Chapter 119: The First One
At this moment, Mulan felt as if she had just cast a buff on herself, enhancing her physical condition and her tolerance for pain and various negative effects. After all, a battle was imminent, and her wounds were likely to reopen. This state could help prevent that to some extent, and even if it happened, the impact would be lessened, or at least the pain would be numbed.
The powerful fighters who had been involved in the melee gradually left the street—some retreating far away, others leaping onto relatively distant rooftops. The Solens Guard marched in formation, closing in on the house into which the crimson giant had fled.
The radiant glow surrounding Mulan continued to condense. Slowly, she raised the Fang Sword in her hand, and with three fingers of her right hand holding the gun, she gently caressed the blade, causing its brilliance to shine ever more resplendently.
Since choosing the path of the Radiant Knight, Mulan had yet to use one of its more remarkable abilities, which was part of the confidence she brought with the Solens Guard.
In the next instant, Mulan swung her longsword, as if scattering a circle around herself. A milky light rained down precisely onto the members of the Solens Guard below.
Every member of the Solens Guard present felt a faint luminescent layer enveloping themselves and their comrades. This was no illusion; it was accompanied by a gentle warmth spreading through their bodies, as if fatigue, tension, and fear were all ebbing away.
“Warriors of Dirga! To protect the peace of Solens, for the honor of the Solens Guard and ourselves, we shall maintain high morale, face formidable enemies without fear, grip your weapons tightly, and demonstrate the skill honed through training!”
Mulan’s voice echoed from the rooftop to every soldier’s ear. It seemed to possess a magical power, continuously dispelling the Guard’s nervousness and fear, bolstering their confidence, and even enhancing their physical stamina and condition.
As a path evolved by the Dirga Empire through great investment, the Radiant Knight not only held immense potential but also possessed abilities valuable to the nation. What Mulan was now employing was one such ability: the Radiant Inspiration.
Moreover, Mulan’s “inspiration” was evidently different from that of ordinary Radiant Knights. Besides the radiant power, she carried a shadow force hidden beneath the light—a demonic power that subtly bewitched and influenced the spirit of every Dirga soldier.
Though the Solens Guard had their training, they could not compare to frontline troops, yet at this moment, the fear on their faces vanished, replaced swiftly by determination and even a hint of excitement.
Mulan raised her longsword high, then suddenly swung it downward.
“Annihilate the enemy! You shall gain honor and status. Cast aside fear and bravely slay the foe!”
The glow on the Dirga soldiers shifted subtly; a faint white light receded into their bodies, but a golden gleam flickered in their eyes.
This was essentially a second buff—fervor.
There were four hundred Solens Guard members present, and based on average soul and spirit power, Mulan’s limit was roughly around five hundred. In other words, every Dirga soldier present was filled with high morale.
Chris looked down at the Dirga soldiers below and felt the odds on her side increase, her expression relaxing somewhat.
“What about that red guy? Is he hiding in the ruins, refusing to come out?”
But Mulan’s expression was far from good.
“These are desperate men. I thought they would have fled before we arrived. After all, those outsiders in Solens who shirk duty surely couldn't stop them. But since none escaped, it means they intend to fight!”
Mulan held no illusions about the situation, a sentiment reinforced by a premonition.
“Boom—” “Boom—” “Boom—”
Suddenly, several loud explosions echoed beneath the corner tower. Several figures burst out from below, and a building on the street collapsed with a crash, sending chunks of wall debris hurtling toward Mulan’s direction.
Her pupils dilated briefly, then contracted swiftly.
“Dodge!”
Mulan leapt aside immediately, pulling along the possibly slower-reacting Farolinch. Chris dodged alone, while the Avenger escaped with Matt.
---
“Rumble...”
Amidst the dust, the rooftop where Mulan and the others stood was shattered by the falling debris.
The Twilight Brigade’s targets were crystal clear; there was no communication between inside and outside, yet they attacked nearly simultaneously.
“The target is the Radiant Knight! Kill or drive him off!”
Red, purple, white, blue...
