DEMON EMPEROR

CHAPTER 6 : THE BLACK CENTIPEDE GENERALS

"You've come all this way; there's no need to think about going back!" Ling Tong shouted loudly.

Ling Tong drew his sword and gazed at the armed group before him. The people who had previously exuded murderous intent were now trembling with fear, realizing they were no match for Ling Tong, even if they had the numerical advantage.

The members of the Black Centipede organization cursed Ba Bel's actions in their hearts. As far as they knew, Ling Tong was traveling with a baby, which would surely make it difficult for him to fight a large number of enemies. It was unexpected that someone would be willing to help Ling Tong look after the infant.

"Snatch the baby from that child; that baby is Ling Tong's weakness," one man whispered to another.

"Don't think I'll let you do that." Ling Tong, possessing keen hearing, overheard the whisper. Without hesitation, Ling Tong charged forward, attacking with his sword.

Ba Bel watched the battle from a safe distance, trying to comfort the baby he held.

"Bel'er, what's happening?" asked Wong An.

Ba Bel looked up and saw Wong An leaving his room after hearing the commotion on the ground floor. Wong An jumped from the second floor and landed next to Ba Bel. Wong An was surprised to see Ba Bel carrying a baby.

"Master..." Ba Bel then briefly explained the situation to Wong An.

Wong An nodded slowly, then watched the battle unfolding not far from where he stood. In such a short time, half of the people who had tried to attack Ling Tong had fallen and lay lifeless on the ground. Wong An could see that Ling Tong was a high-level martial artist whose skills surpassed even his own.

"Bel'er, did that uncle mention his name?" Wong An asked.

"Those people called the red-haired uncle Ling Tong," Ba Bel replied.

Wong An understood. Ling Tong could have dispatched all those people in three moves, but he tried to kill all his opponents neatly, so not much blood would spill from their bodies. Wong An felt that Ling Tong did all that because Ba Bel was witnessing the battle.

"He can still consider Bel'er's condition while fighting..." Wong An could only smile in admiration.

Even though Ling Tong concluded his battle attempting to make it less bloody, the metallic smell of blood quickly filled the air, and soon the scent of corpses would surely permeate the inn.

Ling Tong re-sheathed his sword. He then noticed Wong An, who was carrying a sword, standing beside Ba Bel.

"Elder Ling..." Wong An saluted Ling Tong. "My name is Wong An, a member of the Earth and Heaven Sword Sect."

"Earth Swordsman?" Ling Tong raised both his eyebrows.

"It's an honor that Elder Ling has heard of me," Wong An smiled gently.

Ba Bel then introduced Wong An as his master to Ling Tong. Ba Bel realized that both men's thoughts were focused on him, observing that he remained undisturbed after witnessing the bloody battle before him.

"So Bel'er comes from the Earth and Heaven Sword Sect. It seems your sect will have another formidable martial artist in a few years." Ling Tong laughed heartily, praising Ba Bel.

"Elder Ling is too complimentary," Wong An nodded slowly.

Ba Bel was still confused why this inn had become ruins if the battle he had just witnessed was the extent of it. Given Ling Tong's capabilities, even while carrying a baby, he would still be able to eliminate all his opponents without significant difficulty.

"Uncle Ling..." Ba Bel intended to return the baby he was carrying to Ling Tong. Ba Bel himself was still puzzled why he couldn't recall such a powerful martial artist as Ling Tong from his first life.

"Bel'er, it seems I'll have to ask for your help a little longer..." Just as Ling Tong finished speaking, three other people entered the Golden Pagoda Inn.

Ba Bel frowned. He could see that these three newly arrived martial artists possessed strength on par with Wong An or slightly below him. The clothes worn by the three martial artists bore a fairly large Black Centipede symbol.

"Ling Tong! Don't ever think you'll remain alive after killing our little brother!" one of the arriving martial artists shouted loudly, pointing at Ling Tong.

"Ah, I thought I could only kill one Black Centipede general, but you've delivered yourselves here to your deaths. It saves me the trouble of hunting down and killing all of you." Ling Tong smiled broadly as he drew the sword he had just sheathed.

"Bel'er, stand behind Master..." Wong An instructed Ba Bel to take cover behind him.

Ba Bel obeyed Wong An's command. He realized that even if Ling Tong possessed superior martial arts skills, it wasn't certain he could easily withstand the movements of all three. After seeing the arrival of these three individuals, Ba Bel finally realized and understood the reason this inn had become ruins in his first life.

If Ling Tong were to fight alone while carrying a baby, he would undoubtedly face many difficulties and even be severely injured, even if he managed to eliminate all three of his opponents.

"This place is too cramped; how about we fight outside?" Ling Tong asked.

"Why should we obey your will, huh?" As soon as he finished speaking, one of the three Black Centipede generals immediately charged at Ling Tong.

Ling Tong met the attack without fear. Another, wielding a machete, joined in attacking Ling Tong, while the remaining one, armed with a spear, quickly ran towards Wong An and Ba Bel. Ling Tong wanted to stop him, but the other two Black Centipede generals used all their abilities to restrain Ling Tong.

The three knew they were no match for Ling Tong in a fair fight. They were aware that Ling Tong was carrying a baby, which was his weakness. Therefore, they wanted to attack and seize the infant Ba Bel held.

"Bel'er, use this opportunity to observe and learn the sword arts of the Earth and Heaven Sword Sect." Wong An smiled gently before stepping forward to meet the spear-wielding foe.

"How dare you interfere in the Black Centipede group's affairs!" The spear-wielding man attacked Wong An ferociously.

Wong An skillfully wielded his sword to parry all the spear attacks while employing agile footwork. Their battle could be described as evenly matched.

Ba Bel's perspective was slightly different. Although Wong An appeared evenly matched with his opponent, Wong An was actually far superior. This was because Wong An was currently 27 years old, while his opponent was nearly 50. So it was clear that Wong An was far more talented than his adversary.

Ba Bel held his breath. It felt like so long since he had last seen his Master's swordplay. The sword technique Wong An employed was incredibly agile and multifaceted. This technique was the Crane Dance, one of the sword techniques Ba Bel sometimes still used when he held the title of Demon Emperor.

Without Ba Bel realizing it, tears streamed down his face as he watched Wong An's swordplay. Once again, Ba Bel swore in his heart to cure Wong An, no matter what happened.