Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 298

Afternoon is less suitable for assassins to carry out missions than nighttime, especially since this mission takes place in the city.

The reason is naturally that ample light makes people more likely to be exposed, but some very confident assassins will do the opposite. They have a variety of ways to operate during the day, so that they can more easily obtain intelligence from certain more vigilant targets.

The two groups of drunkards who suddenly started arguing while wearing the farmer's one-star grass pendant, the onlookers who intentionally or unintentionally gripped the hilt of their swords, and the waiter who was watching them with his eyes half-closed, all made this ambush seem naive and cheap.

They're just a bunch of rookies with no spider tattoos whatsoever, using a doomed assassination attempt to cover up their actions against the farm stronghold, right?

Lu Wei sneered inwardly and took the initiative to step forward.

As they approached, the disguised assassins of the Luo Wang organization flashed with a glint of heat in their eyes, and seven or eight cold blades were drawn, simultaneously aiming at multiple vital points on Lu Wei's body from various angles.

Calmly observing these attacks that seemed to unfold in slow motion, Lord Xia Kui did not wish to waste any more time. He unleashed a horizontal slash from his sword, the violent sword energy cleaving all the attackers in two simultaneously.

Blood instantly stained the first floor of the restaurant red. Amid the terrified cries of the innocent, a short man on the second floor rushed toward the door with incredible speed.

They seem to be in cahoots, and he is also a member of the Luo Wang assassin team. However, this assassin is skilled in light footwork and is highly proficient in it.

Of all the wandering knights Lu Wei had ever seen, Dao Zhi possessed the most agile lightness skill. Even if Lu Wei wanted to stop Dao Zhi from escaping beyond a certain range, it would take him quite a bit of effort.

The assassin from the restaurant who slipped through the net, though not as skilled as Dao Zhi, still managed to escape first. If he were to deliberately hide in the bustling city, he would still tie down a lot of Lu Wei's attention... should Lu Wei pursue him.

However, in reality, Lu Wei merely glanced at the other party from the center of the bloodshed and gave a mocking smile.

The fleeing assassins, focused solely on escaping and mindful of their orders, were oblivious to this scene.

"Earthly Swamp Twenty-Four!"

But on the street outside the restaurant, accompanied by a sharp shout, the assassin's pupils contracted, and he narrowly dodged a straight thrust. His speed was inevitably reduced as a result, and then he could no longer escape.

Holding the Zhaodan Sword, Ziwu formed an array with eleven second-star disciples of the Farmer's Clan, starting from him, and firmly surrounded him.

"Hmph, trying to escape?" Ziwu stroked his sword with two fingers, unleashing its energy, and proudly raised his head: "No prisoners are needed."

At his command, the twelve members of the Earthly Marsh Twenty-Four Guardians roared into action right there in the street...

"The Qin army will be coming to cause trouble soon, so I'm leaving it to you."

Without needing to go out and check the situation, Lu Wei flicked the remaining blood off his sword, sheathed it, and calmly gave an order to Li Shiqi behind him.

"Don't worry, Chief of the Farmers' Clan. Although there are many powerful and influential people in Sanghai now, the fact that my Chief of the Farmers' Clan was assassinated in the street is due to the poor security of the Qin army. I will handle the rest of the matter." Li Shiqi has aged considerably over the years, but his appearance is much more dignified than that of the drunkard he had just met with Lu Wei.

This is partly because he has lived in Sanghai for many years, and as the local head of the farm, he often had to deal with Xiaoshengxianzhuang, so he naturally had to pay attention to his appearance.

On the other hand, as a persuasive man skilled at understanding people's hearts, Lu Wei himself rarely drank alcohol. In order to please him, Li Shiqi also stopped drinking.

Nodding slowly, Lu Wei continued, "There should be some fish taking the bait in the traps at the stronghold. We'll send some disciples to prepare to dispose of the corpses later."

After saying that, he walked out of the restaurant, without even looking at the battle situation at Dize No. 24 Middle School, and went straight back to the farmhouse stronghold.

Some small fry try to cover up their true intentions by fabricating a case, but little do they know who the smaller prey is.

------

Inside a bamboo grove dwelling outside Sanghai City, splattered blood splattered on the dark gray bamboo door. Two assassins dressed as Qin soldiers lay on the ground, their eyes wide open in death.

Xiaomeng's disciple Yue'er collapsed to the ground, her eyes filled with fear, but she managed to stand up and called out "Master" in a trembling voice.

Xiaomeng held the Qiuli Sword and watched all this indifferently. High around her, several black-clad assassins who had lost their color floated, but these people were not dead yet. Their time had been taken away by the 'loss of color in the world'.

'The World Loses Color' is a skill in the Taoist Heavenly Sect that demands extremely high levels of internal energy from the user. It requires the user to cover the surrounding area with pure internal energy, causing everything around to turn dark gray. Those who are affected by this move will not only experience numbness and weakness in their five senses, but their thinking will also become sluggish, as if time has been frozen.