Almost all members of the Twilight Brigade bore special magical tattoos. Now, stirred by the surge of mana, these marks glowed with respective hues. Regardless of rank, they were all true transcendent beings, and their focus was locked on Mulan.
Each member’s eyes blazed with magic, madness evident on their faces. At this moment, Mulan understood their intentions—they were not joking.
Her revolving gun barrel fired a volley at the approaching enemies.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! ...”
Five bullets shot out. There was a subtle tacit understanding between Mulan and her gun; the rotating muzzle locked onto targets with her sensation. Each bullet, glowing faintly with heat, aimed at the nearest foes.
Three Twilight Brigade members dodged while two chose to endure the bullets, attempting to avoid vital areas.
“Pfft!” “Pfft!”
Two bursts of blood blossomed as the bullets spun fiercely inside their bodies, causing horrific secondary damage.
The red and white hit men reacted differently. The white man struck his own shoulder hard, pushing the bullet clean through, leaving a hole the size of a baby’s fist on his rear shoulder.
The crimson giant gritted his teeth and forcibly extracted the bullet with his hand.
“Don’t take his bullets directly!”
The crimson man pressed the attack, shouting to warn his comrades, though they already understood.
“Fools! Didn’t I warn you earlier?” the purple man growled in frustration. When he escaped, he had already advised not to borrow the Radiant Knight’s gun lightly. But these two didn’t believe him and insisted on learning the hard way. Was it because he seemed weak that his words were untrustworthy?
The Twilight Brigade ignored Chris and her group, the soldiers below, and the external strongmen. Their sole target was Mulan.
After leaping back, Mulan dodged swiftly, running and jumping across rooftops without trying to match strength. The Twilight Brigade pursued recklessly.
Their movements were so fast that to ordinary eyes it looked like a streak of light weaving swiftly in an S-shape across the rooftops, chased closely by colored glows. Roofs collapsed, tiles scattered, chimneys shattered where they passed.
Everything happened quickly. Finally, officers of the Solens Guard below reacted, pointing toward the heights.
“Aim at the enemy! Lead your shots! First squad, ready... fire!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...”
The firepower of hundreds of Solens Guard rifles was formidable, saturating the target area. Even Mulan’s side was hit by a few stray bullets, forming a barrage.
---
“Second squad, fire! Third squad, ready!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...”
The Solens Guard’s fire intensified. Simultaneously, at several high points around this block, several squads of Dirga soldiers had set up heavy weapons—machine guns like the Maxim.
Almost simultaneously, the heavy machine guns roared.
“Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat...”
Rooftops, walls, chimneys...
Wherever the machine gun bullets passed, walls exploded into rubble. The Twilight Brigade had no choice but to dodge, for sustained hits from such firepower were no joke.
The colored pursuers scattered. Mulan, who had been fleeing ahead, narrowed her eyes slightly. No one present was more adapted to this battlefield-like environment than she was.
Amidst the hail of bullets, Mulan leapt toward the sunny side. Her radiance grew even stronger.
Though the Twilight Brigade’s attention focused on Mulan, at this moment they were also affected by the combined light of the knight’s radiance and the sun.
Mulan seemed to become a shadow born of light; in an instant, the sunlight remained, but her figure strangely appeared before the previously fleeing purple man—whom she knew was badly injured.
The purple man’s attention was also on Mulan, but he still looked toward the sunny side. Suddenly, he felt a sharp coldness, and the space beside him warped. Mulan was almost pressed against him.
Her expression calm but cruel, a magical glow flickering in her eyes, her pupils dark like obsidian.
“Surprise!”
Her Fang Sword slashed suddenly. The purple man’s pupils shrank violently; he leaned back just in time to avoid the blade, but his head struck something hard. A faint magical light extended from Mulan’s right hand to behind the man, linking to the revolving gun, whose muzzle now pressed against the back of the man’s head.
“Bang!”
The muzzle flared. The shattered skull and brain matter scattered with the flash. Even a true transcendent could not survive such an attack. At least, this one would not.
“No—”“Little Purple—”
“Ah!”
At the gunshot, screams and roars erupted from the Twilight Brigade members scattered around.
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