Chapter 49: How Far Is an Instant?

Why does one always have to wait until the last moment to understand things that should have been known long ago? (Gu Long)
……
The battle grew increasingly fierce. Ruler of the Great Sword could still hold his ground thanks to the intensity of his “Flame Sword Technique,” but Shui Er was already overwhelmed by three assassins. The three red-clothed assassins seemed well-trained and coordinated, attacking from the top, middle, and bottom to target Shui Er’s vital points. Not only were they well-coordinated, but their swordsmanship was also astonishingly fast. Compared to the assassins sent before, these three were far more formidable. Even though Shui Er’s internal strength had improved, it could only sustain her invincibility for a short time.
“Short time” didn’t mean “forever”—it simply meant brief. Shui Er gradually fell behind. She had thought that even if she couldn’t win after improving her skills, she could at least last a hundred and eighty rounds. But now, after just over thirty rounds, she was already sweating profusely.
Suddenly, Shui Er felt a severe pain in her right shoulder. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the assassin targeting her middle position had suddenly changed his tactics and, along with the assassins on the sides, attacked her shoulders. Due to her momentary lapse in attention, her right shoulder was pierced by a long sword. As the sword was pulled out, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Before she could react, she was thrown six zhang away, landing on the ground. A bitter taste filled her mouth as she spat out blood from her wounded abdomen.
Seeing their chance, the three assassins didn’t hesitate. They leaped up and thrust their swords at the fallen Shui Er, aiming to finish her off immediately.
Ruler of the Great Sword quickly turned around, ignoring the attacks from the four assassins in front of him. He raised his sword to block the three swords aimed at Shui Er.
“Clang…” The metallic collision produced a clear sound. Ruler of the Great Sword used his “Flame Sword Technique,” using his scorching sword energy to temporarily drive the three assassins back.
But at that moment, he suddenly noticed four more people rushing at him from behind. Without thinking, he threw his great sword… This was the move he had seen Feitian Tu use. Now he understood its purpose. Though it was a foolish move, such a heavy sword, propelled with true strength, was hard for anyone to resist. If they couldn’t block it, they would have to retreat or dodge, thus buying them a little time to breathe…
Sure enough, when the three assassins saw the sword emitting a fiery aura flying toward them, they rolled on the ground, dodging in all directions and scattering…
Just as Ruler of the Great Sword was relieved, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. Three assassins? He should have been dealing with four! Why were there only three now? As he pondered, he suddenly felt a cold sensation piercing through his abdomen from behind…
It was… what was it? A sword! An assassin’s sword—precisely the sword of the fourth, missing assassin. By the time Ruler of the Great Sword prepared to throw his sword, the assassin had already changed direction, attacking from the side and thrusting his icy sword into Ruler of the Great Sword’s body.

The Great Sword King slowly turned his head back, his eyes filled with fear. Perhaps he was in pain, but when he saw the scornful look in the assassin’s eyes, he became enraged. His right hand swiftly reached for the “Scorching Sun” sword strapped to his back. Just as the red-clothed assassin realized something was wrong, a golden light illuminated the space between him and the Great Sword King. Then, fear and disbelief appeared in the assassin’s eyes—he never knew he had died at the hands of the “Scorching Sun” sword.

Relying on the “Scorching Sun” sword, the Great Sword King staggered in front of the remaining six assassins. He didn’t dare pull out the sword embedded in his abdomen, fearing he wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding. So, he let the sword pierce his waist and abdomen. The six assassins were momentarily stunned, wondering how their leader had died and why this bloodied man with standing hair suddenly held a glowing sword. They hesitated to act.

Enduring the intense pain, the Great Sword King slowly approached Shui Er, knelt down on one knee, picked her up, and shook her head, saying, “Hey, girl, are you okay?”

Shui Er also suffered serious internal and external injuries. But when she saw the long sword protruding from the Great Sword King’s waist, she was stunned—what a valiant man.

Shui Er looked at the Great Sword King and shook her head, saying, “I’m fine.”

The Great Sword King pressed on her acupoints to stop the bleeding and said weakly, “In a moment, I’ll go and hold off those six. You, you should run quickly—the farther, the better. Remember, never, ever look back!”

Shui Er’s heart was in turmoil. Why did he say that? Why not let her look back? What could she see if she did? Him? She didn’t dare think about it and quickly shook her head, saying, “No! Don’t you have the ‘Scorching Sun’ sword? Let’s go together. Fly away together.”

The Great Sword King smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Later, Ling told me that the ‘Scorching Sun’ sword only chooses a fated master within a hundred years, and it only follows that master. If we want to fly, we can’t take you with us—unless I can control the sword myself.”

Shui Er shook her head violently. Seeing the Great Sword King’s sad expression, she said, “Then go. You can leave. I’ll stay.”

The Great Sword King looked at Shui Er and smiled bitterly. “I, the Great Sword King, have spent my life coveting wealth and lust, never doing anything good. This time, just listen to me, okay? I, such an ordinary person, after going through all this today, can die in peace. At least, at least I wasn’t worthless, at least I wasn’t heartless. I’ll remember this brief experience forever.”

The Great Sword King turned the “Scorching Sun” sword in his hand and said weakly, “Follow my instructions. When I count to three, run desperately. Never, ever look back. Cough, cough…” With those last words, he spat out more blood.

Tears streamed down Shui Er’s face as she shook her head fiercely, saying, “No! If you keep this up, you’ll die! Don’t be a hero anymore…”

The Great Sword King walked toward the six assassins, smiling bitterly as he shook his head. “How could I be a hero? As a man, I just want to protect those I care about. Is that wrong?”

“1”

That moment stopped; there was no next moment. Why were there tears? Why did crying feel like happiness? Why was happiness about to disappear? Was the one who was supposed to protect him about to die?
“2”
She forgot everything around her; time stopped. Shui Er’s heart was strangely calm. Even she didn’t know what the next moment would bring! No, maybe many things were just hazy mistakes!
“3”
“Run fast! Remember, never look back.” After counting to three, the Great Sword King swung his “Flame Sword Technique” with his “Scorching Sun” sword, charging at the six men. Although using a sword to execute a sword-style move was strange, thanks to the dominance of the “Scorching Sun” sword, the six men found it difficult to split their attention for a moment.
Shui Er suddenly stood up and ran backward, not knowing the direction or the path. All she knew was to run desperately, never to look back!
Seeing one of them escape, the six assassins wanted to split up and chase after him, but this burly man bravely blocked them, preferring to be pierced by swords rather than let anyone cross his threshold… Unable to break free from the combat zone several times, the assassins grew angry as well. They stopped chasing the woman and instead aimed to quickly take down this man, so they accelerated their attacks…
The moonlight gradually dimmed; the wind stirred the clouds, and the swords spurred bloodshed. Despite the protection of the “Scorching Sun” sword, each of the six assassins was far stronger than the Great Sword King, not to mention their coordinated attacks as a trained team…
Wounds from swords appeared on the Great Sword King’s body. To the surprise of the six assassins, despite such severe injuries, he still managed to stand. What was holding him up?
Finally, the Great Sword King stepped back two steps abruptly. With a thud, his sword hit the ground, and he knelt down…