ICAWZ Chapter 138

Ah Sui grew up in an ancient martial arts village. When he was six, he spent three years practicing the horse stance to build a strong foundation and another three years carrying water buckets to strengthen his legs. Only after these years of basic training did he begin to learn techniques. These foundational exercises were unavoidable.

Ah Sui had been debating whether to teach those female zergs to practice the horse stance. Teaching them would take too much time, but without it, they couldn’t learn properly. However, when he tested Quike and the others’ skills, he was surprised to find that their footing was extremely solid. Even when he kicked them, they stood firmly in place, allowing him to skip the basic training stage entirely.

Perfect! Just as he expected from the team he had personally selected. Their bodies were strong, their bone structure excellent—truly born martial arts prodigies!

Ah Sui counted the group and found there were thirty-nine of them. Including himself, it made an even forty. Standing at the front of the line with his hands behind his back, he had a cold and stern expression, which was quite intimidating. “My name is Ah Sui. From now on, I’m your boss. Soon, I’ll lead you up the mountain to hunt. Whatever food you catch, you can distribute among yourselves. If you catch nothing, you’ll just have to go hungry.”

After he finished, he pointed to Quike standing nearby. “He will be your captain. When I’m not around, you’ll follow his orders.”

Quike was naturally inclined to be a lackey. Hearing this, he immediately straightened his back and gave a not-so-perfect salute. “Yes, Chief!” he responded enthusiastically.

The rest of the zergs had no objections—nor did they dare to have any.

The dense forest was extremely dangerous, and Ah Sui worried he might not be able to manage so many people on his own. So, he made a special trip to the neighboring starship to drag Xu Cenfeng over to help. And just like that, a rough-and-ready team took shape.

“Into the mountains!”

At Ah Sui’s command, the team immediately followed him, marching grandly into the mountains. Blairand didn’t seem particularly interested in hunting, yet he insisted on coming along for reasons unknown. Xu Cenfeng, on the other hand, was purely there as manual labor, wrapped so tightly in layers of clothing, with a hat and scarf, that it was hard to tell his gender at first glance.

Only Ah Sui was diligently focused, sharply tracking any traces of animals left in the snow-covered forest. Blairand, wary that the soldier females might target Ah Sui, stayed close behind him at all times. Each time Quike tried to approach Ah Sui for a word, Blairand subtly yet intentionally blocked him.

Ah Sui noticed that Blairand had accidentally bumped into his shoulder several times. Curious, he turned around and asked, “Is the path a bit hard to walk?”

Blairand was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied, “Yeah, the snow’s a bit too thick.”

As soon as he spoke, Ah Sui unexpectedly switched his sword from his right hand to his left, reached out, and took Blairand’s hand. “I told you not to come along,” Ah Sui said. “It’s dangerous in the mountains. Let me lead you.”

Blairand felt the warmth of Ah Sui’s hand in his palm and froze for a moment. Instinctively, he tried to pull his hand back, but Ah Sui only held on tighter, leaving him no choice but to give up.

Xu Cenfeng walked beside them, hands tucked in his pockets. Noticing the scene, he glanced briefly at Ah Sui, then calmly looked away without a word, as if he had anticipated it all along.

At the back of the group were a dozen armed interstellar pirates, sent by Black Fang under the guise of “protection.” In reality, they were there to monitor the captives and prevent any escape attempts.

Quike had been trying persistently to get Ah Sui’s attention, his tone tinged with a hint of hope. “Boss, we don’t have any weapons. How are we supposed to hunt later?”

He seemed to be hoping to get his hands on a gun, but unfortunately, Ah Sui was dirt poor, and there wasn’t a single gun to be found among the entire group.

“How to hunt?”

Hearing this, Ah Sui looked around, then released Blairand and walked over to pick up a withered ironwood branch from the ground. The forest on this world was strange; bizarre beasts emerged at night to hunt, and even some of the trees would devour living creatures. Certain types of wood had unique properties, with a hardness comparable to steel.

Ah Sui picked up the pitch-black branch and used his sword to strip off the barbs and leaves, sharpening one end to a fine point. He handed it to Quike and said, “Use this to hunt. If you see prey, just throw it with force and aim to pierce.”

In martial arts, when trained to the highest level, one could kill with even a flower petal or a leaf. Ah Sui figured this stick would be more than sufficient.

Quike was taken aback and exclaimed, “Ah,” unsure how a stick could be used for hunting. He wanted to voice his concerns but didn’t dare to argue, so he hesitantly accepted the branch.

