Origin Paradise!

Just as a soldier was about to shout, a long red snake crawled up his body and bit his lip.

The other four had already realized what was happening and, seeing that things were not going well, immediately tried to call for their team leader who was going to provide support.

Chu Fuqiang tossed out the medal in his hand. This ordinary-grade item, which could reduce attention, fell into the middle of the enemy and enveloped the surroundings. Strange things then happened. The four of them shouted desperately but to no avail. To outsiders, it sounded more like the chirping of birds.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang He had already rushed to the enemy's front, unleashing his full power without hesitation. The Long-Hate Spear slashed down, and the Collapse Technique recorded on the previous page of the Arm Sutra was displayed, like Mount Tai pressing down, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

Grass Snake threw a dagger, Chu Fuqiang swung his axe, and the three of them worked together to quickly eliminate the remaining squad.

Chapter 21 The Red Cannon

In the darkness of night, more than a hundred people crossed the lake.

Some soldiers who couldn't swim held onto the planks with their hands and were pulled forward by others, trying their best to keep a low profile.

Jiang He was submerged in the water, with only half of his face showing. For him, moving around in the water was probably more comfortable than on land.

The lake was not wide, and the sounds of fighting still lingered in the streets. The group was almost at the shore.

Chu Fuqiang held an axe in one hand. His military experience had honed his excellent swimming skills. At this moment, he kept a close eye on the snake in the grass. Liu Dingwei trusted this extraordinary man, as all the intelligence came from him, but he never took his life lightly.

Seeing this, Lord Liu said in a low voice, "Brother Chu, you can rest assured. The Qing soldiers slaughtered Datong, and all of Cao Li She's relatives and clansmen perished in that incident. He claimed that he was like a snake hiding in the grass and that he was lucky enough to survive. He is even more determined than I am in his stance on national and family hatred."

Chu Fuqiang nodded silently and released the axe.

Half an hour later, the group landed and found themselves in a garden. Walking around the wall, they came into view of dozens of brightly lit military tents. The largest tent was located under the Eight Treasures Pagoda, three miles away. Even though it was late at night, people were still coming and going.

Jiang He and Chu Fuqiang explored forward together until they reached the first military tent. They cut open the tent flap to peek inside, and their hearts sank to the bottom.

It was empty inside.

"Damn it, are you messing with me?"

Chu Fuqiang clenched his teeth and unconsciously gripped the axe tightly.

Jiang He sighed softly; the situation was not good.

Meanwhile, outside the Slender Lake.

A military officer put away a single copper telescope. During the Chongzhen era, the imperial court had the ability to manufacture telescopes, which wealthy merchants and officials could own, but they were not often used to equip border troops.

"Head to the lakeside." The commander ordered his men. The prince had decreed that no matter how many casualties the original lakeside troops suffered, they must arrive and take over the defense within fifteen minutes if anything unusual happened. This order was given after the granary and dungeon caught fire.

Fifteen hundred elite soldiers broke camp and set up camp, along with twelve red-coated cannons, which were the most advanced firearms of the time.

……

Tai Tai Temple.

One after another, bonfires were lit, illuminating Liu Taibao's deathly pale face. Everywhere he looked, there were figures. The soldiers in front of him were all burly and powerful, holding halberds. They were the elite infantrymen of the Halberd Battalion who had once withstood the iron cavalry of the old dynasty outside the pass. They were lying in ambush here together with the personal guard battalion.

At the end of the line of sight, a man in red walked out of the tent, exuding an extraordinary air. To his left stood a soldier in yellow armor, and to his right a man in black robes.

The man in black robes shouted, "His Highness said that if Liu Taibao is willing to surrender, he will be treated as a national hero. Today, his loyalty and bravery have been fulfilled, and the old favors have been repaid. A wise bird chooses its tree, and the whole world will have no complaints. The position of Minister of Rites of the new dynasty is vacant!"

Liu Taibao's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Yesterday our country was destroyed and our homes perished, how dare you bark like dogs today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bodyguard raised his sword and took the lead in charging forward, followed closely by thirty bodyguards. However, a few prisoners silently retreated and ran back into the lake.

The halberdiers advanced the battle line, and hundreds of archers from the personal guard fired a volley, arrows filling the sky. The three thousand elite troops were so silent that it was almost intimidating; their movements were orderly and disciplined.

