115: The Decisive Battle at Deyi-Ao (Part II)

"Deyi Ao!!!!"

Roaring, Ming Tian’s eyes felt as if they were bursting, his blood-red pupils nearly spitting fire. Words were unnecessary; his fury demanded to be expressed through a roar alone!

Deyi Ao was shocked, too. He had never imagined that Ming Tian, in order to bypass the traps, would essentially reduce the front courtyard to rubble. For a moment, the turncoat was frantic.

"Attack! Move! Kill him for me!!"

The last seven or eight men—his inner circle—were different from the two or three dozen captured outside. That they were still laying down their lives for Deyi Ao proved that their indoctrination of loyalty was deep-rooted; no amount of reasoning would change their minds.

Besides... even if he could change their minds, Ming Tian had no interest in doing so. Letting the people in the street go was the absolute extent of his mercy. Right now, Ming Tian didn't even have the patience to persuade them.

"Those who block me die!!!"

He raised his sleeve-mounted crossbow and fired a volley. From a distance of four or five meters, eighteen bolts whistled out in a single swarm.

Within two seconds, all eighteen bolts were spent. Before the seven or eight burly men could even react, they were pierced through. Three were struck in the center of their brows and hearts, dying on the spot, while the remaining four were left heavily wounded and pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Although unloading all his bolts at once stripped Ming Tian of a massive tactical advantage, it also cleared his path of every obstacle.

His burning eyes and the overwhelming aura of slaughter made Ming Tian truly maniacal. Reason? He didn't need it! There was only one thing Ming Tian wanted to do now!

"Damn it!" Deyi Ao was just about to draw his blade, but Ming Tian had already closed the distance, his grim eyes filled with pure, murderous malice.

Bang!

The sound of fist striking flesh.

It was a punch thrown with every ounce of his strength. Deyi Ao felt his vision involuntarily tilt violently to the side. Ming Tian’s strike had landed squarely on his temple, leaving him nearly deaf.

Seizing the opening, Ming Tian’s hand moved with supernatural speed. With a *swish*, he snatched the hilt of the blade from Deyi Ao’s waist, drew the long sword, and with a violent swing of his arm, hurled it away. The blade flew over a distance of thirty or forty meters, landing out in the street.

The weight of that punch was immense—it was everything Ming Tian had!

Deyi Ao stumbled back three steps. When he regained his balance, one of his eyes was already bruised and swollen from the impact. He reached for his blade, only to realize it had been stolen and discarded.

Ming Tian stood there defiantly, glaring at the traitor before him.

"Everyone, get out!" At his cold command, the forty or fifty captured women, children, and elderly scrambled to their feet in a panic, fleeing the scene one after another.

Soon, only Ming Tian and Deyi Ao remained on the training grounds.

"Ming Tian!!!!!" Gritting his teeth as he looked at his shattered forces, the now-solitary Deyi Ao could never have imagined he would end up like this. He was so consumed by rage that he cracked two of his own teeth.

Ming Tian didn't reply; he just glared at him. There was no need to speak to an enemy who had to die. His eyes conveyed that clearly.

Slowly, Ming Tian unstrapped the now-empty sleeve crossbow, threw it aside, and assumed a Sanda fighting stance.

"Come on, you two-faced rat. If you've got guts, fight like a man with your fists. Let's see if I don't beat you into a pulp today."

Holding his stance, Ming Tian stepped forward, alert but burning even brighter with rage. "Let me make one thing clear: I don't accept surrender. Today, either you beat me to death, or I beat you to death!"

Fists were, and always would be, a man’s final and most reliable weapon. Fighting with blades? Shooting with arrows? Don't make him laugh—only by pummeling him with his fists could Ming Tian vent the fire in his belly!

Watching Ming Tian, Deyi Ao—who had also lost everything—was equally incensed. Knowing he couldn't get a weapon, he simply unbuckled his scabbard and stripped off his jacket, revealing muscles so well-defined they would make a fangirl shriek.

"Using fists? Fine! That suits me perfectly!" Deyi Ao was absolutely livid.

Ming Tian stopped two meters away. The air froze for a fleeting second.

The next moment, the roars of two men became the only sound.

"Deyi Ao!"

"Ming Tian!"

Both men lunged forward at the same time, their iron fists flying toward each other with their respective rage!

Bang! Bang!

