Chapter 382: Duanmu Clan
In the instant the saber momentum approached, the middle-aged man’s mind went blank.
He was not a man of weak will, seasoned in countless battles, and counted among the top in Tier Four.
Even when faced with a formidable enemy, he had the courage and confidence to fight.
Hence, although he knew Zhang Yuan was a Tier Five expert, he still boldly attacked to buy time for his companions to escape.
However, when he truly faced Zhang Yuan, he understood the gap between them.
The middle-aged man at this moment felt as though he had fallen into Eternal Purgatory.
Facing the terror of life and death unprepared!
The intense evil qi felt like a poison corroding to the bones, easily stripping away his layers of defense, seeping into his flesh and bones, reaching his internal organs, and even the deepest part of his divine soul.
I’m going to die.
A sudden realization dawned in the middle-aged man’s heart.
Along with a surge of ferocity.
Then let me die!
He exerted force with his five fingers, wanting to crush the black sphere in his hand.
This was originally a weapon to destroy powerful foes, now it was a killing move for mutual destruction.
But before the middle-aged man’s strength reached his fingertips, a sudden chill hit his forehead, and his consciousness fell into a bottomless abyss.
Zhang Yuan halted, watching the enemy before him split in two under his blade.
His left hand darted out like lightning.
Grabbing the black sphere from the other’s clutches!
This black sphere was the size of an orange, heavy in hand, very weighty, and its surface exceedingly smooth, appearing as if made from the shell of some fruit.
Yet, in Zhang Yuan’s perception, it was like a bomb ready to explode at any moment!
With a quick thought, Zhang Yuan abruptly hurled the black sphere forward.
The next moment, he swiftly retreated backward.
In the passage ahead of Zhang Yuan, a group of elite samurai were covering a young man fleeing.
The light from several fallen torches on the ground illuminated their panicked figures.
The young man, quite handsome in appearance, seemed to sense something, suddenly turning his head to look back.
Just in time to see the black sphere Zhang Yuan had thrown.
He was instantly aghast, letting out a hysterical roar, "No!"
In that instant, the black sphere thrown by Zhang Yuan struck heavily upon the back of a samurai.
Boom!
A brilliant flash of fire erupted in the passage, engulfing the entire group, shattering the surrounding walls, and sending clouds of smoke billowing in both directions.
The ground trembled violently!
Is this a grenade?
Even from over a hundred paces away, Zhang Yuan was shaken by the shockwave of the explosion, deeply surprised.
From what he understood, this world had no gunpowder, and naturally, there were no corresponding explosive products.
For example, in the previous siege of Golden Sand Island at the Great Dream Marsh, the weapons used by both sides were basically cold weapons, with the largest being bed crossbows and catapults.
As for hot weapons, it was at most rockets, petroleum tanks.
As for the reason, Zhang Yuan guessed it was either because this world lacked development in that tech tree.
Or because it lacked the raw materials to make gunpowder.
For instance, no saltpeter or sulfur.
After awakening memories of his past life, Zhang Yuan had never thought of using his knowledge in this regard to do something.
Because that’s a path to death!
Now, unexpectedly, he saw an explosive more powerful than a hand-grenade from his past life here.
How could his heart remain unperturbed!
But the guy who pulled out this item had already been cleaved in two by Zhang Yuan, and the rest were all blasted to pieces or blown away, so finding the truth would likely be very difficult.
Moreover, Zhang Yuan didn’t smell the scent of gunpowder.
Suppressing the surging emotions within, he moved forward to the site of the explosion.
All he saw was devastation everywhere, with mutilated corpses shattered into pieces, at least several people were blown apart, and the smell of blood in the air was nauseating.
There were still four or five people lying in front.
Among them were two severely wounded, moaning in low, painful groans.
The power of this explosion was nothing short of astonishing.
If it had landed entirely, even the true essence of a Tier Five martial artist would break under it.
Probably only the protective true gang of a Tier Six expert could withstand it!
Zhang Yuan did not bother to study what this black sphere was.
He hefted the Taowu Saber, and beheaded those lying on the ground, granting them release and preventing them from playing dead.
The last one, it was that young man the samurai were protecting.
He only suffered minor injuries, with blood flowing from wounds on his face and body, but nothing seemed too serious.
Seeing Zhang Yuan approaching with the butcher’s knife, the young man showed no fear, his quite handsome face filled with ferocity, and he said viciously, "Do you know who I am?"
Zhang Yuan chuckled, "That question, you should ask your parents."
The young man paused, then suddenly realized, and was enraged, "I am of the Duanmu Clan!"
Celestial Being?
Zhang Yuan retracted his smile, "A servant of the Duanmu Clan?"
He could be one hundred percent sure that the other was not a Celestial.
The temperament and aura of Celestials were vastly different from the natives of this world.
Those with experience or sharper senses could easily distinguish them.
The White Wolf slayed by Zhang Yuan earlier was a smuggler amongst Celestials, adept at disguising and altering his appearance.
The first time Zhang Yuan saw him, he could ascertain his identity.
Therefore he was certain that this fellow struggling with dignity was not a member of the Celestials.
"I am a descendant of the Celestials!"
The young man gritted his teeth and replied, "My Duanmu Clan has already taken control of the Xia Ruins, with twelve dignitaries personally stationed, don’t think you’re so great just because you’re Tier Five, you’d better know your place..."
Squish!
Before he had finished speaking, Zhang Yuan’s blade rose and fell, swiftly taking his life.
This drivel, save it for the Yellow Springs!
The young man never dreamed that the name of the Duanmu Clan Celestials failed to intimidate Zhang Yuan; his head rolled several feet away, his eyes wide open, filled with shock.
At the same time, his right hand limply opened, revealing a jade token originally held in his palm.
Zhang Yuan glanced over, stooping to take the jade token into his hand.
The quality of this jade token was excellent, akin to the finest mutton fat jade, incredibly smooth and delicate to the touch.
And the surface bore intricate talisman patterns, a remarkable item at first glance.
Holding this jade token, Zhang Yuan instantly felt a connection.
He sensed a certain existence in the distance forming a subtle connection with him.
And it was constantly on the move.
Zhang Yuan immediately understood.
The purpose of this jade token was likely similar to his Treasure Map, used to lock onto and track a target.
So this team had run into Zhang Yuan here!
Their objectives were the same.
Only, the explosion just now was too loud and startled the target away.
If Zhang Yuan wants to catch up again, it will undoubtedly require more twists and turns.
Crack!
The jade token shattered into pieces in Zhang Yuan’s hand.
His figure flickered, disappearing without a trace on the spot.