent Blade Technique—Serpent Bite!"

Suddenly, a surge of black true energy erupted from the Ghost Head Blade, condensing into a twisted giant snake that opened its massive jaws to bite at Lin Chen's chest. The snake's mouth was full of barbed fangs, each one gleaming with a cold light.

Lin Chen dodged to the side, the serpentine true energy flying past his shoulder and blasting a bowl-sized crater in the tree trunk behind him. Splinters of wood hit his back, stinging like being shot with a shotgun. His clothes were ripped open by the blade, revealing the skin underneath—a red mark, half an inch deeper and it would have drawn blood.

"Lin Chen!" Su Ling'er called out anxiously from behind.

Before she could run over, a sweet, cloying smell suddenly filled the air.

It's poisonous fog.

A pale purple mist surged in from all directions, penetrating every crevice, as if it were alive. When the mist touched leaves, they immediately withered and curled; when it touched grass on the ground, the grass instantly turned black. Its toxicity was so potent it sent chills down one's spine.

"Oh no! Everyone hold your breath!" Su Ling'er shouted, grabbing a handful of antidote pills from her medicine box and throwing them to everyone. "Eat them quickly! Hold them under your tongue!"

Leng Feng was closest to the poisonous fog. He had just cut down a man in black and hadn't even had time to sheathe his sword when a thick fog rushed into his face. He instinctively held his breath, but it was too late—the poisonous fog seeped into his nostrils, eye sockets, ears, and even the pores of his skin. His vision went black, his limbs felt as if all the strength had been drained, and he almost couldn't hold his sword.

A man in black seized the opportunity and slashed at his right arm with a knife. The blade tore through his sleeve, cut open the flesh, and blood gushed out, flowing down his wrist.

"Leng Feng!" Lin Chen's heart clenched at the sight. He wanted to rush over to help, but Scarface's attacks suddenly intensified. The ghost-head saber slashed down one after another like a storm, giving him no chance to escape.

"Hahaha! Lin Chen, your friend is going to die! Let's see how you save him!" Scarface laughed, and the force of his knife increased.

Chu Fan squatted on the ground, trying to set up an antidote array. He inserted the array flags one by one into the ground, his hands moving so fast they seemed to be cramping. But the runes on the flags would light up briefly and then go out, lighting up and going out again, unable to stabilize. He looked around—a pale purple mist hung in the air, the spiritual energy severely polluted, making it impossible to condense array patterns. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground, hitting the soil and drying quickly.

Su Ling'er's antidote could only temporarily alleviate the poison, not completely eliminate it. Leng Feng's bluish-black complexion worsened, spreading from his neck to his cheeks; his lips turned purple, and he was trembling.

He knelt on the ground, one hand supporting himself on his sword, the other still trying to swing, but his movements were distorted, crooked, and completely inaccurate. More and more men in black appeared before him, three swords simultaneously slashing at him.

Just as Leng Feng was about to give up, a clear, cold voice suddenly came from the direction of the valley entrance, like a bucket of ice water poured on a red-hot iron plate.

"How dare you, practicing such heretical and unorthodox methods, act so presumptuously here!"