"Eldest Young Master, let Elder Zhang handle this; it’s too dangerous here." Mo Changfeng firmly shielded Zheng Ji. Although Zheng Ji was also a cultivator, he was not suited to combat, and his special status could not afford any mishaps. At the very least, Mo Changfeng would never allow Zheng Ji to be hard under his watch. It was his responsibility as both ’teacher’ and ’subordinate’.
"Damn it, there are too many of them." Despite being agitated, Zheng Ji understood the current predicant. The attackers were coming in waves, and it seed they had already surrounded the entire tomb, with over a thousand people present, all in chaos. The valley’s entrance was so narrow, and the high ground had been taken by the enemy. Rushing out blindly would certainly make one a live target for arrows.
On the hillside, Elder Zhang brandished a cane with ease. This cane was made of pure steel, extrely hard. Though Elder Zhang appeared sowhat aged, he was known within the Zheng Family as a ’sharp knife yet to dull’, possessing formidable strength. A single strike from his cane could easily crush an attacker’s skull.
"Co on, you whelps." Elder Zhang shouted loudly, plunging alone into the enemy ranks, fighting amidst thunderous battle cries. However, unbeknownst to him, he was already surrounded because the guards did not follow up in ti.
"Fire arrows, kill him." One of the attackers said, and dozens imdiately switched to crossbows and pulled the triggers.
Whizz, whizz, whizz.
"Ah." Elder Zhang cried out in pain as an arrow pierced his left arm.
"Damn it, I’ve been bitten."
Elder Zhang clenched his teeth, grabbed the arrow’s shaft with his right hand, and pulled hard, forcibly extracting the arrow as blood flowed down, dyeing his left hand red.
"You little bastards, you don’t dare to confront head-on and resort to these underhanded tactics." Elder Zhang cursed loudly. With his bold and straightforward nature, he naturally despised such devious thods, like sneak attacks, poisoning, and hidden weapons. Battles should be fought openly and honorably.
Yet, he overlooked a crucial point: this was not a martial arts tournant but a real battle. The modified crossbows were specifically intended to counter cultivators, and being surrounded, it was inevitable that he’d be injured by arrows.
Suddenly, a shadow sprang from the crowd, lunging directly at Elder Zhang. A flash of white light, and a white blade entered while a red blade exited...
The people didn’t even see what happened. By the ti they reacted, an entire arm had fallen to the ground.
"Ah ah."
Blood spurted out as Elder Zhang scread in agony. The pain of having an arm severed was unbearable. His right arm, along with the cane, had been chopped off, leaving Elder Zhang defenseless and pale-faced with pain. If it were an ordinary person, they might have already fainted from the agony.
"Who... are you?" Elder Zhang asked, enduring the pain and raising his head, trying to see who had managed to sever his arm with just one move.
But as he lifted his head, a long blade pierced his chest.
It was a Tang Blade. From the patterns on the blade, one could determine it was a Supre Divine Weapon. But before Elder Zhang could see the attacker’s face clearly, he was already dead.
"Elder Zhang." Zheng Ji could no longer contain his emotions upon witnessing the scene. Elder Zhang had been an elder who helped ’establish the kingdom’ alongside Zheng Li and held great prestige within the family. To see him perish like this was intolerable—an understatent to say it was heartbreaking.
"Eldest Young Master, Elder Zhang has sacrificed himself, but you must not fall. The other side has skilled warriors, but we have strength in numbers. They can’t break through our defenses here, ensuring our safety. Once all the guards arrive, we can surround them." Mo Changfeng stopped Zheng Ji. The situation was clear: the enemy had experts and had launched a surprise attack, nearly breaching the tomb, but they were now stuck in a standoff with the guards. With reinforcents coming, they could be encircled.
The essence of a surprise attack is to catch the opponent off guard and deal a fatal blow. Once a standoff ensues, it loses its significance. In other words, the ambush had failed.
"Damn it, who is that person?" Zheng Ji pounded the mound with his fist in frustration. The attacker’s movent technique was too fast; Zheng Ji hadn’t gotten a clear view but had a vague feeling that they weren’t male. The assailant seed slight and short, more like... a woman.
Elder Zhang’s death would surely cause a stir in the Zheng Family. From a personal perspective, Elder Zhang was a senior to Zheng Ji. From a benefit standpoint, he was Zheng Li’s confidant who would have supported Zheng Ji in the future. His high virtue and standing in the family ant losing such support was a significant setback for Zheng Ji.
"Why haven’t Mr. Ye and Miss Ji arrived yet?" Zheng Ji glanced at his watch; over twenty minutes had passed, but they were nowhere to be seen, not even the close guards. An ominous feeling crept into his heart.
..................................
"Huff, huff." Ye Shikai gasped for breath. The You Xi Sword wasn’t ideal for prolonged use, and coupled with his earlier use of the Shadow Clone, his Inner Strength was severely depleted. Although he’d used the Inner God Scripture to recover, the constant drain was too much for his Dantian and ridians.
Especially with a cultivator like Xue Ming on the opposing side, whose movent technique was incredibly fast. Even though the You Xi Sword’s Sword Power was formidable, it was nothing more than a deterrent if it couldn’t hit Xue Ming.
Both sides had suffered heavy casualties, with nurous seriously injured still groaning on the ground.
"How are you doing?" At this mont, Ji Qian approached. Although she held no divine weapon, her gem-adorned Magic Wand was a treasure of the Moon God Temple, with Spells that played a significant role in combat.
"Don’t worry, she can’t harm ." Ye Shikai shook his head.
"I wonder how Mr. Zheng is faring."
"Let’s fight for a bit longer, then withdraw." Ye Shikai gazed at the injured Hidden Guards and Moon Guards on the ground, feeling a pang of heartache. The battle had reached a point where, even if they ended the fighting, Lii’s remaining forces would pose no threat to the Zheng Family.
"Alright, good." Ji Qian nodded.
"Master, bad news, we’ve been surrounded." At this mont, an unknown Hidden Guard shouted, and Ye Shikai looked around. Indeed, countless figures had erged from the forest, encircling them. Most worryingly, all were clad in black, masked, and dressed identically to the previous mutants.
Could there... be more mutants?
Ye Shikai’s face darkened as he roughly estimated that this ti, the number of mutants was even greater. Having already fought a battle, if they engaged directly, the entire force might be annihilated.
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