The most intelligent general in the world

Chapter 297: Insidious and Cunning

After leaving the mysterious underground base, Zhang Liang walked on the edge of the bustling city for a long time. He saw similar scenes all around him, like a desolate city ruins, overgrown with weeds and scattered with rubble.

What flew through the sky were no longer strange birds, but modified drones, flying between high-rise buildings, monitoring the area. On the ground, those modified creatures looked like characters from science fiction movies, with huge bodies, thick hair, and ferocious teeth, as if they were the product of a high-tech laboratory.

Zhang Liang could feel that the mutant creatures lurking in the shadows were watching him, and some even attacked directly, but they were easily resolved by Zhang Liang's agility. These creatures, like the wild side of this city, were brutal and untamed.

Is this what the "Warcraft Battlefield" in the Red-Eyed Demon Pig's mouth is like? Zhang Liang regretted not asking Huashe about the whereabouts of the challenger, but at that time he was in so much pain that he couldn't ask any more questions. And those low-intelligence attackers who could only roar could not provide any information.

Zhang Liang's thoughts were all over the place, but he found nothing, so he had to keep going. This abandoned place seemed to have no day or night. Zhang Liang didn't know how long he had been walking, and suddenly he noticed something strange.

The soil here was a deep black, the weeds were thicker than ever, and the mutants were few and far between, either too tiny to pose a threat or large enough to swallow a tank in one gulp.

At this moment, a mutant monster in the alley smelled an unusual scent. It opened its eyes lazily, revealing cold eyes, slowly stood up, and made a low gasp.

Zhang Liang heard a roar, like an underground facility starting up, and the gravel seemed to tremble as if frightened. "Are you the challenger?" Before Zhang Liang could look for the source of the noise, the source spoke first.

"I am Zhang Liang, the new challenger." Zhang Liang responded calmly, not afraid of the voice. "Since you have introduced yourself, I will not say much. I am Qiongqi, one of the guardians here. Defeat me, and I will tell you the location of the next level." Qiongqi's voice was rough and powerful.

Zhang Liang examined the monster in front of him. It was shaped like a tiger, but covered with hedgehog-like barbs, and a pair of black wings on its back were particularly eye-catching. Zhang Liang had heard of the name Qiongqi before. It was one of the four great beasts in ancient times, as famous as Taotie, Hun Dun, and Taowu.

Zhang Liang looked into those jade-like eyes and was startled. His intuition told him that this Qiongqi was not an easy opponent. When facing a strong enemy, it is better to strike first and then be defeated. Zhang Liang knew this very well. He thought quickly and drew his sword.

Zhang Liang gathered his true energy at the tip of his sword and stabbed at Qiongqi. However, just as the sword was about to pierce Qiongqi's chest, its huge body easily dodged. This flexibility surprised Zhang Liang. Such a burly body plus agile speed was indeed difficult to deal with.

"Zhang Liang, you can't beat me with such strength." Qiongqi's mocking voice came, and Zhang Liang also understood that the previous strategy was ineffective.

Zhang Liang had to find another strategy. He firmly believed that every opponent had a weakness, so he rushed towards Qiongqi again with his sword in hand. He tried to find Qiongqi's weakness through a protracted battle, but if the two of them confronted each other for a long time, both would be exhausted.

Zhang Liang had no other choice but to do this. Calming down, Zhang Liang swung his sword again and rushed towards Qiongqi. Qiongqi watched Zhang Liang attack again and found that he only had brute force but no wisdom. Knowing that it was useless, he still repeated the old method.

Zhang Liang quickly approached Qiongqi. This time, the sword was not infused with true energy, but after absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, this ordinary sword was also different. The sword energy was stronger than before. Qiongqi avoided Zhang Liang, but Zhang Liang suddenly turned around and pointed the sword directly in the direction where Qiongqi was avoiding.

Qiongqi didn't expect Zhang Liang to be so fast. When he was about to dodge again, the sword had already stabbed and cut a wound on Qiongqi's body. The wound was not big, Qiongqi didn't care, but was angered by Zhang Liang's teasing injury.

Qiongqi roared, as if he wanted to swallow Zhang Liang whole. Zhang Liang was stunned by the roar, and then steadied his feet. The angry Qiongqi pounced on Zhang Liang again, but Zhang Liang dodged swiftly, and Qiongqi's claws only scraped the corner of Zhang Liang's clothes.

Zhang Liang quickly turned sideways, and a corner of his clothes was torn off by Qiongqi. Fortunately, he escaped, otherwise he would have been torn to pieces by the claws. Qiongqi shook the cloth on his claws, ready to attack again, not giving Zhang Liang a chance to breathe.

Qiongqi straightened his back, leaned back and prepared to sprint. Zhang Liang immediately entered the first level of defense. Qiongqi rushed towards Zhang Liang, and the two ran face to face, as if they were going to have a final showdown.

Seeing that the two were about to collide, Zhang Liang quickly leaned over and used the momentum to pass under Qiongqi. When passing through, Zhang Liang's sword slashed Qiongqi's abdomen. Qiongqi was shocked, and did not expect Zhang Liang to have such a plan, as its abdomen was the softest part of its body.

Zhang Liang would carefully observe every time Qiongqi charged, and finally found its weakness. Although this damage was not fatal, Qiongqi said that as long as he was defeated, he would pass the test. So, this stroke caused Qiongqi's abdomen to bleed.

Qiongqi did not fall down at this time. The pain in its abdomen made it more uneasy. It twisted its waist and prepared for the final struggle. Zhang Liang felt Qiongqi's anger and knew that it would go all out.