Two heavy thuds of impact.

At almost the exact same second, Ming Tian’s fist struck Deyi Ao’s face, and Deyi Ao’s fist struck Ming Tian’s. But neither retreated! Even though they were knocked off-balance, both men stubbornly took the hits with their faces, refusing to yield a single step. They remained locked in that position, each holding their blow against the other.

However, having been trained in martial arts, Deyi Ao clearly held the advantage in raw strength. Soon, Ming Tian began to falter, starting to be pushed back.

"Go to hell!!" Seeing this, Deyi Ao laughed maniacally, pulled back his fist, and unleashed a kick.

Ming Tian felt a violent twist in his abdomen, as if his intestines were about to be ruptured. The force of the kick was so great that he coughed up blood and doubled over.

Deyi Ao raised his elbow, swearing to shatter Ming Tian’s skull with a single strike.

But...

*Crack!*

The sound of a tooth shattering.

Forcing down the agonizing pain, Ming Tian turned his fist into a palm. As he pivoted his body, he dodged the lethal elbow strike, then channeled his inner energy, striking upward with his palm.

Bang!!

A "Tiger Tooth" uppercut slammed squarely into Deyi Ao’s chin, sending him spitting blood and saliva all over the ground.

Seizing the chance, Ming Tian grabbed him by the throat and hammered another fist into his face!

"Ugh..." Deyi Ao groaned in pain. His handsome face was a mess of blood and spit, and this punch had knocked out all four of his front teeth!

"Does it hurt? Tell me, does it hurt? I've wanted to punch that mouth full of white teeth for a long time!"

"Uggghhhhhhh!!!!"

In agony, Deyi Ao raised his knee and slammed it into Ming Tian’s kidney. A sharp *crack* echoed—the unmistakable sound of a rib breaking, sending a jolt of pure pain through Ming Tian. Then came the ringing in his ears from a blow to the side of his face.

"That hurts, you bastard!!!"

Ming Tian kicked Deyi Ao away, and as soon as he broke free, he charged right back in.

Left and right hooks rained down, sending Deyi Ao’s spit flying; soon his face was battered, swollen, and bloated like a pig’s head.

Deyi Ao, refusing to fall behind, swung his own fists as well. Ming Tian’s clean face soon swelled up like a bruised, purple bun.

This was a duel of blood and flesh! This was the most primitive, pure, bone-crushing brawl!

Driven to his limit, Deyi Ao was finally forced into a fistfight with Ming Tian—one where no schemes or tricks could win the day. This was how a man should fight, not hiding in the back, letting his brothers charge to their deaths while he sat back to reap the rewards!

That’s right—even though he was bleeding, even though the pain was intense, it was goddamn satisfying! Compared to schemes and plots, this kind of brutal, flesh-to-flesh brawl was the only true way for a man to vent!

The fire in Ming Tian’s belly was finally being purged!

Nearby, Chaos Ripper, Cui Jue, Xiao Xinzhu, Mo'er, and Mo Wang all watched the savage beating in stunned silence.

Deyi Ao was gritting his teeth in pain, unable to do anything about it. But Ming Tian was smiling!

That’s right—even though his face was swollen to the size of a pig’s head, he was genuinely smiling! Forget about landing hits on Deyi Ao; even when he was taking kicks and punches himself, Ming Tian was so exhilarated he couldn't stop grinning!

For a time, the only sound left on the field was the collision of fists, feet, and flesh.

And this brawl lasted for an entire hour!

In the end, Ming Tian, his entire face swollen, finally found an opening. As he dodged a straight punch from Deyi Ao, he slammed his heel into Deyi Ao’s knee.

*Crack!*

With the sound of tearing ligaments, Deyi Ao let out a pained roar and fell to his knees.

Ming Tian grabbed him by the throat, forced him down, and mounted him, using both knees to pin his shoulders to the ground.

With his final reserves of rage, Ming Tian raised his already shredded, bleeding knuckles!

Deyi Ao looked up and, finally unable to endure the beating any longer, pleaded, "Don't... stop... stop hitting me! I... I..."

"No~ way~!! I don't accept surrender!!"

Every word was a roar, his blood-red eyes wide as cow bells, all his fury concentrated into his fists!

"Call me 'Daddy', and I'll let you have a really good time!"

His iron fists, like cannonballs, unleashed a final, frenzied bombardment!