At the edge of the precipice, Erhei and Goudan were still putting up a desperate fight. Their presence had long been discovered by Qin archers, and as the two sides engaged in a standoff of long-range combat, a shadowy figure, purple-black in hue, suddenly shot up from the camp. After carving a fleeting arc of sparks where sword met stone against the cliff face, the shadow lunged at the pair. With two sharp zhazha sounds, the two men were cleaved in half by a weapon resembling a scythe.

“Quickly summon the field medics! The Great General is wounded!” Panic erupted again below the camp. The entire Qin army was momentarily headless, their lamentations echoing across the expanse.

Ying Bu paid no mind to the others. He knew the plan to assassinate Zhang Han had succeeded. All he needed to do now was swiftly rendezvous with Xiang Liang’s main army, then turn back with his blade drawn to crush the Qin camp in one fell swoop.

“And you think you can just leave like that?” Suddenly, a figure approached the sprinting Ying Bu from the flank. Ying Bu had already locked onto the man with his peripheral vision and instantly raised his sword to strike him away. To his surprise, the man's weapon was utterly bizarre; it lightly deflected Ying Bu’s sword. Ying Bu executed a sidestep and a great leap backward, catching up to his sword, Qishuo, and coming to a halt in a wide stance to the side.

The newcomer was none other than the purple-robed, scythe-wielding figure who had just dispatched the assassins. Although clearly possessing a male physique, his voice carried a seductive, almost feminine allure. “My young lord, do you not wish to join your brothers below?”

Ying Bu snorted coldly, utterly dismissing the man. “Get out of my way, or else…”

“Or what?” The Purple-Robed Scythe adopted a ready stance, gazing at Ying Bu with a smile. “With a swordsman of your caliber, do you truly believe you can escape the hands of Gui Lian Dao (Ghost Scythe)?”

“Gui Lian Dao? Hahahaha.” Ying Bu roared with laughter, simultaneously drawing Qishuo. In an instant, the sword’s light permeated the night, casting a chilling aura that swept through the mountain gorge.

Lethal intent, vengeance, a deadly duel between swordsmen! Within the mountains, the mysterious Gui Lian Dao and the confident Ying Bu stared each other down coldly.

As the glow from Qishuo's draw began to wane, Gui Lian Dao abruptly swung his long-handled weapon horizontally and leaped into the air. Ying Bu found the move uninspired, assuming it was another common overhead cleave. He casually raised his sword, intending to block it. Unexpectedly, Gui Lian Dao did indeed raise his weapon high, gripping it with both hands while already positioned in mid-air for a downward slash.

Although everything seemed within Ying Bu’s expectations, any swordsman knew that true power lay in the final striking moment. However, this Gui Lian Dao seemed to have concentrated his strength entirely in his feet since the moment he jumped, making him appear top-heavy and unbalanced. A downward chop like this couldn't possibly carry much destructive force. Not daring to underestimate him, Ying Bu raised his sword to meet the attack. Yet, just as his blade was about to brush past Gui Lian Dao’s heels, he realized the man before him was merely an illusion. In an instant, Ying Bu lost all sense of the enemy’s direction. Had he intended a feint above all along?

“Heh heh, it seems you cannot match my speed!” Gui Lian Dao’s sinister laughter echoed through the air. “Insignificant pawn, yield your life!”

Ying Bu felt the opponent’s techniques were bizarre, yet his speed was astonishing. To vanish instantly while wielding such a massive scythe—he dared not be careless again. He sidestepped a few paces backward, raising Qishuo high to unleash the Huti Shanshuo (Protective Flicker) move from the Shan Jue (Flash Absolute) sword style. Instantly, the entire hillside seemed enveloped in silver light, utterly magnificent.

Clang… Gui Lian Dao paid no heed to the sword light, directly swinging his scythe to hack at Ying Bu’s back. Unexpectedly, the moment the scythe made contact with Ying Bu’s back, it was blocked by a sharp, sweeping sword stroke.

Gui Lian Dao was certainly not about to give up. He vanished from Ying Bu’s sight again using high-speed movement, only to reappear suddenly, finding an opportunity for close combat. He struck again, and again, it was parried with a clang.

“You can’t even get close to me; how do you expect to fight?” Ying Bu had gauged the true measure of Gui Lian Dao. While his movement was swift, his weapon was too large. Every pre-attack swing required a wide arc, thus slowing down the actual speed of his strikes.

“Hah!” Gui Lian Dao grew somewhat enraged, shouting loudly as he leaped diagonally towards Ying Bu, the scythe on his back now curved and wrapped around his waist.

Seeing this, Ying Bu instantly ceased his sword dance. He stamped his feet hard against the ground, propelling himself into the air, determined to end the battle with this one strike.

“Gui • Qian Lian Ren (Ghost • Thousand Scythe Blades)!” Gui Lian Dao roared, gathering all his internal energy into the edge of the scythe. A plume of purple-black smoke immediately billowed out in all directions. Wherever the scythe passed, grass and trees were torn asunder.

Ying Bu was unfazed by such a display. Although Gui Lian Dao was using his weapon for defense, intending to wrap Ying Bu within the whirling blades, everyone knew that the eye of a storm is calm. The weakness lay in Gui Lian Dao’s hands—the last vulnerable and least defended point.

