By the county government office.
Facing Hong Minghu's full-force punch, Li Hong instantly felt a surge of deadly danger.
At such close range, coupled with the disparity in speed and physique between them, Li Hong knew there was no way to evade the strike.
Immediately, he crossed his six arms, intending to rely on the advantage of his massive body to withstand Hong Minghu's attack.
The next moment
Boom!
The inner energy transformed into a ferocious tiger, crashing violently into Li Hong's interlocked arms.
Then, Li Hong's enormous body was sent flying through the air.
Seeing this, Hong Minghu twisted the sole of his right foot against the ground.
The explosive force instantly shattered the stone bricks beneath him.
Boom
Like a cannonball, he shot toward Li Hong.
Mid-air, his fingers spread wide as his inner energy erupted once more, materializing into a mist-formed tiger.
The tiger pounced downward, descending like a mountain onto Li Hong.
At this moment, Li Hong let out a continuous, low growl.
Years of living in comfort had made it difficult for him to endure the agony of his six arms being shattered.
The intense pain twisted his face into a grimace.
As Hong Minghu closed in rapidly, a flash of despair crossed Li Hong's eyes.
Even with his undying body, the severed arms would still take time to regenerate.
Yet Hong Minghu had no intention of giving him that time. The surging inner energy pressed down on him like a raging tsunami, suffocating him.
"Fifth rank… so strong!!" he muttered inwardly.
Now he understood there was an insurmountable gap between the sixth and fifth ranks.
Though the burst of inner energy was brief, that brief eruption was enough to overwhelm any sixth-rank warrior.
Even with the enhancements from his current six-armed divine form, he was no match for Hong Minghu in full inner energy release.
Moreover, Hong Minghu's earlier techniques had suppressed the regenerative abilities of his flesh, stripping him of his healing power.
Even now, the head of Hong Minghu had blown apart and showed no signs of regrowing.
Cornered and desperate, Li Hong felt utter hopelessness.
Then
A vision flashed through his mind.
An endless sea of blood, countless corpses floating within it.
Above the blood sea stood a majestic being.
Three heads, six arms, four legs.
At this moment, Hong Minghu was within ten feet of Li Hong.
At the critical instant
The smaller head beside Li Hong's main one suddenly twisted 270 degrees.
Then, its long-closed eyes snapped open.
In that split second
Hong Minghu's rapidly advancing body came to an abrupt halt, shifting from extreme speed to absolute stillness.
Then, his robust frame slowly collapsed.
His legs buckled, knees hitting the ground as his upper body curled forward onto his thighs.
"Huff… huff…"
Low, strained groans escaped Hong Minghu's lips as bright red blood spilled from his mouth.
At this moment, he felt his internal organs and the flesh of his limbs twisting violently.
An indescribable terror seized his heart.
On the other side
"Not good!!" Ye Qiu's expression changed drastically.
After only a brief hesitation, he shouted, "All comrades, attack together!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ye Qiu lunged toward Hong Minghu's location using his Treading Snow Without a Trace movement technique.
At the same time
The two other commanders exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
Then, they too charged toward Li Hong.
Yuan Hua and Tang Miaomiao looked at each other, fear flickering in their eyes.
If even Hong Minghu had suddenly dropped to his knees, what hope did they have? Charging it would be futile.
But then they remembered the rules of the Inspection Bureau:
If comrades do not retreat, and superiors do not retreat, then those who flee will be treated as deserters and sentenced to death.
At this thought, Yuan Hua and Tang Miaomiao couldn't help but glance at Jiang Ning, their eyes briefly flashing with envy.
Jiang Ning's assigned task was to use his bow to harass and obstruct Li Hong.
With this duty, Jiang Ning didn't have to engage in close combat like they did under Ye Qiu's orders.
It meant he could avoid the risks they now faced.
Moreover, with Jiang Ning present, they dared not disobey Ye Qiu's command.
If they hesitated or retreated now, they would be deserters on the battlefield.
Following the Inspection Bureau's rules, Jiang Ning could immediately shoot them dead.
Such an act would not only go unpunished it would count as a merit.
Both knew Jiang Ning's temperament and methods well.
If they truly chose to desert, he would not hesitate to kill them.
Exchanging a helpless look, they gritted their teeth and rushed forward.
Just as they moved
Ye Qiu's orders reached their ears:
"Yuan Hua, Tang Miaomiao evacuate Bureau Chief Hong immediately!"
"The three commanders assist me in restraining Li Hong!"
After these commands, he raised his voice again:
"Brother Jiang now is the time!"
From over 500 meters away, the words reached Jiang Ning's ears in less than half a second.
Jiang Ning had already drawn his bow, an arrow nocked and ready.