Jiang He consumed 100 energy points to activate Garuda Mode 2. His body radiated pure cyan energy, as if he were wearing armor. He took each step, the stone slabs beneath his feet cracked like a net. His waist and legs undulated, as if he were riding a galloping horse. With the last step, his figure under the firelight suddenly rose high, leaping more than ten meters, and crashed straight into the battle formation.

The two halberds were snapped in two by the pure blue armor.

Jiang He gripped the end of the Long Hatred Spear, straightened his arm, twisted his body and spun around, causing ripples to spread across his clothes. He swung it around in a circle, and it seemed as if a blue moon rose around him. Within a radius of about three meters, there were groups of dismembered corpses, and blood splattered like rain.

Thirteen halberd warriors were killed in action, their injuries as severe as those inflicted by repeated waist-cutting with the Tiger Head Guillotine.

Arrows shot through the air, striking the pure blue armor and continuously draining its energy, shortening the duration of Garuda Mode.

After the charge, the gaps were quickly filled by reinforcements. Jiang He stood firm as a rock, his chest and back muscles stretched and released. Suddenly, he shook himself out, his arm thrusting forward to strike. The force of his thrust sent out the Long Hatred Spear, like a mad dragon breaking free of its chains, bursting out with terrifying power and piercing through the torsos of five people.

With halberds slashing down relentlessly on the enemy, Jiang He moved swiftly, his hands flipping the spear shafts, alternating between smashing and slashing. For a moment, he managed to forcibly halt the surging tide of soldiers, and the corpses piled up into a small mountain.

On the other side, Chu Fuqiang raised his heavy axe and used his rare-grade armor to guard one side. Liu Taibao led more than a hundred men to fight in the gaps. Reason was replaced by madness, and this powerful minister revealed a fierce and wild nature at this moment.

The troops surged like a tide, crashing against the reef time and time again.

Jiang He swung his spear down, unleashing a close-range spear strike—the Great Sage's Cleave—combined with a powerful strike, directly smashing the Baturu in front of him into a bloody pulp. The man's head exploded, his spine snapped into his chest, and the unstoppable force of the spear crushed his hip bones, leaving only his legs flying off.

The surrounding halberdiers retreated a dozen steps with a whoosh. The scene before them was too bloody and brutal. Such a death could not possibly be caused by a human. The other party might be some kind of strange beast that had become a spirit.

On the distant Eight Treasures Pagoda, dozens of archers appeared. Although few in number, they were all top marksmen from Tie Duo's direct lineage, each one exceptionally valuable and priceless.

Arrows rained down, shattering Jiang He's pure blue armor. Just then, a figure in black robes rushed out of the battle, his hands crimson as blood, with large knuckles that faintly emitted a hazy red light, and slammed them down on the enemy's head.

Jiang He raised his hand, and a violent shockwave rose from his palm. The heat radiation mixed in made the broken armor under his feet scorching hot. With a loud bang, the intense shockwave enveloped the black-robed man's terrified face.

It was like thunder exploding on the ground.

Within a fan-shaped area of ​​tens of meters, more than forty halberd warriors died on the spot. The number of those who fell and fled in the entire flank area was countless. Their fierce momentum was completely extinguished. The two gas explosions were released in a concentrated manner, and their power was considerable.

The black-robed figure absorbed most of the damage. Its main effect was concealment, but it also provided defense. The rare black robe was torn to shreds, leaving only white bones on his face, his flesh and blood charred black, and his bones broken.

Jiang He took the man's life with a single shot. Looking up, he was confident that if he could break through to within a mile of Tie Duo, he could tear apart the battle formation with the remaining four gas shocks.

Suddenly, Jiang He felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

The last time he felt like he was about to die was when he was a child and encountered a wild bear on a mountain. If he hadn't been to Yuwang Valley, he probably would have remained puzzled as to why there were wild bears on the island.

Without time to think, Jiang He immediately activated Garuda Mode 2, and the Pure Azure Armor reappeared. He then turned around and launched the Everlasting Regret Spear.

The next second, a solid bullet the size of a human head struck the gun barrel. The surging force shattered the resistance and, along with the gun barrel, pierced the man's chest, sending him flying more than ten meters away.

The pure blue armor shattered instantly; a single cannon shot shattered the Garuda mode's defenses.

At the same time, booming sounds echoed across the opposite bank of the lake, on both sides of the main tent, and even in the garden. Shells rained down, causing heavy casualties among hundreds of people, almost wiping out the entire army. The person who gave the order didn't even care about the casualties on his own side.