Ah Sui twirled his sword in his hand and addressed the female zergs behind him. “If anyone else wants a weapon, feel free to pick one up. I can help sharpen it. In the future, we can look for guns to replace them.”

The female zergs exchanged glances, and not a single one stepped forward to gather the withered branches. They all shook their heads and waved their hands, awkwardly laughing. “No… it’s fine, Boss. We can manage with our fists!”

These female zergs likely came from the military strike team, as Blairand had suspected, and they probably looked down on something as small as a wooden stick, preferring to fight with their own claws.

Upon hearing their refusal, Ah Sui didn’t press the issue. “Alright, just be careful then.”

After saying this, he continued forward but suddenly seemed to remember something. He glanced at Blairand, reached out again, and took his hand, gently advising, “Walk slowly; don’t trip.”

Blairand looked back at the female zergs, his brow furrowing. He then turned his gaze back to Ah Sui and whispered, “Don’t give them too many weapons; it’s dangerous.”

Blairand couldn’t expose the identities of those military females, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch Ah Sui walk into a trap. He could only subtly remind him to be cautious.

Ah Sui was well aware of his own financial situation. He winked at Blairand and whispered, “Don’t worry, I don’t have money to buy them weapons. Saying we’ll replace them with guns is just to bluff them.”

Blairand stared at him, speechless.

Who said Ah Sui was foolish? He was clearly clever, never making mistakes at crucial moments.

With the heavy snow blocking the mountains, it was difficult to find prey. After a long trek through the forest, the large group still hadn’t encountered anything edible. The southern female zergs had keen senses, and when Blairand reached a black stone outcrop, he suddenly caught a whiff of the lingering scent of beast urine in the air. Instinctively, he grabbed Ah Sui’s arm. “Don’t go any further; there could be a giant beast inside.”

They were only trying to catch a few small Lulubeasts and had no intention of facing off against such terrifying giants. Giant beasts typically marked their territory with the scent of their urine, and even the nearby fire ants instinctively turned away upon approaching the area, clearly afraid of the smell in the air.

Although Ah Sui was eager to hunt a big prey, he noticed the wary expressions on Blairand and Xu Cenfeng’s faces. He raised his hand to signal the group to stop and decided to take a different path. However, perhaps due to their large numbers and the unfamiliar scents they carried, a fierce, low growl suddenly echoed from the depths of the nearby black rock cave, causing the snow on the mountain to tremble and fall.

Startled, Ah Sui and the others immediately went on high alert. They began to retreat while nervously watching the enormous shadow that slowly emerged from the cave. When they finally got a clear view, their expressions changed in unison.

Due to the constant pollution from source stones in Salaranfa, not only the trees but even the animals had undergone mutations. Stepping out from the black rock cave was a snow-white creature resembling a deer, with nearly five-meter-long antlers shaped like spears on its head. The tips were exceptionally sharp, and it huffed heavily, spewing a cloud of corrosive saliva. When the saliva hit the snow, the ground quickly corroded into a dark color, indicating its strong toxicity.

Upon seeing this, Blairand’s fingertips gleamed with cold light as he immediately shifted into a semi-insectoid battle state. His voice was deep as he stated, “It’s a Snow Elk Beast!”

Ah Sui had never encountered a Snow Elk Beast before; he simply thought the creature looked like a llama when it spat. Instinctively, he asked, “So, should we run or not?”

His question came a bit too late. Just as Ah Sui finished speaking, the Snow Elk Beast let out a deafening roar from its throat, clearly furious at the invasion of its territory. It ground its hooves into the ground with force, then charged toward them at incredible speed, moving so fast that all they could see was a fleeting white blur.

“It’s so fast!”

Ah Sui exclaimed, just as he was about to pull Blairand out of the way. To his surprise, Blairand was even quicker. With a sharp look in his eyes, a pair of iridescent, translucent wings suddenly unfurled behind him, stirring up a chilling gust of wind. He gripped Ah Sui’s shoulder tightly and soared into the air, evading the Snow Elk Beast’s attack and temporarily taking refuge in the branches of a nearby tree.

The Snow Elk Beast had remarkably resilient skin that ordinary bullets couldn’t penetrate. At that moment, any experienced zerg would know better than to fire a weapon and provoke the creature further.

