Chapter 133: Brother Leopard

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Under Liang Jing’s narrowed gaze, Commander Zhang’s expression shifted drastically. Every single hair on his body stood on end, and an intense sensation of utter emptiness and powerlessness washed over him. Recovering quickly, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, snapping himself awake with the sharp pain. To his horror, the clothes across his back were already completely soaked through with cold sweat.

Looking once more across the bloody clearing at the man wielding the dark golden greatsword, even with all his ingrained fortitude, Commander Zhang could not help but feel a sliver of dread and hollow vulnerability. This man was terrifying—he was completely out of his league. A single glance from the fellow was enough to turn his limbs to jelly. If they were to actually fight, he would likely be killed in the blink of an eye without even knowing what hit him.

Liang Jing was in a foul mood, a wave of violent irritation surging within him. His eyes narrowed involuntarily, and a fresh wave of murderous intent rose in his chest. Backed by the momentum of slaughtering nearly a thousand people over the past two days, his killing intent was unimaginably dense. Propelled by formless spiritual energy, it directly forced the newly awakened Commander Zhang into a state of physical weakness.

Right at that moment, a fierce-looking man of medium build with a round head reminiscent of a leopard stepped toward Commander Zhang. Smiling broadly, he said, "Greetings, Commander Zhang. I am the head of Fierce Leopard. Everyone likes to call me Brother Leopard. You can just call me Little Leopard."

"What is it?" Commander Zhang remained on high guard against Liang Jing, secretly regretting that he had only brought two people with him while the others waited outside. In truth, he dared not act rashly for fear of provoking a devastating counterattack from the man. Yet toward this fierce-looking fellow cozying up to him—this so-called faction leader whom he would normally have given the cold shoulder—he showed unusual patience.

Had anyone who knew Commander Zhang witnessed this scene, they would certainly have cried miracle. Having clawed his way up from the very bottom through sheer diligence and stubborn refusal to compromise, Commander Zhang was an absolute outlier among the evacuees. He utterly detested the various local factions, and if timing permitted, he would have wiped them all out directly. Even under normal circumstances, he completely ignored their attempts to fraternize.

At present, however, as he secretly maintained his guard against Liang Jing, Commander Zhang was cursing his own misfortune. The god of slaughter across from him had already formed a killing intent, and currently, he was the sole awakened one on his side—and a newly awakened one at that. Furthermore, the underhanded scheme orchestrated by Political Commissar Gong earlier had left Commander Zhang heavily injured. It was only thanks to his years of physical conditioning forged from his days at the bottom that he had pulled through and successfully awakened.

Faced with his current plight, he had no choice but to rally whatever strength he could to preserve his life first and counter the demon across the room. Everything else had to take a backseat.

Brother Leopard seemed to have perceived his target's predicament, which explained his proactive move. Having been one of those who previously participated in the encirclement and hunt of Liang Jing, Brother Leopard had withdrawn early, but having witnessed Liang Jing’s ruthless madness firsthand, he was terrified. Truly terrified!

It was precisely because he feared Liang Jing so deeply that he made this move, driven by an even greater fear of death. He was afraid Liang Jing would not let him off afterward—and judging by the current situation, the probability of that happening was quite high. Thus, to save his own skin, alongside perhaps a few other motives, he had no choice but to act.

Even with this insurance policy in mind, he could not and dared not be too direct or foolish.

"Ah! Commander Zhang, you are leading your troops to contribute to the country and the people, so you might not know yet, but an extraordinary hero has emerged among our refugee camp." Seeing that Commander Zhang lacked his previous rigid resolve, Brother Leopard knew his gamble had paid off; the other man was well aware of his own precarious situation.

"It's the man right over there. His strength is monstrously formidable, entirely immune to conventional collective firepower. Starting last night—" Brother Leopard went straight into recounting how Liang Jing had slaughtered several hundred people single-handedly through the night, then eliminated the majority of Political Commissar Gong's private guards during the day, before single-handedly sweeping through the grain and ammunition depots just moments ago, culminating in the masterpiece displayed across the hall.

Naturally, he intentionally or unintentionally glossed over the reasons behind Liang Jing's actions, focusing purely on exaggerating Liang Jing's might while omitting other details. Yet from another perspective, wasn't this simply emphasizing Liang Jing's cruelty, bloodlust, and butcher-like behavior? From start to finish, it was nothing more than blatant instigation.

He believed that an upright soldier like Commander Zhang would never allow such a malignant tumor to survive. When the two sides inevitably clashed, it would yield the exact outcome he desired. As for the ultimate victor, he cared not a whit; all he wanted right now was to buy time until daylight, after which he would retreat and seek out his big brother.

"His name is Liang Jing?" Commander Zhang's expression turned grim and slightly livid as a sudden realization struck him. He asked, "Is that him?"

