Bang!
With nearly all the strength left in his body, Chu Mu's broken blade shattered on impact. His whole body was flung backward, rolling across the ground.
Only just—barely—had he managed to block that fatal strike.
But in the blink of an eye, another blade was already descending upon him.
His long blade had broken, his body lay sprawled on the ground, and his arms were numb—how could he block it?
How could he possibly survive?
As the cold, sharp blade neared, Chu Mu's eyes widened in despair. Under the shadow of death, a storm of emotions surged violently through his heart.
"Die, you damned thief!"
At that moment, a thunderous shout rang out.
In his blurry vision, Chu Mu clearly saw a figure charging like a bull—the iron-armored brute had leapt high into the air, his iron chain-wrapped fists hurtling forward like cannonballs toward the attacker.
The man wielding the blade quickly rolled aside to dodge, and the killing intent bearing down on Chu Mu instantly vanished without a trace.
"Huff…"
A brush with death. A real, undeniable brush with death.
Chu Mu gasped desperately for air, trying to push himself upright, only to find that his arms no longer obeyed his will.
After struggling for a while, he finally managed to rise and grab the saber from the fallen patrol officer beside him. Then he turned immediately, alert, to the clash unfolding right before his eyes.
A punch. A slash.
Nothing fancy—no tricks, no flair. Just direct, simple moves. But each strike targeted a vital point, every blow carried lethal intent.
Brutal and ferocious—killing intent surging like a tide!
At the start, the two seemed evenly matched. Chains clashed with steel blades, sending up a cacophony of shrill metal and a spray of sparks that bloomed like fireworks.
But as the fight wore on, the iron-armored brute's stamina began to show its advantage. His wide, forceful swings drove the man in black steadily backward. Even his once-smooth blade strikes now seemed labored and difficult to execute.
Seeing this, Chu Mu finally let out a breath of relief.
Looking around, he noted that their disrupted formation had at least had some effect. From nearby, he could faintly hear shouts and the clash of weapons—it was clear that battles were taking place throughout this dense forest, not just here.
"You're courting death!"
Just as Chu Mu's mind began to wander, a sudden roar jolted his focus back to the battlefield.
He looked up—and his heart immediately leapt to his throat.
The iron-armored brute, who had held the upper hand just moments ago, had somehow been wounded. A deep gash split his armor, blood pouring out like a stream. As he continued to throw punches, droplets of crimson sprayed across the snow-covered ground like blooming petals.
Such a grave injury—surely the balance of the fight had now shifted.
From dominant aggressor, the brute had now become the one barely holding on.
Chu Mu's brows furrowed. He glanced instinctively around, but the darkness was thick, movement all around—it was clear that help wouldn't be arriving anytime soon.
Not far off, Xu Yuan and a young patrol officer stood shoulder to shoulder, trembling, pale as sheets with death grips on their blades.
Behind a nearby tree, three more patrolmen huddled together, shivering with fear. If not for the harsh punishment awaiting deserters, they would've likely bolted long ago.
From the time they left the mine until now, of the dozen or so in Chu Mu's group, only a handful remained.
Faced with this scene, the thought of retreat quietly crept into Chu Mu's mind.
As hesitation filled his chest, he instinctively summoned the translucent panel.
To his surprise, the "Luminar Value," which had only just crossed the 50% mark, had reached its full 100% limit in just a few hours.
"That's fast…"
Chu Mu blinked. Under normal conditions, even in a whole day, he would only accumulate a little over thirty percent.
And yet now, after merely a few hours in the mountains, it had increased by more than forty percent.
Could it be… that the intense focus and stress under life-and-death threats sped up Luminar Value accumulation?
There was no time to ponder it further—the situation simply wouldn't allow it.
Retreat or stay—
He had to decide.
At last, Chu Mu glanced again at his full Luminar Value… and gritted his teeth.
There's still a chance. I can't run!
If I retreat now, the path ahead will be lost for good!
"Xu Yuan, go call for reinforcements!"
"The rest of you—follow me!"
Chu Mu shouted, no longer hesitating, and charged toward the black-clad attacker with his saber in hand.
Upon hearing Chu Mu's shout, the iron-armored brute's eyes lit up. Though still struggling to fend off the relentless assault, he raised his voice and shouted:
"Do as he says!"
"Anyone who flees—your whole family dies!"
Compared to Chu Mu's voice, the brute's roar carried far more weight.
As a personal guard of a thousand-household commander, his words held real authority among patrol officers.
With his command, even the shivering men behind the trees had no choice but to grit their teeth and come out, blades in hand.
Cowardice is one thing—but if your fear threatens your entire family, few can bear that burden.
Witnessing this, the black-clad man's expression clearly shifted. He hadn't come here to fight the patrol to the death.
His resolve began to waver.
Striking hard to force the brute back, he turned to withdraw.
But just as he moved, a cold flash of steel suddenly appeared at his side, aimed straight at his neck with killing intent sharp and clear.
"You again?!"
Seeing Chu Mu's blade coming down, the man in black could no longer contain his fury. He immediately turned his blade from the brute to Chu Mu.
In a flurry of angry strikes, Chu Mu once again found himself overwhelmed by the sheer force of each blow.
His swordsmanship wasn't enough to close the gap in raw strength.
"Luminar!"
As another deadly slash neared, Chu Mu whispered under his breath. Instantly, his eyes deepened—like the endless night sky, vast and boundless.
And in that moment, the oncoming attack… changed.
To Chu Mu, it now looked completely different than before.
In the blink of an eye, his mind surged with precise strategies—like running calculations through a perfect formula. The angle to take, the force to apply, exactly where to block—all came to him instinctively.
He had considered such techniques before, during his fights with the black-clad youth. But back then, neither his body nor his thoughts could keep up in the heat of battle.
Now, under the blessing of "Luminar Insight," it was all as natural as breathing.
He slashed—again came the piercing clang—but the force traveling through the blade was far more manageable, no longer the overwhelming surge it had been before.
It hadn't disappeared. It had been deflected—redirected—perfectly discharged along the precise path.
One slash. Two. Three…
Where once he could barely hold out, now Chu Mu, though still retreating, fought with a newfound composure.
There was still pressure—but now, there was also control.
—
*(End of Chapter)*