A Baturu, his face contorted with madness, charged forward, laughing wildly. The feeling of being on the brink of death had him incredibly excited. With a violent flick of his wrist, he severed Liu Taibao's head.

Chu Fuqiang had his left hand chopped off by a halberd strike, but he immediately retaliated with a heavy axe blow, smashing the opponent's head.

Ignoring the pain, he looked up and roared, "Run!"

There was no need for Chu Fuqiang to say anything more. The moment Jiang He was hit by the artillery fire, he knew that the operation had failed. They didn't know where they had slipped up. In Yangzhou, Tie Duo, who had 30,000 elite troops and 50,000 surrendered soldiers, had an absolute advantage and was protected by a great shaman. They were completely without any flaws.

Despite the excruciating pain throughout his body, Jiang He swept his way to the lakeside and leaped into the water. In the darkness, a very short arrow came flying at him. He used Garuda Mode 1 to partially enhance his head and chest, but the arrow unexpectedly changed course midway and struck his right shoulder.

Three miles away, the great shaman squinted his eyes, and the nine-section drum whip in his right hand was missing a section.

The man in red exclaimed, "What a magnificent land dragon!"

The high shaman said, "Your Highness, among this group of people, only his determination to kill you is the purest and strongest. We must not take the risk."

The man in red pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps he is a suicide soldier or something. Investigate whose subordinate he is. The Southern Ming Dynasty is about to collapse, but business can still be done. It is easy to find a thousand soldiers, but difficult to find a general."

"Yes, sir." The high shaman accepted the order.

Chapter 22 Borrowing Armor

The city of Yangzhou fell on the fourth day.

Dawn.

Jiang He swam upstream in the lake and reached the north bank of the Slender Lake. He barely escaped the pursuit of the Green Soldiers and Halberdiers. When he got ashore, his face was completely bloodless. The wound from the arrow shot by the Great Shaman was bleeding profusely. No matter what he tried to stop the bleeding, or to burn it with fire, the wound would often reopen in a short while.

Fortunately, the wound wasn't big.

Jiang He tore his clothes and wrapped strips of cloth around his shoulders. The hidden arrow was a common-grade item; the wound would be difficult to heal within a day if it hit the target. It was more suitable for bleeding out high-risk prey, full of the style of a hunter from the borderlands.

The operation failed, and the cost to our side was extremely high. The resistance leader Liu Taibao was killed in action, the renowned spearman Mr. Wu sacrificed his life, and the hundred or so men we had gathered were all wiped out. Upon hearing the news, the surrendered troops outside Yangzhou, even if they had originally intended to join the resistance, would rationally choose to give up.

Surrounded by shouts of battle, Jiang He continued on his way until he arrived at the ancestral tomb of a wealthy family. The tomb had been dug up by Qing soldiers, and the gold and silver artifacts buried with the deceased had disappeared, leaving only a skeleton. He put the skeleton into his inventory and destroyed it, then lay down inside. After a simple disguise, he focused on recuperating, lying flat to reduce the bleeding from his wounds.

The mournful wind howled, and cries filled the fields. With no force of resistance left, the guard orders of the Iron Bell tribes were lifted, and the massacre reached its peak. Among the citizens, more than 10,000 people hanged themselves, threw themselves into wells, set themselves on fire, had bloodied faces and severed limbs, or were stabbed but not dead and still had their limbs moving. Everywhere was littered with bones and flesh, and the sound of swords echoed throughout the city.

Inside the tomb, Jiang He pondered quietly.

"The main reason for this failure was that I lost the initiative. Although I seemed to be brave in killing the enemy, it was equivalent to loosening my grip on the gun and blindly trusting Liu Taibao's arrangements. However, his status as a senior official did not play a decisive role in this operation."

"Similarly, in the real world, one must maintain a distance from the Bureau of Order and can only engage in limited, localized cooperation at most."

"The most direct factor in this defeat was the elite army and artillery under Tie Duo's command. Ultimately, the idea of ​​fighting an organization against another organization was wrong. The other side had an absolute advantage in this respect, and there was no chance of winning."

"In martial arts, one overcomes the weak by using strengths."

"My advantage is my extraordinary abilities, which surpass the strength of ordinary soldiers. To hunt down Ironlord, I must amplify my strengths and magnify the target's weaknesses. Working with a large group of people will only drag me into a quagmire. Times are changing, and extraordinary abilities are gradually increasing the importance of individuals. People must adapt to the environment in time, that is, streamline their teams or act alone."

……

until late at night.