“Yi Hua Shan (One Flower Flash)!” Ying Bu shouted, but his body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. The concept of speed was something those who toyed with enormous weapons could never comprehend. In that single instant, the essence of all martial arts was displayed in spectacular fashion.

The light of spirit-slaughter pierced the heart; where the sword edge passed, the raging storm became but soft clouds.

Puchi… Gui Lian Dao knelt on the ground, eyes wide open. His hands, along with the scythe, were nowhere to be seen, having been severed and flung away.

“Hmph!” Ying Bu turned his head to look down at his fallen opponent, offering no words.

“This swordsmanship… how do you know it?” Gui Lian Dao seemed to have many things to say. “How could this ‘Flash’ sword technique appear here?”

Ying Bu paid him little mind, standing behind Gui Lian Dao and raising his sword. “The victor takes all. If you can tell me where you assassins originate, perhaps I can spare your life.”

“Hahahaha, spare me? If you spare me, the Sect Master will not,” Gui Lian Dao said, his body suddenly tightening. He unleashed his final burst of power, severing his own meridians, and collapsed, bleeding to death.

“You assassins are nothing more than this,” Ying Bu scornfully sheathed his sword and turned to leave.

“General Ying indeed possesses great skill. I wonder, was the assassination successful?” A shady figure emerged from the darkness behind Ying Bu.

“You are Ben Niu (Rushing Ox)?” Ying Bu had assumed all the hired killers had been wiped out. He hadn't expected one to survive. “Where were you just now?”

Ben Niu chuckled slyly. “Seeing General Ying’s expression, you must have succeeded. I was covering them from the rear, but the reinforcements were simply too numerous. I had to retreat to the side. Let’s go back.”

Ying Bu looked at Ben Niu and offered a cold smile. “Yes, it must have succeeded. Let’s return.”

Hearing this, Ben Niu thought he was sure to receive a handsome reward from Xiang Liang and eagerly hurried back. But suddenly, he felt something cold pierce through the back of his hand, passing directly through his heart.

A cold wind swept through the dark night, its wail piercing the four corners of the wilderness. Ying Bu licked his lips, pulled the sword from Ben Niu’s belly, and said, “I will handle claiming the merit. Rest well, all of you.”

Hoo… Ben Niu gasped his last breath and fell heavily. The best end for a hired killer was to die in service, regardless of the manner of death; only by dying could the name be honored.

Meanwhile, in the Western Chu camp, the forces were fully armed and prepared. Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu had already led their troops toward the dangerous pass of the gorge.

“Yu’er, what are the chances of General Ying Bu succeeding?” Xiang Liang was worried about the safety of the assassin squad. “General Ying Bu defected to me, and now he risks his life penetrating the tiger’s den for me. His loyalty is absolute.”

“Ying Bu is both brave and cunning; he should be fine,” Xiang Yu also held a high opinion of Ying Bu. “Furthermore, Ying Bu’s martial attainment is exceptionally high; he is not someone easily dealt with.”

Hearing this, Xiang Liang looked up at the moon, calculated the time, and said, “The hour is nearly upon us. Yu’er, muster the army and prepare to attack. Success or failure hinges on this moment.”

“I fear Lord Xiang will not live to see that moment,” a figure suddenly flashed across the sky, wielding a bizarre trident and diving straight down toward Xiang Liang.

“Watch out! Uncle, quickly move aside!” Xiang Yu was instantly alert. He stomped to Xiang Liang’s side and pushed him away, but Xiang Liang was safe. Xiang Yu, however, was heavily impaled in the shoulder by the trident strike.

“Ah!” Xiang Liang cried out, drawing his sword and shouting, “Guards! Assassin!”

The figure landed slowly and deliberately on a nearby horse. His trident was still firmly lodged in Xiang Yu’s shoulder. When he tried to yank his weapon back with force, Xiang Yu instead threw both the trident and the attacker flying away.

“Heh,” the man exclaimed in surprise, using a nearby flagpole for leverage to swing mid-air before attacking Xiang Yu from behind with the trident once more. “No one has ever left the reach of my Ji Lian Feng Yu (Trident Weaving Wind and Rain) alive.”

Xiang Yu clenched his jaw against the intense pain in his shoulder and once again shielded Xiang Liang with his body, shouting fiercely, “Audacious assassin! Do you think your scheme can succeed?”

Ji Lian Feng Yu smiled faintly, swinging his trident back and forth to draw Xiang Yu’s attention. He knew he only had this one chance; if it failed, he would have to retreat, as the main body of the Western Chu army was already approaching.

“Ji • Huang Tian Sha (Trident • Shaking Heaven Kill)!” Ji Lian Feng Yu suddenly accelerated his weapon’s motion. The two vertical prongs beside the main trident suddenly sprouted countless smaller spikes. At the wielder’s command, these spikes shot toward the heavens, forming a dense, torrential cloud above Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, rushing down upon them.

“Uncle, run!” Seeing the danger, Xiang Yu grabbed Xiang Liang and hurled him fiercely into the distance. Then, with his other hand, he lifted his greatsword, wielding it one-armed overhead in an attempt to block the descending spikes. He failed. The myriad of spikes embedded themselves deep into his flesh, causing agonizing pain.

“Capture the assassin!” At this moment, the soldiers arrived and formed a dense ring of protection around Xiang Liang.

“Assassin, do not flee!” Suddenly, the voice of Ying Bu was heard from afar. He had apparently returned and leaped from his horse, flying toward the airborne Ji Lian Feng Yu.