Ruthless Hand, The Best Self-Protection Is to Kill First

Everything happened so fast—not only did William Wang Jinling not have time to stop it, even the assassins couldn’t figure out what was going on.

By the time the assassins realized what had happened, the horse carrying William had already shot out like an arrow; they couldn’t even see its shadow.

“Serena Feng, you idiot!” From afar, William’s voice could still be heard cursing. To make the famously refined William lose his composure and curse, Serena truly had a talent.

“William, don’t worry about me—I’ll hold on until you come back to save me!” Serena shouted loudly, and as she spoke, the fine needle in her hand shot out with a sharp whistle, piercing straight into the assassin leader’s brow.

With a soft thud, the assassin leader collapsed before he could even speak.

“Nice effect,” Serena nodded in satisfaction, quickly snatching the knife from his hand. She wasn’t skilled with weapons, but having a blade was still better than nothing.

“Kill, kill Serena Feng!” The assassins snapped out of their confusion; five stayed to surround Serena, while seven chased after William: “Hurry, don’t let William Wang get away!”

“You won’t catch him,” Serena pressed the tiny hidden weapon on her left arm again. This device, designed by Sun Zhengdao to mimic a sleeve-arrow, was even smaller and more agile, loaded with poisoned needles.

As a doctor, she naturally used what she was best at for self-defense. The poison Serena used wasn’t ordinary arsenic—it was a potent chemical toxin. Even if it didn’t kill instantly, there was no hope of saving the victim.

Unfortunately, the needles were too fine—their killing power and range were limited. Even after firing several shots, Serena only managed to hit two people.

Thud...

Thud...

Just like the assassin leader, as soon as the poisoned needle struck, the two men collapsed. Now only five assassins were chasing William, while Serena herself was surrounded and couldn’t give chase.

Serena could only pray silently that William would run faster and reinforcements would arrive sooner. Otherwise, given William’s lack of martial arts, if those four assassins caught up, he’d be doomed.

“Careful, everyone! That woman has hidden weapons!” A burly man raised his blade to strike at Serena’s back, forcing her to whirl around and meet the attack with her own knife.

Clang! The blades collided, sparks flashing in the night. Serena was forced back, pain shooting through her palm as warm liquid began to seep out.

Damn it, my hand’s injured.

Serena was so furious she wanted to curse. She hated anyone hurting her hands most of all. These men all deserved to die—but the ones truly deserving death were the ones behind them. “Who’s your master?” she demanded.

“Hmph, ask the King of Hell yourself.” The assassin was tight-lipped; Serena hadn’t expected him to answer anyway.

“Is that so? Too bad you’ll be the ones meeting the King of Hell—not me.” Serena pressed the hidden weapon on her left hand again. Silver needles shot out, glinting in the darkness.

“Quick, dodge!”

Hidden weapons only work as a surprise. Once the enemy figures out your tricks, they’re useless. This time, Serena’s attack didn’t hit anyone, but it forced the four assassins back several steps.

In the darkness, Serena flashed a strange smile—too bad no one saw it. “Actually, my hidden weapons don’t just kill; they can drive people to their deaths.”

Serena moved like the wind, darting straight at the assassins.

Clang! An assassin swung his blade down; Serena blocked again, her palm still throbbing with pain. But she didn’t retreat—instead, she closed in, lifted her leg, and drove her knee hard into the man’s most vulnerable spot.

“Aah—”

With a clang, the assassin who’d been hit in the groin dropped his knife, clutching himself and jumping in place.

Serena didn’t let go of her opponent. Seeing an attack coming from the left, she twisted her wrist and threw the burly man over her shoulder toward the left side.

Squelch—the sound of a blade biting into flesh and bone. Blood splattered across Serena’s face, but thankfully, it wasn’t hers.

Thud—another assassin taken care of.

“You bitch, you’ve got a death wish!” Seeing their companion die by friendly fire, the assassins snapped, and three of them charged at Serena. She was now unarmed; all she could do was run. But could a lone woman outrun three grown men?

The answer was no—so she didn’t run. As the assassins closed in, Serena only retreated step by step, until she could retreat no further.

“Stupid whore, you can’t escape now!” The assassins laughed wildly, all three raising their blades to strike. None of them noticed that the woman they’d cornered wasn’t afraid at all. Her gaze was steady, eyes glittering with icy killing intent.

“Die—” The assassin’s words were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream, then a second, then a third.

“Ah... ah...”

The shrill cries sounded like ghosts wailing. The townsfolk on both sides of the street woke in fright, but not one dared come out to see what was happening—let alone help Serena.

Clang! Three blades crashed down, all striking the wall instead. Serena had already slipped away with ease.

Aaaahhh—

The three assassins collapsed, clutching their faces, crying and screaming. The air reeked of sulfuric acid. In the moonlight, Serena could see the swelling and rotting flesh on their faces.

It turned out that during close combat with the second assassin, Serena had used her Smart Med‑Pack to retrieve undiluted concentrated sulfuric acid. When the three men closed in, she splashed the acid straight at them.

Don’t ask how she managed to pull out concentrated sulfuric acid so quickly—truth is, she’d prepared it before entering the palace. Anything that could kill, Serena brought at least one or two.

People say the best defense is a good offense, but in Serena’s view, the best self‑protection is to kill your enemy.

Sulfuric acid wasn’t meant for people—Serena feared that after entering the palace, Damien of Southern Lyn might force her to perform beast‑taming, so she’d prepared it for wild animals.

It wasn’t paranoia—her horsemanship was so exceptional that she worried someone might exploit it. Better safe than sorry. Who knew she’d end up using it on people instead?

Unfortunately, she hadn’t prepared much, and acid could only work as a surprise attack once. After that, no one would fall for it again.

Serena calmed herself, noting that the Wang guards were still fighting the assassins. She knew this place was too dangerous to linger.

If the assassins broke through the Wang guards and came after her, she’d be in trouble. But if she didn’t at least try to interrogate the three men, she’d never know who sent them.

“Speak—who sent you?” Serena picked up a fallen blade and slashed at the assassin’s face.

“Ah—ahhh…” The assassin howled like a wounded beast, crying out in agony: “Kill me, just kill me—I won’t talk, I’ll never talk.”

Sulfuric acid was far too corrosive. As Serena stepped closer, she saw all three assassins’ faces were utterly destroyed—especially horrifying in the dim light, like ghosts from hell.

“Not talking? Fine, suit yourself. As for killing you—sorry, I’m not in the mood right now.”

Serena raised her blade and slashed at their limbs. Maybe it was too dark to see, maybe she didn’t control her strength, or maybe she did it on purpose…

With each stroke, Serena severed their hand and foot tendons, leaving only half their wrists and ankles attached. Blood gushed out—without immediate medical care, the three men would soon bleed to death.