Jiang He rose from the grave. The wounds from the hidden arrows had stopped bleeding. His own physical condition and the nutrition supplied by his heart allowed him to survive. His steps were slightly unsteady, but it did not affect his combat ability.

In the main quest, killing 200 Qingbing has already exceeded the target, but the panel is still recording it, which may affect the final evaluation.

Under the cover of night, Jiang He headed straight for the Yan family cemetery. If he hadn't encountered Liu Taibao and Chu Fuqiang on the way, he would have arrived at his destination much earlier.

In ancient times, areas with the word "grave" in their names were generally not very wealthy. The Yan Family Grave was located not too far from the western part of the city.

Along the way, the fires grew increasingly fierce, the trees burned, and the light was like lightning, filling the sky.

Jiang He was slightly taken aback upon seeing this. Thinking back to yesterday, the entire city of Yangzhou seemed to be immersed in the darkness of night, with not a single spark of fire in sight. In fact, there should have been quite a few people who set themselves on fire, so this phenomenon was not normal.

"So that's how it is. It was the fire in the granary that alerted Tieduo."

The old Yan family residence, the home of He Lao Er's father-in-law, now has its outer wall collapsed and all its valuables looted. Due to the surrounding area's lack of wealth, the number of Qing soldiers stationed at the Yan family cemetery is small.

Jiang He walked around inside and outside the ancestral hall, and was stopped by someone when he passed by it.

"Brother Mo Ke!"

On the roof beam of the ancestral hall, Chu Fuqiang weakly called out. His left hand had been severed and could only be repaired with a large healing potion, but the problem was that such a potion was currently unavailable for sale.

Jiang He asked directly, "Where is the secret passage?"

Chu Fuqiang came down, raised his hand and pointed to the wooden platform where the Yan family enshrined the ancestral tablets, and replied, "Just push it open. This platform is very heavy and filled with stones. Many people from the Yan family have left through here. I plan to guard the entrance."

Jiang He exclaimed in surprise, "Given your personality, you should be escorting more citizens out."

Chu Fuqiang remained silent, then forced a weak smile. “Human strength has its limits. I was too arrogant, which led to the deaths of Liu Taibao and the others. You don’t know, Tie Duo discovered our attack ahead of time, most likely because I set fire to the dungeon. I was just being clever. Going out to find other citizens might have killed those who had already escaped. Now I just want to hold this place and quietly wait for these ten days to pass.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang He examined himself. He had also burned down the granary, but felt no pain whatsoever. Perhaps it was because he was more inclined to take responsibility for his own life and death.

"Lend me your armor; I intend to kill Tidor."

Chu Fuqiang: "..."

If you're not a good buddy, why are you still betting? We're about to lose everything.

Chu Fuqiang had a headache and said directly, "If you really intend to continue killing Tie Duo, it's just an external object, of course I can lend it to you, but I'm afraid you'll take the armor and run away. After all, I'm not a vengeful person."

Jiang He pondered for a moment before revealing the main quest of hunting down Tie Duo; there was no need to hide it now.

Chu Fuqiang was taken aback when he saw this. He patted the other man on the shoulder and said, "Brother Mo Ke, we should judge by your actions, not your intentions. You have killed so many Qing soldiers. You don't need to feel guilty about your selfishness."

As for why LV3 players would be mixed into several LV6 and LV7 derivative quests, and why the quests were significantly more difficult, both sides had an unspoken agreement and never mentioned it.

Jiang He looked strange; he felt a strange sense of guilt.

"I'm telling you in advance, Tidu may not die, but your armor will definitely be damaged."

Chu Fuqiang waved his hand, "That's because it's not tough enough, it has little to do with you."

Jiang He nodded, took the armor and put it on, then pushed aside the wooden platform and walked into the tunnel behind it.

[Name: Rhino Armor]

[Category: Armor]

[Quality: Rare]

[Effects: ① Increases slash damage by 15% upon recoil. ② Increases toughness by 2. ③ Increases strength by 1.]

[Note: An indestructible humanoid rhinoceros!]

……

Inside the secret passage, Jiang He stepped forward. Last night, he was hit by a solid shot from the Red Cannon. Despite the damage from the Long-Hate Spear and the scale armor, he was still seriously injured. However, he discovered that his Pure Green Heart had a slight self-healing ability. To be more precise, it could heal itself through the special energy transformed from food.

"The foundation of martial arts lies in the body of the five grains."

This secret passage is much longer than the granary passage.