"Yes, exactly. Do you know him?" A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Brother Leopard. Glancing at the indifferent Liang Jing, who looked as though he were merely watching a show, he answered instinctively.

Only then did it dawn on him: didn't this Commander Zhang claim not to know Liang Jing earlier? How did he know his name? He had clearly appeared completely clueless before. Could he know something? The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt...

"Old Li, is he the Liang Jing you mentioned? The one you said fought off every faction single-handedly, while Old Gong abused his power? The Liang Jing you were hoping I'd step in to rescue from Old Gong's encirclement this morning so we could recruit him to our side?" Having pieced the situation together, Commander Zhang turned to confirm with his middle-aged, square-faced, and steady-looking adjutant standing behind him.

Liang Tian finally snapped out of his shock at the gruesome scene in the hall. Much like the others, he paid no heed to the fate of his colleague, Political Commissar Gong. With a heavy and solemn expression, he nodded slowly.

With confirmation secured, Commander Zhang wore an utterly grave look, deep in calculation. On the side, seeing his scheme unraveling as Commander Zhang showed no intention of immediately fighting Liang Jing, Brother Leopard felt a mounting panic taking root in his chest...

For a time, absolute silence gripped the room, broken only by the increasingly weak and fading screams of Political Commissar Gong, who was bleeding out.

"Well? Have you finished saying everything you wanted to say?" Liang Jing, who had been content to treat the spectacle as a spectator sport ever since Brother Leopard began his performance, finally spoke. His tone was remarkably calm.

Before coming here, Liang Jing believed he had learned all about this man's identity from Wu Yong. Even if this Brother Leopard hadn't stepped forward, Liang Jing had no intention of letting him go. He had resolved not to spare anyone who had previously participated in hunting him down. Yes, even those cowardly deserters who had retreated simply because they were terrified of his terrifying lethality would not be pardoned this time.

Because Liang Jing intended to be thoroughly ruthless this time, striking profound terror into the hearts of the rest and chilling them to the bone. He wanted to make an example of them so that anyone else harboring thoughts of crossing him would weigh the cost carefully, considering whether it was worth the price and whether they could endure the consequences. He refused to let misplaced benevolence bring trouble and mortal danger to himself and those around him.

Was this not, after all, a form of self-preservation?

"What?" Brother Leopard failed to grasp the situation for a moment. Seeing Liang Jing addressing him directly sent a chilling draft up from the soles of his feet, causing a violent shiver to wrack his entire frame. Why was this demon singling him out?

Tap! Tap!

"Since your last words have been spoken, it's time for you to hit the road!" Liang Jing's tone remained even as he strode toward Brother Leopard.

"Liang Jing! What do you think you're doing? Have you truly lost your mind? This is lawlessness!" Commander Zhang was still weighing how to handle and confront Liang Jing. Seeing that Liang Jing was relentless, he felt the man had truly gone completely lawless. Awakened ones were one in ten thousand; losing even one meant one less when they were needed most, especially at a time like this.

Tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap!

Liang Jing remained entirely unmoved. Ever since he witnessed the collusion between the foreign scum and Political Commissar Gong, his temper had been foul. Now that this Brother Leopard had practically thrown himself into the line of fire, there was no way he would pay attention to such objections.

"Liang Jing! Let me tell you, I never did anything to you! I was just casually discussing the situation with Commander Zhang!" Panic seized Brother Leopard; he was under no illusions about being a match for Liang Jing.

"Liang Jing, even if I was tempted by Young Master Tu before and joined the manhunt, I withdrew early on! I didn't cause any real obstruction to you!" Seeing Liang Jing continue forward without a pause, Brother Leopard's expression turned hideously ugly.

Tap! Tap!

Wielding *Baroque's Lament*, the nearly two-hundred-pound greatsword felt no heavier than a blade of grass in his hand. Liang Jing advanced like the Grim Reaper, closing in for the kill. Commander Zhang wanted to intervene further, but was quickly pulled back by his two subordinates, who motioned for him not to get involved. They could clearly see that Brother Leopard and Liang Jing shared a mortal grudge, especially given how the man had just tried to instigate a fight between them.

"You wouldn't dare kill me!" Brother Leopard roared.

Unfazed, Liang Jing raised his sword for a downward slash.

"If you kill me, my big brother won't let you off!"

"Who is your big brother?" Liang Jing's movements slowed fractionally as he posed the question.

"My big brother is right behind us! He was delayed by something, but he'll catch up soon enough! He possesses boundless strength and commands countless experts under his banner. Let me walk away, and we'll call it even!" A flash of hope crossed Brother Leopard's face, believing Liang Jing harbored misgivings and that he had successfully bought his salvation.

Yet instead, the whistle of a blade cleaving through the air answered him—

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Chapter Two!

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