Seeing the Snow Elk Beast charging toward them, the female zergs quickly spread their wings and flew up into the trees to avoid it. Even Xu Cenfeng leisurely climbed to the top of a tall black rock for cover. However, the interstellar pirates sent by Black Fang panicked, instinctively raising their guns to shoot. The Snow Elk Beast, stung by the pain, retaliated by spraying a jet of venom from its mouth, which shot out like bullets.

“Ah!!! My eyes!!!”

The interstellar pirates who were hit cried out in agony, clutching their corroded eyes and faces as they rolled on the ground in pain, blood pouring from between their fingers. Seeing this, the Snow Elk Beast lowered its head and charged forward, using its long horns to lift them off the ground, impaling them with a swift “thud” as it pierced through their abdomens.

“Thud—!”

The dull thuds of corpses hitting the ground echoed as they fell one after another, staining the once pristine snow with dark red patches. A lingering metallic smell of blood hung in the air, and the surroundings fell silent, with only the heavy panting of the Snow Elk Beast breaking the stillness.

As winter approached, most of the leaves had withered and fallen. The Snow Elk Beast quickly noticed Ah Sui and the others hiding in the trees. Without hesitation, it charged straight at the massive tree, its sharp horns slicing through with ease, and within moments, it snapped the trunk in two.

“Boom—!”

The giant tree crashed down, sending snow flying everywhere.

Seeing this, Quike and the others cursed under their breaths and quickly flapped their wings, trying to escape. However, the venom shot from the Snow Elk Beast’s mouth sprayed everywhere like a machine gun, hitting many of the zergs and sending them plummeting from the sky like kites with cut strings.

Although Quike and the others had entered their semi-insectoid battle state, it seemed they were reluctant to fully reveal their strength with Ah Sui present. Most of the time, they focused on dodging attacks, looking extremely frustrated.

Ah Sui hid in the tree and said to Blairand, “Stay up there and don’t move. I’m going down to take a look.”

Ah Sui had initially intended to draw his sword to confront the Snow Elk Beast, but he suddenly noticed the ironwood branch he had given to Quike lying in the snow. He paused mid-motion, sheathed his sword, and handed it to Blairand, saying, “Hold this for me!”

Blairand instinctively caught the sword, bewildered, and asked, “What are you doing?!”

Ah Sui replied, “Hunting!”

After speaking, Ah Sui leaped down from the treetop and picked up the flexible ironwood branch from the ground. He tested it with a few swings, generating a whooshing sound as he aimed to show his teammates the branch’s impressive capabilities. This kind of weapon was far superior to guns.

Ah Sui shouted to Quike and the others, “Get out of the way!” and then soared into the battlefield. With a fierce swing of the wooden stick, he struck the Snow Elk Beast squarely on its spine. The tip of the stick then rained down like a storm, quickly hitting various joints of the beast’s body in just a few seconds. The ironwood branch concealed internal power, and each strike was strong enough to shatter bones in an ordinary person.

Xu Cenfeng had initially wanted to assist, but upon seeing that Ah Sui was more than capable on his own—his nine-section whip technique even more refined than before—he decided not to interrupt. Instead, he sat quietly on the black rock, enjoying the show.

The strikes of the nine-section whip wouldn’t leave much damage on the skin, but each attack required the wielder to channel their internal energy. While it wouldn’t injure the surface, it could severely damage the internal organs. By the time all forty-nine strikes were executed, the enemy’s bones would collapse like a line of dominoes.

However, the Snow Elk Beast’s bones were evidently much sturdier than those of an ordinary person. Ah Sui skillfully dodged its venomous attacks while wielding the ironwood stick, searching for its vital points, resulting in a prolonged standoff.

Quike and the other zergs watched as Ah Sui unleashed over a hundred strikes, yet the Snow Elk Beast remained unscathed. Unable to contain their anxiety, they called out, “Big Boss! We should really get out of here!”

Was this male zerg foolish, attacking a strange beast with just a wooden stick? It seemed impossible to defeat it!

However, Ah Sui paid no heed to their doubts. Martial arts emphasize perseverance and determination; if one round of strikes doesn’t work, try again. If that doesn’t work, try again. Eventually, he would find a flaw.

On the fourth round, Ah Sui finally discovered that the Snow Elk Beast’s vulnerable point wasn’t like ordinary animals, which is typically at the neck. Instead, it was located at the tail vertebrae. Every time he struck, the beast would become agitated and try to evade.

