Chapter 15: Breaking Out of the Demon Ridge

Black Commander was considered one of the more formidable fighters among this batch of soldiers. The wolf-tooth club in his hands weighed thirty-six pounds, and with a single swing, he could allegedly shatter someone’s skull. Of course, these were boasts he made himself. Such exaggerations were common in the Song dynasty; five hundred men could be claimed as five thousand, and three or five pounds could become thirty or fifty. Black Commander was relatively honest—while his combat prowess was somewhat inflated, the weight of his club was genuine.

If that first swing had landed true, Wang Liang might have been killed instantly. But Wang Liang was no ordinary man; when he served on the Western battlefield, he had faced heavy cavalry head-on, leading his troops. An old veteran had taught him the ways of war, and Wang Liang understood that at moments like this, one must not retreat or blink—only by striking head-on could one survive in the end.

Wang Liang had always fought according to the method passed down by that veteran, and indeed, it suited the combat style of the unfamiliar blade soldiers. On a real battlefield, they had only one chance to strike—a blink or a step back could mean missing it entirely.

As Black Commander’s wolf-tooth club came crashing down, Wang Liang attacked first, slashing at the red line he had previously marked in his mind. With that strike, he felt an unusual calm wash over him, his hand steady as ever.

A metallic clang sounded in his ears, but Wang Liang did not let it distract him; instead, he pressed down with both hands. The Life-Cutting Blade accelerated, slicing precisely along the red line he had targeted.

In that moment, Wang Liang felt as though something was guiding his hand, pushing him along that path. Then, a wave of foul, rancid flesh scent assaulted him as black liquid sprayed everywhere—the Black Commander was cleaved cleanly in two.

Wang Liang, having moved too quickly and being in close proximity, could not avoid the splattering black liquid; his head and face were drenched. The stench made him exceedingly uncomfortable, but their current position left him with no choice. He wiped the liquid from his face with the back of his hand, cleared his vision, and stepped forward, blade in hand.

With that step, Wang Liang felt as if he had crossed some threshold—light burst before his eyes, and the night transformed into afternoon.

Wang Liang turned to see Wang Yi riding out on horseback, followed by several other horses.

The moment the sky brightened, Wang Yi couldn’t help but cry out, “We made it! We really made it!”

“Don’t say more, hurry and mount up—we need to descend the mountain now,” Wang Liang said, grabbing a horse and leaping onto its back.

As he mounted, Wang Liang noticed a glimmer of light near Black Commander’s corpse—the guiding light of equipment. Without hesitation, Wang Liang used the Life-Cutting Blade to flick up the glowing object, grabbed it, and jumped onto his horse.

Now Wang Liang had no time to inspect what he had found; he controlled his horse while reading the information that popped up before him.

[Ding! Due to prolonged practice and combat, you have gained an even deeper understanding of unfamiliar blade tactics. Your unfamiliar blade skill has advanced from proficient to expert level.]

This message brightened his eyes. In the previous game, Zhao Gongming had explained to him the importance of skill mastery—it mattered even more than the skill’s grade. Now, with a breakthrough in blade technique, Wang Liang felt more confident than ever in his ability to protect Wang Yi out of the mountain.

With this newfound confidence, he spurred his horse faster. Without the burden of a merchant caravan, they quickly raced down the main road of Jingyang Hill.

Descending from the other side of Jingyang Hill, upon seeing the stone monument inscribed with “Jingyang Hill,” Wang Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, Wang Liang stopped his horse and said to Wang Yi, “We’re safe now, aren’t we?”

Wang Yi had traversed this road hundreds of times; he knew well where the demon-infested Jingyang Hill began and ended. Here, they had more or less left the boundaries of Jingyang Hill. While it wasn’t entirely safe, generally speaking, the monsters from the hill wouldn’t venture down.

At this point, Wang Yi’s courage grew considerably.

He said to Wang Liang, “Hero, thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t know how to escape Jingyang Hill. Here is the treasure I promised you—keep it well.”

He then took out a small leather pouch from his breast. The pouch was greasy, blackened, and appeared never to have been cleaned, its original red color completely obscured.

Wang Yi hesitated for a moment after pulling out the pouch, but in the end, he gritted his teeth. “My brother-in-law gave me this, telling me to keep it close. As long as I stay within Yanggu County, it guarantees absolute safety. Now, I give it to you.”

Wang Liang took the pouch and discovered it was made of lambskin, only a third the size of his palm. When he gently squeezed it, he could feel a paper folded into a triangle inside.

This surprised Wang Liang. He was about to ask what it was, but Wang Yi gathered up all the horses and rode off without leaving a single one behind.

Wang Liang was speechless at Wang Yi’s refusal to leave even one horse for him. What kind of person was this? They had only just left Jingyang Hill and hadn’t reached safety, yet he was already burning bridges. Who knows what would happen once they arrived in Yanggu County?

So Wang Liang mentally decided Wang Yi was someone not to befriend. He opened the leather pouch and found a yellow triangular talisman, slick and translucent from soaking in grease. Through the oily stains, he could see strange cinnabar symbols written on it.

Wang Liang didn’t recognize this style of talisman, but somehow, he understood it.

“Thunder Ministry... Command...”

[You have obtained a Celestial Master’s Thunder Ministry Command. After correctly reciting the incantation and throwing it, you can summon the Five Element Heavenly Thunder to attack. It deals 200% damage to Yin energy and evil creatures.]

[Note 1: This talisman is nearing expiration; after soaking in corpse oil and being stamped with official seals, it can barely be used. If used as a normal talisman, it can be activated three times (3/3). If you dismantle the talisman, there’s a chance to learn the corresponding thunder technique (3%).]

[Note 2: When not in use, keep the talisman inside the corpse oil pouch to prevent spiritual energy from dissipating.]