The greater the difference in internal energy between the target and the user, the more restrictions they will face. With Xiaomeng's skill, this move would make her absolutely invincible against the minions.

"The Net of Heaven? Hmph, just as he said." Xiaomeng didn't even raise her eyelids, making a hand seal. With a snap of her slender, white fingers, the four controlled assassins were killed before they could even utter a sound...

The only killer-level net among them, which was hiding its strength, knew that this was an opportunity for the opponent to relax. It decisively and suddenly unleashed its full power, breaking free from the control of the world-shaking forces on its body. Although the circulation of its internal energy was still sluggish, it had a slight chance to escape!

Without hesitation, he threw the short dagger at Xiaomeng's disciple, Yue'er, and the Killing Net attempted to rush into the depths of the bamboo forest.

With a blank laugh, Xiaomeng silently used the whisk at the end of the Qiuli sword hilt to wrap the short dagger, then flicked the long sword to force it to change direction, returning it to its rightful owner.

With a bloodcurdling scream, a short dagger imbued with powerful internal energy pierced the back of the head of the assassin-level member of the Luo Wang organization, killing him instantly...

At the same time, a little further away on a tall bamboo grove, another masked man dressed entirely in green fell down, his bloodstains turning the ordinary green bamboo into 'Xiangfei bamboo'.

"Two assassin-level members of the Luo Wang organization, one in the open and one in the shadows, it seems Zhao Gao is more concerned about your affairs."

Lu Wei lightly landed on the 'Xiangfei Bamboo' and flashed to the front of the bamboo forest room.

Xiaomeng withdrew her whisk, relieving the loss of color in the world, and the corpses fell down with a muffled thud.

She glanced indifferently at her disciple Yue'er, who understood and withdrew.

Why have you come?

“The operations of the Net are always interconnected, and I guessed they would launch operations in multiple locations simultaneously,” Lu Wei said frankly, his hands behind his back.

"You think I can't handle this?" Xiaomeng raised an eyebrow and stared straight at him.

"No," Lu Wei smiled and stretched out a hand to manipulate his inner energy, casually picking up the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground and tossing them into the bamboo forest as nourishment: "I'm here to take you to Sanghai City. Since you don't like being disturbed by strangers, I naturally have to make the trip myself."

"Why?"

“The Net has taken action. In the past, I would have dealt with these overreaching hands and let things go, but now, at this moment, we can give them a good thrashing.”

Lord Hero turned around:

“I don’t have time to waste on Zhao Gao. It’s time to teach him a painful lesson.”

Chapter 359 Taking Zhao Gao Hostage

The most crucial figure in the Luo Wang organization is Zhao Gao, so there's no point in seeking revenge if Zhao Gao himself isn't affected.

However, given Zhao Gao's potential to contribute to the collapse of the Qin state, Lu Wei could not simply send him away as he had done with Zhang Han. Therefore, this retaliation had to be carefully measured.

As for Zhao Gao's subsequent retaliation... he didn't have time for it!

The First Emperor's carriage was about to depart from Xianyang. Fusu had recently devoted all his energy to the renovation of the Sanghai Palace, and after Meng Tian's departure, his successor, Wang Li, had not yet arrived.

Therefore, neither Luo Wang nor the Qin state would choose to attack Daze Mountain at the time when the northern wolf tribe was about to invade and the mirage was about to set sail.

Xiaoyaozi has recently reconnected with the anti-Qin alliance. The Mount Tai Azure Dragon Assassination Plan has captured the attention of all ambitious individuals. According to Tian Guang's information, Xiaoyaozi has confirmed that Zhao Gao will do his utmost to ensure that Huhai accompanies Ying Zheng on his travels. This could lead the Azure Dragon Assassination Plan to a different outcome.

For Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, nothing was more important than framing Fusu at this time.

Once this busy period is over, the "even busier matter" will make Qin even less likely to ignite Dazeshan.

In other words, Lu Wei's time to be arrogant and domineering has come after years of enduring it!

However, just to be on the safe side, he brought Xiaomeng along as a cover for this operation.

The combined efforts of the agriculturalists and Taoists would make Zhao Gao even more hesitant to act rashly.

This ruthless and cruel mastermind behind the Heavenly Net was, after all, a eunuch.

Due to their physical disabilities, although a few left a good name in history, most eunuchs, whether it was Zhao Gao in the present or those famous figures in history, were essentially fierce in appearance but weak in reality.

They grovel to secure favor, and become tyrannical once they gain power.

...

Zhao Gao already knew that the first of the two Luo Wang teams sent out to investigate, which had failed in Sanghai City, had failed as instructed by Li Si. Lu Wei disappeared after dealing with the two Luo Wang teams in the restaurant and the farmhouse stronghold. It was likely that the Luo Wang team at Tianzong Xiaomeng's place would not fare too well.