At the same time
Ye Qiu and the three commanders had arrived before Li Hong.
"You're seeking death!!!" Li Hong sneered at their approach, his face full of disdain.
Meanwhile.
"Fall back... quickly..." Hong Minghu curled up on the ground and forced the words through clenched teeth as he watched the three men approach.
No one understood better than he did just how invincible Li Hong was at this moment.
He could feel every inch of his bones, muscles, and flesh twisting and contorting under the influence of some mysterious force as if they were being crushed together.
This phenomenon was utterly terrifying.
Once he completely lost the ability to resist, his bones, muscles, and flesh would rapidly be pulverized into a single mass.
At that point, death would be his only fate.
Just as Hong Minghu barely managed to utter those two words, the head atop Li Hong's shoulders instantly rotated 180 degrees, its gaze locking onto Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu's expression changed drastically, and in the next moment, he collapsed to his knees just like Hong Minghu.
Not far away.
Li Changkong, witnessing this scene, was struck with horror and immediately thought of retreating.
His movements halted abruptly, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
"No matter what! Better to flee like a coward than die here!"
But in the very next instant, he saw Li Hong's other head turn toward him.
Li Changkong immediately dropped to his knees like Hong Minghu.
The moment he hit the ground, his face twisted in agony, his jaws clenched so tightly they nearly shattered.
Every muscle and tendon in his body tensed to resist the bizarre force.
In less than a breath's time, blood seeped from between his teeth, his veins bulging violently, the ones at his temples writhing like serpents.
Meanwhile.
The other two commanders also fell instantly, collapsing and curling up on the ground just like Hong Minghu, Ye Qiu, and Li Changkong.
In mere moments, the situation had completely reversed.
The entire group from the Inspection Office had been brought to their knees by Li Hong's current state.
Elsewhere.
On a high rooftop eave.
Jiang Ning's bowstring was drawn to its full tension.
A fierce wind gathered around him, sweeping up the snow and whirling it into a storm that spiraled into the sky.
A flash of lightning crackled along the arrow's shaft.
"It's time to strike. I can't wait any longer!" Jiang Ning murmured to himself, his Heavenly Eye fixed on the scene outside the county office.
Then
Twang!
The arrow shot through the air.
A distance of just over 500 meters was nothing to Jiang Ning's current archery skills the arrow seemed to pierce the void in an instant.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed through the air, drowning out even Li Hong's agonized roars.
At the same time.
Hong Minghu and the others instantly felt the bizarre force within their bodies recede.
Looking up, they saw a gaping hole the size of a bucket in Li Hong's chest, cleanly punctured from front to back.
Through the massive wound, they could see the sky above and the snowflakes drifting behind him.
In the next moment.
A blur flashed before their eyes.
Boom!
The blur struck Li Hong's head, unleashing another deafening thunderclap.
Then, they watched as Li Hong's skull exploded, brain matter and blood spraying in all directions.
The destruction of his head and heart instantly drained the life from his body. The newly grown head atop his shoulders deflated like a punctured balloon, rapidly shriveling.
One breath later.
Thud!
Li Hong's massive body collapsed to the ground, shaking the earth slightly.
"It's... over?!" Li Changkong's eyes widened in disbelief.
Just moments ago, Li Hong had been unstoppable, effortlessly overwhelming them all.
He had felt that, at most, he could only hold out for a few more breaths before losing the ability to resist that sinister force.
His flesh, bones, and muscles would have been twisted into a mangled mess, killing him instantly.
Nearby, Ye Qiu gasped for breath as he lifted his head from the ground and looked toward where Jiang Ning had been standing. He saw Jiang Ning's figure leaping and darting closer at incredible speed.
He exhaled in relief, his face a mix of exhaustion and gratitude.
"Brother Jiang... you've saved our lives!"
Meanwhile.
Hong Minghu also slowly raised his head.
He stared at Li Hong's massive corpse, still shaken by the close brush with death.
Just now, he had truly felt the breath of the Reaper.
Now that the danger had passed, he realized his internal organs were severely hemorrhaging, his tendons torn, and his bones displaced his injuries were grave.
He had been the first to fall victim to Li Hong's sinister power and had borne the brunt of his focus.
His wounds were the worst among them.
He could tell that if the ordeal had lasted even a moment longer, his organs would have been crushed together, killing him instantly.
"Thank goodness..." A trace of relief flashed in his eyes as he panted softly, murmuring to himself, "Thankfully, I positioned Jiang Ning high up for long-range support. Otherwise, this operation would have ended in total annihilation!"
The mere thought of that possibility made his heart shudder with gratitude.
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel at Jiang Ning's terrifying archery skills.
Just how powerful was Li Hong? He had experienced it firsthand.