With this insight, Ah Sui’s eyes lit up. He skillfully dodged the Snow Elk Beast’s antler attack and executed another round of the nine-section whip technique. In the final move, he leaped onto the creature’s back, covered in thorns, and aimed the wooden stick at its tail vertebrae.

With a sharp crack, it wasn’t Ah Sui’s stick that broke, but the bones of the Snow Elk Beast itself.

“Crack!”

Ah Sui’s final strike was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The internal force he had applied in the previous blows finally took effect, causing the Snow Elk Beast’s bones to shatter like a row of dominoes falling one after another.

The beast’s front legs suddenly buckled, collapsing to the ground. It attempted to rise, but with another cracking sound, its hind legs gave way as well. The sound of bones breaking echoed through the air, sending chills down the spines of all who witnessed it. In agony, the Snow Elk Beast let out a guttural cry, and its massive body crashed to the ground like a rag doll, writhing for a few moments before finally succumbing to its injuries.

Ah Sui gracefully leaped back, landing lightly on the ground. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his chest rose and fell rapidly, clearly showing that the battle had taken a toll on him.

Quike and the others stood by, witnessing the entire scene, their mouths slowly agape in shock, nearly popping their eyes out: “Goodness, did we just see that right?! This male zerg actually killed a Snow Elk Beast with his bare hands?! And his weapon was just a tree branch?!”

In Salaranfa, the male zergs could get sick just from a gust of wind. When did they become this capable? It was simply outrageous! Where did that leave Ah Sui and this group of strong females?

Quike racked his brain, trying to understand how Ah Sui managed to take down such a formidable beast with just a small stick. Seeing that Ah Sui had finished the battle, he hurriedly ran over with a beaming smile, asking, “Big Boss! You were incredible! Are you tired? Thirsty? Do you want me to give you a shoulder massage or rub your legs?”

“This stick is so heavy, how can I trouble you to hold it? Come on, let me help you!”

Ah Sui wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. Without thinking much, he tossed the stick he was holding to Quike: “Here you go!”

Seeing this, Quike hurriedly caught it, instantly feeling as if he had struck gold, his hands trembling with excitement. The other members rushed forward, surrounding him, eagerly fighting to get a look at the stick, completely ignoring the Snow Elk Beast lying on the ground:

“Damn it! Quike, let me see that stick!”

“The Big Boss’ skills are incredible! No wonder he’s the Big Boss!”

“If I had known earlier, I would have asked the Big Boss to help me carve a stick too!”

Quike clutched the stick tightly to his chest, treating it like a treasure: “Get back, get back! This is a weapon the Big Boss gave me. If you want one, go find your own stick. Don’t try to snatch mine!”

Blairand watched the entire scene from the tree. Normally, he would be surprised, but perhaps due to the many unexpected things about Ah Sui, he had started to find it somewhat routine.

Blairand nimbly jumped down from the tree. He looked at Ah Sui not far away, shook his head slightly, and with a hint of helplessness in his light blue eyes, handed the long sword back to him: “Take good care of your sword. Don’t throw it around next time.”

He didn’t think that the stick in Ah Sui’s hand could compare to the sword that he never parted with; it was likely that Ah Sui had just wanted to demonstrate the power of the “Iron Wood Branch.”

Just as Ah Sui was about to reach out for the sword, he suddenly noticed the stunningly beautiful, translucent wings behind Blairand. He paused, pointing at them and instinctively exclaimed, “Ah! Your wings!”

The earlier situation had been too urgent for him to pay attention, and only now did he realize that Blairand’s wings had actually been exposed. His eyes widened with curiosity, filled with both surprise and delight.

Upon hearing this, Blairand finally realized that his wings hadn’t been retracted yet. He wasn’t accustomed to exposing his wings in public; his expression changed slightly, and with a whoosh, he quickly retracted them, so fast that it was barely perceptible.

Ah Sui exclaimed, “Ah!” and hurried in front of him, following like a curious little pest. He asked eagerly, “Blairand, was that shiny thing your wings just now?”

Blairand flatly denied it: “You saw wrong.”

Ah Sui wasn’t blind: “I didn’t see wrong. Your wings were exposed just now, shining and beautiful~”

Blairand repeated, “You saw wrong.”

Ah Sui then realized that Blairand seemed unwilling to show his wings in public. He paused, the words he was about to say caught in his throat. He switched tactics and lowered his voice to ask quietly, “Then… if you don’t want to show them to them, could you sneak a peek for me tonight when you sleep?”

Blairand: “…”

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