Failure was foreseeable, but it's no surprise that Zhao Gao was not in a good mood when he actually failed.

The young leader of the peasant family had been quite polite to the Luo Wang organization over the years. Therefore, although Zhao Gao admired Lu Wei's talent and ability, he did not think that a timid swordsman would be a fatal threat to him.

But the fact that the other party openly committed murder in Sanghai City at this particular time made Zhao Gao vaguely feel that the situation was getting out of control...

Ying Zheng and Hu Hai will soon set off for Sanghai. Luo Wang has made preparations for the Azure Dragon Plan against the anti-Qin rebels, and the plan to frame Fu Su is also underway. Every step of these steps must be flawless for Luo Wang's final plan to succeed.

The First Emperor's trust in Luo Wang stemmed entirely from its achievements over the years. However, if the emperor were to become suspicious of it, Luo Wang would have no choice but to take a different path... a path that Zhao Gao would never have chosen unless absolutely necessary.

As Zhao Gao closed his eyes in deep thought, a sudden burst of intense sword energy from the mansion outside the house caused him to open his eyes, his brows furrowed with murderous intent. The six sword slaves who had been waiting by Zhao Gao's side had already drawn their swords.

Who dares to come directly to the headquarters of Sanghai Luowang and cause trouble!

Zhao Gao slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair, his narrow eyes widening unusually...

The Net is an assassin organization that handles a wide variety of cases in Sanghai City.

Zhao Gao's position as the Chief of the Imperial Carriage Office was personally appointed by Ying Zheng. Although it was not a top-ranking official position, it was very important, as he was a close associate who managed the emperor's carriages and horses.

However, he was still no match for the eldest son, Fusu, and the prime minister, Li Si. In addition, Luo Wang had too many shady dealings and a heavy aura of menace, which Fusu disliked. Therefore, Luo Wang's temporary headquarters was located in a remote area of ​​Sanghai City, but it was still a separate area without any Qin soldiers stationed there. Luo Wang did not need outsiders to guard it.

To put it bluntly, the defenses here are even tighter than those at Fusu's residence.

Yet, this very place was now being visited by enemies, who even barged right outside Zhao Gao's residence...

Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang stood back to back. Among the assassins from all levels of the Luo Wang who rushed to launch the attack, very few could withstand the three swords of Yuan Hong and Sha Chi.

On the dimly lit rooftop, Han Xin, realizing his own inadequacy, dared not force his way in. Instead, he hid and used the Hidden Dragon Sword to secretly carry out some covert attacks.

Accompanying him in secret was Zhang Liang, who had changed into a black robe. However, Zhang Liang did not wear his Lingxu sword tonight, as that ornate sword was too easy to leave an impression.

Ji Yan was not in the core area of ​​the Luo Wang headquarters, but was patrolling the perimeter, hunting down Luo Wang assassins who wanted to rush to the rescue.

"Such impulsive actions are not your style in my opinion."

Seeing that things were likely to escalate completely, Xiaomeng offered a gentle reminder.

“At the right time, impulsiveness is the best threat.” Lu Wei smiled with his hands behind his back: “Zhao Gao’s confidence comes from the empire. If he loses the empire, the Luo Wang organization will collapse instantly. Even if it doesn’t disband, Zhao Gao will no longer be able to control it on his own.”

"Do you have a way to make Zhao Gao lose the empire?"

"Perhaps, but he certainly wouldn't dare to gamble. And now, I have a way to take Zhao Gao's life. I think only in this way will this Grand Master of the Imperial Carriage Office listen to me properly."

"Ying Zheng is almost at Sanghai," Xiaomeng continued to remind him.

“Yes, and then he will die in this place filled with his ten-year dream of seeking immortality.” Lu Wei looked up at the dim moonlight obscured by dark clouds: “It’s your turn to make your move.”

"..." Xiaomeng looked down at the six sword slaves who had just rushed out of the main courtyard and shook her head: "If Daze Mountain is destroyed, you can come with me to Taiyi Mountain to cultivate Taoism."

After speaking coldly, the sect leader of Tianzong activated the "Sharing the Light and Dust" technique and disappeared from the rooftop.

“Cultivation, huh?” The chivalrous leader chuckled softly in a voice only he could hear. “I’ve worked hard for twenty years, not to go into seclusion.”

As he finished speaking, Lu Wei's figure disappeared from the rooftop.

In the main courtyard, after clearing out some of the miscellaneous soldiers, Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang were about to break through inwards when a dense killing intent suddenly appeared out of nowhere; it was a combination of six elements.

Clang! In the blink of an eye, the sword net formed by the sword energy of the seven swords completed the first wave of testing their strength.

'The Six Sword Slaves are very fierce. If you encounter them without prior preparation, you should always prioritize retreat.'

Wei Zhuang immediately realized that only by joining forces with his senior brother could he ensure that he wouldn't be seriously injured or even killed in a single blow...