Zhang Liang injected his true energy into the sword and waited for Qiongqi's next move. The painful sting stimulated Qiongqi's nerves, making it remember Zhang Liang's injury...

In the bustling city, Qiongqi roared and rushed towards Zhang Liang with all his strength, while Zhang Liang tightly grasped the sword in his hand and calmly met the challenge.

Qiongqi flapped its wings and leaped high into the sky, intending to drop from the sky and give Zhang Liang a fatal blow. However, the moment Qiongqi pounced on Zhang Liang and landed, Zhang Liang nimbly dodged and cleverly moved behind Qiongqi.

Qiongqi just landed and turned around, about to attack again, but found Zhang Liang running towards him. Qiongqi wanted to dodge, but the full-strength jump just now made his wound worse, and his movements became difficult, and he could only move his feet with difficulty.

Although Qiongqi struggled hard, he was ultimately unable to avoid Zhang Liang's sword, which was filled with true energy. When Zhang Liang stabbed Qiongqi's abdomen, he quickly changed his moves and pointed the sword directly at its claws. Qiongqi lost his support and fell to the ground, half-kneeling, and was unable to get up even after exhausting all his strength.

"Very good, you win. Thank you for showing mercy." Qiongqi said while kneeling.

"Well, I just want to know where the next challenger is?" Zhang Liang responded calmly.

"Keep going along this road and you will meet him soon." Qiongqi replied, and then he staggered in the opposite direction, hoping to find a place to heal his wounds.

Zhang Liang watched Qiongqi leave, and then continued to move forward, following the direction indicated by Qiongqi to find the next challenger. Along the way, he did not encounter the challenger that Qiongqi mentioned, but only some small-scale monsters, which Zhang Liang defeated easily.

After walking for a while, Zhang Liang saw a lush forest. He stepped in cautiously, alert to the possible dangers around him. While walking, he found a magical beast sleeping.

Before Zhang Liang got close, the monster shook its huge body because its sweet dream was disturbed, let out a roar like a wild goose, and glared at Zhang Liang.

"Are you the challenger?" the Warcraft Taotie asked angrily.

"Yes, I am Zhang Liang, the challenger here." Zhang Liang was aware of Taotie's anger, but he didn't mind.

"I am one of the guardians, Taotie." Taotie responded, with hostility flashing in his eyes.

Zhang Liang remembered this name, he had read it in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, it was a legendary beast. He carefully looked at the Taotie in front of him, it had a sheep body, eyes under the armpits, tiger teeth, human claws, a huge head and a big mouth, which almost occupied half of the entire face. Its eyes were similar to human eyes, but they glowed red, and it had pig ears.

Zhang Liang immediately adjusted his state and prepared to fight this powerful monster. He knew very well that Taotie was not an easy opponent.

Taotie looked at Zhang Liang with dissatisfaction for disturbing his sweet dream, and decided to not only embarrass him because he was a challenger, but also put pressure on him for disturbing himself. He took a step back and prepared to attack with all his strength.

Zhang Liang drew out his sword, infused it with true Qi, held it tightly, and prepared for battle. The Taotie rushed towards Zhang Liang, lowered its head and tried to stab him with the spikes on its head.

Zhang Liang originally wanted to cut off the horn of Taotie with his sword, but the sword made a metallic sound when it touched the horn and could not penetrate it at all. Apparently, the horn was much harder than he imagined.

"I didn't expect you to be so arrogant that you actually wanted to pierce my horn with that broken sword." Taotie taunted. Zhang Liang did not respond, and he began to look for other opportunities to attack.

Taotie's muscles were so tight that ordinary swords could not pierce them. Only by trying could one know whether the sword infused with true qi could be successful. Zhang Liang decided to take the initiative and infuse his sword with true qi to attack Taotie, while Taotie also waited vigilantly for his move.

Zhang Liang quickly dodged the front of Taotie, went around behind it, and pointed the sword directly at Taotie's skin. At this moment, it would be revealed whether its skin was as hard as its horns.

The sword infused with true qi slowly pierced into Taotie's skin, and Zhang Liang quickly retracted the sword and jumped away. When he approached Taotie, Taotie was ready to hit him with his head, but Zhang Liang dodged skillfully and missed.

When Taotie turned to attack Zhang Liang again, he felt a sharp pain in his body and immediately kicked Zhang Liang with his hind legs. Zhang Liang had already stepped aside to avoid being kicked.

Taotie was furious and turned to face Zhang Liang, scolding him, "You are a treacherous and cunning man."

"This is called strategy." Zhang Liang responded with a smile.

Seeing that Zhang Liang was still fearless, Taotie got into a fighting stance again. Zhang Liang guessed that Taotie would still use his horns against him, so he decided to avoid it.

Taotie rushed towards Zhang Liang again, Zhang Liang avoided the frontal attack and stood behind Taotie with the tip of his sword pointing at it. However, Taotie seemed to have anticipated it and turned his body in an instant to block Zhang Liang's attack.

At this moment, Zhang Liang was still facing Taotie head-on. Taotie grinned, raised his front paws, opened his mouth wide, and pounced on Zhang Liang, intending to swallow him to vent his anger.

Zhang Liang watched the big mouth of the Taotie approaching, and quickly poured his true energy into the sword, waiting for the best opportunity. When the Taotie was about to bite Zhang Liang, a triumphant laugh rang out, and Zhang Liang raised his sword, waiting for the laughing mouth to fall on the sword.

As Zhang Liang was about to be swallowed, Taotie spotted the glittering sword. It was too late to turn around and dodge...