Chapter 19: The Celestial Dog’s Howl Pierces the Sky

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Then the deputy commander turned and walked toward another captured covert guard, driving his sharp dagger into the man’s thigh.

Caught completely off guard, the guard let out a sudden, piercing scream that echoed through the vast chamber, raising gooseflesh on everyone’s skin.

The deputy commander struck again, stabbing straight into the other leg. This time, however, the guard endured it. He clenched his teeth as beads of sweat rolled down his face, his features contorted with agony, yet he refused to utter even a groan.

“You’ve got some backbone,” the deputy commander said coldly in praise.

But the dagger in his hand did not pause for even an instant. Instead, it shot toward the guard’s heart with even greater ferocity.

Jiang Mingxu, who had witnessed everything from the side, was filled with anger and pity and was about to speak.

At that moment, Zhuang Yun rushed forward from the other side and caught the dagger bare-handed just as it was about to pierce the guard’s chest.

The razor-sharp blade instantly sliced through her left hand, and blood gushed forth.

“Listen to me!”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

The deputy commander looked puzzled. “You’re helping him?” His gaze shifted to the guard, whose face was twisted in pain.

“Yes. He’s my brother!” Zhuang Yun’s voice trembled with tears.

“You have no idea. The two of us worked ourselves to the bone as bodyguards for the wealthy, all for a little money.”

“I even had to become a Taoist priest and take odd jobs just to survive!” Zhuang Yun’s emotions grew agitated, and her voice was thick with sobs.

“Look at the balance in my cyberbrain! They deduct my wages for the slightest mistake. Now I’ve been squeezed until that’s all I have left!”

Remembering the balance in Zhuang Yun’s cyberbrain, the deputy commander nodded thoughtfully. She was probably poorer than any beggar on the planet.

“I’ve disliked him for a long time!” Zhuang Yun declared angrily.

“His identity is—!”

She cast a glance around the room.

“Deputy Commander, I’m not trying to criticize you, but with so many people here, his identity is far too special.”

“If you don’t want to cause trouble, let me explain everything to the commander myself.”

The deputy commander looked her up and down. She appeared to be a frail young woman who could neither lift nor carry anything. In the end, he decided to take her to the commander.

As a precaution, he pressed the muzzle of his gun firmly against her back.

They passed through a long tunnel and seemed to arrive at another enormous cavern.

Zhuang Yun looked around and could not help remarking, “You people have quite a spacious place here.”

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The deputy commander felt speechless at her words. He could not shake the feeling that she had not been captured at all, but had come sightseeing.

“Of course we do! You’ve got quite a lot of nerve. Don’t you know that anyone captured by our raider band is bound to face death nine times out of ten?”

“I know! But I checked my fortune today, and I drew the very best omen. I definitely won’t die, and neither will they.” Zhuang Yun teased him leisurely, completely unconcerned about her predicament.

The deputy commander gave a dismissive snort. “Then I’ll kill one of them later and show you.”

When they reached the commander’s territory, Zhuang Yun said calmly, “You won’t have the chance.”

With that, she raised a hand, seized the dagger at his waist, and slashed his throat.

“That cut is repayment for the covert guard just now.”

The deputy commander had no time to react before he collapsed heavily to the ground.

The guards nearby had not yet recovered from their shock when Zhuang Yun killed them with a single strike.

She swiftly turned her clothes inside out and cinched them tight, transforming them into a set of nightwear. After covering her face, she leaped into the air and went straight for the commander’s throat.

Sensing danger, the commander barely managed to dodge her attack.

“Hmph! What little thief are you?” he roared, drawing his gun and opening fire.

Zhuang Yun quickly found cover and hid behind it.

Seeing this, the commander instantly released his psychic power. A tremendous mental pressure spread across a radius of many miles.

The people inside the cavern soon found it difficult to breathe, while those with weaker perception were knocked unconscious outright.

When the commander released his psychic power, he sensed no resistance from Zhuang Yun. He immediately concluded that the person before him was a useless wretch without even the slightest psychic ability, and sent his mental force twisting toward her position.

“Looking for death!”

Zhuang Yun felt only a gust of wind. From it, she sensed the commander drawing closer, step by step.

“He’s coming.”

She took a deep breath.

Just as the commander was about to lower his gun and step forward to inspect the masked intruder’s corpse, Zhuang Yun appeared from the opposite side.

She hurled her dagger, aiming directly for his throat.

The commander raised a hand to block it. The dagger veered off course and struck his wrist instead.

“Argh!”

The commander cried out in agony.

“How are you still alive?” he demanded through the pain, preparing to summon his battle armor to deal with Zhuang Yun.

“You’re still alive, so how could I dare to die?” Zhuang Yun scoffed.

Giving him no chance to respond, she closed in and began fighting him at close quarters.

The commander was a seasoned fighter, and the two battled evenly, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Before long, however, Zhuang Yun had figured out his rigid boxing style and discovered the weakness in his back. Seizing her opportunity, she drove a fist into him.

The commander was sent flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

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“Heh. You do have some ability!”

The commander felt his blood surge violently into his throat. He forced himself to endure the discomfort, but in the end could not hold it back. A mouthful of blood erupted and stained the front of his clothes.

He quickly raised a hand and wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with trembling fingers.

“Howling Sky!”

The hellhound sensed its master’s summons and emerged from the shadows. Its scarlet eyes locked onto Zhuang Yun. Then, like a streak of black lightning, it lunged violently at her.

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

Zhuang Yun’s gaze fixed intently on the beast core atop the hellhound’s head.

She picked up the dagger lying on the ground and leaped forward, thrusting it straight at the hellhound.

But the moment the blade struck, the hellhound’s hide transformed into metal. The dagger shattered on contact with a crisp crack.

“The equipment you people use is awfully shoddy!” Zhuang Yun could not help spitting the words out.

Lying on the ground, the commander spoke weakly. “Prepare to die!”

He had never seen anyone defeat a star beast without using battle armor.

Yet when he saw Zhuang Yun fighting the beast on equal terms, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Zhuang Yun quickly regulated the flow of energy within her body, gathered all her inner force, concentrated it into her fist, and suddenly slammed it into the hellhound’s head.

The hellhound’s body swayed slightly, and a flicker of daze passed through its eyes. But it quickly recovered, becoming even more violent. It opened its jaws and spewed blazing fireballs straight at Zhuang Yun.

Zhuang Yun moved lightly and nimbly, dodging the hellhound’s attacks while her mind raced, searching for the giant beast’s weakness.

Suddenly, a bullet tore through the air and struck her shoulder.

Agonizing pain spread through her entire body, and she could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

The commander forced his weakened body upright, his pistol trained steadily on Zhuang Yun. A cruel smile curved across his lips.

“Tsk. So this is how much it hurts when one of those things hits you.” Fine beads of sweat quickly covered Zhuang Yun’s forehead.

Before long, members of the raider band came rushing in like a tidal wave. Countless battle armors stood in orderly formation, their dark cannon muzzles all aimed at Zhuang Yun.

“Little thief, today is the day you die! Fire!” the commander ordered through the pain.

“Heh. I told you, today I drew the very best omen.”

Zhuang Yun softly recited an incantation. The geomantic compass inside her spatial pouch shot into the air, rapidly expanding until it transformed into a gigantic shield that firmly protected her from behind and successfully blocked the dense barrage of incoming shells.

Immediately afterward, the needle on the geomantic compass spun rapidly before coming to a halt.

In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.

“Was that—an earthquake?” Everyone stared at one another in bewilderment.

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