If he didn't unleash his inner energy, he was no match for Li Hong at all.
Li Hong's undying body would have worn him down and exhausted him to death.
Yet, in Jiang Ning's hands, it had taken only two arrows to accomplish the feat of slaying Li Hong.
"This is the terror of a divine archer!!" Hong Minghu marveled inwardly.
Before this, he had only heard rumors about how terrifying a master archer could be.
A godly archer, armed with a suitable bow and holding a strategic position, could pose a lethal threat to warriors even a full realm above them.
This saying was now perfectly demonstrated in Jiang Ning, leaving him in awe.
Two arrows to kill Li Hong.
This alone proved that, with such archery skills, Jiang Ning now had the power to threaten even him.
Especially if caught unprepared Hong Minghu doubted he could escape unscathed from Jiang Ning's arrows.
"Thankfully, I treated Jiang Ning decently before and didn't provoke him too deeply. Otherwise, I'd have a serious problem in the future!"
Meanwhile, Yuan Hua and Tang Miaomiao, standing nearby, wore expressions of utter disbelief.
They had witnessed the situation take a sudden turn for the worse Hong Minghu, Ye Qiu, and the others all teetering on the brink of death.
Yet with Jiang Ning's intervention, just two arrows had been enough to kill Li Hong on the spot, reversing the disastrous situation.
Jiang Ning's performance had completely exceeded their expectations.
Especially Yuan Hua's.
He couldn't help but think back to last year when he had tried to steal credit from Jiang Ning.
"I was truly digging my own grave back then!"
"Thankfully, it didn't escalate into a real disaster!!"
A deep sense of relief filled his heart.
Meanwhile.
The distance of just over 500 meters was nothing to Jiang Ning. In just a few leaps, he arrived at the county office and stood beside Li Hong's corpse.
He crouched beside the massive body, placing his right hand on it as if checking for signs of life.
The moment his palm touched Li Hong's skin, a prompt flashed before his eyes:
[Discovered: 13 Divine Points. Two Authorities detected. Absorb?]
Thirteen?!
So many?!
Jiang Ning's heart surged with joy, though his expression remained unchanged.
He silently absorbed them while pretending to examine Li Hong's condition.
A moment later, he slowly stood and clasped his hands toward Hong Minghu.
"Chief, Li Hong has been slain. I could not capture him alive I could only shoot to kill."
"You did more than enough!" Hong Minghu forced himself to stand, enduring the pain wracking his body.
Seeing this, Yuan Hua hurried over, reaching out to support him.
"No need!" Hong Minghu pushed him away and straightened his posture.
Then, he bowed deeply to Jiang Ning.
"Thank you, Commander Jiang, for saving my life!"
"Chief, there's no need for such formality." Jiang Ning smiled.
His slightly delayed intervention had been deliberate to ensure this exact moment, where he could claim a life-saving favor from Hong Minghu.
Had he acted too soon, killing Li Hong would have just been part of his duty.
But by waiting just a little longer, his actions became a life-saving grace.
The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
Moreover, Hong Minghu had previously assigned him to raid the Cao family's estate. While technically within his duties, given Jiang Ning's existing conflict with the Caos, the task had been unfair from the start.
Today, using Li Hong's hands to make Hong Minghu suffer a bit had also been part of his plan.
At the same time.
Ye Qiu also bowed deeply to Jiang Ning.
"Brother Jiang, thank you for saving my life!"
Seeing this, Li Changkong and the other three commanders followed suit, offering the same gesture of respect.
"Gentlemen, there's no need for this. It was merely my duty," Jiang Ning said.
Hong Minghu shook his head. "While it may have been your duty, Commander Jiang, your actions truly saved our lives. Had you not intervened, a few more seconds and I might have perished here."
"The Chief speaks wisely," Ye Qiu nodded in agreement, his face filled with emotion.
"Brother Jiang, your life-saving grace today will not be forgotten. If you ever need my help in the future, just say the word."
The others quickly voiced similar promises.
Jiang Ning merely smiled, not taking their words to heart.
What use were pretty words?
What mattered was action, not talk.
In the world of adults, surface-level courtesy was always performed flawlessly.
Just then.
Hong Minghu suddenly spoke again.
"Gentlemen, the greatest credit for slaying Li Hong today belongs to Commander Jiang. Does anyone object?"
Hearing this unexpected declaration, Jiang Ning looked at Hong Minghu in surprise.
"No objections!" Ye Qiu was the first to agree.
"I have none either!"
"None!"
"No objections!!"
The other three commanders echoed in unison.
Seeing Jiang Ning's stunned expression, Hong Minghu suppressed his pain and spoke again.
"Today's highest honor belongs to you."
"Without you, all of us would have died here."
"I underestimated these monsters…"
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